Larkhall News July 2011

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THE LARKHALL NEWS Issue 15, August 2011

The Legendary Bath-Built Horstmann Car by Bryan Chalker

Education Feature

New Executive Headteacher, Raymond Friel sets out his vision for St Mark’s School

Produced by St Mark’s School

A Church of England Business and Enterprise College

&

Business Focus

Titfield Thunderbolt Bookshop Connecting Businesses at St Mark’s School


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From the Editor This issue for me is a somewhat poignant affair. Not only is it my 10th edition (YES - 10th!!) as Editor, but it is also the edition when we celebrate (just a little bit more than usual), all that is fantastic, creative and exciting at St Mark’s School in our Special Edition Feature. This year is truly a time for change at school as we embark on a new and exciting future, secure from the threat of closure at last!

The Larkhall News officially welcomes our new Executive Headteacher, Raymond Friel to St Mark’s, whilst bidding an incredibly fond farewell to several long-serving staff members, not least of which is our current Headteacher, Cherril Pope - the advocate and true champion behind this fantastic magazine (even if we do say so ourselves!)

read all about it on Page 9 and the Business and Enterprise team at St Mark’s look forward to welcoming even more members of our business community along to the next event. I was thrilled to hear from Pamela Galloway from the Save Our 6-7 Buses Campaign Team and to hear such positive news. Thanks to their hard work and tenacity, a 30 minute bus service will resume in Larkhall and Fairfield Park. Well done to all of the team and their many supporters! With best wishes Paula Hawkins Telephone: 01225 312661 or 478416 Email: hawkinsp@st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk

PS Don’t forget to cut out the advert for Langbridge Home Hardware opposite, where you could be in with a The launch of Business Connect, a new chance to win a truly QUACKING networking initiative for Larkhall, has prize...sorry, too good an opportunity received amazing feedback. You can to be missed!

Published by St Mark’s School Editor: Paula Hawkins, St Mark’s School, Baytree Road, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6ND Tel: 01225 312661 Email: hawkinsp@st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk Website: The Larkhall News is available online at: www.st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk/BusinessEnterprise/LarkhallNews

In This Edition

St Mark’s & The Valley Schools Schools report on new beginnings, the Wild West, making it safely to school and well...a nice cup of tea!

Titfield Thunderbolt Student reporter, James interviews Simon Castens from his iconic bookshop in Larkhall

Business Connect The smarter (and friendlier) way to grow your business!

The Legends of Larkhall Or should that be a Legend IN Larkhall?! Bryan Chalker sheds some light on the motoring legend that is Horstmann Cars

Little Larkhall Student reporters Ben, Ben, Shelby and Bryher investigate education and childcare for the little folk of Larkhall!

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. The publisher does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or errors in content. Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage. For advertising enquiries contact us on 01225 478416


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Mark’s

By Headteacher, Cherril Pope

School’s out for Summer well, almost...

leaving at the end of Year 11. Students, exhausted by their examinations, have a long holiday ahead of them. The vast majority are moving on to other schools and colleges for their post 16 education. Their ‘prom’ was held at Bailbrook House on 29 June and it is always a pleasure to see confident young people arrive in their DJs and prom dresses and often in style. This year a Rolls Royce was the high spot and last year a fire engine!

The end of the summer term is always exciting with thoughts of active and relaxing holiAt a special Leavers’ Lunch in school during days following a season of examinations. the same week, we have established a tradition whereby we compile a slide show of Our school is different in one respect in that their photographs through their five years we ‘move on and move up’ at the end of June with us. and re-start on our one year GCSE programmes. This year is particularly exciting as The confident young people who arrive at students will receive the first set of examinathe Prom were once nervous children who tion results based on our ‘stage not age’ aparrived fresh from primary school. It is a proach to learning. Year 11 students are the privilege to work with them, watch them first to work through the full ‘stage not age’ grow intellectually as well as physically, help programme and have entered the final round them to find themselves, uncover their talent of examinations with some astounding examand help them to find their place in an ever ination results already gained in their last year changing world. For this reason, I believe that, or two. however challenging, being a teacher is arguably the best job in There are ‘rites of passage’ associated with the world.

St

Ste ph en ’s

As you know, I shall be leaving at the end of this term and I am clearing out papers which go back in time. I was intrigued to find that the first letter written about secondary reorganisation was dated 2004. During the last seven years, and more intensively for the last 3-4, our school has lived under the threat of closure. The school is now secure and eager to move on to the next stage of its journey. I am delighted to be able to hand over to Mr Raymond Friel who will be heading up St Gregory’s and St Mark’s. We have been working closely together for the last few months and he has great plans for the school which he is beginning to share with the community and will no doubt share with everyone through the Larkhall News. With every good wish, Cherril Pope

StMark’s

Bid a fond farewell to long-serving members of staff on their retirement

By Year 6 Pupils, JoJo Penn, Henr y Foster and Niamh McCar thy

The end of term this year, for many students and staff, will be an emotional one as no less than eight longserving members of staff retire.

