BARN NEWS
BARN NEWS
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
Volume 54 Number 3
May - August 2024
Lincombe Barn, Overndale Road, Downend, Bristol BS16 2RW
Tel. 0117 956 2367
Visit our website at www.downendfolkhouse.org.uk
Facebook Lincombe Barn DFHA - @BarnDFHA
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
LINCOMBE BARN, OVERNDALE ROAD, DOWNEND,
BRISTOL. BS16 2RW
Registered Charity No. 1157237 Telephone 0117 9562367
Volume 54 Number 3
May - August 2024
Office hours : Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.30 pm.
Office Manager : Zoe Tanner enquiries.dfha@outlook.com
Deputy Manager : Martin Bailey
Office Support : Jane Faithfull, Derek Whitchurch & Melinda Gunnion
Office Volunteer : Janet Hanlon
Chairman’s Report
By the time you read this copy of the Barn News summer will be well on its way and hopefully we can look forward to more of the warm, sunny days that we have occasionally been enjoying.
Recently we have spent quite a lot of money improving the state of the Barn and we are now hoping to get some of our chairs recovered. We are also currently looking at the areas of garden to try to make them look more attractive. The Social and Fundraising Committee has also arranged some attractive visits this summer. Members wishing to make payments to the Barn by credit card will be able to do so now, which should make things simpler.
Barn news – the Barn news usually consists of reports from the Chairman, Treasurer and Social and Fundraising Committee. These reports are obviously not enough to fill the Barn News so we rely on copy from various clubs to make it interesting. So please, if your club has anything of interest to tell the Barn Membership, please contact Bruce Gibbs or even Zoe with your contribution. All these articles are what makes the Barn News so interesting!
By the time you read this Barn News the new Barn Prospectus for 2024/2025 will possibly not be available but details of events can be found on our new-look website.
It only remains for me to wish you all a very enjoyable summer and I look forward to seeing you all in the new Barn year in September.
Eileen Bendrey
Chairman
Downend Folk House Association
OFFICE VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Job description: Office Volunteer x 2
Monday Afternoons
Friday Afternoons
Assisting the Office Manager
General office duties.
Full training will be provided for this position.
Anyone interested please - Contact the Barn Office for more information. 0117 9562367
Many thanks
Zoe Tanner
Office Manager
dfha_zoe@outlook.com
Treasurer’s Report
The finances of the Association are remaining steady at about £80,000.
There is some “one off” expenditure already committed to reseal the voids. There are three areas in the Barn, where effectively a tube has been created from the room ceiling to the outer roof in order to allow daylight to enter. These “voids” have a weatherproof outer glazing and should have an additional transparent cover at ceiling level. The three areas involved are the sloping walkway, kitchen and ladies toilet. In all areas, there have been complaints of drafts, and the ingress of leaves – showing that the outer sealing has failed. In the kitchen one of these voids, at ceiling level has two sheets of Perspex, which are forever being moved presumable by the wind, allowing drafts to enter.
Thanks to Downend and Bromley Heath Parish Council, who have given us a grant towards the cost of this work.
There are also items which the committee would like to implement, but are on hold due to the funding involved – these include replacing the fencing along Rockland Road (could be between £4K to £6K depending on how many posts need replacing and roof insulation in the upstairs storeroom (quotes from £2.5K to £3.9K)
Documentation
Since the last Barn News, the “Rules” for clubs has been revised and re-issued to all clubs – basically this was done to remove reference to under 18’s being members, however there have been some other changes. All club leaders have been issued with this document.
In addition our Constitution has similarly been updated and digitised, basically for the same reason. Any changes to the Constitution need to be agreed at an AGM, so this will be an agenda item later this year at the AGM.
Energy Efficiency
DFHA leases the buildings from South Glos Council, who have paid an external agency (EOS) to carry out a survey to see what could be done to make the building more energy efficient. Whilst SGC are using government money to carry out this survey, they are not committing themselves to implementing any of it, but have stated that there may be some funding available to assist in improvements.
SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
Speaker/Coffee Morning which took place on 4th April 2024.
