loam and—11.1” "7? e lzsoopins the outcners. , - . it BRIDGE Correspondent: John Anderson, 7 Bering Road, Bridge, Canterbury CT4 5NA. FISH scheme: Coffee pop~in will be held in the village hall between on Wednesday, *S““-aces orne 1' S vn Blossom ou ' “ill be on Wednesday, May 2 and the annual fund-raising coffee morning in Bridge Village Hall wiil _be on Saturday, May 19. Annual: The annual meting of . North Nailbourne Ward Conservative Association will be held in Bridge Village Hall on Tuesday, at 7.30pm. c Concert: The Bridgebased Madrigal Singers including Quodlibet, are performing in a special concert for Passiontide and Easter entitled Some Sacred and Some Secular, at Littlebourne parish church, on Wednesday, April 11, at 8pm. ~ Tickets are £5 including refreshmentaavailahle from John - Anderson on 830260, the Rev John Allen on 01227 721233, the Canterbury Visitors Centre, or on the door if any are left. Easter Lilies: Anyone wishing to buy a lily for'St Peter’s Church , Bridge can contact Vic Brazier, on 830981. The cost this year will be about £2. Decorating the church will start at 10am, on Saturday, April 14, all help greatly appreciated, especially newcomers. Sadly, the numbers are falling on the rota,and a few extra people are _ desperately needed. ' Also, at St Marys Church, Patrixbourne, if you would like to make a donation towards the cost ' of lilies please forward donations to Andrea Nicholson, churchwards, ' Riverside Cottage, Patrixbourne, 830947. They will be decorating the church on the morning of Easter Saturday from 9. They also need new people to join ‘ the rota of flower arrangers; you d0n’t have to be an expert. Services: Sunday (Palm Sunday): 10am Matins, Dr A. Nicholson, St Marys Church, Patrixbourne; llam, family service, the Rev P.- Filmer; and 6pm Evensong, the Rev Filmer and Mrs Margaret ’Clark.e at St Peters Church, Bridge; ilam, Bridge Methodist Church service led by the -Rev David Marshall. Other churches in the Bridge group: 8am, Communion the Rev J. Shorrock, St Peter’s Church, Bekesbourne; 9.30am Communion, the Rev P. Filmer St Marys, Nackington. Holy Week services: Monday 8am _ , the-.Rev _R.Eiln,1e.r.. Inprningprayer. , and Tuesday, 12.30pm Communion In .Seter'.’s B 7' ”"""'li " "i ess rom ' to Bridge via Patrixbourne, with the Rev P. Filmer, St Peter’s Church, Bridge. Wednesday, Bpm, evening prayer, the Rev J. Shorrock, St Marys Church, Patrixbourne; 7 .30pm, Maundy Thursday, Tenebrae, Bridge School. 2 Good Friday, learn childrerfs workshop (at John Baker White Hall) Mrs M. Clarke to join the walk of Witness walkers in acts of ' ridge e es ourne N acts of workship in each church, 10am St Peter’s, Bekesbourne, llain St Mary’s, Patrixbourne, noon, St Peter’s Bridge. Legion: Littlebourne and District 2 Branch of the Royal British Legion will meet this month at the Plough and Harrow, Bridge; details of branch activities on 01227 812292. PARISH MEETING Q‘ Chairman’s report: Parish council chairman Cllr Andersonreported -- that the work done on the flood alleviation scheme last year had prevented the flooding emergency this winter being far worse. Bridge was one of the, few villages that had a flood emergency action plan in 1988 and in light of recent experiences steps are being taken to bring it up to date in co-operation with other villages along the Nailbourne and Stour._ The council has been assured that - the footbridge over -the ford will be replaced by Kent County Council. when conditions allow. It was regretted that a once in ca lifetime opportunity to extend the village hall had not reached a — satisfactory conclusion. . The Bridge Millennium Festival was an outstanding success last year both in the summer and autumn and Cllr Anderson thanked all whose hard work and enthusiasm had made it such an ’ outstanding occasion. Cllr Anderson also thanked Alan ' Walton,_the chairman, and Cllr Christine Beer who liaised between _ their committee and the parish council. The council, in consultation with the Kent county and city councils, is still interested in exploring the possibility of a footpath and cycle A track from