All Saints Church

United in Faith Welcoming All

The services have been planned for May as follows

Sunday 4th May

No Service at Wilstead .

Sunday 4th May 10.00 am

Joint service at Houghton Conquest at 10.00 am to consecrate a new Altar Table  by the Bishop of Bedford

Sunday 11th May 11.00 am

Holy Communion Fr Steve Marsh

Sunday 18th May 11.00 am

Morning Praise   Helen H Applegarth

Sunday 25th May 11.00 am

Holy Communion  Rev Mike Stewart

Sunday 1st June 11.00 am

Morning Praise Helen H Applegarth

The service plans will look a little different during May, June, and July as we will only have one vicar during that period.

Fr Paul is on a sabbatical for 3 months and we say farewell to Fr Steve as he moves to his  new parishes of Clophill and Maulden at the end of May.

We will have visiting clergy to help out with the services but we may have a Sunday without a service at 11.00am.

The Easter Coffee morning was a great success.  A lot of people including quite a few  children came along. There was an Easter Egg hunt for the children and the highlight of the morning was a lamb brought along by Barbara Seamark. It was a great attraction and at only a week old submitted itself to being stroked and cuddled  by the children.

The May Coffee Morning is on Wednesday 21st May at 10.30 am  in the garden at Viv Riddle's House 73 Whitworth Way  (Weather permitting!)

Robert Heley

Cricket Club

(Local cricket club for Wilstead, Wixams, Elstow, Kingsbrook, Cauldwell and other surrounding areas)

By the time you read this, the season will be well underway.  We've had a very dry spring and hopefully this fine weather will continue into the early summer.

We had a successful AGM and signing-on night in March and at the end of April we held our first event in the newly refurbished Tea Room and Bar hosting our Gin Tasting evening.  

We have some important dates for your diaries as follows:

Friday 9th May - sees our Men's 1st XI take on the Bedfordshire Farmers in the 1st Round of the East Bed's Charity Shield.  We are expecting a big crowd - the bar will be open from 5pm and the BBQ will be fired up from 6pm.  Hopefully, we will raise some much needed money for the East Bed's Charities.

Saturday 21st June - our main event of the Summer will be our Vice President's Day.  The 1st XI will be playing Peterborough Knights at The Warren and we will host our VP's, The Friends of Elstow CC (FECCers) and our sponsors in a day of fun, food and cricket.  This years VP's day theme will be 'Sausage and Cider' so please put the date in your diary and keep an eye out here and on our social media sites for more information.

As with previous seasons, we have a packed fixture list with four men's teams playing Saturday and Sundays, our ladies team playing on Sundays and Monday evenings, and our age group teams playing on Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays.  Now that we have our new bar and tea-room up and running, please feel free to pop along for tea, coffee or something a little stronger.  We hope to have some coffee mornings for the Sunday games and some afternoon teas at the weekends.  Of course, we have our Friday night youth training sessions when the U9's, U11's and U13's all train and the families, players and supporters get together to start the weekend with a beer, wine and a pizza.  It's a fantastic evening to sit in the sun and have an ice cold drink with friends watching all the action on the playing field.  In May and June we also host the All Stars aimed at the youngsters age 5 to 8 years old to get an early taste of cricket.

For more details on All Stars please visit

www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars or contact us at the Cricket Club.

With an exciting season ahead, Elstow Cricket Club is ready for action. Whether you're a player, supporter, or volunteer, your involvement makes a huge difference. Here's to a fantastic summer of cricket – let's make 2025 a season to remember!

We are always looking for new members to come forward and help support the rapid growth of our club including:

New players - all genders, ages and ability are welcome.

Scorers – this is a paid position and official training will be provided if needed.

Umpires – this is also a paid position and again training is available if required.

Coaches – training course fees will be covered for anyone who fancies turning their hand at coaching.

Volunteers - to help with match day organisation, running the bar and serving refreshments.

Please get in touch by emailing us at

elstowcricketclub@hotmail.co.uk or by calling one of our current committee members as follows:

Jim Tanswell – Chairperson 07775 668123

Fiona Tanswell – Treasurer 07855 758696

Geoff Couling – Youth Development Manager 07577 609399

Ranvir Thiarra – First Team Captain 07590 375172

Nicola Wisson-Hill – Belles Captain 07789 586671

Matt Stevens – Groundsman 07811 105822

Alternatively, visit our website

elstowcricketclub.co.uk for more information.