We had quality not quantity of members come to hear Jeanne Longs talk of women in crisis needing a HAPPY HANDBAG.
Jeanne is coming again on 7th November to talk about her other subject very close to her heart Holistic Therapy so, wouldn't it be lovely to bring some toiletries for her to help Ladies in Crisis.
When you go to the Super Market perhaps you could pop an extra packet of wipes or tube of toothpast***
Thank you to everyone who have supported the Speaker/Coffee Mornings. I hope you will continue to show your support and tell your friends about them. As you can see from the list below we have some very interesting subjects coming up.
Speaker Mornings Autumn 2024
Thursday 5th September ‘Bristol Lost’ Speaker Chris Bigg
Buildings in Bristol which are no longer around including Bristol Zoo
Thursday 3rd October ‘Page Park’ Speaker Steph Purser
Thursday 7th November ‘19 Holistic Therapies’ Speaker Jeanne Long
Including Yoga, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Rekki, Alexandra Technique
Thursday 5th December ‘Winter Gardening’ Speaker Roger Mellors from the University Botanic Garden
Doors open for Coffee/Tea at 10.15 am extra
Talk starts at 10.45 am until 11.45 am Entrance to Talk £3
Outings 2024
The Social and Fund Raising Committee have arranged three outings that we hope will prove interesting and enjoyable for you.
Booking is open now in the Barn Office.
Sunday 16th June ‘Avon Valley Railway’ [with cream tea]
Leaving Barn 1.45 pm
Leaving Venue 4.00pm
Ticket Price £25
Thursday 4th July ‘Arnos Vale Cemetery’
Leaving Barn 9.30 am
Leaving Venue 1.30 pm
Ticket Price £16
PLEASE NOTE
The trips to Arnos Vale Cemetery and Bristol Blue Glass which are just across the road from each other THERE IS NO PUBLIC CAR PARK.
COME WITH US AND AVOID THE HAZZLE OF TRYING TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO PARK!
I hope you all have a really enjoyable summer and I will see you around.
Christine
Social and Fund Raising Committee
Downend flower club
We have started the year with exciting plans for 2024 .April we have our Spring demonstration.
As well as our Spring bouquet workshop end of April .May brings our southwest area day and competitions being held in Bristol .As well as lots of summer trips planned to keep us busy !!!!
The Management Committee wish to thank the members of "War Games" for their purchase and installation of replacement racking in the storeroom, which replaced a variety of "storage units". It now looks much more professional and will be able to accommodate much more than the previous configuration. It is much appreciated.
LUNCHTIME SINGING SESSION AT THE BARN
Following a successful event held in July 2022 there will be another Singing Session on Saturday 11th May at the Barn. This will be a lunchtime event from 12 noon till 2pm with tickets priced at £12 to cover costs.
This session will be led by Ben England BEM. Ben is an award winning conductor and educator who is in demand to lead music groups all over the world.
His work as a conductor of digital choirs on YouTube during Covid led to being awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II. The choirs are still thriving.
Ben currently is the musical director of the North Somerset Philharmonia and the UWE Singers. He conducted on 6th May 2023 at Bristol Cathedral the singing by 600 people of Zadok the Priest to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and the 650th Anniversary of the City of Bristol.
This is the perfect opportunity to sing and join others in experiencing Ben’s expertise on Saturday 11th May.
To register – email: singmay24@hotmail.com
If any business or organisation would like to place an advertisement in the next issue of the ‘Barn News’ please contact the office at enquiries.dfha@outlook.com or the editor brucegibbs@talktalk.net .
The ‘Barn News’ is published three times a year; January, May & September.
The rates are :- FULL PAGE £40
HALF PAGE £20
QUARTER PAGE £10
Cross Stitch Club
The commencement of the Spring Term saw the members hurriedly producing Christmas cards to replenish our stock for the next Christmas Market although not quite reaching the target yet, many have returned to working on other projects. Smaller items are easy to take where time is taken up by waiting for appointments, so most of the additional cards will be stitched just when such a situation arises. One favourite is waiting for new car tyres to be fitted. The motto appears to be you can’t waste time it can’t be lived again.