Every year St Stephens School has a musical, directed by Ms Louise Flynn and Mrs Jill Holland. This year it’s about Wild West! (Yee Haw!!!) There’s the three amigos, J.R Ewing, Calamity Jane, the Milky Bar Kid, the Two Ronnies, Ted The Baker and Ernie The Milkman, to name just a few of the main characters.

Between them they have notched up a total of 140 years service to St Mark’s School and the community of Larkhall. Their enthusiasm and dedication to the school and its students will be much missed.

The plot is about Ms Flynn, Mrs Gammage – the deputies (played by our two assistant headteachers) and Mr Mountstephen – the sheriff (our Headteacher), all being kidnapped and tied to the rail tracks with the three Amigos having to save them. Will they find the combination to unlock the padlock before it’s too late??

We wish them every happiness for the future and hope that they will find the time to return St Mark’s from time-to-time!

The children have been learning the words to the songs for over two terms including ‘I shot the Sherriff’ by Bob Marley, the theme from ‘Raw Hide’ and that Johnny Cash classic, ‘Ring of Fire’. Almost half of the children in the school take part and this is going to be the best musical ever! The musical takes place over three nights and in between each act, parents and friends in the audience can enjoy a delicious feast served up by a whole load of very hard working volunteers. The show is packed full of excitement, great routines and super food and is always a main attraction in the school calendar. We hope that everyone involved will ‘break a leg’ (as they say in the theatre) and hope that the three Amigos can find that padlock combination otherwise our sheriff and deputies might be in more trouble than having a few broken limbs!

Pictured from left: Carol Harding, Pete Veale, Cherril Pope, Steve Walker, Diane Cheeseman, Paul Harding and Pat Garven. Also retiring is Lin Sheppard (not pictured)


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SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL...?

StSaviou r ’s

Nurser y and Infant School By Headteacher, Ed Harker

This term at St Saviour’s Infants and Junior schools we are beginning the process of updating our School Travel Plans, working together to create a new shared plan that will reflect the needs of both school communities. As we already have the second highest ‘walk to school’ rates in Bath we have decided to focus on how to make walking to school even safer. We have started by asking parents and children to draw their current route to school on 2 giant street maps. This will give us direct information that we can use to plan ‘walking buses’ along the busiest pavements. We will also be able to identify underused ‘short cuts’ that could help people have a safer and shorter route to school.

Parents and children drawing their routes to school on the giant street map

Swainswick school

by Fin, Flynn, Katie, Leila, Mollie, Rex and Tazia

We now need your help to make sure that the plan we create accurately reflects the needs and views of the wider local community. Please take 5 minutes to complete an online survey using the web link below. (This on-line survey will close on 22nd July).

The Swainswick Cafe

Residents Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/St_Saviours_Resident_STP_Survey2011

You can have a drink and a biscuit or two - it's a good place to chill out and chat to your friends. Your children can also play outside.

The staff, governors, parents and children of the two schools are also being surveyed, and the collected responses will be another key piece of information as we revise the Travel Plans. We will keep you informed about the plans through future articles in this magazine. Many thanks in anticipation of your contribution to the survey!

On Wednesday mornings Swainswick Church in Upper Swainswick opens as a cafe.

Parents, their children and people walking by are allowed to come too as the cafe is open to everyone. Feel free to join us! It's a great way to make money for the PTA and for people to get to know each other. Come - it's so fun!

StSaviou r ’s

Junior School By Headteacher, Kevin O’Shea

FAREWELL CHERRIL... Just recently, I came across an old photograph: nearly 15 years old to be precise. It featured three Headteachers, all newly appointed, one was me and another was Cherril Pope. The photograph appeared in the Bath Chronicle and heralded a new time ahead for the schools of Larkhall; St. Mark’s and St. Saviour’s Junior and Infant Schools. The photograph was accompanied by a brief article that, amongst the usual detail, also reported an expressed desire to see St. Mark’s flourish as a school of and for the Larkhall community. No-one could have worked harder or with more determination than Cherril has done, since the day that photograph was taken, in an effort to see that vision become a reality.

NEW TEAM: Cherril Pope, Kevin O’Shea and Sally Phillips as pictured in the Bath Chronicle 1996. Photograph courtesy of Kevin Bates my very best wishes for a happy and well-deserved retirement. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside Cherril over the last 15 years.

There have been many significant challenges for St. Mark’s in that time and some have demanded a radical and imaginative approach that only Cherril could have provided. At the same time, there are changes that have taken Soon, it seems, the time will arrive when I will be the only re- place more gradually yet just as importantly that can easily go unrecognised maining Larkhall Headteacher of that original (and only slightly until, that is, you have cause to reflect on how things were … by finding an more youthful looking) trio and I would like to offer Cherril old photograph for example.


