The Windmill Players

Michele Giles
Purpose To put on a wide selection of amateur performances to entertain and stretch both ourselves and our audiences. We also use any profits to support professional productions in Brill such as The Three Inch Fools and the Watermill as well as ploughing any spare funds back into Brill.
Successes Despite having our funds eroded due to Covid we were back on stage with 'Not The Coronation', after 3 years of problems! Hopefully followed by a full production later in 2023.
Challenges We want new members! We need new members (any age) for writing, acting and back stage. We are a fun group, enjoying our rehearsals but we also take our productions seriously.
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Encourage new members, and come and watch our productions.

Brill Community Cinema

John Powell and Jon Cable
Purpose Cinema for Brill and local area
Successes We became a NT LIVE partner cinema, showing NT LIVE screenings in addition to usual movie nights.
Challenges We are dependent on a very few volunteers and due to some individual personal challenges we had to reduce the number of screenings so far this year. We are hoping to be back with a full programme later in 2023.
Money received from BPC? No. None in 2022/23 but we received a generous amount from S106 fund when cinema founded - used towards equipment costs.
Support required from BPC? Maintain Memorial Hall with its great facilities. One day we'd like to fundraise and improve some of our equipment.

Bernwode News

David Chetham
Purpose Communication
Successes New deliverers for Brill
Challenges Financial
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Unsure

Brill Sports and Social Club

Jo Snell, Club Steward
Purpose To promote, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Brill and the wider community, the provision of amateur sport; to provide facilities for recreational and other leisure time occupations for individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or social and economic circumstances, with the object of improving life for said inhabitants and the public at large in the interests of social welfare.
Successes Sporting: The return of football to Brill in the form of Ashton Folly FC (they will play as Brill next season), Brill Cricket team gained promotion and we had a cup win in the Aunt Sally section. Off the playing field: The return of the Brill Festival weekend (our seventeenth year), our second Christmas Market and, of course, support for the annual Scouts fireworks display - plus special themed Club events, all contributing to successful trading. With help from BPC and others, we have recently installed a second village defibrillator. The Club is moving to Limited Company status in 2023.
Challenges Maintaining financial operating stability
Money from BPC? Yes. Contribution towards defibrillator unit and tree maintenance near the cricket nets.
Support required from BPC? Maintain current excellent liaison relationships and support our football pitch improvement plans.

Common Volunteers

Dave Munson
Purpose The management of vegetation on Brill Common
Successes This has been a long term project with the group being active for over 20 years, meeting twice every month, all year round. The success of our efforts is best measured over a long period since much of what we do is not an instant fix, but requires persistence in order to achieve visible results. The ungrazed areas, such as the tops and sides of the banks beside Windmill road, just above the Clamp bend, now show a succession of flora which was not evident 20 years ago, with an abundance of cowslips followed by hundreds of common spotted orchids on the western bank. The eastern bank is akin to a true flowery meadow and holds a multitude of species, including dozens of bee orchids. Elsewhere, the relative lack of scrub on many parts of the common is due in no small part to our efforts. We continue to engage with small groups of Duke of Edinburgh Award students who share the hard work with us and who enjoy the sense of achievement. We certainly welcome their company and thank them for their efforts.
Challenges The never-ending battle against scrub encroachment, which still persists in so many areas.
Money from BPC? Yes. Repairs and maintenance of machinery, much of which is now elderly. The Commander power unit has recently been fully serviced and is in good working condition. Tasks such as scrub clearance in winter and grass mowing in summer would be impossible without the correct tools.
Support required from BPC? We welcome the creation of the Brill Common and Village Greens Advisory Group with its remit to support Brill Parish Council in meeting mutually agreed objectives for the future management of Brill Common, The Walks and the Village Greens, together with the guidance provided by BBOWT’s Land Advice Service.

