BS10 Big It Up! Or Inspiring Community Project?

BS10 Big It Up! Or Inspiring Community Project?

Who says it’s only for young people? Find everything about the biggest project ever in our area on this link. www.mybs10pledge.co.uk

Have you made your Pledge? If everyone do a small pledge then we can all make a big difference.

Green Space Consultation Ends

The city wide consultation on the future of green spaces ends on 29th October. 8 sites are under consideration in Henbury Ward; 5 in Brentry and 3 in Henbury. (as we present in the previous issue No11).

In parallel with the green spaces consultation, Bristol City Council’s Strategic Planning Department looked at options for site allocations and development management.

Henbury and Brentry residents had the opportunity to express their views on both at a drop-in session at the Greenway Centre on 27th September.

Decisions on green space issues are likely to be made in December this year but the Strategic Planning Document will be considered by Full Council in 2011.

Are you ready for census 2011?

The 2011 Census will take place on Sunday 27^th March 2011. The census counts everyone in the United Kingdom, but the the results are also used by central government as the basis for allocating about £100,000,000,000 – yes, one hundred billion pounds – of funds to local authorities every year. The statistics gathered in March will determine the allocation of funds for the next ten years to housing, education, health, recreation, roads and transport, so it is important to get the count of people as accurate as possible

Some local authorities have estimated that for every 1000 people in their population they receive about £500,000 in grants. Bristol City Council estimate that at the last census in 2001 there was an undercount of about 10,000 people. Although the cost of the census sounds a lot at about half a billion pounds, the actual cost per person over 10 years is about 87 pence. More information about the census can be found at www.census.gov.uk.

The census will create about 240 part time and full time jobs in the Bristol area. More details can be found at www.censusjobs.co.uk.

Although Census Day is a long way away (Sunday 27th March 2011), now is a good time to remind people of the importance of taking part in the largest social project of the decade. If you would like to know more about the 2011 Census please contact the Bristol Area Manager for the 2011 Census, Bill Clark, who can be contacted by email at k105@census.gov.uk, or by phone on 07801331522.

Henbury Streetz Project

Earlier this year a Street Dance group was formed for young people, based at the Emmanuel Chapel in Satchfield Crescent. Membership is not confined only to members of the church or even youngsters living close by – anyone from year 11 to 14 is welcome. The group was initially called the Henbury Youth Project and there was enough money to fund lessons from professional dancers for a short time.

Jane Leslie, the World Aquathlon and European Triathlon Age Group Champion and mother of Charlotte Leslie, our MP, took an interest in the group and pledged to raise £2,000 for them by cycling 50 miles around Bristol on the day of our Fun Day event. Jane set off in the rain at 8am with her training companion and arrived back triumphantly at 3pm to cheers and applause from the crowds gathered on Barnard Park. Her ride raised the fantastic sum of £2,300 from sponsors and collections along the route.

The group was also successful in their bid for funding from the BS10 Big It Up! Project’s resources and received £4,000.

Having access to this money will enable its members to branch out and include other activities for young people. There are already plans for Beat Box and ‘MC’ing sessions, which have been especially requested by boys – though none of the different activities will exclude anyone.

Although the group is now financially better off there will always be the ongoing need for further funding to enable the activities to continue. Bristol Rover FC is holding a Festival of Community Activities prior to and during the home match on 16^th October, starting at 12noon. On this occasion the Club has very kindly offered to have a bucket collection for the Henbury group. The entire group of collectors – adults and children – have been invited to the match as guests of the Club. The young people have also been invited to perform at a home match next year.

This venture is entirely a community activity and not affiliated in any way to Council or youth services. As such we should applaud and support them in every way. They are giving the youngsters of our community activities which they specifically want and in so doing hopefully are providing them with a sensible and confidence building structure to help guide them into their future.

Summer feedback - A message from the young ones

“This summer was really busy, there was well loads going on, young people got involved in various activities that gave us kids the chance to experience different things and learn new skills.

Young people went away on day trips, residential weekends as well as helping in the community events. The activities gave young people something to do, a chance to do something positive for our community, and gave the more challenging kids the chance to see how to behave whilst they were on trips.

Our greatest achievement was climbing Snowdon organised by PC Nick Merrick. Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and England. We also spent three days fishing, not every one’s cup of tea but we really enjoyed it.

The Youth Forum spent a day working with Matt Dowse at Kingsweston House, looking at all the “Big Idea” bids for HBCC & Inspiring Communities. This was not as much fun but it had to be done! And we were rewarded for our work.

We would like to thank loads of people, the Community Council and all the other funders for giving youth groups money that was used to pay for the trips. And thanks to all the residents, staff, volunteers, and groups that helped to run holiday activities.

Our next big project is to organise a Talent Show, hopefully for the February school holidays next year. We believe that everyone has a talent – even if they don’t know what it is yet. We are looking for individuals and groups to take part or help run the evening, so please contact us if you are interested. “

Kane Davies, Reece Wigston-Richards, Harry Alker - Henbury & Brentry Youth Forum Members.

