BARN NEWS
BARN NEWS
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
Volume 56 Number 1
September - December 2025
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
Office hours : Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.30 pm.
Office Manager : Zoe Tanner Deputy Manager : Martin Bailey enquiries.dfha@outlook.com
Office Support : Jane Faithfull, Derek Whitchurch & Melinda Gunnion
Office Volunteer : Kathleen Dawkins.
Dear Member,
A special welcome to all our new members and to our established members – welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your summer break and I am sure you are all looking forward enthusiastically to the new term. I should like to take this opportunity to thank all those concerned with the publication of the new Prospectus. Your assistance is invaluable and much appreciated.
To be successful an Association like this needs many helpers so if you feel you can spare just an hour or two occasionally to help in any capacity, the Committee would be most grateful to hear from you.
We are once again holding a Christmas Market this year [see the Social and Fundraising page for details]. Your Management Committee would very much appreciate your support with contributions and the setting up of and managing of stalls for this fun day.
I hope you all enjoy the choices you have made from our varied programme and that you will build many new friendships as a result.
Eileen Bendrey
Chairman
Make a note of the time and date of the BARN’S AGM :-
2.00 pm Friday 24th October 2025.
BARN OFFICE
As the Autumn Term arrives after some glorious weather over Summer.
Your Membership is due for this Autumn Term if not already paid for, also your fees for your designated club. Thank you for all that have paid already over the Summer and those that have ticked Gift Aid on the enrolment form, this gives the Barn some additional funds.
Tickets sold via the Barn office
We are selling tickets for a private regular hire Lynne who has arranged an event to support the Parkinson’s Charity.
Event date is 13th September in our Jubilee Hall – Tea, Tunes and Trivia – Tickets Priced at £10.00 Cash or Cheque only contact the Barn Office for details. See the poster for more details of this event.
Please check the current Prospectus for S&FRC Events. Speaker Mornings monthly, Tea Dance event October 17th, Christmas Market November 15th, Christmas Lunch 9th December. Await posters for information. Please support the office and SFRC to these events to attract new Members, bring along a friend and introduce them to us to the DFHA and start to raise new interest in the building. Contact the Barn office for more information. Barn Office: 0117 9562373
If you would like to hold an event in the building for your club, contact us for availability.
We have spaces for hire during the daytime and evening for additional clubs.
Book Sale to raise funds for the DFHA 50p. Any donations of books must be in good condition and general reads, all genres.
The DFHA AGM is dated for 24th October 2025 2-4pm can members of clubs save the date, to support the DFHA Charity meeting.
Thank you for your continued support!
Zoe
14th July 2025
Dear DFHA members,
Following a recent fire safety review, some of the Barn’s internal doors were identified as not being to current fire safety regulations.
We have minuted our concern in the previous months minutes. The cost to repair/replace these doors will stretch our finances greatly.
Wargames have offered The Barn a donation towards this project.
The Management Committee are asking each of the DFHA clubs if they could perhaps give something towards this expense.
Yours sincerely
Christine Bilella.
Treasurer’s Report
Since the last “Barn News”, our reserves have again fallen – the actual figures are always recorded in the monthly Management Committee minutes, which are displayed within the Barn. It was anticipated that the introduction of the new pre-school group, in April, would allow the finances to remain neutral for the rest of the current Barn year, but unfortunately this has not happened.
In order to help to redress this, club fees, Barn membership fees and hiring rates have all been increased, effective 1st September 2025.
Since the last Barn News, there has been significant expenditure on the items listed below:
Filling of Potholes in Car Park £980
Fire Survey £540 (leading to expensive work to be done on fire doors)
Upgrade of lighting in both store-rooms £580
Cleaning out of sewage holding tank (plus service) £1,000
Supporting Cleeve Singers – paying for pianist £620
Replacing three fire exit lights - £503
Water bill from Bristol Water (5 months) £960
In addition, the Management Committee have identified work that needs to be done, but in our current situation has been put on one side until we have the funding necessary to deal with them. Items such as :-
Replacing the exit door opposite maintenance/re-decorating
Office/painting Concord Hall, kitchen area and toilets
Replacing the perimeter fence
Replacing the plastic vertical “light tunnels” in the passage and kitchen
Improving roof insulation.
There have been a few parcels of better news (not really significant compared to the expenditure), but it is nice to have a few items of good news:
Following an Energy Survey, South Glos Council have agreed to refit all the remaining lights in the Barn with LED illumination. It is a shame they did not offer this a few years ago, as we have spent a few thousand pounds on about half the lights. However this will save us money, both in terms of the actual cost of changing the lights, and also the lower running/maintenance costs.