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from musicians on the jam stage in the pub's garden while workshops at New Oriel Hall taught attendees things from singing to making coasters out of broken crockery. Following the Royal nuptials and extended bank holidays we were lucky to have more lovely weather for the third Larkhall Festival over the May Day bank-holiday weekend. This year's festival saw the return of some favourites from previous years as well as some new events and activities.The art exhibition moved to New Oriel Hall and was enjoyed by a steady flow of visitors throughout the weekend as part of the art trail and open studios which this year included 11 studios and over 20 artists with some new additions as well as many previous participants.

The garden trail took place on Monday and thanks to spring arriving early, several gardens were blooming nicely, with 4 Hawarden Terrace having iris, cyclamen, wall flowers and forget-me-nots at the fore. The Ferns had several garden rooms to visit with tulips and aquilegia. Larkhall Allotments were open again, with the maturing fruit and vegetables punctuated by cute sheds decorated with curios. 26 Lambridge Place wowed visitors with its selection of exotic trees including papaya, fig, plumbago, hibiscus as well as magnolia, cherry and walnut trees. Many thanks to all the owners and tenants for being so welcoming!

Children enjoying art and craft activities with Funky Art House at this year’s Festival the website, or contact festival@larkhall-festival.org.uk to join the mailing list.The festival organisers look forward to hearing from you!

Funky Art House

And of course, we shouldn't forget the bands in Alice Park, chilled out music in New Oriel Hall, a teenage vampire disco and Larkhall's very own documentary.

has a full programme of events this summer including Children's Craft Workshops with magical hunts, Parent and Child Crafting and Active Art in the Park! at Alice Park on Saturday 30th July and Saturday 20th August with a seasonal bugs, butterfly or nature theme. Ages 3+

If you'd like to be involved in next year's fesOn Saturday afternoon, visitors to the tival, or simply keep up with Festival news Larkhall Inn were treated to a musical feast please join the Festival Facebook group, visit

All children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Book at http://www.funkyarthouse.co.uk or call Jo - 07954363467.

On top of this, events included concerts from amateur and professional musicians ranging from the choral harmonies of Beckford Singers which filled St. Saviour's church, to Four on the Floor who rocked the New Oriel Hall on Saturday night.

L

&L

arkhall

ambridge

Following the recent Council elections, it was confirmed that Bryan Chalker would continue to act as local Councillor for Lambridge whilst Dave Laming would take the position of Councillor for Larkhall, following the passing of Cllr Richard Maybury last year.

St Saviour’s Church Cllr Bryan Chalker

Cllr Chalker will take on the role of Champion for Hertitage, as well as taking the auspicious title of the new Mayor of Bath. Cllr Laming will take the role of Champion of the River.

Cllr Dave Laming

The St Saviour’s Church Youth and Community Centre project was launched on 8th May, 2011 in an attempt to raise £527,000 for new buildings and facilities. So far they have successfully raised £71,624 and plan to hold many more fund-raising events throughout the coming year for everyone in the community to get involved in. If anyone wants more information or would like to know how they can help support this project, you can email appeal@stsaviours.org.uk. The Church is also in the process of applying for a range of grants to help boost funding and improve what they can raise alone.They hope to set aside 10% of funds raised (excluding grant money) to donate to young people and children in Zambia and Argentina, where they already have established mission links. To follow the progress of this appeal visit St Saviour’s Blog at: h t t p : / / s t s av i o u r s b u i l d i n g p ro j e c t . b l o g s p o t . c o m / ? f c site=17294923737229790622&fcprofile=08795942010137211023 Included in The Larkhall News you may have also received a short survey from St Saviour’s asking locals to share their experiences and thoughts of their local church.This survey is part of a wider community audit, anyone interested in completing the survey can either complete the enclosed survey or contact email Gabrielle Chambers at appeal@stsaviours.org.uk


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News from

New Oriel Hall front doors or the lit up external notice board. What’s for certain is you’re sure to find something to grab your attenWhen we first opened and everything was tion. spanking new, we had no idea what would materialise. Now, seven years on we take We like to help out other pride in keeping the hall as beautifully clean local groups because the and sparkling as the day we opened, but now bottom line is we are all the space feels well lived in, familiar, a true trying to do the same community hall. People come here to vote, thing, providing new opportunities for local to give blood, to be entertained, to eat lunch people, with the aim of enriching and adding together, to dance and talk, meditate and sing. interest to their lives. On September 10th It is the people passing through who have Larkhall Athletic Football Club are taking been the yeast, who have brought the place over the hall for a very important fundraising to life and this autumn we hope to welcome evening. This year their first team won the even more people through our front door. If Western League Premier Division Champiyou still haven’t been here please drop in and onship. The higher league demands work be have a look at everything going on because done to the grounds before the team can move up. All profit raised by this social you are sure to find something you’ll love. evening will be spent on improvements to Sometimes people phone up to ask us ‘What the ground at Plain Ham. Please come and goes on at the hall?’ and it’s hard to know support the club at this very special event. where to begin. During an average week there’s so much going on it would take hours Older people and youngsters are particularly to describe so we refer people to our new well catered for at the hall. For Over 50s the web site, where there are links to classes and hall subsidises a monthly Book Club, a fortlots of up to date information about weekend nightly Scrabble Club and a very popular Frievents. Some people prefer to drop into the day Social Lunch Club.We would love to hear hall for a chat, or come and browse the in- from any older people with suggestions for ternal notice board and display table, or the new activities. Looking back over the past 12 months brings a smile of satisfaction as we celebrate another incredibly busy year, with a non-stop stream of interesting and varied happenings.

