The Bradley Stoke Journal

Bradley Stoke Town Council has issued a press release to clarify its staffing arrangements after the profile of the Deputy Town Clerk mysteriously disappeared from the Council’s website.

Following the retiral of the long-serving David Chandler in January, Sharon Petela was appointed the new Town Clerk with Lesley Osborne continuing to serve as Deputy Clerk. But then, in early June, Mrs Osborne’s profile mysteriously disappeared from the Contact the Office page of the Council’s website.

In a possibly related move, the Council has recently held two ‘extraordinary and confidential’ meetings (from which the press and public were excluded) to “consider and action the recent Council Staff Pay Grading and Restructuring Review”.

Pressed by The Journal, the Council has now issued a statement confirming Mrs Osborne’s retiral with effect from 28th May.

The statement says that the departure “was kept low key in accordance with her [Mrs Osborne's] wishes”.

Mayor Ben Walker, wished Mrs Osborne well, saying:

“Lesley leaves with the best wishes of councillors and staff and the gratitude of many people from a host of organisations whom she has worked with during her time with the Council.”

[Ed: Best wishes to Lesley from The Journal as well - many thanks for your cooperation over the last couple of years.]

The statement goes on to say that the Council has not yet advertised the vacancy caused by Mrs Osborne’s departure, and that “no decision on the post will be taken until the results of the on-going staffing review are presented to Council.”

Three carved wooden benches are set to be installed at locations in Bradley Stoke thanks to a environment grant worth £1,800 from South Gloucestershire Council.

Local chainsaw sculptor Andy O’Neill is currently working  in an area on Jubilee Green to carve the three benches from a recently felled sweet chestnut tree.

Andy hopes to complete the benches by Thursday 17th June, after which they will be installed at the following locations:

• Howard Davis memorial bench (swans and frog life cycle carving): by Davis Pond, Jubilee Green
• Bees and honeycomb bench – in the flower rich meadow, along the community forest path near Savages Wood
• Apple core bench – near the community orchard in the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve

The first bench is named in memory of ornithologist Howard Davis, who lived at the now-demolished Little Stoke Farm, and was instrumental in the founding of what is now the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust based at Slimbridge.

Cllr Brian Allinson, SGC’s executive member for planning, transport and strategic environment, said:

“The council is committed to enhancing the district’s natural environment and these fascinating pieces of public furniture, created thanks to a grant from the council, are sure to become talking points in Bradley Stoke.”

See more photos of the Bradley Stoke wood carvings on PicasaWeb.

Another record field of 418 runners contested the 2010 Bradley Stoke 10k Run in fine conditions on Sunday (13th June), the final day of the town’s Community Festival.

As last year, the race started and finished at the Jubilee Centre in Savages Wood Lane, with the Jubilee Green being used for competitor car parking.

Bradley Stoke Mayor Ben Walker sounded the horn to start the race at 10am and promptly joined the field to take part in the event for the third successive year.

Running in aid of his mayoral charity, St Peter’s Hospice, Cllr Walker teamed up with his Conservative colleague Jack Lopresti, the newly-elected MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, who ran the race in aid of the Stoke Gifford branch of the Royal British Legion.

The pair finished together (see photo) in a time of 63:46, placing them around the 350th mark.

Many other runners ran on behalf of the race’s official fundraising charity, the Nicola Corry Support Foundation.

Local residents turned out in force to support the runners as they followed the multi-terrain route along the pavements and tracks of  Bradley Stoke.

Read on for details of the race winners and photo links »

Fine weather once again drew a large crowd to Saturday’s Community Fair at Bradley Stoke’s Jubilee Centre.

Action on the upper football field began at 10:30 with a tournament for local school children, with the main music and dance programme following at 11:30am.

Tribute band ABBA Now were the headline act on the main stage, supported by Pantz, Smokestack Shakers, Uncle Buck and The Echoes.

Music performances were interspersed with dance and gymnastic displays in the main arena.

The Jubilee Green was packed with business and community stalls together with fairground rides and a second performance arena.

Football star Matt Le Tissier visited the fair between 12:30pm and 2:30pm, signing autographs and chatting with representatives of the Bradley Stoke teams.

A surprise visitor was Britain’s Got Talent finalist Paul Burling, who lives in Bradley Stoke. He was seen towards the end of the day signing autographs and posing for photographs with fans.

Tomorrow (Sunday 13th) sees another full day of events, which gets underway with the Bradley Stoke 10k Run at 10am from the Jubilee Centre. Organisers Sole Sisters Running Club told The Journal they had received 418 entries by Saturday evening and will accept further entries on race day, subject to a safety limit of 500. Take a look at our interactive map of the race route to see where you can cheer on the runners between 10am and approx 11:20am.

The Festival focus then switches to Baileys Court, where an outdoor church service (11am) will be followed by a family picnic and the annual six-a-side cricket tournament.

Youngsters not wishing to miss out on the sporting action can head over to the Leisure Centre, where a Skate Park competition starts at noon. A BBQ and music will be provided to accompany the action on the ramps.

Lots more photos from today on PicasaWeb: album; slideshow

The main day of Bradley Stoke’s 2010 Community Festival gets under way at the earlier than usual time of 11:30am today and offers a varied programme of music and dance acts along with the ever-popular community fair.

Headline act on the main stage is tribute band ABBA Now, who will be supported by the Pantz, Smokestack Shakers, Uncle Buck and The Echoes.

Groups performing in the dance arena include Bristol Ballet, Egyptian Nights and Fahrenheit.

Over on Jubilee Green, there will be performances and demonstrations from the Chinese Association Singers, Raise Your Voice, Bradley Stoke Community School Samba Band, Bowsland Green Gym Club and South Gloucestershire Asian Dance.

The event finishes at 6pm this year, to avoid a clash with the England football team’s first match in the 2010 World Cup.

More info:

• Timetable of Events for Festival Saturday
• Full weekend programme