We have changed our repository for our deposit funds, in order to improve the interest - we were with Monmouth BS – now Redwood Bank.
HSBC have dropped the charge we pay for having a charity account with them – was only £5 a month but every little helps.
Earlier this year BT left us in a mess when they switched us to digital – we submitted a claim and they not only paid the claim but gave us a few hundred pounds as additional compensation.
The end result is that in addition to the measures outlined above, we need to work on maximising our income, and very carefully reviewing all the expenditure. Hopefully I anticipate being able to report better news in the next Barn News.
Newsletter for Members JULY
Hello Members
The reason for my contact via the Newsletter is that some new members now in the building that may not be aware of how the Barn works in relation to the leader of the group and the office.
0117 9562367
Membership Fee £12
Fees apply with your club – See the Prospectus for listings.
Barn renewal of Membership is now due along with Autumn fees. Please can you inform all your members as the club leader, we depend on you to inform your members of any events that are going on in the Barn to subsequently keep the Barn active and informative. We are taking Pre – Enrolment now with the office staff on annual leave this may leave us not fully manned. I hope you can come in or telephone prior to your visit, we will then be all ready with your registration for your attendance in September. A record of attendance must be kept for fire alarm tests. In the event of an evacuation.
SFRC needs new members to keep the kitchen manned and putting up of tables a priority when we have charity events. Please offer to go on the list for helpers or ask the Office about going to the next SFRC Committee Meeting.
If you have recently retired and have more time to spare, we would be happy to hear from you. You could become one of the team we call upon for support at the Charity Events.
All this information is widely shared on social media and local forums. We have our website and yearly Prospectus that you can view and the Barn News for 3 editions. Our initial enquiry forms with step-by-step guide to booking an event. The booking forms are online for party events to be booked for any celebration you are considering.
Our Staff are usually the first port of call to check any information you may need about a club or class advertised. Barn Office is open 9-4.30pm weekly Monday to Friday.
Each club is responsible for the how it communicates with each other by email or telephone. We have your details should we need to contact you, if you have any questions, we are always happy to help.
Wi-Fi is undergoing some changes, and I will keep you updated in due course.
Downend Folk House is a Charity that requires work on a grand scale to keep us all working and supporting the community. Private hires are supportive in their efforts to us also.
Club Names for your reference.
P & Q, Tuesday Art, Camera Club, Counted Cross Stitch, Wednesday Bridge, Cleeve Singers, Scrabble, Fun with Fabrics, Barn Bells, Lincombe Barn Book Club, Crafters. Keep Fit, Natural History, War Games. Snooker.
Please see listings in the Prospectus for * which are for private hire.
Hope to hear from you with any feed back.
Thank you for you continues support to DFHA
Zoe Tanner – Office Manager
Staff on duty –
Zoe, Martin, Office Support- Derek, Jane, Melinda, & our office Volunteer Kath.
Natural History Society
Old age is catching up with me and as I no longer want to go out on winter evenings, we have changed our meeting to Tuesday afternoons.. It is the second Tuesday of the month and the dates are as follows: -
2025; September 9; October 14; November 11
The meeting time is reduced to one and a half hours 2.15 - 3.45
We meet in Jubilee Hall but there is a School PE class booked until 2.15, so I suggest we foregather (I think that's a lovely word from Joyce Grenfell's Old Girls Reunion monologue) in the coffer lounge where you might like to buy tea or coffee and we will call you when the Hall is ready.
Programmes will be presented by our members and will be advertised on the Club’s notice board.
Visitors are welcome - fee £2
Looking forward to seeing you.
Pam Gooding
SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISING
Hello Everyone. I hope you have enjoyed The Speaker Mornings so far this year and will continue to do so after you have read the programme below,
Speaker Morning Programme Autumn 2025
Thursday 4th September 2025
New Zealand, North and South Islands
By Dave Hartnell
Thursday 2nd October
Pantomime Dame
Tim Mayo
Thursday 6th November
The Work of the Citizens Advice Bureau
by Chantal Watts, Chief Executive Officer, South Glos. CAB
Thursday 4th December
Ben and his Ukulele Group
Christmas Meeting
**************************************************************
I would like to say here thank you to all my followers who read my Column in The Downend Voice. Also I would like to thank everyone who helped and took part with and in the craft Exhibition. I know the weather was against us but those who took part and gave up their Saturday said how much they enjoyed doing it and meeting new potential Barn Members as I went around the Halls thanking them.
