Caretaker Needed for the Village Hall
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Nigel Farr's Sponsored Bike Ride
On Saturday 13th September, Nigel Farr and Warren Burgess started out on their journey to London to raise funds for Dorothy House Hospice.
Following the death of his sister, Kathryn, whose last days were spent being cared for in Dorothy House Hospice, Nigel decided to undertake a ride in her memory, in order to raise as much money as possible for the charity.
Nigel and Warren took the train from Chippenham station early on Saturday morning, heading for London, where they took to the saddle for the two-day cycle ride back to
Kington St Michael; Clive Dury, Harvey Bull and Martin Casey joining them at Newbury for the final leg of the ride.
Typically of the English climate, after a long, dry summer, they had to contend with heavy downpours of rain, and wind, but undeterred they arrived back safely in the village on Sunday 14th, to a joyous crowd of villagers who had come out to greet them.
Kington Club opened its doors at 4pm for people to join them in congratulating Nigel and Warren on their successful fundraising challenge.
Nigel’s ride was made more challenging for him following his recent health problems. In 2002 he contracted meningitis and septicaemia; last year he suffered two strokes. In addition to this Nigel has only one kidney, and a pacemaker.
Nigel’s family has lived in the village since1625 when the first Farr family appeared on the church registry.
Nigel’s grandparents lived in Honey Knob cottage and his parents, June and Brian Farr, moved into the village when they got married. They lived in a cottage in Sebastopol terrace for a while then moved to Mayfield Cottage at the end of Stubbs Lane, where Kathryn Nigel and Richard were born. All three children attended the old village school before it was converted into the new village hall and shop. Afterwards Nigel went to Chippenham boys’ school which later became Sheldon School. After leaving school he went to Lackham College where he obtained a City and Guilds diploma in gardening. His passion had always been farming so he went to work for various farms in the area. When farming work dried up, he was employed at the Jolly Huntsman, which led to him being employed by other hostelries over a period of 26 years.
After his parents passed away Nigel moved out of the family home into an Alms House on the main village street, and by a quirk of fate ended up in the same Alms House that his great grandfather had lived in many years ago.
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KSM QE2 Field News
Now that the nights are drawing in it will soon be time for the annual village bonfire and fireworks event at the QE2 Field!
Save the date for Saturday 1st November and watch out for more details coming soon on Facebook and on posters in the village, once tickets are available.
There will be food and refreshments, so bring plenty of cash on the night and enjoy an evening outdoors up at the field, with a spectacular firework display!
The hard-working organisers of this event are a small group of volunteers, so all extra pairs of hands to help with planning in advance and/or on the day and night are always needed and much appreciated. Please email ksmqe2fieldgroup@gmail.com if you are able to help.
Other QE2 Field news: The committee was delighted to have received approval from the Parish Council to go ahead with plans for a storage facility at the field. This will be a huge help in storing equipment required for events, including bonfire night. Thanks go to the PC for its support.
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Teddy Bear Parachute Day Results
The Parochial Church Council and organising team from this year’s village teddy parachuting and family fun event at the church, would like to thank everyone who was involved with or supported this event - an amazing £1,028.19 was raised, which will go towards the upkeep of our beautiful church. In fourteen years of running this event, these are the most funds ever raised.
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Village Shop News
The village
shop is looking for someone new to lead the team and ensure the continuation of
a smooth-running organisation. Claire,
who currently fills this role, has done a great job in the past months, leading
and growing the volunteer team, managing the buying and finding interesting new
lines. She now wants to give more time
to her other activities and travelling, so will step down once a replacement
has been recruited. The post offers
flexible, paid, part-time hours, so it may be attractive to a working parent. If you are interested please email hello@kingtonstmichaelvillageshop.co.uk.
The shop
has recently expanded its snacks and drinks range to include handmade cakes,
millionaire bars and brownies from Cakesmith, based in Bristol. Volunteers have tried them and report that
they are tasty. It’s hard to stand next
to them and not buy one!
Kind
villagers are continuing to donate surplus local produce, grown in their
gardens, for the shop to sell. If you
would like to do this, please just drop it into the shop anytime it’s open.
The shop is
open 8.45am - 5pm Monday-Saturday, and until 6pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays. We are opposite the village
church, and you can park right outside.
