In the Summer 2014 edition we celebrate the launch of our new website!

Stanmore Primary School pupils were absolutely delighted to win two prizes in their very first attempt at Global Rock Challenge at Southampton Guildhall. They also experienced success in Winchester Area Schools Tag Rugby competition and  the Stanmore Memorial Garden was officially opened by MP Steve Brine. The school had achieved an Ofsted rating of ‘Good’ throughout.

Oliver’s Battery Pre-school had a fundraising frenzy with their Ollie Bee’s Brilliant Bake-Off, a sponsored obstacle course and in July, a choir concert held at St Lawrence’s Church in Winchester in aid of the pre-school.

Badger Farm Parish Council welcomes Viv Brooks as the new Parish Clerk and encourages potential new councillors to attend one of their meetings.

Rev’d. Mike Gardner, vicar of St Luke’s Stanmore with St Mark’s Oliver’s Battery, talked about the importance of communities.

Badger Farm Bridge Club celebrated their 30th anniversary.

Skylark class at Oliver’s Battery Primary School introduced themselves in a poem. Owl class told us how they carried out many experiments in our Brainiacs Project. Woodpecker class went to see James and the Giant Peach at the Mayflower and to Kings for a multiskills Dance competition as well as becoming Eco-warriors, focusing on energy and our environment.

Steve Brine discussed how the thriving small business sector in Winchester stimulates job creation in Winchester. He also met Kris Hallenga who, with a terminal diagnosis with breast cancer, now runs a brilliant charity called CoppaFeel which teaches young people to be breast aware. Alongside this she is on a mission to bring cancer education to the school syllabus and her rethinkcancer.com website is making quite a splash.

NHS Blood and Transplant asked Badger Farm & Oliver’s Battery residents to think about those less fortunate than themselves and give blood. “Summer is an important time to give, as blood stocks are often more vulnerable when people go away or are busy getting out and about as the weather improves.“

Ann’s Computer Corner educated us on strong passwords.

The local councillors reminded us of the Hampshire County Council consultation regarding non-commercial bus routes. They raised the issues of the flooding at Pitt roundabout and the problem of unoccupied houses with the City Council and asked the neighbourhood police team to visit Badger Farm to see the extent of careless parking which is upsetting residents.

Nature Notes identify the birds that can be heard everywhere in the Oliver’s Battery countryside: “the whitethroat singing his scratchy repertoire out of sight in the bushes, the blackcap’s melodic tones and the exuberant shouting of the song thrush. Many goldfinches … sit on telephone wires in my road issuing their liquid twittering song “.