Janet Biggin and I went with Julia Kennett in her car to Dyrham Park to visit The House. Julia Kennett is a House Guide there. We spent a lovely day exploring Dyrham House made even more so by Julia’s enthusiasm of the most interesting history of it. Coffee and lunch were superb (I had Carrot and Coriander Soup with a nice piece of wholemeal bread). A big thank you must go from Janet and I to Julia for a lovely day.
I look forward to seeing you all at the next season of Coffee/Speaker Mornings and don't forget if you have a special interest in a topic or can recommend a speaker then I would be extremely interested to know.
All The Best
Christine Broadway
Organiser of The Coffee/Speaker Mornings
Social and Fundraising Committee
BARN BELLS
The summer has been glorious, a little too hot for some but the Barn is always lovely and cool. However, within our bell ringers health problems, family commitments and holidays continue to reduce our weekly numbers and as I said before playing with limited numbers can been problematic. Val and Heather once again came to the rescue with music suitable for our limited numbers and several of us played in different position all good exercise for the “grey matter”!
Unfortunately, we had insufficient numbers to make up a team to play at the Barn function in June. Nevertheless, we hope some of our team will be able to represent us at the regional bell rally to be held at Iron Acton Village Hall later this year.
Some of you may remember my mentioning the 50th anniversary of South West Region Bells and the planned celebrations. The Sou’Westers are playing at two concerts. The first at Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Taunton on Sunday 28th September at 4.00pm and secondly at The Beehive, Honiton on Saturday 18th October at 5.30pm. Tickets are now on sale if anyone is in the area or would like to travel. There are four conductors including Heather, and two members of the Barn Bells group will be performing with Ensemble.
Rehearsals for Barn Bells start again the first Thursday in September at 2.00pm and our friendly group would welcome anyone interested in making music to join us. The ability to read music is an advantage but definitely not a necessity.
August 2025
CROSS STITCH CLUB
The Social & Fund Raising Committee decided to run a Craft Exhibition in June. Unfortunately I was on holiday but two of my ladies stepped up to organise a table on behalf of the Cross Stitch Club.
From the feedback I had, the SFRC members served plenty of drinks, some rolls and lovely cakes to the trickle of people who came to the Exhibition. Some people who only live in Mangotsfield were surprised, as they had not known of the Barns existence, never mind its activities. Christine Broadway did well organising the Committee event at such short notice.
Some seven members attended Club over Easter and are continuing through the Summer, then quite out of the blue Ann returned a couple of weeks ago. Welcome back.
I recently discovered one of our members works outside of the Club, in conjunction with her sister making tiny bears for premature babies, colourful bears so small children can name colours, bears are given to a Fire Brigade who give them for solace to children rescued from fire. Their charity giving ideas appear to be endless.
So what projects are the members working. It’s a variety of items. There’s a picture of two children sat on a beach, a birth sampler, a very modern dark difficult to describe picture and the lady working that one must be a glutton for punishment, a lady wearing a hat, and the inevitable Christmas Table Cloth.
Which leads me to say the Barn Christmas Market is on Saturday, 15th November. It always creeps up or so it seems, just as we have been enjoying the Summer holidays.
Why not join this friendly Club. Give it a try, learn a new skill, help is on hand for beginners or be a returner wishing to have friendly company. For details contact the Barn Office on 9562367.
Irene
CRAFTER’S CLUB
Members of the crafters club had a break during August, and hopefully, the weather will have allowed them to have some days out, do some gardening, and generally be outdoors in what passes for the British "summer".
The year is whizzing past, as usual and on 11th September, we meet again for our first crafters session. It will be interesting to see if anyone has done much crafting since our last session in July. I'm sure I won't be the only one who is starting to think about Christmas. On line craft shops were starting to promote this year's Christmas offerings back in June, which may seem a bit early, but it isn't for anyone planning to sell their creations. Most of us have big stocks of materials for all seasons of the year, but it's always nice to see some slightly different themes or ideas which can prompt you to do something a bit different.
Our meetings are every fortnight, and after about an hour and a half of crafting, we adjourn to the kitchen for a drink and a chat. If you are wondering if this is something that may be of interest, why not come and join us for a taster? Bring along anything you fancy to do - maybe try out a new craft, or take up something you used to do. The members have a range of skills and are always ready to help out or advise you.
