WELLOW CHURCH AND PARISH NEWS

June 2004

Churchwardens: Mrs. J. H. Mannings, Mr. J. R. Wyld

The treasure that is St Julian's

Our parish registers date from 1561, they are a treasure house for genealogists whose ancestors were baptised, married or buried in St Julian's. With the growth in family history searches those members of Wellow's 'worldwide family' in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK increasingly contact Wellow for details; many of the forebears were economic migrants when times were hard. Joyce, in her capacity of Churchwarden, has passed on several contacts including those from the Hooper family. (Edmund Peter Hooper has his initials on the Granary).

'From the past' has mentioned the Rev Charles Paul several times, as a benevolent Chairman and founder member of the Odd Down Workhouse, (St Martin's Hospital); and as a major contributor to the 1845 renovation and rescue of St Julian's from years of neglect. Before, and during the early years of his incumbency, the majority of brides and grooms signed those marriage registers with a cross, neither could write their name; some crosses are rather shakily drawn. The Rev Charles Paul also oversaw the raising of the charitable funding for St Julian's National School, on land given to the church by the Lord of the Manor. Within a very short time the illiteracy faded from the records.

Recently, Dennis Chedgy's anecdote of the 'close' farmer bartering manure for the vicarage roses in lieu of the same said parson's fees for a marriage gives another insight to the vicar's character. A few weeks ago, by one of those strange coincidences, the Great, Great, Great-grandson of Charles stayed at the Hollies in Wellow; we had a very amicable exchange of information, in addition Wellow gained a likeness of Charles, and the above picture of the St Julian's church that Charles knew and cared for was taken back to Ottawa. We also learned that Charles Kegan Paul the eldest son, a boy at the vicarage in the 1840's eventually founded the UK publishing firm which bears his name to the present day. From there it was a relatively easy task to find his obituary and learn more of his life.

St Julian's Church is at the heart of so much of the rich heritage of the village that we enjoy today, we have some small responsibility to care and pass the enjoyment to the future.

Gordon Hewlett

For details of Church Services in Wellow CLICK HERE

For details of Church Services in Peasedown St. John CLICK HERE

CHURCH NEWS WOW! St Julian's will not have seen anything like this in its history flashing lights, vibrating figures, and forte music. What are we thinking about? THE FASHION SHOW held on 15th May. A packed church saw fashions from T-Shirts to elegant wear and exquisite hats all worn by teenage girls and boys and lady and men models most of them living in Wellow who did a fantastic job showing off their outfits in a very professional manner. The show finished with some beautiful wedding dresses. A high-class raffle with prizes donated by business people was held and the evening finished with music by Chris Pritchett and Minerva. There are too many people to thank individually but special thanks must go to Sarah and Gordon Lewis, Rhian and Darren Gordon for all the organisation of the show and to Chris Hurdle and DPL lighting and Serious Stages Ltd for the lights, sound and staging. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way and to those of you who came to support the evening. Funds raised will be shared by the Village Hall and the Church, we will let you know how much money was raised in the next newsletter.

Now there is more entertainment to come on Friday, 25th at 7.30 pm in St Julian's Church: we are holding a concert by The Cameo Orchestra, which consists of 35 musicians. Their music is light classical songs from the shows, big band style swing, finishing with a last night of the Proms theme when the audience are welcome to join in a flag waving finale. They will decide on the programme that they will perform. A finger buffet with a drink will be served during the interval. Tickets will available at the Parlour Shop 835438 and the Fox and Badger 832243. Tickets price £8.00 will include finger buffet and a drink. Please purchase in advance, as numbers are limited. The event is being sponsored by Exclusive Kitchens whose director Alan Kingston lives in Wellow, our grateful thanks to Alan for his sponsorship. St Julian's will benefit from the profits.

Services continue as normal during the interregnum with priests within our group and retired priests taking the services. On 9th May Cdr Charles Kerr took the service and did an excellent job. Thank you Charles from all of us at St Julian's. Churchwardens

THE QUIET GARDEN AT ST JULIAN'S WELL (affiliated to the Quiet Garden Trust) will be open again this year for the first Thursday every month from 3rd June until 2nd September from 10.30 am - 3.30 pm. We welcome anyone whatever faith or no faith at all who would like a time of peace and reflection. Come for all or part of the day. The days will be led by people from various denominations focussing of different aspects of spirituality and meditation. For more details: leaflets in the Church and on the Wellow website or ring 833506

Colin Tremellen

WELLOW PARISH COUNCIL During the Annual Meeting, the Chairman gave his yearly report for the new council stating that it has been an eventful year with major issues, and highlighted the following points:

· There have been 27 Planning Applications, the most contentious of which has been the time extension to the Landfill site and the Recycling facility at Willow Farm. The council objected to both of these. The objection to the landfill extension was unsuccessful but the council was successful in its opposition to the proposed Recycling operation, which was subsequently appealed by the applicant and has now been refused.

