Our composer in residence, Richard Blackford, has produced his first film – a seven-minute introduction to his recent piece for piano and cello, Blewbury Air, which he calls “a love song to the village of Blewbury”.
Follow the link above for a digest of the coronavirus-related news items notified to the Blewbury Bulletin so far. This will be updated as new information becomes available, and will include announcements on how the outbreak is affecting local services and facilities.
After a month of life under lock-down and the rigours of social distancing, Parish Council Chair Chris Lakeland reflects on new ways of meeting, the lack of draught Guinness, and a new appreciation of the importance of friendship and community spirit.
We now have over 200 lovely volunteers.
If you need a prescription collecting, some shopping done, a letter for posting or just need a friendly phone call, please ring Blewbury Post Office 01235 85177 or see the printed Bulletin for Karen or Lydia’s mobile numbers and we will then find a volunteer who will call you back.
Woodlands pharmacy now requires a written letter of authorisation to collect on someone’s behalf, so please have a note written out & ready! Please don’t think you’re ‘being a nuisance’, because when we are poorly, we will be relying on you!
Stay safe. Love from Karen and Lydia
The situation regarding events held during the Coronavirus epidemic is constantly changing.
As we have now been told that the progress of the pandemic will cover the next two months, the bellringers have decided to postpone the annual Duck Race, which was due to take place on Easter Sunday.
The Duck Race will now take place on Michaelmas Sunday, 27th September.
If you have already bought tickets for the Duck Race and would like a refund, please can you take them back to the Post Office or, alternatively, any ducks that remain sold will be entered in the race in September.
We know that this is frustrating and disappointing, but we feel that it is the most sensible approach to take as caring for our health is far more important. Gill Loyd
The Blewbury Table Tennis Club is now just over one year old and we are very pleased with everything that has been achieved in that time.
Over the last fifteen months we have held regular Tuesday evening club sessions and over 70 different individuals aged from 6-90 years of age have participated in our club sessions. In the early days we played on tables generously loaned by four families in the village. With generous support from the Tony Loy Trust and the Vale of the Wight Horse Active Communities Fund we now have four top quality Cornilleau Table Tennis tables, which are a joy to use both because of the quality of the playing surface but also because they are so easy to fold up and wheel around when they are not in use.
As well as our regular Tuesday evening club sessions, we have also now established a regular Tuesday afternoon After-School Table Tennis Club at Blewbury School, and both clubs have benefited from specialist coaching from a fully qualified Level 3 Coach, who visits us every now and then. On top of all that we have recently, almost seamlessly, been able temporarily to move the sessions for both Clubs from the Village Hall to Blewbury School Hall.
Sadly like so many other groups we are now suspending all Club activities as a response to the Coronavirus situation. We are however looking forward to being able to welcome new members to both of our Clubs once we start up again in the refurbished Village Hall – hopefully very soon! Roger Murphy, Club Chair
Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to the fundraising events over the past two years. It is fantastic to finally have the climbing frame in place and it is fair to say that it has been a huge success with the children which makes it all worth while.
The full scheme of window, banners and lighting is now successfully installed in St Michael’s and only a few finishing touches are left to complete the work. We are confident that the project will come in under budget and are now just £400 short our financial target.
Have you been in the village and witnessed drivers travelling at excessive speeds? Would you like to join a team of volunteers to ‘encourage’ these drivers to slow down? We have several volunteers but we need more, so please consider signing up.
Our weekly Club Sessions are every Tuesday from 6-8pm in the Blewbury Village Hall. These are open to players of all standards, and we welcome visitors. We have four tables, bats & balls and can provide coaching if required.
We would love to welcome some additional players this winter. Our aim is to have fun and be as inclusive as possible for anyone who would like to give it a try.
Any first visit to the Club is free. After that our weekly playing fees are £3 for Adults and £1 for those 18 and under.
From Tuesday 5th November we will be launching a Blewbury School After-School KS2 Table Tennis Club. This will meet each week during term time from 3:15 – 4:15pm. Blewbury School pupils can sign up now at the School Office.