Sibford Scene Archive

“You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” (Joni Mitchell)

• Can you imagine Sibford without a Village Hall? Because that may become a reality!
• Many Village Halls are struggling to keep going due to lack of volunteers. Do you want a pleasant venue to hold meetings, do Yoga, play Bridge, have your kids parties, listen to a talk, or watch a film or play?
• Do you want the heating programmed on for you, know that the Hall complies with statutory H&S, Fire and Insurance Regulations?
• A hall that is welcoming, well-equipped and clean? Would you like someone to open the hall for you, show you around and make sure you have everything you need?

All these tasks and many, many more have to be done — or the Village Hall cannot function. We need people to put in the hard work for their community. This work is not glamorous or showy, but just done quietly behind the scenes and is vital to keep our community asset running smoothly.

If you can help by doing some of these tasks, or could do a month of Hall Management as part of a rota, then please contact us for a chat.

Become a Villager — not just someone who lives in a village.

Please call Ginny Bennett 01295 780 373 or David Gill 01295 788 171

I assume the writer complaining of horse ‘excrement’ on the road and pavement has very little knowledge of either horses or manure, the latter is not a health hazard and unlike dog mess, which certainly is. Dose she really think a rider is going to dismount and use a ‘dustpan and brush’ whereas dog owners have the animal on a lead and can easily pick up and bag what their pet has deposited.

Horse manure is primarily digested grass while dog faeces are toxic and contain harmful bacteria. Horse manure is considered safe, although when fresh, it might contain parasitic wormers which are harmful to dogs if eaten in quantity. She should consider herself lucky that she has been given a free, natural biodegradable mare to use in her garden.

Name and address supplied

Traditionally now we Sibfordians have come to expect The Sibford Players to cheer gloomy winter with some much-needed light relief and yet again they didn’t disappoint.

A bonkers comedy romp based in the fictional Wild West town of Sassparilla Springs proved the perfect escape and a great laugh out loud night out for all the family.

Action centred on a chaotic hunt by rival gangs for a cache of hidden diamonds but the plot took second place to the general feel-good fun which involved many daft jokes, big hats, false moustaches and plenty of howdy doody accents.

A big hats off to multi-talented Director Jo Connor who wrote the play while on holiday. Special mention to cameraman Julian Ransom for his hilarious short film involving a panto horse, bewildered real horses, a cactus, sombreros and much much more.

Great to welcome back familiar members of the cast and see they have been joined by some talented new young (and not quite so young) recruits we look forward to seeing them all in action again next year.

AA

Special Announcement……

Unfortunately I will be leaving the Sibfords sometime in March and as a result the Sibford Walking Group will need a new leader. If you are interested in putting your name forward then please get in touch with me on 07961 161 358 or hiltonphilip1@gmail.com

I think we should use this forthcoming change of leadership to also reconsider whether we have other things right.

• Do we have the right day of the week ? (currently Monday)
• The right frequency? (currently every other week)
• Are the walks the right distance and duration? (typically 4-6 km over about 2 hours.)

To debate these issues and more, we would request the presence of everyone who has a genuine interest in taking part in the walks going forward. To this end we would welcome your attendance at the Wykham Arms at 7pm on Wed 4th March.

If you would like to feed in ideas ahead of the meeting then please contact any of the following : Phil Hilton (07961 161 358) Sarah Bryson ( 07773 528 923) or David Abercassis ( 07956 355 187)

Our Village School – Part 1 – Early beginnings

Sibford Gower Endowed Primary School, situated in the heart of Sibford Gower, has a long history and celebrated its 400th anniversary during 2025. The first recorded schoolroom was built in 1625 by the Sibford Gower Town Estate Charity and a date stone of that date is incorporated in the current school building. The charity was formed in about the year 1560 by a benefactor(s) whose name is unknown, for the benefit of the ‘poor of Sibford Gower’. Its beneficaries were to be – one third to the relief and maintenance of the poor, one third to the school and school master and one third to pious and charitable purposes. The charitable support for the school resulted in ‘Endowed’ being included in the name of the school. This endowment suggests that there was a school in existence, possibly in a private house, as far back as 1560 when the charity first started. The original documents relating the charity were thought to be lodged in London and may have been lost in the Great Fire of 1666.

