News and Information about Ilton

5/2 Ilton Talking May 2005

Merryfield Pre-School at Ilton

St Mary & St Peter's CE VC First School

ILTON CRICKET CLUB BEGINS A NEW ERA

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT ST PETERS CRURCH

Welcome to the latest issue of Ilton Talking.
If you have any information you would like to share with the rest of the Parish such as events or fundraising activities, please pass it to me and I will include it in the next issue. You can send it by e-mail- david@johnamor.freeserve.co.uk, or by telephone-53382. Back to top

Village Plan Draw

A big thank you to all the households who took the trouble to complete and return their Parish Plan Questionnaire. We had a 70% response. We are in the process of collating all the information and putting together an action plan which will hopefully resolve most if not all of the issues which you felt were important.

As a small token of our appreciation of your efforts, a draw of the returned tickets (from the back of the questionnaire) took place during the May Car Boot Sale in the village hall and the winning numbers are:-

213, 86, 82, 116, 269, 2, 345, 297,54 and 137.

To claim your prize, please contact Anita Chew on 54471, your copy of the ticket will be needed to collect the prize.

All prizes must be claimed by the 10th June 2005. Back to top

Coffee Pot

Do please come along to the Memorial Hall for tea, coffee and biscuits
and a friendly chat with old and new friends on alternate Tuesdays.
For more information please contact Mrs Blasdale on 53907. Back to top

Merryfield Pre-School at Ilton

We are a small but friendly group registered with Ofsted, which means we now accept the Government funded vouchers. We are also running five sessions per week Monday to Friday from 9.15am until 1.15pm.
Your child will grow and learn through various stimulating activities and play with us.

Merryfield pre-school is situated on the school base at Ilton in Copse Lane.
For further information please contact the supervisor Anita Cox on 54624. Back to top

Village Car Boot Sale

Our thanks to everyone who has supported our previous efforts to hold a car boot sale.
To make the venue really successful (and a lot more interesting) it would be fantastic if more of you would consider having a stall and if everybody supported the event. You may even find yourself a bargain.
The next car boot sale will be held on Sunday 3rd July at the Village Hall and Car Park. To book a pitch, please contact Anita on 54471 or Primrose on 54006.
Thank you. Back to top

St Peters Church

Summer Fete
Our Annual Fete will be held on Saturday 5th June from 2.30pm-4.30pm.
If you would like to help, please contact Ron Artingstall on 54195 or Chris Lock on 53142. Any help and new ideas will be most welcome.
There will be the usual stalls and we shall be asking later on for contributions of Good Books, Gifts, Toiletries, Cakes (on the day), Plants, Bric-a-Brac, Tins & Bottles, Toys, Hankies and Draw prizes. Back to top

Parish Council

The Parish Council meets every month. An opportunity is usually made available for Parishioners questions between 7.30pm and 8.00pm. This is to enable members of the community to raise any issues that may concern them and to see if the council can help in any way. The clerk to the council is Mr Micheal King who can be contacted on 01460-281909. See notice board for dates of meetings.Councillors are- Mr. P Lonton - Chair, Mr.D.Amor, - V/Chair, Mr. R Lock, Mr. R.Miller, Mr.N Dewbury, Mrs.A.Chew, Mr C Carden,Mr.I.Sherwood,Mrs A Bulgin. Back to top

Ilton Youth Club

We meet every Monday evening during term time from 7-9pm in the Village Hall. We have pool, table football, table tennis and our new air hockey table as well as craft activities and a tuck shop. As the weather improves we shall try to get outside as much as possible for rounders and kwik cricket(thanks to the Cricket Club for use of their field). We also try to organise trips and karaoke nights.
If you are 8 years or over come along and join in the fun. It costs just £1.50 per child and your first night is free. We are always keen for parents to come and help. So if you have a couple of hours free on a Monday night and fancy being creative or playing kwik cricket (great for keeping fit!), then give one of us a ring. It doesn't have to be every week. Our numbers are below. June 01460 55845
Kim 01460 55562
We look forward to seeing you! Back to top