Bridge to Canterbury but this is on the back burner at present owing to the development of the park and ride and the fact that the council officer concerned has changed his allegiance to a different authority. - ' . An exhibition of plans for traffic calming produced by the Kent ' Highways at the highway management unit at‘ the city council was displayed in the village hall over a three day period. Visitors were asked to complete a questionnaire with their comments f and these.were,a,nalysed topbtain. A the overall view of the village, which was largely in favour of the - scheme. This scheme is now in the process of being implwiented. With the closure of the footpaths due to the current outbreak of‘ foot and mouth disease, dog fouling of the streets and footpaths is now becoming a problem and, although he recognised that not all owners were being irresponsible, Cllr Anderson appealed to dog owners Lto clean up after their dogs. ' - nrmn*g=rnreyear'vana’a1i-gm within"? the village had included the seat . outside the post office and the concrete seat at the bridge and crime in general was on the. increase. The Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is due to close at the end of April unless new co-ordinators can be found and Cllr Anderson appealed to parishioners to volunteer and keep the scheme up and running. Hall management: Cllr Gulvin, on behalf of the village hall ,. management committee, reported that the general licence had been granted. The hall is in regular use including weekends and income was above that of last year with more money on reserve. A letter of thanks had been sent to Bridgeway Stores who hold the keys for the village hall. The 2 management committee was disappointed that the shop could not be acquired to extend the hall. Village sports trust: On behalf of the trust Cllr Gulvin reported that the trust pays its way and has a small surplus of funds. Acts of vandalism had occurred but this was mainly broken glass and the trust was determined not to give in to vandalism and erect screens. More storage space is required and this is to be addressed in 2001/2002. The junior and senior football teams have been unable to use the pitch since October due to the extreme weather conditions and may ask for a review of their fees. School: Mrs Anderson a primary school governor, reported that the building of new classrooms was progressing well. To help alleviate the parking problems at the school, Mr Houghton is undertaking traffic duty at the beginning and endof the school day. The school has received a school achievement award. Over the last 10 years, five members of stall have moved on to . take headships at other schools. Mr Birrell has been named as . sports teacher of the-year by the sports districtadvisory council, Mrs Clubb has been presented to the Queen at a reception at Buckingham Palace in acknowledgement of her contribution to services in education,.two members of staff have done an advanced teaching co1_irse.andiG,uite .a few young people have come to the school on work experience. County Councillor: Cllr Vye reported thatjthe new traffic measures are "progressing swiftly. and that alt ugh he is aware of divided opinion .on,them he supports the pedestrian crossing -wholeheartedly. _ g - Cllr Vye reported that traffic congestion at school drop—off and ' pickup times_-remains a problem -and that the school, to his . i ’ "" * green travel plan which wasone .of ' the conditions of granting _ ._ l planning permission for the new ‘ building, He reported that the B ’ school had tried to organises" Walking Bus project" without ; success. ' I 3 However there is a renewed 3 initiative inthe districtto get such 3. schemes started and there is city 3 council money for start up costs. } Cllr Vye reported that he had been 3 ‘in-touch with Mrs Newton and Mrs i Whatley and a new attempt is ‘ being made toirecruit volunteers. On flooding, Cilr Vye said that we cannot be sure that the worstis over, but the likelihood is that the risk is receding and that the ‘ ' crucial task is to draw up plans for ‘ -next winter and the future. He said’ that