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Uley, Owlpen and Nympsfield December 2011
Village News
Supporting Church, Community and Local Business
Diary Dates
1 st Dec Taize Service, Marist Convent
2 nd Dec Uley Under 5s nativity, St Giles’
4 th Dec St Nicholas Praise
7 th Dec Da Capo
7 th Dec Parish Council Meeting
8 th Dec Uley Society
11 th Dec Community Carols, Nympsfield
14 th Dec Nympsfield Soup Kitchen
14 th Dec WI Christmas Party
16 th Dec Stinkabelle: A FUS Panto
17 th Dec Uley Bury Working Party
17 th Dec Oriana Singers, North Nibley
18 th Dec Carol Service, Holy Cross
19 th Dec The Ark Nativity, St Giles’
19 th Dec Oriana Singers, Stoutshill
22 nd Dec Carols on the Green
23 rd Dec Make a christingle, St Giles’
24 th Dec Christingle Service, St Giles’
9 th Jan Jubilee meeting
14 th Jan Community Shop meeting
21 st Jan Burns Night Supper & ceildh
Advertising in the Village News
A business advert of a quarter page or
less costs £5 per month. Seven hundred
copies of the Village News are produced
each month and delivered to most
households in Uley.
COPY DEADLINE
Items for inclusion in this newsletter must be
communicated to the
Village News
by the 10 th of the month preceding publication.
Email villagenews@sky.com
Telephone 01453 860299
3 Garns Close, Uley, GL11 5TJ
The Village News wishes all
it’s readers
A Happy Christmas.
1

Uley Parish Council
Chair: Anne Sutcliffe 860223
Vice Chair: Gill Cathles 861106
Janet Wood 860236
Margaret Groom 860579
Adam Rogers 07969834884
Charles Goldingham 860974
Melanie Paraskeva 07929360221
District Councillor
Graham Travé 549919
County Councillors
Dennis Andrewartha 547251
Brian Tipper 547015
Clerk to the Council
Shani Baker 07582216374
The Parish Council meets in the
Village Hall on the first Wednesday
of the month at 7pm. You are very
welcome to attend.
Details of the meetings can be found
on the notices at either end of the
village.
Uley village website can be found at
http://www.uley.eu
Parish of Uley with
Owlpen and Nympsfield
Churches of St Giles, Holy Cross
and St Bartholomew
Rector: Rev’d Diana Crook
Telephone 01453 860444
Parish days off-Usually Thurs & Fri
Messages listened to daily
Churchwardens
Mrs. J Rymer 860265
Mr. D Valentin 860245
Assistant Church Wardens
Mr. D Hart-Davis 860239
Ms. E Rymer 860520
Mrs. A Hardy 860876
All bookings for the Church and
St Giles Room to
Marion Kee 860364
or email:marionkee@fsmail.net
St Giles’ is open for prayer
9-9.30am
Normal church opening times are
10am-6pm
or dusk whichever is earlier
Posada
Mary, Joseph and the donkey will be travelling around the village during December.
Leaving St Giles' Church after the morning service on Advent Sunday, 27th
November, they will stay each night at a different location, returning to church for
the Christingle Service on Christmas Eve. This recreates the journey made by Mary
and Joseph who travelled from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem. If you would
like to host the holy family please add your name to the rota in St Giles' Church.
Those who host are asked to complete a diary and if possible take a photograph to
create a record of the journey.
2

