The traditional Balsall Common Lions fireworks display and bonfire is on Saturday 9 November at The Lant Playing Field (where the tennis courts and cricket club are) on Meeting House Lane, CV7 7GE.
The charity event is organised in partnership with the Berkswell and Balsall Common Sports and Community Association. Once again, it is sponsored by Jamieson Christie Wealth Management and Alan Heath & Sons Bathrooms. Gates open at 6pm, with the bonfire lit at 6:45pm and fireworks at 7:15pm.
The Lions are encouraging people to buy tickets early to save on the on-the-gate ticket price.
Prices are as follows:
Family advance ticket £16 (2 adults, 3 children)
Adult Advance ticket £6/ on gate £7
Child advance ticket £3/ on gate £3
Tickets are available at Balsall Common Pharmacy, Michael’s Drinks World, A1 motorist Store, Oakes Farm Shop or by calling 0845 833 8565. You can also buy them online via this website.
Please note that sparklers or personal fireworks are not permitted on the night.
Great Taste, the coveted food and drink awards, has announced its stars of 2019. In total 12,772 products are sent in from over 100 different countries, and two local businesses Adlington Ltd and AJ Classic Cakes were awarded Great Taste awards for their products. This means judges dubbed them foods that deliver fantastic flavour.
Adlington were rewarded for the following
products:
While AJ Classic Cakes picked up honours for their gluten-free, vegan offerings :
Mini Christmas Cake
Naked Apple & Apricot Mini Muffin
To join their 2018 star awarded to their Carrot & Orange Cupcake with lemon frosting
Judged by over 500 of the most demanding
palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs, buyers,
retailers and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and
journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food
accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. As well as a
badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a
signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through
hours and hours of blind tasting by hundreds of judges.
Rod Adlington, explains: We have been consistent winners of Great Taste Awards for more than ten years and I am delighted and proud to be recognised again in in 2019. It’s testament to the quality of our high-welfare products, our natural ingredients and our passion in producing fantastic products. Thanks must go to our staff and our customers who make Adlington such a success.”
Angela Jones of AJ Classic Cakes added: “I established the business in 2014 and I created the majority of my vegan recipes myself. The ingredients for the vegan cakes are egg free, dairy free and gluten free and all cakes are baked fresh to order. I use fruit and vegetables in the vegan cakes wherever possible as this adds flavour, moisture and texture to the overall bake. I’m delighted that the judges agreed!”
Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. There were 12,772 entries into Great Taste this year and of those products, 208 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,326 received a 2-star and 3,409 were awarded a 1-star accolade.
Are you able to help the Jubilee centre continue to offer a high-quality community space to the residents of Balsall Common and Berkswell?
Two years ago, the Jubilee in
Balsall Common was facing closure and an open meeting was held to find a new
team who were prepared to sit as Trustees to try to revive this Community
Centre in the heart of Balsall Common
Several people came forward and set to work to raise funds to completely refurbish the building, put a new structure in place and set the charity on a better footing
This work has been completed
and the Jubilee is now a thriving registered charity with a full timetable of
activities available to the local community. The building is regularly hired
out for events, activities and parties to such an extent that the centre is
completely self-sustaining financially
However,
the Jubilee cannot afford to stand still – it needs to continue to develop if
it is not to decline, particularly as the Balsall Common community will grow
over the next few years. The current Committee and volunteers will not carry on
indefinitely. If it is to sustain and build upon its achievements to date, the
Jubilee needs new people with the time, energy and skills to join as Trustees.
Can
you help us? Many volunteers find that their input enables them to
meet other local people,
add balance to their working lives
gives them a positive purpose
gain recognition in the community and at work
Please
take the time to find out about what it means to be Trustee at the Jubilee
Here
is some initial information:
Trustees normally meet six times a year for a maximum of two hours. The meetings are arranged flexibly to try to meet the needs of those who wish to attend.
