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_____________________________________________________________________________ _NOVEMBER 2013 LOCAL TALKBACK ISSUE 435__ EDITORIAL With Remembrance Day coming up soon it is quite appropriate to have the report of the trip to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire thanks to Jo and Steve. It sounds like everyone had a good time and that is a very interesting place to visit, probably very emotional too. To add to the Remembrance theme it was thought a war poem would be a good addition, and on a website www.warpoetry.co.uk set up by David Roberts we found so many to choose from. David was very quick to put us in touch with John Bailey whose poem we have printed this month, as his permission was necessary to get over any copyright problems. Thanks to them both we can share the poem ‘Taking a Stand’ with you. It is hoped you will like it. Four local charity events over two weekends have raised over £1200 between them. Badminton Club held a coffee morning for Cancer Macmillan and a Harvest auction for Badminton Church and the Fox and Hounds held a pig-race night and Harvest auction for Acton Turville Church. Since then the club held a disco/barbecue for Wear Pink breast cancer but we don’t have a total for that. Well done to everyone involved. Two months ago we mentioned the Gromits Unleashed in Bristol. They have since been auctioned and raised £2.3million for the Bristol Children’s Hospital Wallace and Gromit appeal. They have been dispersed across the world and the country, into private and public collections. If you have been fascinated by them you can still visit one at the Cotswold (Kemble) Airport between Tetbury and Cirencester. Grosmos Gromit has been purchased by the airport for £28,000 and has taken up residence in the AV8 restaurant. Grosmos was decorated like the Cosmos by Bristol artist ‘Cheba’ and before the auction it had been in the Harvey Nichols store in Bristol. The restaurant is open Mon – Fri 9am – 4pm; Sat & Sun 9am – 5pm. Hot food until 3pm serving breakfast, lunch, coffee and homemade cakes. There are views of the runway from the restaurant or sun terrace (weather permitting of course). Dates for your Christmas Diary: Christmas at the American Museum, Bath 28 <strong>Nov</strong> – 22 Dec. Tue – Sun 12noon – 4.30pm closed Mondays Every Christmas the museum is transformed for the festive season and there is a 17foot Christmas tree with handcrafted decorations and thousands of tiny lights. Christmas shops will be open throughout this period with original gifts and decorations. There is also a Christmas Craft Fair with local craftspeople selling unique handmade gifts from 13-15 Dec. Father Christmas will be there on 22 December. More information on www.americanmuseum.org We are sorry to report the death of Raymond Mills of Little Badminton. Raymond was originally from Chipping Sodbury but for many years has lived with his wife Marjorie in Little Badminton. Our condolences to Marjorie, family and friends for their sad loss. Until Next Time -The Three Country Girls Sally Smith, Sandra Broomsgrove & Yvonne Nettles NB: LOCAL TALKBACK WILL TAKE A BREAK IN JANUARY Send articles to Liz, c/o The Estate Office, Badminton, South Glos, GL9 1DD, or ring Liz (mornings only) on 01454 218379 e-mail lizbarnesbpc@googlemail.com COPY DATE 20 TH NOVEMBER for the December issue COPY DATE 20 TH January for February issue
NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM On a bright and breezy day in late September a group organised by Alistair and the local branch of the Royal British Legion travelled to the National Memorial Arboretum by coach. If, like me, you've never heard of this place it is well worth a visit. Situated a short distance from the M42 near Lichfield the 150 acre site was created from a reclaimed quarry owned and donated by Lafarge. The idea for the Memorial came from a David Childs in 1988 who was inspired by visiting the Arlington Cemetary and National Arboretum in Washington DC. It took many years for the project to be completed and it was officially opened in 2001. It is constantly evolving and maturing with more than 50,000 trees and over 200 memorials. When I first heard about the Memorial Arboretum I thought that it would be solely dedicated to the Armed Forces - and it's right to say that the majority of the memorials are in tribute to those who have served their country or died in conflict. The centrepiece of the Arboretum is the Armed Forces Memorial itself - a huge quadruple curved structure made of Portland stone carved with the names of all those who have died in conflict, or as a result of terrorist action or on training exercises since the end of World War II. There are thousands and thousands of names and what is even more humbling is the space left to be filled. It may take some time but you can guarantee that human nature will ensure that it will one day be filled, but hopefully not in our lifetimes. The rest of the site is beautifully set out with a variety of interesting trees and shrubs, all perfectly manicured and tended by what must be a huge team of gardeners. Apparently most of the people working at the site are volunteers and you can understand why such a tranquil and moving place attracts interest in voluntary work. They are constantly planting and trying new projects - while we were there they were planting crocus bulbs and you could buy a small bag of bulbs to plant yourself. What surprised me more than anything was the range of memorials at the Arboretum. Of course there were the memorials for specific regiments - some of which were stunning, particularly the one for the Parachute Regiment of a soldier mounted on Pegasus. Some were dedicated to whole countries - like the island of Malta awarded the George Cross for its courage during World War II - others to specific events during history like the building of the completely pointless Sumatra and Burma Railways during World War II, or the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. But as well as that there were memorials for the Fire Service, the Post Office, the Police, Roadpeace, The Twin Towers, The Bevin Boys and the WI amongst so many others. More memorials are added every year. The website for the memorial is www.thenma.org.uk. Entry is free with a suggested donation of £5.
Page 1: NOVEMBER 2013 ISSUE 435 LOCAL TALK
Page 5 and 6: MY ROYAL CONNECTIONS By Phyllis Sal
Page 7 and 8: MY ROYAL CONNECTIONS continued.....

Local Talk Back Nov

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