· Final proposals were received for the Parish Sweeper scheme and after many discussions with various bodies have now been accepted. Had it not been for the promise of assistance from Anneleise Smith on Health & Safety matters and Shirley Hurdle on employment matters we would not have been able to enter into the new agreement. The Council is making up the shortfall between the figure B&NES are prepared to pay and the figure we have paid Stewart historically. We are therefore able to keep our much valued parish sweeper, Stewart Cole.

· The Council registered its interest in the Parish Plan on 2002 and after a public meeting, formulated a working party to seek the necessary finance. The necessary funding has now been promised by the Countryside Agency and congratulations were expressed to the people involved in the construction of the plan.

· The 20mph speed limit has been achieved during the year and thanks were expressed to Mark Watson for his tireless chasing of the responsible people at B&NES.;

· Mark has also achieved the Alma Cottages pavement, which gives a safer route for residents

· The Council has agreed with B&NES to enter into a trial of Quiet Lanes and Norton Lane has been designated as such.

· The Council continues to seek solution to the car park, the ownership of Henley View Gardens and Hinton Hill.

· Richard Holland, the council's internal auditor was thanked for his assistance with the accounts and for drawing our attention to the European Working Time Directive. Back holiday pay was therefore awarded to S. Cole, C Kyte and J Morphew. The village shop received £600 and the Village Hall £1650 and the Burial Board £700.

· The precept for the year was £8543 and this year the Chairman was pleased to announce a small decrease in budget to £8504. · The Chairman expressed his thanks to all councillors who have contributed freely and to Gitte Dawson for her valuable help.

· Cllr Humphreys expressed thanks and appreciation to the Chairman for a 'Job well done' over the past year.

A few of the items discussed at the General Meeting were:

The demolition of the Implement Shed at Weavers Farm had caused great consternation amongst the village residents. It was explained that demolition of a building in a conservation area without permission is a criminal offence. Mrs Horler explained that during building works the walls of the shed had become unsafe and for safety reasons the shed had been demolished. It is the intention of Mr & Mrs Horler to apply for planning permission to rebuild the shed.

The 757 Bus Service is to be improved. The current 40-minute journey time to Bath is to be cut to 30 minutes by eliminating the trip into Southstoke village. The new service will commence on 7th June and the new timetable will be published soon.

The Council would like to request that residents of the village adhere to the 20mph speed limit to set a good example to visiting traffic.

Cllr Humphreys expressed his appreciation to all those involved in the Fashion Show held last weekend. This was a sparkling event attended by well over 200 people and we now know that many people in the village have hidden talents!

Sheilagh Humphreys Clerk

LUNCH CLUB The next lunch on Thursday, 24th June will be our last one until September. Do hope as many people as possible can make it, as numbers have been quite low recently. Hope to see you at 1pm in the Village Hall.

Janet Earp and Marian Osborne 832561

WINNERS OF THE WELLOW VILLAGE HALL 150 CLUB PRIZE DRAW FOR 2004

1st £30.00 Mr. W. Halewood No 20

2nd £11.00 Mr. W. Bartlett No 111

3rd £7.00 Mrs. B. Doman No 134

4th £5.00 Mr. W. New No 75

Thank you for your support

B Messer Chairman

FASHION SHOW On behalf of the Wellow Village Hall Committee - A Big THANK YOU to Sarah Lewis and all her friends and helpers in providing Wellow with such a memorable occasion on such a lovely evening, in such beautiful surroundings. The fashion show was an outstanding success and one to be savored. Thanks also to Gordon Lewis and his team of Gophers! And to everyone who came along and supported. WELL DONE - look forward to the next one!

Shirley Betts (Wellow Hall Committee)

HALL BOOKINGS From 10th to 23rd June please ring 01225 - 837749 with any queries about Hall bookings. At all other times please ring 01225 - 832561.

Marian Osborne

DOROTHY HOUSE RECIPE BOOK "A Passion For Food" is available at the Parlour Shop for only £5.00, excellent recipes, would make a lovely present.

FREE SOLID FUEL - we are trying to empty a coalbunker as we have gone from solid fuel to oil with our Rayburn. Would anyone like some fuel, we have some bags but do bring your own.

Telephone Charles and Libby Kerr on 833589

WELLOW & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Thursday 3rd June - The visit to Hestercombe, REMINDER - Please meet in the Square at 8.45 am. The coach will depart at 9 am. Please be punctual.

Friday 2nd July - The Annual Garden Party. This will be in the delightful garden of Margaret and Les Leyzell. It will start at 6.30 pm and a drink and finger buffet will be available. It is free to members of the Hort. Soc. We welcome non-members at £3.00 per head. A big thank you to Margaret and Les and may the sun shine.

WELLOW FLOWER SHOW Only three months to go before the WELLOW Flower Show on Saturday, 4th September. A full programme of events has been lined up for you. Plenty to see and take part in, BUT are you sowing and growing for the Flower Show Marquee? Will you have the largest marrow, the tallest sunflower, longest runner bean or the brownest egg? Can you make jam, bake a cake or produce home made wine or cider? Lots of classes for you to enter. GO ON HAVE A GO! Your entries will make a difference. The schedules will be out at the end of June.

