Aveton Gifford’s W.I ladies decided to meet up this week for an impromptu visit to Otter Garden Centre. The ladies don’t normally meet in August but as the weather was ok and the spirit was willing the intrepid group set off in several cars to meet up at Otter. They enjoyed a look around the plants and ended up having a delicious cream tea in the restaurant. After buying several treats our ladies returned home joyfully refreshed, and reday for this weeks W.I meeting. The meetings take place monthly, and the ladies welcome guests to come and enjoy their company and listen to the speaker of the month. The next meeting will be on October 13th at 7,30pm.
The Parish Council met this week and lots of topics were covered. The shop committee reported that there will be two new members of staff joining soon, a welcome addition for Dinah and co. The storage bin for the road salt for the winter will soon be in place, and willing councilor Peter Javes will be hard at work painting it soon! The Allotment Chair David Guiver reported that the rents are now due for the next season, and an email list of prices was sent to all allotment holders,  and also the exciting news that all plots have now been taken up. The Council now has a new Vice Chair in the form of Sarah Harcus; a re-shuffle was necessary following the unexpected resignation of former Chairman John Brooks. John was thanked by the council for everything he has done for the community, and the new Chairman will be Tim Abrahall. To fill the vacancy, new councilor Sarah Walkup was elected. The Classsic Car show has brought in record receipts of £5,821 – a wonderful effort. The weather was fantastic on the day, and the crowds turned out to see the wonderful old vehicles and generally enjoy themselves. The swimming pool has been very popular this year, and has been in constant use. The pool is still open and is recording balmy temperatures of 23 degrees and more! It is expected to remain open for at least another month, so come on down. Some maintenance work on the pool will be taken on over the winter months, and it will re-open after the winter in early May, two weeks earlier than usual. Traffic calming measures have stopped for the time being, but a Roundel will be put in place during this month displaying the 20 mile an hour speed limit. The important Neighbourhood Plan is still in the making, and the Neighbourhood Planning group will be putting surveys into the Magpie in October. This plan is important to the future development of our community so please read and fill in the survey when it comes to you.