As the summer holidays come to an end, it’s time to read about what’s going on in Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery in the Autumn 2021 edition of Community News.

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Our Autumn 2021 Headline

After a too-long break due to Covid-19, the Chat-Tea Café will be returning to the Community Centre on 27 September. We are really looking forward to welcoming back all our lovely friends and neighbours to our monthly Café.

News from the Community Centre

SPLASH is a group of amateur and professional artists and makers taking part in Hampshire Open Studios. They will be showcasing their work at the Community Centre for the August Bank Holiday weekend, 28–30 August.

In this last year activities outside the home have been more difficult to manage and have become more or less non-existent for many people. Because of this, Home Instead has decided to start a free activity group for older people in Winchester. The group will be held on the 3rd Friday of every month, 10.30–12.30 in the Warren Room.

We are looking for a volunteer to take on the role of Community News Distribution Coordinator. This involves receiving the magazines, counting out the correct number for each road on the list and delivering them to the relevant distributors.

It has been a long time since the Art Group has met up with each other but they are hopeful that come September they will be reunited. The Group have been set a challenge every week, ranging from still lifes, landscapes and portraiture, using whatever materials they have had at home.

Parish and Government News

Parish Councils

Connie Leach has stepped down from Oliver’s Battery Parish Council after seven years of tireless service; the council is thankful to Connie for her hard work. Throughout lockdown the recreation ground has been heavily used and some areas, particularly around the play equipment, have suffered; improvement work will be undertaken later this year. September will bring the 2021 Scarecrow Competition!

The Parish Council’s Sustainable Oliver’s Battery Green Picnic will now take place on 4 September. This will start the process of sharing knowledge about sustainable lifestyles and building plans to become more sustainable. There will be stalls focussing on a number of areas including the carbon footprint of Oliver’s Battery; travel and active travel; housing & energy; growing local food; wildlife; buying local.

Badger Farm Parish Council asks if you have any old photos of open space areas on Badger Farm being used for recreation. These will help them in their work to register various areas of Badger Farm as Assets of Community Value. Winchester City Council’s Grass Cutting Pilot Scheme will include Badger Farm, increasing biodiversity and creating green corridors for wildlife throughout the district. By the time you read this the council’s speed cameras should be up and running; let’s hope for smiley faces.

City Council

It’s been a really busy couple of months for Winchester City Council leading into the holiday season – two meetings of Cabinet, the opening of a new housing development in Kings Worthy, lots of discussion on Central Winchester, two Policy Committees, Full Council and an appearance on Parliament TV.

The garden waste collection service was unfortunately suspended for a period in August due to staffing shortages related to the ‘pingdemic’ and a national shortage of HGV drivers.

In July the Council hosted a virtual Next Generation Winchester focus group to explore barriers to buying a home in Winchester. They gained fascinating insights from participants – some who are currently working full time and living at home with their parents.

County Council

Grants are available from the Hampshire Waste Prevention Community Grant Fund for community projects which will introduce a new waste prevention, reuse or repair service to the local area. This will help build a network of waste prevention services across the county.

Hampshire County Council will continue to liaise with Highways England about the important impact of diversion routes and the mitigation for residents on affected routes for the M3 Junction 9 Project.

The Council’s Cabinet are proposing an additional £1.2m spend on internal climate change pilot projects with a strong educational focus.

Member of Parliament

Parliament has been debating a major new Health and Care Bill. Drawing on his experience, Steve Brine has been highlighting the need to address long term structural gaps in staffing to back up commitments made in the NHS ten-year plan and to tackle the NHS Covid backlog.

The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November will dominate the back end of 2021. It’s a landmark moment and Steve hopes to be there working with colleagues from the Conservative Environment Network. And as part of the local COP, Steve is conducting a major Green Winchester survey which you can complete at www.greenwinchester.com.