Every week there’s a wide range of classes for pre-school age children, with Sing and Sign, Mum and Me, Drama Storytime and Creation Station and for the very youngest age group, from birth onwards, we have baby café and new classes in baby massage and baby and mum yoga. For any children looking for something new to do over the summer holidays we have Stagecoach Children’s Theatre School working here, commencing Monday 15th August until Friday 19th. The week is suitable for all ages and abilities and culminates in a performance for family and friends, on the last day. For more details contact Natalie Maskall at Stagecoach on 07861 391598 Here’s wishing everyone a good break over the summer and we look forward to seeing lots of new faces in the autumn.

Beat Team Reports by PCSO Paul King

PACT Meetings

I would like to bring your attention to an issue that blights many communities nationwide. It is my experience that Graffiti is usually caused by just one person or a small group and can take on a variety of forms, from what could be described as meaningless scribbles to what is more commonly known as ‘Tagging’, where a specific word or phrase is used. The local Police work closely with dedicated units from B&NES to clean off graffiti and minimise the impact of such vandalism. Dealing with the issue is timely and expensive and so I would urge you to remain vigilant and report any information may be helpful to us. As we progress towards the summer, many of us will be looking to partake in activities outside, and for some people that means getting out and about on bicycles. Sadly, bike thefts are not uncommon but the risk can be minimised by: • • • • • • • • •

Always locking your bike safely whenever you leave it unattended Having the lock pulled as tight as possible; this makes it harder to get at the lock Using two different locks on both the frame and the wheel Locking your bike to a cycle rack or solid post Trying not to have your lock resting on the ground as this makes it easier to break Trying to leave your bike in a different place everyday Trying to lock your bike at a location where it’s visible Keeping a record of the make/model/frame number ‘Postcode’ your bike and/or register it on www.immobilise.com

Next Meeting 16 Nov: 6.30pm St Mark’s

Current Priorities The Havory, white lines at the junction onto St Saviour’s Rd Advertising vans at lay-bys for long periods of time

Lambridge Beat Surgery Aug 6th : 10am - Midday Nov 19th : 10am - Midday All meetings at New Oriel Hall

Contact us on 999 IN AN EMERGENCY or 0845 456 7000 for NON EMERGENCY www.avonandsomerset.police.uk


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Titfield Thunderbolt Bookshop, Larkhall

Larkhall Business in Focus...

By Student Reporter, James Simon Castens has been interested in trains all his life. He’s run the Titfield Thunderbolt bookshop since late 2010 but his interest has spanned many years. The name for his business came from the iconic 1952 film starring Sid James and John Gregson.The film tells the story of how a village saves their local branch line from closure and was largely filmed on the Camerton branch line between Monkton Combe and Midford. Simon’s passion for all things ‘train’ began as a young child. He told me about his Uncle Norman and frequently relays stories of their shared enthusiasm but he says that he never knew where his obsession came from.

In 1992 he began the Titfield Thunderbolt bookstall in Green Park Station, specialising in pre-1960s’ railway books. He later signed a tenancy Simon Castens of Titfield Thunderbolt agreement with British Rail in 1994 to become the station master of the Limpley Stoke train bridge Street, Larkhall and stocks an excelstation, planning to renovate it from a derelict lent range of quality new and second hand and much forgotten station into a centre for books, local history books, model railway train spotters and enthusiasts. Whilst this supplies, maps, magazines, greeting cards and building does not feature in the film, it is al- postcards.The shop has had good success, atmost identical to that at Monkton Combe, tracting visitors and customers from many which was the actual station which stars in miles away. I know Simon personally and have learned that he is also a model railway fan the film as "Titfield". with his own garden railway and regular Between 1997 and 2000, Simon opened his “train days” with his family, where we show shop in the Somerset Coal Canal visitor cen- each other our train sets and have a lot of tre. His success continued and since 2000 his fun. business has centred around his mail order and online shop, providing rail enthusiasts across the UK with one of the largest collections of new and second-hand books. On 13th of November 2010, Simon opened his official shop The Titfield Thunderbolt bookshop in Upper Lam-

Today Simon takes his bookstall and train sets all over the place, visiting railway exhibitions and showing off his stock. He will be visiting CAMRAIL 2011 at St. Margaret’s’ hall in Bradford on Avon on the 23rd and 24th of July which is 2 minutes away from a railway station! Simon has plans for the future of his business, developing further his specialism in model railway supplies and creating a niche in this sector. He is now stocking more model railway materials as well as more varied books and lovely postcards. He hopes that his shop will become a leading one in its genre.


