Tower & TapTower & TapTower & TapTower & Tap

February 2010February 2010February 2010February 2010

In this Issue:

Church News ............................... 4 - 5 100 Club winners ..........................8

Church Services Schedule................. 5 Friendly Club................................. 9

Church Office ................................... 6 Police Surgery ............................. 11

Parish Council ................................. 7 Youth Club................................... 14

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MonMonMonMon TueTueTueTue WedWedWedWed ThuThuThuThu FriFriFriFri SatSatSatSat SunSunSunSun

1 2 South Marston All Sorts SM School 1.30-2.45

3 Tots ‘n’ Toddlers 9-11am Village Hall

4 Craft Company 7.30 pm Mary Cooper’s house.

5 Mixed Plastics

Wheelie Bins

Green Waste

6 7

8 Youth Club 10-13 Yrs Village Hall

9 South Marston All Sorts SM School 1.30-2.45 Friendly Club 2 pm Village Hall

10 Tots ‘n’ Toddlers 9-11am Village Hall Craft Company 2 pm Mary Cooper’s house

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12 Youth Club 6-9 Yrs Village Hall

13 The Meeting Point 9.30-12 Village Hall Saturday Scene Village Hall 4.00 pm

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15 16 Parish Council 7.30 pm Village Hall

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18 19 Mixed Plastics

Wheelie Bins

Green Waste

20 21

22 Youth Club 10-13 Yrs Village Hall

23 South Marston All Sorts SM School 1.30-2.45 Police Surgery Meadow Room SM Hotel 7 pm

24 Tots ‘n’ Toddlers 9-11am Village Hall

25 SMRA 8 pm Village Hall

26 Youth Club 6-9 Yrs Village Hall

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February 2010

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Dear Friends This is my last letter as Team Rector for, as you probably know, I am retiring on 14th February. Over the last four years or so it has been a privilege to be with you and contribute to the life of our Team Ministry. Each of our churches—St Margaret's, Stratton, St Mary Magdalene, South Marston, St Leonard, Stanton Fitzwarren and our congregation which meets at Coleview Community Centre each Sunday, have their own identities in the communities where they are. One size doesn't fit all and it has been good to have been part of different approaches and alternative ways of local church life. However, what we seek to do is never finished, or even tidy – the ministry of God is never ending. That applies too to our own journey of faith whether we are just tentatively beginning or have been on that journey for many years. But what differentiates both our church life and our individual faith is that we give testimony to the language of hope. This is different from false optimism or despair. We do not have any way of predicting the outcome of our life’s journeys, or know sure what lies ahead. But what we can know as Christians is that by our faith we can put our lives and our future, with confidence, into God’s hands. Our Christian faith in God and his promises necessarily retains the character of a venture, of a risk undertaken in obedience to a command: not a leap into the dark, but a pilgrimage of faith. It is my prayer as I leave that you will all know that hope of God in your lives, not just for today but for all your tomorrows too. God bless you and thank you for your support and encouragement in so many ways to both Beryl and myself. Rev Victor Howlett Team Rector

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Church News The Christmas Gift

At Christmas we gave everyone in the village an opportunity to

give a gift to the church for Christmas. I would like to thank you

for your generosity the appeal raised £665 some of which was

‘gift aided’ and will eventually yield more from the taxman.

Vicky Fleming

The next High Five High Five High Five High Five service for children up to 5 years will be on 5th February at 10am

‘Craft Company’

It is so good to get together with others of like mind and share

ideas, inspire and encourage each other and enjoy a natter

while doing our crafts. Please come and join us on Thursday

4th February 7.30—9.30pm and Wednesday 10th

February 2–4pm at Mary Coopers house. More details from Mary

Cooper or Vicky Fleming.

Team Lent Studies 2010 Recovering the heart of our faith is the theme for our Lent studies this

year. Please consider setting aside time to explore again the wonderful

message of Jesus: the gospel of grace, hope and salvation using the story

of the prodigal son.

An introduction: Ash Wednesday Service on 17th

February at 7.30pm South Marston Church — all the study

evenings will be held at St. Margaret’s Centre starting at

7.30pm

22nd February The younger son; 1st March The elder son;

8th March Both wrong; both loved; 15th March The true elder

Office Hour It can be so frustrating trying to get hold of vicars!

