It is Saturday Cafe at The Old School this weekend (see poster in Events) and Hilary is already getting together a super collection of both Books and Jigsaws for her Exchange Stall.

Maybe see you there?

Tony Jarrow

A skydiver is attempting two set two new world records today by running the distance of a marathon followed by skydiving the same distance - all in one day!

Tom Flavin has been running his marathon since 03:00 this morning and will arrive at Skydive Langar later today for the jump portion of his challenge.

Tom Flavin, 29, will aim to achieve a world-first when he runs a marathon and then skydives the equivalent of a marathon distance - all in one day.

He aims to raise £10,000 for charity through the challenge, which will see him run 42 kilometers and then jump out of a plane 13 times to fall the same distance on Friday 11th July 2025.

He will be raising money for BacZac - a charity launched in memory of a former Nottingham student who lost his life to cancer.

Speaking of the challenge, Tom said: “I used to run ultramarathons years ago and then I got into skydiving about five years ago, having completed almost 400 skydives, so I thought I'd merge the two together for this challenge.

“It will be one marathon of running and one marathon of free-fall, a total of 52.4 miles, half horizontally and half vertically. I do feel nervous; I don't know how my body's going to react when I get on the plane after the marathon as it's a confined space and I could get cramping. It's also dependent on weather conditions. Something like this has never been done before so it's hard to figure out how you can train for it."

He is raising money in memory of his friend Zac who was a journalism student at Nottingham Trent University when he died in March 2016, after being diagnosed with a germ cell tumour in his chest, as well as an aggressive form of leukaemia. BacZac was created by his dad Jason to support other young adults battling cancer.

Now, let me see, what have I got planned for today .....!

Tony Jarrow

The Parish Council are pleased to welcome to the Parish Council Cllr. Mark Barlow.

Cllr. Barlow was Co-opted to the Parish Council on the 1st July.

Here, he describes his life experiences and association with Cropwell Bishop over recent decades:

I left the Prison Service and became an AA recovery patrol and transferred into the AA’s manufacturer technical training division where I trained and became a technical trainer for Volkswagen Group at the AA College at Widmerpool. During this time, I became a Parish Councillor for the village.

My role was transferred to Milton Keynes to which I commuted daily and after doing this for 2 years I sought a career nearer to home and joined Leicestershire Police as a Police Officer. I served for 17 years and in my service performed a variety of roles some which included being a local beat officer both in the City and County. It was at this time I left the Parish Council due to a conflict of interest.

During this time, I left the village for 10 years moving approximately 5 miles away. Due to having family in the village, I had regular contact with things happening within the village.

I took over the running of the family farm in 2023 and the family and I are now living back in the village, and I am a volunteer with the RAFAC – The Royal Air Force Cadets.

I am keen to take an active part in the village and help the village where I can. If you see me when you are out and about, please come and chat to me.

cllr.barlow1@gmail.com
07763 925545

Janice Towndrow
Cropwell Bishop Parish Clerk

A lovely spot to pause and watch the world go by.

The Jubilee Garden beside the Church has its own seat in the shade where you can admire the shrubs and flowers. It all looks so natural, but of course it is not.

There is a team of village volunteers who plant, dead-head, weed and water all summer long.

People often express their appreciation for their efforts: David Glynne Jones did so only this morning.

So, thank you to those volunteers.

Tony Jarrow

Hilary is getting ready for her Jigsaw Exhange/Sale at the Saturday Cafe at The Old School this weekend (see Events Poster). The car is now full and ready to go.

For anyone who is not familiar with the set-up, you can buy a jigsaw for £1 or you can bring a jigsaw and exchange it for free. All proceeds go to Cropwell Bishop Clubs and Groups.

Please note that there will be no book exchange this time but there will be a stall with books for sale at the Village Fete on Saturday July 5th.

Tony Jarrow

We sometimes think we are like everybody else, but we are not; each one of us is unique.

What a boring world it would be if we were all the same. All wearing the same clothes, all eating the same foods, all having the same interests and saying the same things.

Thankfully we don’t live in that kind of world. The vast majority of us accept that other people's thoughts and habits are their own business as long as they don’t harm others.

