By Katherine Robinson of the 1st Bradley Stoke Scout Group.

The 1st Bradley Stoke Scouts were proud to take part in the annual Remembrance parade and ceremony on Sunday 11th November to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice. We would like to thank all the other local youth groups who joined us – the Trident Explorer Unit, 1st Little Stoke Scout Group, 1st Stokeway Rainbows, 1st Bradley Stoke Rainbows, Brownies & Guides, 2nd Bradley Stoke Brownies and 2nd Stoke Lodge Brownies. Representatives from our local town and county councils were also present and Rev Paul Hinckley from the Churches of Bradley Stoke gave a sermon. Young members of the group read moving stories of very young soldiers who were involved in the First World War, some being the same age as those reading. They also acknowledged the centenary year of the RAF with a summary of its history. Finally, local World War 2 veteran Johnny Johnson was recognised as the last living Dambuster as the raid commemorates its 75th year.

We would like to say a special thank you to the St John Ambulance first aiders who were on duty to help some of our young people who felt faint while on parade. We would also like to reassure everyone that they all made a complete recovery and apologise for the adjustment we had to make to the ceremony in an attempt to get them moving again as soon as possible. It was a fantastic example of how seriously our young people were taking the parade as they were not wriggling very much.

Once again, the excellent Filton Concert Brass band entertained the town square audience to complement our own little Scout marching band, who accompanied the parade, and Bradley Stoke Radio were again broadcasting live.

More: Photos of parade and wreath-laying »

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Stokes Singers are putting the finishing touches to the programme for this year’s Christmas concert and we’re all set to entertain, writes Sue Callow.

‘Sing Noel’ on Saturday 8th December sees us returning to the Church of Christ the King, Bradley Stoke with a mix of traditional and modern music including a keyboard solo from Phil Lawrence and opportunities to sing along under the baton of Sian Walters.

Oldland Brass Ensemble, led by Bob Lavis, are our special guests. With cornets, flugelhorn, tenor horn, euphonium and bass they will play music ranging from ‘Mozart to Modern’ especially arranged by Bob.

Our chosen charity for the evening is Parkinson’s UK, which works to change attitudes and find a cure for this progressive neurological condition. Donations made for interval refreshments will help to secure their programme of support and information for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s, their families and carers.

Advance tickets at £5 for adults and £2.50 for children (5 -16 yrs) are available from choir members and from Liz on 01454 614148. Some tickets will be sold on the door at £6 and £3 but please buy early to be sure of your seat. Doors will open at 7.00pm for the 7.30pm performance.

Our Christmas concert is always an enjoyable evening and a chance to relax and enjoy the start of the festive season, so do come along and share in the celebrations.

If you can’t be with us on Saturday 8th, there will be a second opportunity to hear Stokes Singers perform when we are guests of Cameo Orchestra at their concert at St Barnabas’ Church, Warmley on Tuesday 11th.

For more information on our Christmas activities, please visit our website www.stokessingers.org.uk

Happy Christmas from Stokes Singers! We look forward to seeing you soon.

This article originally appeared in the December 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 35). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH (except August), to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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The owners of a Bradley Stoke house which has built up a reputation for staging extravagant Christmas lights displays are claiming to have created the “biggest and best display the town has ever seen” for 2018.

Terry James and Mike Checkley have again transformed their home in Watch Elm Close into a Christmas wonderland to raise money for St Peter’s Hospice. This year’s display has over 30,000 lights and is now one of the biggest displays in the whole of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. New additions for 2018 include a herd of 12 reindeer, a new Merry Christmas silhouette, a new penguin silhouette and two new Santa silhouettes. In addition, the display for 2018 will include a large ‘Ho-Ho-Ho’ silhouette and a ‘Santa Please Stop Here’ silhouette, together with an additional 4,000 bulbs within string and icicle lights.

Mike said: “We decided to raise money again for St Peter’s Hospice as they are a charity very close to our hearts. Most people know that they are a Bristol charity caring for adults with life-limiting illnesses both in the Hospice and at home, but they also support families and friends and teach other healthcare professionals about how to care for people at the end of their lives”. He added that “All of St Peter’s care is provided free of charge, but it costs around £20,000 a day to provide that care. In addition, St Peter’s ‘Room to Care’ Appeal is aimed at developing their new Inpatient Unit to meet the complex needs of patients in the 21st century”.

Terry and Mike, with the invaluable help of their window cleaner Kris, spend nearly four weeks putting the display together. “It’s a big task,” said Terry, “but, despite its size, we still aim to stay true to the theme of ‘A Classic Christmas’.”

“People come from across Bristol and South Gloucestershire to see the display and last year we also had people from Devon, Somerset and The Midlands visiting. The oldest person visiting last year was a very proud 97-year-old grandmother!”.

More: Terry and Mike have set themselves the goal of raising £4,000 »

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Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) has taken up tenancy of a new air base in Almondsbury. The move is a huge milestone for the charity, which had previously been operating from a hangar at the former Filton Airfield.

The air ambulance has been joined at the new site by the local police helicopter, which was also previously based at Filton.

In a move which would ensure stability for the life-saving charity, the landlords of the new base have offered GWAAC the opportunity to purchase the facility at a significantly reduced price.

GWAAC chief executive Anna Perry explains:

“We’re thrilled to have moved into the new air base at Almondsbury, however with our current tenancy agreement we could be asked to leave again after ten years. This could be extremely disruptive to our service. Owning our air base will ensure we can continue to carry out our life-saving work well into the future. It’s unlikely we will have the opportunity to buy a facility like this again.”

Earlier this year, GWAAC launched an urgent appeal to help them raise the additional £1.25 million needed to fund the purchase. They are half-way towards their target, but still have a long way to go. As a charity they rely on generous donations from members of the public to stay operational. Excitingly, if they can raise another £315,000 then a generous local organisation has pledged to double this money!

More: Almondsbury-based police helicopter is operational 24/7/365 »

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