Beckley & Area Community Benefit society Limited (BACBS)

BACBS aNNUAL MEMBERS’ MEETING

This is a final reminder that the Annual Members’ Meeting of the Beckley & Area Community Benefit Society Ltd will be held by Zoom next Wednesday, 11th November, from 7.30pm. The agenda includes a report on the election of new members to the BACBS Management Committee and an open forum for Q&As.

Members received a formal invitation with access details on 27th October. If you have any questions about attendance, or you want to raise a subject for discussion in the open forum, please contact info@bacbs.org

ZOOM Meeting details reminder

To join the Zoom meeting, click on the following link: https://zoom.us/j/91822047887?pwd=T2pwMjdBR3o2d013WXB4a0dpS1VyZz09

Or, if you have installed the Zoom app, enter the following Meeting ID: 918 2204 7887

You will be prompted for a passcode for the meeting which is: 233014

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tHE aBINGDON aRMS

It is highly regrettable that, so soon after building up business following the first Covid-19 lockdown, The Abingdon Arms is temporarily closed again. But Alex, Suzy and Vicky have switched swiftly to offering takeaway meals and drinks, and their expanded pub shop and deli remains open for the community. The good news for beer drinkers is that cask ales will be available to take away too.

Please note that Government regulations require that takeaway alcoholic drinks must be ordered in advance and collected from outside the pub. Suzy has created an outdoor one-way system to collect takeaway drinks, meals and shop items from a window. Although outside, please safeguard Suzy’s health by wearing a mask.

Alex has requested that takeaway meals are also ordered in advance, at least one day (preferably two) in advance for Sunday lunches. Environmentally friendly takeaway boxes have been ordered, but a number of the less eco plastic boxes (which were all Alex could source at the time of the first lockdown) will be used up first. Orders, with card payments, to 01865 655667.

Opening days, times and menus for shop/deli, takeaway meals and drinks are as follows – these may change so please do check the pub’s website at https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/coronavirus-menu-and-opening-times

• Mondays & Tuesdays: closed

• Wednesdays & Thursdays: deli shop and takeaway drinks - 12 noon to 8pm; takeaway meals - 5 to 8pm (a la carte menu only)

• Fridays: deli shop, takeaway drinks, takeaway meals - 12 noon to 8pm (a la carte menu and pizzas)

• Saturdays: deli shop, takeaway drinks, takeaway meals - 12 noon to 8pm (pizzas only)

• Sundays: deli shop, takeaway drinks – 11pm to 4pm; takeaway meals - 12 noon to 4pm (a la carte menu and Sunday roasts only). Closed Sunday evenings.

During this lockdown, some of the pub’s staff will be furloughed again. This means that Suzy and Alex will be working with limited support, so please be patient and tolerant! Let’s all support Suzy, Alex and Vicky during this new lockdown, for they are working very hard to support our community.

Should the government relax the restrictions, then Suzy and team have good things in store for Christmas. Do look at their Christmas offerings https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/christmas-2020

Those who consult CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide will find that the 2021 edition does not include The Abingdon Arms. This is not because Suzy’s ales are inferior, far from it, but CAMRA does not list any pub where there has been a change of tenant within the last 6 months – which was the case when this edition went to press. Suzy has demonstrated great commitment to real ales from small local breweries, and keeps them very well. With our support – and continued consumption – there is every chance The Abingdon Arms will be listed again in the future.

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BACBS Good Neighbour Scheme and Covid-19 Community Support Group

The BACBS Good Neighbour Scheme (GNS) and local Covid-19 community support group will continue to offer support to residents of Beckley, Elsfield, Stanton St John and Forest Hill during this new lockdown, especially for people who are self-isolating or in quarantine, and for more vulnerable residents taking greater precautions. For these and people who do not have their own transport, GNS lifts can be arranged to local surgeries for booked face to face appointments, and prescriptions can be collected; essential groceries can be collected from the Stanton St John and Islip village shops; and, of course, we can deliver take-aways from The Abingdon Arms. Fair notice must be given though if you require a lift or delivery. Please arrange the delivery in advance of ordering takeaways from the pub, and notify Suzy of the arrangement.

