Diamond Jubilee Family Fun Day

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The whole village got together on Saturday 16th June to hold a Family Fun day on the Lorkin Daniell Playing Field in the village. The organisers and volunteers turned up to set out the fayre from very early on Saturday morning and were determined to put on a show to remember despite the very windy conditions.

Our event began as planned with an assembly of our children at Heathlands School all having decorated their scooters and “jubilee rides” ready for the parade to the playing field and ultimately the judging competition. Many were clutching their favourite Teddy Bears ready in expectation of the Teddy Bears picnic they would all enjoy following the scooter competition.

 The parade was led by Terry Doonan a long time resident of West Bergholt with his highly decorated mobility scooter who at times struggled to keep his powerful “ride” ahead of the excited children’s parade. As the parade entered the specially prepared field and arena they were greeted by the sound of Chariots of Fire and the applause of proud parents and spectators alike.

The winners of the decorated “ride” competitions were presented with their prizes by Neil Mathews, Head Teacher of Heathlands and the winners were;

• Caitlin & Leandra Williams-Macklin – Best Decorated Scooter
• Ben & Max Lemmon – Best Dressed Winners
• Alexis – Best Overall Winner – Dressed as a Queen Bee

Over 250 children sat down to the Teddy Bears picnic where each child was presented with a Diamond Jubilee celebratory box of goodies including hat, flag, cake and drink all lovingly prepared by the Blue Bell team and village volunteers.

At the end of the picnic we were all treated to the sight and sound of an impressive fly past by the Royal Air Force who obviously hearing of our family event appeared to divert from their usual flight path to attend our fayre on the way to greeting Her Majesty on her official birthday.

We were all then treated to series of displays by the West Bergholt Dance Troupe, Zumba Class and Heathlands Choir where all were encouraged to take part at the appropriate time. To add further excitement we held our traditional family games competition including a Tug o War, Sack Race and Egg and Spoon Race with prizes for the winners in all categories.

During the afternoon the Woman’s Institute announced the winners of the Diamond Jubilee Card Competition where children were asked to design the front and inside of the card and a verse composed by an adult was selected to complete the greeting card which is to be sent to the Queen on behalf of the village to mark her Diamond Jubilee year. The winners were;

• Front cover drawing – Olivia Knight 
• Inside cover drawing – Lily Tyler 
• Verse written by – Susan Walby (Barker)

Front cover drawing – Olivia Knight

Inside cover drawing – Lily Tyler

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Your Majesty,
This card is sent on your Diamond Jubilee
with the heartfelt good wishes of the
people of West Bergholt, Essex

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Thank you for your dedication,
Always working for our nation,
Doing lots to aid world peace
Constant schedules without cease.

Enjoy the love, the joy, the cheer,
In this Celebration Year.
West Bergholt folk would like to say
God Speed, Three Cheers, hip, hip Hooray!

Verse written by – Susan Walby (Barker)

The awards were announced by Susan Leng WI President and presented to the winners by John Gili-Ross Chairman of the Parish Council.

"Colchester is Changing"

... and if you want your views heard the Borough Council are inviting you to share them at their exhibition of plans, ideas and proposals at St Nicholas House, High Street (former JJB Sports) on 28th June (10 - 5) and 30th June (10 - 4).  Among projects to look at are:

• New bus station;
• Park & ride;
• The walls project;
• Street entertainment; and
• Vineyard gate plans.

Jubilee Thrones with the WI

President, Susan Leng welcomed guest speaker Barbara Faulkner who celebrated the June Jubilee meeting with members. She began with a quiz of 20 questions about the Queen. No one knew the Queen had nine thrones! The evening continued with a racing game.  Barbara then played music for the members to sing Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia everyone was dressed in red, white and blue.


Following tea, a verse was chosen from the adult village competition and this will be printed together with drawings from the two age groups of children.  The card will be sent to the Queen from the residents of West Bergholt.

Family Fun Day - Saturday 16th June

Come & join us for all the fun of a traditional country fayre starting at the Lorkin Daniel Playing Field at 12 noon.  Join in with activities, games, competitions, rides such as:

• donkeys,
• tug of war,
• penalty shoot out,
• teddy bear's picnic,
• children's cinema,
• licensed bars,
• decorated scooter parade,
• ...and much more.

This event has now happened - read here for report.

Jubilee Beacon Event

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The culmination of a long weekend celebrating Her Majesty's 60th Anniversary saw West Bergholt become centre stage as it took its place in the global 'beacon relay', an event which started many hours earlier on the far side of the world and culminated just 15-minutes after West Bergholt's Beacon was lit with Her Majesty’s Beacon at 10:30pm on Monday 4th June.

Our open air event took place on Lorkin Daniell Playing field in the heart of the village. The culmination of the celebration was the lighting of its Jubilee Beacon, designed and manufactured by Adrian Leach a village resident. The Beacon was lit by two of our village youths, Amber Harlow and Sam Ryan, who were closely monitored by Cllr John Jowers of Essex County Council (ECC). The theme of the evening was a night of music presented by West Bergholt Concert Band conducted by Graham Wilson.

More than 500 people attended the village celebrations which began with the formal opening of a youth shelter on the playing field which was designed and constructed by another village resident Ian Dickson.  Construction of the shelter was made possible by grants from the Parish Council and ECC and uses a design agreed with the youth of the village.

Clicking on the picture will take you to a slide-show of pictures taken by one of our much applauded volunteers for a great event well run and which bought smiles to so many villagers - the slide-show does run in reverse order ☺.

Family half term activity - photography in High Woods?

In preparation for the Parks 25th anniversary in September, Groundwork are working with Colchester Borough Council and the Colchester Countryside Volunteer Rangers through Marks and Spencer’s @myurbangreen project to introduce ‘High Woods in Focus’ - a photographic competition aimed to recognise the talent of local photographers of all ages and abilities.  High Woods in Focus is open to entrants from two age group categories; 15 years and under and 16+, and the four categories are as follows:

• Creepy Crawlies,
• Bird Life,
• Dawn and Dusk and
• Seasons.

Entries to the competition should aim to highlight the beauty and importance of the plants, trees, wild animals, landscapes and the people that work to conserve them. They may show anything from portraits, animal behaviour, movement, rare species wild habitats or ecosystems.

To enter, simply send your image of High Woods to Highwoodsatmyurbangreen@groundwork.org.uk by 1st August, 2012 Each picture will need to be accompanied by:

• The name of the photographer, address and contact number
• The category in which the photograph is being entered
• A short caption/description of the image

The best image from each category will be chosen regardless of age to determine the category winners, who will receive a runner up prize of a £25 voucher to spend in any Jessop’s store. Two overall competition winners will be selected from each age group, each receiving a £75 voucher. Prizes will be presented at High Woods 25th Anniversary event on Sunday 23rd September 2012 by our judging panel.

For more information please see www.eastofengland.groundwork.org.uk or alternatively call Siân Meech at Groundwork on 01394 444618.