Speedy Ann had soon completed her quota of cards. At the same time at home she knitted a men’s jumper in a fortnight which was fraught with problems, being an old pattern. At the Barn it was then back to a large scenic picture. If we were taking bets, my betting is that she will have finished it before next September.
It was very nice to welcome Ann, yes another one, back in January. Since Covid she had been on grandma service so not being required quite so much now she decided to return.
Despite health problems continuing for one or two members and loss of partners it has been immensely comforting to have the company of fellow cross stitch members. It is just one happy family.
The Club decided not to meet on one of the Easter weeks which is unusual. Normally provided we can gain access to the Barn – we are in but it seemed everyone had alternative demands on their time.
Next term is a pay per week but it rarely makes any difference to the number of members turning up for a natter, exchange of ideas and sometimes putting the world to rights.
Professional help is on hand for beginners who wish to join this Club and there is always something new to learn even for the established member. To join us just contact the Barn Office on 9562367 for details. You will be made most welcome.
Irene
BARN BELLS
Out new year practices started with us playing through several pieces we had not looked at for some years. From these we put together a new programme which we played at the ladies’ group of the Royal British Legion, in Staple Hill. Once again, they were eager to “have a go”. It would be lovely if these trial sessions resulted in new members!
Joy, Heather and Sue are still members of the SW Ensemble, who meet in various places around the South West. They recently gave a concert which included accompanying the Loveny Male Voice Choir (Named after the river that flows through their town of St Neots, Cornwall), they are reputed to be one of the best if not the best male voice choir in the area. They are all over 60 and are very aware of their reputation. Their choir master conducts from a computer tablet, but were traditionally conducted by Heather for this performance. The choir found that it was completely different singing with a hand bell accompaniment and they had to concentrate. The Ensemble is still preparing to make their recording, at present there is no completion date.
The summer term, April – July, is always a tricky time for Barn Bells as we are frequently lack of players because members have other musical commitments, as well as holidays and family obligations. This leaves the group short of ringers but gives us an opportunity to play in different positions.
Looking forward to the Autumn there is a “get together” for the SW and Wales region of Hand Bell Ringers for an afternoon of music making at Iron Acton. At these meetings the groups sight read from books distributed on the day. In addition, each group plays a piece to the other groups.
We hope you all have a lovely summer and look forward to welcoming new members in the Autumn
April 2024
THE CLEEVE SINGERS email: cleevesingers@gmail.com
The last Barn News about Cleeve mentioned our MD had reminded us that before returning in January there was the job of choosing music for our Summer Concert. However, not everyone does. Regretfully very few of the members have been in the choir long enough to have sung or remember some of our music and today’s modern culture doesn’t allow much time to air music of the past.
January to July is a long time to rehearse but it is a learning game for those new to our repertoire, whilst the longer term members are quite happy to have their memories shaken up just through the love of singing.
Sadly the social side of the choir has been on hold for a while. The increase in the cost of living affects all and it is not always cheap to belong to a choir like ours. Our enjoyment is entertaining those who pay to hear us and although our concert ticket prices have increased, we are managing to hold them reasonably low.
Next Christmas seems a long way off but there is only a short window in which to arrange concerts, particularly as we have fixed days to commit. The last few years we have been singing at Dyrham House a venue we much enjoy but there are only two calendar Saturdays this year available to us, so planning is therefore commenced early. We are often approached at the last ‘minute’ by which time the choir is fully booked.
Often Retirement or Care Homes contact us asking the choir to sing. Turning down these requests is difficult but they are generally for a week day afternoon and with choir members still in full time work it has to be a negative reply.
Elsewhere in the Barn News there is an announcement of our Summer Concert which is on Saturday, 13th July at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £5.00
Fingers crossed we might have had some dry weather by then.
Patricia Holmes Web. https://cleevesingers.wixsite.com/mysite & Facebook
HAZEL WYATT
Sadly on the 26 th March 2024 Hazel Wyatt passed away suddenly in her sleep .
Hazel has worked closely with Downend Folk house over the years, and was a Senior member of Downend Flower Club which was founded in 1982 .
