Welcome to the Lich Gate, the village magazine for Almondsbury in South Gloucestershire. The Lich Gate is published by Almondsbury PCC and is distributed to all households in the village. Its circulation is approximately 1300 issues. It is produced and distributed entirely by volunteers.
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Almondsbury Barn Dance & Hog Roast 2010
A big thank you to Mike, Nicky & Liz for organising such a fabulous village event. It was a lovely treat to be able to relax and let our hair down with friends whilst the children could run around, having bags of fun, in such a friendly, safe environment. There were bouncy castles, sumo wrestling and jousting for the children (although some of the adults couldn't resist 'hogging' the equipment at the end of the night!). The Rumpus Band was great and the dancing was surprisingly good. It is events like these that pull us all together and makes Almondsbury such a lovely village to live in. Thanks again to all those involved, who put so much time and effort into making it such an enjoyable evening for us all. Marie Woodward |
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| Jousting | Youngest Barn Dancers |
Rumpus Band |
| Larger pictures on gallery pages |
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Church Council Matters
The 'Thank-You Reception' on 22 May for Roof Appeal donors began with a slide presentation by Simon Hygate, our Building Surveyor. Drinks and Canapés were then enjoyed in a relaxed manner - a fitting conclusion to the hard work and generosity of so many. You may have noticed various small 'gadgets' in the church - these are to monitor Relative Humidity. Hopefully this will show that the principle areas of damp caused by the water penetration can and will dry out without invasive action, and allow appropriate re-decoration in due course. Almondsbury Community Shop Association has written to the PCC to say that they have not been successful in finding a more permanent location for the shop to allow them to move at the end of the 2 year lease as originally planned. They ask if the PCC is willing 'in principle' to grant a further lease term, and they also ask for an option to extend the opening hours to Saturday afternoon and for 2 hours on Sundays, and to make wider use of the gardens for seating and trading. This is a dilemma in that the PCC has to balance the benefit of the shop to the community with the situation of those living nearby, some of whom remain opposed to this use. Also the PCC may need the house as residential accommodation for staff - the Curate in Training who will start with us shortly is having to live in Pilning Vicarage as there is no property available in Almondsbury. A decision will be made shortly.
Michael Kirby, Finance & Buildings Team |
Dear Sir,
I am a volunteer at Almondsbury Community Shop and am writing in support of the shop being granted a continuation of the lease by the PCC in its current location.
The Community Shop is more than a place to pick up a newspaper, some milk and some fresh produce, it is a terrific service to the community, especially for the older and perhaps more vulnerable residents.
Today a recently bereaved resident came into the shop. He not only bought his newspaper but received sympathy from the shop volunteers, information on the laundry service supplied by the shop, suggestions on how to buy in fresh, ready made meals and an offer of help to replace his car. All of this was above and beyond the expectations of a routine visit to the shops and not something you would get from the local supermarket, if, in fact, you are able to get there.
We frequently have local residents who come into the shop not only to buy a few essentials but also stay to chat with other locals catching up on news and views and probably enjoying their only social interaction of their day.
Young mums come into the shop with their youngsters and enjoy the welcome they receive and the time given to the children when selecting their favourite sweets.
If the shop were to close it would create a huge hole in the local community and all the efforts of the volunteers would be lost. My Tuesdays would not be the same again.
Kind regards,
Su Mills
Many of our patients will have experienced the changes at our Almondsbury site since the building work and I hope you feel that it has improved our facilities. Although we still have a few teething problems with some of the IT changes they are slowly being resolved and Everyone should benefit from the increased capacity in both clinical and administration areas and from increased privacy. Very soon you should benefit from an upgraded waiting room as that is due to be done over the summer.
Most patients will also know that Dr Relph has been away since before Christmas. She is now happy to share with you that this has been because of ill health but what she wouldn't tell you is that she has had a rough time. I am pleased to say that she is well on the road to recovery and is in fact off on holiday next week. However her experience has made her re assess her work life balance and she and her husband have decided to go travelling. This means that with great reluctance she has decided to retire from the practice.
We are going through the process of finding a replacement to join our team on a permanent basis, hopefully by late September. In the interim we have been ably supported by some good locum GP's but know that this is unsettling for some patients so welcome your forbearance.
Dr Relph is as sad as we all are about leaving as she has loved her time here having built great relationships with staff and patients, but she must make the right decision for her and we hope you will join us in wishing her well for the future. If anyone wishes to pass on personal best wishes I am happy to be a 'post box' so please send anything care of me at Almondsbury Surgery ( www.almondsburysurgery.nhs.uk )
Margaret Warren
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