Chew Magna booklet published

Left to right: Ken Griffiths (partner in Fiducia Press) Evelyn Burman and David Hayhow Photo by Kevin Taber

A new booklet entitled 'A Walk around Chew Magna' has been published by Fiducia Press and the costs underwritten by the Chew Magna Society. The booklet is based on lectures given by Mary and Ian Durham and edited by Evelyn Burman. There was a successful book launch on June 11 in the Millennium Hall and now the booklet is on sale at Chew Magna Post Office at £6.

Priddy Folk Festival - July 8th-10th

Seth Lakeman Trio

Apart from headliners award winning Karine Polwart, Back of the Moon and Loscoe State Opera, (see online Gazette, June) there are many delights to be found in the supporting acts, which this year have topped 100 for the first time.

Here's a taster of just four of them, just the tip of the iceberg. New to Priddy are The Incontinentals, a manic band consisting of four English, one Californian, based in France. The music is a luvverly mixture of Spike Jones, Bonzo Dog, Monty Python, played on five real instruments (mandolin, banjo, guitars and trombone), supported by a motley collection of recycled kitchen, garden and toilet objects which, together with the washboard, form the percussion all accompanied by a dustbin or tea-chest bass. Their stage appearance is something to behold. Not to be missed!

Seth Lakeman also comes to Priddy for the first time with a trio and a great reputation. He was nominated in 2 categories at this year¹s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, (narrowly lost to Karine Polwart) but is clearly highly regarded as a rising star in the folk world. Still only 26, he has provided in the past the essential backing to artistes such as Kate Rusby and Cara Dillon in the band Equation, but is now emerging as a major talent in his own right. Catch him while you can.

Whalebone Polly, locally based, consists of Rachael Dadd, Kate Stables & Virpi, we'll just let Venue Magazine tell you about them; "A musical delight. Experimental and multi instrumental Folk-Bluegrass trio with melting harmonies carried along on guitar, banjo, violin, melodica and clarinet". Irresistable,

And finally the last delight we have room for is Katy Bennett, better known as KTB, a brilliant young singer songwriter, who has a new album just about to be released. She will not only be giving us a concert with her Collective, but also conducting a Songwriting Workshop, so all you budding songwriters, come along and find out how it is done. Children's Festival, Dance Festival, Craft Fayre and so much more in this packed weekend which is on Priddy Green from Friday evening 8th July and runs until about 6pm on Sunday 10th. Weekend tickets are £42, day tickets and some individual event tickets also available, with many events entirely free. More info on www.priddyfolk.org or just phone 01749 675562.

Crimes should be reported, says councillor
Vic Pritchard, the B&NES councillor for Chew Valley South ward, has issued a plea for residents in the Chew Valley to report incidents to the Police. Mr Pritchard, who is also the Council's community safety chief, had items stolen from his home in Stowey Sutton three weeks ago.

Although he contacted the Police to report the theft he thinks that other local residents are failing to report a considerable number of crimes in the Chew Valley area, ranging from theft to vandalism of public property. The issue came to light after Cllr Pritchard started receiving phone calls from residents in his ward, which covers a number of villages in the Chew Valley, complaining about criminal incidents but failing to report them to the Police.

"I know what it is like to be a victim of crime and it is a miserable experience." said Cllr Pritchard. "But the Police need to know when and where crime is taking place. If crimes like theft and vandalism go unreported it means the Police cannot take into account these incidents when planning their patrol priorities. It is vital that people who see, or are a victim of, a crime they report it. Not doing so just means the criminal gets away without fear of being caught and the community gets trapped in a silent crime wave which the Police are unaware of. I urge residents to contact the Police if they see a crime."

If residents in the Chew Valley are the victim of a crime or see something they regard as suspicious, Cllr Pritchard encouraged them to contact the Police either by dialling 999 if an emergency or the new Non-Emergency number 0845 456 7000. This is is the number which local people can respond to if they see anyone acting suspiciously, or if they have any information relating to a crime. Police say there has been a recent spate of thefts from cars (see below).

Harptrees Festival - September 16th-18th
Excitement grows as more and more events are planned for Harptrees Festival, which this year centres around the Festival Field, on September 16th-18th. You can look forward to discovering the world of labyrinths, take part in creating one and then explore its mystery.

Gaie Delap will join us for the third year running as our artist in residence and this year her workshops will be providing a willow entrance to the labyrinth, as well as creating colourful flags to decorate the field. Daniel Stolfi, founder of the Awesome Puppet Company, will also be with us for the weekend helping you create a whole world of puppets. The talent show, previously held at the theatre, will take place in the Festival Marquee, generously donated by JG Marquees. The marquee will also be the venue for an exciting new event, a DJ workshop from Dubwize. Also, Paul's Sunday regular keep fit session could be housed in there if the weather is unkind. More info from 01761 221228 or www.harptreesfestival.org

Priddy sheep racing

And the're off!
The sheep were lined up with the riders on their backs, ready and raring to race across Priddy Green on Saturday 18th June to raise money for Priddy Playgroup. As a result of an outstanding Ofsted report this year for Priddy Playgroup, it was decided that the playgroup would like to expand its services and increase the number of days that they are open. In order to be able to do so, the playgroup required extra funding to pay for improved facilities, extra equipment and staff training.

Priddy Friendly Society, an organisation set up over 120 years ago to take care of members and their families in times of hardship, organises fundraising events throughout the year specifically for the benefit of the village and its residents and worked together, on this occasion with Priddy Playgroup to arrange this event, which raised approximately £2000.00.

With six races in total, there were constant queues at the tote as people picked their favourites before settling down with a drink and a roast pork roll to watch the races. Race winners were Race 1 - Lam Poil ridden by Rollicking Roger, Race 2 - Tia ridden by Maria, Race 3 - Butcombe Lad ridden by Willy Gold, Race 4 - Cinderella ridden by Emily, Race 5 - Suuue ridden by Beakey and Race 6 - Subsoiling Sid ridden by Dave.

Each race was sponsored by a local business, and included the three local pubs; the Hunter's Lodge, New Inn and Queens Head, Tom Boddie Caravan Hire, N & P Auto Repairs, DB Gibbons Contractors with the events main sponsors being J.H.Palmer & Sons, and was based on a theme depending on its sponsor such as Gibbo's Ground National and Baaack to the Drawing Board. Due to the success of this first sheep racing evening, it is possible that the event may become an annual affair so watch out for further details.

Niki Martini

Paralympics star visits Sutton school

Bishop Sutton School had a very special surprise visitor at morning assembly recently: Britain's most successful and well-known wheelchair athlete, Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Tanni, who was born with spina bifida, has performed at world-class level in distances ranging from 100m to the marathon. Amongst her many achievements are 15 Paralympic medals, six London marathons and countless British, European and world titles. Last year she broke the 400m world record in 58.28 seconds in Switzerland, an achievement she values very highly as it marked her comeback race after giving birth to her daughter Carys. She is currently playing an active role within disability athletics as Assistant Head of the Potential Programme which has responsibility for recognising and developing young disabled athletes to form the nucleus of a squad for the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.

Tanni loves having the chance to visit schools and to talk to young people about how they can make the best of their lives. Lynda Lade, PE co-ordinator at Bishop Sutton, said: "Tanni was staying with friends in the village and we were delighted to welcome her to the school. She talked to the children about her training programme and spoke about her efforts to make people more aware of disability and of what can be accomplished with willpower and sheer determination, encouraging the children never to give up on their ambitions. We were all totally enthralled by what she had to say and found her a truly inspirational figure".

Anne Collier