A Christmas Letter from Rev’d Diana
the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with
God….and you will bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” Luke 1. 30-31
In a few weeks time all our preparations for Christmas will be over. Pantomimes,
children’s nativities, presents and Christmas wrapping paper, all back in the box for
another year. Life will be almost back to normal, and yet the message of Christmas is one
that comes to change and transform us- it is a message which says God is with us.
In his Christmas Message to the Diocese Bishop Michael writes to us in these words:
Christmas
I sometimes get frustrated at how often we hear that “Christmas is for the children”.
Clearly it is for children, but its message, its good news, is equally for adults too. Where
children are greatly at an advantage, is that they have a beautiful sense of wonder. They
stand in awe and delight in something that entrances them with a facility we sometimes
seem to lose when we grow older.
There are several key messages in the Christian gospel for Christmas time. Jesus is born in
a stable among the poor and, at the end of a year that has seen economic bad news
dragging many people down into poverty and others left there, that is gospel. The birth of
Jesus was heralded by angels greeting the arrival of a Prince of Peace and, in a world
where there is violence and tyranny, that is good news too. And there are more such
messages.
But none of these, however, important as they are, get to the heart of Christmas. The
heart of Christmas is Emmanuel, literally, God with us. It is the truth that in Jesus it was
God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who became one of us - didn’t just look like one of
us, but became one of us, lived our life, joined heaven and earth. Looking at all the
representations of that birth in cribs and Christmas cards, singing that story in carols,
watching children re-enact it in their nativity plays, ought to bring us all, adults, as much
as children, back to a sense of wonder, full of gratitude, awestruck by a profound and lifegiving
mystery.
As we read Bishop Michael’s words, let us remember that the shopping days will come to
an end- and yes there really will come a moment when we can’t do any more. Let us pray
that when we reach that point we will find the child in the manger, Jesus Christ, and know
in our hearts and in our deepest longings, that the God of Love reigns.
This Christmas do come and join the journey to Christmas Day. Come with the children
and sing carols on the Green, come and light Christingles at the Christmas Crib Services,
feel welcome at all the many different services in our three beautiful churches over the
Christmas Season. And may the love and the light of the Christ Child be with you this
Christmas and always. Emmanuel- God with us
With love Diana
3

From the Parish Registers
Please remember in your thoughts
and prayers
Those recently baptised:
Those recently married:
Samantha Sawicki & Daniel Keyse
(St Bartholomew)
Those who have recently died and
their family:
Katharine Penley, Mary Prowse
and those whose year’s mind fall at
this time:
Nancy Wordsworth, Leslie Smith,
Andrew Johnson
TAIZE SERVICE
A QUIET CANDLELIT SERVICE OF
PRAYER, MEDITATION
AND TAIZE CHANTS
Thursday 1 st December 7.30 p.m. Marist
Convent Nympsfield
Come and pause before Christmas and
reflect on the meaning of Advent
EVERYONE WELCOME,
Further details from:
Hilary 01453 860539
Marion 01453 861001
Community Carols and Christingle
St Bartholomew’s Church, Nympsfield
Sunday 11 th December at 6pm
Refreshments in the Village Hall after the service. All welcome.
4

Uley Under 5s
proudly announce their production of
Whoops-A-Daisy Angels.
Friday 2nd December
10:00 am
St Giles’ Church.
Everyone is very welcome
Teas and Coffees, Mince Pies and a
chance to purchase our wonderful
Ultimate Christmas puddings at the
back of the church.
All proceeds and donations will go
towards St Giles’ chosen charity and
Uley Under 5s Playgroup.
Looking forward to meeting you there.
Thank You
Service of Nine Lessons
and Carols
Holy Cross Church
Owlpen
Sunday 18 th December 6pm
St Giles’ West Window
Regular readers of the Village News may remember an article back in July
2010 about the urgent repairs needed to the west windows in the church.
After several weeks of scaffolding and painstaking restoration work by the
stonemason and the stained glass expert, the main west window is
complete with the smaller window almost complete. The church is now full
of light and the window looks stunning both inside and out. Do go in and
look at the transformation.
Christmas Boxes
70 Christmas boxes were collected from Uley School and St Giles’ Church for
shipment to needy children in Eastern Europe.
25 Christmas Boxes were collected from Uley for the children at The Carter
School in The Gambia. Thank you.
Fund Raising at Nympsfield
The Big Breakfast at Nympsfield raised £290 for the repairs to the tower of
St Bartholomew’s Church.
The Christmas Fair raised £648 which will be divided between St. Joseph’s
and St Bartholomew’s Churches. Thank you to all who made these events
possible and all who supported them.
5

