October 2022

Shipston prepares for the period of Remembrance

This year’s Remembrance Sunday is 13th November. The Royal British Legion (RBL) has been working closely with the Town Council, Police, Lions, St Edmund’s and the Town Band and plans are being finalised for the Remembrance Sunday parade and service at St Edmund’s.

Parade participants and spectators are invited to assemble in the High Street from 10am in preparation for the parade, led by the Town Band, moving off promptly at 10.45am.
Following the positive feedback received about last year’s arrangements we will again be laying the wreaths, reading the names of the Fallen and undertaking the Two Minute Silence in Church Street in front of the War Memorial.

The members of the parade and those members of the public comfortable to be indoors with other people will then enter St Edmund’s for the remainder of the Service. For those who are unable to attend in person we will be streaming the Service online and will share details in advance.
At the end of the Church service the parade will reform and, led by the Town Band, return to High Street, which is closed for the duration. Following fall out, all are welcome to join the RBL in The George.

Please watch out for more details both on Facebook (Shipston Notice Board), the Town Council and our own websites and on our Notice Board in The Bury. Please do also share this information with friends who are not on social media.

Armistice Day will be observed on Friday 11th November with 2 minutes silence in the High Street outside The George at 11.00am

For more details about Remembrance fortnight or to find out about joining the RBL as a member, contact Mike Wells on 01608 664026 or wellsms4@aol.com.

Poppy Appeal

The Poppy Appeal will be upon us before we know it and so we would ask you to consider assisting with this year’s collection please. Those who gave their lives in any conflict are remembered through the Poppy Appeal and the Period of Remembrance. The Poppy Appeal also raises funds to enable The Royal British Legion to help veterans and their families throughout life. This year saw the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict when on the 2nd April 1982, Argentine forces invaded the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands, sparking one of the largest major conflicts since WW2 and which utilised all elements of the Armed Forces. During the conflict 7 ships we’re lost to enemy action, 9 aircraft were shot down and 255 British personnel lost their lives defending the Falklands. In Shipston there were special events and displays, including a service of Remembrance at the Gyratory Garden, to commemorate those lost and injured in this conflict. These held special relevance to some members of our Shipston Branch of the Royal British Legion.

We completely rely on the support and help of volunteer collectors. Many loyal and long serving collectors have kindly agreed to take part again but as the town grows, people move on, or personal circumstances change, we would like to welcome new volunteers.

This year’s appeal runs from 29th October to the 13th November. Please do consider volunteering. It is very enjoyable and a great way to get to know more people in your local community. You could assist by collecting in the Town Square during the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday or by volunteering to carry out a house-to-house collection round. You can do as much as you have time for, even simply covering one street would help enormously.

Shipston on Stour is one of the very few places in the country to have house to house, street, and static collections - only possible because of the fantastic level of support that the Royal British Legion enjoys in the town. I hope that we can count on you again during The Poppy Appeal 2022.

If you’d like to volunteer or find out more, please contact Sharon Harcourt,

Shipston Celebrates The Great Big Green Week

Residents of Shipston and local villages were excited and proud to take part in ‘The Great Big Green Week’, Britain’s biggest ever community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, during the week September 24th to October 1st.

Organised by local group Stourvale Action for the Environment (SAFE), there was a wide range of activities to suit all tastes. Perhaps most popular was the chance to have a sneak preview of Shipston’s newest public open space and designated Local Wildlife Site – Corn Mill Meadows. Visitors were given a conducted tour and were impressed by its potential to enhance both wildlife and leisure for people of the area; our thanks to those who made valuable suggestions for its future development. The site is not yet officially open to the public, but watch this space!

For those wondering what they can do to encourage nature in their own gardens, a visit to a superb garden in the heart of the Town, including 46 different wildlife friendly types of trees, provided a wealth of encouragement and ideas.

A big problem facing us all is the ever-increasing deluge of domestic rubbish. A talk by two waste project officers from Warwickshire CC gave an appreciative audience an insight into how our rubbish is disposed of and, most importantly, encouraged us all to greater efforts to recycle. Recycling is also a theme in a free booklet produced by Amanda Holden which puts together a convenient and impressive list of local businesses providing environmentally friendly produce. To reinforce this in a practical way the small group who regularly litter pick around the Town were joined by new volunteers, including two keen youngsters. They helped clear up the ugly and polluting rubbish from our Town’s streets. Thank You! Shipston is now a cleaner place!

A ‘Great Big Green Bike Ride’ was enjoyed by a group of 8 cyclists, both men and women, on a beautiful sunny Autumn morning. The ride took in some of our loveliest local villages in a 10-mile circuit and the excellent refreshment stop was kindly hosted by the Cherington Arms in a lovely riverside garden.

