Tetbury
Kevin Painter
cotswolds451@btinternet.com

  • ON Saturday, April 1, the Tetbury NCT will be holding their popular nearly new sale from 11am-12.30pm at St Mary’s School. 
  • THE comic book workshop that was due to be held on April 2 at the Goods Shed Art Centre has been rescheduled for May 21. There will be two workshops, one from 10am-12 aimed at younger children and the second from 2-4pm that is aimed at more serious enthusiasts. Entry is free, donations encouraged, materials provided, prizes available, including best costume. For more information contact Kevin on 07745 716547 or cotswolds451@btinternet.com.
  • THE next police open surgery meeting point will be tomorrow, March 24, from 10-11am and on Monday, March 27 from 2-3pm at Tetbury town council offices, the Old Courthouse. The surgery gives you the chance to drop in and have an informal or formal chat with a local officer.
  • ANYONE For Murder is the latest production from the Dolphin Dramatic Society and promises to be an extraordinarily good performance. Written by Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner, performances will take place on April 6-8 at the Dolphins Hall at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Tetbury Hardware or online at dolphinsdrama.uk, tickets cost £8/concessions £7.
  • TETBURY community choir will be holding a spring concert on April 3 from 7.30pm, doors open from 7pm, at the Goods Shed. Tickets cost £5, available from Tetbury Town Council, Tetbury tourist information centre, Jill Dodge on 01666 502257, or shed-arts.co.uk
  • A NEW community initiative, the Dolphins Lunch Club, will be held on Friday, April 28 from 12-2.30pm. As this is the inauguration, councillor Stephen Hirst, mayor of Tetbury, will be opening the event which follows with a lunch, all invited. This will be the first of many and will become a regular function.
  • GARDENS Illustrated will be holding their 2017 garden festival near Westonbirt School. Tickets available for lectures by well known gardening experts, garden tours will be available. Details from gardensfestival.com or call 08712 307156.
  • THE next Tetbury volunteer community bus trip will take place on Wednesday, April 19 at 10.30am. This is a door-to-door pickup service, there is no membership fee, just a straightforward £7  pay on the day admission. To book or for further information contact Peter or Diana on 01666 311434 or 07972 165011. These are always enjoyable trips, not only a great time out but also a way to meet old and new friends. Due to the popularity of these events more are now being planned. Perhaps you may have a destination in mind that you would like to submit, if so contact Diana or Peter as this is your community day out.
  • CHRISTIAN Aid week, May 14-20. The usual house to house collection will take place, last year unfortunately they were not able to cover all the roads but they still did amazingly well due to the dedication of their collectors. In total last year they were able to send off £9,000 to Christian Aid. This total included the house to house collection, sponsorship from Eileen Hodgson taking part in the London Marathon, Stuart Radcliffe and others undertaking a sponsored walk from Avening to Tetbury, Lent Soup lunches at St Michaels, an afternoon tea and church collections. Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible.
  • THIS year, sponsorships are being replaced by breakfasts, lunches, teas or suppers. Could you provide a simple informal meal for friends or neighbours and ask them to make a donation to Christian Aid instead of bringing you a bottle or flowers? Any donations can go in a Christian Aid envelope and handed in to the collector who calls at your door. These shared meals are intended to be really informal but could swell our house to house collection considerably. With the unprecedented level of famine and refugees in the world it would be good to match last year’s total so that Christian Aid can continue to help all these people, whether it is by providing food, shelter, medical care clean water or work. For further information or if you want to get involved contact Alison Hesketh 01666 505113.
  • THE Draft Neighbourhood Plan covering Tetbury and Tetbury Upton has been submitted to Cotswold District Council. In 2013, the District Council approved the map designating the area to which the plan relates. Since then tThe Neighbourhood Plan Working Group has put a lot of hard work into producing the necessary work to support the plan and includes a number of volunteer residents from Tetbury and Tetbury Upton and members of Tetbury Town Council and Tetbury Upton Parish Council. The two councils provided some of the necessary funds assisted by the Central Government Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning Programme and Groundworks UK. Cllr Stephen Hirst, said: “I am delighted to learn that we have done everything necessary in the lengthy process for the Draft Plan to be submitted and grateful thanks go to all involved.”
  • TETBURY Town Council has appointed Stephen Holley as its town clerk and responsible financial officer. Stephen took up his appointment at the end of February, councillors welcomed Stephen to his first meeting on Monday, February 27. Stephen Hirst, said: “We welcome Mr Holley to Tetbury, we shall benefit from his great experience as a town clerk, his last post was town clerk of Shaftesbury in Dorset and he has had similar appointments in parish councils in Gloucestershire. I am sure that those members of our community who will have dealings with Stephen will agree with us that we have acquired a great asset for the town”. In reply, Stephen thanked the mayor and members for their warm welcome and said that he was looking forward to working with the council and helping the town to deliver its key projects and other initiatives. Stephen has had a long career in public services, most recently he was the town clerk for Shaftesbury in Dorset. Prior to that he worked for Cotswold District Council for nearly 10 years, during which time he got to know Tetbury and some of its councillors and it was that experience of Tetbury that encouraged him to apply for the role of town clerk. He has also been a full-time parish clerk and a part-time parish clerk and he holds the principal clerks’ qualification along with the Chartered Secretaries qualification in the local government stream. During his career, Stephen also served for 17 years in the TA Royal Signals and four years as a full-time soldier. Stephen is married to Dee, an IT training manager for the NHS and their five-year-old twins, Jack and Jessica, have just started school. Jack and Jess are both looking forward to visiting their daddy at work in the council offices and exploring the Police Museum and Courtroom. Stephen has an older daughter, Amy, who will be getting married in Sudeley Castle this October.

Sherston
Linda Durno
01249 750514
sherston@mybtinternet.com

  • THE next brick club meeting is tomorrow in the British School Room, 5.30-7pm for all ages. Free entry, all welcome.
  • CLEM’S club for chaps meets in the British Schoolroom on Tuesday, from 2.30-4pm. All friendly fellas welcome a drink and a chat.
  • SHERSTON Drama Group presents the hilarious Murder at Checkmate Manor on April 19-22, 7.30pm in the village hall. If you wish to get involved backstage, with set building or technical lights and sounds effects, call Kirstie Blair on 01666 840096 or email kirstieblair@gmail.com. Tickets are £8 and £6.50, on sale at the Post Office, to include non-alcoholic refreshments.
  • MOTHERS’ Union members will be making posies for Mothers’ Day in the church at 9am on Saturday, ready for the Mothering Sunday service. Offers of help or donations of flowers are welcome.
  • THE next stay and play session at Sherston School, when parents have the opportunity to go into their child’s class to learn with them, is on March 31, from 8.40 to 8.55am.