Those who attend the barn speaker mornings will also have the chance to see what sorts of things the group makes (and also, hopefully, to buy them!) Everything raised is donated to the barn.
Mary Robinson
BRIDGE CLUB
We are a friendly and welcoming club seeking new members. Wednesday afternoons from 2p.m. to 4.30 p.m. are our meeting times. If you have played bridge before and would like to take it up again please come and join us. All standards catered for.
The autumn term is an ideal time to start.
Please contact Yvonne by email rscoulding@googlemail.com for more details.
THE CLEEVE SINGERS
Find our website and Facebook page for more information
email: cleevesingers@gmail.com
In 2026 the Cleeve Singers will celebrate 40 years of music-making! We are part of the vibrant state of choral singing in Bristol: there are over 65 choirs – the highest number amongst UK major cities.
This year we were very fortunate to obtain the services of Marysia Gorska-Saj as our new musical director. Not only is Marysia a talented musician (she sings, plays the violin, the guitar and piano), she is also a most delightful and encouraging teacher. Our concert pianist Violet Wong is also a professional musician, teaching the piano and performing on the trumpet.
Our Summer concert “Songs of the Soul” took place on July 12th during one of this summer’s heat waves. By keeping blinds and windows closed the temperature in the hall was not unpleasant. We began with the American folk song “Home on the Range,” included English folk songs such as “Scarborough Fair” and the more boisterous “Wild Rover” and concluded with “California Dreamin,” a popular song from the 60s. Our guest was Conrad Van Wyk, a gifted young man, who played both piano and violin for us with great virtuosity.
After our summer break we look forward to resuming rehearsals on Wednesday, 10th September. We meet at 7.30 pm in the Jubilee Hall and would be delighted to welcome new members. We have no auditions and offer 2 free rehearsals - so you can see if we are your “cup of tea” without further commitment. Ladies and Gentlemen, we look forward to greeting you!
On Saturday 6th December the choir is booked to sing at Dyrham House Church - all being well, as weather conditions cancelled last year’s event. We shall look forward to seeing you at the Barn for our Christmas Matinee Concert on Saturday, 13th December. This year our charity collection will be for Children’s Hospice South West, who provide hospice care for babies, children and young people and their families.
Nicola Budd
LINCOMBE BARN CAMERA CLUB
As usual the Club has gone through the summer with photographic outings, taking advantage of the long evenings and the warm weather. However, September restores us to Lincombe Barn when our first meeting will be at 7.30 on the 9th, we will share our images from the summer and review our competition winners from last year. If you’ve not been before it’s a good opportunity to meet the members for a one-off fee of £3.00.
After that we have a mix of speakers, tutorial sessions and our first competition of the new Club year, which will be on the subject of Conversations, Real or Implied.
The two outside speakers will be delivering presentations on Mandalas in Macro and (rather more understandable) Edgy Black and White Photography.
Our Chair, Ed Shorney, will be delivering a tutorial on putting together Audio Visual programs, the blending of still photographs with music to make a short film.
Tea, Tunes and Trivia!
Saturday 13th September
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Lincombe Barn, Downend
Enjoy a handmade sweet or savoury afternoon tea and test out your general knowledge in a 'pub-style' quiz. Includes live musical entertainment provided by the acoustic duo – Doozie.
Max of 6 people per team
or we can help you form a team on the day.
Tickets: £10
Available from Lincombe Barn Office
or call Lynne on 0117 910 9079
CLUB TERM DATES 2025/6
Autumn Monday 1st September - Friday 19th December 2025
Spring Friday 2nd January - Friday 27th March 2026
Summer Monday 13th April - Friday 24th July 2026
HALLS AND ROOMS FOR HIRE
Approximate sizes In feet in metres Rates
Ground Floor with Disabled access
Jubilee Hall 45 x 38 14 x 11 £34.80 Per Hour
Jubilee Small Partition £20.75 Per Hour
Jubilee Large Partition £26.45 Per Hour
Concorde Hall 40 x 23.5 12 x 7 £28.00 Per Hour
Page Room 25 x 15 7 x 4.5 £16.65 Per Hour
Grace Room 19 x 15 6 x 4.5 £11.00 Per Hour
First floor with no disabled access
Britannia Room 19 x 16.5 6 x 5 Not Available
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 £34.80
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
January - April 226 5th January 2026 8th December 2026
Contributions to the January edition of the ‘Barn News’ are very welcome. Please hand your entries in by the 9th December. Make a note in your diaries.