BURNS NIGHT SUPPER
& CEILDH
ULEY VILLAGE HALL
SATURDAY 21 st JANUARY
Dancing to “Hetty Pegler’s Tump”
TICKETS : £20.00 EACH
OR FAMILY TICKET £40.00
IN AID OF ULEY VILLAGE HALL FUNDS
Tickets from the village shop
or janet dacey (860709)
Uley Bury Working Party
Sat 17th December
10am until 12noon.
Please meet at the seat.
Coffee & Mince pies
provided
Everyone welcome.
Contact Janet 860236
Uley Fireworks
Well. It’s happened again! Despite the lack of Vonks we’ve proved Uley
can really put on a show.
We were lucky with the weather, and thanks to the help of so many
fireworks stalwarts and a few newbies the occasion was a resounding
success. Special thanks have to go to the all new BBQ Crew for their sell
out efforts and the Uley Brewery for supplying an excellent brew.
Martin Coates and his team surpassed all previous displays and wowed us
with a brilliantly choreographed pyrotechnical ‘War of the Worlds’,
lighting up the skies for ages with so many beautiful fireworks.
Thank you everyone who came along, supported this wonderful event and
helped to raise an amazing £2,600 for charity, to be divided £1,600 for
Hope for Tomorrow (a mobile chemotherapy unit making treatment more
easy for cancer patients) and £500 each for Uley Primary School and Uley
Toddlers to support learning and development.
Parking is always an issue and we thank everyone for putting up with the
congestion for this one night.
Uley Toddlers
We are thrilled to be one of the recipients of fireworks funding this year.
Thank you so much for a fantastic £500. The babies and toddlers are going
to be able to get lots of exciting new toys and equipment.
6

DA CAPO
At our November meeting we continued the 'concerto' theme, with
composers from Vivaldi to Shostakovich and instruments from mandolin to
trumpet - music of great variety.
For many years the December DA CAPO has been a programme of 'Music
for Christmastide', and this year we will continue that tradition on
Wednesday 7th December at 2.30pm in the St Giles room, as usual.
Maurice Bullen
01453 860004
Uley WI.
President: Sue Strain 860305
Wednesday December 14th
7pm Village Hall
Christmas Party
Christmas Past
Dr Colin R Chapman
Uley Primary School FUS
presents
STINKABELLE!
A Christmas Panto
for all the family
Uley Village Hall
Friday 16th December
7.30pm
Bar
Tickets from Uley Stores
All are very welcome
"Community Shop
Progress Meeting"
Saturday 14th January
2:00 pm.
ULEY SOCIETY
The next meeting will be held in
Uley Village Hall at 7.30pm on
Thursday 8th December when
Rod Brown will talk about
"Life in India in the 1950s".
Followed afterwards by wine and
seasonal refreshments.
Len Freeth 860476
.
Uley Under 5s
The Ultimate Christmas Puddings
Sozzled Sultana Pudding 454g £6
ChoccaNocha 454g £6
Citrus Honey & Almond 454g £6
Triple Chocolate 454g £6
Gluten Free Xmas Puddings 454g £6
(2lb)
Plum Puddings (2lb) £10
Plum Puddings (1lb) £6
Brandy Butter £2:50
Gift wrapped (2lb) Plum Pudding
with Brandy Butter £12
Available to purchase from
Playgroup at the Village Hall and
at the back of St Giles Church on
Friday 2nd December.
7

wrighthandesigns
now has a portfolio of
handknitted designs ready
for order
choose vintage jaeger yarns
or
hand-dyed luxury camel,
alpaca, cashmere and silk
a small number of designs
readymade in baby yak,
cashmere, and angora
prices from £250
call 01453 861398 or
07801 888712
julianawright@fastmail.fm
BED AND BREAKFAST ACCOMMODATION
The Dotty Elephant
Handmade cards, soaps, scrubs, body butters,
lip balms and more.
Range of quality candles, stocking fillers
and gifts for all ages.
Soap making/At home parties available.
Please check out my website for full details
Delivery from £2.50 or collection from Uley
www.thedottyelephant.co.uk
07771526082
ROWDEN HOUSE
ELCOMBE LANE
ULEY
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Comfortable, friendly accommodation.
Good night sleep in a peaceful
environment
Can accommodate dogs
Lovely rural location
Tel 01453 861134
07584 706387
E.Mail: bookings@rowdenbandb.co.uk
A COTSWOLD CALENDAR
A View of Paradise
designed and self published by
Juliana Wright
is now on sale
from Joy at the Village Shop
and from Rita at the Honey Pot in Dursley.
price £22.50
The calendar is a very limited edition
of 40 copies.
All the images are taken in real time
throughout 2010 -2011
Copyright applies and the images are
available from
wrighthandesigns
julianawright@fastmail.fm
07801 888712
8