Hazel’s straight forward approach and welcoming manner will be missed by club members .
Her enthusiasm for Downend Flower Club to succeed, will be carried forward for the future .
Hazel developed very close friendships with members of the Barn and flower club members over many years, she will be remembered.
Hazel’s determination and spirit will inspire us all who knew her .
Funeral arrangements are 30 th April 11 am at Westerleigh Crematorium.
Family History Group
The Barn Family History Group had a successful term with the usual mixture of outside speakers and self help sessions. Speakers gave a talk on Muller Homes at Ashley Down, the history of Downend from which I’m sure we all learnt things we didn’t know about where we live, and the fire boat Pyronaut which has been restored at the M shed Museum in Bristol City Docks.
During a self help meeting one of our members told us about a particular member of her own family tree and asked for the group’s help in furthering her research. The group divided into smaller groups and each concentrated on a particular person from the Family Tree. This research carried on over several sessions. The fact that the individual concerned was Italian made the research rather more interesting with no Italian speakers in our group!
As usual we do not arrange speakers during the summer term so we will each be carrying out our own research.
We have a full membership of 21 with a short waiting list of prospective members.
Jane Faithfull
Leader
Clubs and Private Hire
Most clubs and private hirers have room for more members, so, take a look at our web-site to see all the activities that are available at the ‘Barn’. www.downendfolkhouse.org.uk
LINCOMBE BARN CAMERA CLUB
A gratifying part of our last year, as marked in the Club competitions, has been the presence of new members and their increasingly active contribution to Club competitions
As the club year trickles to a close there is still a competition left, Places of Worship on 28th May.
After that we get into Club business the Annual Review and AGM. Hopefully some of the new members will be interested in bringing some fresh blood to the Club’s administration. We will also be hosting our sister club, Downend Camera Club. Then it’s “What shall we do this summer?”
As we look, weather permitting, at the long summer evenings ahead and how can fill them with outings. One of next year’s competitions will be Rain. Let’s hope the summer doesn’t provide too much material.
If any members of other groups would like to attend any of our evenings, on the second fourth and fifth Tuesdays of the month in Concorde Hall, they will be more than welcome for a minimal door fee of £3.
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
SUMMER CONCERT
WITH
THE CLEEVE SINGERS
AT LINCOMBE BARN, OVERNDALE ROAD
Saturday, 13th July 2024 at 7.30 p.m. £5.00
Tickets available from Monday, 10th JUNE 2024
at Downend Folk House, Lincombe Barn also Melanie’s Kitchen in Downend & On the Door
CLUB TERM DATES 2024/5
Autumn Monday 2nd September -Friday 20th December 2024
Spring Thursday 2nd January - Friday 11th April 2025
Summer Monday 28th April - Friday 25th July 2025
HALLS AND ROOMS FOR HIRE
Approximate sizes In feet in metres
Ground Floor with Disabled access
Jubilee Hall 45 x 38 14 x 11 £27.50 Per Hour
Jubilee Small Partition £16.50 Per Hour
Jubilee Large Partition £20.90 Per Hour
Jubilee full hall 37 x 45 11 x 14 £27.50 Per Hour
Concorde Hall 40 x 23.5 12 x 7 £22 Per Hour
Page Room 25 x 15 7 x 4.5 £13.20 Per Hour
Grace Room 19 x 15 6 x 4.5 £8.80 Per Hour
First floor with no disabled access
Britannia Room 19 x 16.5 6 x 5 £8.80 Per Hour
Cleeve Room 14 x 14 4 x 4 Not Available
Cleeve Annex 8 x 11 2.5 x 3.5 Not Available
Heath Room 10.5 x 9 3 x 3 Not Available
Tables and Chairs provided
Charge for exclusive use of the kitchen £27.50
To check availability and to book, contact the office manager
Zoe Tanner e-mail enquiries.dfha@outlook.com Tel. 9562367
NEXT EDITION OF THE ‘BARN NEWS’
ISSUE AVAILABLE CUT-OFF DATE
Sept - Dec 2024 5th September 2024 16th August 2024
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
Volume 54 Number 3
May - August 2024
Lincombe Barn, Overndale Road, Downend, Bristol BS16 2RW
Tel. 0117 956 2367
Visit our website at www.downendfolkhouse.org.uk
Facebook Lincombe Barn DFHA - @BarnDFHA
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
LINCOMBE BARN, OVERNDALE ROAD, DOWNEND,
BRISTOL. BS16 2RW
Registered Charity No. 1157237 Telephone 0117 9562367
Volume 54 Number 3
May - August 2024
Office hours : Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.30 pm.