Garden Club News

Our April Gardening club meeting welcomed back Susie Lickman for a third visit to us. She listed some old wives tales and claims on social media, which might have a beneficial effect on ailing house plants.

From ice cubes for watering orchids, milk or mayonnaise for shiny leaves, chopping up banana skins or pouring coffee or tea leaves on house plants etc.

She explained the " science " behind their use and her up to date knowledge on why they would not be beneficial and could cause further problems in introducing bacteria etc. Susie then shared with us her considerable knowledge of house plants and what worked to save poorly house plants.

Our meeting in May is our annual plant swap. Please come along with any excess plants you have, labelled and in smallish pots to make carrying home easier. You may also find plants you would like to try or help fill gaps in your existing borders.

Hope to see you all at our meeting on Tuesday 20th May at 2.30pm.  Happy Gardening.

Wilstead Garden Club Committee

Pre School News

Back after the Easter break for what feels like a very short half term! I hope everyone had a lovely Easter and enjoyed eating as much chocolate as possible without feeling too guilty. I know I did!

This last term is packed full of events coming up. What with Father's Day celebrations, sports day, end of term parties and all our fundraising events.

On Sunday 18th May 2:30-4pm our family disco is being held at Wilstead village hall.

All welcome, not just children who attend the pre school. Tickets are £5 per child, adults free.  Suitable for children up to 7yrs old. Entertainment provided. Adults to stay with their children. Refreshments provided.

This will be a lovely fun family afternoon so please do come along. Children can dress up in their party clothes or dressing up outfits, if they wish. Adults too if they really wish!  Tickets available at Committee@wilstead- preschool.co.uk.

The fun run date has been set. I hope you have been limbering up and have managed to find those old trainers.  It will be on Saturday 7th June at the Jubilee Centre and field. 9am for the warm up, fun run starts at 9:30 am.

This will be a sponsored family fun run for all ages and everyone welcome. You can do as many laps of the field as you like. We will be selling refreshments, pastries, sausage and bacon rolls for when you have finished as a well deserved treat at the end of your run.

This is perfect for all those children with boundless energy (even at the weekends!!)  Tickets are £5 per child entrance fee,  adults free. For more information and to book a space email Committee@wilstead-preschool.co.uk.

And our final fundraising event is our fabulous quiz night (just for the adults this one) Friday 27th June at Wilstead village hall.  Teams of up to 8. £5 per person entrance fee.Bar available cash/card payments. Raffle.  Our fabulous quiz master Sammy will host. Please book a table via pre school or by contacting 07948565992.

Now of those three events one or two surely take your fancy and your support is needed more than ever and hugely appreciated!  Please do join us as all three promise to be fabulous.

Here's to a very busy summer term ahead.

Julia

Wilstead WI

Our AGM was held on Thursday 4th April with all committee and officers standing again for the coming year.  Without the dedication of the committee our village WI would not exit so thank you ladies for your hard work and input over the past year and for the year to come.

We had representative's from Bedford Borough Council, the Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care Councillor Robert Rigby and Mark Harris who is the Service Director of Adult Social Care.  

Mark also co-chairs the Older Persons Partnership Board. This board is made up of volunteers who want to make a difference through the board and have their voices heard.  This can be made up of Health, social care, voluntary services etc.  Some of the topics covered recently are bus services, community safety, loneliness and many more. The board offers people the opportunity to ask questions regarding a number of topics. If you are interested to come along to a meeting.   please contact

Mark.harris@bedford.gov.uk.

Our Stratford trip is fully booked; however we now have tickets on sale for our Summer Band Concert on Saturday 21st June in the Village Hall for an evening of merry music and sing along with refreshments for a price of £10.00. Tickets can be purchased from WI meetings, Post Office or on the number below. You may bring your own wine or beer if you wish to do so.

The evening ended with everyone having a chat with friends and enjoying a hot cross bun along with their cuppa.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 1st May at 7.30pm in the Village Hall when we are holding a members evening and celebrating VE day.

