News

Organisers of May’s Tea for Ukraine have received the attached letter from the Red Cross to thank Sibford for raising £1025 for the Red Cross Ukrainian refugee appeal.

Red Cross thank you letter Aug2022

Results of the August draw:

1st prize – Ruth Smith
2nd prize – Sue Rowley
3rd prize – Anne Spackman

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A query received via our Contact form asks if anyone can help identify this artefact spotted on the Macmillan Way (southern end of Ditchedge Lane), about 250 metres north of Traitor’s Ford.

There’s some discussion about it in the Facebook group Ridgeway and Ancient Tracks of Britain. Please let us know if you can add any further information.

Results of the July draw:

1st prize £70 – Tracy Morbey
2nd prize £42 – Jane Morgan
3rd prize £28 – Martin Garnham

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This is the first year that the swifts colony in Mannings Close has a full house of four breeding pairs with three eggs each – and the eggs have started hatching. Below is a video of 2-3 day old swiftlets being fed. Follow reports of their progress. Watch the live SwiftCams.

The Village Hall Trustees would like to express their thanks and appreciation for all the hard work of the Jubilee Celebration organisers. They have worked tirelessly over the last few months to organise a wonderful array of events, including beacon lighting, picnics, music events, games, quizzes and tree plantings. These last few days have been a chance for us, as a community, to come together to mark the Queen’s long service and have fun while doing so.

None of these events could have happened without the dedication of those involved, led by Keith Hicks. We are very lucky to have members of our community who are willing to give up their time to plan events for us all to enjoy.

We also thank all of those who participated, helped, cooked, cleaned and played such wonderful music.

On hearing about the Afternoon Tea fundraiser Granny and friends held for Ukrainian Refugees, Rupert Spooner (age 7) decided he would like to invite his friends to play with his Lego and charge them a small fee. This proved very popular and, on 3rd June, 15 children descended on Sibford Gower and built endless Lego models, in the welcome sunshine. With picnic lunch and a Raffle Rupert and team raised an outstanding £360 for this very worthy cause.

The competition for village children to design a flag in line with the national River of Hope competition resulted in just three entries, all from one family.

Two Sibford elders and one youngster ceremoniously planted an oak sapling and unveiled a plaque to mark the Jubilee. The tree’s life expectancy is a thousand years, but it will be only(!) seventy years before it matches the magnificent mature oak in the opposite corner of the field, which was planted at the opening of the village hall in 1957.

The grass was dry, the rain held off, and the sun overcame the cool breeze every so often. An enthusiastic crowd ensured that nearly all the races had to be run in heats. Sterling work was done by MC Keith and his assistant judges, line holders and scorers.

The Gower team were a bit slow in getting to grips with the Water Relay race, initially waiting for one cup of water to reach the end before dipping for another, and allowing the Ferris a resounding win.

But scores were evened up when the Gower team won the Tug-of-war.

Local bands The Skeptics and Red & Grey peformed at the evening Music Event. Do you have a good photo or two of this event? If so please send to webmaster@thesibfords.uk to enhance this post.

About 30 folk braved the rain for a fascinating walk around Broad Sibford which, our knowledgeable guide Maureen Hicks informed us, until quite recently was the name commonly given to the combined settlements of Sibford Gower and Burdrop.

Stopping off at Piggy Path, Burdrop water point, Coffin Walk, the Primary School, Millennium Field, the Meeting House, Bonds End Lane and the Old Rectory, we learnt the about the origins of the village names and footpath names, the importance of springs and rams, the unusally long history of the school, what local men used to practice at Buttslade House, the influence of the Quakers, the importance of the plush trade, …and a lot more.

Sibford’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations kicked off today with the opening of the Seven Decades exhibition in the small village hall, the Floral Display in the church, and the Torchlight Procession and Beacon at night.

A good-sized crowd processed from the Gower pond to the village hall field waving torches and lanterns to witness the lighting of the beacon. MC Keith had to stop the countdown to lighting as master beacon craftsman Adrian, despite his impeccable Boy Scout credentials, had difficulty igniting the bunch-of-straw-on-a-pole that he planned to use to reach the beacon. Fortunately Scott stepped forward from the crowd with his paraffin lantern and saved the night – the beacon quickly sprang into life.

If you missed the beacon then you missed it, but you have all weekend to savour the floral display greeting you with its delightful scent as you enter the church porch, and the Seven Decades of The Sibfords exhibition, where the very image of the Queen will greet you at the entrance to the small village hall.

Many thanks to the Sibford Photography Club and other folk for the photos sent in. To maintain privacy I have not named the photographers, but if you wish to be publicly credited, please let me know at webmaster@thesibfords.uk and I will add it. And please send in photos of other events this weekend!

Results of the June draw:

1st prize – Paul Harffey
2nd prize – Sandra Clacy
3rd prize – Malcolm Bannister

Tempted? Read more about the Village Hall Lottery