So….if you need to get in touch with Rev. Vicky

Fleming, telephone 01793 827021 or call at the

Vicarage, South Marston, between 6 and 7pm every

evening except Thursdays and Sundays.

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Saturday Scene Saturday Scene Saturday Scene Saturday Scene meets on the 13th in the Village meets on the 13th in the Village meets on the 13th in the Village meets on the 13th in the Village Hall 4Hall 4Hall 4Hall 4----5.15pm. 5.15pm. 5.15pm. 5.15pm. An exciting church event for young families. Stories, songs, crafts, games and food.

Contact Donald Page on 825693

The Meeting Point Coffee morning with table top sales

(Please book your table by 10th Feb: £5 for people who live in the village, £10 for those outside and free to village organisations )

13th February from 9.30 –12 noon In the Village Hall

Refreshments provided by South Marston Church Those who come often remark about the enjoyment of sitting down with a neighbour they haven’t seen for a while with a cake in one

hand and a coffee in the other.

We look forward to seeing you

Church Services (all at South Marston Church unless otherwise stated)

7th February 11.00 am Family Service

14th February 8.00 am Holy Communion

11.00 am Holy Communion Team Service

(St Margaret’s Church)

21st February 9.30 am Morning Worship

28th February 8.00 am Holy Communion

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The Parish Church of South Marston is part of the Stratton St. Margaret

Team. The Church office is located at St. Margaret’s Church Centre,

Kenwin Close, Stratton St. Margaret.

Office hours are: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from

8.30 am – 12 pm, email stmargaretsoffice@tiscali.co.uk or tel 826505.

All enquiries for christenings and weddings should be made to the

Rev’d Vicky Fleming on 827021. Team Staff Members are:

Team Rector - to be appointed

Team Vicar - The Rev'd Vicky Fleming - 827021

Hon Curate - The Rev'd Phil Ashby - 759008

Lay Minister - Dan Read - 763016

Lay Minister - Christine Burston 822403

Lay Minister - Rob Stewart - 766713

Church Office

Wanted: Volunteers for our Wildlife Site The Parish Council want to set up a community group

to plan and undertake the work to create a wildlife area

on the land recently leased from SBC on the Highworth

Road, just after the footpath into Greenfields and

adjacent to 31 Highworth Road.

The group will be initially guided and

supervised by an officer from Wiltshire

Wildlife Trust. The initial task will be to clear the site,

coppice hazels and prune and lay the hedge adjacent to

the road. The planned start on Saturday 30th January

should have already made some improvement to the site.

Working in this group would be an ideal Community/Voluntary service

project for anyone participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

scheme.

If you are interested in joining in on this new project contact:

Neil Burchell 827009 or Brian McGlone 826243

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South Marston Parish Council News

Parish Council Vacancy

Ms Margaret Presse has recently resigned from the Parish Council for work and family reasons. Margaret has been a co-opted Councillor since June 2007 and her contributions to the work of the Parish Council has

been much appreciated. The resulting vacancy is currently being

advertised; so if you feel that you would be interested in joining the Parish Council, please contact either the Chairman , Colin McEwen

(825312) or the Clerk, Roger Powell (827515).

Village Expansion

A Workbook that covers a character review of the village and the constraints and opportunities for expansion, has been put on the village

website. This has been produced by NEW Masterplanning, the consultant

being used by the Parish Council to provide expertise in the production of a Supplementary Planning Document for the village.

The Workbook is well set out, easy to follow and contains many photos

of village features. The purpose of the workbook is to highlight the best characteristics of the village and to create a basis for generating ideas,

options for change and improving facilities for an expanded village under the EDA. Residents are urged to have a look at it and send in their

comments and ideas using the Blog.

Members of the Village Development Working Party will be running workshops with village interest groups and using the workbook to

stimulate discussion and generate views and ideas.

Wind Turbines

Following the successful wind measurement tests over the

last year or so, Honda has decided to submit a planning application for up to 3 wind turbines on its site. These will

provide the necessary electricity to cover the basic power load of the building services.