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By Editor, Paula Hawkins Last week I somewhat nervously introduced myself to a room of 40 local business men and women who had come to St Mark’s School to take part in a Business Breakfast and the official launch of our new community networking initiative, Business Connect. To say that I didn’t sleep very well the night before is an understatement, but I can categorically state that the stress was worth it. The feedback from our first event was incredibly positive and we are thrilled that so many local business people felt it so worthwhile.

Just some of the delegates at June’s event. From left: Cllr Dave Laming, Cllr Bryan Chalker, Linda Anstey (Old Mill Hotel), Imogen Woodford (Social-i), Sally Edmonds (St Mark’s School) and Russ Crook (Alice Park)

The concept for Business Connect came about from a brainstorming session some time ago and has been a while in the planning. As a school, we have a huge number of very positive relationships with our local business community (you can see this by the volume of advertisers that this magazine continues to attract). Despite this, as a public organisation with a vested interest in our community, we felt as if we could be doing more. And better than this, we felt as if we were the right people to encourage others to also do more too!

Business Connect is, in effect, just that: an opportunity for businesses to connect. And not just businesses but schools, community organisations, charities, youth groups and anyone else who would like to make a positive, collaborative impact on our community. It’s a chance to meet, make new contacts, talk a little about what we do, maybe share some and fantastic to meet so many new faces and ideas or even create an opportunity to help having never speed-networked before, it was a great way to break the ice! I know that one another. whilst we had many attending, there were We plan to hold four events a year, in loca- many more who would have liked to have tions in and around Larkhall, inviting guest joined us and I very much look forward to speakers and panels to provide informed, ex- our next event when we can welcome even perienced advice on a range of topics whilst more local business people. at the same time having fun, making new friends and promoting our community. We see ourselves, the team at St Mark’s School, as facilitators and administrators and feel very much that the direction and content of these events should come from within our community. The feedback that we receive from this event and future ones will shape Business Connect and help us to create a vibrant and social network for us all to benefit from. Now it may come as a shock to some, but I am not a natural at these events! I find the idea of throwing myself into a room full of people that I don’t know very well, quite ... well ... intimidating. Networking, to many, is filled with dread and anticipation. It takes us out of our natural comfort zones; our offices, our schools, our shops, our homes, and throws us into the dizzy world of socialising and self-promotion.

The benefits of ‘networking’ can be incredible, not just in scales of profitability but through the sharing of knowledge and ideas. A friend of mine has set up an entire business on the back of his almost daily ritual of bacon butties and ‘coffee mornings’ (as his wife likes to call them). His network of business contacts are in some cases great friends (they share a passion for red wine like no other), allies and supporters...how many of us can say that we have bought something on the back of a recommendation? Knowing somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody else can be a very powerful tool when building a business or strengthening a community.

If you are interested in finding out more, would like to subscribe to our mailing list, or would like to come along to our next event on Wednesday 21st September please telephone me on 01225 312661 or email: It was somewhat surprisingly, hilarious fun businessconnect@st-marks.bathnes.sch.uk.


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The

LegendsofLarkhall By Bryan Chalker

This isn’t so much a legend of Larkhall, more of a legend in Larkhall and, to complicate matters further, the focus of the story is actually in Fairfield Park and concerns an almost legendary motorcar, a Bath-built Horstmann Those who know me will be familiar with my obsession for all things old and my love affair with early motor vehicles. My mayoral theme for the year is ‘Bath’s Industrial Heritage’, relating to the city’s history as a manufacturing centre and includes company names like Stothert & Pitt, J.T. Couch, Griffin Engineering, J.B. Bowler,William Harbutt and Sidney Horstmann. The latter company built, among other things, Bath’s very own motorcar from 1913 until 1929 and an estimated 3,000 vehicles were manufactured but only ten are thought to survive. Remarkably two of those cars are local to Bath and one, a 1914 model, is on display in the Museum of Bath At Work in Julian Road, whilst the other, until quite recently, was undergoing restoration in Fairfield Park Road.

The 1923 Horstmann at Brooklands in 2006, prior to coming to Fairfield Park for restoration

England in 1854 and set up his precision instrument business in Union Street. Sidney was one of five brothers and four of them set about developing a variable-speed gear box for motorcycles in 1904. Four of the Horstmann brothers, Sidney, Otto, Albert and Hermann, created the Horstmann Gear Company that year but their attempts at inventing a motor cycle gear mechanism to combat Bath’s notoriously steep and demanding hills failed and Sidney eventually achieved a degree of success with a 2-speed gear for the FN motorcycle. In 1913 Sidney decided to begin building a car using his own engine design, which involved using a novel type of kick-start mechanism operated from the cab and within close proximity of the driver’s seat.

