More information regarding Westbury here
St Augustine's Church
The churchyard is once again looking well cared for and tidy – a huge thank you to our Churchyard Working Party volunteers for their efforts.
The Plant Sale took place on Sunday 2nd June on a lovely sunny day! About £500 was raised and it was also a lovely social event for the village.
Benefice & Westbury Website
As part of the Benefice site refresh, we have our St Augustine website section that includes information about the church opening, building and also the history. For example, you may have seen the stories re the Westbury fallen from WW1 we circulated recently.
In addition, a number of Paula's addresses are now available to listen to on the site.
All the services are listed along with lots of extra information that we hope you will find useful going forward.
Fabric Update
We are working on a number of fabric projects at the moment as part of preserving our lovely 12th century village church.
We have just completed the clearing of bird waste from the Tower and installed protective grilles to stop future egress. It was shocking to see the current state of the main bells that are unusable, but you may have heard the small bell (the 14th century Sanctus one) which we will try to ring before each service in future. This was the first time in about twenty years it has been rung!
We have also been progressing repairs to our dry-stone walls as a number had fallen into disrepair. The wall adjoining the Old Vicarage has been restored - full story here.
Brackley Food Bank
We are supporting this charity and you can now leave donations in the red box in the church. Full story here including what types of food they are seeking.
We are also supporting Baby Basics and information on how you can support both these charities is on the web stie.
Parish Giving
Undertaking these repair projects costs a lot of money and that is in addition to keeping the church open and running – insurance alone is £2,400!
To be able to pay our running costs and to maintain the church, we need ongoing regular giving from the community. If you can support us, you can do this via the Parish Giving Service and thank you – it would mean a lot.
You can also support our fabric for FREE while shopping online by clicking here or on the image below.
FOStA
FOStA is a charity set up to help maintain the fabric of the church. We work closely with the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to ensure that our ancient church is kept in good repair. Lots of work is being done this year – if you would like to know more, or contribute in any way to this effort, please contact westburyfosta@gmail.com.
FOStA held an event on May 10, an evening with the Palmerston band with Alan Rondeau from Westbury. It was a very enjoyable and successful evening, filling the Village Hall and raising around £1,000 for the church fabric through ticket sales and a raffle. The bar was open and the Westbury Community Shop put on a delicious barbecue. Thank you to everyone who made it such a fun occasion, which will contribute significantly towards the restoration of our lovely stained-glass windows in St Augustine’s.
The next event, a Safari Supper, originally planned for June, will now be in September – please save the date, Saturday 14 September. More details nearer the time.
Westbury Parish Council
Meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm at Westbury Village Hall. Our next one is 12th June 2024. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Community Speed Watch
Our team of volunteers are already making a difference to how people drive in and around Westbury. If you would like to join our team of volunteers, please contact Cathy, our Parish Council Clerk: clerk@westburyparishcouncil.gov.uk
Village Emails
To join our popular mailing list, you can sign up at http://eepurl.com/dKP7Cc or email the clerk.
Fix My Street
Anyone can use this online tool to report a problem on a street/road in Buckinghamshire (including fly tipping) or to track the progress of reported issues at: https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/
HS2 Mobile Visitor Centre (MVC)
If you would like to find out more about HS2 activity, the MVC will be parked at Westbury Village Hall on 18th July 10am – 12pm.
Westbury Community Shop and Cafe
We are all looking forward to the long summer days, and have already kicked off the summer with a first Friday Night BBQ, which coincided with the FoSTA charity event featuring Palmerston, which was a beautiful and very busy evening. We have more BBQs, using our local suppliers, planned for the summer, check our social media for upcoming dates.
The shop has some new display fridges, so we are able to offer a greater selection of local fresh products from Mellow Meats (new BBQ packs, sausages, gluten free sausages, chicken, burgers, steak and bacon), Smith & Clay (sausages, bacon, ham, pork pies) and Monty Pieman (gorgeous, pies, pork pies, quiches and
Cumberland sausage rolls).
We are continuing our support of local businesses and have added Saxby’s cider, and Whittlewood Concept Charcoal, a new sustainable local charcoal, to our growing list. If you are a local producer or business interested in supplying us, please get in touch. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to support other local businesses.
In April, we put on our first Community Theatre Production, when Farnham Maltings touring theatre came to Westbury and put on a fantastic play by Barney Norman,
“Band Back Together”. After the success of this, we are excited to be able to offer in the summer holidays for children: Mrs Armitage on Wheels.
Mrs Armitage on Wheels
If you could change anything on your bicycle, what would it be? A comfy new saddle? An ice cream maker? Rocket boosters?! When Mrs Armitage goes out for a ride with her trusty dog Breakspear, she decides her bicycle needs improvement. With a new horn, a picnic hamper…and a sail, will Mrs Armitage manage to keep her bicycle in one piece or will her crazy contraption prove too much to handle?
Adapted from Quentin Blake’s classic tale, Scoot Theatre present a 40-minute interactive, energetic show, celebrating the joy of getting outdoors and being active. Featuring live music, puppetry and physical comedy. Suitable for aged 3+. Co-produced with Farnham Maltings, with additional support from Arts Partnership Surrey. Mrs Armitage on Wheels has recently been adapted for the BBC. Watch the animated special and others from ‘Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures’ on BBC iPlayer.
If you would like to celebrate Father’s Day with us, on 16th June, we are offering a Beer & Steak afternoon, supported by Roman Way; the Weedon, Northants based brewery, the producer of our famous ‘Westbeery’! So you can spoil your Dad, and let us do all the work. If you would like to book, please pop in or call the shop.
Don’t forget every Friday we celebrate the end of another busy work week with our delicious Friday Night Takeaways, available to both takeaway or to eat in with us. Look out on social media for the current week’s menu.
Westbury Community Cinema
Westbury Community Cinema will be taking a break for the summer, but our next film, on 19th September, will be Wicked Little Letters, with the brilliant Olivia Coleman (not for the faint hearted!). Doors open at 7.00pm, with the film starting at 7.30pm. Refreshments are available for purchase from the shop prior to, and during the film. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive film title information directly, please email westburycinema@gmail.com.
It costs over £20,000 each year to keep the church open and maintain the churchyard. If you are able to help at all, please click here or on the Parish Giving Scheme logo below or support us through your online shopping for free here