Professional building surveying services for residential and
commercial clients, including Community Projects and Schools,
Building Surveys, Homebuyer Reports, Plans and Specifications
for statutory approvals with regard to new build, extensions and
alterations.
Web site address is www.regencysurveyors.co.uk
E-mail: contact@regencysurveyors.co.uk
Telephone: Office: 01453 831551 or Mobile 07736713746
Joanne Sealey
Qualified Beauty Therapist
Manicure
Pedicure
De-stress massage
Waxing
Eyelash tinting
Facials
Make-up
Email: bhmjosealey@hotmail.com
Tel: 07976 980579
OUTRAGEOUS ENERGY BILLS
Want to reduce those energy bills that just keep rising
Want to feel Greener Richer Cleaner
Ecovision are a local company based on the Highgrove Estate, but originated
from Owlpen. We supply heat pumps, air, ground and water, specially designed
for each individual property. As well as Solar PV for FREE electricity which
provides a government backed, index linked, tax free 12% rate of return for 25
years from the feed in tariff.
Get in touch today:
01666 501580 enquiries@ecovision.co.uk
www.ecovision.co.uk
9

You are invited to
a special service
St Nicholas Praise
for all
St Giles’ Church
Sunday 4 th December
3pm
Followed by tea
All welcome.
Nicholas, St Nicholas
Fill our hearts with love
Ready for the Christ child
Coming from above.
Who was St. Nicholas
St Nicholas was a Greek Bishop in 4 th century and many stories have been told about
his good deeds.
St. Nicholas the giver of gifts
He helped three poor girls by giving them money. The bags of gold, tossed through an
open window or down the chimney, landed in stockings left before the fire to dry.
This led to the custom of children hanging stockings, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint
Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is
why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for
St. Nicholas.
St Nicholas the protector of children
The townspeople of Myra were celebrating on the eve of his feast day when pirates
stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas and kidnapped a young boy. His
mother prayed for her son and he was rescued by St. Nicholas.
How he became Santa Claus
European settlers in America in 15 th century took with them the story of St Nicholas.
Over the centuries he has been transformed in to Santa Claus, who still brings gifts to
good children at Christmas.
10

A picture of St. Nicholas for you to colour
A Visit from St Nicholas
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
11

Your local supplier for Christmas gifts and stocking fillers for all the family.
Anything for the pool
Anything for a party
Anything ‘pirate’
Anything, in fact, all year round!
Discounts available for Schools, Clubs, Playgroups
Visit our website for more information
www.altraswim.co.uk 01453 548166
Churches Together Roving Nativity
If you would like to be part of this living nativity on Sunday 11 th December, Mary
and Joseph will leave Dursley Primary School at 2.30. The shepherds will come from
Stinchcombe Hill and the Kings from Kingshill. All will meet together at 3.30 at the
Old Spot for a nativity service and carols. Everyone is welcome.
12

A FUTURE VILLAGE SHOP/PO – STEERING GROUP UPDATE
Joy and David Gaytten postponed their planned closure by 12 months, until June
2012, and this has allowed the Steering Group to research, discuss and negotiate
future options for opening a sustainable and viable Community Shop/PO in Uley.
3 locations, where space for a shop could be leased have been identified:
the existing Uley stores
the cottage adjacent to the Old Crown
the annexe (front left) of 70 The Street
To progress negotiations in a fair, independent and professional manner, Mike
Bennett of Bennett Jones has been retained to appraise each option from the
perspective of rent, condition and suitability. This exercise was made possible by
the willing co-operation of the 3 prospective landlords. Further advice and support
has been provided by the Parish Council and Chris Cowcher from GRCC.
A Feasibility Study has been prepared comparing the merits of each option and
the Steering Group is currently reviewing this and aims to decide a clear
preference, and thus a decisive way forward, this month.
The Steering Group fully recognises the importance to the village of the choice;
the need to communicate how and why the selection was arrived at; and the
importance of engaging the understanding and support of the whole village. This is
vital – the enthusiasm and passion of the village to keep a village store/PO open in
Uley has to translate into fund-raising early in 2012. Whilst all avenues for
grants/loans/donations from outside will be pursued vigorously, it's up to all of us
in Uley to make a community shop/PO a successful reality.
So, more news soon and then the real work begins!
Minutes of meetings are displayed on village notice boards and website, and
meetings are open to all.
Uley Primary School
Uley Primary wish to thank the Uley Fireworks for their donation of £500
towards school funds. It is going to be put to very good use providing
useful learning opportunities for our children.
Thank you and well done for a spectacular display and fund raising effort.
13

