ABBA Tribute band

A South Gloucestershire estate agency is sponsoring an ABBA tribute night as part of its support for the local community. Country Property estate agency is backing the event which includes faithful choreography, spectacular and authentic costumes, stunning production and, most importantly, excellent musicianship.

Andrew Simmonds of Country Property said: “We are very excited about supporting the ’ABBA Revival’, it is truly unlike any other Abba Tribute act out there and we can’t wait to see many local faces in attendance. “The collective years of experience in all walks of the entertainment and music industries have enabled the band to create and finely tune quite simply the slickest concert stage show around.” This event will take place on the festival stage on the Pitch at Yate Town Football Club; on Friday the 27th of May, the gates open at 6 pm.

Your lifestyle, your way at Trymview Hall At Care UK, we deliver award-winning care and we put your quality of life at the heart of everything we do. Our team at Trymview Hall learn all they can about your personality, preferences and wishes so that they can create a care and lifestyle plan tailored to your unique needs. Here you can live life in the way you choose, and always with the best care. At Trymview Hall, our Lifestyle team is dedicated to making each day fulfilling and fun, whether you like to help with light tasks around the home, enjoy getting out and about on outings, or love to experience live entertainment. We organise a variety of daily group and one-to-one activities too. When you join us, you’re welcome to continue enjoying lifelong hobbies or discover something new. We’ll introduce you to like-minded people so you can make new friends. And how about taking part in activities with local groups and schools? It’s all possible at Trymview Hall. Everything you need under one roof Trymview Hall is a purpose-built care home where every luxury has been thought of. There’s 20 a café, hair salon, cinema and bar and lovely landscaped gardens all waiting for you.

Your lifestyle, your way at Trymview Hall At Care UK, we deliver award-winning care and we put your quality of life at the heart of everything we do. Our team at Trymview Hall learn all they can about your personality, preferences and wishes so that they can create a care and lifestyle Is there a wish or goal you’d like to achieve? plan tailored to your unique needs. Here you Hang your wish on our wishing tree and we’ll can live life in the way you choose, and always do our best to make it happen! with the best care. Gardening is a firm favourite, with residents keen At Trymview Hall, our Lifestyle team is to get involved in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch, dedicated to making each day fulfilling and whilst others have enjoyed a stroll in the winter fun, whether you like to help with light tasks sunshine. Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook to keep around the home, enjoy getting out and up-to-date with what’s happening at our home. about on outings, or love to experience live entertainment. We organise a variety of Here for you daily group and one-to-one activities too. At Care UK, we have more ‘Outstanding’-rated homes than any other provider, and in the When you join us, you’re welcome to continue last three years have won more awards than enjoying lifelong hobbies or discover any other provider. Discover why over 8,000 something new. We’ll introduce you to families trust us to care. like-minded people so you can make new friends. And how about taking part in To find out more about Trymview Hall activities with local groups and schools? please call 01179 111605 or email It’s all possible at Trymview Hall. nicola.wolff-donitz@careuk.com Everything you need under one roof Follow us on Facebook Trymview Hall is a purpose-built care home where every luxury has been thought of. There’s a café, hair salon, cinema and bar and lovely landscaped gardens all waiting for you. Trymview Hall Southmead Road, Bristol BS10 5DW careuk.com/trymview-hall

Is there a wish or goal you’d like to achieve? Hang your wish on our wishing tree and we’ll do our best to make it happen! Gardening is a firm favourite, with residents keen to get involved in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch, whilst others have enjoyed a stroll in the winter sunshine. Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with what’s happening at our home. Here for you At Care UK, we have more ‘Outstanding’-rated homes than any other provider, and in the last three years have won more awards than any other provider. Discover why over 8,000 families trust us to care. To find out more about Trymview Hall please call 01179 111605 or email nicola.wolff-donitz@careuk.com

Follow us on Facebook Trymview Hall Southmead Road, Bristol BS10 5DW careuk.com/trymview-hall

Supporting over 8,000 Supporting families over 8,000 families We champion training and innovation to support our care home teams to deliver outstanding care. Residents’ quality of life is at the heart of everything we do, helping individuals to stay active and independent so they can live each day to the full. We champion training and innovation to support our care home teams to deliver outstanding care. Residents’ quality of life is at the heart of everything we do, helping individuals to stay active and independent If you’re considering care, so they can live each day to the full. call 01174 057618 or email nicola.wolff-donitz@careuk.com If you’re considering care, call 01174 057618 or email nicola.wolff-donitz@careuk.com Trusted to care. Rated 9.4 out of 10 on carehome.co.uk

Trusted to care.

