BROAD TOWN NEWS FEBRUARY 2026
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
BROAD TOWN CHRIST CHURCH
Morning Worship: 8th February at 10.30am
Communion: 22nd February at 10.30am
A Thank You. It was good to be able to have trees decorated for Christmas in the churchyard and in the church. Thank you to those who kindly donated the trees, and to Andrew, Chris and David for helping to erect and decorate the churchyard tree. Thank you to Christine and Dave for helping to decorate the tree inside the church. All much appreciated by everyone.
Broad Town Christ Church 100 Club Lottery. Are your New Year’s resolutions now a thing of the past. Why not make a new one this month? Why not resolve to join the Broad Town 100 Club Lottery. It only costs £1 a week (£4 per month or £48 per year, payable by standing order or cheque). Half the money raised is given out in prizes and over the past year nearly £1,400 has been won by lucky lottery members. The other half of the money is used to help keep your church open including paying towards essential repairs. If you would like to join, please contact Fiona Holness on fholness@btinternet.com
BISHOP’S LETTER
It is rare to have the Feast of Candlemas, February 2nd, so close to the start of Lent, Ash Wednesday 18th February. With Easter very early this year, it means that there are only fifteen days between the end of the Christmas cycle and the start of the season of reflection, abstinence and study. Not much time to change gear! Or to use a liturgical description, only two Sundays of Ordinary Time. The name ‘ordinary Time’ comes not from the fact that some days are just plain ‘ordinary’ but that all time is ordered as part of the divine nature. Our telling and re-telling of the Christian Year is not merely a nostalgic rehearsal but the re-living of the truths that shape our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. Seeing life, and in particular living a Christian life as an expression of sharing in the divine nature is therefore anything but ordinary. If we believe that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, then how we live our lives can only ever be extraordinary, regardless of what happens to us. If God sees us and our ‘ordinary’ lives as a gift of himself, how are we to respond? I often wonder what God thinks of us when he sees what we do with this unbelievable gift. Psalm 139.13-14 The Christ-child was cared for by Mary and Joseph at his Presentation in the Temple (2nd Feb) cared for and carried. In Lent, we seek to care more for ourselves with a sacred sense of self-care. How different might this be if we see ourselves as uniquely held by God, whatever the world thinks of us, and, even as we try to better ourselves, see ourselves as a gift, created in the image of God. Yes, this means you. You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother's womb. I give thanks to you that I was marvellously set apart. Your works are wonderful-I know that very well.
+Stephen, Bishop of Salisbury
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNINGS
Our 2026 coffee mornings got off to a flying start with a very busy morning on January 14th. Despite the icy weather, the hall was buzzing with conversation whilst the selection of homemade cakes was both diverse and delicious! Our February coffee mornings will be on Wednesdays February 11th and 25th. Community Coffee Mornings take place in the village hall on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. We would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone in the village, and especially to those who haven’t been to a coffee morning before, to join us from 10 - 12 noon. Make new friends, have a chat and enjoy a range of delicious homemade cakes, sausage rolls, and hot drinks. We operate on a donation basis, there is no fixed price for anything, please just donate as much as you feel able to. We look forward to seeing you on February 11th.
PARISH COUNCIL
Budget & Precept for 2026/27. At the meeting of Broad Town Parish Council held on Monday 12th January 2026 councillors agreed the budget for the 2026-27 financial year. The approved budget results in a total precept of £11,187. The annual amount requested from a household in tax Band D in the village will increase by 3.47% to £40.18 (up from £38.84 last year). The Parish Council precept forms a small part of the overall annual Council tax requirement which will be communicated by Wiltshire Council direct to householders.
Grants available for Community Groups. Remember that grants are available for Community Groups to help with any funding needs – each application is assessed by an independent advisory group prior to being submitted to the Parish Council who administers the funding from the Bluefield solar farm (previously Good Energy). Details are available on the website www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk
We desperately need volunteers to sit on the Community Fund Advisory Group. The group reviews applications for grants from various Broad Town community groups and collectively decide to recommend granting the money or whether more details are required. This is usually performed remotely via email and tends to be every few months.
Next PC Meeting - Monday 9th February at 6.30pm in the village All are welcome and the agenda will be posted on our website and on the notice boards in due course
SOCIAL CLUB
The committee would like to thank all the people who helped make the Christmas Carol Singing and the New Year’s Eve party both very enjoyable and tremendous successes. I hope everyone who took part had fun and has now recovered! The social club is open every Friday from 8pm and members and their guests are all welcome. If you are not a member you can join for just £3.00 for the year - just ask Trevor behind the bar. Draught beers and lagers are for sale at just £3.50 a pint and there is a free pool table, so why not pop in and check us out.
Membership Renewal. Last few days remaining to take advantage of the discount when renewing your Social Club annual membership – a bargain at just £2 per person during January (£3 any other time). New members are always welcome. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FourWaysBroadTown
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:
30th January
27th February
MADE IN BROAD TOWN CRAFTS & HOBBIES GROUP
The new year kicked off with a busy session making notebooks from old Christmas cards and catching up with friends over tea, coffee and biscuits. Our February sessions will be on Wednesdays February 4th and 18th. On the 4th we will be making paper butterflies and hearts, and on the 18th, we will be making collages and beads from old magazines. Please bring along any old magazines you have for this session, and please also save old newspapers as we may need these later. Children are especially welcome on the 18th as it’s during half-term week. We will soon be putting plans into place for our May plant sale so please start gathering any seeds or flowerpots that might be useful. Our sessions run from 10-12 noon in the village hall on the first and third Wednesdays of the month and we would love to see you there. There is a voluntary £2 fee which goes towards hall hire, materials, and refreshment costs (families with children are free). Please just turn up or email us if you have any questions.
Helen or Linda, email: madeinbroadtown@gmail.com
WHAT OUR SID SAW LAST MONTH
52,280 vehicles passed the SID located at Broad Acres monitoring Southbound traffic (heading to Broad Hinton) which equates to approx. 901 a day. 25% of vehicles were speeding, of which 2 went past the SID at a speed over 70mph !
THANK YOU FROM THE CHRISTMAS CRACKER EVENT
A big thank you to everyone who came along to support our village Christmas Cracker event on Saturday November 29th. It was a very busy morning and almost £800 was raised. Community Coffee Mornings also donated some of their funds to increase our grand total to £1000. We have received a thank you certificate from Julia’s House Children’s Hospices which is on display in the village hall. They were overwhelmed by the generosity of our village! Thank you also to everyone who helped to organise the event either beforehand or by manning the stalls and serving refreshments on the day.
BUMPS & BEYOND
Broad Town Playgroup Bumps and Beyond is a friendly baby and toddler group for children aged 0-5 years old. We are based in Broad Town Village Hall on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:30. The cost is just 50p per child. Snacks are provided at 10am along with a hot drink for the adults. We have a different craft activity nearly every week and finish with songs and games. We have a good selection of toys, ride on cars/trikes, books, puzzles and dressing up for the children to enjoy.
PLEASE NOTE e-mail any queries or articles for publication to broadtownnews@gmail.com by the 22nd of the month except December.