NEWS


Saturday 26th April Means ...

It's the morning Cafe at The Old School this Saturday morning. Of course, it's not just a cafe, there will be books, jigsaws, cards, stationery, bric-a-brac and people.

See the poster on the Events Page for details.

We are all looking foward to seeing you.


Tony Jarrow


Photos from last month:

Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview

Bletchley Welcomes Cropwell Day Trippers

The 49-seater Sharpe's Bus arrived on Church Street at 9.15am this morning – which is just well because a crowd of 'Cropwell Day Trippers' were waiting to go to Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire.

Bletchley Park was the popular choice of the Trippers following Hilary Jarrow's 2024 organised trips to Spalding and Stamford.

Bletchley was the home of Britain's code-breakers, including Alan Turing, during the 2nd World War and the Trippers appear to have really enjoyed their day in historic buildings, gardens and sunshine.

Hilary has already canvassed members on where they would like to go to next and, no doubt, she will soon be making her plans. Where will it be, I wonder.

Meanwhile here are some photos from today's Trip.


Tony Jarrow

Bletchley
The bus arrives spot on time

Bletchley
House: headquarters for Turing and colleagues
Bletchley
Office as it was in 1942 (photo: Alan Kirby)
Bletchley
Before the War it was a lovely home
Bletchley
Hilary in the house library: is she contemplating additions to her 'Saturday Cafe Book Exchange'?




Bletchley
Even codebreakers needed time to rest

Cycling Championship in Cropwell Bishop on Sunday

The organisation, British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), promotes events and races for students all over Britain.

This coming Sunday (27th April) BUCS Cycling will hold their 10 mile time-trial championship on a course that starts and finishes in Cropwell Bishop. Over 150 riders will be taking part.


BUCS map

This is the 4th consecutive year that the event has taken place in Cropwell Bishop and the Race Headquarters (and parking) will be on the Memorial Hall Playing Field.

If you are out and about on Sunday, please keep a lookout for cyclists on village roads. No racing will take place within the village but competitors will be riding from the Memorial Hall to the start on Colston Road (near the Small People Nursery).

The finish will be just beyond the top of Fern Road, near the Cropwell Bishop village sign, this side of the Allotments.

Riders will not pause at the finish, they will just pedal slowly to the Memorial Hall Field.

The first rider will start at 10am and the last one will finish at about 1.15pm.

If you are driving along any of the roads on the 10 mile route (see map below) please keep a lookout for these young cyclists.

Keep in mind the new rules applying to the overtaking of cyclists which were introduced in The Highway Code in 2022. Also, be aware that these cyclists will be travelling as fast as any you have seen on roads – up to 35 mph.

And, please avoid travelling in front of them at a similar speed: this would be seen as pacing and could lead to their disqualification.

The weather forecast for Sunday is for a dry day. That's a relief, because on the day of the race last year, it had rained so heavily overnight, that the roads were flooded and the race had to be postponed until the summer!

Once again, the Memorial Hall Committee and Village volunteers will be working hard to leave our visitors with a good impression of Cropwell Bishop – their supply of bacon/sausage/veggie cobs, tea, coffee & cakes should do the trick!


Tony Jarrow



BUCS map

Here are some riders in last year's event.


2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event
2024 event

Easter Hunt and Bric-a-Brac

Thank you to every one who came to The Easter Egg Hunt, and the Bric-a-Brac event.

The events were in support of The Memorial Hall.


Mel Stanley

Bric a Brac
Bric a Brac
Bric a Brac

Bric-a-Brac

Bric a Brac

1 Week to Go

Bric a Brac

Number 33 Shuttle Bus - Disruption ...

Bus not running

Rubbish Beware – Our Pickers Will be There!

Pickers
Pickers

Members of Cropwell Bishop Pickers were out in the sunshine this morning – not sun-bathing but finding and collecting the rubbish that litter louts have thrown to the ground. It's a job that should not have to be done, but the village is thankful they do it.

Thanks to Mel Stanley for the photos.


Tony Jarrow


Saturday's weather forecast is great!

Sat Cafe

.... just right for Hot Cross Buns (and lots more) at tomorrow's Saturday Cafe.

See poster on the Events page

See you there.


Tony Jarrow



Lost it?

