The Community Play Rangers and Bath City Farm have organised some exciting events for young people starting this month!

Monday 19th January

From 3.30pm to 5.30pm, carving whistles out of wood, hot drinks by the fire and wassailing - a traditional celebration to make sure apple trees grow lots of fruit!

Monday 2nd February

From 3.30pm to 5.30pm, plant a summer bulb and make a candle and lantern to celebrate the coming of spring.

Thursday 19th February

From 1pm to 3pm, Half-Term Pancake Training Day! Come and make pancakes and practice your racing skills on the wacky race course!

Thursday 19th March

From 3.30pm to 5.30pm, spring is finally here! Celebrate with live music, a bonfire and let off a miniature hot air balloon.

The Community Play Rangers hold open play sessions for 5 to 13 year-olds every Monday from 3.30pm to 6pm at Rosewarn Park, and every Wednesday and Thursday from 3.30pm to 6pm at Bath City Farm. Find out more about them on their website here.

Joe, 08/01/09

Work began yesterday to add more play facilities to the Brickfields playing area situated between Lymore Avenue and King George's Road. Mounds of earth were placed in the lower playing field to form part of a bike track to be built there.

A trench was dug at the upper play space - the first step towards making a cable run where kids can travel along a wire from one platform to another. But residents have complained that it will attract youths to gather too close to their homes at night, so the cable run may now be repositioned, perhaps next to the bike track.

The perimeter of the Brickfields upper play space will be rebuilt in the style of a fort with a lookout station and there will be some planting of shrubs.

The work is part of the Play Out, Hang Out project to improve 28 play areas in Bath and North East Somerset. Woodhouse Park behind St Michael's Junior School and Pennyquick Park at the end of Newton Road have also been selected for development under the scheme.

In December a wooden spider sculpture was constructed at Woodhouse Park and this is to be followed by a slide built into the earth mound and a fence with shrubs to keep dogs out of the play compound. Latest plans for Pennyquick Park include a bike track and a new fenced area containing a piece of play equipment.

For more info telephone 01225 395137.

See also Making the Spider at Woodhouse Park.

Joe, 06/01/09

Below is a photo of the new Tesco store at Englishcombe Lane, Southdown, where the old petrol station used to be. It is open from 7am to 11pm and deliveries to the store will staggered to avoid a jam of delivery lorries.

Tesco marked the opening of the new store with donations to the Toddler Group at Sladebrook Evangelical Church next door, and the Beamonds Home for children with learning disabilities and their Magic Garden project.

Meanwhile the big Nisa store in Twerton High Street has been bought by the firm Southern
Co-operatives after the collapse of the retail chain Nearby Stores. All existing staff will be kept on by the new owner and the Post Office inside the store is functioning again.

Joe, 05/01/09

Here are some points summarised from Councillors Paul Crossley and Dine Romero's e-newsletter for the Southdown Ward. To get the full newsletter by email, contact Paul Crossley . You can also read it on their Southdown blog here.

PACT meeting

The next Southdown PACT meeting will be held at Southdown Methodist Centre, The Hollow, on Wednesday 14th January at 6.30pm. All are welcome to come and discuss local issues with representatives from the police, the Council and Somer Housing.

Bladud Pigs

The two Bladud Pigs produced by Southside Youth Centre and Culverhay School, and sponsored by the Southdown and Twerton Liberal Democrats, have been sold at the Bladud Pigs auction. The money raised will go to the Two Tunnels Project, the Southside Centre and Culverhay Arts.

Whiteway Road

Paul and Dine have asked for a signalised pedestrian crossing at Haycombe Cemetery and for the Highways Department to consider installing a roundabout system at the junction of Whiteway Road and Englishcombe Lane.

Roundhill Park

The Roundhill Park playing area has been in need of renewal. Somer Housing has taken away the worn out equipment, completed a consultation with local people and hopes to install some new equipment in the spring.

Bus shelters

A bus shelter is to be installed for the stop at Haycombe Drive opposite the entrance to Rosewarn Close, by the spring. And a bus shelter for the stop by the Catholic Church at Sladebrook Road should be delivered in the next couple of months.

The Circle

A scheme will be submitted to stop the verges from deteriorating by means of a plastic grass frame. Wooden bollards will also be put in place to prevent further encroachment onto the circle.

Motorbike barriers

Barriers to stop motorbikes accessing footpaths from Langdon Road to The Hollow and Sladebrook Road to Parry Close will hopefully be placed soon.

Information from newsletter, 02/01/09

At The Golden Fleece

"I gave up smoking 7 months ago and I'm not gonna start again." - Malcolm

"Instead of us all giving up things, we should try to be better citizens and help each other. We could all improve our relations with others." - Dave

"To stop beating up my brother." - Ashley (teenager)

"To try harder at school." - Jack (Ashley's brother)

"To put more of a drive into our fundraising for local charities." - Maureen (landlady)

At The Full Moon

"Not to drink so much." - Ashley

"To sort my money out a bit better." - Scottie

"To cut down, then stop smoking." - Glen (barman)

By the Co-op, Mount Road

"I will definitely stop drinking." - Maxine

"I just stopped drinking and I'm going to pack in smoking." - Margaret

"My missus wants me to stop smoking, but no." - Craig

"Not to waste money on shoes and things." - Nicola

"To stop biting my nails and my friend's is to stop smoking." - Hayley (teenager)

I didn't realise that so many people would be thinking of giving up smoking. You can get support to do this from the Health Trainer who is available at The Spot health advice centre by Twerton Infant School, on Tuesdays from 8.30am to 10am in term time. Telephone 01225 831847.

Joe, 01/01/09

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Happy New Year from the Proud of Twerton, Whiteway and Southdown website. I hope you have enjoyed the website over the last year. I plan to do all the same things this year i.e. news, articles, photos and videos but am wondering how I can put more focus on the people. To add to this site, send an email to joe@proudoftwerton.com.

Joe, 01/01/09