Brill Women’s Institute (Brill WI)

Jenny Edmans (President)
Purpose Brill WI is a member of the National Federation of Women's Institutes, whose aims are to bring women together, provide them with education opportunities and the chance to make a difference in their communities.
Successes The main success in the last 12 months has been reviving monthly meetings in the Memorial Hall, where we could interact in person, as well as sharing some jolly good cake! We have been able to enjoy a variety of speakers and activities, while still being aware that we need to maintain appropriate precautions to ensure all our members feel happy to attend meetings. Highlights have been talks from local experts, including a visit from Bee Farmer Tim Rothery, who brought along honey samples to taste, a talk by Mike Thomas on his varied life experiences in business and politics, local graphic and textile designer Christine Green on her work with the BBC, as well as a garden party with a cream tea.
Challenges The WI is based around friendship and companionship and maintaining close contact with members during the last couple of years has been challenging – as has the opportunity to encourage others to join. We are now promoting the monthly meetings around the village and hope to see some new faces, who may come as visitors, but hopefully decide to stay on as members.
Money from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Keep the WI contact aware of ongoing Parish Council business, so that we can be fully involved, as and when appropriate.

BRILL SOCIETY

Andy Fisher, Chair and Paul Norman, Treasurer
Purpose (1) To co-operate with  Brill Parish Council, and Bucks Council on projects of general benefit to the village of Brill. (2) To stimulate public interest in the beauty, history and character of Brill and its surroundings. (3) To encourage the preservation, development and improvement of features of general public amenity or historic interest in Brill. (4) To pursue these ends by meetings, exhibitions, lectures, publications and other forms of publicity and projects of a charitable nature.
Successes The Brill Society has worked hard to build a new team to ensure future success. In the last five months, we facilitated a very successful Brill History Day that led indirectly to a new joint project with Brill URC: a permanent history exhibition to be housed at the URC chapel in the High Street. We are very grateful for an very generous anonymous donation for this exhibition; this money will go a long way towards setting things up. We have now had two meetings of the Brill Oral History Group, bringing together many of our senior Brill residents for a two-hour chat over tea and biscuits while chatting about goings on over their lifetime in Brill. Our next meeting will be a walk around the village followed by a chat about cooking and local dishes growing up. We have started to build a good relationship with Brill Parish Council to ensure the future of our much loved landmark, Brill  Windmill, including formation of a designated sub-committee. We jointly commissioned a full structural survey of the windmill which has led to plans to remove the two older sails for inspection on June 5th. Many of the other issues flagged as urgent by the report have been successfully addressed. We have added a new attraction to the windmill experience; an opportunity to try ones hand at grinding corn, just as the mill did 500 years ago.
Challenges Depending on the outcome of the sail inspection on June 5th there is a chance we may have to replace the two older sails - but we’re trying to be positive and anticipate that the work will be limited to stripping the old pain and preparing the sails for reinstatement. Next year will see another major task; total decoration of the windmill. We’ve already started on pricing the job and looking at available grants. We badly need to encourage more volunteers to join us and assist in many different areas, from manning our expanded gift shop and showing visitors around the Windmill to assisting with maintenance. We are also keen for residents to get involved in our history exhibition in the URC.
Money from BPC? Yes. TBS receive an annual payment of £2000. We’ve also received an additional £5000 to cover the cost of lowering the two sails for inspection.
Support required from BPC? On-going moral and financial support to ensure the windmill remains an iconic feature of Brill.  

Brill climate/Carbon Action Group

Jayne Gibson-Harris
Purpose To raise awareness of the need to reduce the carbon footprint of humans, and put what we've learned into practice at a local level.
Successes Over coffee and cake in the memorial hall we've held three Ecocafés; swapping clothes, sharing experiences of electric bikes, swapping seeds, borrowing books, and sharing our knowledge to try and keep this little part of the planet a habitable place for our children and their children. Every local action makes a global difference.
Challenges Time; it just keeps rolling by...!
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Show parishioners that parish premises can be a net carbon contributor.

Age Concern Bernwode

Jill Pugh
Purpose Giving lifts to medical appointments for villages in the parish.
Successes Continuing to meet most requests despite some of them being very last minute due to cancellations.
Challenges Getting all our volunteer drivers DBS checked.
Money from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? We have our annual fund raising event at the Sports and Social club on Saturday July 22nd from 10 to 12 noon, earlier this year and we'd welcome support. We are always looking to recruit more drivers.

