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The Latest News & Snippets About The Village
(Contributions welcome - click on Contact Us)
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Village Newsletter
Here's the latest edition.
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Road Works and Closures
There is now a dedicated page for all road works and closures which
affect the parish, in order to make it easier for you to find them.
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The Village Singers Summer Concert
Saturday 10th June, 7.30pm in St Michael & All Angels Church
The programme will include:
- A selection of Bruckner Motets
- Magnificat (attrib. Durante) - Pergolesi
- Beatus Vir - Monteverdi’s Vespers
- Les Miserables, a Musical Medley
Tickets: £10 – under 16s go free
Tel. 01249-720190 / info@villagesingers.co.uk
www.villagesingers.co.uk
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A Bit of Village History
Many thanks to Tim Sage for sharing these photographs of the baptismand confirmation certificates of his ancester, Maurice Arthur Sage.The baptism took place in St Michael & All Angels Church in 1913 and the
confirmation at St John the Baptist Church in Charlton near Malmesbury, in 1931.
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Village Newsletter Deadlines for 2023
Here are the village newsletter 'cut off' dates for the rest of the year:April/May edition - cut off date Monday 27th March, 12 noon.
June/July edition - cut off date Friday 26th May, 12 noon.
August/September edition - cut off date Friday 21st July, 12 noon.
October/November edition - cut off date Monday 25th September, 12 noon.
December/January - cut off date Friday 24th November, 12 noon.
Send your information as a Word document only, please - posters, photos, pictures or any other format can't be accepted. The newsletter is for village news and events, so no ads please. Send your copy to Avril - kingtonnews@gmail.com.
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Village Shop News
"The village shop can only survive long-term with the excellent support of volunteers, those both working in the shop and on the committee. At this moment in time there is an urgent need for more volunteers to work behind the counter as well as more committee members, particularly someone to fill the post of secretary. If you, or anyone you know, can offer a few hours a week/fortnight/month please get in touch with us by emailing hello@kingtonstmichaelvillageshop.co.uk asap. Alternatively, you can speak to one of the volunteers when you visit the shop and leave your details. Now more than ever the village shop needs your help.
Thank you very much to those who do visit the shop regularly, your support is much appreciated. Could everyone in the village please consider spending £5-£10 a week in the shop so that it can be kept open for those that really need it? If the shop doesn’t stock the products you would like to buy, let a volunteer know what you require and the manager will definitely consider stocking them. You will find some of the prices lower than local retail outlets.
Welcome to the new manager, Ally, who has already had some great ideas for new products, changing displays, has great contacts in the retail world and more. It’s lovely to have a new manager, but this can only be a short-term solution as current profits are insufficient to pay for a manager long-term.
Due to the success of hampers at Christmas time it has been decided to continue to provide these. Please give a one week’s notice of what you want and the approximate price you want to spend. The volunteer will take your details and contact you by 'phone you as soon as your hamper is ready for collection.
Stamp recycling - please save all of your used stamps and bring them to put in the tin by the till. All proceeds to go to Parkinson’s UK."
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Advent Window Thank You
“A big thank you to everyone who took part in the KSM Advent Windows for Christmas 2022. There were so many imaginative and creative windows to spot round the village, and it was lovely to see the community spirit of houses making something for others to enjoy on a local wintry walk. I tried to photograph as many as I could and I put these photos on the KSM Facebook page, so do have a look. I know that many villagers really do love this event, so if anyone would like to co-ordinate the Advent Windows for December 2023, please get in touch with me. I would be happy to share my experience of organising them - it’s pretty straightforward. Many thanks, Yvonne Cole” (yvonne@coleplanet.com)
~*~*~*~Community Orchard Update Plans are underway, so please keep an eye out here and on Facebook for more details, as volunteers will be needed to help clear the area in advance of planting.
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Road Gritting
Thank you to all the residents living on and near Tor Hill, for gritting the hill during one of the many recent cold snaps. This surely prevented more accidents occurring on the black ice.
Please note that salt/grit bins are available for residents to use on the roads and footpaths (not private drives) and are situated on Tor Hill, by the crossing near The Close, by the bus shelter at The Ridings, and on Stanton Lane.
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St Michael & All Angels Church News
There is an exciting calendar of events planned for the coming year, with an Easter egg hunt on Good Friday 7th April, a Coronation cream tea, a concert by the Village Singers and lots more!
Did you know that the small congregation has to cover all the costs for heating, insuring, maintaining and running the church building and services? The church needs to raise at least £2,500 to meet rising costs. Keep an eye out for posters and on the village website for details. If you'd like to get involved, we'd love to hear from you - please contact Alison on (01249) 750742.
