NEWS IN BRIEF
++Stroud area named by Sunday Times as third-best place to live in England - Cheltenham No2. More detail at this link++
++George Stores reopening plan off. Post Office to close Feb 28 2025. More detail at this link++
++John Hughes of the Bisley-with-Lypiatt Twinning Association has been in touch about May's trip to Brittany. More detail; at this link++
++Stroud area named by Sunday Times as third-best place to live in England - Cheltenham No2. More detail at this link++
++George Stores reopening plan off. Post Office to close Feb 28 2025. More detail at this link++
++John Hughes of the Bisley-with-Lypiatt Twinning Association has been in touch about May's trip to Brittany. More detail; at this link++
BISLEY BONFIRE NIGHT 2025
- LIVE MUSIC FUNDRAISER!
Bisley's annual Guy Fawkes night bonfire and fireworks party is coming back this year!
Thanks to the Parish Council (particularly Graeme Baldwin, who has been involved on their side) for agreeing the use of the King George V Playing Field. There are various conditions as to things like noise, litter, and toilet facilities by which we are happy to abide.
More details about the date shortly.
We will be looking for volunteers to help both in the run-up to the event and on the weekend itself; many people have already offered their services, and we'll be in touch in due course!
It's brilliant to be bringing back one of the great Bisley events, after a hiatus of several years, and the hope is that it will also be a good fundraiser for village organisations. Any profits will be split four ways between the Flower Show, All Souls Church, the Bisley Blue Coat School PTA, and the Village Hall.
It's a very expensive and time-consuming event to run - insurance and fireworks alone will cost more than £3,000.
To that end we will be running various fundraisers in the village throughout the year.
The first is a pub quiz at The Bear this Sunday.
The second is live music at the village hall on March 22, featuring The Chequered Souls, a well-known south-west band who play a range of covers from the 1960s to the present day - expect to hear Amy Winehouse's Valerie and Duffy's Mercy, alongside The Supremes You Can't Hurry Love and The Velvelettes' Needle in a Haystack.
There will, of course, be a licensed bar.
Tickets are available now from this link.
Thanks to the Parish Council (particularly Graeme Baldwin, who has been involved on their side) for agreeing the use of the King George V Playing Field. There are various conditions as to things like noise, litter, and toilet facilities by which we are happy to abide.
More details about the date shortly.
We will be looking for volunteers to help both in the run-up to the event and on the weekend itself; many people have already offered their services, and we'll be in touch in due course!
It's brilliant to be bringing back one of the great Bisley events, after a hiatus of several years, and the hope is that it will also be a good fundraiser for village organisations. Any profits will be split four ways between the Flower Show, All Souls Church, the Bisley Blue Coat School PTA, and the Village Hall.
It's a very expensive and time-consuming event to run - insurance and fireworks alone will cost more than £3,000.
To that end we will be running various fundraisers in the village throughout the year.
The first is a pub quiz at The Bear this Sunday.
The second is live music at the village hall on March 22, featuring The Chequered Souls, a well-known south-west band who play a range of covers from the 1960s to the present day - expect to hear Amy Winehouse's Valerie and Duffy's Mercy, alongside The Supremes You Can't Hurry Love and The Velvelettes' Needle in a Haystack.
There will, of course, be a licensed bar.
Tickets are available now from this link.
CALLING ALL FUTURE BEAVERS OR CUBS
NEXT BEAR INN PUB QUIZ
- SUN FEB 9
January's Bear Inn pub quiz raised £74 for the Bisley W.I.
The next Bear quiz is on Sunday, February 9.
Currently, proceeds will go to the 2025 Bonfire Night party; we're very hopeful that the parish council will agree the use of the site, given that it was used for many years. If permission is refused we'll look at our options.
The next Bear quiz is on Sunday, February 9.
Currently, proceeds will go to the 2025 Bonfire Night party; we're very hopeful that the parish council will agree the use of the site, given that it was used for many years. If permission is refused we'll look at our options.
MARLING MUSIC AND DRAMA
@ BISLEY WI - THU FEB 13
PTA QUIZ,VILLAGE HALL
- SAT MAR 1
Confirming Bisley's reputation as the UK's quizzingest village, the PTA is holding a grand quiz at the village hall on Saturday March 1 to raise much-needed funds.