Bridge is unique along the Nailbourne in that the Environment Agency did improve’ the channel through the village last winter and the problems this‘ year came frorn_run—off and newly appearing springsrather than from the stream itself. t l The crisis had illustrated the . deficiencies in the drainage and sewerage systems and Cllr Vye reported that he has assisted in setting up a meeting for the parish t councils along the Nailbourne with- the intention to establish a list of requirements for essential improvements to reduce damage to property and misery caused to people if there is a recurrence of the deluge. ' Cllr Vyethanked Mr T. Fears and Cllr Oakey for the work they were doingwith regard to flooding. City Councillor: Cllr Oakey: In his — report, Cllr Oakey said that the last 12 months had been full of activity. On the good side was the overdue traffic calming scheme with the firstphase of the calming measures have already st_art.ed. ' Cllr Oakey reported that last June planning permission was granted for the construction of the new medical centre and it would have been in use now, but for the heavy rainfall last winter delaying its construction. The NHS. advise that the -medical centre should now be . open by this _autumn; C11r.Oakey reported that on the adverse side was the fact that B Bridge had been fit by the flooding Nailbonrneaaithoughg not._n.ear1y as badly as the neighbouring villages of€Patrixbourneaarid Blshopsb o1_-:_1rn_e. Cllr Oa-key said that one 'goed"_thing H‘ _e__1n_erg1'n__g lduring the flooding was the spirit of Ileighbonrliness and this was exempglified by the soup" kitchen set up in the Village hall and the in1p'ron1p_tu'.river party set -- g upinBrewery Lane. Cllrflakey ; _ i —-“said that one of this'com-pensates _ ' '_ b the-fvictiJ:ns who are still dealing l with the afterniathof the -.'flood-'1''-ng'. : ."C11r {Jake}? recommended that thee-l’. A i —parish_ council reactivateits _i . to léok to appoint a a . . flood/emergency warden. The‘ city emergency task force Setup in 19__88 '_ e ” council has set up a flood scrutiny \ . cijmmittee te look at ways-'of_ better coping with such future H. .ei:ner'gencies. "'SCI‘I1fi.I1Y‘.. CD3‘ T. Pears, chairman. of "' i th_e_.eonnty eouncifs Policy and - Resources Scrutiny Cornmi-tte_e,~ gave a brief outline of the e e i b restruetnxring of the local government and how this had i ~ brought about the cornrnitteebeing '_ * set up to undertake a public ~ i ,. interest inquiry into the recent. and ". ongoing flooding in the county. b He said the final report of the - iebmrnittee was to be put before the city colmcil in_April and he gave a" . ~ brief insight as to the contributory r = -_. __facto_rs that had been taken into account and the recommendations '-that the committee had made * ' which it was hoped would be taken e 7 l M_eeting: The parishcouncilnwill d - _ meet in the Hunter Room, village-. ran, on Thursday, April_12,_at' r _ 7-—._3'Opn:1; all parishioners Welcome. ' Correspondent: John _A11derseI1,_7 . Dering Road, Bridge, Canterbury CT-4 SNA. ' Gardeners: The spring Show of the Nfli1b0uI'I1E'{HUI'tiC111tUIfl1 Society held in Bridge Village Hall was of a - high standard.. . _‘ ' ?‘_Heiis;ever, it . . .=diJ‘ffic1;11t ewirlg to-'—the 3.1332-1r1eS.ef. ' the -we'ather't'e judge the ‘right ' __ week to hold it. Certainlyit would have been more desirable to have held it one or two weeks later as it turned out. There were 11 exhibitors and 64 exhibits. The cup for the best bloom in the Show was won by . ' Joan Atkins with a daffodil, and she also won four firsts with her _ other exhibits. - _ - 7 Betty Cope won three firstefor her floral entries. Best floral display was won by Jean Foster. - Cookery section winners were Carol Pay and Betty Hill. The i crafts section was won by Jean Foster. 