Month: June 2019

Summer at St John’s Church

~ bacaadmin

Where? St. John’s Church, Bellingdon

What? An exhibition on “Our beautiful world”. Tim Yates will also repeat the talk (about 20 minutes) he gave last year on both days at 3pm on the history of the village.

When? Saturday, July 6th (10.30 to 16.30), Sunday, July 7th (14.00 to 16.00)
This will be followed by Songs of Praise with some well-known hymns (16.00 -16.30) on the Sunday.
Refreshments will be available.

Can you help? Do you have anything we could display? Anything which reflects “our beautiful world” would be most welcome – painting, photography, embroidery, children’s paintings, arts and crafts in any medium – or perhaps something which is on the general theme of the environment and the damage we are doing to our world. You may also have other ideas we have not thought of. As well as reflecting our theme we’d like to showcase the talent in our villages and have a community focus. Could you tell us about it in advance of the weekend, or lend us anything we could display? If you can offer anything please could you get in touch with Jane Edmunds (j.edmunds@sky.com or 01494 782889)?

Do come and visit us during the weekend!

Jane Edmunds

The Bull – update May 2019

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We are finally able to reveal some of the mysteries lying beneath the shroud of scaffolding and plastic that envelops the works next to The Bull.
Whilst it does seem a very long time since work started on the new building to house the village nursery presently situated in the pub, an enormous
amount has been done.

Starting with the spoil excavated from the footings which was mechanically separated into soil for use on the garden surrounds and flint which was used as a base to reduce the use of concrete, every consideration has been given to reduce the carbon footprint of the development and to the use of eco-friendly materials.

The internal walls are built using blocks newly developed and manufactured to meet modern building standards at the village brickworks using local straw and clay with facing bricks from the same source. The
timbers are constructed using a process whereby English Larch waste and offcuts are made into a composite structural material and English grown
hemp is made into blocks at the brickworks and used as infill of the walls to provide an insulation factor 50% more than that required under present building rules.

Recycled car windscreens form an unlikely material that will provide a solid and insulating base for the internal floor and the mortar binding the building together and for rendering the internal wall is simply a mix of local clay and straw.

When completed the building will have a “green” roof, planted with indigenous plants and will sit considerably lower in the landscape than the present covering suggests. In short, this unique building, the first of its kind in this country, will not only serve a most practical purpose but will be one in which the Matthews family and indeed our village can take enormous pride.

  • Showing the detail of an internal doorway and the delightful effect of the home-developed clay and straw building blocks
  • This shows the central area. The surrounding area can be partitioned into different usable spaces.
  • Showing the composite Larch timbers
  • Recycled windscreens for an insulating base to internal floor
  • The exterior wall showing the hemp block insulation “fillers” and the overall thickness giving exceptional insulation.

Summer Newsletter out now!

~ bacaadmin

Your printed copy of the summer newsletter should be dropping through your letterbox in the next few days. In case you don’t receive it, or the dog gets there first, you can find an electronic copy here.

In this Summer issue of our newsletter we look forward to our annual fête and the many other things going on in our small, but lively, village community.

This last quarter we’ve held another well attended tea and cakes event, plus a BBQ pub night including a very popular football session for the youngsters.

Gary Woodley, one of the hall trustees, is happy to run the football on a Friday evening during the summer so do pop down. We’re hoping to run further BBQ pub nights too.

July 9th sees the AGM of the Bellingdon & Asheridge Community Association (BAACA). This is your annual opportunity to see in detail what’s been going on at the hall and review the charity’s accounts. All welcome, we don’t bite!

Of course, BAACA couldn’t run without our volunteer trustees. National Volunteers’ Week runs from 1-7th June and we’d like to encourage you to think whether you have a few hours spare each week to help us.

We are very much in need of a secretary (trustee position) and also a
maintenance supervisor to keep an eye on the premises and call in
help when needed.

For just a few hours a week you could make an immeasurable contribution to the community, so don’t be shy. Please get in touch with one of the committee or email us for more information on either position.

You can find out more about what we do here. Or contact us for more information.

Volunteers’ Week 2019

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Volunteers’ Week is a time to say thank you for the fantastic contribution volunteers make.

During the week, hundreds of events and celebrations take place across the country, saying thank you to volunteers and recognising their invaluable and diverse contribution to UK society

So what would we have missed out on without volunteers? Well London 2012, for a start, featured 70,000 voluntary Gamesmakers – the Games simply couldn’t have happened without them.

On a more local level, there are hundreds of thousands of volunteers making the little things happen – volunteer drivers, carers, guide/scout leaders, football coaches, and community building management teams to name but a few. Almost all of us will benefit in some way from someone volunteering their time free of charge.

