BROAD TOWN NEWS – SEPTEMBER 2025
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
SEPTEMBER COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNINGS
Broad Town Community Coffee Mornings are looking forward to welcoming you all back to the Village Hall after our summer break, on Wednesday September 10th from 10am – 12 noon. Our delicious hot drinks, sausage rolls and homemade cakes will all be available, so come along for a chat and to meet up with friends old and new.
During our second September coffee morning on Wednesday September 24th, we will be raising money for Macmillan by taking part in their annual ‘Big Coffee Morning’. Please come along from 10am – 12 noon to enjoy our usual delicious refreshments and there will also be a raffle, so please help us to raise as much money as we can for this very worthwhile cause.
Coffee mornings take place on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday mornings of every month (except August) from 10 – 12 noon in the Village Hall. Everyone from the village and surrounding areas is very welcome to come along to meet others, to chat and to enjoy delicious homemade cakes, sausage rolls, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. We look forward to seeing you!
PARISH COUNCIL
Keep up to date at https://www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk Farmers are allowed to start cutting hedges from 1st September onwards (provided there are no nesting birds) so there is no reason not to join them. Do you have an unruly hedge overhanging a road or pavement and need some help? Contact the Parish Clerk to seek assistance and guidance BTPCCLERK@outlook.com Let’s cut hedges back to the boundary rather than encroach on roads and pavements!
The roadside drains along the main road and up Broad Town hill have all been visited by the ‘Gully Sucker’ tanker which has unblocked them in time for autumnal and winter rainfall. Residents can report blocked gullies by using the MyWilts app (on a phone) or else at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts-online-reporting.
The next Parish Council meeting will be at 6.30pm in the Village Hall on 8th September. All are welcome and the agenda will be posted on our website and on the notice boards in due course.
BROAD TOWN WHITE HORSE
Thank you to everyone who attended the Broad Town White Horse talk on Wednesday 30 July. The hall has rarely been seen so full and those attending were treated to a series of fascinating talks about chalk figures and in particular the Broad Town horse. The evening was introduced by Jemima Sellwood representing the North Wessex Down National Landscape, a major sponsor of the ongoing survey project. Second up was Dr Mike Allan who spoke on chalk figures, focussing on the Cerne Abbas Giant. Mike was followed by Garry Gibbons who gave an overview of the Wiltshire White Horses. After a break for refreshments the evening continued with Andrew Law talking about the history of the Broad Town White Horse whilst Derek Greer concluded the evening with an explanation of the project that has been initiated to survey the White Horse to archaeological standards as a record for future generations. The topics clearly stimulated a lot of interest from the audience judging by the questions raised and the post-presentation conversations.
The topographic survey has now been concluded and we are in possession of a draft report from our archaeologist surveyor. The second part of the project to assess land slip risk and hill figure condition is underway and a day was spent auguring the Horse on Thursday 21 August. Time precluded completion of the task and so it is planned to have a second work day on a weekend for which volunteers will be needed. Please look out for further information. As we move into autumn, we are embarking on the third part of the project which includes a historic review of the White Horse including the collection of oral testimony. Project staff will be inviting members of the community to record their memories of the Horse and their involvement in its maintenance. We look forward to interviewing some of the Broad Town News readership.
‘MADE IN BROAD TOWN’ CRAFTS & HOBBIES GROUP
Our school holiday sessions on August 6th and 20th proved to be very popular with the Village Hall being a hive of creative activity on both days. It was lovely to see so many of the village children and their parents and carers coming along to our sessions, and a wide variety of works of art were produced from potato printed wrapping paper, owls and marbled paper to under the sea collages, bracelets and dream catchers – see photos below.
Our September sessions will be on Wednesdays September 3rd and 17th. On September 3rd we will be making keyrings and on September 17th we will be creating gift boxes and bags.
Other dates to make a note of: Wednesday October 15th (morning) – watercolour session with artist Maggie (booking required) Thursday October 30th (evening) – a much-requested evening meeting during which Terri will be running another of her very popular glass painting sessions, no prior experience needed Wednesday November 5th (morning) – a visit to Great Cotmarsh Farm Summer Holiday Activities: Everyone is welcome to come along to our sessions for refreshments and a chat, you don’t need to have any crafting skills. We’re very friendly, and if you do feel creative there are always activities available for you to try. We ask for a £2 voluntary donation please, to help cover hall hire and refreshment costs. If you have any questions, please email us, we would love to hear from you.
