Snow is falling, snow on snow............

So, finally we have had some real, 'grown-up' snow. It didn't start until after 3am, but by 7am there was a good three inches, and a further 2 by 9am. On top of Cotley Hill this morning there were blizzard conditions with snow being driven by a bitter north-easterly wind. In the right clothing it was great fun!

The woods were tranquil in their white mantel, the only noise to be heard was the yap of an excited dog and the occasional crack as a bough overloaded with snow snapped.

Happy New Year

This was the view from in front of the farm house this new year's morning.

What a fantastic start to the year, even if viewed through slightly bleary eyes. A blue moon too, that won't happen again at New Year until 2028.

Here's hoping that everyone had an enjoyable celebration last night.....only 358 days until Christmas.

Fish and Chip Supper, 28 November

In spite of the dreadful weather, another successful, well attended village hall event .

A gloriously simple evening - only one big choice to make on the main course, garden peas or mushy ones?!

The fish was line caught cod from a sustainable fishery and big 'chunky' chips.

Dessert was a different matter with plenty of choices; rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, Eton mess, fresh fruit salad, profiteroles and chocolate & banana cake.

Thanks to Lena, Pat, Suzanne, Jo and Sue for cooking the fish and chips. Thanks to Hilary for the peas (both kinds) and thanks to all who provided desserts.

The evening's quiz was enjoyed by all, thanks to Jasper for researching it.

The next village hall event will be a Valentine party.

Curry Night

The recent curry night was a great success. A full house. As usual there were some excellent curries.

It's all a matter of taste but my personal 'curry of the night' was Jim's pork vindaloo.

Don't forget the fish and chip supper on November 28.

Another Trade Recommendation From Annette

Jim and I had some more work done at our house this past weekend, by Steve Beer who lives in the village.

Steve did a wonderful job doing some plastering for us at the house. It's great to have such a skilled and reliable tradesman living in the village.

Trade Recommendation From Annette

Hi,
I would just like to say that we have just had a front door replaced and windows,plus our Conservatory replaced and the Company that replaced these was Perma Frame In Frome.
The guys were excellent,they turned up on time were very clean and tidy. We would highly recommend them as good Tradesmen.

So.. that's the summer over and done with.....

Well, I've been waiting for a nice day to do some blogging - hence I haven't blogged for ages.

Check out the new village website, it looks great.

The trees are laden with apples and pears, the tomatoes are ripening and the chillis are reddening nicely in the greenhouse. The swallows are lining up on the wires and the whole 'feel' of the climate has changed to autumn.

Don't forget that it's Frome Cheese show next week. Those of us that attended last year had a really good day out, followed by a really good evening!

Today's 'garden open' day seemed to go well and the weather stayed kind for a change. Please will someone involved with it blog it for us!

St George's Day, Cowslips and Orchids

Cotley Hill is festooned with cowslips and the early purple orchids are in bloom - in time for St George's Day.

Don't forget Saturday's St George celebration - there is still space. Contact Pat Frost if you would like to attend.

Happy New Year

It's a long time since the previous post on the blog - the year has turned and we have had a month of real winter weather. Quite a refreshing change notwithstanding the increased heating bills, the price of oil has dropped considerably, thank goodness.

The carol service on Christmas Day was well attended and very uplifting.

New Years Eve in the village hall was reported a success and a selection of pics will be posted on the newly launched Norton Bavant Flickr page

http://www.flickr.com/groups/988058@N21/

Follow the prompts and set up your flickr account to access the page.

Pie and Mash Evening

There will be a 'festive' pie and mash supper in the village hall on Saturday 6 December.
Tickets are £8 per person, under 16's from Norton Bavant eat free.

All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Village Hall and Memorial Field.

Numbers are limited - advance bookings only.

To book a place at the supper and/or donate a pie or dessert, please contact Pat Frost on 840433.

All donations of festive raffle prizes welcome.

It has been a long time!

It has been a long time since the last 'Bavant Blog'.

There was a very successful curry night on September 27th, a village meeting on October 8th (Rowena Lane took on the mantle of neighbourhood watch coordinator, no uniform provided - or even a mantle).