The contractor that Honda is using is Ecotricity and they

will be contacting certain householders in the village very soon to arrange for sound measurement tests to be carried

out. The results will form part of the supporting

documentation for the planning application.

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CHRISTMAS BAZAAR The South Marston Fete Committee would like to thank everyone

who came along to support the local community at the Christmas

Bazaar. It was so nice to see so many people coming out on such a

bitterly cold day to see Father Christmas and his jolly Reindeer.

Over fifty children

came to see and

speak with Father

Christmas in his

fireplace.

We would also like

to thank Father

Christmas and his

Re i ndeer fo r

taking the time to

visit us especially

at this busy time of year. Thanks also to Dale Wildern for gener-

ously donating the beautiful Christmas tree for outside the Village

Hall and thank you to Adam Rudnick, Rupert Burt and the Case

Brothers for erecting and decorating it so nicely.

100 CLUB WINNERS 100 CLUB WINNERS 100 CLUB WINNERS 100 CLUB WINNERS

November 2009November 2009November 2009November 2009 December 2009December 2009December 2009December 2009 £100 winner: 78 Bernice Proctor

£10 each: £10 each: 91 Mr M Taylor 45 M Law

09 Mrs M Taylor 12 R Bennet

113 Carol Bickell 90 Rachel Messenger 114 Rae Marie Bowdidge 39 Val Goodheart

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Recent Events Tuesday 8th December – Christmas Lunch, Carriers

Arms. Didier and his staff served us a tasty carvery lunch, thanks to all. After lunch we were entertained by

UKEBOXJURY in the Village Hall, which rounded off the day nicely.

Tuesday 15th December – School Concert. The children

of South Marston School entertained us. We had a good representation of FC members and all agreed how well the

children performed. We thank Alison and staff and especially the children for all their hard work in producing the concert.

Christmas Bazaar - the winning tickets for the lucky number board were

25, 2, 26, 56, 45, 76 and 46 the name of the doll bride was Cinderella.

Tuesday 12th January. Due to the snow we were down on numbers, however we commenced with a presentation by Ashley Heath, BBC

journalist, on the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival being held on

Thursday 11th Feb to Saturday 13th Feb at the Swindon Arts Centre. For information see www.swindonweb.com/hj10. This was followed by our

main activity, a talk by Sheila Parsons on “Spotting and Spinning” including tales of working behind the microphone in BBC studios

interviewing people and presenting programmes, plus a brief history of

the starting up of local radio stations.

Future Events Tuesday 9th February – Village Hall at 2.00 pm. A talk will be

given by Lorraine Stanton of Vowley Farm on the subject of “From Boardroom to Barn”. The farm is run on organic methods.

Lorraine may bring some samples of products for us to try.

Tuesday 9th March – Village Hall at 2.00 pm - Ian Purvis will talk to us about conchology, the collecting of Sea Shells.

General Members have received the 2010 programme and trip list. Will members

please return their trip list marked with their selected choices ASAP. The programme and other information on club activities are available on the

village web site, click on Friendly Club on the menu list.

Friendly Club

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Meet at

Saplings Children’s Centre

Tuesdays

9.30am-10.30am

Visit local parks, explore Stratton on

foot, make new friends and walk your

way to good health.

Toddlers should be in buggies.

Pregnant mums welcome!

If rain stops play then enjoy story

and rhyme time.

For more information

call 829996

Saplings Children’s Centre, Delamere Drive, Stratton St Margaret

Looking for a Venue?

For a one-off (parties, meetings,

get-togethers) or a regular slot, from Aerobics to Zen yoga,

South Marston Village Hall

is available at very competitive rates.

Please contact

Julie Hatherall

on 07857 310624 for further information.

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Tower & Tap Submissions

Please email items for Tower & Tap to kaylong@btinternet.com or

drop any article in to The Maples, South Marston (next to the

Vicarage). The deadline for March 2010 issue is 15 February 2010.

POLICE SURGERIES

The local Police are holding a surgery on

Tuesday 23rd February at 7 pm.

in the Meadow Room of the South Marston Hotel

If there is anything you would like to discuss with them then please

drop in. If you have any problems in your area or there is a forthcoming

priority you would like to talk about then please come along.