Two sessions illustrated the good work being done to assist local wildlife, in particular– Swifts and Bees. All seats were taken for a talk entitled ‘Swifts are Making a Comeback’ informing on both the threat to these remarkable birds (now in danger of extinction) and what is being done in Shipston to encourage them to thrive. A group called ‘Shipston Action for Swifts’ has now been launched.

Similarly, Shipston Beekeepers enlarged our understanding of the amazing life of bees, including a viewing of our very own hive, newly located in St Edmund’s Churchyard.
A big Thank You to all who took part, to the organisers SAFE and the White Bear as meeting venue. Next Great Big Green Week is June 10th- 18th 2023. Save the date!

New members of SAFE are always welcome. For further information on SAFE or comments on The Great Big Green Week please contact Amanda Holden email: amandajholden1@gmail.com or Verity Richardson Email: verityrichardson@googlemail.com

Pictured: SAFE members from L to R: John Dinnie, Jacey Jackson, Verity Richardson, Amanda Holden, Dave Passingham

Poppy Appeal

The Poppy Appeal will be upon us before we know it and so we would ask you to consider assisting with this year’s collection please. Those who gave their lives in any conflict are remembered through the Poppy Appeal and the Period of Remembrance. The Poppy Appeal also raises funds to enable The Royal British Legion to help veterans and their families throughout life. This year saw the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict when on the 2nd April 1982, Argentine forces invaded the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands, sparking one of the largest major conflicts since WW2 and which utilised all elements of the Armed Forces. During the conflict 7 ships we’re lost to enemy action, 9 aircraft were shot down and 255 British personnel lost their lives defending the Falklands. In Shipston there were special events and displays, including a service of Remembrance at the Gyratory Garden, to commemorate those lost and injured in this conflict. These held special relevance to some members of our Shipston Branch of the Royal British Legion.

We completely reply on the support and help of volunteer collectors. Many loyal and long serving collectors have kindly agreed to take part again but as the town grows, people move on, or personal circumstances change, we would like to welcome new volunteers.

This year’s appeal runs from 29th October to the 13th November. Please do consider volunteering. It is very enjoyable and a great way to get to know more people in your local community. You could assist by collecting in the Town Square during the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday or by volunteering to carry out a house-to-house collection round. You can do as much as you have time for, even simply covering one street would help enormously.

Shipston on Stour is one of the very few places in the country to have house to house, street, and static collections - only possible because of the fantastic level of support that the Royal British Legion enjoys in the town. I hope that we can count on you again during The Poppy Appeal 2022.

If you’d like to volunteer or find out more, please contact Sharon Harcourt, Honorary Poppy Appeal Organiser at poppyappealsosrbl@gmail.com

Shipston Town Council Community Grant Awards

Shipston Town Council is inviting grant applications for the 2023/4 financial year.

Grants are made to support a wide range of community initiatives across the town, delivered by voluntary groups and charities.

The scheme is open to any voluntary group or charity based in Shipston, or those who actively work in the town.

Applications must be made for specific projects, for example, the purchase of equipment or to support a planned event. Grants typically range from £250 to £2,000 although larger sums may be awarded for certain causes.

Please note the closing date for applications is 31st October 2022.

Application packs are available from:

The Town Clerk

New Clark House

West Street

Shipston on Stour

CV36 4EN

Or email clerk@shipstononline.org

Tel 01608 662180

 

Shipston Rotary Tallest Sunflower Competition

Results for the Shipston Rotary Tallest Sunflower Competition under 11 years.

It was an absolute delight to meet so many lovely children and their parents whilst measuring their sunflowers, on a very hot Saturday.

The winning sunflower measured an amazing 10ft 7ins and was grown by Ava Gibbings.

The Runner Up was Millie Yates, whose sunflower measured a fantastic 9ft 9ins, and 3rd Place was Joshua Allen whose stunning sunflower was 8ft 10ins.

Well done to all the proud children who grew and entered their beautiful sunflowers. Congratulations to Ava who has received a Certificate and voucher.

Result in the Tallest Sunflower Comp for the over 16 years.

First Place went to David Warren for the fantastic sunflower in his front garden measuring 9ft 3ins.

David also had a stunning sunflower in his back garden, which wasn’t quite as tall.

Runners up were Mark and Wendy Nursall, whose sunflower measured 8ft 7in.

You may have noticed the beautiful sunflowers in their front garden at the top of Telegraph Street.

Congratulations to David who has also received a Certificate and Voucher.

Thank you to everyone who entered their sunflowers in the competition this year.