Kempsford/Whelford
Margaret Wolfenden
01285 810477
mwolf@waitrose.com

  • THANK you to the residents who responded to the request for a volunteer to deliver the parish newsletters to the new housing development in Kempsford. Also grateful thanks to the volunteers who have been delivering the newsletters for so long to everyone in our villages.
  • CRICKET Club Fixture this Sunday, May 29, is an away game against South Hill starting at 2pm.
  • LIVE Music this Saturday, May 28, at Whelford Social Club. Opening time is 8pm to midnight12am.
  • HOLY Communion this Sunday, May 29, 10am at St Anne's Whelford. Please note there is no service at Kempsford.
  • PARISH Council grass-cutting contractors will no longer cut the grass along the Middle Farm path due to the large amount of dog fouling. A dog waste bin is situated at the gate on to Top Road and another is soon to be installed at the other end of the path leading on to the High Street.

Fairford 
Chris Roberts 
0744 350 0744
chris@cotswoldwireless.co.uk

  • AT THE May Town Council meeting, Jennie Sanford was elected to serve another year as town mayor. No deputy has yet been selected or elected. Jon Hill was co-opted to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former deputy mayor, Barry Fenby and, since the May town council meeting, Cllr Rob Rao has also resigned and so there is another opportunity for someone to fill the vacancy and become a town councillor. For more information, please contact the town clerk on 01285 712344.
  • THE Commonwealth Flags for Fairford Flag Festival have now been put up around the town by a band of Town Councillors and volunteers. These colourful additions to the town really make Fairford look attractive. 
  • AT THE May meeting of Fairford WI, there was a talk on The Story and History Behind Your Cup of Tea by Pam Slater. The next meeting of Fairford WI is on Wednesday, June 1 at 7.30pm in the Palmer Hall, when members will learn about quilting with Sheila Panther to begin preparations for the WI Centenary Banner for March 2017. For more information, contact Jean on 01285 713308.
  • MINI Praise for pre-schoolers and their carers is at 1.45pm on Thursday, June 2 at St Mary’s Church, Fairford. A lovely little free session with stories, songs, crafts, and snacks.  
  • FAIRFORD Art Society meeting on Thursday, June 2 starts at 7.30pm at Fairford Community Centre. This will be a demonstration by Simon Morris with liquid acrylics. Visitors welcome £3. Information from Jayne Tovey on 01285 850626.
  • RIPPLES community magazine is planning a larger July/August edition to celebrate good writing by Ripples readers. They would like to receive short stories, essays and poems. No more than 2,000 words, but shorter if preferred. Please send your contributions in writing, preferably by email to editor@ripplesmag.co.uk. Deadline is Friday, June 3 (a week ahead of the usual copy deadline). Please give your name, approximate age, the town or village where you live in the Ripples distribution area, and a little about why you wrote it. Ripples will publish as many as they think are suitable and that can be fit in the enlarged magazine.
  • IT IS all change for some of the hostelries in the area: Jo and Jeremy White have taken over The Railway pub, which will re-open in a couple of weeks. The management of The Bull Hotel in Fairford will also be changing. Ian Summers is set to leave the hotel in October. In addition, the Riverside pub in Lechlade has also had a change of management with Summer Lancaster having left recently. The Riverside pub is now being run by a temporary manager.

Lechlade
M Hing
mzh@stickonsigns.co.uk

  • THE Wessex Male Choir swept the board at Cheltenham winning the Cotswold Glass Trophy in the show tunes class, the P J Taylor Challenge Cup for best male choir, and finally, against stiff competition, the Gold Cup for the most memorable performance. This follows hot on the heels of success at this year’s Mid Somerset Festival in Bath where they won the male choir competition. This is the third time the Swindon-based choir has won the Gold Cup and it is a fabulous achievement for the choir and musical director, Katrine Reimers. The choir’s next Swindon concert is at Steam on July 16, but before then, the choristers are heading off to Italy for the Alta Pusteria International Choir Festival in South Tyrol. Tickets for the summer concert with the ‘Wessex’ and their guests, the award winning ‘Jubilate’ Ladies Choir, are available from the Wessex Male Choir on 01793 852786, the information desk in Swindon Central Library, Regent Circus Swindon 01793 466454, The Steam ticket office, Kemble, Dr Swindon (in person) or tickets@wessexmalechoir.co.uk. The choir is as always on the lookout for new talent, so if you like the idea of singing and competing, call the membership secretary Nick Brown (Tel: 01367 253256 or 07956 270354). The choir rehearses every Tuesday evening, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm, at the Church of Christ the Servant, Elstree Way, Abbey Meads, Swindon.
  • THE Police will be at the usual point at the rear of the pavilion in Lechlade on Saturday, May 28, from 3pm to 4pm.