DOWNEND FOLK HOUSE ASSOCIATION
Volume 56 Number 1
September - December 2025
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
Office hours : Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 4.30 pm.
Office Manager : Zoe Tanner Deputy Manager : Martin Bailey enquiries.dfha@outlook.com
Office Support : Jane Faithfull, Derek Whitchurch & Melinda Gunnion
Office Volunteer : Kathleen Dawkins.
Dear Member,
A special welcome to all our new members and to our established members – welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your summer break and I am sure you are all looking forward enthusiastically to the new term. I should like to take this opportunity to thank all those concerned with the publication of the new Prospectus. Your assistance is invaluable and much appreciated.
To be successful an Association like this needs many helpers so if you feel you can spare just an hour or two occasionally to help in any capacity, the Committee would be most grateful to hear from you.
We are once again holding a Christmas Market this year [see the Social and Fundraising page for details]. Your Management Committee would very much appreciate your support with contributions and the setting up of and managing of stalls for this fun day.
I hope you all enjoy the choices you have made from our varied programme and that you will build many new friendships as a result.
Eileen Bendrey
Chairman
Make a note of the time and date of the BARN’S AGM :-
2.00 pm Friday 24th October 2025.
BARN OFFICE
As the Autumn Term arrives after some glorious weather over Summer.
Your Membership is due for this Autumn Term if not already paid for, also your fees for your designated club. Thank you for all that have paid already over the Summer and those that have ticked Gift Aid on the enrolment form, this gives the Barn some additional funds.
Tickets sold via the Barn office
We are selling tickets for a private regular hire Lynne who has arranged an event to support the Parkinson’s Charity.
Event date is 13th September in our Jubilee Hall – Tea, Tunes and Trivia – Tickets Priced at £10.00 Cash or Cheque only contact the Barn Office for details. See the poster for more details of this event.
Please check the current Prospectus for S&FRC Events. Speaker Mornings monthly, Tea Dance event October 17th, Christmas Market November 15th, Christmas Lunch 9th December. Await posters for information. Please support the office and SFRC to these events to attract new Members, bring along a friend and introduce them to us to the DFHA and start to raise new interest in the building. Contact the Barn office for more information. Barn Office: 0117 9562373
If you would like to hold an event in the building for your club, contact us for availability.
We have spaces for hire during the daytime and evening for additional clubs.
Book Sale to raise funds for the DFHA 50p. Any donations of books must be in good condition and general reads, all genres.
The DFHA AGM is dated for 24th October 2025 2-4pm can members of clubs save the date, to support the DFHA Charity meeting.
Thank you for your continued support!
Zoe
14th July 2025
Dear DFHA members,
Following a recent fire safety review, some of the Barn’s internal doors were identified as not being to current fire safety regulations.
We have minuted our concern in the previous months minutes. The cost to repair/replace these doors will stretch our finances greatly.
Wargames have offered The Barn a donation towards this project.
The Management Committee are asking each of the DFHA clubs if they could perhaps give something towards this expense.
Yours sincerely
Christine Bilella.
Treasurer’s Report
Since the last “Barn News”, our reserves have again fallen – the actual figures are always recorded in the monthly Management Committee minutes, which are displayed within the Barn. It was anticipated that the introduction of the new pre-school group, in April, would allow the finances to remain neutral for the rest of the current Barn year, but unfortunately this has not happened.
In order to help to redress this, club fees, Barn membership fees and hiring rates have all been increased, effective 1st September 2025.
Since the last Barn News, there has been significant expenditure on the items listed below:
Filling of Potholes in Car Park £980
Fire Survey £540 (leading to expensive work to be done on fire doors)
Upgrade of lighting in both store-rooms £580
Cleaning out of sewage holding tank (plus service) £1,000
Supporting Cleeve Singers – paying for pianist £620
Replacing three fire exit lights - £503
Water bill from Bristol Water (5 months) £960
In addition, the Management Committee have identified work that needs to be done, but in our current situation has been put on one side until we have the funding necessary to deal with them. Items such as :-
Replacing the exit door opposite maintenance/re-decorating
Office/painting Concord Hall, kitchen area and toilets
Replacing the perimeter fence
Replacing the plastic vertical “light tunnels” in the passage and kitchen
Improving roof insulation.
There have been a few parcels of better news (not really significant compared to the expenditure), but it is nice to have a few items of good news:
Following an Energy Survey, South Glos Council have agreed to refit all the remaining lights in the Barn with LED illumination. It is a shame they did not offer this a few years ago, as we have spent a few thousand pounds on about half the lights. However this will save us money, both in terms of the actual cost of changing the lights, and also the lower running/maintenance costs.
