May 25 Update
- barlastoncommunity
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Our collaboration with the Parish Council to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day was a wonderful occasion - a HUGE Thank You to everyone who joined us at the Village Hall. From delicious cake made using authentic wartime recipes, to regular refills of tea and coffee, rounded off with a good old-fashioned sing-a-long – it was truly a day to remember. There was a tableful of fascinating wartime memorabilia and the hall had been festooned with Union Jack flags. Special thanks to the Davies Duo (Charlotte & father, Martin) and the talented bakers (Chris, Janet, Margaret, Sue, Irene & Val) who literally put the icing on the cakes and made the afternoon so special! What a lovely way to come together as a community.
Barlaston in Bloom is growing well – since our last gathering there have already been 2 Open Garden events and we’re hoping for more in the coming months. Gardeners can choose whether they open just to the group or whether they want to open to the village. Irene and Dave Moran were the first ones to open their garden to the village and were delighted with the turnout! The Whatsapp Group is now established and there is already good interaction with people sharing photos/videos of their gardens and asking questions. If you are interested in gardening and would like to find out more, please contact Gary Lloyd at garylloyd675@gmail.com or Pam Spruce on 07824 352862 – they’d love to hear from you!
The Barlaston Strollers and Striders have been lucky this month and had beautiful weather for both the May walks. We stayed local for the first walk and managed to catch the last of the bluebells in Hem Heath Woods before going back to the Village Hall for refreshments. The second outing was back to one of our favourites – Park Hall Country Park – and that’s not just because of the great Bolton Gate Farm Café! Park Hall was declared as Stoke on Trent’s only National Nature Reserve and the sandstone canyons are a Site of Special Interest for their geology. The groups appreciated all of the above as well as the delicious cakes/lunches served at the café! Some great photos were taken and we were back in perfect time, just before the rain arrived!
We’re a friendly bunch and if you’d like to join us we meet on the first & third Wednesday of every month at the Plume of Feathers carpark ready to walk at 10am prompt. If you have any questions or would like to know more please give Sandie (Group Leader) a call on 07496 088544. June walks will be on the 4th and 18th of the month.
Our Tech Gurus at Silver Surfers have been busy helping residents improve their computer skills and solving a variety of problems from their base in the Ruth Dickson room at the rear of the village hall but will now be on a recess over the summer. However, don’t panic if you find yourself stuck or needing help with a problem because they will be contactable over the phone and if necessary will make a house call – you know how helpful they are!! Contact Steve on 07861 617932 or Tony on 07783 009194, they will be happy to help. The start back date is to be confirmed.
The next film night will be on Saturday 19th July. Tickets will be on sale in the next few weeks, watch out around the village and on social media for when the tickets are available.
Sadly, May seems to have been ‘Fly Tip Month’ for the Womblers… some joker on Facebook posted a comment saying ‘Think someone’s trying to move into that field – first there’s a fridge and a freezer, now a settee!!’ It is shocking but luckily we have a great relationship with Streetscene & Fit John picks it all up promptly! Last month residents Dave & Deborah Withington spotted a disgusting fly tip on Longton Road. Wombler Debbi had seen it in the morning and bagged up what she could to stop it flying all over the road and then Dave & Deborah very kindly went back and bagged it all up. Fit John picked the bags up from their house the following day – what a STAR. They also managed to get receipts and an NHS box with a name and address on!!! These have been sent to the County Enforcer so maybe this time we could get a prosecution & fine??! We’re not holding our breath though as this has happened so many times before…
Mandy The Wombling Angel has had help this month, in the form of the refurbished Litter Pick Trolley. Not only do we have Stephen 2-Buckets on the team, now we also have Mandy 2-bags!! As her route kept getting extended, so did her arms(!!) Mandy gave the moth-balled trolley a glow-up and it is Fit for Purpose once more! Please look out for her around the village – we’re sure she’d appreciate a Thank You or a Beep if you’re passing. We’ve notice Beeps are on the wane lately – come on folks, the Womblers don’t pick litter for the Thank You’s but it certainly feels good to be appreciated… Let’s resurrect the Beeps and let them know they’re appreciated!!
This month’s Photo Competition ‘HIDDEN TALENTS’ was won by LYNNE COATES!! Her iconic knitted wedding cake raced into the lead and stayed there! Next month’s theme is ‘The Joys of Gardening’, whether it’s a pristine lawn, a row of hollyhocks or a display of gardening tools – we look forward to seeing a colourful selection - look out for the Entry post on Facebook a few days before the end of the month. You can enter via our Page or the Community Hub – see details below.
Have a Joyful June everyone!
Website: www.barlastoncommunity.wixsite.com
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