And it’s great for the volunteers themselves – learning new skills, meeting new friends, it’s a fantastic way to enrich your own life at the same time as helping others, and is an important foundation of our society.  

Inspired? How can you help?

Our village hall provides a crucial locaiton for villagers (especially the elderly and vulnerable) to meet through Ladies’ Club, Hort Soc and various exercise classes during the week. We also run several social events a year including the extremely popular seniors’ Christmas lunch and children’s Christmas party. We fund much of the upkeep of the hall by hiring it out for children’s parties, weddings and other celebrations.

We need someone to commit a couple of hours a week to support our trustees and bookings secretary in ensuring that our facilities are maintained to the standard expected by our hirers. The role consists of checking the hall and grounds each week to make sure, for example, lights are all working, nothing is broken, no hazards to report. If anything does need flagging you would raise it with the committee so expenditure can be approved.

We’re also looking for a secretary (this is a Trustee position). You’d prepare an agenda for our monthly meeting plus take, circulate and keep a record of all minutes at the meeting. There may be a small amount of additional correspondence.

Finally we’d love some help with our online presence (website, facebook, twitter and monthly email) and quarterly newsletter. This would suit a sixth former or student looking for some experience in digital and print marketing and communications. You’d assist with writing and possibly layout and proofreading of the quarterly newsletter and monthly email, plus making sure all digital channels are kept ticking over and assist with targeted campaigns for particular events (for example the annual fête).  

If any of this is of interest please do get in touch: contact@bellingdon.com or speak to any of the committee.

B&A Village Fête 29th June 12:30-5pm

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Please join us for our annual village fête! The organisers are working extremely hard to make sure the event is as spectacular as always, the important dates are: 

  • 19th June: village doorknock (6-9pm, a great way to meet your neighbours!)
  • 20th June: final planning meeting
  • 28th June: setup (pm)
  • 29th June: Fête day – set up from 8am, fête starts at 12:30pm. 
  • We also need help clearing up afterwards as there’s an event on the field the following day . 

What’s on?
As usual we’ll have the Fun Dog Show, Hemel Hempstead Band, Bar (Real Ale and Pimms), BBQ, Tea & Cakes, Tombola, Tug-o-War, Bouncy Castle and Kids’ Area, Kids’ Fancy Dress competition, Books, Beat the Goalie and much more!

This year we’re fortunate to have the local police coming, who will have crime prevention information and be able to identity mark your property. They’ll also be bringing a police car for the younger attendees to have a look at.  

What’s it all for, anyway?
Primarily, its a traditional village fête, an extremely popular summer day out for adults and kids alike. Additionally funds raised from the fête go towards the upkeep and improvement of facilities at the community village hall. In recent years we’ve used these funds to redecorate the hall, refurbish the floor and install a new kitchen. The next big projects are refurbishing the roof and reorganising the car park.  

Sounds great, how can I help? 
All our organisers are volunteers, we need help in many areas before, during and after the fete. Keen bakers can donate cakes, scones, cupcakes etc for the tea & cakes; we always need people to get involved running stalls on the day – coconut shy, beat the goalie, books, tombola, bar and BBQ to name but a few.

We’ll be going door-to-door ten days before the fete, collecting donations of wine/bottles, items suitable for the raffle or tombola and any other good quality items you may wish to donate. We’ll also be delivering a free fete programme to each house and offering the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets. We can also collect items clearly marked “fete” from a safe but obvious place if you’re going to be out. If we miss you we’ll leave a card with details of how to contact us if you have any items to donate.

We’d love some help on the doorknock (19th June 6-9pm ish), setting up the field on Friday 28th (5-8pm approx), on the morning of 29th June from 8am, taking everything down afterwards. Please email fete@bellingdon.com if you can help in any way, or speak to one of the organisers. 

Adverts and sponsorship
We have some space left in our programme for adverts from local businesses, alternatively why not sponsor one of our dog show classes? You’ll need to get in quick though, as we’re filling up fast! Dog show sponsors receive a free advert in the programme, web publicity in advance and will be announced on the day over the PA system. 

Raffle prizes
We are always overwhelmed by the generosity of our villagers in giving us raffle prizes – many of these will be collected during the annual doorknock (this year on June 19th) where our team goes from house to house collecting donations, giving out programmes and selling raffle tickets. We’d love to hear from anyone who might have a raffle prize available.

Stall pitches
If you or someone you know would like a stall at the fête, please let us know as soon as you can. A stall pitch costs £25 and you’ll need to bring your own gazebo. We do have some tables available but please let us know in advance if you require one. To book a pitch please complete our stall booking form and return it to fete@bellingdon.com with your payment to secure your place.