ULEY PARISH COUNCIL
What We’ve Done This Month
Here are some of the items that we have been dealing with over the past month:
1. Skate Ramp
Further to our report last month, we are still looking for a suitable site for a half-pipe
skate ramp. If any landowners have a piece of land that they could provide to
accommodate the skate ramp, please advise the parish clerk on 07582216374. A half
pipe skate ramp is smaller than the normal full sized ramps that you will see elsewhere,
so does not need so much space. Many thanks for your help.
2. Affordable Housing
Gloucestershire Rural Housing Association has approved the funds for seven affordable
houses for Uley. Severn Vale Housing Society, which is responsible for managing both
the build and the tenancies for the houses, is now starting to undertake feasibility
studies of the four sites which have been offered for the houses.
3. Jubilee arrangements 2/3/4/5 June 2012
A number of individuals and organisations in the village have offered to organise events
or provide facilities to support the Jubilee celebrations. However, there is still
programme space available for other events if anyone else is interested in doing
something. As well as co-ordinating the programme of events, the parish council has
agreed to provide a Jubilee tree to be planted to commemorate the occasion. There is a
further meeting of the Jubilee Group on Monday January 9 th in the Village Hall at 7.00
pm.
4. Precept 2012/13
The parish council obtains its funding through the council rates which are imposed on
each property in the village – this is called the Precept. The amount we charge is very
small compared to the much higher amounts levied by Gloucestershire County Council
and Stroud District Council. The Government has banned County Councils and District
Councils from raising their council rates, but has not imposed such restrictions on parish
councils. Because of this situation, County (and some District) Councils are passing costs
for their services on to parish councils. The biggest impact for us is that County
Highways has had its budget slashed and is undertaking major or emergency works only
(the definition of which is unclear). We know that PROW is being disbanded (so
footpaths may not be repaired) and some road repairs are being offered on a 50/50
basis, with the parish council being asked to pay half the cost. (We have had complaints
from residents that the road going up Crawley Hill is in a dreadful state, but Highways
have said that it is not bad enough yet for them to repair it. The parish council does not
have the monies for this kind of maintenance work).
14

We know that Highways will pay for snow ploughing the Street (only) for 2011 and for
providing the grit for the grit bins around the village, but we are very concerned that
these services will not be provided next year. There were many complaints last winter
that whilst the Street was being cleared of snow, none of the side streets were being
cleared (snow ploughed) and so villagers still could not get out to work or school. If the
parish council has to pay for the Street to be cleared, we could have the side streets
cleared as well. We feel that the village would expect something to be done about
providing these various services.
At our November meeting we therefore went through all our current expenditure to see
whether there were things that could be reduced to help fund these services. At the
same time we did not want to reduce our donations to the various charities and
organisations that provide services to the village (some of which, such as Citizens Advice
Bureau, are needed more now than before). However, the few reductions that we have
found will not cover the anticipated costs. Whilst we would much prefer to stay at a
zero increase (or even a reduction as we did last year), we did agree that we had to
increase the precept. Because our precept is so low, the percentage increase will
appear to be high (higher than the rate of inflation) but it is in effect only a few pounds
(about £4) per property. We are sorry but we feel we have no choice but to impose this
increase and hope that under the circumstances you will support it.
It would also be helpful to know if there are other services which you feel we should be
providing locally (and therefore paying for locally, which may be cheaper). We have not
allowed funding for 50/50 road repairs and wonder if the village would like to increase
the precept more to enable these to be done rather than wait until they are really bad.
Please let us know what you think, ideally before we finalise the precept at our
December meeting – email the clerk on clerk@uley.eu.
5. Bonfires
We have had complaints from residents about bonfires being lit inconsiderately. If you
are planning on lighting a bonfire, can you first tell your neighbours, especially if they
have washing out on the line or their children are playing in the garden. Please be
considerate.
We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and we all hope for a prosperous
New Year!
15
We know that Highways will pay for snow ploughing the Street (only) for 2011 and for

