Fairford news by Chris Roberts

THE South Cotswold Team Ministry of 17 parishes with 22 churches including Fairford have organised a ‘Worship at Home’ facility where people can join in at home with services led by local clergy and others.

The words of hymns and readings are shown on the screen, so it’s very easy for people to join in and feel part of the service.

Included in the Team Ministry are: Ampney Crucis, Ampney St Mary, Ampney St Peter, Down Ampney, Driffield including Harnhill, Poulton, Bibury and Winson, Barnsley, Coln St Aldwyns, Hatherop, Eastleach, Quenington, Southrop, Fairford, Kempsford with Whelford,

Lechlade, Meysey Hampton and Marston Meysey, Castle Eaton.

For more information about the churches and the services, visit: https://www.chqchurches.net/worship-at-home.html.

FORMER Mayor of Fairford, Trevor Hing MBE, would like to pay tribute to all the staff at the Hyperion House Care Home.

Having moved into the Hyperion in the centre of Fairford at the beginning of last year as a resident patient, Trevor has seen at first hand

just how hard the staff work under normal conditions, but he says the new levels of care and attention that the staff at the Hyperion are providing now at this challenging time exceed all expectations.

Trevor likens the Hyperion to a home-from-home especially now as the residents are not allowed outside visitors because of the enforced lockdown measures.

Due to the coronavirus situation, the organisers of the local Foodbank service, which covers Cirencester, Fairford and Tetbury are seeing a huge increase in demand for the service.

At the moment, they need tinned tomatoes, long-life juice, tinned meat, tinned rice pudding, tea bags, jars of coffee, pasta, tinned fruit, cleaning products and jam.

If you can’t get out to donate food, you can donate financially to allow the foodbank organisers to buy products.

To find out how to donate food and cleaning products, contact marieke@cirencester.foodbank.org.uk and to donate financially, visit: https://cirencester.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/.

LIFE on Mars creator, Matthew Graham from Fairford, has confirmed he has been working on a third and final series of the popular BBC drama.

Life on Mars ran for two series between 2006 and 2007.

It followed a detective presumed dead or in a coma after a car accident who was transported back in time to 1970s Manchester.

The new Life on Mars will be set in Manchester and London and partially in the 70s, partially in the 80s but mostly in an alternate now!

Matthew, whose parents, Eric and Wendy, still live in Fairford, said: “We would never make another Mars unless we really had something to say and could push the envelope all over again. Finally, we have something.”

He hopes that as many of its previous cast as possible will return including Philip Glenister (DCI Gene Hunt) and John Simm (DI Sam Tyler) and, although they are currently starring in ITV’s Belgravia, they have said they are open to reprising the Life on Mars roles.

The BBC has yet to confirm the new episodes and a previous revival idea was allegedly turned down by the BBC because it didn’t make “financial sense.”

ECO-WARRIOR, Heather Kent from Fairford is continuing to do her bit to ‘change the world’.

Throughout Lent, she has been collecting at least ‘a bag a day to keep the litter away’ and has now litter-picked for 46 days completing her Lent mission for 2020.

Twelve year old Heather has become quite a celebrity in the two years since her very first 40 days of Lent litter-pick.

She appeared in the national media when she was singled out for recognition in the Daily Mail and Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Sprig Clean campaign, became a Young Ambassador for Fairford.

Heather also won the Albert Alder Award presented by Fairford Town Council to a young person to recognise an outstanding contribution to the environment, took part in World Ocean’s Day with Cotswolds MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and even chatted to HRH Prince Charles about her environmental efforts.

Covering areas that she has never litter-picked before, Heather said: “I was determined to get all the way round Fairford and even COVID-19 couldn’t get in my way!”

Her final day of litter-picking was done in Hatherop Lane, which she had cleared last year with her father, Bob.

“More litter has come to the surface since the lane got dug up and we even found a For Sale sign that is at least 25 years old,” Heather added.

Previously, Heather has raised money for different charities close to heart.

For her 2020 litter-picking achievement, Heather is seeking sponsorship to help three other charities that mean a lot to her: Fairford Hospital, Oak & Furrows and Shine Bright Support.

She said: “I chose to donate to Fairford Hospital because of all the great work they do in the local community and wanted to support Oak & Furrows because we took several underweight hedgehogs to them last year.

“The Shine Bright Support charity was set up in memory of a friend I lost, Eleri Hooper, who had childhood cancer.”