August and September saw small swarms of villagers regularly cycling to Corton to support their own particular worthy cause. The principal beneficiaries seemed to be Stowford Press Ciders and Britvic. The dark evenings have put paid to this, but hopefully the spring will see a rebirth.

Don't forget the pie and mash evening on Saturday 6 December.......

Moira Powley

As all in the village will know Moira passed away on July 5th. She will be sadly missed by all of her family and friends but has left us with many great memories. I have pasted in the introductory paragraph to Moira's website.

Please visit the site
http://www.moirapowley.co.uk
to find out more about a project to remember Moira or to add your condolences

Moira Powley passed away on Saturday, July 5th 2008. She will be greatly missed by her husband Miles, daughter Karen and their respective families, as well as her many friends. Please join us in celebrating her life at All Saints Church at 3pm on Wednesday, July 16th.

As you know Moira was a colourful person so no black please!

There will be a reception after the service.

Don't Pick the Wild Flowers

Every year an outstanding specimen fragrant orchid grows near the path just above the woods on Cotley Hill. For the last four years, no sooner has the orchid reached perfection than it has been picked.

True, there are thousands of orchids on the hillside, but that's where they belong.

To pick one (or more) is completely inconsiderate as it deprives others of an opportunity to enjoy the flower and prevents the plant from increasing numbers next year.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, we are incredibly privileged as a village to have it 'on our doorstep' and to have access to it, please treat it with respect.

Norton Bavant Field Day, 7 June 2008 - CANCELLATION

Indications are that a considerable number of people will be away from the village
on Saturday and the event will not be viable. The decision has been made, regrettably, that the ‘Field Day’ must be cancelled.

Wild Orchids on Cotley Hill

After a month away, a walk up Cotley Hill in the sunshine was a delight. The hillside is festooned with wild orchids.

Today I saw large numbers of spotted orchids and fragrant orchids as well as some bee orchids and twayblades. There are white helleborines and twayblades in the woods.

They won't be there for very long, so get yourselves up there.

Race for Life

Well, we did it!

On what was a pretty miserable morning in Marlborough the Norton Bavant Harriers got round the course in record time, 33 minutes and raised over £400 for Cancer Research in the process, we were supported by the usual suspects Jasper, David & Martin along with Marcia’s parents. Thank you for sponsoring us and it’s not too late to add to the funds. Please make your cheques payable to Race for Life.

Race For Life, 1 June 2008

The ladies of Norton Bavant’s running club will be taking part in the 5K Race for Life in Marlborough on 1st June 2008 to raise money for Cancer Research. We’ve been training since February and we have managed to dodge the rain, the boy racers speeding along the road to Sutton Veny and we’ve tried really hard to keep up with the boys in the running club. We’ve suffered many niggles such as bad knees, bad hips, bad neck, bad toes and yet we are still coming back for more!

Anyway, we have a couple of weeks to go before the race so if you would like to sponsor us, you can contact Marcia, Fiona or Angela.

Neighbourhood Watch - Volunteer Required...

At the recent village meeting, after a long tenure, Pat Frost formally tendered her resignation as Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for Norton Bavant. No volunteers were immediately forthcoming, so the purpose of this blog is to publicise the vacancy.

Anyone prepared to take on this role in the community should contact Pat on 840433, or reply using the comment link on the blog and we will pass it on.

St George's Day Celebration

There will be a St George's Day celebration in the village hall, Norton Bavant on the evening of Saturday 19th April, commencing 7.30pm.
The evening will celebrate traditional English food; bangers and mash (a variety of mashes will be on offer) followed by a traditional English pudding (kindly provided by our friends at the 'Pudding Club' in the Cotswolds).

The price is £8 per person for main course and pudding (under 16's from Norton Bavant eat free).

The festivities will be fuelled, no doubt, by traditional English ales and ciders as well as wines from many of England's colonies (past and present) such as Australia, New Zealand, USA and France!!!!

The evening will be equally suitable to non-English participants.

Enter into the spirit - wear red and white, bring a dragon along.

More details will appear on the Norton Bavant website.