0 ' The society’s next event will be an evening visit to the city council nurseries at Eddington, Herne Bay, on Thursday, May 24. - ' Concert: Canzonet’s latest concert, Flowers Familiar and Less Familiar was given before a fair- sized but appreciative audience in Bridge church." This chamber choir, directed by Dr M Peter Giles, reduces to smaller numbers as required by the music- notably on this occasion to the 12 and four-voice ensembles called Madrigal and Quodlibet respectively. ‘A seasonal programme was offered, both sacred and secular. The principle work was Mendelssohn’s unjustly neglected, tuneful cantata Lauda Sion, in which the main soprano soloist was Ruth Hoskins, and the second Sue Powell. Canzonet provides all soloists and small-ensemble singers from its ranks, and the solos and numerous quartets in Lauda Sion admirably demonstrated the effectiveness of this. The rest of the programme - presented Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring and one of his settings of the Passion Choral sung in , . German; part—songs by Stanford- and Quilter; Gibbons Jesu Grant me this I Pray, a miniature jewel sung beautifully by Quodlibet; Mozart’s Ave Verurn Corpus; and two Messiah choruses by Handle. The accompanist was Robert Scott. Peter Giles provided the contrast by reading five short poems by George Herbert and A. E. Housman. With further adjustment, this choral group promises to evolve into‘ one with a smoothly distinctive style among comparable ensembles in the area, especially when singing unaccompanied. Fair: A book fair in the village hall in aid of the Parish of Patrixbourne with Bridge, raised £461. The churchwardens and the fund- raising committee thank those , Whose" d.enati.t3ns_fi11e.d.thé..ha11;'all,-'. who sorted the books into various categories, and manned the stalls for long periods. - Extravaganza: Another musical has been put on by al_l the pupils of the primary school. Four performances of The Rocky Monster Show were admirably executed, demonstrating the wealthof latent talent brought" out ' l by the teaching-staff. Families, friends and others connected with the school were all unanimous in their praises. . Thanks go not only to the cast, but to the production team as .a whole for all the hard work in bringing it about and the sponsors who made it possible. -- WI: The group will meet on Tuesday," in the village hall at 7.30pm, when the speaker Mr _ Caplan will relate his experiences _ as a prisoner in the Japanese jungle camps. ‘ The competition is for a spring flower arrangement in a egg cup, the winner to go to the group meeting. Visitors will be made welcome. Cesspits: A parishioner living on an estate in the newer part of the village dating J'rom the 1960s found a couple of holes appearing in his back garden. These appear to be the remains of an old ccsspit prior to the village being connected to mains drainage in the 1970s. At the time, residents had to sign a form to say that they would. fill them in. It may well be that this was not done at the time, or that the earth deposited in it has been washed away due to the excessively wet winter. However to avoid accidents residents should be made aware that this possibility exists, and keep a lookout for any unusual circumstances in their gardens. School PFA: The wine and wisdom held at the end of March was a great success and raised £750. Thanks go to all who supported the event. The PFA is holding a barn dance ' on Friday, May 18 at the John Baker White Memorial Hall, Lower Hardres at 7.30pm. Tickets are available after Easter from the school, £7.50 to include supper and refreshments. ~ There will be a children’s line dancing evening on Friday, May 25, at the school for infants and _ juniors. The summer fair will be on -Friday, June 22, from 1.30pm to 4pm on the front playground. Anyone wishing to have a stall or who is able to help out, please call Ros Beeching on 831027. Gig: On Saturday evening Three _ Blind Mice will offer cool jazz at the White Horse. On Easter Monday_ there will be I live music from 1pm and a charity head-shaving by _l\lic_l_'<'James, at the Royal Marsden Hospital. For details ring 01227 830249. Church services: 7 30pm tomorrow - (Maundy Thursday) Tenebrae, Bridge Primary School. 