We have changed our repository for our deposit funds, in order to improve the interest - we were with Monmouth BS – now Redwood Bank.
HSBC have dropped the charge we pay for having a charity account with them – was only £5 a month but every little helps.
Earlier this year BT left us in a mess when they switched us to digital – we submitted a claim and they not only paid the claim but gave us a few hundred pounds as additional compensation.
The end result is that in addition to the measures outlined above, we need to work on maximising our income, and very carefully reviewing all the expenditure. Hopefully I anticipate being able to report better news in the next Barn News.
Newsletter for Members JULY
Hello Members
The reason for my contact via the Newsletter is that some new members now in the building that may not be aware of how the Barn works in relation to the leader of the group and the office.
0117 9562367
Membership Fee £12
Fees apply with your club – See the Prospectus for listings.
Barn renewal of Membership is now due along with Autumn fees. Please can you inform all your members as the club leader, we depend on you to inform your members of any events that are going on in the Barn to subsequently keep the Barn active and informative. We are taking Pre – Enrolment now with the office staff on annual leave this may leave us not fully manned. I hope you can come in or telephone prior to your visit, we will then be all ready with your registration for your attendance in September. A record of attendance must be kept for fire alarm tests. In the event of an evacuation.
SFRC needs new members to keep the kitchen manned and putting up of tables a priority when we have charity events. Please offer to go on the list for helpers or ask the Office about going to the next SFRC Committee Meeting.
If you have recently retired and have more time to spare, we would be happy to hear from you. You could become one of the team we call upon for support at the Charity Events.
All this information is widely shared on social media and local forums. We have our website and yearly Prospectus that you can view and the Barn News for 3 editions. Our initial enquiry forms with step-by-step guide to booking an event. The booking forms are online for party events to be booked for any celebration you are considering.
Our Staff are usually the first port of call to check any information you may need about a club or class advertised. Barn Office is open 9-4.30pm weekly Monday to Friday.
Each club is responsible for the how it communicates with each other by email or telephone. We have your details should we need to contact you, if you have any questions, we are always happy to help.
Wi-Fi is undergoing some changes, and I will keep you updated in due course.
Downend Folk House is a Charity that requires work on a grand scale to keep us all working and supporting the community. Private hires are supportive in their efforts to us also.
Club Names for your reference.
P & Q, Tuesday Art, Camera Club, Counted Cross Stitch, Wednesday Bridge, Cleeve Singers, Scrabble, Fun with Fabrics, Barn Bells, Lincombe Barn Book Club, Crafters. Keep Fit, Natural History, War Games. Snooker.
Please see listings in the Prospectus for * which are for private hire.
Hope to hear from you with any feed back.
Thank you for you continues support to DFHA
Zoe Tanner – Office Manager
Staff on duty –
Zoe, Martin, Office Support- Derek, Jane, Melinda, & our office Volunteer Kath.
Natural History Society
Old age is catching up with me and as I no longer want to go out on winter evenings, we have changed our meeting to Tuesday afternoons.. It is the second Tuesday of the month and the dates are as follows: -
2025; September 9; October 14; November 11
The meeting time is reduced to one and a half hours 2.15 - 3.45
We meet in Jubilee Hall but there is a School PE class booked until 2.15, so I suggest we foregather (I think that's a lovely word from Joyce Grenfell's Old Girls Reunion monologue) in the coffer lounge where you might like to buy tea or coffee and we will call you when the Hall is ready.
Programmes will be presented by our members and will be advertised on the Club’s notice board.
Visitors are welcome - fee £2
Looking forward to seeing you.
Pam Gooding
SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISING
Hello Everyone. I hope you have enjoyed The Speaker Mornings so far this year and will continue to do so after you have read the programme below,
Speaker Morning Programme Autumn 2025
Thursday 4th September 2025
New Zealand, North and South Islands
By Dave Hartnell
Thursday 2nd October
Pantomime Dame
Tim Mayo
Thursday 6th November
The Work of the Citizens Advice Bureau
by Chantal Watts, Chief Executive Officer, South Glos. CAB
Thursday 4th December
Ben and his Ukulele Group
Christmas Meeting
**************************************************************
I would like to say here thank you to all my followers who read my Column in The Downend Voice. Also I would like to thank everyone who helped and took part with and in the craft Exhibition. I know the weather was against us but those who took part and gave up their Saturday said how much they enjoyed doing it and meeting new potential Barn Members as I went around the Halls thanking them.