Can you help? The Parochial Church Council is the group that keep our lovely church running. They need a new treasurer as Gerry Elms is standing down after many years of service. This is a crucial role in these challenging times, managing and maximising the church finances and preparing the accounts. You will need to be confident with figures and spread sheets and to be able to attend bi-monthly evening PCC meetings. Gerry will do a full handover. For a chat about what is involved, please give him a ring on (01249) 750423.
~*~*~*~Poppy Appeal 2022Joan Gilbert would like to thank everyone who supported this year's village Poppy Appeal, raising £138.34, which supports the Armed Forces community past and present.~*~*~*~FlexerciseMondays, 11am in the village hall:
~*~*~*~Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch can help build safer, stronger and more active communities and connect people with their neighbours. The Parish Council is hoping to get a local scheme back up and running in Kington St Michael and would love to hear from you. If you are interested in joining, or just want to find out more information, then please contact Cllr Vicky Ingham at v.ingham@kingtonstmichaelparishcouncil.gov.uk.
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Jubilee Flower Bed
Grateful thanks go to Jessica Puddy, and Kim & Steve Perryman for clearing the summer bedding and planting daffodils and tulips, ready for a glorious display next spring. In addition to the bulbs, a Queen Elizabeth II rose bush was planted, to commemorate our late Queen.
Thanks also go to Avril Balmforth for supporting the scheme and the Parish Council for funding the cost of the rose and bulbs, as none of this would be possible without their contributions.
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KSM QE2 Field News
Bonfire night upddate - a huge thanks to everyone who came along to support our annual bonfire and fireworks on 5th November. Despite the rain, we had a great turnout and managed to raise just under £1,000 in profit towards future enhancements at the QE2 Field. This event is run solely by volunteers so we really couldn’t do it without those who helped before, during and after to ensure a safe and successful night. Thank you.
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Warm Spaces and Food Providers
Wiltshire Council has created an online interactive community directory to help you find out what warm spaces and community food providers there are in the county to support you through the cost-of-living challenges.The directory has been created using information collected by the council, in order to establish what support is available in Wiltshire. To find out the support that's available on your doorstep, and across the county, please visit the directory and select your postcode area - this will then automatically generate a list of what's available, as well as a host of other useful features:For anyone wishing to make donations to the community food providers, there are contact and website details included for each with more information to find out how best to do this. The council has worked hard to ensure that the directory contains a comprehensive list of the support available, but will continue to keep it updated regularly.
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Book Recycling Scheme
The
74th donation of £50 from this scheme goes to Acorns Pre-school, towards new books and garden toys The scheme is run from
the shop
foyer and books are only 50p each. Village organisations that would
like to be considered for a donation should contact Linda Durno via kingtonstmichael@btinternet.com.
The website has been designed as a “one stop shop” for parishioners and the wider community, and is intended to provide up to date and historical information on all Parish Council related matters, including meetings and decisions.This website has been created to comply with the latest regulations and will run alongside and complement this community website.
~*~*~*~KSM Netball Club
"Our friendly village netball club continues to thrive. We are delighted to have received further sponsorship recently, from The Jolly Huntsman, which will contribute to equipment and coaching fees. A huge thankyou to the pub for its continued support.The club has teams playing in Chippenham Rock Up Social League on Wednesdays, as well as matches in the Calne Social Netball League on Monday nights.We train in the Chippenham Dome (near Chippenham Sports Club) on Thursday evenings, 8pm-9pm. We welcome new members with one free session, and have a range of experience and abilities. There is no pressure to play in matches - come along for fun and friendly fitness!If you are interested in giving it a go please contact Alice Rymill - alicerymill@btinternet.com."
Church Coffee Corner Every Monday from 11.30am - 1.30pm - meet others and enjoy refreshments: all welcome.
~*~*~*~Get in the Know!
Would you like to receive news and updates on local
matters from the Parish Council and Wiltshire Council, etc, via email? The Parish Council has set up an email
database - if you would like to be included,
please email the Clerk, Viv Vines - ksmparishclerk@gmail.com.
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Worried About Scams?
Wiltshire Police has suggested reading "The Little Book of Big Scams", which is an excellent fraud prevention resource created to help raise awareness of the dangers of fraud ,and offer preventative measures to help keep everyone safe from the insidious creep being seen in financial crimes in recent years.
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Accessibility Along Pavements
A repeat of a previous request, to help our disabled and visally impaired residents (and those with children in buggies):
~ Please do not block lowered pavements with parked cars.
~ Please don't block the pavement with wheelie bins or black boxes.