The
charity is structured so that Trustees have no financial liability, but they do
carry responsibility to ensure that the Jubilee is well run. In addition to
this Trustees are expected to read and respond to short, but regular, emails
and other communications in between meetings. Trustees can choose to be
involved in as much, or as little, of the day to day running of the Jubilee as
fits with their other commitments. Trustees are often able to use their
particular areas of expertise for the furtherance of the work of the Jubilee
(eg IT, marketing, finance, building maintenance)
For
more information, with no obligation, please contact Sue White:
The Summer Fete is to be held on 21st September 2019 2pm – 5pm in Lavender Hall Park. Entry is free. There will be plenty of entertainment in the arena starting at 2pm with local Morris Dancers as well as a great selection of stalls from local charities, small businesses and local crafts.
Beer and refreshment tents will keep people fed and watered while a number of games and amusements will keep the kids happy with pony rides from our local riding school, Pool House Farm.
Grand Draw tickets are on sale with the chance to win the following fantastic prizes:
Prize
Donated by
1st Prize – Quooker Tap (worth £1500)
Hampton Homes
2nd Prize – Child’s Bicycle
Harper Fields Care Home
Bottle of Champagne
Albany Meadows
Fish and Chips for two
Balsall Common Fish Bar
Meal Voucher
Bengal Brasserie
Meat Hamper
Bosworths Butchers
Hamper
Ginger Estate Agents
Voucher for a Full English Breakfast for two
La Delicia
Case of Wine
Michaels
Afternoon Tea for Two Voucher + £25 Voucher
Oakes Farm Shop
Dog Treat Hamper
Oscar Pet Foods
30 minutes Sport Massage
Physio and Health Matters Ltd
Gardening Gift Voucher
Rosebournes Garden Centre
Hair Products Package
Shane Collins Hairdressers
2 x Bottles of Mulled Wine
Tesco
File and Paint Manicure Voucher
Two Ten Hairdressers
Prosecco
Vivendi
Golf Day Voucher
West Midlands Golf Club
Wash and Blow-dry Voucher
Westwood Hairdressers
Afternoon Tea for Two Voucher
Windmill Hotel
The money raised will go towards funding both the picnic in July and this year’s fete. Any surplus money will be donated back to the local groups who have supported us this year. We at balsallcom.com were delighted to support the festival, and proud to fund the printing of the raffle tickets for the festival committee.
Other news
The committee sadly say goodbye this year to Linda Dandy who has been our treasurer for several years and we welcome to the committee Christina O’Sullivan, Simon Edwards and Alex Spedding. All three joined us this year and have been full of fresh ideas and enthusiasm. If there is anyone else out there who has some spare time and would like to join the committee or volunteer their help at our events please contact us at balsallcommonfestival@gmail.com.
Picnic in the Park
The Picnic in the Park in July was amazing – everything the committee hoped it would be and more. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we all did. How lovely it was to see all the families and children playing, relaxing, eating and drinking whilst enjoying great music until late in Lavender Hall Park. We have to say a massive thank you to Martin Pettifor of Pettifor’s Haulage who kindly lent us one of his lorry trailers to act as a stage for the Soundations, Balsall Common Lions for providing generators, the Hornets for the use of their car park and Solihull Council for allowing us to use the Park.
Many thanks also to all of you who bought Grand Draw Tickets at the event and everyone who donated their loose change in the blue buckets at the end of the evening.
Local eatery la Delicia has expanded its opening hours. They are now open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6:30 p.m. serving a range of alcoholic drinks and food. Antipasti, vegan, fish, and poultry sharing platters are available. Other options include bread and olives, crab cakes, calamari, Camembert tear and share, and nachos. Food is served until 9 p.m. and last orders for drinks is 10pm. Alcoholic beverages on offer include wine, gin, Prosecco, craft beers and bottled lager.
Owner and manager Jamie explained: “We wanted to offer something extra for the local community in and around Balsall Common. We’ve had a great response to our current breakfast and lunch offerings and we trialled evening opening earlier this year. We would love as many local people as possible to support our evening opening as it’s currently a trial and will only become permanent depending on how much interest we get. So if you’d like us to keep opening up on Friday and Saturday nights serving food and drinks right in the heart of Balsall Common please come along and see what’s on offer!”
La Delicia is on Station Road, in the centre of Balsall Common. You can find out more on their website http://www.ladelicia.co.uk or via their social media channels Facebook and Instagram
