The Bradley Stoke Journal

Happy Christmas to all our readers from The Journal team!

Thanks for your continued support in 2011, which has seen our annual readership exceed ONE MILLION pageviews for the first time*.

We’ll continue to update the website over the festive period, so don’t forget to check back soon for the latest stories and information from Bradley Stoke’s premier news source.

If you’re looking for information about opening hours at the Willow Brook Centre and Tesco Extra, check out our Holiday Opening Hours page.

The page also lists the opening times for the two Bradley Stoke Tesco Express Stores, Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, Bradley Stoke Library, together with information about refuse collections and bus services over the festive period.

Tesco Extra and the two Bradley Stoke Tesco Express stores are closed on Christmas Day but if you find you’ve forgotten an essential component of your Christmas dinner, you can head over to the Costcutter or Spar convenience stores in Patchway (opening times in the Patchway Journal).

Details of Christmas church services today and tomorrow can be found in our What’s On guide, Bradley Stoke’s most comprehensive guide to local events. For more information about the venues, follow the links on our Faith and Religion page.

* based on figures from our raw website logs.

Photo: THAT spectacularly-decorated house in Orpheus Avenue, Little Stoke, where a charity collection has so far raised £510 for the Jessie May Trust.

More: Meet the people behind the Little Stoke Christmas lights! »

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Families from across North Bristol are set to benefit after a successful hamper appeal by Southern Brooks Community Partnership.

The charity asked schools, churches and residents to donate non-perishable foods and small gifts to make up hampers for local people who struggle financially at Christmas time.

Speaking about the appeal, Corrina Wood, Family Intervention Manger at Southern Brooks Community Partnership, said:

“We are in contact with over 100 families at any one time, many experiencing financial difficulties. The added strain of Christmas can, for some, be too much to bear. Research suggests that this is also a time when domestic abuse can escalate. Providing the family with additional food and gifts at Christmas can really reduce the stress.”

“Thanks to the generosity of local people this year has been our most successful to date, with over 60 boxes donated. In the current economic climate need is greater than ever so I’m delighted that we’ll be able to help more families this Christmas.”

The hampers will all be distributed to families in Patchway, Filton, Bradley Stoke, Stoke Gifford and Stoke Park in time for Christmas.

Photo: Lucas Martin (left) from Southern Brooks handing a hamper to local resident Bob Bentley.

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The Christmas lights at Bradley Stoke’s Willow Brook Centre will be switched on this Thursday afternoon (17th November 2011) when Ben & Holly from Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom make a special guest appearance.

In contrast to previous years when the event has been fronted by Heart FM (we reported in 2009 & 2010), this year will see live music and entertainment provided by our own Bradley Stoke Radio (BSR).

Visitors will have a chance to win £250 to spend at a store of their choice at the Willow Brook Centre by entering a competition during the event.

We’ve heard that BSR are planning kids’ magic, balloon modelling, music quizzes, choir singing, dance groups and, of course, seasonal music and jingles.

The action gets underway at 2:30pm and runs until 5:30pm.

Could the event rival last week’s Olly Murs lights switch-on at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway (the Patchway Journal reported)? MC Andy of Bradley Stoke Radio will no doubt give it his best shot – streamers and artificial snow machines at the ready!

More: Bradley Stoke Radio at the Willow Brook Centre »

Happy New Year to all our readers from the Journal team!

We hope you all enjoyed the Christmas and New Year festivities. If you’re looking to catch up on some shopping or are wondering when your next bin collection will be after the holiday period, take a look at our Christmas and New Year Opening Times page for all the latest information.

And if you’re serious about those New Year’s resolutions, you might need to check out our Town Guide, where you’ll find everything you need to know about local Slimming Clubs, Gyms & Health Clubs!

We’ve just uploaded the final photo album of 2010 to our PicasaWeb gallery and it’s interesting to see that last year ended as it started, with heavy snowfall!

Sadly, we haven’t had time to produce our traditional review of the year article this time round, but just take a moment to browse through the 48 albums of photos from 2010 and you’ll appreciate just how much has happened in Bradley Stoke over the last year.

The Journal’s readership grew by a massive 250% last year and we look forward to continuing to bring you the town’s most comprehensive news and photo coverage in 2011.

Remember, you can make sure you’re the first to hear all the local news by:

• Subscribing to our email newsletter
• Following us on Twitter
• Joining us on Facebook
• Visiting our discussion forum

We’re always on the lookout for people to join the Journal team, so please get in touch if you would like to contribute to Bradley Stoke’s number one independent, locally-produced, news website.

South Gloucestershire Council is encouraging residents to make use of a new cycle route between Bradley Stoke and Cribbs Causeway to help get in some last minute Christmas shopping.

The three mile route, which runs from Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway, consists of a series of dedicated or mixed-use cycle paths and quiet roads which have been joined up in recent months with resurfaced paths, new street lighting and safe level crossing points.

The route has been provided at a cost of £200,000, funded from ring-fenced Cycling City money.

Councillor Brian Allinson, South Gloucestershire Executive Member for Cycling City said:

“This route will make it easier for cyclists to travel to Cribbs Causeway, which is timely for that last bit of Christmas shopping.”

The Council says signage for the new route will be completed in the new year. In the meantime, a map of the route is available on the MapMyRide website and a YouTube video of a cyclist following the route can be seen on the Better by Bike website.

For those looking to complete their Christmas shopping nearer home, Bradley Stoke’s Tesco Extra store is open until 7pm tonight (Christmas Eve).

Related link: Bradley Stoke Christmas 2010 opening times

If you haven’t bought your Christmas tree yet (or just fancy an extra one to fill that empty space in your Bradley Stoke mansion), there are plenty going free at the town’s Willow Brook Centre.

Hundreds of unsold “real” trees, mostly around 8ft tall,  have been abandoned by a seller in the car park of the centre and a source at the Willow Brook Management office has confirmed to The Journal that anyone can go along and help themselves.

The Christmas tree compound in the corner of the car park was erected about two weeks ago, but business was slow – presumably because most people had already bought their trees elsewhere earlier in the month.

The compound fencing was removed earlier today, leaving free access to the trees, which were retailing “from £18″ earlier in the week.

The trees are due to be removed by the seller “after Christmas”, according to the Willow Brook source.