The Walks Management Group

The Walks management group is a small group of volunteers focussed on the management of the seven acre area of the village, known as The Walks. The area is formally designated as a village green and thus is covered by slightly different legal regulations from the common. The group coordinates the management of the area through a wider group of volunteers and liaises with the Parish Council over such plans. The group is a member of the wider Brill Common and Village Greens Advisory Group and is currently working with the consultant and others on a formal management plan for the Walks. This will result in an annual action plan which can be widely circulated to the Advisory Group, residents and other interested parties. Fundamental to that strategy is the need to achieve a balance between public access to the area and the ongoing management of the biodiversity and habitat areas. 

Management is, primarily, undertaken by volunteers, through direct working parties and the informal grazing of the area by sheep and lambs belonging to a small-scale local farmer. The farmer liaises with the group to ensure that residents and visitors are aware of which part of the Walks are being grazed. The committee erected permanent signs advising of the grazing this year. Water for the sheep is provided by two households whose boundaries adjoins the Walks.

The primary focus of working party activity is to ensure that the public access routes across the area are maintained free of weeds, overhanging branches and nettles and that the areas that receive greatest footfall (across the bridge and at the kissing gates) are maintained in good order through the spreading of wood chippings, harvested from previous tree works in the area. 

Other tasks that have been undertaken over the past year include the pollarding of the willow trees around the pond. The last few years has seen the pond dry out over the summer months and the willows draw a great deal of water. Pollarding should help to reduce this water take, giving the pond a better chance of being wet throughout the year.

The group receives several requests from local residents to plant memorial trees and erect other memorial structures such as benches and swings. Trees are generally accepted subject to the caveat that the ongoing maintenance (such as watering and sheep protection) is undertaken by the requesting family. Benches have only been approved for someone who has had a long-standing association with the Walks and/or nature conservation in the village. This year a bench was erected to commemorate Peter Davis, founder and chairman of Brill Environment Group. Two rope swings were also approved by the committee and erected by the Tuffley family. The swings have been very well used and are seen as a considerable asset to the village green status of The Walks and the ongoing public access and use of the area.

The inclusion of the Walks in the wider management plan will allow areas to be identified for habitat conservation and biodiversity enhancement such as nettle areas for butterflies and protection of other wildlife friendly plants. 

Brill United Reformed Church

Sue Horton
Purpose Church worship; community hub
Successes Monthly Saturday coffee mornings (and bookshop) are well attended and provide a meeting space for villagers
Challenges Keeping the building maintained and open with a small congregation
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC?

Brill Village Fête

Michele Giles
Purpose To provide a wonderful, traditional village fete at Brill House with stalls and activities for all the family, including children's races and a dog show. It takes place on August Bank Holiday Monday from 2-4pm
Successes Successful Fete in 2022 with the proceeds going to Brill pre-school, All Saints Church & The British Legion
Challenges Keeping a village fete relevant and fun
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Publicise and encourage everyone to come along for some fun [plus assistance with public liability insurance]

Brill Show

Elaine Vaile
Purpose Annual Community Show with classes offered across a broad range of categories (baking, art, vegetables, handicrafts, flowers and photography).
Successes A successful show in 2022 and new committee members.
Challenges Re-establishing the show in 2023 post covid cancellations
Money received from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? Support the promotion of the show on 10th September 2023.