Office Manager : Zoe Tanner enquiries.dfha@outlook.com
Deputy Manager : Martin Bailey
Office Support : Jane Faithfull, Derek Whitchurch & Melinda Gunnion
Office Volunteer : Janet Hanlon
Chairman’s Report
By the time you read this copy of the Barn News summer will be well on its way and hopefully we can look forward to more of the warm, sunny days that we have occasionally been enjoying.
Recently we have spent quite a lot of money improving the state of the Barn and we are now hoping to get some of our chairs recovered. We are also currently looking at the areas of garden to try to make them look more attractive. The Social and Fundraising Committee has also arranged some attractive visits this summer. Members wishing to make payments to the Barn by credit card will be able to do so now, which should make things simpler.
Barn news – the Barn news usually consists of reports from the Chairman, Treasurer and Social and Fundraising Committee. These reports are obviously not enough to fill the Barn News so we rely on copy from various clubs to make it interesting. So please, if your club has anything of interest to tell the Barn Membership, please contact Bruce Gibbs or even Zoe with your contribution. All these articles are what makes the Barn News so interesting!
By the time you read this Barn News the new Barn Prospectus for 2024/2025 will possibly not be available but details of events can be found on our new-look website.
It only remains for me to wish you all a very enjoyable summer and I look forward to seeing you all in the new Barn year in September.
Eileen Bendrey
Chairman
Downend Folk House Association
OFFICE VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Job description: Office Volunteer x 2
Monday Afternoons
Friday Afternoons
Assisting the Office Manager
General office duties.
Full training will be provided for this position.
Anyone interested please - Contact the Barn Office for more information. 0117 9562367
Many thanks
Zoe Tanner
Office Manager
dfha_zoe@outlook.com
Treasurer’s Report
The finances of the Association are remaining steady at about £80,000.
There is some “one off” expenditure already committed to reseal the voids. There are three areas in the Barn, where effectively a tube has been created from the room ceiling to the outer roof in order to allow daylight to enter. These “voids” have a weatherproof outer glazing and should have an additional transparent cover at ceiling level. The three areas involved are the sloping walkway, kitchen and ladies toilet. In all areas, there have been complaints of drafts, and the ingress of leaves – showing that the outer sealing has failed. In the kitchen one of these voids, at ceiling level has two sheets of Perspex, which are forever being moved presumable by the wind, allowing drafts to enter.
Thanks to Downend and Bromley Heath Parish Council, who have given us a grant towards the cost of this work.
There are also items which the committee would like to implement, but are on hold due to the funding involved – these include replacing the fencing along Rockland Road (could be between £4K to £6K depending on how many posts need replacing and roof insulation in the upstairs storeroom (quotes from £2.5K to £3.9K)
Documentation
Since the last Barn News, the “Rules” for clubs has been revised and re-issued to all clubs – basically this was done to remove reference to under 18’s being members, however there have been some other changes. All club leaders have been issued with this document.
In addition our Constitution has similarly been updated and digitised, basically for the same reason. Any changes to the Constitution need to be agreed at an AGM, so this will be an agenda item later this year at the AGM.
Energy Efficiency
DFHA leases the buildings from South Glos Council, who have paid an external agency (EOS) to carry out a survey to see what could be done to make the building more energy efficient. Whilst SGC are using government money to carry out this survey, they are not committing themselves to implementing any of it, but have stated that there may be some funding available to assist in improvements.
SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
Speaker/Coffee Morning which took place on 4th April 2024.
