In our Autumn 2012 edition the Badger Farm Social Club is celebrating ‘A summer of sport’, with news of the Sainsbury’s-sponsored new kit for their football team, the successes of the men’s and women’s darts teams and details of the upcoming games for the Badger Farm Social Club Cricket team. The club hosted a charity event organised by the Winchester Hog Roast Company in aid of Breast Cancer UK.

Badger Farm Parish Council announced their new website, which will be populated with news and meeting agendas and
minutes and also contains useful links to other websites.

You may have seen the new Parish Lengthsman in action in the area in the middle of July. The Lengthsman
scheme is funded by the County Council and employed by a collective of Parish Councils in our area to
undertake odd jobs and maintenance works in the Parish. He is available to us for a few days each quarter
and it is up to each Parish to agree a schedule of works with him in advance. If you are aware of any jobs
around the Parish that you think need doing, please contact the Parish Council and we can look at whether it
may be an appropriate task for the Lengthsman.

BFOBRCA’s Chairman shares his annual report. It has been another busy year at the Community Centre with the Centre continuing to
be popular, with much positive feedback from our Users and Residents. The Community has, as ever, been supported by our fantastic hard-working staff in the Centre, Jan, our Bookings Secretary, and Mervyn, our Caretaker, who ensure the day-to-day smooth running of the Centre.

The ever-popular Badger Farm Friendly Group for older people faces closure unless more local people come forward urgently to help out. Care charity Brendoncare has issued a plea for volunteer helpers to get in touch so that it can continue providing members, most of whom are in their 80’s and 90’s and live alone, with a really valuable trip out of their home each fortnight.

Oliver’s Battery Parish Council have had a busy year. It all kicked off with the Jubilee Celebrations which the Parish Council arranged. It was lovely to see so many of you there on the Saturday (over 400!) for the ‘Party on the Green’. So many of you turned up for the Open Garden and Cream Tea at Old Kennels that we ran out of scones and people ran home to raid their larders for more scones and cakes! The Council unveiled a new sign as you enter the battery as well as a bench in memory of late Councillor David Spender.

City Councillors Brian Laming and Lynda Bannister report on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the upcoming Oliver’s Battery Fete, tree-thinning and footpath clearing and the No 2 bus service.

Local MP Steve Brine had updates about a special ‘street surgery’ he held in Oliver’s Battery, the chronic shortage of primary school places in Winchester and a public meeting to discuss Britain’s overseas aid programme.

Visit the Oliver’s Battery conservation area to see a profusion of berries and nuts. Until 2005 this little area was completely taken over by nettles and brambles until Oliver’s Battery Countryside Group stepped in to manage it as a wildlife reserve. With a Landfill Grant and Parish Council sponsorship the area was cleared and 300 trees planted as whips by children, adults and Brownies. The reserve is now matured with 10 species of native trees and shrubs and a wide variety wild flowers providing food and habitat for small mammals, butterflies, birds and reptiles. Management by a small handful of volunteers is ongoing and until recently there was a much photographed area, seeded last Autumn, of red poppies, deep blue cornflowers and pink corn cockles set off by the white and yellow chamomile flowers reminiscent of our countryside fifty years ago.