Follow us at: Instagram@ksmvillageshop and Facebook @Kington St Michael
Village Shop Limited.
If you’d
like an informal chat about volunteering, please ring Diane on 07768 053116, or
email the shop on hello@kingtonstmichaelvillageshop.co.uk.
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Village Hall Christmas Fayre
Saturday 6th December, 10am - 1pm
October
always seems a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but make sure
you save the date of the Christmas Fayre. It’s the perfect time to buy
some presents and meet up with friends over a hot chocolate and mince
pie.
If you run a small craft or gift business and you would like to have a stall at the Christmas Fayre, please email ksmvillagehallsecretary@gmail.com. Tables cost £10.
The
committee would be grateful to receive any unwanted presents or
donations for the tombola stall. Please drop them off at Joan Gilbert’s
house – 26 The Ridings. Thank you!
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Community Defibrillators
Our community defbrillators (one at the school and one at the Jolly Huntsman) are 14 years old and are now classed as obsolete, and the one at the pub is currently out of commission. The parish council has agreed to replace them both and the new defbrillators are being ordered; these will have now be suitable for both adults and children. We will update you once the new defibrillators are in situ.
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Wiltshire Bobby Van Fundraiser
Gifts galore at fundraising sale for Wiltshire Bobby Van - THE popular Devizes Autumn Fair, which has been running for more than 20 years, will once again be featuring unique gifts, clothes and crafts to raise funds for the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust at The Corn Exchange in Devizes from 10am to 4.30pm on October 3rd.
The fair will feature dozens of stalls from craftsmen and women and producers from across the South West. There will also be refreshments available at the event’s pop-up café.
Tickets are £5 per person but anyone booking online in advance can get two for the price of one. Tickets are available at www.devizesautumnfair.org.uk/
The charity operates two vans, both staffed by former police officers, which visit homes across Wiltshire and Swindon to offer free practical home security measures, fire safety assessments and online safety guidance for people over 60 or over 18 with a registered disability.
It works in partnership with Wiltshire Police and other organisations including Victim Support, Age UK, housing associations and Wiltshire Council’s trading standards department to identify people who need help and reassurance.
Director Jennie Shaw said: “This will be a wonderful chance to get started on the Christmas shopping, with so many stalls featuring some unique hand-crafted gifts from local producers – and help us to continue keeping older and vulnerable people safe in their homes.”
For further details contact Gary Lawrence on 07866 422308 or gary@meadowcomms.co.uk
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Defibrillator at The Jolly Huntsman
Please note that the defibrillator at The Jolly Huntsman is currently out of commission; the one at the school remains available. The defibrillators are now over 14 years old and past their guarantee period, so the Parish Council has been asked to consider replacing the one at the pub when councillors meet next in September.
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Book Recycling Scheme
The
83rd donation of £50 from this scheme, goes to our community-owned village shop. The scheme is run from the shop foyer and books are only 50p
each. Village organisations that would like to be considered for a
donation should contact Linda Durno via kingtonstmichael@btinternet.com.
~*~*~*~News from St Michael & All Angels Church The church and church yard are open every day for you to enjoy.
Batteries, ink cartridges and medication packets (the foil & plastic part) can be left in the porch for recycling.
We are looking to do a census of the plants and wildlife in the churchyard with the aim of making it a richer and more diverse habitat. If you would like to help or have any knowledge of plants, birds, insects or small mammals we would love to hear from you. Please contact Alison on (01249) 750742 or 07748 759661.
The church is planning a day to celebrate the church’s part in village life and history, so if you have any memories or photographs which you would like to share, or have any ideas for the day, please do get in touch with Alison Greenhalgh - email alison.mulley@btinternet.com or Chris Laskey chris.laskey@outlook.com.
For details of more news, events and church services, please visit the Church's page.
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Wood Carving Group
Cilla Labouchere will be running another of her wood carving groups in the village
- if you are interested in joining, please give her a call on 01249 750222
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Village Shop Banana Competition
The competition to guess how many bananas were sold in March
was won by 8 year-old Xanthe, who was closest to the answer of 105.
She was delighted with her prize of a bunch of bananas and an Easter egg.