We had quality not quantity of members come to hear Jeanne Longs talk of women in crisis needing a HAPPY HANDBAG.
Jeanne is coming again on 7th November to talk about her other subject very close to her heart Holistic Therapy so, wouldn't it be lovely to bring some toiletries for her to help Ladies in Crisis.
When you go to the Super Market perhaps you could pop an extra packet of wipes or tube of toothpast***
Thank you to everyone who have supported the Speaker/Coffee Mornings. I hope you will continue to show your support and tell your friends about them. As you can see from the list below we have some very interesting subjects coming up.
Speaker Mornings Autumn 2024
Thursday 5th September ‘Bristol Lost’ Speaker Chris Bigg
Buildings in Bristol which are no longer around including Bristol Zoo
Thursday 3rd October ‘Page Park’ Speaker Steph Purser
Thursday 7th November ‘19 Holistic Therapies’ Speaker Jeanne Long
Including Yoga, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Rekki, Alexandra Technique
Thursday 5th December ‘Winter Gardening’ Speaker Roger Mellors from the University Botanic Garden
Doors open for Coffee/Tea at 10.15 am extra
Talk starts at 10.45 am until 11.45 am Entrance to Talk £3
Outings 2024
The Social and Fund Raising Committee have arranged three outings that we hope will prove interesting and enjoyable for you.
Booking is open now in the Barn Office.
Sunday 16th June ‘Avon Valley Railway’ [with cream tea]
Leaving Barn 1.45 pm
Leaving Venue 4.00pm
Ticket Price £25
Thursday 4th July ‘Arnos Vale Cemetery’
Leaving Barn 9.30 am
Leaving Venue 1.30 pm
Ticket Price £16
PLEASE NOTE
The trips to Arnos Vale Cemetery and Bristol Blue Glass which are just across the road from each other THERE IS NO PUBLIC CAR PARK.
COME WITH US AND AVOID THE HAZZLE OF TRYING TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO PARK!
I hope you all have a really enjoyable summer and I will see you around.
Christine
Social and Fund Raising Committee
Downend flower club
We have started the year with exciting plans for 2024 .April we have our Spring demonstration.
As well as our Spring bouquet workshop end of April .May brings our southwest area day and competitions being held in Bristol .As well as lots of summer trips planned to keep us busy !!!!
The Management Committee wish to thank the members of "War Games" for their purchase and installation of replacement racking in the storeroom, which replaced a variety of "storage units". It now looks much more professional and will be able to accommodate much more than the previous configuration. It is much appreciated.
LUNCHTIME SINGING SESSION AT THE BARN
Following a successful event held in July 2022 there will be another Singing Session on Saturday 11th May at the Barn. This will be a lunchtime event from 12 noon till 2pm with tickets priced at £12 to cover costs.
This session will be led by Ben England BEM. Ben is an award winning conductor and educator who is in demand to lead music groups all over the world.
His work as a conductor of digital choirs on YouTube during Covid led to being awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II. The choirs are still thriving.
Ben currently is the musical director of the North Somerset Philharmonia and the UWE Singers. He conducted on 6th May 2023 at Bristol Cathedral the singing by 600 people of Zadok the Priest to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and the 650th Anniversary of the City of Bristol.
This is the perfect opportunity to sing and join others in experiencing Ben’s expertise on Saturday 11th May.
To register – email: singmay24@hotmail.com
If any business or organisation would like to place an advertisement in the next issue of the ‘Barn News’ please contact the office at enquiries.dfha@outlook.com or the editor brucegibbs@talktalk.net .
The ‘Barn News’ is published three times a year; January, May & September.
The rates are :- FULL PAGE £40
HALF PAGE £20
QUARTER PAGE £10
Cross Stitch Club
The commencement of the Spring Term saw the members hurriedly producing Christmas cards to replenish our stock for the next Christmas Market although not quite reaching the target yet, many have returned to working on other projects. Smaller items are easy to take where time is taken up by waiting for appointments, so most of the additional cards will be stitched just when such a situation arises. One favourite is waiting for new car tyres to be fitted. The motto appears to be you can’t waste time it can’t be lived again.
