Caring about the future of our community
in Thornbury and the surrounding villages

ST Bulletin

Give-It-Away Take-It-Away Day, Sunday 19 September

Give-It-Away Take-It-Away Day will be on Sunday 19th September this year. We need lots of volunteer stewards to manage the day, so please contact the secretary or ring 01454-416604 if you can help.

It will be held in Rock St car park in Thornbury from 8am until 4pm. Members of the public can bring their useful but unwanted goods before 2pm, or pick up unwanted items free until 4pm. This is an ideal chance to pass on things the charity shops will not take. No dangerous items or live creatures please, but large items and electrical goods are welcome.

There will be a large items board to display cards advertising items too big to bring. Give only your phone number, and any takers will ring you. Adverts can be put up on the day, posted on the My Thornbury website or sent to the secretary or by ringing 01454-412165.

Future plans

After lengthy discussions, we have five small groups each looking at activities that we want to pursue in the not too distant future:-

• The next EcoFair in 2011 or 2012;
• A series of skills sharing workshops, open to the public, on a variety of topics such as composting, remodelling clothes and making a hot box;
• A campaign for alternatives to bottled water;
• Talks, workshops, trips and discussions on sustainability;
• A project or campaign on waste.

If you would like to help plan any of these please contact the secretary or ring 01454-416604.

Thornbury CSA local food scheme

Thornbury CSA, our local food scheme, is up and running, and is now a separate organisation. There are vegetables every week, collected by members on Thursdays from 4pm until 7pm from the Sheiling School. Or your vegetables can be delivered for an extra charge of £2 per week. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, the term used for consumers working with farmers and growers to grow and eat local food.

The vegetables are biodynamically grown on land behind the Castle School in Thornbury. A standard share for two adults costs £9.50 per week or £41 per month, or half as much for a half share. The annual membership subscription is £10, and you can join without buying vegetables if you want to support the scheme or keep in touch with it. We still need more people, so please pass this message on if you know someone local who may be interested.

For more details if you want to buy good local food and support local growers please email Thornbury CSA or ring 01454 416778.

Help needed on stall

We will have a stall at Alveston Parish fair in the afternoon from 1:30pm until 5:30pm on Saturday 4 September. Please come and help if you can, even if its only for an hour or so. To offer help please email the secretary or ring 01454-416604.

Discussions and planning

We have discussions and plan what we are doing at meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30pm at The Chantry. All are welcome. The next three meetings are Wed 22 September, Wed 27 October and Wed 24 November.

Grow Your Own Food

The Grow Your Own Food group has a meeting most months, usually on a Thursday at 7:30pm. The next meeting is about preserving food on Thursday 9 September. Please ring 419599 for more details. Click here for meetings after that or ring 01454-412165.

Dates

Organic Food Festival - 11 to 12 Sept

Visit the Organic Food Festival at Bristol Harbourside, 11-12 September. This year's festival features over 150 organic food and drink producers, celebrity chef demos, live bands and much, much more. Cost £5 on the door, or less if you book in advance.

Thornbury Food Fair - Sat 11 Sept

The next Food Fair is on Saturday 11 September. Come and see the Thornbury CSA stall.

Local Food Festival - 1st to 17th Oct

This year's South Gloucestershire Local Food Festival runs from 1st to 17th October. See the brochure (PDF 1.9MB) The programme of events includes farm, brewery and bakery tours, vineyard and castle visits, cooking demonstrations, apple Orchard Harvest days, Perry Pear Day and sponge-making.

Food Inc film showing - Sat 2 Oct

The Local Food Festival includes a free showing of the film Food Inc on Saturday 2 October at 7pm at the Cossham Hall in Thornbury. This film lifts the veil on the food industry and reveals the truth about most supermarket food. Well worth seeing.

Membership subscriptions

The AGM decided to start charging for membership, in order to raise funds and make membership mean something. The subscription will be £5 for individuals or £8 for a household per year. We shall be writing to members about this soon. We hope no-one will feel this deters them from being a member.

This email was sent by info@sustainablethornbury.org, telephone 01454-416604