Badge

This badge found while dog walking in the village.
Does anyone recognises it?
Of so, please phone: 07778 890139


Velo Belvoir

Following the success of the 2022 and 2023 Velo Belvoir, it will return on Sunday 11th May 2025, with three Cycle Sportives of 30, 60 or 100 miles.

It will have a very well stocked feed station plus a donut stall by Belvoir Castle and a delicious meal at the end. We are registered with British Cycling.

All routes are fully signed and riders are given maps and GPS route files; beautiful routes; all riders welcome; bespoke medal at the end.

For full details and photos from previous events, go to: www.velobelvoir.com
See the poster on the Events page.

This is the 4th Velo Belvoir. All profits will go to Dove Cottage Day Hospice and Cropwell Bishop Friends of School.


Michelle Oldfield


Bric a Brac

Friends of Cropwell Bishop Memorial Hall will be holding a Fund Raising, Bric a Brac event, at The Memorial Hall on Saturday the 19th of April.


Mem Hall

More details will be published in the next edition of Cropwell News.

Meanwhile, if you have one or two quality items you could donate, they can be taken up to the hall any Saturday morning between 10 and 12 o'clock.

Thank you for the donations received so far.

Please, no electricals, clothes or books.

Thank you


Mel Stanley


Road Closures

Closures

Winner of 'It's in the News' Quiz

It was the Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday evening. The winner of the 'In the News' Quiz, which appeared in the January edition Cropwell Bishop News, was drawn from the pile of correct entries.

And the winner was .... Alex Truman.

They will receive a £20 voucher, donated by the Parish Council, for use at Gary Jowett's Butchers.


Tony Jarrow


Social Meeting and Greeting – beats social media

The Books are ready and the Jigsaws are packed so it must be Saturday café time again.

Saturday Café will, as usual, be open from 10am to 12 noon this Saturday (22nd Feb). See the poster on the Events Page for details.

Please note that Hilary (and her books and jigsaws) will have to leave 15 minutes early this time (11.45am) because of other commitments.

See you there.


Tony Jarrow


Photos from last month:

Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview
Sat Cafe Preview

Above the Bloors Estate – and beyond

Ever wondered what our village looks like to the buzzards and red kites that soar above? Well, until the time comes when those birds take along their own cameras, we can get a good idea from the great photos that Colin Bryan comntinues to provide.


Tony Jarrow


Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes
Bloor homes

An Evening at the Creamery Cafe

Tea Room

Central Green Open Spaces Footpaths

The Parish Council have been trying to get the footpaths that run through the central green open spaces resurfaced since 2022.

At a meeting in July of 2022 with VIA East Midland the conditions of the surfaces were discussed and it was noted: The VIA criteria of 25mm differential for re-surface will never be met when the top coating only appears to be 15mm. It was shown that the main substrate was in better condition that the topping itself, and the VIA engineer was suggesting that the top coating would possibly be better skimmed away and resurfaced onto said substrate.

The Parish Council were told in July of 2022 by VIA that it could not be scheduled into that year’s financial budget but the scheme would be put forward for full consideration in the following year.

The scheme to resurface the area was not included in the 2023/24 budget and the Parish Council therefore asked if it could be included in schemes going forward. The Parish Council received the following response which sadly means no resurfacing works will be taking place in the near or distant future:


“Whilst we would not deny the desirability of acceding to all of the requests for resurfacing that we receive, rather than extending the life of surfaces with discrete repairs, economic considerations make it inevitable that this simply isn't possible. A programme for significant expenditure (e.g.: resurfacing / reconstruction) is established each financial year, with the results of the process being subject to approval by Council Cabinet.

Our scheme selection system involves a ‘candidate list’ of potential sites in all categories, ranging from those requiring full reconstruction to those which can be saved from further damage with preventative maintenance schemes. It is possible that some sites may have had patchwork / pothole repairs over several years in order to maintain safety and whilst they may not be aesthetically pleasing, they are at least fit for purpose from a safety perspective until larger scale resurfacing can be programmed. The candidate list is fluid and ever changing as new schemes are regularly added that may have a higher priority than existing schemes on the list.

I am sorry to advise that the footpaths through the Green in Cropwell Bishop are not in any current programme and the Capital Programme for the next 2 financial years has now been decided. It will however remain on the candidate list and we will continue to closely monitor surface conditions.