Rated 9.4

out of 10 on carehome.co.uk

Trymview Hall care home Southmead Trymview Hall care home careuk.com/trymview-hall Southmead careuk.com/trymview-hall

Foster Care Fortnight

At least 30 children are in need of foster carers in Bristol, and this is set to increase as more unaccompanied children flee war torn countries.

As part of Foster Care Fortnight now to the 22nd May, Bristol City Council has renewed its appeal for people to consider joining the Fostering Community and finding out more about all the different types of foster caring. A child fostered through the council will prevent them from being placed outside of Bristol, away from everything that is familiar to them. At present, only half of the city’s children in care are living with Bristol City Council foster carers. The remainder are with carers from private providers, which often involves having to move the children out of Bristol away from their families, friends, school, and activities. This can be very traumatic and isolating for them. Mark Pennington-Field, foster carer for the council said: “We’ve been fostering for eight years, and our only regret is that we should have done it earlier instead of worrying we couldn’t do it because of work commitments. It’s such a rewarding role, and we would advise anyone considering fostering to contact Bristol City Council Fostering Team and have that initial discussion.”

The theme for this year’s Foster Care Fortnight, Fostering Network’s annual campaign, is #FosteringCommunities, celebrating and shining a light on fostering communities and everything they do for children and young people in need. There is no typical type of foster carer – the Fostering Team is inclusive and welcomes everyone to find out more. There are also many different types of foster caring, including full time, part time and emergency. Alex Taylor, who offers emergency and alternative foster care for the council, said: “If you are LGBTQ+ and thinking of fostering and are wondering if it might work for you, I would say from first-hand experience that the children I look after do not care about my identity - they're much more interested in how long they can game or what's for tea. I get some interesting questions though I must admit but having broad, open discussions with the children I look after about LGBTQ+ identities has helped create an environment where differences aren't just accepted but embraced and where the children feel safe to be themselves too.”

Councillor Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor with responsibility for Children's Services, Education and Equalities, said: “Bristol’s Fostering Community is special. To us, fostering a child isn’t just about placing them in your home and leaving you to it. It’s about supporting you and making sure that your commitment doesn’t get overlooked.

“When you foster with Bristol City Council, you’ll not only receive dedicated support from an experienced team and regular contact with other foster carers, but also increased payments for each child you care for to thank you for your time and care.” The council has recently increased fees so all current and new foster carers will now receive payments of up to £458 per week for each child they care for.

Phone: 01934 249074 Mobile: 07753 436294 Web: www.jackrey.co.uk Email: jon@jackrey.co.uk

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Out and about in Brislington West with Jos and Andrew

Scrapped the Mayor!

Thank you to everyone who voted in the Bristol Governance Referendum last Thursday. This referendum was made possible by a Bristol Liberal Democrat motion last year, which was supported by the other opposition parties. Bristol will now adopt a committee system of governance in May 2024 following the declaration of results in the referendum on how the city is run. There were 56,113 votes for a committee system and 38,439 votes to continue with an elected Mayor. The total turnout was 28.6%, around 5% more than the turnout that introduced the mayoral system ten years ago. Work will be carried out over the next two years to develop plans for the new arrangements. In fact, party group leaders are holding their first meeting today! We hope the discussions will be as transparent as possible and we want maximum public involvement in the process.