Teams of up to six, £25 per team, 7.30pm for an 8pm start, with free veggie chilli nachos thrown in.
Bar and raffle, and both cash and cards can be used.
Teams of up to six, £25 per team, 7.30pm for an 8pm start, with free veggie chilli nachos thrown in.
Bar and raffle, and both cash and cards can be used.
FLICKS IN THE STICKS
- TUE MAR 11
There's no February Flicks in the Sticks because of the Panto.
March's showing is of Thelma, a comedy-drama about a 93-ye11ar-old woman who falls victim to a phone scammer - and then (surprise!) turns the tables on him.
There are no really big-name stars, but it got good reviews on its release last year - on Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 191 critics' reviews are positive.
Tea, coffee, and wine are available.
When: 7pm for a 7.30pm start, Tuesday March 11
Where: Village hall
How much: suggested £4 donation
March's showing is of Thelma, a comedy-drama about a 93-ye11ar-old woman who falls victim to a phone scammer - and then (surprise!) turns the tables on him.
There are no really big-name stars, but it got good reviews on its release last year - on Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 191 critics' reviews are positive.
Tea, coffee, and wine are available.
When: 7pm for a 7.30pm start, Tuesday March 11
Where: Village hall
How much: suggested £4 donation
BISLEY MARKET
- SAT MAR 23
THE LATEST EDITION
OF THE BISLEY NEWS...
...can be read at this link or by clicking on the MAGAZINE tab above..
PANTO TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
MUMMERS UPDATE
The Mummers duly played Slad, Oakridge, The Bear and then The Stirrup Cup on Sunday December 15, with THE ODDFATHER, their tale of Bisley's brave battle against the notorious Oakridge mafia gang The Simplanos.
The Butchers Arms was probably our best show, actually - the Oakridge locals really got into it and gave as good as they got, which made for a lot of fun.
I don't think our enraged, and possibly mildly unhinged, correspondent (scroll to the bottom) was there; if s/he was, s/he didn't say hello.
We raised £476.76 for Longfields and Acorns Hospices.
Thanks in alphabetical order to: Amber, Dan, Dave, Dean, Doug, Jake, Lucca, Neil, Rob, Sam, and Toni.
Special mentions for Mark, our musical director and squeezebox maestro, and for Dean, who only moved to the village from Ireland last year and pitched straight in.
There is some discussion of staging a Summer Mummers, and the script for next Christmas has already started percolating under the working title THE OAKRIDGE SCROOGE: HOW BISLEY SAVED CHRISTMAS.
Thanks in particular to Dave Partridge for driving the whole thing; to Julian Partridge at The Stirrup Cup for allowing us to ‘rehearse' there in the weeks beforehand, to Bev and Eve for bacon sarnies on the morning, and to them all for hosting our final show; to Henry at The Woolpack, to Ben at The Butchers Arms, and to Stefan and Lou at The Bear for hosting our other ‘performances'; and, finally, to Shane and Ceri Nash for their sterling efforts with the collection buckets.
The Butchers Arms was probably our best show, actually - the Oakridge locals really got into it and gave as good as they got, which made for a lot of fun.
I don't think our enraged, and possibly mildly unhinged, correspondent (scroll to the bottom) was there; if s/he was, s/he didn't say hello.
We raised £476.76 for Longfields and Acorns Hospices.
Thanks in alphabetical order to: Amber, Dan, Dave, Dean, Doug, Jake, Lucca, Neil, Rob, Sam, and Toni.
Special mentions for Mark, our musical director and squeezebox maestro, and for Dean, who only moved to the village from Ireland last year and pitched straight in.
There is some discussion of staging a Summer Mummers, and the script for next Christmas has already started percolating under the working title THE OAKRIDGE SCROOGE: HOW BISLEY SAVED CHRISTMAS.
Thanks in particular to Dave Partridge for driving the whole thing; to Julian Partridge at The Stirrup Cup for allowing us to ‘rehearse' there in the weeks beforehand, to Bev and Eve for bacon sarnies on the morning, and to them all for hosting our final show; to Henry at The Woolpack, to Ben at The Butchers Arms, and to Stefan and Lou at The Bear for hosting our other ‘performances'; and, finally, to Shane and Ceri Nash for their sterling efforts with the collection buckets.
A few of the devilishly handsome and utterly charming Bisley Mummers take stock, after their devastating raid on lowly Oakridge