Biddestone Broadsheet February 2017 No 437 Page 1 Moviola @ Grittleton Village Hall on Wednesday February 22nd Bridget Jones's Baby [15] After breaking up with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), Bridget Jones’s (Renee Zellweger) “happily ever after” hasn’t quite gone according to plan. Fortysomething and single again, she decides to focus on her job as top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget has everything com- pletely under control. What could possibly go wrong? Then her love life takes a turn and Bridget meets a dashing American named Jack (Patrick Dempsey), the suitor who is everything Mr. Darcy is not. In an un- likely twist she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch…she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby’s father. Tickets £6 adults from Lesley on 01249 783157 or email [email protected] Doors open 7pm, programme starts at 7.30pm Future dates for your diary All Wednesdays March 29th A Street Cat Named Bob April 19th A United Kingdom Page 2 Dec/Jan 17 COVER PICTURE thanks to Julie Walton for this months picture taken at The Biddestone Stud WELCOME A warm welcome to Tania and Nick Jeffrey who have moved into Hawthorn Cottage and to Derek and Chris Harland, who have moved into Kingsmead, Little Challows. We hope you will all be very happy in Biddestone. JANET HARTLEY It is with great sadness that we must report the death of Janet Hartley. Janet & her husband David were Biddestone residents for very many years and have contributed much to Biddestone village life. Janet’s funeral will held on Wednesday 1st February at St Nicholas Biddestone at 12.30 p.m. LADIES OF BIDDESTONE, HARTHAM AND SLAUGHTERFORD The W.I. needs more members, to bring fresh life and new ideas to our meetings. We are working on the programme for this year and will publish it shortly in the Broadsheet. 15th February AGM 15th March Mrs. Daphne Atkinson will give an illustrated talk on "Royal Wedding Dresses" We meet at 2.15pm in the Village Hall Please consider joining us as a member or a visitor; you can be assured of a warm welcome, a cup of tea and delicious cake. MAISIE SHORT My Granddaughter – Maisie Short – who lives in Biddestone, is only 5 years old. However, in April, Maisie is planning to swim 1,500 metres –“ YES 1,500 metres” – in order to raise funds for The Marie Curie Cancer Trust. Maisie will be swimming this feat at the Corsham Community Pool as a part of a “Swimathon” that is being organised for The Marie Curie Trust. Maisie currently has a relative who has terminal cancer, and hence the reason for her choosing this charity. If you would like to support Maisie and her charity swim, you can do so by visiting her Just Giving Web Site ;- https;//www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swimathon-2017-Ni Thanks – Andy Short – Biddestone. Page 3 FEBRUARY RECIPE Seville oranges are in season at the moment, so instead of making marmalade, why not try this simple cake? SEVILLE ORANGE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE 3 Seville oranges 3 tablespoons golden syrup 175g butter 175g caster sugar 175g self-raising flour 3 medium eggs 2 tablespoons of marmalade 20cm deep sided greased loose bottomed cake tin on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven 180C, 350F, gas mark 4. Slice one of the oranges, arrange on the base of the cake tin and drizzle the golden syrup over the top. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and flour, a little at a time, until incorporated in to the mixture. Zest and squeeze the remaining two oranges and add the juice and zest to the mixture. Place mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50mins to 1hour, until a golden colour. Allow the cake to cool for 10mins before turning out on to serving plate. Warm the marmalade in a saucepan over a low heat until melted, then brush the glaze over the oranges with a pastry brush. Serve warm or cold with cream or yoghurt. By Julie Walton Record of Biddestone and Hartham Women’s Institute meeting on 18 January 2017 The President, Jo Hancock, welcomed eleven members and two visitors, and introduced our speaker, Gilly Madders. She gave us a most interesting talk, illustrated by lovely slides, entitled A Persian Odyssey. She told us that last Oc- tober she had fulfilled a life-long ambition to travel to Persia, now Iran. The group she and her husband travelled with were among the first tourists to be able to visit Persia (as she preferred to call it) since it became an Islamic state. Before they left they had the benefit of a talk by Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent. They flew via Qatar to Tehran and then embarked on a journey to many interesting cities which still contained beautiful mosques, palaces and gardens