The police surgeries are run by our local Neighbourhood Policing Team

(NPT). South Marston comes under Swindon Rural North where PC Craig

Rathbone is the Community Beat Manager and Robert Dentry is the Police

Community Support Officer.

The Wiltshire Police website www.wiltshire.police.uk contains more

information on the NPT and explains how you can contact them; the

website is full of interesting and useful information including where the

helicopter has been and also the level of local crime - it is well worth a

look.

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, AND TO

HAVE YOUR SAY, ABOUT THE

OPPOSITION TO THE

EDA DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL

GO TO

www.eastswindonsaysno2eda.co.uk

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Valentines Day

Saturday 13th February 2010 & Sunday 14th February 2010

Enjoy a romantic 4 course meal & a gift for the lady

£27.50 per person

Mother’s Day Lunch

Mothering Sunday

Sunday 21st March 2010

3 course luncheon menu

including a gift for mum

£18.95 per Adult

£7.95 per Child under 14

Under 3’s FREE

For more information on these events or to make a reservation

please contact a member of the team on (01793) 833700

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TOTS ‘n’ TODDLERS

We are a Parent & Toddler group that meets up for

a play session, craft table, coffee and chat.

WEDNESDAY MORNINGS (term time only)

9.00am – 11.OOam

0 – 4 years

South Marston Village Hall

For further details feel free to call in

and see us at the group or contact us:

Rachel Case on 01793 703550 or Mary Case on 01793 826038

or email: totsntoddlers@sky.com

at South Marston Primary School

Children 0 to under 5yrs

Expectant mums welcome

Tuesdays 1.30 pm – 2.45 pm (Term Time Only)

50p charge per family

Telephone Saplings Children’s Centre on 829996

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South Marston Youth Club

DAY DATE AGES VENUE

Monday 08 February 10-13 years Village Hall

Friday 12 February 6 – 9 years Village Hall

Monday 22 February 10-13 years Village Hall

Friday 26 February 6 – 9 years Village Hall

For more details please contact Julie or Steve Hatherall

e-mail: hatherall24@yahoo.co.uk tel: 07923 441 296

February dates are shown below:

Check the new South Marston Calendar

at http://southmarston.org.uk to confirm the start/end times.

A S W Garden Company

Complete Gardening Care

• Lawn Mowing • Planting & Soft Landscaping

• Regular Maintenance • Hedge Cutting

• Pruning • Autumn/Winter tidy ups

Call - 01793 822122 or 07801 490489

or email aswgardening@hotmail.co.uk

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Useful Contacts South Marston www.southmarston.co.uk

Parish Council Chair Colin McEwen T 825312

Parish Council Vice Chair Sheila Anderson-Witty T 825058

Clerk to the Parish Council Roger Powell T 827515

Parish Council Project Co-ord’r TBA

SMRA Chair Mary Case (temp) T 826038

SMRA Secretary Julie Hatherall T 826028

Village Hall Bookings Julie Hatherall T 07857 310 624

Football Field Bookings Chris Maull T 824505

Tots and Toddlers Rachel Case T 703550

Youth Club Julie & Steve T 07923 441296

Gardening Club Mike New T 827807

Friendly Club Brian McGlone T 826243

History Society Darren Cook T 832999

Afternoon Home Group Shirley Wildern T 826160

Marston Minstrels Maureen Withers T 825660

SM Football Club Nigel Franklin T 766590

Spitfires Football Club Bev Maull T 824505

South Marston School Alison Lowe T 823379

Pre–School Pre-School Staff T 07847 590601

Swindon Borough Councillor Doreen Dart T 762033

Member of Parliament Anne Snelgrove T 615444

Team Rector to be appointed

Team Vicar Vicky Fleming T 827021

Church Wardens Richard Sansum T 831473

Donald Page T 825693

Useful Contacts Stanton Fitzwarren Some useful contact numbers for Stanton Fitzwarren are shown below,

which our readers may find useful:

Clerk to the Parish Council Zena May T 702869

WI President Margaret Parker T 762065

Village Hall Bookings Alison Charnock T 762093

St Leonards Church Wardens Liz Hillman T 762935

Sue Mackenzie T 765538