10am Good Friday Walk of Witness from St Peter’s Church Bekesbourne, to St a Peter’s, Bridge, via St” Mary’s, Patrixbournewith acts of worship in each church. ~ Easter Sunday, 10am Communion, - the Rev G. Manley, St Peter’s T . Churoh,- Bridge; 6pm Communion, the Rev P. Filmer, St Mar'y’s,_ ' Patrixbourne. , . * - Otherehu'rohes_in the"Bridge' a group: Sam, BCP Communion, the ' Rev-P..Film_er, St Mary.’s, ' Naokirigton; 10am, family service . with Communion, the Rev P. L - Filmer and Mrs M. Clarke, St Mary the Virgin, Lower. Hardres; 10am, Communiornthe Rev J. Shorrook, . St Peters, Bekesbourne; 11am, "Bridge Methodist, Holy Communion, the Rev" George‘ V" ' Baugh; . ._ " The annual meeting of the paris of Patrixbourne with Bridge will take place in Bridge Primary School, at 7.30pm, on iwednesday, _ April 18. _ . .I_luLJ._L.r|JI..I.hc J.J.\ll.aLIlJ.L\.lA u\J E1. \JlA.\.IJ:-1.1 __ lSil-l0iPSBgOiURsNEec 7 C_or.reSp'oI_1dent: Malcolm Mitchell,‘ The Old Cottage, ' Bishops_bourne., __C_T4 5HT, phone"-01227_':8-30645,_ e"- Inail 2Initc11e1ls@s_u'p'anet.com Church netvs:.Th;e Recto_r,_the Rev " Dayi-d_Roper, conducted-_ the -. ‘ Euc_harist_ of the Last Supper and - y . FootvWas-hing at St Mary the _ Virgin Churchon Maundy .' . Thursday, Pat‘ Austin-and Lorna" Kenyon were It I among those who had their feet '_ - Washed by the rector to-symbolise the events of the last Supper. ' Readings were by Kay McGibney and Kay Crouch. - - On Good Friday, the rector, assisted by the new curate, Lyndsay Llewellyn, conducted the _ service at St Mar_y’_s -at which lessons wereread by Gill Applin ' . and Lorna Kenyon. On Easter Day, the rector celebrated Communionj at Bishopsbourne, atwhich he and . ‘Lorna Kenyon read lessons. _ ' This ‘Sunday, there will-be" no "services at Bishopsbourriey but _ I members o_fj.the cong'reg_ati'o11 are invited to attend any of . the ' services being held-at other ' . churches in the Barham Downs united. benefice. -'Th'e_i_se will be at: 8am, Communion, St Margaret’s Church, Womenswold; 11a-m, .. Communion,- St .Gi1_es’s Church, "Kingston; 11am, farnily-service, St John’s Church, Barharn; 5.30pm, evening prayer, Barham House. _ The annual meeting of St Mary’s - Parochial Church Council-will-be held at 6.30pm tonight (Thursday) in the Conrad Hail. The rector will . preside and reports will be given on the churchfs activities. during the "year"; All villagers are '_ — welcome. Traffic: A-meeting has been held at -. Highland Court between Highland Court Investments, Kent County _ Council, Canterbury City council, Kingston; Bridge and ‘ . Bishopsbourne parish“ "councils to discuss the continuing nuisance . April 19. 2001 31 caused by heavy Continental refrigerated fruit lorries which invade" count-ry lanes in the‘ area after getting lost while trying to - find Highland Court or return from it to the A2 main road. In December, during the.. floods, one such 1_-_orr3I found its way to - .~ Bishopsbourne, damaging roadsid verges, a lawn and den:1olishi.ng the parapet of ‘a bridge over the- Nailhourne in Charlton Park, almost dannning the river. It was agreed to. introduce an _ improved system of signposting to and from Highland Court, which . will be put in-place by Kent I-Iighways. Correspondent: John ‘Anderson’, 7' Dering Road, Bridge, Canterbury CT4 5NA. _ PARISH COUNCIL Allotments: Councillors agreed at the lastrneeting that once the , ' bottom allotments have been cleared a new estimate would be obtained for bringing water on to ' the site. ' ' Post. office "bench": The new post office bench has been delivered and - is. awaiting installation. Planters; The planters outside The ‘ White Hor_se_ Inn are to be renovated and __planted.