Sidney Horstmann OBE was the son of a The Horstmann car has always fascinated German clockmaker, Gustav, who came to me and I have spent much time admiring the example – registered number NL 737 – in the splendid Museum of Bath At Work. I had no idea until just over five years ago that another Horstmann existed within my Lambridge ward and was undergoing extensive mechanical restoration involving, among other things, the ‘stitching’ of a cracked cylinder block. I was actually out delivering leaflets in Fairfield Park Road in the runup to the local Elections of 2007, was about to walk past an open garage, when I espied the distinctive form of a V-shaped radiator and stopped dead in my tracks. Was it, could it be………another fabled Horstmann? With that the house owner, whom I knew as it happened, stepped into his drive and quickly confirmed to me that the old car was indeed a celebrated Horstmann and one of only around ten known to exist. These cars once sold for about £360 each but today are highly prized motoring relics changing hands for many thou-

sands of pounds. This particular example has now moved away from Fairfield Park Road but its restoration is nearing completion and I have been promised a ride and a drive in the 1923 Horstman tourer (note the deletion of the second ‘n’) once it’s finally ready for the road. Sidney Horstmann was, by all accounts, a perfectionist and always seeking to improve his cars, with the result that no two were identical.

Sidney Horstmann at the wheel in his James Street West car factory The gentleman I spoke to was one of a group of co-owners of the Horstmann and for security reasons shall remain nameless but he takes up the story from here: “PD 555 left Bath in 1923 with its first owner Mr. Currie, Treasurer of Surrey County Council, who had no doubt been influenced by founder Sidney Horstmann’s brother Frederick, a near neighbour who managed the Guildford branch of the family opticians. When Mr. Currie died his widow, who did not drive, gave the car to Frederick and when he died the car was collected by Sidney and stayed in his ownership until his death in 1962. Sidney’s widow Catherine


Page 11 family, however, did not change their name, retaining both ‘ns’.” Interestingly, Sidney Horstmann’s father Gustav designed the world’s first micrometer accurate to one ten thousandth of an inch, the original of which is still preserved in the Science Museum.

“When the Museum of Bath At Work were putting on a display of all known UK Horstmann cars in 2008, PD 555 was found to be for sale and was bought by one of the Museum trustees and for a time lived in Fairfield Park before being sent away for restoration.

The Horstmann car itAnother Horstmann on display at the Museum of Bath At Work in self was highly individuJulian Road.This is a 1914 model and last driven in 1980 alistic and of advanced design. The car finally put into production in 1914 had a number of ver’s seat and operated on a massive ‘acme’ unusual features. The engine was a 4 cylinder thread on the propeller shaft and the three 995cc monoblock with horizontal overhead speed gearbox was contained within the rear valves operated directly by a camshaft axle casing. Most Horstmanns were fitted mounted in a detachable cylinder head. The with conventional open bodies of two or aluminium crankcase casting was attached to four seats, although a saloon model was listed the chassis frame at the flywheel end and be- in 1921. came the mounting for the front quarter elliptic springs whilst doubling up as an The radiator, as can be seen from the accomundershield. The engine was started by a foot panying photographs, was a very unusual pedal which could be reached from the dri- finned aluminium casting reminiscent of early Daimlers. Horstmann cars were among the very first to have cellulose paintwork in 1925.

“If you think you have spotted a typo error in the name, you haven’t! There was an inference by a journalist in 1915 that, being of German origin, the Horstmann company had been producing poor quality machine parts for the war effort. A court case followed resulting in victory for the Horstmann company but the decision was made to delete the second ‘n’ to avoid any further problems. The

The Horstmann Gear Company Ltd became world-renowned of course, as did its Newbridge Works in Bath, a centre of great industry and creativity. But for the purposes of this story, the Horstmann car is the star. It’s nice to know that one of these delightful and historic motorcars was once in our midst and might soon trundle through the streets of Larkhall, the author at the wheel!

Gustav Horstmann

kept the car until she died and it then passed through a number of owners, ending up in the hands of Mr. Dominic Bateman, back in Surrey, because the Bateman Optician Group had by then bought out Horstmanns!


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Anyone for Tennis? Local Tennis Club, Iconoclasts Celebrate 21 Years Of Play... One whiff of summer and out come the tennis racquets and strawberries for a couple of months, not to be seen until Wimbledon fever strikes again, twelve months later. Not so in Alice Park, where tennis club, Iconoclasts meet twice weekly, come rain or shine.