To meet essential requirements when providing lifts, GNS drivers will wear a mask and car windows will be opened; and, unless there are medical reasons not to, passengers must wear masks too. Obviously, we would ask people not to request lifts if they are experiencing Covid symptoms.

To request a lift either ring 07514 791910 (if there is no reply, please leave a message with your number and one of the drivers will call you back), or email BACBSgoodneighbour@gmail.com. Passengers are asked to pay a mileage charge (45p per mile, rounded to nearest 50p) to cover fuel expenses.

Residents of Horton cum Studley, Noke, Woodeaton and Islip have access to their local GNS schemes.

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Even More than a Pub Programme

Please see BACBS website at https://bacbs.org/events

Talks and poetry: The BACBS ‘even More than a Pub’ programme was initiated to provide entertainment and stimulation during the first lockdown, has proved very popular, and continues now. The sessions scheduled for November, December and January are as follows:

Sunday 8th November, 6.30-7.30pm: Owen Barfield of Bee and Church Cottage: the first and last Inkling – the speaker is Owen Barfield, grandson of the first Owen Barfield who lived in Bee and Church Cottage (Church Street, Beckley) for a time in the 1920s. Barfield was a founder of the Inklings, the literary group associated with CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. A noted philosopher, his daughter Lucy gave her name to the heroine of Lewis’s Narnia books. Today’s Owen Barfield will explain some of his grandfather’s thinking and why he had such an influence on his fellow Inklings.

Sunday 13th December, 6.30-7.30pm: The Secret World of Codes and Ciphers - Roger Heath-Brown FRS, Emeritus Fellow of both Worcester and Magdalen Colleges, and Professor of Pure Mathematics at Oxford University until his retirement in 2016. His research interests centre on the study of prime numbers. Roger’s talk will look at the history of codes from ancient times to the internet age. It will be accessible to all, and will involve audience participation. Roger lives in Garsington.

Sunday 10th January, 6.30-8.00 pm: A Dorset Year: the poetry and prose of William Barnes and Thomas Hardy - presented by The William Barnes Society, the Thomas Hardy Society and local contributors, this session will feature some of Barnes’ dialect poems, with explanatory text, and poems set to music, eg the well known Linden Lea.

Beckley community lunches: The monthly Women of Beckley and Men of Beckley lunch, organised by Sarah Smith and Steve Smith, will return to Zoom meetings as before on the first Tuesday and the first Wednesday of each month respectively. If you would like to attend please contact Sarah on beckleysarah@gmail.com or Steve on barkbeetles@gmail.com.

Local walk routes: Lockdown regulations allow household groups, or two individuals from separate households adhering to physical distancing rules, to take outdoor exercise. What better than an autumn walk! There are many lovely walks in our area, some from our door-steps. The BACBS booklet of walks in the Beckley and surrounding area combines outline route maps, walk notes and points of interest. Both the booklet, and our companion folding, laminated map of the area are on sale at The Abingdon Arms and at the Stanton St John, Field View Farm and Islip shops.

Community engagement: BACBS has created a welcome pack for new residents moving into Beckley, which provides information about the village and area, essential services and amenities – including, of course, our community pub The Abingdon Arms and the BACBS supported activities. This can be viewed at https://www.beckley-and-stowood-pc.gov.uk/?q=information. Please do let us know of people moving into the village by contacting info@bacbs.org

We would like to offer a similar pack to the other villages in our area, so please do contact John Stradling through the above email address if you can help ‘translate’ the pack for your village.

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BACBS and your community

BACBS is keen to support our community, and welcomes ideas and suggestions for other services which might be of value to local residents, particularly those which (in less constrained times than lockdown!) promote social inclusion. Although our villages are friendly and welcoming, there are neighbours who are isolated and lonely, people who would welcome more social contact and activity, and people who need practical help. Volunteering is a great way to get to know and be involved in the community, and of course we are always looking for new volunteers to help with our activities. Please join us – there has never been a more important time to get involved in your community!

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