I am sorry that I can’t reply more positively at this time”.


The Parish Council will keep pushing for the works to be added to future programmes. We are sorry we cannot bring more positive news.


Janice Towndrow
Parish Clerk


Must We Pick it Up?

Litter
Litter
Litter

Cropwell Bishop Litter Pickers, constantly trying to help protect our struggling small wildlife from the perils of rubbish.


Mel Stanley


Looking Forward to Saturday Cafe

As always, Hilary will have loads of fresh additions on her Books/Jigsaw Exchange stall at this week’s Saturday Café (see Events poster).

In adddition she will have a variety of low priced hand-made gifts for sale. Some (no photo yet) might get you in the mood for February 14th!

See you there.


Tony Jarrow


Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe

Winter Quiz

On Friday night another successful quiz night was held at the Old School.

The theme of the quiz was ‘Winter’ (and all things cold!) It was very well attended by around 50 people divided into teams of 5 or 6.

Some quite challenging questions were included but the scores were pretty high with not that many points between the top and bottom teams.

Bespoke trophies were awarded to all members of the top 3 teams in the form of highly prized ‘Cropwell Bishops’ kindly designed and made by Alan and Sharon from the Entertainments committee.

The highly coveted ‘wooden spoon’ was given to the team with the lowest score.



The results were as follows:

1st place and Quiz Champions – ‘The January Clues’

2nd place – ‘Abel Seafish’

3rd place – ‘The 6 Pies’

Wooden Spoon to the aptly named ‘No Hopers’

And finally a quote from a team member who doesn’t live in the village but came along with a friend.

“I love coming to the village for events like these. It’s so nice to see the community coming together enjoying a great evening. Positive, friendly, wholesome and lovely!”

Thanks to everyone who attended and also supported the raffle.


Sue Mellor


Winter Quiz
Winter Quiz
Winter Quiz
Winter Quiz
Winter Quiz

Winner of 'It's in the News' Quiz

It was the Parish Council Meeting this evening. The winner of the 'In the News' Quiz, which appeared in the November edition Cropwell Bishop News, was drawn from the pile of correct entries.

And the winner was .... Pauline Chambers.

She will receive a £20 voucher, donated by the Parish Council, for use at Gary Jowett's Butchers.


Tony Jarrow


100: A Happy Very Birthday Ruth

Ruth
Mayor of Rushcliffe Cllr Andy Brown and consort Sylvia Brown present flowers to Ruth – on the right
(photo from Rushcliffe Newsletter)

Our Mayor of Rushcliffe Cllr Andy Brown and consort Sylvia Brown were proud to visit and present flowers to one of Cropwell Bishop's centenarians.

Ruth, who celebrated her 100th birthday last week, has spent her whole life in Rushcliffe.

The photo above includes her sister, Agnes, with whom she shares a house in the village. Agnes has seen this all before: she was 100 just over a year ago!


Ruth, with the previous Mayor Cllr Debbie Mason in May 2023, when her sister celebrated her 100th Birthday.

Carols around The Pinfold on Christmas Eve

Carols

A lovely hour of carol sing around our village Christmas Tree. Thank you to everyone who came to sing. Mulled wine and chocolates added to the Festive occasion.


Mel Stanley


Thanks to You – and Santa

santa
santa

Senior Citizens Xmas Party 2024!

Lunch

Well what a wonderful party event we had yesterday at The Old School a great atmosphere for the afternoon.

There was a lovely buffet, singing by the school choir, Raffle thank you to all the village businesses who donated prizes (The Butchers, Creamery, Co-op, The Chequers Inn, The Wheatsheaf, S.J. Phillips Electrical, CKOB Club), fun Bingo and it was enjoyed by all.

I would personally like to thank the councillors who came to help on the day Cllrs. Willow Allison, Mick Beazley, Pam Wregg, Jo Wroughton and Ted Birch – all their help made this a successful event.

It was lovely this morning to read an email of thanks from a happy resident as follows:-

"We’ve just returned (hobbled in my case) from the Seniors Christmas Buffet at the Old School.

We had an excellent time, our first. The buffet was splendid, the sandwiches, especially, were really very good. Just overall – excellent.

The choir from the school were very impressive, great sound and very enthusiastic, congratulations !

