From the Village Hall Committee: Our Fair & Flower Festival will be 22 & 23 June this year - save the date! Also on the evening of Saturday 22 June we are having a Village Party in the Hall, with a live band, food and a bar. Get your dancing shoes ready! Tickets are now available. You can get them from Norton Community Shop or from Kate. Please see this poster and we look forward to seeing you there! 🎸 In order to make the weekend as enjoyable and memorable as possible and hopefully generate much needed income for the Village Hall and Church, I am asking for fresh ideas and practical support from any residents with artistic, creative and entertaining skills. —Sam Lewis E: samlewisforge@gmail.com T: 01935 881925 M: 07724 054624

Norton & Chiselborough Plant Fair & Flower Show: I have offered to help with coordinating people from Chiselborough to make cakes, serve refreshments and help in the kitchen for The Plant Fair on Saturday 27 April 11-3 pm and the Flower Show on Saturday 17 August 2-5pm. If you would like to help at one or both of the above please could you let me know the following: Whether you able to make a cake? Which event(s)you are able to help with? Your contact details; email and ‘phone number. Each shift will be about 1-1:5 hours long and have 6-8 people on at each time. Many thanks in advance for your support. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. —Helen Truman E: helenctruman@gmail.com T: 881737 M: 07592088269

The Benefice Choir: Yes, here we go again! Nearly 40 singers joined the Benefice Choir at Christmas to sing at the carol services at Norton and Chiselborough and we have a splendid opportunity to get together again to sing at a very special service to be held at Odcombe church at 10.30am on Sunday June 30th.  This service will be a service to celebrate the ordination of Rev. Coelette Parkes and is taking place the day after her ordination in Wells Cathedral. The service at Odcombe promises to be a joyful service of celebration and praise and the Benefice Choir will be taking part by singing anthems and leading the hymn-singing. So if you enjoy singing, why not come along and join us. All music is provided and anyone is welcome - even if you would just like to come along to a rehearsal and 'give us a try'! Rehearsals will be as set out below and are from 7.00pm until approx. 8.15pm. (no later) We shall use Norton church as a base for the first 3 rehearsals, with the final rehearsal being at Odcombe church. Friday May 31, Norton Church; Friday June 7 - no rehearsal; Thursday June 13 Norton Church; Friday June 21, Norton Church; Friday June 28th, Odcombe Church. Please could I ask that you let me know asap (preferably no later than early May) if you would like to come along and sing with us or just 'try us out', so that I can get music etc. organised, and have some idea of numbers. Email would be best, or do please leave a phone message and I'll return your call if we are not at home - even if you just would like a chat about the choir. Thank you. Chris Denman E: denmans77@sky.com T: 01460 74696

Chiselborough Common: It has been decided to hold regular working parties on the common on the last Saturday of the month.  To keep interested parties in the picture we are setting up a WhatsApp Group.  If anyone would like to be included could they text me their details to 07815 569815 —Jen

Flooding: There are some useful websites to monitor local flooding - locally on the River Parrett near Chiselborough, and also across Somerset. To read about how to prepare for flooding, with potentially helpful links to other resources, see here.

Somerset’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy: Somerset Council has been appointed and funded by Defra to lead the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Somerset. The LNRS is about creating a blueprint for the recovery of nature across the country. Working with partners we are developing Somerset’s LNRS strategy, it will help focus the work for a full range of organisations and groups, involved and invested in nature recovery in the county. To help shape the strategy, we also want to gain local knowledge from those who live and work here. We have launched a public consultation which is open until 30 April. Please take part by visiting this link .

Chiselborough Yellow Book is a fascinating book about the history of village and its houses. The Somerset & S Avon Vernacular building research group has available additional copies of “Somerset villages, the houses, cottages and farms of Chiselborough”. This publication is known as the “Yellow Book” due to the colour of its cover. It is over 100 pages, detailing historical information about many of the houses and cottages, with floor plans and information of previous inhabitants. Cost of £10 per copy. To aid logistics Fiona Wilson (Bridgestone House) is holding these copies. Anyone interested can contact Fiona on 07734495726, or by email or feel free to knock on the door!

Burridge Copse: A volunteer group, led by Graham Wheeler, has created a path to make Burridge Copse more accessible. Their aim was to provide improved, safe, access to the woodland for a broad range of abilities and interests within the community. On Sunday 17 December the path was opened by Roger Bulley, CPC Chairman, and the tape was cut by CPC Councillor Adrian Pipe. Read all about it, including several ways to participate in future, and enjoy the photographs here.

Pot holes: We are seeing a large number of pot holes around the village and surrounding areas. A very quick way to report these is through this website. It is very simple. Locate the area on the map, or use a postcode. Take a photo of the damage or item as this helps too. Fill in your details and send it in. I have been using this site for years and it really works well and is quick to use. They automatically send the report to the right department and council. You can also report other things like fly tipping and blocked drains. The council often respond within a day or so. If it hasn't been reported, the council won't fix it ! You'll know when they've inspected it, as they will mark the hole with spray paint - to save everyone reporting the same one. Happy Reporting ! —Paul

Fabulous Fingerposts: The village fingerposts have been repainted by a team of Chiselborough volunteers led by Ian Hodge. Enjoy the before and after photographs here. —Martyn, CPC Clerk

Flora and Fauna: Join the brilliant Wild about Chiselborough Facebook group!

Norton Shop & Post Office: I’m CPC Representative on the Norton CLT Board. Although shop profitability is still challenging, the CLT Board is focusing on containing costs and increasing sales. Read here about the great services offered by the shop. —Brian Wickins

Need Urgent Help? : Our village has a Volunteer Emergency Telephone System (VETS). The emergency number is 01935 350835. Save this number on your mobile & near your landline set. Call if you need emergency help, or urgent help not requiring an ambulance, such as help to get up after a fall, or to fetch medication. See here for details.

Drones: CPC advise that if you have concerns about drones over your properties or over the village, you should phone the police on 101. Also see this bulletin from our Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator here

Village news by Email: There is an independently run village email newsletter in Chiselborough, which includes a wealth of practical, social and community information. If you would like to receive this, please call Alexandra on 881476.