In the not too distant past the Beedon Community Ramblings stood down in favour of the 3 Pillars. This new community newsletter was supposed to replace the sometimes anarchic ramblings which the then council decided should not be in the control of a single part of the community.
The Pillars was created and the Ramblings became destined for electronic and sporadic publication only.
However, recently (and to be honest for most of its publication) the Pillars has been in the control of a small part of the community and the greater public find it a little tedious.
Gone is the famous “What’s On” which provided a single point of reference for all of those things happening in the benefice and which villagers used to be able to cut out and place on a notice board.
Gone are the villager contributions which enabled the Ramblings to swell from a six page newsletter to a 40 page magazine for the village.
We no longer get stories of Beedon “back in the day” or random stories and poems but instead the newsletter for the whole village is distributed by the few to exclude those who stood up against the few.
Luckily, copies are always available in the Coach but the last magazine published in January 2014 was actually a little less than scintillating and it would appear that the editorial team have run out of ideas.
The Village Hall Renovation Fund
When the writer was last on the council, our present Councillor Bryce Stafford complained about the inaction concerning setting a budget for spending the hard earned cash. He, and his good lady wife, felt that having come up with the fund raising task (!?!) then we (the council) should at least start thinking about how to spend the money. There were some comments regarding the cost of a plan which at that time was only £750.00 before proceeding to actual firm costs for doing the work required.
It is some two years later and we do not have any refurbishments in hand. Instead the council authorised a much larger expenditure for the initial plan, have advanced some of the fund for a detailed architectural plan and are planning to spend £15,000 getting nowhere.
The village hall is a simple structure requiring simple renovations. The parish council have called for a budget of £130,000 to renovate (not rebuild) a hall which is a ludicrous sum of money.
They have not received any objections because, when asked, villagers are not connecting with this asinine group and in the words of one “why bother because they do not listen anyway”.
However, at least we have new dog waste bins which have only taken 3 years to organise.
Financial Statements
The council decided to leave the village hall fundraising to a separate committee and receive a treasurer’s report from this group. At the time of writing I have not seen, and neither have any of the villagers I have spoken to, a detailed report regarding how much cash was collected, how much cash has been obtained via the Greenham Trust and how much has been spent.
In other words, a simple annual statement of affairs. The writer was chastised for being unable to account for £24.00 and paid that money personally to the village. The village hall fund has £15,000 or more and has spent £15,000 or more. Where are the accounts which should be published in the Pillars or the council minutes?
I am sure that the council have this in hand. After all this is village money collected by the village for the village.
The Beedon Website – the place for up to the minute information
Or in our case a website that has not been updated since 2012. In that time I have created three websites because it is not difficult. Councillor Bryce Stafford has briefly mentioned spending some money on getting the website up and running again. If it was updated soon then I would not have to keep referring people to Councillor Price for information and to book the village hall.
How to change things?
The council will have been in place for 3 years at the close of business in 2014. This council contains a group of volunteers who have not received a mandate from the village. Instead the present incumbents co-opt villagers to the council and this allows the status quo to continue. The only way that an election can be forced is if we, the village, stand up and allow our names to be placed in the hat. This would then allow the present Chair to retire after so many years, and bring some new blood and new ideas into the running of the village. Maybe then, the rest of the parish would show some interest in the way that our money is spent. Let’s face it could not be any worse.
The Parish Plan
Do you remember the Parish Plan? Ann Bell worked really hard to gain input from the village concerning a list of priority actions. There was a list of 18 action points which were adopted by the council. I have just read the plan and cannot find a single one that I can confidently say has been done. I know things take time but 3 years later we should be able to see something.
Business in the village
For those that are not aware Julie Betts and Beverley Childs now run a successful fabric studio at Langley Business Park. Called JuBerry Designs & Fabrics it is serving a large internet based clientele as well as local patchwork and quilters. You may think “so what” but that is because you do not realise how far some ladies will travel for good quality fabric. And once they have spent their hard earned cash they need a coffee or some lunch and off they go to our local pubs. More cash for the village businesses.
Sue Blackman is making and selling her wares at craft fares as is Miranda and so it goes on. Beedon used to be a thriving community with multiple trades working in and for the village. We have electricians, plumbers, bathroom fitters and general builders all on our doorstep which together with the crafts provide a host of Beedon trades.
Pictures of Beedon – just a few to show our village past and present.
This final picture is in response to David, our councillor who commented on the origial text. I did not even know that Man Date existed. You learn something new in this village every week.
Community Ramblings 
The next Parish Council Meeting takes place on the 12th March….as a member of the asinine group I would encourage villagers to attend and voice their concerns and views.The minutes of a meeting will not always give a clear picture of the discussions and a presence of villagers would always be more beneficial to the democratic process.If someone could provide me with a Mandate I would be most grateful as it was always my favoured aftershave.
Thank you for your input David. Hopefully this will also encourage others to join in. Generating interest in village affairs is a difficult thing to do. I always said that I was “elected” on a wave of apathy.