If you would like more information about the Youth Forum you can contact us through Lisa Bailey on 0117 377 2614.

7 projects benefit from your Big Ideas!

In July, Henbury and Brentry Community Council asked for your ideas about how to spend £25,000 on projects that would engage and inspire young people aged 11-14 in our area.

57 ideas were submitted either through the website www.bs10youridea.com or were posted in the ideas box in Henbury Library. The ideas ranged from building a new swimming pool to litter picking teams to clean up the local area! We always knew that there would be too many ideas put forward to put to the public vote so we arranged a short listing process which involved young people from the youth forum and senior members of the Henbury and Brentry Community Council. The short listing took place at the end of July. To get shortlisted the idea had to:

Be realistic and practical

Support young people in our area to be inspired

Be exciting and engaging (young people were on the short listing panel)

Help young people to build self confidence, get involved and do well at school

Take place from September 2010 to March 2011

Provide value for money

After much discussion we came up with a list of 19 ideas that we thought should be put to the public vote. We grouped the ideas together in packages that added up to £12,500 each. This meant that we would be asking members of the community to vote for two packages so that we could spend the whole £25,000.

Voting opened during August and ran for two weeks. In total there were 443 votes cast, either through our website, through the ballot box in Henbury Library or during the public meeting that was held on Saturday 4^th September. Thanks to all of you who turned up to the meeting and to all of those people who made the voting such a success. We hope that everyone who wanted to vote was able to do so.

THE RESULTS The two winning projects were:

Get Modern – a project to provide funding to renovate and improve three youth venues in the area. Total grant £12,500 (£4166 for each venue).

To complete the final refurbishments to the Scout Hut Renovation, including hand rails for the access ramps, flooring, kitchen patio to the rear of the building, repainting the hall floor and providing new and improved kitchen equipment.

To fund the creation of a youth cafe at Emmanuel Chapel, providing furniture, paint and facilities for the youth group.

To provide equipment to the Youth Centre including a TV, new computers, gym equipment, a sofa and new kitchen equipment.

All of these projects will improve the facilities in the area and we hope that it will mean that more young people will take part in the activities that take place. All of the youth venues will be advertising their improvements in the next newsletter! The Get Modern idea received 33% of all votes cast and was the project with the most votes.

Get Creative – a project to provide creative opportunities for young people in the area.

- To fund a project to buy musical instruments and pay for tuition for as many young people as possible (£4,500).

- To provide funding for the Community Talent Show which will be put on by the Youth Forum in February next year (£2,500).

- To provide funding for the Henbury School Community Fun Day which will be run and organised by young people (£1,500)

- To pay for the street dance project and music project running at the Emmanuel Chapel for a year (£4,000)

These creative ideas will mean that a lot more young people can take part in inspiring and exciting projects. The Get Creative project received 28% of all votes cast and was the project with the second highest number of votes.

By the time the next HBCC newsletter goes to print many of these projects will have taken place or be about to happen. We look forward to sharing some exciting stories with you soon!

Henbury and Brentry Community Council

Youth Inclusion Project

Fifteen young people from Henbury and Brentry took part in a trip to Snowdonia this August, as part of an initiative organised by PC Nick Merrick, Henbury School Beat Manager, with assistance from Polly Hancock of Henbury Youth Inclusion Project (YIP), Kate Hillier of Henbury School, and not forgetting Nick’s wife, Lisa.

The 3-day residential included an ascent of Mount Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in England and Wales. Scaling all 3,560 metres was a huge achievement for everyone who made it to the summit. The group stayed at the Blue Peris mountain centre in picturesque rural North Wales, near the small town of Llanberis. When they were not battling rough terrain, thick mist and rain, the young people enjoyed team challenges and games at the centre and one or two ghost stories!

The young people had never climbed a mountain before and despite hostile weather conditions, they all persevered to the top. They even had energy left over to play hide and seek far into the night. The staff, however, chose to opt out of this game!

One young climber, Chloe, described the trip as one of the best things she had done all summer and wished she could have stayed for a whole week. However, she also insists she will not be climbing any more mountains in a hurry! One grateful parent also said that she often dreads the school summer holiday and really appreciates activities like this one that keep the kids occupied and off the streets.

As well as this residential trip, PC Nick Merrick worked all summer long taking young people on a variety of other trips as part of the Henbury Area Project for Play and Youth (HAPPY) initiative. Activities ranged from golf lessons to horse stable management, and sea fishing to amusement parks. Henbury YIP also appreciated Nick’s help during summer open sessions at Brentry Lodge Youth Centre, when he ran cookery sessions for young people with a ‘world of food’ theme, introducing young people to new flavours and ingredients.

Henbury YIP provides one-to-one support for young people, but also works with other local agencies to provide new experiences and challenges to inspire, boost self-esteem and divert young people away from anti-social behaviour. The YIP runs regular open sessions at Brentry Lodge Youth Centre on Machin Road, where ALL young people aged 12-17 are welcome. During term time, we are open for Manic Monday from 5:00-8:00 and Wicked Wednesday from 3:30-6:00.