Janet Biggin and I went with Julia Kennett in her car to Dyrham Park to visit The House. Julia Kennett is a House Guide there. We spent a lovely day exploring Dyrham House made even more so by Julia’s enthusiasm of the most interesting history of it. Coffee and lunch were superb (I had Carrot and Coriander Soup with a nice piece of wholemeal bread). A big thank you must go from Janet and I to Julia for a lovely day.
I look forward to seeing you all at the next season of Coffee/Speaker Mornings and don't forget if you have a special interest in a topic or can recommend a speaker then I would be extremely interested to know.
All The Best
Christine Broadway
Organiser of The Coffee/Speaker Mornings
Social and Fundraising Committee
BARN BELLS
The summer has been glorious, a little too hot for some but the Barn is always lovely and cool. However, within our bell ringers health problems, family commitments and holidays continue to reduce our weekly numbers and as I said before playing with limited numbers can been problematic. Val and Heather once again came to the rescue with music suitable for our limited numbers and several of us played in different position all good exercise for the “grey matter”!
Unfortunately, we had insufficient numbers to make up a team to play at the Barn function in June. Nevertheless, we hope some of our team will be able to represent us at the regional bell rally to be held at Iron Acton Village Hall later this year.
Some of you may remember my mentioning the 50th anniversary of South West Region Bells and the planned celebrations. The Sou’Westers are playing at two concerts. The first at Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Taunton on Sunday 28th September at 4.00pm and secondly at The Beehive, Honiton on Saturday 18th October at 5.30pm. Tickets are now on sale if anyone is in the area or would like to travel. There are four conductors including Heather, and two members of the Barn Bells group will be performing with Ensemble.
Rehearsals for Barn Bells start again the first Thursday in September at 2.00pm and our friendly group would welcome anyone interested in making music to join us. The ability to read music is an advantage but definitely not a necessity.
August 2025
CROSS STITCH CLUB
The Social & Fund Raising Committee decided to run a Craft Exhibition in June. Unfortunately I was on holiday but two of my ladies stepped up to organise a table on behalf of the Cross Stitch Club.
From the feedback I had, the SFRC members served plenty of drinks, some rolls and lovely cakes to the trickle of people who came to the Exhibition. Some people who only live in Mangotsfield were surprised, as they had not known of the Barns existence, never mind its activities. Christine Broadway did well organising the Committee event at such short notice.
Some seven members attended Club over Easter and are continuing through the Summer, then quite out of the blue Ann returned a couple of weeks ago. Welcome back.
I recently discovered one of our members works outside of the Club, in conjunction with her sister making tiny bears for premature babies, colourful bears so small children can name colours, bears are given to a Fire Brigade who give them for solace to children rescued from fire. Their charity giving ideas appear to be endless.
So what projects are the members working. It’s a variety of items. There’s a picture of two children sat on a beach, a birth sampler, a very modern dark difficult to describe picture and the lady working that one must be a glutton for punishment, a lady wearing a hat, and the inevitable Christmas Table Cloth.
Which leads me to say the Barn Christmas Market is on Saturday, 15th November. It always creeps up or so it seems, just as we have been enjoying the Summer holidays.
Why not join this friendly Club. Give it a try, learn a new skill, help is on hand for beginners or be a returner wishing to have friendly company. For details contact the Barn Office on 9562367.
Irene
CRAFTER’S CLUB
Members of the crafters club had a break during August, and hopefully, the weather will have allowed them to have some days out, do some gardening, and generally be outdoors in what passes for the British "summer".
The year is whizzing past, as usual and on 11th September, we meet again for our first crafters session. It will be interesting to see if anyone has done much crafting since our last session in July. I'm sure I won't be the only one who is starting to think about Christmas. On line craft shops were starting to promote this year's Christmas offerings back in June, which may seem a bit early, but it isn't for anyone planning to sell their creations. Most of us have big stocks of materials for all seasons of the year, but it's always nice to see some slightly different themes or ideas which can prompt you to do something a bit different.
Our meetings are every fortnight, and after about an hour and a half of crafting, we adjourn to the kitchen for a drink and a chat. If you are wondering if this is something that may be of interest, why not come and join us for a taster? Bring along anything you fancy to do - maybe try out a new craft, or take up something you used to do. The members have a range of skills and are always ready to help out or advise you.
