RESIDENTS at local care home Kingfisher Lodge in Saltford wanted to do something special this year for Remembrance Day.

After brainstorming with their activity team, it was decided that they wanted to make a memorial of their own in their beautiful garden. So they set about making waterproof poppies. The display could be seen from all angles in the home and it really brought people together on the day.

General manager Claudia Costinean said: “taking part in activities like this allows our residents to be creative bringing them a sense of joy as well as achieving such a wonderful memorial for our Armed Forces which also gives residents a sense of pride and achievement, The memorial can be seen from most bedrooms with a garden view and from the communal areas around the home and I think you will agree it’s simply beautiful.

“We shall remember them.”

CHEW Valley Gadget Busters will be holding sessions on December 10 in The Queens, Chew Magna, and on January 14 in the The Stoke Inn, Chew Stoke.

Having difficulty using the Green Buses, WESTLink App or website to book a ride? Or do you have problems using your laptop, iPad, tablet, phone or digital camera? Or maybe you want to make video calls, send photos or use WhatsApp to contact your friends and family, but don't know how.

Chew Valley Gadget Busters are holding face to face sessions, thanks to The Queens pub in Chew Magna and the Stoke Inn, Chew Stoke. So do visit Gadget Busters who are here to help.

Either book an appointment by e-mailing [email protected], or turn up on the day. We hold one, two-hour sessions each month, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm on a Wednesday, alternating between Chew Magna and Chew Stoke. It costs £3 per appointment, all of which will go to charity.

THE Harptrees History Society are holding a New Year Supper, with a cash bar, on Wednesday, January 7.

The venue is West Harptree Memorial Hall BS40 6EG . Tickets for this event are £10. There will be no tickets on the door, so please pre-book. Doors open at 7.15pm for 7.30pm.

As part of the evening there will be a talk by local resident Nick Roberts, entitled “A Field Through Time” - every site tells a story! Nick will describe what he has discovered about the people who owned and used a single field in the Harptree area over a 2000 year span.

Booking opens for visitors, who are very welcome, on December 27 and closes at midday on Monday, January 5. Members have been able to book since November 26.

Just email [email protected] with subject line ‘January supper’ and you will be given details of how to make your payment. Please let us know of any dietary needs on booking.

ON Wednesday, December 3, the Chew Magna Local History Society are very fortunate and proud to welcome Richard Evershed, professor and director of the renown Bristol Biogeochemistry Research Centre, and of the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility.

Richard is a Fellow of the Royal Society. His research has had a significant impact on understanding prehistoric, and later human activity, replacing guesswork with facts. He has been able to demonstrate the origins of dairying, the earliest use of such as beeswax; with improved identification of human exploitation of plant and animal species. Doors open 7.15pm for 7.30pm start.

Richard will answer questions, which will be followed by our traditional Christmas social with wine, mince pies etcetera.

To aid catering and to ensure a seat, registration is strongly recommended at your earliest convenience [email protected]

IN October we welcomed Ken Parsons who gave a very interesting talk on the Woollen Industry in Somerset.

This was a wide-ranging information session covering not only the development of the industry locally but also placing it in the context of the nation’s commercial history and the construction of the many rural churches built with the wealth from the trade in wool.

Many of these churches now adorn the countryside as a lasting legacy of the historic value of sheep. Ken had many drawings and pictures of the processes and equipment used in the industry from mediaeval times.

A report on our November talk by Clive Burlton will appear next time and we now have a ‘festive break’ from which we will resume on January 30. On that date our member Brian Edwards will be telling the story of Whitchurch’s United Reformed Church with some back ground on the non-conformist movement in the Bristol area.

Copies of our two volumes of Histories of Whitchurch are still available and can be obtained from our Secretary. These would be ideal presents for anyone new to the area or just developing an interest in how the Village has grown over the centuries.

The society welcomes old and new members to the programme of talks or events, and also anyone wishing to come along for individual talks. The evenings commence at 7.30pm. Members meet at the United Reformed Church on the main road though the village.

For more information about the society, membership and its events, contact the secretary, Geoff Gardiner, on 01275 830869 or at [email protected]

THE Congresbury Singers’ Christmas Concert will be held in conjunction with children from St Andrew’s School on Tuesday, December 16, in St Andrews Church, Congresbury.

The event starts at 7.30pm with wine and mince pies.

Tickets £12 from the Post Office, Re-Store, or on the door.

HOUSEHOLDS in Bath and North East Somerset have received thanks for their recycling efforts, along with a reminder to review changes to festive collection schedules.

Every household has been sent a leaflet advising them of changes to the recycling and rubbish collection dates and highlighting the outstanding 60 per cent recycling rate achieved across the area, which has helped save 51,000 tonnes of waste – enough to pack Bath Abbey to its vaulted ceiling around 14 times.

The leaflet highlights several key dates for the festive period. Waste and recycling collections normally scheduled between December 25 and January 10 will be affected, and a revised calendar is available to download from the council website. Garden waste collections will pause from December 7 and restart on January 19.

Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, while the Reuse Shop will be closed from December 21 to January 3.

Christmas trees can be collected by the garden waste team or, for a small donation, by Dorothy House, with bookings available via the council website. Only plain brown wrapping paper can be recycled in the blue cardboard recycling bag, as most Christmas wrapping paper, even when labelled recyclable, contains additives such as glitter which cannot be processed.

Councillor Mark Elliot, cabinet member for resources, said: “Thanks to the commitment and effort of all our residents, we have an outstanding 60 per cent recycling rate for 2024/25 here in Bath and North East Somerset. Christmas and New Year will be especially busy for our crews because waste typically increases by 30 per cent.

“To help them collect quickly as they cope with the increased amount of rubbish and recycling, especially food waste, we encourage everyone to wash, squash and sort their waste before putting it in the green recycling boxes.”

PLANS to open a specialist school and provide residential accommodation in Keynsham and make life better for children with complex needs, and their families, are out for consultation.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is proposing to transform the currently vacant Charlton House into a new 30-place special school and two children’s homes for young people special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Growing demand for specialist education and residential provision means many children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are placed outside the county, which is costly and often means they cannot be supported close to home. There is also no local residential provision for the most vulnerable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The council is asking for people’s views on proposals which would see the former residential care home in Hawthorns Lane turned into two children’s homes, each accommodating four children, with living spaces, staff provision, and gardens.

Modern teaching and social spaces, sensory areas, and landscaped outdoor environments are also proposed.

The pre-planning consultation will run until Friday, December 19. People can take part online on the council website or go along to view the plans and speak to officers at Charlton House Community Room on Friday, December 12, from 12pm to 7pm.

Feedback gathered during the consultation will help shape the final proposals before submission for planning approval.