Whist Drives

Whist Drives are held in the Memorial Hall every fortnight.
If you would like to Come along and join in please contact Primrose Carter on 54006.
All proceeds are for the Village Hall.
We look forward to seeing you there. Back to top

Village Hall News

As I have said in a previous newsletter, the Hall committee would be fairly quiet for a short time—Except in our continued fundraising—and until the next newsletter we are still staying quiet!! I would just like to reassure you all that we are still working very hard on Ilton's behalf to get us a new hall. I am aware that there are constant rumors and speculations, but please know that everything we do is in the halls best interest. (Believe me, being a trustee of a registered charity, working voluntarily is no easy thing!). As I've said, we'll report fully in the next newsletter so until then thank you for your continued support. Back to top

St Mary & St Peter's CE VC First School

We will sadly be saying goodbye to Miss Marshall, for a short time,
on May 27th when she leaves to have her baby. We wish her lots of good luck and many happy times with her "new little person". During her absence her place will be taken by Miss Christina Whipp who has worked in class 2 at Ilton quite often and is known by the children. We welcome Miss Whipp and hope that she will be very happy at our school.
Year 4 children, who will be leaving school this year, visited Wells Cathedral on March 10th for a day of workshops and worship.

The CASS football tournament will be held at Merriott on Thursday 28th April at 3:45pm and the unihoc tournament will be on Tuesday 21st June also at Merriott at 3:45pm. We hope that lots of people will come along to cheer on the teams.

Sports day will be on Tuesday 14th June on the Ilton Base at 1:30pm. Everyone is very welcome to attend.

There will be a summer fair and barbecue at Ilton base on Saturday July 9th.Please support these activities which take a great deal of time to organise.

We break up for summer half term on Friday May 27th and reopen on Tuesday June 7th. Back to top

Footpaths

There are a number of very pleasant walks around the village on public footpaths. Most of these are marked with posts. They are walked regularly to check if they are accessible and all the gates are in good order. A map showing the footpaths and rights of way around Ilton is available from Mr C.Carden on 52582. Should you find any problems with any of the footpaths, please contact Mr Carden. Back to top

BROOK GREEN COMMON

As many of you are aware, Brook Green Common is a parcel of land at the very far end of Rod Lane. It is in the process of undergoing a transformation from being "Ilton Tip" or "Ilton Dump" into a community woodland area with the assistance of grants.

To make access by foot easier (from Rod Lane) the existing stile is going to be replaced with a special gate which will be suitable for people pushing pushchairs, walking dogs or just out for a stroll. It is also possible to get there by road, by turning left just before Old Way Gate on the Cad Green Road, there is parking for about four or five cars.

Earlier this spring, the Parish Council instructed a company called "Silvanus" to proceed with a planting scheme of over 1400 trees and shrubs. The planting was done at the maximum spacing allowed under the Forestry Commission guidelines to still remain eligible for their grant, and as the trees mature you will notice that at least 95% are native species to the U.K. The whole area has just been sprayed with weed killer (around the base of each plant) so please try to ensure that your pets do not eat the affected weeds/grass.
An additional and not inconsequential benefit is that the tree planting at Brook Green Common will help to reduce the water table locally which will also have a positive benefit on flooding. With the additional planting that we will hopefully introduce into the hedgerows and verges around the village, maybe flooding will not be a thing of the past, it just may not happen as often!!

The plans in the pipeline are to create a wildlife pond, which the local school children can use to help them study nature. The pond will probably not be lined and so should not be a hazard during the summer months if children go down there to play. We hope to put low-level seating near the pond, which will help to delineate the area.

We also intend to install nesting and hibernation boxes for the birds and the bugs: this will hopefully over time increase the diversity of wildlife in the area.

There is also to be a proper picnic area with benches, tables and bins, and the pathways will eventually be marked out with wooden strips and bark chippings so that you are not walking through a quagmire in the winter.

