Frome Valley Growing Project

AS the weather improves we have so enjoyed seeing an increase in visitors and volunteers here at the Frome Valley Growing Project.

We hold both weekly volunteer sessions on Wednesdays from noon to 4pm and also monthly Open Days, on the first Sunday of each month from 10am-2pm at our site just off Swan Lane in Winterbourne.

Please do get in contact if you are interested in joining us or just come on and down for a chat and to get involved.

We are busy getting plants in the ground at this time of year, and have been really enjoying seeing the green of the land return.

We have an abundance of seedlings and cuttings for sale. Please do get in contact if you would like to pop down and purchase some.

We currently have tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, swede, cabbage, cavelo Nero, kale, amaranth, and many many more.

drink stalls.

It's a great day out for all ages. Entry is £5 (children £1) and tickets can be pre-paid online to avoid queues on the gate.

There is free parking at Winterbourne Academy on the High Street, with free shuttle buses to and from the barn all day.

There is no parking on Church Lane, as this impedes emergency vehicles, with limited disabled parking at the Barn but this must be reserved in advance.

On June 17 there is the chance to have a proper barn dance in a real barn.

Excellent local band Sargents Mess will play traditional tunes.

No dance experience is needed - caller Rob shouts out the moves as you go along.

It's lots of fun for all ages, even if you just want to have a drink and gorgeous little sweet red jewels, and has given us strawberries just that little bit earlier. This method could easily be replicated in greenhouses.

We have been so grateful to the group of Academy Students who have been coming to help us each Tuesday for the past few months.

This project was funded by Wesport and South Gloucestershire as a Green Social Prescribing programme.

The students have supported listen to the band, and there is free parking on site.

On June 22 the incomparable Professor Ronald Hutton returns to the barn to talk about the Medieval and Early Modern Witch Hunts, and the impact they have had on beliefs and human rights today. Tickets are selling fast.

You can book online for all these events at www. winterbournebarn.org.uk, via Facebook or on Ticketsource.

For those without internet access, a box office is open 1.302.30pm on the first Thursday of each month for in-person ticket sales.

We are looking for more volunteers to join the Barnforce team, who spend 2 or 3 hours per month doing general maintenance and tidying up.

They usually meet on the third Saturday morning of the month at 10am, but this can depend on weather and events.

The next planned meeting is on June 10, to prepare for the Medieval Fayre.

If you are interested in helping, please contact Stef on stefano@ fantini.co.uk

Louise Harrison

us to plant trees, plant seeds, water plants, prepare our 'no dig' beds, and create a willow dome for our younger visitors to play in.

We hope that this project can continue to allow students the opportunity to eat the fruits of their labour as the abundant food season approaches.

If you want to know more please do get in contact via email at thegrowingproject123@gmail. com or call 0770 875 8370.

Kate Macdonald

So if seed planting has got away with you this year, please support a local project and get your seedlings from us. All seedlings are a £1 a pot and all sales go straight back into the project, to help us grow more food and create more biodiversity for the local community.

This year we are delighted to try a new way of growing strawberries. We have been growing them in pots in our polytunnel, raised up off the ground. Doing this has meant we aren't competing with the slugs and deer for these

Floral Friends of Frampton

LOCAL school children sowed seeds in two large planters at Bridge House.

The seeds included sunflowers, marigolds and nasturtiums.

Hopefully, they will grow quickly to give Bridge House residents a colourful floral display to enjoy. Once the seed sowing was completed, children (and adults) enjoyed a train trip around the grounds of Bridge House, courtesy of local volunteers who keep the train running on high days and holidays.

FFF volunteers also spent a morning recently replacing the old wooden planters in the sensory garden, which had deteriorated badly, with new ones made from recycled plastic.

The new planters also have reservoirs in the bottom, which should help with watering.

The new containers will soon be fully planted with a mixture of perennials and summer bedding, to bring a colourful and scented display to delight the senses - and the local wildlife!

Thank you, Frampton Garage, for transporting the new planters from their winter residence to the Sensory Garden. Your help is very much appreciated.

We are also indebted to the family of Brian Tyrer, a local resident who recently passed away, who donated money collected at his funeral to support the purchase of one of these planters in his memory.