from the old Persian Empire of Cyrus, Xerxes and Darius. Gilly said that the country contains 21 UNESCO sites. Although the atmosphere was very relaxed, the ladies in the group had to wear head-scarves all the time. She emphasised that the people were really kind and welcoming, many speaking English, and the food was delicious. After Gilly had answered various questions, Val S-J gave the Vote of Thanks. We then enjoyed refreshments served by Beryl. The raffle prize she provided was won by Linda. Alison read the minutes of the December meeting, the Christmas Party, which was very enjoyable. Jo reminded members that the 2017 subscriptions, £39, were now due, and Carol issued receipts and the new WI book of special offers to all those who paid. Members who had decided on their choice for this year’s Resolution handed in their completed slips to Val, who would send them off the WI House in Devizes. Programme for 2017/18. Val said there were still one or two things to be sorted out, but these should be dealt with the following week and the complete programme would then be sent to Carol to make copies for all members. Jo mentioned that our WI Adviser, Lesley Holloway, would come to the May meeting when the selected Resolution would be debated. AGM. Jo reminded members that the meeting on 15 February would be the AGM. She said that the five members of the existing committee were all willing to stand again for election, but anyone who would like to join them would be most welcome. Correspondence. Flyers had been received about: Taster Day at Denman College on 21 April; a course on silk paper making at Heywood Village Hall also on 21 April; James Thomas’s programme on BBC Radio Wiltshire every Thursday at 3 p.m. talking about a WI recipe; an Introduction to Bell-ringing at St. Martin’s Church, Salisbury, Mar- ket Lavington and Charlton; a Treasure Trail through Chippenham on 14 May (which might interest Val R); and a talk by Lucinda Hawksley, Great-great-great grand-daughter of Charles Dickens on 11 April in Devizes (which Alison would like to attend). Finances. Carol reported that these were still healthy. She displayed a number of strange coins which had been put in the Coins for Friendship jar, which she was unable to bank, and asked members to be more careful when doing this. Challenge for the month (five things I would say to my younger self). There were two entries. Next meeting. AGM on Wednesday 15 February. Page 4 Thanks to Hilary Noyes for her selection of poetry Page 5 BIDDSTOCK 2017….Interview with Andrew Short What is Biddstock? Our first Biddstock Festival was in July 2015. The evening was attended by over 275 people and we raised over £3,400 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Everyone who attended seemed to have a brilliant even- ing so we have decided to do it again!! What can we expect to see there? Guests will enjoy great music and food. There is a beer, wine and champagne marquee along with a dedi- cated cocktail bar. We will have at least three local bands playing during the evening and some quirky en- tertainment. Who are you raising funds for this year? This time, the fund raising is closer to home. The sports section and The Village Hall and Recreational Trust, plan to improve again the facility at The Village Hall, by expanding the size of the existing bar area. We hope to have completed this project over the next 12 months. This expansion will benefit both The Vil- lage Hall, as it will have a larger area to let, and also the sports sections as they will have a far more ac- commodating bar area. Once again we are hoping to raise in excess of £4,000 towards this project. This will play a significant part in getting great facilities in place for generations to come. What else is happening that weekend? To make use of the infrastructure we are fortunate to have secured a Bath Legends XI who will play a Bid- destone Select XI. The 20:20 match will see past and present International stars whose squad include the likes of Matt Banahan, Matt Perry, Phil DeGlanville, Da- vid Trick, Henry Thomas, Lee Mears and many more. On the Sunday we will host an under 9’s village cricket festival. How can people support? Biddstock tickets are already available, and we have been so pleased just how quickly these are being snapped up! They are at the same price as 2 years ago - £30 with food included within the price– and we hope that you will find the price as exceptional, for this type of event, as everyone found it last time ! To buy tickets get in touch! Mobile- Andy- 07795326518 Email- [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Facebook- Biddstock 2017 Website- http://heyevent.uk/event/tugmhk3wmygmqa/ biddstock-2017 BIDDESTONE BOOK CLUB Thank you to Rosemary for hosting December’s meeting.