Email Linda or Helen: madeinbroadtown@gmail.com
SOCIAL CLUB
The social club is open every Friday from 8:00pm and members and their guests are all welcome. If you are not a member you can join for £3 for the year - just ask Trevor behind the bar. Draught beers and lagers are for sale
Halloween Evening The social club is hosting a family Halloween evening on Friday 31st October with prizes awarded for best dressed boy and girl, and for best carved pumpkin. This coincides with Food 4 Thought so any tired Trick or Treaters will be welcome to partake in some refreshment and possibly win a prize! We are looking for raffle prize donations – please contact Trevor or Tina Hillier or pop into the club on a Friday night. at just £3 a pint and there is a free pool table, so why not pop in and check us out.
Food for Thought Evenings Food for Thought will be selling their delicious Fish and Chips (and burgers, sausages, scampi etc) outside the Village Hall from 5 – 8pm on the last Friday in the month:
29th August
26th September
31st October (Halloween themed special) On these Fridays the Social Club opens at 5pm through to 11pm for you to enjoy your takeaway in the Village Hall with a drink or two. Feel free to bring your own cutlery and crockery if you wish but please take it home with you afterwards to wash up! Menu on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FoodForThoughtSwindon. For vegan, GF and other dietary requirements please contact them directly to discuss. They have limited space to carry stock but will gladly try to meet all requests. If you would like to pre-order or have any queries, they can be contacted via text, WhatsApp or Messenger on 07515 288414.
THOMAS SPACKMAN EDUCATIONAL TRUST GRANT
Are you, or do you know, a young person living in the Clyffe Pypard or Broad Town area who would benefit from a grant from The Thomas Spackman Educational Trust? The Charity’s main focus is education or work-related training and apprenticeships but The Charity may also be able to help a promising individual develop a particular talent; perhaps help fund tuition in a musical instrument or develop a sporting skill. Applying is very easy. If you wish to find out more about the application process, please contact Rosemary Greenway: rosygreenway@gmail.com. All formal applications need to be in by 31st March for the spring round and 30th September for the autumn round of awards.
SEPTEMBER MESSAGE FROM COMMS
September is always a month of endings, as well as new beginnings. As the bright colours of summer fade into the oranges and browns of autumn, shiny new school shoes make an appearance, along with fresh notebooks as we head back to our desks after a break over August. We start again, carrying with us the feeling of a new year beginning. September then is always a month of change, and because of this it can be unsettling. We reflect on or maybe grieve for that which is drawing to a close and can feel a mixture of anticipation about what is new or next. It is likely that we feel this even more acutely this September, living in a world which feels increasingly insecure from the perspective of fast-changing global politics and conflicts around the world that show no sign of abating. All is changing; all feels very fragile and deeply uncertain. One of this country’s much-loved hymns is ‘Abide with Me’, famous for being sung at every FA Cup Final since 1927. The words are based on Luke 24: 29 and were written by the Reverend Henry Francis Lyte, with one of the stories about this suggesting that he wrote them in September 1847 – just after he had conducted his final church service and when very ill with tuberculosis. He died two months later. Putting aside questions of when Lyte wrote these words, the fact remains that they capture the constancy of God’s presence and love, even as the seasons change, our lives change, our world changes, in life and in death: Change and decay in all around I see, O Thou who changest not, abide with me. This then is a beautiful reminder that even though we, and indeed our world, pass through times of change and can feel unsettled as a result, God goes with us. God in Christ abides with us, his presence and love unchanging in our ever-changing world: “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. (Luke 24: 29)
WILTSHIRE PCC LINKS
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/wiltshire-police sees-higher-public-confidence-than-national-average-as-efforts-to build-trust-continue
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/tackling-hare coursing-head-on-a-whole-force-response https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/pcc-highlights-the-vital-role-of-cctv-in keeping-communities-safe-this-summer
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/increase-in-reports-of-stalking-and-sexual offences-in-wiltshire-reflects-changes-in-crime-classification-and-public-confidence
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/residents-voice-their-concerns-around-drug crime-as-figures-show-local-and-regional-increase-in-reporting
BROAD TOWN CHURCH
Many thanks to the churchyard work party for such a tidy churchyard and especially for the roadside hedge which sets off the approach to the church so beautifully. We really appreciate your hard work.
The services for September are
14th September 10:30am Morning Prayer
28th September 11am (note change of time) Harvest Service followed by Harvest Brunch (tea coffee WINE and tasty nibbles/sandwiches/Cake)
All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you. Donation to the Food Collective would be appreciated.
PLEASE NOTE e-mail any queries or articles for publication to broadtownnews@gmail.com by the 22nd of the month except December.