Finally, or perhaps initially, as we will have to do it quite soon, there will be an information board detailing the project, the wildlife and groups that we have received support from.
We hope that the development of Brook Green Common will give you an increased sense of pride and pleasure in the village in which we all live. The additional bonus is that the investment is coming from grants which are only available for this type of project. Our thanks must go to Ben Thorne from the Taunton office of F.W.A.G. (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group) without whose help the project would never have got off the ground.

The grants that we have received thus far are as follows:-

£ 570.00 F. W.A.G.
£ 200.00 Countryside Management, District Council (Clare Freeman)
£2063.00 Forestry Commission (further instalment due)

Other grants applied for: - Wessex Watermark and the Wyven Trust.

Should you wish to assist with your time, perhaps "adopt" a tree or maybe plant a tree, please feel free to contact Anita Chew through the Parish Council or on 01460 54471. Back to top

RNAS YEOVILTON

Merryfield Open Evening - 22 June 2005. (6 - 9pm) Same format as 2004, the airfield open to all to look around static helicopters and equipment, meet personnel, watch some flying demonstrations, and learn more about what we do. Back to top

ILTON CRICKET CLUB BEGINS A NEW ERA

For those residents who may have journeyed to the Child's Clark ground recently, they will have noticed some dramatic changes. With a budget of £5,000 hard earned club money, Ilton Cricket club staged its very own - extremely successful -'CRICKET FORCE' weekend on the 2nd & 3rd April. Improvements achieved by a large Voluntary workforce include:

 New Outdoor cricket nets.
 Three Purpose-built wheeled cricket pitch covers.
 New 'Double' boundary boards circulating around 2/3 of the ground.
 New 40m replacement 'Cow Field' fence.
 Re-tiled & re-decorated Female & Male toilets, and
 Re-decorated Changing rooms.
 Completion of the Mower stores, and a large extensive tidy up of the
whole ground.

With the new cricket season approaching fast; The Saturday 1st ~ (runners-up in the league last year), will be gunning for the League Title & Promotion this time around. They have made some important new signings, including the addition of an Australian wicketkeeper batsman, and the return of Mohammed 'Raj' Shafique. The Successful Ilton 1" XI cup team, will be looking to retain the 'Minor Cup' - won at Somerset CC County ground (at Taunton) last year - and also progress further than the (Area final) in the 'National Village Cup competition' this year, (The grand final is held at Lords, London). The Saturday 2nd ~ League Champions in 2004 - will be seeking a second successive promotion, and the Ilton's Sunday XI (made up of mostly young cricketers) are back in the top flight again, hoping to do well. Ilton's Wednesday Evening League boys
(league winners & cup runners up in 2004) will be looking to do one better this year, and win the 'double' they narrowly missed out on last year.

Ilton Cricket Club Coach, Ricky Selway, held a very successful youth coaching week at Ilton cc on the 4th – 7th April, and will continue to coach youngsters during the summer, if there are any children age 9-16 interested in learning to play cricket, please contact Ricky on: 07929527190.

A special thank you to all the people who helped out on the Cricket force weekend.

For those villagers who enjoy watching competitive club cricket, with a beer and (hopefully) in the sunshine! Here are the Home May fixtures, so you can come and support your local club:

May 28th 1st XI vs Whitchurch

June 4th 1st XI vs Staplegrove.
June 11th 2nd XI vs Glastonbury A
June 18th 1st XI vs Wellington.
June 25th 2nd XI vs Bishops Lydeard.

July 2nd 2nd XI vs Wincanton.
July 3rd Sun XI vs Montecute.
July 9th 1st XI vs Evercreech.
July 10th Sun XI vs White Horse.
July 16th 2nd XI vs Long Sutton.
July 23rd 1st XI vs Peasedown St John.
July 24th Sun XI vs Long Sutton.
July 30th 2nd XI vs Chard A.
July 31st Sun XI vs Queen Camel.

Wednesday Evening league
June 1st vs South Petherton.
June 22nd vs Barrington.
June 29th vs Three c's
July 6th vs Kings Head.

Saturday matches start at 1:45pm, Sundays at 2:00pm, Wednesday evening league at 6:30pm.
We hope to see you there!