Our Local Schools

John Keble CofE Primary School

After an interesting year John Keble CofE Primary School is very much looking forward to an exciting and positive start to the autumn term. In addition to recognising and valuing our current families, they are also looking outwards to welcome new families into their school. This summer, the school launched Facebook and Instagram pages to help share their ethos, values and school activities. You can find them, and the school website and Twitter account, on:

Facebook: @ampfieldjohnkebleschools
Instagram: @ampfieldjohnkebleschools
Twitter: @ampfieldJKfed
Website: ajkfed.com

Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School

It has been a really exciting time for Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School as they have worked together with Hampshire Gardens Trust on their new Edible Playground project which was finally unveiled to everyone on 16 July. The garden is now full of wonderful produce, including a vibrant pollination bed for insects, as a result of the children’s weekly interaction. The school can’t wait to continue the project next year and begin to embed the Edible Playground into their classroom practice. The Year 5/6 team are already planting crops so that children can have a real experience of rationing when they tackle their World War One project in the Autumn Term.

Stanmore Primary School

Stanmore Primary School has seen a return to more familiar events and the children have experienced a range of learning opportunities as part of the Stanmore Enrichment Curriculum. Their recent ‘Reading Festival’ was a highlight, with children enjoying live music and stories performed in the superb grounds. All the children took part in ‘The Race for Life,’ completing a staggering 425km (262 miles) between them.

Children in Year 3 and 4 were involved with a Winchester University project featuring Hannah Williams from ‘The Voice’. Hannah came to Stanmore to perform with the children and record an amazing song to raise money for the charity Shelter.

St. Peter’s Primary School and Little Fishes Pre-school

The summer term in every school brings many fun and exciting opportunities as children begin to transition into a new academic year and it was no different at St Peter’s Primary School. The summer term saw liturgical celebrations such as Ss. Peter and Paul day, as well as the Year 6 Leavers’ Mass. Year 6 began their leaving celebrations by showcasing a production of ‘Matilda’ and continued the festivities with a camp night where they had the opportunity to share fun memories of their time at St. Peter’s around the campfire. At the end of term, the whole school enjoyed a special day together where they thought about what it meant to be a ‘St. Peteronian’ and were lead through energetic dance sessions by the Intergr8 company.

Little Fishes Pre-School made their own Circus with the children performing twirling, tight-rope walking, juggling, stilt walking and a Grand Finale with all the acts performing together to music from The Carnival of the Animals.

Local Organisations and Clubs

Support and Advice

Following the brief AGM of the North Hampshire Prostate Cancer Support Group, Sian Woodward gave an insight into Parliament and its workings. Having worked in the Houses of Parliament for many years, Sian has now risen to become one of the clerks who sit in front of the speaker, a role going back many hundreds of years.

Neighbourhood Watch report that during the Covid-19 pandemic we’ve seen more sophisticated scams. Action Fraud has received reports from members of the public about fake emails purporting to be from the NHS. They offer advice on how to protect yourself – please be extra vigilant. There have been reports of groups of youths in a few areas on Badger Farm congregating, lighting fires, drinking and taking drugs, anti-social behaviour, noise and causing damage. Please report anything suspicious to hampshire.police.uk or 101. If something is in progress please call 999.

Lesley Rose, Advice Services Manager for Citizens Advice Winchester District, shares her advice on how to choose a local tradesperson.

Nature and Environmental Groups

The government has asked Hampshire County Council to produce a Bus Service Improvement Plan to help more people to use the buses. Winchester Action on Climate Change would like to see more road space for buses; better bus services; affordable bus fares; pollution-free buses and better bus connections.

Winchester Horticultural Society’s Autumn meetings will be on Viticulture in England, why some plants are scented when others are not and Harvesting Bulbs in the UK and Holland. For further information call 01962 868862 or visit winhortsoc.weebly.com.