Thank you to the parish council for recognising us in the recent community awards for our "work in enhancing the village and organising community events".

We are also delighted that one

Live Music

We host live music once a month on a Saturday starting at 8 pm!

May 27th - Mark Woodruff

June 17th - Alex Bayross

July 29th - Sunfest

August 5th - Stacey Charles

September 2nd - Angie McCoy

7th October - Oktoberfest Fest

November 11th - Simon Lloyd DJ

December 7th - Snowfest

Skittle Alley

We have a private functions room with a skittle alley it can cater for large groups & private events.

Please ask a member of staff if you would like to book out the skittle alley.

We do also offer a buffet menu.

of our most stalwart volunteers (and treasurer), Andrew Edgington, was recognised with a lifetime achievement award for his work in the community over many years, including for his involvement in the Good Neighbours scheme, Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, Village Action and with us.

Floral Friends are entirely funded by donations and we would like to thank all who have supported us recently by making donations, which can be made either in person or online.

Our bank details are: Floral Friends of Frampton, Lloyds, 30-9897, account number 70582363.

Crossbow Singers

AS the weather begins to warm, the nights start to get lighter and many of our thoughts are turning to summer holidays and balmy

Offers On Food

Wednesday - Friday : 2 for £14.95!

Offering a Roast of the day, Ham, Egg & Chips or Scampi, Peas & Chips or Veggie Sausages, Peas, Mash & Gravy 12pm -2pm

Wednesday Pie Night Pie of the day with a pint of Hop Union Beer, Dortmunder Vier, Thatchers Gold, Pepsi/Pepsi Max or Lemonade £13.95 6pm - 9pm

Thursday: Grill Night!

Selections of steaks at a discounted price, also offer Gammon and Cajun Chicken for £11.99.

6pm - 9pm summer evenings (fingers crossed).

For Crossbow Singers, this time of year is also a time when we are excitedly preparing for our summer concert.

This year our concert is focused on all things regal, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, and is entitled ‘Songs Fit for a King’.

There will be a mix of traditionally British pieces, songs from the musicals and some specially arranged and composed pieces by our very talented musical director Carolyn Dutton, all centred on the interests of His Majesty.

There will of course be plenty of audience participation.

Our concerts will be on Monday July 3 and Tuesday July 4 from 7.30pm, at Crossbow House.

Tickets cost £8 each. To order tickets for Monday phone Rose on 01454 772675 and for Tuesday, phone Mary on 01454 887885 after

June 13.

We recently held our AGM, which was very well-attended and a great opportunity to socialise.

We were sad to hear that Bob Brain, a committee member of 15 years, has decided to stand down but the good news is that he will continue as librarian and script writer.

Bob was responsible for the staging, which is so important for us at our concerts. He has helped Carolyn design our concert seating and concert lighting for the stage, and writes the scripts for our concerts.

He has been a great servant to Crossbow Singers, and we hope he will continue to be for many years to come. Dave presented Bob with a garden voucher as a ‘thank you’ from the choir.

Louise Lewis

Crossbow Camera Club

WE are a small very friendly group who enjoy looking at and taking pictures.

We would stress that you do not need to be a camera buff to enjoy - our chairperson uses an iPhone most of the time!

Meetings are casual and light-hearted but we are affiliated to the Western Counties Photographic Federation, a source of many wonderful pictures and competitions.

Our annual subscription is only £20, but you can come and try four free sessions.

We meet every Thursday at 7.45pm at Crossbow House in School Road, Frampton Cotterell. Contact 0789 026 6650 or just turn up, and be assured of a warm welcome.

Mike Rich

FIZZ FRIDAYS & GIN OF THE WEEK

Every Friday from 12 - 11:30pm we offer our large bottles of prosecco at a discounted price of only £15! Every week we change our gin of the week!

Local Food Suppliers

Our rump steaks are from Buxton Butchers

Topside of Beef, Gammon Steaks, Chicken Breast, Rolled Lamb, Burgers & Pork Belly are from Trents Food & Beverages LTD

Frampton Cotterell WI

AT our last meeting, Jenny Smith came along to give us a Tai Chi talk and demo - most of us took the opportunity to have a go, and it was great fun!

At our May meeting members were voting on this year's WI Resolutions campaign - the health and cleanliness of our rivers.