A Season of Dreams! Larkhall Athletic Make Their Mark On Toolstation Western League Premier Division

This year, the club celebrate 21 years of existence and in that time have played in several venues across Bath, finally settling for the peace and tranquillity (and courts, of course) at Alice Park. The club currently has around 25 members aged 17 to 70, many of whom are local to Larkhall, playing Thursday and Sunday evenings. Iconoclasts are a small, friendly club playing tennis with a little banter, good humour and a smidgen of competitiveness. They claim to know one another’s faults, always watching out for the doublebounce or sneaky foot fault! Despite this, there is a slightly more serious game of tennis to be had, and the club is keen to welcome new players to join them. “We think the standard amongst our players is ‘quite good’ or at least ‘not bad’. Everyone can get the ball back and understands tactics.This is the minimum requirement to join,” said club Secretary, Mike Harrison. “It is obvious that if an individual’s standard of play is a lot different from everyone else’s (either better or worse), the game is not enjoyable. We hope that prospective members will be able to work this out for themselves, because none of us likes to be the one to suggest that you ‘might need a bit more coaching’!” Members also have the opportunity to play in the Chippenham and District Tennis Club, currently competing in the Men’s Division 1 and Mixed Division 3. Club matches are held on Monday and Wednesdays, every other week. Subscription is £30 per year and covers all court fees and tennis balls (match fees are extra at £3.50). During the winter months, the club move indoors to the courts at Victoria Park to ensure that play can continue throughout the year. Club sessions run from 6:30 – 8:45pm on Thursdays and 5:00 – 7:30pm on Sundays. If you would like further information or are interested in going along for a taster session, contact Mike on 07969 564998 or email mike@leftism.plus.com.

Clever signings last year only strengthened further an already wellestablished and energetic Larkhall Athletic. Under the careful management of Neil Kirkpatrick, The Larks achieved what they had only dreamed of achieving at the start of this season, way back in August 2010 - taking the title of Champions. In only their second season in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division, Larkhall Athletic became champions no less than 9 points clear of their nearest challenger.The season ended with Manager, Neil Kirkpatrick, handing over the reins to local lad, Lee Collier who himself comes with a wealth of experience both on and off the pitch. The only other teams from our local area to have reached this standard of football have been Bath City in 1933-34 and Bath University in 2002-03 and it is this success that has caused the most recent dilemma for the Club. The challenge for Larkhall Athletic now lies not just in achieving successes on the pitch but also off. A higher league demands that work is completed on the facilities at Plain Ham before the team can move up. The Club have completed the walkway around the pitch and extended the rails and fencing in front of the grandstand.There are also plans to install secondary drainage on the pitch to improve the water logging problems that the club have suffered in recent seasons. Future plans include improvements on the dressing rooms, hospitality suite, toilets and food and drink facilities. All such plans are expensive and The Larks’ latest fund raising event will take place in New Oriel Hall on September 10th when a ‘Quiz Fish and Chip Supper’ is planned to raise money for the development fund. Anyone wishing to enter a team can contact Clive Burge Tel: 01225 311156 or email cliveburge57@yahoo.co.uk The Larks kick off their new season with an away fixture against Sherborne on August 13th with their first home fixture taking place at Plain Ham on Wednesday 17th August KO 7.45pm.


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Transition Larkhall gardening Blog

The garden is blooming and fruiting with a successful first year’s harvest, thanks to our volunteers It seems the snails haven’t realised that there’s a luscious new crop of salads, squash plants and spinach on the edge of Alice Park. The first plantings in the garden have sprung up relatively pest free. So let’s hope they don’t catch on. Only a few months ago, the Larkhall Community Garden was a bare patch of grass, waiting to be dug and trimmed and planted. Now it is full and developing, with the late summer and autumn crops taking over from the broad beans, peas and early season carrots.There’s sweetcorn growing up now, and climbing beans, golden beetroot, herbs, and a pumpkin patch for Halloween. The weekly volunteer sessions – where you can swap skills and take home your pick of the seasonal produce in return for a contribution – have become well established too. Come along from 10am to 12pm on a Sunday to see just what’s going on. We are expanding our composting, and looking at fundraising for the likes of a polytunnel, wildlife pond and seating area – so do get in touch if you can help with any of these. We’ve also started our programme of activities and workshops. In July we invited children to come along, play round the beds on a Sunday morning and taste some of the garden goodies.We also held a workshop on summer pruning for cordon and espaliered fruit trees – which are ideal if you don’t have much space. Sign up for news and other events by emailing the Community Garden coordinator Kathy Cook on kathy@swainswick.fsnet.co.uk. Late summer growing tips from our members: • August is a good time to make a strawberry bed. Runners will move easily, and be established in time for next year’s soft fruit season. • Save seeds from crops and flowers. Let coriander plants and fennel go to seed, and collect for cooking and for planting next year. Keep the seeds cool and dark – remember to label envelopes. • Think about planting a fruit tree – you can order bare-root trees, which are cheaper, for planting during the late autumn and winter. • If you find you have too many apples, bring them along with any surplus veg to the community garden on a Sunday morning and we’ll try to find a good home for them.