— Streets and footways: Several _ matters have been reportedto the city council including-the. _ reappearance of the potholes in Bekesbourne Lane which were - filled in -during the lastweek in March, the accumulation of ' rubbish by the recycling bins and a I blocked drain outside the village -. hall. - ' Village sign: It was agreedto _ repaint the village sign and the parish council notice board andan estimate is to be obtained. Planning applicationsi The ' "following planning applications have been received an_d- have been commented upon by the planning sub—committee: Erection of boundary Walls to front of dwelling at 21 The Close, Union Road, - Bridge; replacement single-storey ‘extension to_ rear of dwelling at 5' Ford Close, Bridge; internal alterations to The Red Lion PH, 75 High Street, Bridge. ' T The following planning _ applications have been granted: "T First floor side extension to dwelling and single storey- extension to rear of garage at 65 Riverside Close, Bridge; _ conservatory and two storey _ extension to rear and alterations to front porch at 19 Riverside Close, Bridge; T ' . - ' Neighbourhood Watch: It was ' . reported that PC Ken Bradshaw, ; Neighbourhood Watch liaison , officer, had received .a good response to the circulation of his closure notice. He is now very hopeful of being in a position 'tore.~ . establish the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme within the village - and a meeting of the interested volunteers is_to be held withinthe next two weeks. _. i - _ visitors joined members at 5-.‘ 1fi"”f:'°,.'3 '31- ~°\as'l :r') :2‘ UQ ’ Annual: The meeting of , In his retiring speech John W be.,onl'tW0,se£Vi‘cesin,the _ - .)"33\Nw: \ ’ ‘ the April meeting to hear Jack Caplan’s talk. He had nightmares for years after his release from a Japanese jungle camp, where he witnessed comrades dying of disease and malnutrition from which they all suffered. Jean Foster won the competition for an arrangement of spring flowers in an eggcup. The annual resolutions will be discussed at the May 15, meeting in the village hall, at 7.30pm. There will be no speaker. The competition will be an unusual pottery dish. Patrixbourne with Bridge _ Parochial Church Council took place in Bridge School Hall. The Rev Paul Filmer presided and welcomed everyone. ‘ Following the resignation of John Anderson as churchwarden of the parish, Lawrence Dunderdale was elected to fill the office and will be sworn in at the next Archdeacon’s Visitation in Canterbury ‘ Cathedral, next month. Andrea Nicholson was re-elected as churchwarden, while in line with the new policy to elect two churchwardens for each church, David Lathom was elected for Bridge and Pauline Pritchard for Patrixbourne. , ’ ‘ ' After receiving the various reports from the officers, elections were held to confirm the appointment of two deanery synod representatives Billie Anderson and Christine Hoare; New appointments were then confirmed for the 15 members of the parochial church council, plus a volunteer auditor Vivian Pritchard for the coming year. Anderson thanked all who had supported him during his term in office, in particular Dr Nicholson his cochlirchwarden and Lawremze and Pat Dunderdale. With priest-in-charge Mr Filmer now completing his first year and with Margaret Clarke recentl GIG: Tomorrow (Friday) evening Little Rock guitar andivocal duo will be at The White Horse, Bridge. Church services: On Sunday there _ V n_ 5 the*R,_ J V Shorrock, at St Mary the Virgin, Lower Hardres and 10am Benefice Communion, with the Rev Paul Filmer, at St Marys Church, Nackington. The 11a.m Bridge Methodist Church service will be led by Mr. M. Baybutt. Primary school: The school has received The School Achievement Award which recognises the work of all staff in maintaining _ consistently high standards in recent years. In addition, as the result of a recent assessment of Quality South East, the school has . now been awarded the Investors in People standard. - * Four ‘performances of The Rocky Monster-Show were much enjoyed . by parents and friends of -the i school. The show was directed by Mrs S. Murrell and accompanied on the piano by Mr S. Corfield. Children took part in the Easter egg hunt organised by the PFA. Permission was given to use the grounds of the New Close as the ' ' school field is at present disrupted by building work. ' At a special assembly on the last day of term, children listened to the Easter story read by members of staff. The Rev Paul Filmer gave the blessing. , A presentation was made to Sue Murrell who after nine years at Bridge has left to take over the post of headteacher at Barham School. She received several gifts from narents. colleagues and children.