Friends Of Brill Common

Roger Stone, Secretary
Purpose The FOBC‘s mission is to: (1) Assist maintaining Brill Common in its traditional role as an open grassland area for the use and enjoyment by the residents of Brill and the wider community; (2) To maintain and improve the Common’s biodiversity; (3) To foster an appreciation of the Common and it’s history. The FOBC was founded in 2007 by group of concerned villagers who became aware that the traditional open grassland aspect of the common was being lost- particularly so on North Hills where access had become virtually impossible. So concerned were the village at this state of affairs they organised a number of mass scrub clearances on North Hills. These events led to the formation of “The Friends of Brill Common”. The group now consists mainly of retired villages who meet on an informal basis working strictly to the Brill Common management plan. We are founder members of the newly formed Brill Common and Greens Advisory Group who function is, as it’s name suggests, to advise the Parish Council. Our working sessions, normally on weekdays, are usually focused on the perpetual challenge of removing invading scrub, ragwort, thistles and Himalayan balsam. These tough working sessions are broken up with suitable refreshment and where many local tales are recalled, thus maintaining a link to the past whilst keeping our local history alive. 
Successes The success can be judged by visiting the Common where open vistas and ready access become obvious. Successful management of natural areas cannot be measured in the short term. Sixteen years ago when FOBC was formed the Common was virtually lost as a public amenity. The Friends of Brill Common commissioned a report to highlight the poor condition of the Common and presented it to the Parish Council to register its concern. Simultaneously the NERC Act came into force making the Council legally responsible for maintaining its biodiversity. Slowly over the intervening period work has continued and today the Common is returning to a traditional open area of unimproved grassland that can be appreciated and enjoyed by all. The traditional flora and fauna associated with this nationally rare habitat is recovering and the majority of Common is now accessible to all. 
Challenges Brill Common is a part of the nationally rare reserve of “unimproved grassland.” To retain this asset is a perpetual challenge that requires rigorous control of the never-ending scrub encroachment (brambles, tree saplings etc.) and the succession of rank and coarse grasses. Removal of poisonous ragwort from the grazing areas, Himalayan balsam (a non-native and invasive plant) and creeping thistle (a notifiable weed) are high on our agenda. Finding new volunteers is always a challenge.
Money from BPC? No. FOBC have never received financial assistance from Brill Parish Council. We are an entirely self-supporting group who cover all costs of servicing our equipment and consumables.
Support required from BPC? It is the Parish Council’s legal obligation to manage the Common and therefore should not rely solely on volunteers to maintain this large public area. The Common should be allocated proportionate funding (as is afforded to all other village assets viz. The Walks, Windmill, BSSC etc.) to enable contractors to carry out work that cannot be carried out by volunteers.

Brill Village Community Herd Ltd

The Secretary
Purpose BVCH was formally set up as a ‘Society for the Benefit of the Community’ and whose purpose is to assist the Parish Council in its duty to maintain Brill Common. Grazing further assists the Parish Council by enabling it to qualify for lucrative government environmental grants. Our small herd of Dexter cattle conservation graze the Common and are managed by community volunteers on a daily basis.
Successes We maintain a community membership of approaching 300 of which about 50 are actively involved in managing the herd. The herd continue maintain the open aspect of the Commons and improve its biodiversity. This is evident from the abundance and variety of wild flowers that it sustains and increase in insects that they support.
Challenges Although we are fortunate to have a number of our community volunteers, those with cattle handling experience are harder to find. New members are always welcome. Householders sharing a boundary with the Common do not always maintain stock proof fencing as they should, allowing animals to wander. The dumping of general waste on the Common poses a potential threat to the herd and garden waste, such as laurel clippings, can be very harmful to our herd. Although dog owners are constantly advised to keep their pets under close control in the vicinity of animals dog attacks do occur. This year we unfortunately lost one of our herd to such an incident.
Money from BPC? Yes. The major of money BVCH receive annually from the Parish Council is obtained from a Natural England grant for conservation grazing. The remainder was specifically for the maintenance of the herd: viz: the warden, insurance, veterinary costs and supplementary feed. (These costings are a fundamental commitment of the Parish Council that was established at the founding of BVCH.) All other operational expenses are covered from BVCH funds. A detailed account of how the PC contribution is spent is provided annually to the Parish Council.
Support required from BPC? Promote and acknowledge BVCH’s contribution to the Village