~ If
your property is next to the pavement or footpath, please trim back any overhanging branches, shrubs, etc. Of a dark evening, and with the new
lower lighting, it's no fun walking into prickly or wet overgrowth! Please trim
back lower shrubs too, as these affect children. Thank you.
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Walking in Wiltshire
Are you fed-up with doing the same old walks? Walking in Wiltshire www.walkinginengland.co.uk/wiltshire is the website for you!
With hundreds of walks to download and print, free, it also has books of walks, contact details for all the walking groups in the county and much more. Whether you want to walk on your own or with a group all the information is there in one place.
John said ‘There is so much walking information on the web but it is difficult to find. Walking in Wiltshire (part of the Walking in England suite of websites (www.walkinginengland.co.uk) – one for each county in England) has brought it together in one place so whether you are walking from home, or away on holiday, you will be able to find a walk suitable for you’.
With walks from half a mile to twelve miles plus long, and a note of suitability for pushchairs and wheelchairs, everyone can find a walk to enjoy.
So home or away, check out the websites and get walking!
John Harris
www.walkinginengland.co.uk
email: john@walkinginengland.co.uk
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Community Orchard
KSM QE2 Field Group is investigating the possibilities for a community Orchard (when funds permit) to be planted behind the kick wall area at the field.
To enable plans to progress, the area first needs to be thoroughly assessed. Before we appoint (and pay) a specialist company to make this assessment, we first want to check if there are any community orchard planning specialists in our midst who might be able to help!
If you have knowledge of (or experience in) planning and/or planting orchards (or can help in any other way), we'd love to hear from you.
Please email ksmqe2fieldgroup@gmail.com. Thank you!
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Village Help Facebook Page
If you are on Facebook, please search for the KSM Community Help page, where you will find lots of useful information and support (look for the colourful hands, as above).~*~*~*~*~Phishing Scams
You can now report phishing emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk and the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ) analyses them and remove the culprit sites.
~*~*~*~Pet OwnersThe RSPCA is urging pet owners to make an emergency pet care plan, in case they have to be hospitalised - visit RSPCA for further details.~*~*~*~ Pick Up After Your Pooch!
Wherever you are in the village - street, public footpath, QE2 Field, Nymph Hay Wood or the surrounding fields - it still applies! Do it for your dog!
If anyone sees an owner letting their dog
foul in a public place please report it to Wiltshire Council, either by
'phoning 01249 706111 and asking for the Dog Warden, or email publicprotectionnorth@wiltshire.gov.uk
or via an on-line form. Photographic evidence is always a help. Your
personal details will be treated in strict confidence and you will be
informed of the outcome of the complaint. Please note that complaints
regarding aggressive dogs should be made to the police.
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Making A Planning Application
If you are considering or are about to make an on-line planning application via
Wiltshire Council's website, you will be redirected to the Planning Portal.
Unfortunately, if you choose to use autofill for your address, and if you happen to live along the main street (i.e. no.** KSM) then you will find that it submits your address as being in Honeyknob Hill or C154 Road.
This causes confusion to those wishing to or needing to look at planning applications, and, in fact, there are only 8 properties which have the Honeyknob Hill address (unsurprisingly 1 - 8 Honeyknob Hill).
The Parish Counil is asking affected residents who make a planning application to please check that "Honeyknob Hill" or C154 road" isn't included in the address (unless you are one of the eight!) and to enter the address manually.
If you spot this issue elsewhere, please let the Clerk to the Council know: ksmparishclerk@gmail.com.
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Village Hall Car Park
The Village Hall Management Committee would like to remind villagers that the village hall car park is only for village hall users and shop customers. Recently, a number of paying village hall users have not been able to park. Thank you!
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Pavements are for People!
Parents and carers with pushchairs are having difficulty walking down the village, due to cars parking on the pavement. Some of our residents are also wheelchair users or have reduced vision, and are finding a trip to the shop becoming an obstacle course, especially when wheelie bins and black boxes are out as well. Trying to cross between parked cars, which are blocking the pavement, is dangerous, and especially difficult if the kerb isn't dropped and, actually, the pavements are there for people not vehicles.
Please park responsibly and ask your visitors to do the same (and please give some thought as to where you place your wheelie bins!).
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Defibrillators
Just a reminder of where our defibrillators are kept in the village: map of defibrillators
and the instructions of what to do when someone collapses.
Please visit the Community Defibrillator page for further information
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Advertise Here!
Do you have a small business? Are you local?! Why not advertise on this website for only £24 per year? (That's just £2 per month!) Take a look at other advertisers by clicking on "Local Businesses Adverts" above. If you are interested please contact us kingtonstmichael@btinternet.com.