Help, of course, is always needed - IF YOU CAN then contact Liza Layzell-Davis 309007, Jenny Barr 835410 or Shirley Betts 833683

JUNIOR GARDENING CLUB The next club meeting is on Sunday, 20th June 10.30 am - 12 noon at the Village Hall. Do ring Liza Layzell-Davis - 01225 309007 for details OR if you can help too. She would love to hear from you.

Libby Kerr

LONDON MARATHON For those who we've not been able to catch up with us, Steve and I successfully completed the London Marathon in aid of Barnardos not without suffering cramp, blisters and exhaustion! Many thanks to Sue and Eric for the charity pub quiz night and for all those who supported and made donations, we hope our final total will be close to £1500! For those who did sponsor us we would be grateful if you could pop your money to us at Teazel Cottage (opposite the school) when convenient. Many thanks again, its much appreciated.

Siobhan and Steve Tel 837206

MIDSUMMER 'TAKE AWAY' QUIZ judging by the excellent support of the Horticultural Society's quiz in the early spring and that of the Village Hall committee in the late autumn, both held annually, I am hopeful that I can help all you trivia seekers with your withdrawal symptoms during the summer months. I have prepared a collection of 100 questions, which will be available from the Parlour Shop or from me, from Monday, 7th June. Contestants will have until Monday, August 16th to hand in the answers at the shop or at Wendale. The questions will cover quite a wide range of subjects, some easy, some not so easy; reference books, websites and "phone-a-friend' may be necessary. One thing's for sure, there will be no 50/50! The purpose of this 2 1/2 months quiz is to raise money to assist in correcting the serious subsidence in one corner of the village hall. Therefore you will be asked for just £2.00 for each set of questions. The winner with the highest score will be notified by letter and awarded a cash prize, and the result will be announced in September's Church and Parish Magazine. Please, please support this competition. I don't have to tell you that the earlier after June 7th you purchase a questionnaire, the longer you will have to work on your answers. I thank you in anticipation, and wish you an enjoyable competition.

Alan Taylor 837894

OPERATION 'CLEAR-OUT' I will be shortly handing to Richard Holland, village hall treasurer, a cheque, being proceeds from the sale of items which villagers have given to me. To all of you who have donated, a very big thank you. If ever you have a clear-out of things which you know are too good for the refuse wagon, please give me a call. I can usually sell then, and will pass the cash to the village hall. As a guide to what can usually be converted to cash: bric-a-brac, household utensils, books, jewellery, clothing, audio tapes and small items of furniture e.g. coffee tables, stools, etc. Keep 'em coming!

Alan Taylor 837894

Wow!! A big thank you to all those who took part in the Fashion show on the 15th May at St Julian's Church, Lights Camera Action, PARIS, NEW YORK, MILAN AND WELLOW!!! An incredible night that brought the entire village together, the models were amazing and it was wonderful to see you all strut your stuff - you were all brilliant. A huge thank you to the committee: Chris Hurdle, Amanda Dennes, Rhian Gordon, Steph Wheeler, Megan Holland and Ann Lydia Halewood, you really made it happen, Wellow rocked!!!

We had so many behind the scenes supporters from the village whom we would like to thank, they were the backbone of the evening, Darren Gordon on the commentary, Chris Hurdle on Lighting, Staging and Sound, Rhian Gordon on Choreography and music, Margaret Layzell, Libby Kerr, Charles Kerr, Frances Whittington, Clare Hibbit, all on wardrobe, Penny Fahie on Make up, Jill and Colin Tremellen for the welcome punch, Magic Box for the bar, Flowers in the church by Joyce Mannings and Libby Kerr, Mowing of the churchyard by Charles Kerr, John Rose for the phantom noise, and for organising the fantastic band after the show, Shirley Betts, Ann Lydia Halewood, David Halewood, and Jackie Halle for running the Raffle, Gordon Lewis and all his helpers who put up Marquees, staging etc. Parlour shop for selling the tickets, Clare and Simon Veysey for letting us borrow their field, to the Hort. Soc. for letting us borrow the marquees, Richard and Karen Twose for displaying their Jewellery, Shirley Betts for helping with the Advertising in newspapers etc, and finally to Steph Wheeler who made everything possible. What a fantastic evening, and many thanks to everyone who came and supported it. If I have forgotten anyone please accept our apologies. This show could not of taken place without all the help and support of everyone, what a fantastic village we live in!!! and how lucky we are to have such a wonderful community.

We managed to raise approximately £1200, which will be shared between the Village Hall and St Julian's Church.

Sarah Lewis

PARISH NEWS Please may I have all copy for the Parish News by the 20th of next month. The print day is always a Friday following the 20th so sometimes there is a bit of flexibility, similarly the day the Newslsetter arrives on your doorstep varies. The Church office at St. Philips Church Odd Down prints it for us at a very reasonable cost. We then collate it and deliver it to our distributors throughout the village and to White Ox Mead and Twinhoe. We rely on our volunteers. Please email copy to Tim Bray at tcbray@globalnet.co.uk, or leave copy at the village shop.