The Winchester Local Group of the Hampshire & IOW Wildlife Trust is now beginning to plan for future events starting perhaps for late autumn or early spring 2022. This year has been an important one for the Trust as it is 60 years since it was founded by a group of 8 people who recognised the wealth of wildlife in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Other Groups

The summer term saw Oliver’s Battery Brownies on The Battery! Their theme this term was Take Action, looking looked at sustainability. Over the summer holidays the girls are taking part in the Region Ramble. Hopefully they can add their ‘miles’ to those of other units and raise funds towards the St Mark’s church refurbishment project at the same time.

Oliver’s Battery WI saw their first group gathering in July, exploring the gardens of The Old Weir House in Old Alresford. The new meetings start with Alison Gardiner, a designer/illustrator from Southsea; Sue Gentry, former Mayor, on Home Start; Meet award winning Drag Queen Poppy Aphrodite; Bring & Share Christmas Social and Guest Speaker; Talk on Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. If you, or someone you know, would like to discover the benefits of WI, please contact oliversbatterysec@hampshirewi.org.uk.

St Mark’s Church has completed Phase One of the refurbishment. With the new floor and windows, the up-to-date decor, the revamped lighting, heating and sound system, not to mention the lovely loos, they have at last arrived in the 21st century! Phase Two is now beginning. The kitchen area needs to be completely renovated. A porch at the front will give space for for wheelchairs and buggies. It will also deflect the prevailing wind, and so reduce the heating bills and improve the building’s ‘green’ performance. They finally hope to build an extension to the rear of the church to serve as a sanctuary.

General Articles for Autumn 2021

2021 – Heatwaves and floods!

Clare Shorter reassures us that there’s no need to panic about the climate crisis, but we but we must all start to take effective action now. New Carbon Impact Reports for Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery Parishes are available on winacc.org.uk/wecan. These can help us focus on their biggest sources of carbon. They also offers lots of information and advice.

Wishing You Well

Local nutritionist Amanda Turner advises us on how to get help choosing the right health-full diet. The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) has free step-by-step food guides to help to get you started.

Hampshire Seasons

Local resident and Winchester Photographic Society member Geoff Sharman has been out and about doing a photographic project on the seasons. We are delighted he has shared four, representing Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, with us.

Tech Talk

In 2015, Microsoft said ‘Windows 10 is the last version of Windows’. So why, in spring 2021, did Ann Jury read ‘’. In June, Microsoft officially introduced Windows 11. So, what does this new Windows bring? The full 2021 Microsoft Windows Event is on YouTube, but Ann breaks down the key points for you.

A walk on the bright side

Simon Lever compares autumn with The Last Night at the Proms. Not sadness but a celebration of nature’s gift to humanity, accompanied by birdsong to lift the heart.

Nature Notes

I’m standing in the field below the tumulus in Oliver’s Battery. It is early morning on 12 July, not quite half way through this wet summer month. Yesterday morning was misty feeling autumnal but today it’s warm and a little humid. The field is a blaze of mixed colours among the tall gently waving grasses. Red of poppies, yellow of lady’s bedstraw and common agrimony and patches of ragwort with a few purple blue flowers of tufted vetch with its delicate feathery leaves. Some oxeye daisies hang on. They have given such a bright display all over Hampshire.

Marbled white butterflies have ventured out after last night’s heavy rain and a yellowhammer sings from a nearby hedge. Sadly, this little bird is so rare now. I used to hear one singing every year from the whitebeam tree in Yew Hill. A skylark is pouring his ethereal song from on high so he still has a nest among the long grasses. It may not be long before the farmer brings his cutting machine but he must wait for the skylarks to finish breeding.

In what is sadly her final Nature Notes, Norma Goodwin lets us know that she has decided to retire ‘my pen’ and hand it on. Wendy Bramall, a resident of Oliver’s Battery who is an artist and illustrator, has agreed to pick it up. Wendy has a lifetime of knowledge of wildlife so Norma can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

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We hope you enjoyed reading the Autumn 2021 edition of Community News. If you have a community contribution for the next edition or would like to advertise with us, please get in touch with Ann Jury, Community News Editor, at bfobrca.cnews@gmail.com. The editorial deadline for the Winter 2021 issue is Friday 5 November 2021.

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