Karen Cook

President 01234 403936

karencook3@btinternet.com

Wilshamstead Parish Council

Average Speed Camera Data

As detailed previously the Parish Council are reliant on this speed data being shared on by Bedford Borough Council from Bedfordshire Police and unfortunately on occasions this does not happen in a timely or consistent manner.  However, the Parish Council are optimistic going forwards this information is able to be received more promptly, this means the Parish Council are pleased to be in a position to feedback the data for some of the cameras in Wilstead.  

The latest data received was for February 2025 and shows the levels of speeding along Cotton End Road who have only recently had cameras installed at this location:

Speed               Number of tickets

39 mph & under     41

41               2

42               1

43               2

Total               46

The data for the stretch of the A6 covered by average speed cameras for February shows:

Speed               Number of tickets

74 mph & under     20

77               1

Total               21

Rural Bulky Waste Service Initial Information

At the time of writing the local authority have circulated the draft schedule for 2025, they have requested that it is not published in the public domain.  It is looking like the facility will be serving Wilstead towards the end of May, with the Parish Council looking to publicise the final dates once the Borough Council have confirmed them in due course, this will be done across a range of different platforms.

Proposed Housing Development For Wilstead

There continues to be no change to any of the three large planning applications for new houses in Wilstead, so please remember that even though the consultation deadlines have passed please note the Local Authority can still accept planning comments from members of the public and will be able to take these into account. So there is still time to have your voice heard regarding:

24/01566/MAO

An outline planning application for the erection of up to 149 dwellings and associated works at land to the South East of Duck End Lane.

24/02231/MAO

Outline application demolition of existing buildings and erection of up to 95 residential dwellings at land at Village Farm, 85 Cotton End Road.

24/02463/MAO

375 houses proposed by Wates Development for l and south of Wixams which is within the palrish boundary of Wilstead.

Please send your comments to planning@bedford.gov.uk.

Universal Studios Announcement

Following the recent announcement by Universal Destinations and Experiences, a unit of Comcast NBCUniversal, that it intends to build and operate the company's first-ever theme park and resort in the United Kingdom, located in Bedford, pending planning consent approvals, the Parish Council were grateful to receive invitations to attend the recent announcement event in Bedford.

The proposed plans include an entertainment resort complex with a world-class theme park with several themed lands featuring Universal's distinct brand of immersive storytelling, thrilling rides, innovative attractions and exciting entertainment. Initial resort plans also feature a 500-room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex. It will be the first Universal-branded theme park in the UK and Europe.

The projects will have a transformational impact for Bedford, the wider region and the UK, generating nearly £50 billion of economic benefit, unlocking significant local transportation upgrades, and creating thousands of new, high-quality jobs.  Local residents received a letter containing more information as well as more being available on their website universalukproject.co.uk

The Parish Council will continue to engage and monitor the development of this project as it moves forwards and starts to take shape.

Parish Council Work Updates

- There remains ongoing dialogue with the Borough Council regarding the highways safety proposals for the village around the village centre such as greater double yellow line coverage and a 20mph zone for the village centre as well as some proposals in other parts of the village.  These proposed items will be pubiclly consulted on so all members of the Wilstead community can engage in the consultation process and have their say.

- Continued work being undertaken to improve the recently acquired land off Bedford Road, to be known as Huckle's Meadow in preparation for having the area open for public access in the near future.

- Contracts confirmed for the village grass areas, along with the hedge maintenance for this forthcoming season.

- Continued engagement with parish planning applications received (all Parish Council comments are available on the Borough Council website planning portal section).

- Follow up work being done to expedite the monies owed from the developers contribution as part of the original infrastructure work promised to the local residents to enable the community woodland, now known as Jacob's Wood to be planted and maintained in the coming years.

- Regular updates published on local matters through the Wilstead Parish Council website, do visit www.wilsteadparishcouncil.org  to see the latest news and helpful information.

Contacting The Parish Council

The best way to contact the Parish Council is to email Lizzie (the Parish Clerk) at office@wilsteadparishcouncil.org.

Alternatively, you can call 01234 743152 or write to PO Box 1548, Bedford, MK44 5AX.

Please note the Parish Office (at the rear of the Village Hall) is open most Mondays, 9am to midday. It is worth ringing in advance to ensure it is open.

It is always more interesting to attend a Parish Council meeting in person to see what goes on and understand the range of items covered in trying to move improvements for the Wilstead community forwards. Dates and the agenda are advertised on the village noticeboards, with meetings usually on a Monday starting at 7pm in the small hall at Wilstead Village Hall. (Head to the left-hand side of the main hall building and you will see the door open which is where the Parish Council will be).  Everyone is most welcome to join us, with next meetings scheduled for 12th May, 16th June and 21st July.