ULEY SURGERY
Uley Surgery are eager to ensure that local people are involved in deciding how the services
they use should develop. To provide patients with the opportunity to express their views we
have set up Uley Surgery Patient Participation Group.
In 2011, a group of patients were invited by the doctors of Uley Surgery to form a group.
The aim of the Patient Participation Group is to give patients, GP's and practice staff an
opportunity to meet, to exchange ideas and information and then to take action if necessary.
The group generally meets quarterly.
Group Members at present:
Mrs A Sutcliffe
Mrs C Bebbington
Mr J North
Mrs C Penley
A patient survey has been produced and is available in the surgery and on the practice
website for users of the practice to complete, the results of which will be published in the
future. In addition patients can leave comments relating to the surgery in the suggestions
box in the waiting room, we will be pleased to hear your views.
The Uley 100 Club
Thanks to the initiative and energy of Angela Haddrell, the resuscitation of the Uley 100 Club
has got off to a fine start. In only a few weeks Angela has recruited 95 punters – only five
short of her initial target of 100.
The first new draw took place on 1 November during the interval at the Uley Allsorts’
meeting in the Village Hall. To ensure fair play, the discs were drawn out of the traditional
bag by Maurice Ball. The winners were:
1 st Sheila Shipton £20
2 nd Mrs Jackie Eldridge (Thrupp) £15
3 rd Tim Powell £10
The aim of the Club is to provide funds for the running and maintenance of the Playing Field
and the Pavilion. Money is always needed. Besides routine expenses – grass-cutting,
electricity, insurance and so on – unexpected costs keep cropping up. For instance, the
pump that powers the showers finally broke down last month. Luckily Dave Hill, who does a
tremendous amount of voluntary work for the footballers and cricketers, managed to find a
good replacement at a keen price, but even that was £250.
The workings of the 100 Club are very simple. An annual subscription of £12 buys each
member a single number between 1 and 100 (you can buy more than one number if you
like). A draw is made on the first of each month, and three prizes are given.
If the number of members goes over 100 (as we hope it will), more prizes will be given, so
that the odds will remain the same.
JOIN NOW - either through Joy at the Shop,
or through Angela – 861131.
DUFF HART-DAVIS
16

Stroud and District Citizens Advice Bureau
As we approach the Christmas season it seems appropriate to remind you of the
work done by the Stroud and District Citizens Advice Bureau. Its aim is to advise
people on their rights and responsibilities in trying to find a resolution to the
problems they face. It seems that in many ways the Bureau is one of the emergency
services.
Last year the Bureau helped over 3,700 such people. After a first interview those
who can help themselves are encouraged to do so. Some, where appropriate, are
redirected to organisations that can help, while others need more help from the
Bureau. Last year, advisers wrote over 3,200 letters and made over 900 phone calls
to third parties. Effective advice requires expertise and understanding and often
calls for investigative skills on the part of the adviser in order to get to the bottom of
the issue.
None of this comes without cost. Many people do not realise that the Bureau is a
charity. It is grateful for the support it receives from Stroud District Council, without
whose help it would be unable to continue, but increasingly it has to turn to local
people to maintain the service. We are asking you to consider supporting the
Bureau this Christmas, when we are most aware of those in our community who
need help.
The generosity of those in this parish who have already decided to support the
Citizens Advice Bureau is gratefully acknowledged.
If you feel you can support the Bureau with a standing order, please note that the
Coventry Building Society (formerly Stroud and Swindon), has committed to doubling
the value of new standing orders (up to the value of £15,000) for one year. So your
donation achieves even more!
For more information please contact us via the editor or visit the website.
www.strouddistrict.org.uk. If you would like to give on-line, please follow the links
from the website to Virgin Money Giving. Thank you!
Judith Newman
Fund Raising Committee
17

Christmas with the Oriana Singers.
Led by conductor David Moss, the Oriana Singers will present an evening
of music and words celebrating the joy of Christmas. Join them in St
Martin’s Church, North Nibley at 7.30pm on Saturday, 17 th December.
Tickets cost £7 and include refreshments during the interval and can be
bought on the door or by phoning David Moss on 01453 860801. There is
no charge for children.
Carols at Stoutshill
On Monday December 19 th the Oriana Singers will be leading carols and
reading poems at Stouts Hill in aid of Amnesty International, which is
celebrating its 50 th Anniversary this year. Christmas punch and mince pies
will be served at the interval. The evening’s entertainment begins at
7.30pm.
Gathering of the Sackbuts
Emily White & (a lot of) friends
Historical trombone players from
around the UK
St Martin’s Church, North Nibley
Sunday 4 th September 5pm
Free.
Collection for St Martin’s Church
Soup Kitchen
Nympsfield Village Hall
Wednesday December 14 th
12 noon-1.30pm
Enjoy soup & a pudding.
Raffle.
Thank you to all who have helped to distribute the Village News this year.
18