Speedy Ann had soon completed her quota of cards. At the same time at home she knitted a men’s jumper in a fortnight which was fraught with problems, being an old pattern. At the Barn it was then back to a large scenic picture. If we were taking bets, my betting is that she will have finished it before next September.
It was very nice to welcome Ann, yes another one, back in January. Since Covid she had been on grandma service so not being required quite so much now she decided to return.
Despite health problems continuing for one or two members and loss of partners it has been immensely comforting to have the company of fellow cross stitch members. It is just one happy family.
The Club decided not to meet on one of the Easter weeks which is unusual. Normally provided we can gain access to the Barn – we are in but it seemed everyone had alternative demands on their time.
Next term is a pay per week but it rarely makes any difference to the number of members turning up for a natter, exchange of ideas and sometimes putting the world to rights.
Professional help is on hand for beginners who wish to join this Club and there is always something new to learn even for the established member. To join us just contact the Barn Office on 9562367 for details. You will be made most welcome.
Irene
BARN BELLS
Out new year practices started with us playing through several pieces we had not looked at for some years. From these we put together a new programme which we played at the ladies’ group of the Royal British Legion, in Staple Hill. Once again, they were eager to “have a go”. It would be lovely if these trial sessions resulted in new members!
Joy, Heather and Sue are still members of the SW Ensemble, who meet in various places around the South West. They recently gave a concert which included accompanying the Loveny Male Voice Choir (Named after the river that flows through their town of St Neots, Cornwall), they are reputed to be one of the best if not the best male voice choir in the area. They are all over 60 and are very aware of their reputation. Their choir master conducts from a computer tablet, but were traditionally conducted by Heather for this performance. The choir found that it was completely different singing with a hand bell accompaniment and they had to concentrate. The Ensemble is still preparing to make their recording, at present there is no completion date.
The summer term, April – July, is always a tricky time for Barn Bells as we are frequently lack of players because members have other musical commitments, as well as holidays and family obligations. This leaves the group short of ringers but gives us an opportunity to play in different positions.
Looking forward to the Autumn there is a “get together” for the SW and Wales region of Hand Bell Ringers for an afternoon of music making at Iron Acton. At these meetings the groups sight read from books distributed on the day. In addition, each group plays a piece to the other groups.
We hope you all have a lovely summer and look forward to welcoming new members in the Autumn
April 2024
THE CLEEVE SINGERS email: cleevesingers@gmail.com
The last Barn News about Cleeve mentioned our MD had reminded us that before returning in January there was the job of choosing music for our Summer Concert. However, not everyone does. Regretfully very few of the members have been in the choir long enough to have sung or remember some of our music and today’s modern culture doesn’t allow much time to air music of the past.
January to July is a long time to rehearse but it is a learning game for those new to our repertoire, whilst the longer term members are quite happy to have their memories shaken up just through the love of singing.
Sadly the social side of the choir has been on hold for a while. The increase in the cost of living affects all and it is not always cheap to belong to a choir like ours. Our enjoyment is entertaining those who pay to hear us and although our concert ticket prices have increased, we are managing to hold them reasonably low.
Next Christmas seems a long way off but there is only a short window in which to arrange concerts, particularly as we have fixed days to commit. The last few years we have been singing at Dyrham House a venue we much enjoy but there are only two calendar Saturdays this year available to us, so planning is therefore commenced early. We are often approached at the last ‘minute’ by which time the choir is fully booked.
Often Retirement or Care Homes contact us asking the choir to sing. Turning down these requests is difficult but they are generally for a week day afternoon and with choir members still in full time work it has to be a negative reply.
Elsewhere in the Barn News there is an announcement of our Summer Concert which is on Saturday, 13th July at 7.30 pm. Tickets are £5.00
Fingers crossed we might have had some dry weather by then.
Patricia Holmes Web. https://cleevesingers.wixsite.com/mysite & Facebook
HAZEL WYATT
Sadly on the 26 th March 2024 Hazel Wyatt passed away suddenly in her sleep .
Hazel has worked closely with Downend Folk house over the years, and was a Senior member of Downend Flower Club which was founded in 1982 .