Wilstead & Wixams Community Art Group

Tis the merry month of May so, If you're interested in art and would love to try out your talent, why not join us? Your first session is free and, if you decide to continue and become a member, it will be £3 a session when you're able to come. We meet in the Village Hall on Mondays from 2pm-4pm. We don't meet on Bank Holidays. Our group has members of all abilities, using a variety of mediums. You might like sketching in pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, whatever. You can also paint in watercolour, acrylic or even oil. Meeting in the large hall makes it a safe space to work in and we are well spaced out. May I remind members and new people that we do have a small variety of art resources for your use so, if there is anything you haven't got or would like to experiment with, we may be able to help. If you need it, several of our members will help and encourage you in whatever your artistic endeavours happen to be.

Wilstead Bowls Club

The weather has been kind for mowing and preparing the green for the season. There has been work on the flower beds and the benches and gates have also been painted. Thanks go to all involved.

With this newsletter you will have received a flyer for our Open Day on Sunday 25th May from 2pm. We are running this alongside the Bowls England Big Weekend event. The bar will be open and refreshments available. Come and have a go.

We are also inviting anyone who would like to try a free bowling taster session to come along on any Friday evening in May and June from 6pm onwards.

For both the Open Day and the taster sessions all you need are flat soled shoes.

In our last newsletter  we asked If there is anyone in the village who has some spare time and would like to help with the ongoing upkeep of the green and surrounding flower beds, the club would be very grateful. Please get in touch.

Selection of Up and Coming Home Games:

Saturday 10th May Friendly Ladies Triples 2pm.

Tuesday 13th May Ladies League 5.30pm

Wednesday 14th May Friendly Mid-Week Triples 2pm.

Wednesday 14th May Mens County League 6.15pm.

Friday 16th May In-House Fish & Chip Spoon Drive. 5.30pm start.

Monday 19th May Mens Beds Bowls League 6pm.

Spectators always welcome.

The arrangements for our 40th Anniversary Celebration Games on Sunday 20th July are progressing. We would like to thank GoodOaks Homecare for their sponsorship.

Please keep a look out on the Wilstead Community Facebook page for more club news and activities or join us on Facebook -  WILSTEAD BOWLS CLUB  or visit our website.

www.wilsteadbowlsclub.co.uk.

If you need any club information please contact

Sue Marchant

Club Secretary

07716676383

sue@marchantonline.com

P3 Footpath Group

Meetings

There was a quick meeting of the Footpath Group in the Village Hall on 5th April.

The condition of each of the many Public Footpaths and Public Bridleways which surround the village was reported on, following their inspections by members of the group.

Whilst none of these 17 Rights of Way were impassible or even difficult to go along these inspections highlighted where improvements could be made and areas to keep an eye on if we have a wet late Spring!

Also all of the furniture on the paths, be they kissing gates, finger posts, waymark posts and the few small bridges, were reported to be in good/reasonable condition.

Any proposed improvements mainly consisted of cutting back overhanging vegetation and replacing faded way mark discs.

The next bi-monthly meetings are on Saturday 14th June and Saturday 2nd August in the Village Hall (small hall) at 10.00am.

There will again be a report on each of the footpaths and bridleways around the village including their current ease of use. If problems are identified then plans to address these will be discussed. If any of these problems are too large for the Group to address or extra waymarking/path furniture is needed then help will be sought from Bedford Borough.

Come along if you want to know where the paths are, we have some path leaflets, and/or if you are interested in helping to keep these paths around the village usable and see what this entails. This could be doing a visual survey every couple of months to identify any problems and / or help resolve the problems with other members of the group

All are welcome.

Working Parties

Working Parties to address issues raised at the meetings that the Group can tackle will be arranged. Any materiel needed to resolve these problems, e.g. new waymark posts, will be requested from the Borough Council or purchased by the Group.

If you find any problems when going along the paths and bridleways around the village please contact me, see contact details below.

Walks

The April walk was along paths through Flitwick Moor woodland and along the footpaths to Flitton and back. It was a bit shorter than the normal 5 miles (a 2 hour wander). Whether this was due to the allure of the post walk refreshment or not exactly following the planned route remains uncertain.

