We have a lot of information for you this week.
 
In this issue:
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The trunk of the cedar tree in the churchyard has finally been felled today (2nd September).
 
At its meeting on 26th August, the PCC elected John Comins as Chairman and Ann Maxwell as Vice-Chairman. Angela Fitch continues as Secretary.
 
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Please note that the church doors will not be open until 11.30am on Wednesday (3rd September) for the Service of Thanksgiving for Major Harry Porter. The service takes place at 12 noon.
 
During the evening, instead of the usual Wednesday practice, the bell ringers will be ringing a half-muffled quarter peal. The quarter peal will start at 8.00pm and last approximately 45 minutes.
 
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The regular monthly ‘Cuppa & Chat’ will take place as usual on Wednesday 3rd September, from 3.00pm to 4.30pm in Birlingham Village Hall. All are welcome and transport can be provided if required.
 
For more information, please contact Brenda Fletcher on 01386 750173 or Adrianne Woodward on 01386 750936.
 
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The Birlingham Flower and Produce Show will be held on Saturday 6th September. Completed entry forms must be delivered to 4 Church Street by 8.00pm on Thursday 4th September. The Schedule and Entry Forms can be obtained from the telephone box or 4 Church Street, or downloaded from www.birlingham.org/organisations/flowershow.htm. Latest information is also available on the Show Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BirlinghamShow.
 
Entries can be staged in the Village Hall between 6.00pm and 8.00pm on Friday 5th September or between 9.00am and 11.00am on Saturday 6th September. Late entries may be accepted at these times at double the normal entry fee.
 
The Show will be open for public viewing from 2.00pm on Saturday and the presentation of trophies and auction of produce will take place at about 4.00pm.
 
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Services at St James’s Church during September will be held at the following times:
  • Sunday 7th: Family Service, 10.15am – if you haven’t yet tried the Family Service, a slightly shorter service, in modern language and popular with both children and adults, why not give it a try? This month’s service will include Thanksgiving for the Birth of a Child (the daughter of Emily and Olly Guest and granddaughter of Ali Hastings). There will be refreshments in the church afterwards.
  • Sunday 14th: Holy Communion, 10.15am – a traditional service, enjoyed by all.
  • Sunday 21st: Morning Praise, 10.30am – a slightly shorter service and a lovely start to the day.
  • Sunday 28th: Holy Communion, 10.15am – a traditional service, tailored, through Common Worship, to reflect our local community.
The Harvest Festival will be held on Sunday 5th October at 11.00am, and it is planned to have a ‘Bring and Share’ lunch in the Village Hall afterwards. More details later.
 
The full rota for September can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/organisations/docs/church_rota_2014_09.pdf.
 
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A new venture to help Worcestershire businesswomen, the Women2Web project, has received a £75,000 boost from Government funding. Some of this money is being used to fund a series of free networking sessions, starting next week, for women business owners and budding female entrepreneurs. As well as the networking sessions, there will be free training and one-to-one mentoring for women who want to start up new businesses or to help existing companies to grow.
 
The first network/training session takes place on Tuesday 9th September In Pershore. The sessions will focus on a number of subjects, including:
  • How to set up an online business
  • Creating and maintaining a website, and Search Engine Optimisation
  • Social media as an engagement and marketing tool
  • Using faster broadband to support rural/farm-based industry
  • Online security
To register your interest in the project, please contact Business Central on 0300 1231440. Further details of the project can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/women2web.pdf.
 
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The Tour of Britain cycle race will be passing through Birlingham (on the A4104 from Defford towards Pershore) on Wednesday 10th September. The lead car is expected to arrive at 11.35am, with the riders passing between 11.45am and 11.55am. During that time the road will be closed.
 
The schedule for the day can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/tour_of_britain_timetable.pdf, the map of the route is at www.birlingham.org/docs/tour_of_britain_map.pdf and full details of the day’s events are at www.birlingham.org/docs/tour_of_britain_booklet.pdf.
 
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West Mercia Police are re-introducing police surgeries within the villages. The Safer Neighbourhood Team will be in the following neighbouring villages from next week:
  • Defford (Upper Street): 2nd Thursday of every month from 11th September, between 2.00pm and 3.00pm
  • Eckington (Village Stores): 3rd Thursday of every month from 18th September, between 2.00pm and 3.00pm
All dates and times are pending operational demands. A full list of surgeries is available at www.birlingham.org/docs/wmp_surgery_dates.pdf.
 
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Changes to electoral registration were introduced by Wychavon District Council in June. The new system of Individual Electoral Registration (IER) requires each person in a household to register to vote individually, rather than a single person completing the registration form annually.
 
The majority of existing electors have been transferred to IER automatically. These electors will be written to, confirming that they are registered and do not need to do anything else. All remaining unmatched electors will be contacted, advising them that they need to provide some more information, National Insurance number and date of birth, and advising them how they can do this online, over the phone or by returning the form sent to them. All properties without registered electors are also being contacted to check if anyone there should be registered and inviting them to make a registration.
 
The revised register of electors will be published on 1st December and will be the register used for the 2015 elections. Full details of the changes are available at www.birlingham.org/docs/individual_electoral_registration.pdf.
 
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