We're also lucky enough to be having a talk from our lovely member Michelle Armitage about the launch of her new book, Your Design Personality At Home, which explores the world of interior design from a new and interesting perspective.

This month we will have a talk and cookery demo from Fussels Rapeseed Oil on June 27, also daytime visits to Acton Court and Bristol Botanical Gardens.

On July 25 we have a talk by Rob Jones called Crime and the Serial Killer.

We have many other events/socials lined up for the coming year, including visits to the theatre, local gardens and other group trips.

We also have a monthly “lunch club”, open to all members and held at a different local venue each time.

Watch this space and our Facebook page for confirmation of future event dates and more details.

Visitors and new members are welcome to our monthly meetings at St Peter’s Hall on School Road at 7.45pm, on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

Winterbourne Down WI

A NUMBER of our members enjoyed the spring meeting at the Jubilee Centre, where Jim Parkyn, a senior model maker at Aardman, showed slides and film footage of how he created characters such as Shaun the Sheep and Morph.

A team of us managed to tidy up the WI garden in order to make it look good for the Winterbourne Down May Day Carnival. We were lucky to have good weather for the event, which was a great success for all stallholders. We ran a bottle tombola, which was extremely popular, and also a home bake cake stall, which sold out very quickly. A number of our members also helped out with cream teas at the very busy church hall. This event was in aid of St Peter’s Hospice so we were more than happy to help out.

Jill and Margaret made two beautiful Coronation flower arrangements in the church widow, with a photo of the young Prince Charles and memorabilia, including from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.

At our May meeting we discussed the resolution ‘clean rivers for people and wildlife’ for our annual meeting in Cardiff this month, and had a demonstration on how to make a trinket box, followed by tea and cake.

Our next meeting is on June 1, will be held in the garden of one of our members and include strawberries and cream.

Coalpit Heath WI

WE have had a busy month at Coalpit Heath WI. We hosted the Sodbury Vale group meeting, the first chance for all the local WI groups to get together since Covid. Our members decorated the hall and made refreshments, including a special cake with our logo on the top.

Jeanne Long came along to give a talk on healing crystals and Reiki, and the twiddlemuff competition winner was chosen - a member from Hawkesbury and Horton.

In total 51 twiddlemuffs (knitted muffs for people with dementia) were made, and these will be distributed to local care homes.

Our May meeting was a discussion of this year’s resolution'clean rivers for people and wildlife' - and continued with a blind tasting of three different wines to see if we were able to match their flavour to a description. It was more challenging than we thought!

Members of our day trips and theatre group enjoyed an afternoon tea at Tortworth Court for the Coronation, while others have signed up for a visit to the wildflower meadow at Highgrove.

If you fancy coming along and seeing what we have to offer you would be most welcome. We meet on the first Wednesday of each month in St Saviour’s church hall at 7.45pm - further information and updates can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Our next meeting is on June 7, with a talk on life as a blind VIP by Verna, followed by a talk from Briony May Williams on Life after Bake Off on July 5.

Caroline Johnston

Winterbourne Evening WI

WITH over 7,000 Institutes with 180,000 members, the WI is the largest women’s organisation in England and Wales.

As well as offering fun, friendship and social activities it also campaigns nationally on a wide range of issues - currently climate change, ageism, gender-based violence and friendship to refugee and asylum-seeking women.

This year's resolution to be put to the Annual Meeting in Cardiff is ‘clean rivers for people and wildlife’.

At our last meeting local historian David Cheesely gave a talk called ‘Milk, Coal and Any Old Iron’ - a fascinating trip into the past.

He entertained us with a slide show of all the Bristol street sellers over the last hundred years. There were hand carts selling milk, coal and bread, horse-drawn brewery drays and hurdy-gurdy men with barrel organs and maybe a pet monkey.

Most sad were the elderly men and women selling newspapers, apples or flowers because there were no pensions to support their retirement. Long gone are the rat catchers, cockle or onion sellers, the lamp-lighters or street entertainers.

Our next meeting on June 8 includes a presentation on needle crafting, by Amy Grimsby. It takes place at 7.30pm in St Michael’s School, Linden Close, Winterbourne.

All are welcome.

Margaret Grazebrook