The weather was fine and the walk was over firm ground (i.e. no avoiding large puddles). The optional refreshment was found in the White Hart Maulden.

If you want to have a look at Flitton Moor and the woods there is a car park down a track off Maulden Road, Flitwick next to Folly Farm.

Keep an eye on the posters on the village noticeboards for details of future walks.

The next walks will be on Friday 9th May 6.30pm, Friday 13th June 6.30pm and Friday July 11th 6.30pm. Meet in the village car park off Whitworth Way

Come along if you fancy a wander (4-5 miles) through nearby Bedfordshire countryside

Nigel Jacobs

Wilstead Footpath Group

01234 400733

Wilstead Village Hall

Are there any of you reading this who are interested in helping the Hall to keep running for the benefit of Village people and others? Please consider attending the AGM on Thursday 22nd May at 7.30pm and join the friendly Wilstead Village Hall Management Committee.  

We especially need support from people in the community who have fresh ideas and approaches to life. We meet about 5 times a year and people give as much time as they are able without any pressure.

The Committee endeavour to keep improving the Hall's facilities while maintaining a competitive price for those who hire the Hall. Please give this plenty of thought and contact Angela, the Secretary, for further information if required. If you wish to stand for the positions of Chairperson, Treasurer or Secretary, please inform Angela by 10 days before the meeting (details below).

You might have spotted or even enjoyed sitting on the new seat/bench outside the front of the Hall. This was purchased in memory of Brian and Sandra Spinks who were tragically killed last November. We still miss them and are very grateful for all the time and devotion they gave to the Hall.

Don't forget that to find any information about the hall, T's & C's, rates of hire, hall availability and to make a booking via the On-line Diary etc., please visit:  wilsteadvillagehall.org.uk

We would greatly appreciate potential hirers using the online booking system and NOT emailing the Admin team.

Deputy-Chairperson – Barbara Seamark

seamarkbarbara@gmail.com 07709573475

Secretary – Angela Fosbrook

fosbrookangela@gmail.com 01234 294692

Reminder -  Please Put May 22nd At 7.30 In Your Diary For WVHMC AGM

Wilstead & Wixams Good Neighbours Scheme

Easter has come and gone, I hope you all had an enjoyable break.

Our friend June's funeral went well and she had a good send off, with many of the Cafe regulars to wish her well on her way She was a close friend and neighbour and will be missed by many.

Though not a Good Neighbours function I would like to bring to your attention a RBL event we are organising (I am Branch Vice Chairman). A quiz night on Saturday 10th May to celebrate VE day 80th anniversary, Lakeview Village Hall Wixams, 7:30 start. Prizes for winning team and best dressed 1940's style! Look out for posters with details.

Next Wilstead Cafe dates in the Village Hall are Friday 17th May, Friday 30th May and Friday 13th June at the normal times 2.00 to 3:30pm. And don't forget Wixams, Lakeview Village hall every Tuesday 10:30 to 12 Noon.

All Ages Welcome!! Kids As Well !

Rick Baxter

Chairman

01234740854

WWGNS Phone 07807 408928

Telephone Migration

There is concern in the community, especially those who are not computer savvy, over the replacement of landlines with digital landlines.

Below is a declaration taken from the Gov.uk website, which may go a long way to alleviating these concerns.  

If you are concerned about your particular provider, they will be happy to explain their procedures to you.

The article is as follows:

We, as Communications Providers (CPs), commit to the following:

1. We will not undertake any non-voluntary migrations to digital landlines, until we have full confidence that we are taking all possible steps to protect vulnerable people through the migration process.

2. No telecare users will be migrated to digital landline services without us, the customer, or the telecare company confirming that they have a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place.

3. Where battery back-up solutions are provided, we will work to provide solutions that go beyond the Ofcom minimum of 1 hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services in the event of a power outage.

4. We will collectively work with Ofcom and government to create a shared definition of 'vulnerable' customer groups that require greater support, specific to the digital landline migration.

5. We will conduct additional checks on customers who have already been non-voluntarily migrated to ensure they do not have telecare devices we were unaware of, and if they do, ensure suitable support is provided

List of signatories: Ogi, BT, Virgin Media O2, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, Shell Energy, KCOM, Zen Internet, Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN).

The Editor