Greenway work starts:

It’s finally happening! After a long campaign, we were delighted to join volunteers working on the Brislington Greenway, a new active travel corridor for walkers, cyclists and local people to enjoy through the heart of Brislington West. Thank you very much to all the volunteers who gave up a sunny Saturday to help clear mountains of litter and debris from the route. We can’t wait to use it! 24 Building on the green belt:

We were concerned to see the proposals from the developers, Bellway, to build up to 555 new housing units on green belt land in Brislington West. We will be hoping to set up a meeting with the developers as soon as possible to get more information about their plans. Since the land was acquired for development, the West of England Joint Spatial Plan, which originally earmarked this land as a site of possible future development, has been thrown out by central government as being ‘not fit for purpose’. We’ve also had the declaration of both a climate emergency and an ecological emergency, and an opposition motion at City Hall granting addi tional protection to green belt land.

Furthermore, as we reported recently, the West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, has stated his commitment to protecting our green belt. We recognize the need to provide more homes but there are plenty of brown field sites in the city which should be prioritized.

Council tax rebate:

You will be aware that earlier this year the Chancellor announced the Council Tax Rebate Scheme in an attempt to help with the rising cost of energy bills. Eligible Bristol residents will begin receiving the £150 council tax rebate in the coming weeks.

The scheme provides a one-off payment of £150 to most households living in homes in council tax bands A to D. Since the announcement, Bristol City Council has worked to create a new system to ensure everyone eligible in the city receives their payment. Residents have also been warned about not falling foul to tax rebate telephone scams seen in other parts of the country. The council has confirmed it will not be telephoning people to ask for their bank details in relation to the rebate. Most residents who pay their council tax by direct debit will receive the money directly into their bank account by Monday 16 May and will receive a letter confirming details of this payment. An online form will be made available from Monday 23 May on the Bristol City Council website for non-direct debit payers to submit their bank details: https://news.bristol.gov.uk/ council-tax/council-tax-rebate

There will be an option on the form for households to choose to have the £150 credited to their council tax account if they prefer. A service will also be made available to help those who are not able to access the online form. If anyone who pays by direct debit has not received their payment by Monday 16 May, they should also complete this online form. Bank details submitted on the form will only be used for the rebate and not future payments of council tax, unless the household requests this. Bristol has also been allocated a discretionary fund as part of the scheme to help residents considered to be most in need of support.

This will support households living in Bristol in bands E to H who are in need or as well as those in bands A to D who are not eligible for the council tax rebate. Only one application can be made per household. Residents will need to apply using an online application form and will be asked to provide evidence, including council tax account number, photo ID and proof of address, to support the information provided in the application. Eligibility criteria will include that the person must be living within the Bristol City Council area as their main residence from Friday 1 April 2022 and they pay their energy costs directly to the energy supplier by bill or pre-payment meter, not as part of their rent. The process for the discretionary fund is being finalised and further information, including the full eligibility criteria and exclusions, will be provided on the Council website as soon as possible. The council is conscious that some households may not feel they need the council tax rebate and will be offering a scheme that enables people to donate all or part of it to help support those who are most in need in the city. Some residents have already shown an interest in a scheme like this and if others would like to find out more, email: counciltaxforms@bristol.gov.uk. It will not affect the provision of the rebate but will enable them to make a direct donation to local crisis funding

Summer Nature Day:

On Sunday 12 June from 12 till 4pm, Callington Road Nature Reserve will be celebrating its 20th anniversary since the campaign to save the land that is now the reserve was started with the annual Summer Nature Day, where you can join in with fun, nature-inspired activities. There will be insect identification, pond dipping, nature trail and more. There will also be a working group doing some tidying up and litter picking. Come and meet some of those who led the campaign and hear about how they saved the land and wildlife that live there. All are welcome - especially children! More details here:

Hundreds of Brislington West residents have signed up to receive our monthly newsletter via email. You can register using this link: http://www.bristollibdems.org/efocus. By Jos Clark, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr.jos.clark@ bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 370429 & Andrew Varney, Liberal Democrat Councillor (Brislington West) Email: cllr. andrew.varney@bristol.gov.uk Mobile: 07584 183381