Karen Thorn is Henbury YIP’s Project Coordinator and she or any of her team are happy to answer any questions you may have: give the office a call on 0117 377 3658, or pop in to see us at Brentry Lodge.

Volunteer needed

The Attainment Adviser Project in Henbury School, is looking for a local resident to join the team as a volunteer, until the end of March 2011. The role would involve spending up to 10hrs a week supporting some Year 7 students. Spending time with them one to one, attending some of their English and Maths lessons, and talking regularly with parents. No experience is necessary. If you are interested please contact Fran Hopcraft Tel: 07986 562824.

Henbury Court Judo Club

SAKURA BANA BUDO KWAI

Henbury Court Primary School

The members of Sakura Bana Judo Club attended the local championships at St Katherine’s School at Pill on Sunday 3^rdOtober. Five members from this club took part: Lemonie Georgiou, Luke Simons, Quaid Wilson and Jessica Donaghue all came 3^rd in their respective categories.

Ryan Cussick fought very hard but just missed the medals.

This was the first championship for all the students except Quaid, so they all performed very well to achieve this standard and are a credit to the club. If you would like to come along to the club and try Judo on Friday nights 6.00-7.00 please contact Glenda Chapman on 07876342439 for more information.

New pharmacy services on your doorstep

Willow Tree Pharmacy has now been open since the beginning of May and has gone from strength to strength and in addition to free BP monitoring, a weight loss programme, free medicine reviews, dossette boxes, free delivery and supervised medication consumption, Willow Tree Pharmacy is now offering a free Minor Ailments Scheme together with Bristol PCT. If you live in Bristol and are suffering from any of the conditions listed below you can have a free consultation with a trained member of the team and be provided with information (if appropriate treatment), free of charge and without the need to see your GP (certain criteria apply to each condition). As long as you live in Bristol this service is open to you, even if you are not a patient at Willow Tree Surgery.

* Head lice

* Hay fever

* Athletes Foot

* Haemorrhoids

* Vaginal thrush

* Threadworms

* Cold sores

* Diarrhoea

We also offer free delivery to all patients, a collection service from Bradgate Surgery and medication in dossette boxes delivered to your door. Willow Tree Pharmacy is independent and we take pride in offering excellent customer service so give us a try and see if we meet our goal of “exceptional patient care’. You can find us in Willow Tree Surgery, 1 Trevelyan Walk, Henbury.

If you would like Willow Tree Pharmacy to pick up and deliver your prescriptions or have your dossette box made up then please contact us at Willow Tree Pharmacy (0117) 9508975 or visit the website www.willowtreepharmacy.co.uk

An apple a day - art and health

w is the wonderful season of the apple harvest. Apples really could keep the doctor away- rich in vitamin C, minerals, and fibre, and their sweetness is a good source of slow-release energy.

Traditionally they were carefully stored over winter, as this poem by John Drinkwater ( 1882-1937) reflects:

At the top of the house the apples are laid in rows,

And the skylight lets the moonlight in, and those

Apples are deep-sea apples of green. There goes

A cloud on the moon in the autumn night.

A mouse in the wainscot scratches, and scratches, and then

There is no sound at the top of the house of men

Or mice; and the cloud is blown, and the moon again

Dapples the apples with deep-sea light.

They are lying in rows there, under the gloomy beams;

On the sagging floor; they gather the silver streams

Out of the moon, those moonlit apples of dreams,

And quiet is the steep stair under.

In the corridors under there is nothing but sleep.

And stiller than ever on orchard boughs they keep

Tryst with the moon, and deep is the silence, deep

On moon-washed apples of wonder.

This is one of the poems included in this Autumn’s “Poems in the Waiting Room” pamphlet, which patients at the surgery can read and are welcome to take home. Poetry can help to reduce the anxiety of a visit to the doctor, and help people to understand and express their feelings about stressful life events such as bereavement and illness. There is a lot of evidence that creative activity of many sorts can promote well-being; we also have the Willow Tree Art Group, which meets at the surgery and is linked to the Community Art Group at Henbury School, which takes place on Mondays 4-6 pm, which is free and open to all.

Cooking is also a creative activity, so here is a recipe which can be adapted to any fruit according to season

Apple Cake

125g butter or margarine

1 cup dark brown sugar-molasses sugar is lovely

1^1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon. baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1^1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

2 apples-chopped, or 1 cup other fruit- berries, plums, gooseberries…

grated zest 1 lemon or orange

Melt butter and sugar.

Add fruit, spice, and zest allow to cool slightly.

Add beaten egg

Stir in flour and raising agents.

Bake in 7-8 inch loose bottom tin for about 45 min at 180C/350F/gas mark 4- a bit longer for softer fruit.

Dr Marion Steiner

Willow Tree Surgery