And yet, in living memory, this was not the case and you could be arrested and sent to prison if your personal life was at odds with the views of those in power.

We now live in a better and fairer world and the flag flying at The Old School indicates that it is a safe space to enter – for everyone, no matter how they identify themselves.

Its colours of the rainbow are a reminder that to make white light you need all of them. And to build a bright world we need the contributions of every kind of person.

Tony Jarrow

(Thanks to Mel Stanley for the photo)

Are you a user of Cropwell Bishop buses? Have you experienced problems with them?

The Parish Council is well aware that some people have not been totally happy with the level of service of the Number 33 Bus and is doing all it can to ensure a better service.

However, posting complaints on social media will change nothing.

Problems need to be brought to the attention of the Bus Company; it can't solve problems unless it is aware of them.

Even then, the management needs full details of any issues to enable it to take effective action.

The Parish Council will help you do this.

If you have a complaint about the level of service of a bus, whether it be a late one, its non-arrival, its accessibility, or maybe the standard of the driving – then please report it to the Parish Council (details below).

But, and this is most important, you need to provide full details so that the incident can be properly investigated by the Bus Company.

Include the time, the location, the bus service (e.g. Number 33 to Nottingham) along with your complaint or comment.

Pass on this information, as soon as possible, to the Parish Clerk, Janice Towndrow, at The Old School;
call: 0115 989 4656, or
email: clerk@cropwellbishop-pc.gov.uk

Help banish the blues!

Tony Jarrow

Once again, I will be hosting a Bric-a-Brac Stall this Saturday. It will be at morning Cafe at the Old School.

If you are not already aware of the purpose of the stall, please see the article posted on 17/5/25.

Thank you all for your donations so far: this picture is a taste of what to expect on Saturday.

Hope to see you on Saturday where I will be alongside the Gardening Club's stall in front of the Old School: 9am-noon.

Mel Stanley

'Friends of Cropwell Bishop Memorial Hall' are still taking donations of good quality Bric a Brac items (no electrical items or books please).

They will help fund the submission of plans for a new building to replace the century-old Memorial Hall.

The contributions will be especially useful for 'The Summer Fete' on 5th July.

Please contact Mel on: 07984 960638 for drop-off details.

Collection can also be arranged, if required.

Thank you for the donations received so far from our village community.

Mel Stanley

On the 8th May there was a fitting tribute from the 1st Cropwell Bishop Scouts on the Memorial Hall Playing Fields.

Events commenced with the Bells at St Giles ringing out over the village at 6.30pm, along with Cathedral and Church Bells all across the nation.

Followed by the Scouts Parading at 9 o’clock. The names of the men from the Village who lost their lives was read out ….

A. Hall
W. Hall
W. Slater
C. Trusswell
W. Whitmore
G.D. Wright

During the evening the Memorial Hall Meeting Room was open to view a display created by the scouts, illustrating the support given to the armed forces and civilians during WW2.

There was also local information gathered over the years including old photographs and memories of life in the village during the war.

The evening ended with the hymn ‘I vow to thee my country’ and at 9.30pm. the beacon was lit to coincide with the rest of country as a sign of peace.

Pam Wregg

The start of this season saw the new surface being laid to enhance the Petanque Court at the Memorial Hall Playing Field – all we need now is some rain to settle the dust down.

Our thanks go to “Farmer” Tom Knight (sadly now deceased) for his generous donation towards the recent work carried out. He always maintained that our playing surface was too rocky.

Players celebrated the mounting of a plaque (provided kindly by Lee Redshaw) to commemorate Tom, his cheeky smile, his enthusiasm and his great sense of humour .

Jacques Lacey

The Memorial Hall Park looks absolutely lush at the moment.

Boules is played twice a week – and the court available at all other times.

There are picnic benches and tables – and exercise and children’s equipment for all ages. Plenty of space for a kick about with a ball

Also, the Kitchen is open for refreshments on Wednesday and Saturday Mornings. Sausage and Bacon cobs, drinks and snacks.

All, up by the Memorial Hall.

Mel Stanley

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:

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.

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

Here are some riders in last year's event.

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

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

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