The Larkhall

Village Kitchen

The column that puts creativity back into cooking with the majority of ingredients sourced from Larkhall shops, gardens or allotments.

Sweet Corn and Potato Pie Ingredients: 1lb of potatoes 1 smll tin of sweet corn 1 medium sized onion half a cup of milk 2 tablespoons of stale breadcrumbs 1/4 oz of margarine a little flour salt and pepper to taste Method: Thoroughly scrub the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Half fill a pie-dish with them. Next, put in the contents (drained) of a tin of sweet corn and cover with the onion cut into thin slices. Put another layer of sliced potatos on top, dredge with flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour in the milk and cover the dish with the breadcrumbs. Dot with margarine and bake for 2 hours in a moderate oven. Serve with lightly boiled Swiss chard or spinach.


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G J Little Larkhall K

Recently, Ben and Ben teamed up to explore some of the local nurseries around Larkhall and London Road. Their first stop was Snapdragons Nursery on the London Road, where they met Nursery Deputy Manager, Hayley Fitton.

Our student reporters, Bryher, Shelby, Ben and Ben, decided that it was high time The Larkhall News took a different look at education in Larkhall and went to interview nursery and preschool providers in the local community to find out what they have to offer the little folk of Larkhall!

tion such as Zoolab. Snapdragons has recently been inspected by Ofsted and whilst they are, at the time of going to print unable to disclose the results, they are pleased.

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daily, morning and afternoon, with children taking a minimum of four sessions per week and a maximum of six. As the only nursery in the area attached to a primary school, the emphasis is very much about the learning experience for children and preparing them for school. Children are encouraged to explore their learning through play and are supported on their journey to primary school, making transition smooth and less scary for children. The nursery is open during normal school term dates from 8:45 am – 3:15pm, Monday to Friday.

The second nursery visited by our reporting The team at Snapdragons is an established team was Apple Tree Nursery, next to one, with many years of experience and serv- St Mark’s School, Spring Lane. ice amongst staff. The recent appointment of new manager, Lyndsey Race, has already had Apple Tree provides childcare and pre-school a huge impact, as they continue to raise the education in purpose-built facilities with 44 standards of care for children and create an places for children from birth to 5 years.They ethos that supports children as they progress are open 51 weeks a year, taking just one Just up the hill from Larkhall, on Charlcombe through their early years. M week off for Christmas. Lane, Little Scribblers is a popular choice With 97 children ranging in age from birth to They pride themselves on being an inclusive for parents locally. With just 15 places per 5 years, the setting is split into three very dis- environment for children with specialised fa- day, Little Scribblers is an intimate environtinctive areas, the baby room, toddlers and cilities for children with special educational ment for little learners that has a very pre-school to allow each child’s individual needs, including a SENCO (Special Educa- ‘homely’ feel. learning and care needs to be met. Snapdrag- tional Needs Co-ordinator) and full disabled ons embrace the Early Years Foundation facilities. The team at Apple Tree work hard Little Scribblers offers places to children aged Stage (EYFS), providing a framework to teach to ensure that all children feel part of a family 2-5 years from 8:00am to 5:30pm daily. The and educate children through fun and engag- and create a warm and friendly atmosphere nursery is open all year round (except for that children will feel confident and happy in. Christmas) and offers both term-time only ing activities. and full-time care as well as a breakfast and This is supported by an active programme of Apple Tree offer places to pre-school chil- after-school club for school-aged children. events throughout the year including trips to dren entitled to the government funded nurslocal attractions such as Victoria Art Gallery ery education grant and work closely with Outdoor play is very important to the chiland Warleigh Lodge Farm, regular rugby local primary schools to ensure a smooth dren at Little Scribblers and they are widely encouraged to explore the outside facilities coaches and specialists in pre-school educa- transition from nursery to school. including bikes, sand, soil, and their very own They have a good Ofsted report tree house. and are hoping to receive outstanding at their next inspection. The home corner is an important role-play area for the children and staff change the Student reporters Bryher and theme of the home corner depending on Shelby visited St Saviour’s what the children are interested in from Nursery School, meeting week to week.They all learn by doing, playing Ruth Whitemore, one of the and exploring. leaders of the pre-school nursNursery manager, Sarah Brooks said, “As a ery. species, we begin by doing things we like and St Saviour’s Nursery is a pre- enjoy. We continue this through childhood; if school environment for children children enjoy learning they will become lifeaged 3 to 5 years and follows the long learners and this begins by learning how EYFS. The school itself has over to love learning through play.” 200 children including 52 attending part-time in the on-site nurs- “The children enjoy the environment at Little Scribblers as they are allowed to find their ery. own feet by trying new things in a safe and The nursery runs two sessions secure environment.”

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