Hazel’s straight forward approach and welcoming manner will be missed by club members .
Her enthusiasm for Downend Flower Club to succeed, will be carried forward for the future .
Hazel developed very close friendships with members of the Barn and flower club members over many years, she will be remembered.
Hazel’s determination and spirit will inspire us all who knew her .
Funeral arrangements are 30 th April 11 am at Westerleigh Crematorium.
Family History Group
The Barn Family History Group had a successful term with the usual mixture of outside speakers and self help sessions. Speakers gave a talk on Muller Homes at Ashley Down, the history of Downend from which I’m sure we all learnt things we didn’t know about where we live, and the fire boat Pyronaut which has been restored at the M shed Museum in Bristol City Docks.
During a self help meeting one of our members told us about a particular member of her own family tree and asked for the group’s help in furthering her research. The group divided into smaller groups and each concentrated on a particular person from the Family Tree. This research carried on over several sessions. The fact that the individual concerned was Italian made the research rather more interesting with no Italian speakers in our group!
As usual we do not arrange speakers during the summer term so we will each be carrying out our own research.
We have a full membership of 21 with a short waiting list of prospective members.
Jane Faithfull
Leader
Clubs and Private Hire
Most clubs and private hirers have room for more members, so, take a look at our web-site to see all the activities that are available at the ‘Barn’. www.downendfolkhouse.org.uk
LINCOMBE BARN CAMERA CLUB
A gratifying part of our last year, as marked in the Club competitions, has been the presence of new members and their increasingly active contribution to Club competitions
As the club year trickles to a close there is still a competition left, Places of Worship on 28th May.
After that we get into Club business the Annual Review and AGM. Hopefully some of the new members will be interested in bringing some fresh blood to the Club’s administration. We will also be hosting our sister club, Downend Camera Club. Then it’s “What shall we do this summer?”
As we look, weather permitting, at the long summer evenings ahead and how can fill them with outings. One of next year’s competitions will be Rain. Let’s hope the summer doesn’t provide too much material.
If any members of other groups would like to attend any of our evenings, on the second fourth and fifth Tuesdays of the month in Concorde Hall, they will be more than welcome for a minimal door fee of £3.
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
SUMMER CONCERT
WITH
THE CLEEVE SINGERS
AT LINCOMBE BARN, OVERNDALE ROAD
Saturday, 13th July 2024 at 7.30 p.m. £5.00
Tickets available from Monday, 10th JUNE 2024
at Downend Folk House, Lincombe Barn also Melanie’s Kitchen in Downend & On the Door
CLUB TERM DATES 2024/5
Autumn Monday 2nd September -Friday 20th December 2024
Spring Thursday 2nd January - Friday 11th April 2025
Summer Monday 28th April - Friday 25th July 2025
HALLS AND ROOMS FOR HIRE
Approximate sizes In feet in metres
Ground Floor with Disabled access
Jubilee Hall 45 x 38 14 x 11 £27.50 Per Hour
Jubilee Small Partition £16.50 Per Hour
Jubilee Large Partition £20.90 Per Hour
Jubilee full hall 37 x 45 11 x 14 £27.50 Per Hour
Concorde Hall 40 x 23.5 12 x 7 £22 Per Hour
Page Room 25 x 15 7 x 4.5 £13.20 Per Hour
Grace Room 19 x 15 6 x 4.5 £8.80 Per Hour
First floor with no disabled access
Britannia Room 19 x 16.5 6 x 5 £8.80 Per Hour
Cleeve Room 14 x 14 4 x 4 Not Available
Cleeve Annex 8 x 11 2.5 x 3.5 Not Available
Heath Room 10.5 x 9 3 x 3 Not Available
Tables and Chairs provided
Charge for exclusive use of the kitchen £27.50
To check availability and to book, contact the office manager
Zoe Tanner e-mail enquiries.dfha@outlook.com Tel. 9562367
NEXT EDITION OF THE ‘BARN NEWS’
ISSUE AVAILABLE CUT-OFF DATE
Sept - Dec 2024 5th September 2024 16th August 2024