Those who attend the barn speaker mornings will also have the chance to see what sorts of things the group makes (and also, hopefully, to buy them!) Everything raised is donated to the barn.
Mary Robinson
BRIDGE CLUB
We are a friendly and welcoming club seeking new members. Wednesday afternoons from 2p.m. to 4.30 p.m. are our meeting times. If you have played bridge before and would like to take it up again please come and join us. All standards catered for.
The autumn term is an ideal time to start.
Please contact Yvonne by email rscoulding@googlemail.com for more details.
THE CLEEVE SINGERS
Find our website and Facebook page for more information
email: cleevesingers@gmail.com
In 2026 the Cleeve Singers will celebrate 40 years of music-making! We are part of the vibrant state of choral singing in Bristol: there are over 65 choirs – the highest number amongst UK major cities.
This year we were very fortunate to obtain the services of Marysia Gorska-Saj as our new musical director. Not only is Marysia a talented musician (she sings, plays the violin, the guitar and piano), she is also a most delightful and encouraging teacher. Our concert pianist Violet Wong is also a professional musician, teaching the piano and performing on the trumpet.
Our Summer concert “Songs of the Soul” took place on July 12th during one of this summer’s heat waves. By keeping blinds and windows closed the temperature in the hall was not unpleasant. We began with the American folk song “Home on the Range,” included English folk songs such as “Scarborough Fair” and the more boisterous “Wild Rover” and concluded with “California Dreamin,” a popular song from the 60s. Our guest was Conrad Van Wyk, a gifted young man, who played both piano and violin for us with great virtuosity.
After our summer break we look forward to resuming rehearsals on Wednesday, 10th September. We meet at 7.30 pm in the Jubilee Hall and would be delighted to welcome new members. We have no auditions and offer 2 free rehearsals - so you can see if we are your “cup of tea” without further commitment. Ladies and Gentlemen, we look forward to greeting you!
On Saturday 6th December the choir is booked to sing at Dyrham House Church - all being well, as weather conditions cancelled last year’s event. We shall look forward to seeing you at the Barn for our Christmas Matinee Concert on Saturday, 13th December. This year our charity collection will be for Children’s Hospice South West, who provide hospice care for babies, children and young people and their families.
Nicola Budd
LINCOMBE BARN CAMERA CLUB
As usual the Club has gone through the summer with photographic outings, taking advantage of the long evenings and the warm weather. However, September restores us to Lincombe Barn when our first meeting will be at 7.30 on the 9th, we will share our images from the summer and review our competition winners from last year. If you’ve not been before it’s a good opportunity to meet the members for a one-off fee of £3.00.
After that we have a mix of speakers, tutorial sessions and our first competition of the new Club year, which will be on the subject of Conversations, Real or Implied.
The two outside speakers will be delivering presentations on Mandalas in Macro and (rather more understandable) Edgy Black and White Photography.
Our Chair, Ed Shorney, will be delivering a tutorial on putting together Audio Visual programs, the blending of still photographs with music to make a short film.
Tea, Tunes and Trivia!
Saturday 13th September
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Lincombe Barn, Downend
Enjoy a handmade sweet or savoury afternoon tea and test out your general knowledge in a 'pub-style' quiz. Includes live musical entertainment provided by the acoustic duo – Doozie.
Max of 6 people per team
or we can help you form a team on the day.
Tickets: £10
Available from Lincombe Barn Office
or call Lynne on 0117 910 9079
CLUB TERM DATES 2025/6
Autumn Monday 1st September - Friday 19th December 2025
Spring Friday 2nd January - Friday 27th March 2026
Summer Monday 13th April - Friday 24th July 2026
HALLS AND ROOMS FOR HIRE
Approximate sizes In feet in metres Rates
Ground Floor with Disabled access
Jubilee Hall 45 x 38 14 x 11 £34.80 Per Hour
Jubilee Small Partition £20.75 Per Hour
Jubilee Large Partition £26.45 Per Hour
Concorde Hall 40 x 23.5 12 x 7 £28.00 Per Hour
Page Room 25 x 15 7 x 4.5 £16.65 Per Hour
Grace Room 19 x 15 6 x 4.5 £11.00 Per Hour
First floor with no disabled access
Britannia Room 19 x 16.5 6 x 5 Not Available
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 £34.80
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
January - April 226 5th January 2026 8th December 2026
Contributions to the January edition of the ‘Barn News’ are very welcome. Please hand your entries in by the 9th December. Make a note in your diaries.