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Jerry has been resident in the area since 1968 and is an engineer and businessman and is keen to play a part in the council.

He says he would like to contribute to any aspect of the council’s work where his skills would be useful.

Jerry is married with two adult daughters and four grandchildren. His wife is local and went to Shipston High School.

He says: ‘In my spare time I make model engines with little success and I enjoy cooking.’

The first Shipston Bookfest is nearly here!

Shipston Bookfest is a community-run festival celebrating books and the joys of reading. Taking place between 21st and 29th September 2024 in venues across Shipston-on-Stour, there are events covering crime and psychological thrillers to gardening and rom-coms - there is something for everyone.

Check out the programme to discover more events and visit the website to book tickets.

www.shipstonbookfest.org/

Shipston Pre School has been awarded an Outstanding in its most recent Ofsted inspection. The report, published in June, gave them top marks for the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership.

‘We are all really proud that the hard work we have put in has been recognised and celebrated,’ says manager Charlotte Langford.
A parent added their own praise: ‘We can see through the children’s joy every day that it’s not just a job to the team! They have created a space for all the children (and their families) to feel totally safe and loved.’

The Pre School has also recently achieved a Gold WincKs award from the Warwickshire Inclusion Kitemarking Scheme, which recognises the need for flexible inclusive early years provision in Warwickshire, supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The WIncKS award recognises and celebrates those settings who go even further.

There were some truly memorable events at the Proms this year. The top one, and probably the most anticipated, was 90’s Radio One DJ Dave Pearce arriving in his silver Merc and doing a club set at the Ibiza on Stour dance night at the Hub. It was a classic dance evening with a pulsating 700+ audience; red, white and green glow sticks aloft, and lights strobing to the anthems of Faithless, Chemical Brothers and many more.

The ethos of the Proms is to provide a platform for performers who would like to get their music out to a wider audience. At the Shipston Introducing event, sixteenyear-old Grace Rushbrooke won the soloist category, having rushed straight over from her Grade 8 singing exam. Teenage local and very much up-and-coming four-piece group Mad Thingz impressed and won the band category. Last year’s solo winner Honor Gerard Pickering returned to do a set at the end and showed us just how much she had blossomed into a confident and poised young singer.

Illness caused some unforeseen changes in the programme, for example when the Jolly Rogers, an act at the Coach and Horses during the infamous pub trail, were without their lead singer but encouraged budding vocalists in the audience to fill in instead. When our wonderful local opera singers succumbed to covid, RSC soprano Alexandra Ferrari and tenor Dominic Bevan stepped in at the Townsend Hall to provide another amazing opera night, with Dominic giving an encore of the famous and powerful Nessun Dorma. The Cotswold Choir stepped in to fill a gap after the Astwood Bank Operatic Society were forced to cancel their show.

As usual, Final Night brought Shipstonians out in their hundreds to the High St for another legendary night thanks to the sheer quality of the acts including the two competition winners.

Barney Porter of headline band Wired attributed the amazing atmosphere not only to the great supportive spirit of Shipston residents but also to England having just won the penalty shootout!

The First Responders has a replacement response vehicle, thanks to successful fundraising by Stour Valley Lions, Shipston Rotary, The League of Friends and Shipston Home Nursing. They all came together at the beginning of this year to coordinate an appeal with an initial target of £35,000. Thanks to generous support from the public and local businesses, they raised over £50,000. The vehicle was handed over at the Shipston Beer Festival in July.

Honorary Patron of the appeal, Doctor Sarah Jarvis MBE, said: ‘A fully functional first-responder vehicle is crucial to the life-saving work of this fantastic group of volunteers in our
community. We all hope we will never need their help, but every day someone does.’ Shipston Community First Responders are volunteer medics, certified, trained and regulated by West Midlands Ambulance Service to attend the most serious medical emergencies in the Stour Valley area.

The Lions have promised another sizeable donation to the First Responders from the proceeds of the Beer Festival, their joint event with Shipston Rugby Club.