The Easter Service this Sunday marks the start of a busy month in the village.

In this issue:
  1. St James’ Church Services – April
  2. Birlingham Photography Club, Tuesday 3rd April
  3. Cuppa & Chat, Wednesday 4th April
  4. Black Country Evening, Saturday 14th April
  5. Bystander Copy Date, Sunday 15th April
  6. Annual Parochial Church Meeting, Tuesday 24th April
  7. Accounts Assistance for Parochial Church Council
  8. Parish Council Report
  9. Parish Council Vacancy
  10. A Notice of Thanks
  11. Inflammatory Conditions Workshop
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1. St James’ Church Services – April

Services at St James’ Church during April will be held at the following times:

  • Sunday 1st: Easter Communion, 10.30am (with Revd Philip Hughes)
  • Sunday 8th: Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Revd Janet Robbins)
  • Sunday 15th: Morning Praise, 10.30am (with Revd Alma Organ)
  • Sunday 22nd: Holy Communion, 9.00am (with Revd Claire Lording)
  • Sunday 29th: No service in Birlingham. Instead there will be a Eucharist for the whole Benefice at Wick at 10.30am – all welcome.
Please note the earlier time of 9.00am for Holy Communion on 22nd March.

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2. Birlingham Photography Club, Tuesday 3rd April

Angela Fitch writes:
Are your photos in the dark? Making photographs in low light often leads to too much black in your frame, faces in shadow and generally difficult to see what’s going on in the picture. For low light photography, whether that’s outdoors when the light is poor, or in a shadowy doorway or room, the technique is the same and with a couple of changes to your settings you can make your low light photos as good as all the others you take!
 
At the next meeting of Birlingham Photography Club on Tuesday 3rd April, local photographer and BPC Member, Kevin Williams, will show you how it’s done and then we shall take a stroll through the village to put his tips and tricks into practice. Bring your camera and a tripod or beanbag as slow shutter speeds don’t work when hand held.

Everyone is welcome, no matter what level you’ve reached, what you like taking photos of or which kit you use – BPC has something for everyone and we welcome new members and visitors. We start at 7.00pm and finish at 8.30pm. £3pp to include light refreshments. More information at www.birlinghamphotography.co.uk, phone Angela Fitch on 07585 904636 or email birlinghamphoto@btinternet.com.

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3. Cuppa & Chat, Wednesday 4th April

The next Cuppa & Chat takes place on Wednesday 4th April from 3.00pm to 4.30pm. Come and enjoy tea, coffee and cake in Birlingham Village Hall – an opportunity to meet friends, catch up with the latest news and swap ‘Beast from the East’ stories.

All are welcome and transport can be provided if required. For more information, please contact Adrianne Woodward on 01386 750936.

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4. Black Country Evening, Saturday 14th April

Please come and join us for Birlingham’s first Black Country Evening starring comedy duo ‘Dandy’ at the Village Hall on Saturday 14th April. The evening starts at 7.30pm and will be held in memory of John Hill, with all proceeds going to St James’ Church.

Tickets are £15 per head to include a fabulous Black Country Meal. Feel free to bring your own beverages. Tickets are going quickly! Contact Adrianne Woodward on 01386 750936 to reserve your place.

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5. Bystander Copy Date, Sunday 15th April

The copy date for the Spring issue of the Bystander is Sunday 15th April. If you have any articles, photographs or other information that you would like to include in this edition, please send them to bystander@birlingham.org as soon as possible.

The Bystander will be published in May.

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6. Annual Parochial Church Meeting, Tuesday 24th April

This year’s annual meeting of the PCC will be held on Tuesday 24th April at 7.00pm in St James’ Church. We will be nominating and appointing new Churchwardens as well as other members of the PCC.

All parishioners are welcome to attend.

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7. Accounts Assistance for Parochial Church Council

Paula Aston writes:
As with many other organisations in the village, the PCC have suffered a huge loss with the passing of our wonderful Treasurer John Hill. John was a pivotal member of our team and we are looking for someone to assist us in the accounts work that John undertook. Ideally we’d like a Treasurer who would be willing to keep our accounts up to date on a regular basis. Although you don’t need to be a regular church goer, it is essential that you support the vision and aims of the PCC.

We would be grateful for any assistance and would ask anyone that can help to contact me by email at paston1976@gmail.com.

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8. Parish Council Report

Ian Yates on behalf of the Parish Council writes:
At its meeting on 21st March, Birlingham Parish Council discussed a number of matters, including the following:

  • The very sudden and sad passing of chairman, John Hill. Our gratitude for his contribution to many aspects of village life and his service to the Parish Council were formally recorded, along with our condolences to Daphne and his family.
  • Election of Ian Yates as the new chairman and notification of vacancy for seventh member of the Parish Council.
  • Discussion of future projects, which included refurbishment of the telephone box and placement of additional rubbish bins within the village.
  • Review of planning application at Nafford House.
  • The Village Design Statement was adopted as a Local Information Source at the meeting of Wychavon Council’s Executive Board on 7th February 2018. This now means it has material weight in helping to determine planning applications. It was agreed that a small number of copies be printed for villagers’ access, for example in the church, and public reference in the Hive Worcester.
  • General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force on 25th May 2018. These regulations affect the way in which village organisations, including the Parish Council, communicate with villagers and store personal information. Councillor Stuart Allen agreed to study the legislation in detail and advise on the actions necessary to be compliant. This includes asking villagers to confirm they are happy to continue to receive village emails and communications from the Parish Council.
  • Further discussion with Community Speed Watch Co-ordinator to get results of latest vehicle speed monitoring.
  • Agreed to support a proposal by Birlingham Village Hall for a community grant to improve the environment and accessibility in front of the hall.
Full minutes of the Parish Council meeting will be available in due course.

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9. Parish Council Vacancy

Following the sudden death of John Hill, there is now a vacancy on Birlingham Parish Council. John was a member of the Parish Council seven ten years and had been Chairman since last May. He will be greatly missed.

The vacancy is being advertised for a period of 14 working days, during which electors can ask for an election to be held. The notice of the vacancy can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/pc_vacancy_2018.pdf. If ten electors request an election in writing by Friday 13th April, an election will take place. Otherwise, the Parish Council will co-opt a new member at their next meeting on Wednesday 17th May.

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10. A Notice of Thanks

The Parish Clerk writes:
Birlingham Parish Council would like to express its gratitude to the residents who took part in the Annual Litter Pick on Saturday 24th March.

Also a note of thanks to volunteers who help to keep the village tidy throughout the year and for caring for their environment.

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11. Inflammatory Conditions Workshop

Karen Harris-Wakenshaw writes:
Ladies, if you – or anyone you know – suffer with symptoms caused by Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus or similar inflammatory conditions I will be running a workshop specifically to help you deal with these. Please don’t suffer with this as there are alternatives if you want to help yourself.

The date has yet to be finalised, but it will be sometime in April at the Village Hall, or Defford Hall, or both. Please contact me on 07954 544595 if you would like more details or would like to attend.

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