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Parish CouncilAt May's Annual Meeting Peter Macdonald was elected as
Chair and Alex Hall was elected as Vice-chair; Fiona Twisse was co-opted on to
the council, bringing it up to its full contingent of nine. New
Councillors, Ollie Mead and Tim Mead were welcomed on to the council and it's
believed that Ollie (who is in his twenties) is the youngest councillor we have
ever had.
Here's a full list of our Parish Councillors:
- Peter Macdonald (Chair)
- Alex Hall (Vice-chair)
- Gerry Gamble
- Ollie Mead
- Tim Mead
- John Newton
- Will Roe
- Fiona Twisse
- Steven Woodhead
If you have something that you wish to bring to the Parish Council’s attention, please contact the Clerk, Viv Vines, on 01249 657695 / 07785 717665, ksmparishclerk@gmail.com.
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Accessibility Along Pavements
A repeat of a previous request, to help our disabled and visally impaired residents (and those with children in buggies):
~ Please do not block lowered pavements with parked cars.
~ Please do not park on pavements, partially or otherwise.
~ Please don't block the pavement with wheelie bins or black boxes.
~
If
your property is next to the pavement or footpath, please trim back any
overhanging branches, shrubs, etc. Of a dark evening, and with the new
lower lighting, it's no fun walking into prickly or wet overgrowth!
Please trim
back lower shrubs too, as these affect children. Thank you.
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Progressive Supper Results
The recent progressive supper, held in the village in aid of the restoration of the church’s Saxon porch, raised an amazing £2,923.81.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported this wonderful event. Special thanks to the organisers, all the starter and main course hosts, everyone who kindly donated desserts and auction prizes, KSM club, Kington St Michael village Shop for selling tickets, and Gavin Aplin, as our wonderful auctioneer.
This event has been a village tradition for decades and it is heartening to see what a wonderful community event this continues to be.
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Community Pub Project's January Update
Many thanks to everyone who bought our Christmas cards, tankards and mugs
and to those who visited us at the village Christmas Fayre and bought from our
stall – our Christmas cards quickly sold out.
Our tankards (£25) and mugs (£10) continue to sell well and will make
great gifts, with Father's Day soon upon us. To get
yours please contact Alex Hall on 01249 750602, alex.hall@kington-st-michael.com,
or Linda Durno on 01249 750514, kingtonstmichael@btinternet.com.
Unfortunately, just before Christmas, we received the
news that the Community Ownership Fund had closed and that there will be no
further application windows on the COF programme. The current government “…took
this difficult decision due to the challenging inheritance left by the previous
government”. Whilst the Community
Ownership Fund has closed, the government states that it “…remains committed to
the communities’ sector and community empowerment. The government will deliver on its manifesto
commitment to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right
to Buy’ Assets of Community Value, creating a more robust pathway to community
asset ownership”.
We had hoped to have been successful with an application to COF, which would
have provided a large grant, and so this is a blow to our fundraising. However we are fortunate to have your pledges
of shares and are seeking further advice on future grants.
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Dog Fouling and Dog Walking
Recently there have been multiple incidents of dog fouling on pavements throughout the village, especially regularly along the main street towards the café. Wherever you are walking your dog in the village - street, public footpath, QE2 Field, Nymph Hay Wood or the surrounding fields - picking up after your dog still applies! If anyone sees an owner letting their dog foul in a public place please report it to Wiltshire Council, either by 'phoning 01249 706111 and asking for the Dog Warden, or email publicprotectionnorth@wiltshire.gov.uk or via an on-line form on Wiltshire Council's website. Photographic evidence of the owner neglecting to pick up is always a help. Your personal details will be treated in strict confidence and you will be informed of the outcome of the complaint. Please note that complaints regarding aggressive dogs should be made to the police.
Now that it is lambing season, please keep your dogs on leads when walking in fields with sheep in, as well as when walking on the footpath that leads through the farmyard, as there are sheep and lambs about.
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Environment Agency Flood Recovery Guide
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Poppy Appeal 2024
This year's Poppy appeal in the village raised £258.75.
Joan Gilbert, who co-ordinates the collection, would like to thank all who donated.
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"The Kingtons" Book - Available Now!
Get your copy of "The Kingtons" now - available from the village shop or Kington Café at only £14.95. Commissioned by the parish council, this book gives an interesting history of the ancient parish of Kington St Michael with Kington Langley,
written by Louise Ryland-Epton.