The raffle was good even if we didn’t win anything ! The bingo was really good fun, this time we both won !!

Finally our heartfelt thanks to all of the volunteers who provided superb service and made it a day to remember – we’ll definitely be back next year.

We walked part of the way home with Joyce, our near neighbour, who said that last year’s event was attended by a busload of outliers and was not much fun. This year’s was predominantly villagers and locals, all very friendly and all round excellent."

On that note, all there is left for me to say is Happy Christmas One and All and a Happy New Year.


Janice Towndrow
Parish Clerk


Lighting up your Day

Purple sky

We may well want to avoid the "morning blues", but purple can be quite calming on a dark winter morning.

Thanks to Ros Creasey for this lovely early-morning photo.


Tony Jarrow


Lyfcycle bring Christmas Cheer

Yesterday, Cropwell Bishop Company, Lyfcycle, generously provided a free three-course Christmas lunch for villagers who responded to their open invite.

It was the Company's wish to do doing something seasonal for our community and there were a good number of local residents present.

They all very much appreciated the lunch and drinks - with all the trimmings - at this festive occasion.

Many thanks to Lyfcycle staff.


Mel Stanley



Lyfcycle
Lyfcycle

The Sound of Music!

The Sound of Music came to Cropwell Bishop last night.

It was a screening of the "Sing along Version" and lots of people came in costume. There was a prize for the winner and that went to the "Two Von Trapp children", in their, 'made for the occasion', curtain, play dresses.

There was much hearty singing.

All great fun.

Mel Stanley


Sound of Music
Sound of Music
Sound of Music
Sound of Music
Sound of Music
Sound of Music

Thank you for the tree, and all its lights, ..

I can see the Christmas Tree and its colourful lights from my window - and it's wonderful.

A brilliant idea and I really appreciate the sight – and I am sure other villagers will feel the same.

Thank you to all those involved with making it happen and the volunteers who erected the tree in the Pinfold.

Christmas is coming!


David Glyn-Jones



This is how its done ..

Cropwell Bishop's own Christmas Tree is now standing and lit up in the Pinfold.

It appeared yesterday, in time today, December 1st.

It arrived, not by magic, not flown in by fairies, on the backs of reindeers, or via facebook, but through the efforts of our Parish Councillors and helpers who toiled to get the job done.

Many thanks to them. Thanks also to Mel Stanley for taking photos.


Xmas Tree
Xmas Tree
Xmas Tree
Xmas Tree
Xmas Tree
Xmas Tree

Saturday Cafe Joy

Lovely friendly atmosphere at this morning's Saturday Cafe at The Old School, captured perfectly by Mel Stanley's photos below.


Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe

Saturday Cafe

Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe

Crafts & Gifts at Saturday Cafe

Hand-made crafts and gifts on sale at this week’s Saturday Café (see Events poster).

Prices from £2 to £8.

Only available here – no orders.


Hilary Jarrow


Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe
Sat Cafe

Rushcliffe "Sportsperson of the Year": Eve Young

Eve Young
Gill, Eve's Young's mother, accepting the award on behalf of Eve (Eve was training in Rugby)

Congratulations to Eve Young of Cropwell Bishop who won the 'Sportsperson of the Year' award at the 'Celebrating Rushcliffe' event at Rushcliffe Arena last week.

She and the other winners and shortlisted nominees were praised for their contribution to life in the Borough.

Eve has competed in artistic swimming for over 10 years on the international stage for GB and this year scooped the British Championships free and technical solo.

She juggles her academic work with relentless training and has competed in Peru, Malta and Serbia. Remarked as a role-model by her nominator, inspiring many other young athletes.

Cropwell Bishop Parish Council have given support to Eve on several occasions over the years and in 2022 she gave a presentation at The Old School as part of the Meeting of the Electorate.

Eve, who was then just 15 years old, gave a composed and illuminating talk on her sporting journey up to that point.


Tony Jarrow


Eve Young
Eve Young
Eve at The Old School. 2022
Eve Young
Eve Young
Eve with her father. 2022

Memorial Hall AGM

Mem Hall AGM

Our White November Surprise

The cold wind did not put off Colin Bryan, his dog and his drone this morning. Thanks to Colin for these fascinating photos.


Snow from drone
Snow from drone
Snow from drone