The presence of a school in a small rural village to educate its children as early as the 16th century is exceptional, unusual and demonstrates an independent and free spirit among the peoples of the Sibfords. When the open fields were enclosed in 1774 for Sibford Gower, the plot surrounding the school was measured as 1 acre and 5 poles. The ground behind the school dropped away sharply into the Sib Valley making it ideal for sledge runs in the winter but making cricket, football or even gardening very difficult. Springs abound in this area and one emerges towards the bottom of the bank and feeds a pool. It has been known to generations of school children as ‘The Tite’ which has never been known to run dry and has supplied a continuous source of water to the school and village alike until mains water was installed in 1935. The size of the outlet pipe and the volume of water delivered in a given time has provided practical measurements for many mathematical calculations for generations of pupils!

By 1825 the schoolmaster was offered a house on Main Street opposite the school which was owned by the charity. The boys were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic and worked in the garden and orchard. While the boys worked outdoors, the girls were taught knitting and sewing by the school master’s wife. By 1879, the subjects taught were extended to include religious knowledge and singing, and the girls and infants were given instruction in needlework. By 1893, grammar was taught throughout the school and geography had been introduced for the boys.

Maureen Hicks

SCAM Alert

Quite a variety for this month – both local and national.

1. Latest scam highlighted by Which? Scammers are impersonating the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator has warned that it will never ask for money or sensitive banking information such as PINS and passwords.
2. Again from Which? Here are the five international area codes from the Caribbean and West African areas which you should never answer; 876(Jamaica), 473(Grenada), 284(BVI), 268(Antigua), and 649 (Turks and Caicos). The general rule is to avoid unfamiliar international numbers that use the +1 country code as these are often associated with scams.
3. Latest UK scams in 2026 feature AI powered deepfake voice calls, fake courier/bank impersonations, and screen sharing app fraud. Other common threats include bogus job offers on social media, parking machine card skimmers and phishing emails regarding Netflix, British Gas, or tax refunds.

Before I have to go and lie down, there are just a couple more local incidents to report:

1. We have recently had visits from collectors on behalf of the Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital. (GOSH). Whilst this is not the first time door-door-fundraising, we have checked with the charity concerned who have confirmed that the collectors are legitimate, but it’s wise to always check their id, or refer to their website www.gosh.org/about-us/our-fundraising
2. Finally, information from one of our colleagues concerning Microsoft. They have been sent numerous messages all with different fake email addresses purporting to come from Microsoft, concerning improved security and the retiring of older versions. Do not click onto the site address given for an update – it’s all a scam.
3. Between the rain, potholes and English rugby, life is not good. We will survive!

Peter Hine, Watch co-ord, Gower and Burdrop. Tel : 788 830

The traditional Boxing Day football match between the Gower and Ferris took place again this year on a sunny day at Sibford School, in contrast to the fog of last year. The Gower have been victorious for the last few years and again had the more youthful squad, together with a new relatively more youthful manager as Ian Mountford replaced the long serving Alex Rippon. The squads of over 20 for each team were watched by a crowd of well over 50 who were entertained by a flowing game with some good football played. The lady players asked and gave no quarter, and the age gap from youngest to oldest was over 55 years!

The Gower started well and took a 1 goal lead but the Ferris soon equalised from a well taken free kick and began to control the game a bit more. However, the Gower scored again to make it 2-1 and their more youthful players looked stronger for a while but the Ferris fought back and as the subs rolled on and off they equalised with a fine goal.

The last 15 minutes were nail biting with both teams having the chance to win it, and a really good save from Matt Allen prevented a victory for the Ferris towards the end. There was some relief on both sides at the final whistle, and popular opinion was that a penalty shoot out was required! This too was very exciting and tense, with both sides missing penalties to still be even after the 10. It went to sudden death, the Gower penalty sailed over the bar and the cool head of Russell Edward’s won the match for the Ferris. Tom Rowley and Freddie Round scored the Gower goals, and Loz Wroe and Alex George for the Ferris.

It was possibly the best Boxing Day game played, the Wykham Arms was absolutely packed afterwards and over £500 was raised for Katherine House, from subs but mainly from the fantastic drinks stand run by Simon George and Tom Payne.

David Spackman