Village Agent.
Free Solar PV Offers
I don’t know if any of you have had leaflets put through you door about free solar panel
offers but as there are a number of different organisations offering this scheme, I thought I’d
give you some information about it. These offers are called ‘Rent my roof Space’ which is
simply ‘renting’ the roof space from the customer.
How it works is that the company installs the panels on south, south-west or south-east
facing roofs. The company pays for the installation, connection charges and the maintenance
of the panels and the home owner benefits from free electricity from the panels. Any
electricity that is not used is exported into the local electricity network. Any income
associated with this is likely to go to the installation company.
How much money you could save depends on the proportion of the electricity generated that
is used directly in the home, rather than exported to the grid and this depends on a number
of factors:
How much electricity you use and when you use it
Whether you are at home and using appliances during the day
Whether you can change the time you run your appliances, eg running your
washing machine when it’s sunny (when solar PV is generating) instead of at
night.
How big the solar PV installation is
The proportion used in a house may be as low as 25% for a typical PV system, but it could
be lot more for some users. With a typical 2.7kw system, (average 3 bedroom semi) this
would mean, to the homeowner, a likely saving of £70 - £140 per year.
It should be noted that some companies may not offer the generated electricity for free, but
instead offer it at a discounted price. If this is the case, then your savings will be even less
and you should consider whether it’s worth going ahead.
If you are considering a free solar PV offer, you will need to calculate what the annual
benefit to you will be. If the electricity is to be free then you must remember that the actual
savings will depend on how much electricity you use and how much is used during the day
when the sun is shining.
Make sure you read the contract carefully, checking for such things as penalties for early
termination and maintenance responsibilities. Advice on this can be found on the Energy
Saving Trust website
(www.energysavingtrust.org.uk).
If you feel you would like more information and would like to speak to someone, please
ring the Energy Saving Trust on: 0800 512 012.
If you would like to more information about this or any other matter do telephone me Sue
Colquhoun on 07810 630 145.
Churches Together in Cam, Dursley & District
Friends @ Christmas
Might you be lonely or alone this Christmas
Everyone is welcome at our OPEN HOUSE: Dursley Methodist Church Rooms
Christmas Day & Boxing Day 11am-4pm
Ring 543724 for more information
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Parish of Uley, Owlpen and Nympsfield
Churches of St Giles, Holy Cross and St Bartholomew
Rector Rev’d Diana Crook 860444
Churchwardens Jo Rymer 860265 David Valentin 860245
December 2011 Services
Sunday 4th December
2nd Sunday of Advent
St Bartholomew 8.30am Holy Communion (CW)
St Giles 3.00pm St Nicholas Praise
Sunday 11 th December
St. Giles
St Bartholomew
3 rd Sunday of Advent
10.00am Parish Holy Communion (CW)
6.00pm Carols & Christingle
Sunday 18th December
4 th Sunday of Advent
St Giles
10.00am Parish Holy Communion (CW)
Holy Cross 6.00pm Service of Nine Lessons & Carols
Saturday 24 th December Christmas Eve
St Giles 4,00pm Christingle Crib Service
St Bartholomew
11.00pm Holy Communion (CW)
Sunday 25th December
St Giles
Morning Prayer
9.00am Monday – Saturday St
Giles’ Church
Bible Study: Home Group
Every Wednesday in Term time
11.30-12.30
Turners Cottage, The Street,
Uley
Children are welcome at all our
services. There are activities
and special worship materials
for them in each church.
Christmas Day
10.00am Holy Communion (CW)
Candlelit Advent Taize
7pm Thursday 1 st Dec Marist Convent
Churches Together “Roving Nativity”
3.30pm Sun 11 th Dec Old Spot, Dursley
meet at 2.30 at Dursley Primary School if you are in
the walking procession
The Ark: a Nativity Service for Babes & Tots
Monday 19 th December 10.30
Carols on the Green
6.30-8pm Thursday 22 nd December Uley
With Frampton Silver Band
Come and make Christingles on Friday 23 rd
St Giles’ Room 10.30
Printed by J&C Carter, Taitshill Industrial Estate, Dursley GL11 6BL email:cotsmark@btopenworld.com 01453 546645
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