For more Ilton cc info, see the notice board in the clubhouse. Back to top

Ilton Village Day Activities

(Due to circumstances forced upon us, the Village hall committee have re-arranged our "fete" day and the following are the activities that will now take place)

Saturday June 25th
10am----10pm!

10:00am---New! Iltons first duck race. From Cad Bridge to Frost Lane Ford. Ducks will be sold door to door and the first past the winning line will receive £25.

11:00am to 4:00pm : All these activities will be taking place around the Village Green and Village Hall, Miss Ilton will be crowned at 11:00am, then come along and join in the fun until 4:00pm! We have the usual stalls, tombola, refreshments, raffle, delicious home made cakes, books and bric a brac. Plus we have a giant outdoor slide, bouncy castle, hit the hammer, pony rides, face painting and tattoos for the children. Plus we have some NEW giant outdoor games for everyone to play, our own buy a kitchen stall!!, visiting charity stalls and NEW, a flower festival depicting village life on display in the church. So we hope there's something for everyone and look forward to seeing you there.

7:30pm---New! A50/50 Auction with an aution of promises will take place in the village hall followed by a skittles evening in the Wyndham Arms.

We will be collecting for this event from the 13th June onwards,(to cover the whole village) and one person will be calling once for any contributions you might have, buy a duck, anything you might have for the50/50 auction etc. So you are not bombarded with lots of committee members during that fortnight. If you would like to contribute anything before this day, please contact Jacqueline (54164) or June (55845) and we will arrange collection. Thank you. Back to top

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT ST PETERS CRURCH

We are holding a flower festival starting on Saturday 25th June. All proceeds will be divided equally between the church and Ilton village hall The church will be open from l0:00am on Sat and Sun (please check service times) and 10:000am to Noon then 2:00pm to 4:00pm Mon - Thurs approx for tea/coffee. (To confirm times contact Primrose on 54006 or Ann on 55208). We are looking for sponsorship so if you are interested in dedicating a window to someone or to your business please contact Primrose 54006. If anyone would like to help in anyway we would be very grateful-you don't have to be an expert flower arranger there are lots of other things you can do so come and enjoy the fun! If you would like to help please contact Primrose 54006, Hilary Miller 53531,Chris Lock 53142 or Angie at Cottage Flowers on 53020. We are also looking for people with gardens that could donate some greenery. Back to top

Ilton Mothers and Toddlers

Tuesdays at 2.00pm until 3.00pm, Thursdays at 1.30pm until 3.00pm.
We meet at Merryfield Pre-School which is situated on the school base in Copse Lane.
Come and join us for a coffee and a chat while the children enjoy playing with the numerous toys and games or arts and crafts. For further information contact Sharon on 54723 or Anita on 54624. Back to top

Neighbourhood Watch

Whistles
As you may have seen or read, Ilton has become the whistling blowing community.
During the coming weeks every household within the neighbourhood watch scheme will be given a whistle. If the scheme is successful it will be extended to every home in the Parish.
The instructions for the whistle are as follows.

1. When you see or hear anything suspicious look out of your window.
2. If a crime is about to be committed or is in the progress.
3. Dial 999 if you are able.
4. Get a description.
5. Blow your whistle out of the window as many times as you can.
6. If you hear a whistle, look out of your window and blow your whistle.
7. Take note of everything that you see.
8. Hopefully the crime will be stopped and the criminals will move on.

Please do not let the children of the village blow the whistles, they are there for a purpose to stop thieves and vandals from visiting our village.

Several councils and the media are watching us to see if it works.

Watch this Space
Hopefully within the next month we will be having a Post Code marking event.
Any bicycles, Garden Equipment or Tools can be marked with an Ultra Violet Pen. Pens will also be given out to mark items yourself in your home. Hopefully this will take place in the evening.

Vandalism
The Telephone box by the Post Office Was vandalised this weekend (14th May) to the extent that the phone is out of order. BT have been made aware and hopefully it will be repaired very soon. Hopefully those responsible are not in need of the emergency services while it is out of action!!!!!
If anyone witnessed anything then please contact "Crimestoppers" or inform your local Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. Back to top