Front Garden Competition

Front Garden Competition a close call

On a pleasantly warm day in early July judge Rob Wicke, Westfield’s Flower Contractor who looks after the beautiful hanging baskets and coal truck displays, toured the gardens of the parish to determine which were worthy of the first prize for the two categories – best front garden and best container.

There were more entries than ever before this year – maybe a reflection of the time that people had been able to spend in their garden due to the lockdown, though getting hold of plants at the beginning of the season was proving tricky. One entrant told us that all the plants in her lovely tubs were cuttings or seeds of last year’s flowers. That proved to be amazing foresight!

Of the displays in Westfield gardens Rob said: “there were a really great mix of gardens ranging from vibrant bedding plants to intriguing cottage style gardens and everything in between.” The winner of the Best Garden was in Nightingale Way. Rob said “It fought off some very strong competition with great vision and use of a variety of plants in a

way that instantly stood out and caught my attention. Clearly the owner had thought long and hard about the design in a very quirky space.” The hanging baskets that caught Rob’s eye were on Elm Terrace. He said: “They were a great use of colour and shape and were joyful to see, no doubt putting a smile on the faces of passers-by.” While presenting the prizes to Mrs Kay Jennings for the best garden and Mr Austin Hudd for the hanging baskets Cllr Wallbridge, Vice Chair, said: “It has been a pleasure to see the stunning gardens and baskets that have won the competition this year and brighten the neighbourhood for all.”

Thanks must go to Thomsons of Radstock who have kindly donated two vouchers for the winners and to Rob Wicke for giving us his time to do the difficult job of judging the competition.

Blooming Westfield

If you took your daily walk during lockdown through Westfield or have driven along the main road, no doubt you would have seen the fabulous hanging baskets throughout Westfield.

The baskets and various planters are supplied and maintained by Rob Wicke throughout the year to give a year-long splash of colour. The Parish Council is very grateful to Rob for the thought he gives to the colour schemes and his care of the plants through the year.

This is the time of year that the Parish Council usually opens up its grant pot for applications. Bizarrely different as 2020 has turned out to be, it has made no difference to the availability of grants and we are now inviting applications for grants of up to £1000.

You don’t have to be a Westfield resident or a Westfield organisation to apply but you must be able to show how your project benefits the people of Westfield and the grant requested must be proportionate to the amount of the project that benefits Westfield. We have some wonderful examples of how previous years’ grants have been used, some of which have been documented in previous issues of the Warbler. The Carers’ Centre used successive years of grants to set up, maintain and then extend the provision of a carers’ café in Westfield providing support to 43 carers in Westfield over the past year. Trinity Methodist Church in Westfield used grants as part of the monies raised to re-plan and refurbish the former toilets area in their community hall, to provide new disabled facilities. Midsomer Norton & Radstock Silver Band who have members from Westfield and who provide great support to our Christmas Lights and Fun Day events were given a grant towards refurbishment of two of their instruments.

One thing that we have adjusted, to take account of 2020 disruptions, is the deadline for applications. We are very aware that most organisations have been severely affected by the coronavirus crisis and related issues and whilst the need may well be particularly great this year, the actual logistics of applying for grants may only just be starting up again around the time of our usual deadline in October. So, we have moved the deadline back to 23rd November in order for applicants to have more time to consider and make their applications. This means that successful recipients will receive their grants in early 2021.

Our policy and criteria along with an application form can be found on our website: www.westfieldparishcouncil.co.uk/grants Please do spread the word and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries.

Youth Connect South West is a registered charity offering support to young people across Bath and North East Somerset.

We currently offer individual support, work in partnership with local senior schools, Bath College and various other organisations, as well as offering youth clubs to young people aged 13-19 in Westfield, Radstock, Timsbury, Paulton and Bath. Covid-19 was a brand new challenge for the team and like the rest of the country they faced the anxieties, uncertainties and the worry of how they were going to be able to continue to support young people. All the face to face support stopped, the youth clubs closed and staff started working from home. The staff couldn’t go and meet with young people but could text, email, call and use virtual platforms and found other ways to make sure young people and their families felt supported throughout. Youth Connect SW worked with the local authority to get key worker status. This allowed staff to visit vulnerable young people, offer street-based youth sessions and be out in the community supporting young people and families during the whole of the lockdown period. In Westfield, Youth Connect SW provided mobile phones and tablets, paid for through the Quartet fund, to make sure young people had a way to stay in touch with the world outside of home. Daily cooked meals, provided by Wessex Water, and food parcels were delivered to young people and their families who were shielding or had young siblings at home. Virtual youth clubs, using Zoom, started in April giving young people the chance to join in quizzes, treasure hunts and cooking as well as touch base with a youth support worker. These sessions are still being offered every Tuesday evening 7-9pm. The youth work team have also been in Westfield on various days and times delivering detached sessions. These have given a space to check in with young people and make sure they are getting support if needed. Going forward Youth Connect will continue to operate following national guidance and common sense. Our ‘new normal’ will be to carry on meetings with individuals and small groups outdoors and on Zoom whilst following safe social distancing measures and continued hygiene. We are beginning to look at offering more indoor space for vulnerable individuals and small groups and are currently exploring ways to safely re-open youth clubs. In the meantime, young people in Westfield can expect to continue receiving check-ins from Katy Roberts (senior youth support worker), join in activities weekly on Zoom and a regular detached session will take place in Westfield on a Tuesday evening 7-9pm.

Some other things Youth Connect staff have also been doing during Covid-19;

• Delivery of 30-35 cooked meals daily across B&NES donated by Wessex Water. • Supporting other organisations to deliver weekly food parcels. • Working in partnership with Project 28 to provide young people with some focused advice and support regarding their drug and alcohol use. • Working in partnership with other local councillors across B&NES and the police to provide a detached service to busy or problematic areas within B&NES. • Making fun but informative safety videos to help young people stay safe – available on our Instagram/

Facebook pages. For more information about the Zoom and detached sessions for Westfield please contact: Katy Roberts 07530 263378 Kelly Barresi 07875 488782 Visit our website www.youthconnectsouthwest.org.uk or look us up on Facebook - Youth Connect SouthWest Instagram - @youthconnectsouthwest