With just ten days to go until Birlingham’s Celebration and Fun Day, it’s time to guarantee your place by booking a table. Offers of help are also welcome!

In this issue:
  1. Annual Parish Meeting & Parish Council Meeting, Wednesday 16th May
  2. Birlingham Royal Celebration and Fun Day, Saturday 19th May
  3. Royal Wedding Celebration – Table Reservations
  4. Fun Day – Offers of Help
  5. Fun Day – Tombola
  6. Road Closure, Lower End: 13th-15th June
  7. Enquiries About Car Rally
  8. Birlingham Church – 1833 Painting
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1. Annual Parish Meeting & Parish Council Meeting, Wednesday 16th May

The Annual Parish Meeting takes place on Wednesday 16th May in Birlingham Village Hall at 7.00pm. This meeting will hear from various village organisations about their activities during the year. During the meeting there is an opportunity to express your views on local issues, so please come along.

The agenda for the meeting is available at www.birlingham.org/pc_info/pc_agenda_2018-05-16A.pdf. The draft minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting on 10th May 2017 will be available shortly at www.birlingham.org/pc_info/pc_annual_2017-05-10.pdf.

The Parish Meeting will be followed by the regular bi-monthly Parish Council meeting at 8.00pm. Among other items on the agenda, the Council will be co-opting a new councillor.

The agenda for the Parish Council meeting will be available shortly at www.birlingham.org/pc_info/pc_agenda_2018-05-16B.pdf. The draft minutes of the last Parish Council meeting on 15th March are at www.birlingham.org/pc_info/pc_minutes_2018-03-15.pdf.

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2. Birlingham Royal Celebration and Fun Day, Saturday 19th May

Plans are now well under way for Birlingham’s Royal Celebration and Fun Day at the Cricket Club on Saturday 19th May. The day will begin at 11.00am, when the Jubilee Committee will be screening the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The wedding will be followed by the PCC’s Village Fete and Fun Day from 2.00pm. All fete proceeds will go to St James’ Church.

From 5.00pm onwards, the Jubilee Committee will be screening the FA Cup Final.

The timetable for the day is as follows:

   11.00       Festivities begin with light refreshments; bar open
   12.00       Screening of Royal Wedding
   1.00         Royal toast with Prosecco or non-alcoholic alternative; screening of procession; food available from 1.30
   2.00         Village Fete and Fun Day on cricket pitch
   5:00         Screening of FA Cup Final

Everyone is welcome, so bring your family and friends for all or just part of the day. More details at www.birlingham.org/docs/celebration_day_2018.pdf.

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3. Royal Wedding Celebration – Table Reservations

The Royal Wedding will be screened from 11.00am onwards on Saturday 19th May. We will be happy for anyone to turn up on the day and plenty of seating will be available. However, the number of tables is limited, so to reserve your table please email news@birlingham.org as soon as possible, giving approximate number of seats required.

For the full schedule and details of what is on offer, please see www.birlingham.org/docs/royal_wedding_2018.pdf.

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4. Fun Day – Offers of Help

Paula Aston writes:
As always, the success of the Village Fete and Fun Day on Saturday 19th May will depend on the many people who volunteer to help. If you are interested in assisting on the day – by running a stall or helping out with one of the activities – please contact me on 01386 751425 or email paston1976@gmail.com.

Helpers are also needed for the evening before (Friday 18th May), when we will be erecting the marquee, laying out tables and putting up bunting. The Cricket Club bar will be open when the preparations are complete!

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5. Fun Day – Tombola

Daphne Hill writes:
We are in need of few grown-up tombola prizes for the Village Fete and Fun Day on Saturday 19th May. We have plenty of children’s prizes.

Any prizes could be left with me at Sycamore House or Ali Hastings will collect – her telephone number is 01386 750231.

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6. Road Closure, Lower End: 13th-15th June

The road in Lower End from the junction with Grange Road to the junction by the Clock House will be closed for works to install a dropped crossing. The work is due to begin on Wednesday 13th June and is expected to be completed in two days. Access to properties in Lower End will still be available.

The official notice can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/road_closure_2018_2.pdf.

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7. Enquiries About Car Rally

Mark and Sadie Yeomans write:
We have been receiving enquiries about a 2018 Car Rally. Villagers will recall the problems we experienced in 2016, which were described in Birlingham News 126 (22nd February 2017, www.birlingham.org/pc_info/pc_email_126.htm). Essentially the old ‘turn up and park’ event, which had run since 1994, produced grid lock on the cricket ground and in the village. This was caused by significant exposure on social media promoted by individuals unconnected with the event; they also did not understand the consequences of their actions. Therefore, as organisers, we decided the rally could no longer take place.

Earlier this year we did consider whether it would be possible to reinvent the rally under an ‘invitation only’ format. Our ability to control attendance and avoid the problems experienced in 2016 was the main consideration. We were perhaps naive in thinking we would be able to significantly control attendance just by issuing invitations. It is evident you cannot control promotion by social media. Therefore it is impossible to manage health and safety on the ground, assess numbers to enable compliance with licensing authorities (e.g. PRS) and avoid another log jam in the village.

We know this will be a great disappointment to many, but having looked at the options we have now truly called it a day.

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8. Birlingham Church – 1833 Painting

Walter Fielding-Cotterell writes:
I have attached a copy of a painting of Birlingham Church (in green monochrome) that was on a Christmas card sent to me by my aunt, Alice Camm, who worked for the Porter family in the 1950s. I think the card was sent to me (in New Zealand) in the 1980s. [The card can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/pics/church_1833.jpg.]

A description of the painting inside the card states:

’This view of Birlingham Church was painted by Anne Porter in 1833 before the church was burnt down. Note that there was no steeple. This must have been added when the building of the church as we know it was completed in 1868. Whitehall can be seen in the background.’

The card was sold in aid of St James’ Church PCC.

Would any of your readers know if a full size (and colour) print of this painting was ever sold to the general public and if any are available now?

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This email is distributed by Birlingham Jubilee Committee and is available to residents of Birlingham, their families and friends. If you know anyone who would like to receive these emails, or have any comments or items for inclusion in future emails, or wish to be removed from the mailing list, please write to news@birlingham.org.
The email is open to any organisation or business within the parish to promote events. Inclusion of an event does not imply that Birlingham Jubilee Committee supports either the event or the views of the organisation promoting it.