Thank you so much to all who came to the Annual Parish Meeting on 9th April, especially the representatives of Badby’s clubs and societies for their contributions. We heard from Badby bellringers, Badby Sings, Badby and Farthingstone Cricket Club, The Recorded Music Society, the WI, the Village Hall Organising Committee and The Parish Council. All were able to highlight their strong successes over the last year.
Badby bellringers have doubled in number and raised sufficient funds to have the bells re-hung. Badby sings have harmonised their way through 400 songs and created a “greatest hits list” of 200. They now branch out with trips to local musical events. The cricket club goes from strength to strength since Badby (one of the oldest in the County) joined with Farthingstone (one of the newest). We heard that the beautiful quiet location of Badby’s pitch is ideal for Northants blind/visually impaired cricket team and we have become their preferred location for their matches. A highlight last year was Badby and Farthingstone’s special match with The Crooked Hooker aka Northampton Saints RFC Academy side. The Recorded Music Society continues to meet monthly to learn about, discuss and enjoy a wide range of music based on a given theme. The WI has over 50 members and offers a wide range of activities such as walking, knitting (see village postbox!), crafting, gentle yoga, as well as their fascinating monthly meetings with guest speakers.. The Village Hall has welcomed some new regular users including musical theatre for 4-7 year olds and Spanish for U3A. Certainly spanning the generations! The hall has hosted Santa’s grotto, Burns Night and, as ever, Bluebell teas. Don’t forget you can always hire this venue for family get-togethers. The Parish Council shared their successes with improvements to the cemetery (including Katie single-handedly planting 100s of saplings), tackling flooding and erecting new goalposts for village children to enjoy.
There were common themes across all presentations – an open door to new members, an inclusive approach, contribution to village life and, above all, a strong commitment to keeping things going for the benefit of all current and future participants. All of these are great examples of how voluntary efforts and people willing to give up their time enrich our village community.
Thank you again.
Michael Thompson
Chair : Badby Parish Council
07738 274057