Brill church

Gemma Beesley
Purpose Church (part of Bernwode Benefice)
Successes
Memory Lane Cafe dementia friendly social space celebrated its first birthday in April. Each week about 30 people attend with good coffee, homemade cake and a varied programme of activities such as chair exercises, singing and music and crafts. Small Saints baby and toddler group also continues to thrive, offering a very welcoming space for little people and their grown ups. Good coffee, homemade cakes made by our DofE volunteer, stories, songs, play and SNACKS! One childminder said it is the friendliest group she's ever been to- and she's been to a lot! Both these activities are managed, led, organised and run by volunteers. They serve the whole benefice of seven villages, and beyond! Midweek soup lunch isn't advertised far and wide, but all are welcome for homemade soup and some really fascinating chat (we usually put the world to rights!) Lunch is preceded by a short service of Holy Communion. Sunday worship is enjoyed, and we are actively recruiting for our brilliant choir- see posters and Bernwode News for details. The church hosts Brill School for festivals and special services; they blew the roof off at Easter with fabulous drums and worship band. The church is a place for the whole village. Our visitors book reflects how much the building and churchyard is valued and appreciated by all for its peace, beauty and history. In March we hosted a special Love Your Church service to thank, pray for and commission the wonderful volunteers who do so much to help it thrive. Next month we are hosting two social justice sessions for the WHOLE community: an afternoon tea to talk about death and dying (following Marie Curie TalkAbout resource) and the Alzheimers Society's Dementia Friends training session. We invite ALL, regardless of belief, to attend these two events, as we are passionate about equipping the whole community to care well for one another.
Challenges Like all other places who rely mainly on a volunteer workforce we have an aging and declining set of volunteers. Finances are also quite diminished after Covid. Many people think the church is rich, but at grassroots level individual churches like Brill rely on the generosity of local people who give financially. Energy bills have risen for everyone. We have had an energy audit of the church to see how we can most efficiently heat and light the space, and be as eco-friendly as possible. Heating the building is costly, but essential if we are to offer good hospitality and keep the building usable for all.
Money from the Parish Council? No
Support required from BPC? Financially, including grants towards enabling community activities which could be hosted in the building. Supporting with awareness about the church and activities. We would really love some help keeping the churchyard tidy, trimmed and eco-friendly.

Brill Environment Group

Jayne Gibson-Harris
Purpose To support the growth of the natural world in and around Brill and educate people on how to appreciate and care for it.
Successes Our main success was the completion of the 70 Trees for the Jubilee project. This saw the planting 30 native sapling trees in The Walks, 25 on the Playing Fields and three in The Firs in November last year. The trees were donated by the Woodland Trust and came in a pack of 120. The rest of the trees were used as hedging plants, and to create a hazel copse in the Upper Walks. The trees were planted by the children of Brill School, the Scouts and volunteers from BCAG and the local community. A generous donor provided twelve large trees, which were planted in January around the new playground by members of the Common Volunteers and volunteers from the community and BCAG. A commemorative photo of this event was uploaded to The Queen’s Green Canopy map, in memoriam of our late Queen. The whole project ended with the dedication of a bench around a Walnut tree that BEG planted in remembrance of Pete Davis and Peter Bugg, founder members of BEG. This took place on a beautiful spring morning and was attended by friends and family of Marcia Davies and Jane Bugg. In February we organised a winter talk and heard from our local environmentalist about Butterflies, Birds, Fungi and Flora. There were some amazing ariel pictures of the common along with lots of beautiful photos of butterflies, flowers and birds plus with a wealth of information about our local environment. We also heard from Joe Woodman about his PHD study of Great Tits in Wytham Woods. The speakers discussed the impact of climate change on the species they were observing or studying. Finally, we organised three field trips this year: one last May to see the orchids at Aston Clinton ragpits; a Fungus Foray at Rushbeds Wood in October, and a guided visit to Wytham Woods this May, looking for Great Tit hatchlings (and bluebells) with Joe Woodman.
Challenges Brill Environment was originally set up as custodians of Hartwell’s Barn and Saunder’s Field. This derelict building and land was privately owned but, following applications from a group of like-minded people, BEG received funding from DEFRA to restore it and create an environmental centre. The barn has now been managed by BEG for over 25 years and has been the setting for many environmental and social events, including Midsummer Music. Sadly, with the passing of Dave Croydon, Hartwell’s Barn is to be sold and, although we have access to it until it is sold, this partnership is soon to come to an end. Hartwell’s Barn and Saunder’s Field are huge assets to the community and their loss would be sadly missed by many. The current membership of BEG is too small to take on the huge amount of organisation and fundraising that would be required to purchase the barn and field and, although BEG is committed to continue as an environmental group and promote education and understanding of our natural world, we do not feel we have capacity to embark alone on such a project. Lack of membership therefore is probably our greatest challenge.
Money received from BPC? No
Support required form BPC? The creation of a group with the objective of retaining Hartwell’s Barn and Saunder’s Field for future generations of Brill residents.

BRILL COMMUNITY FUND

Michael Swan
Purpose To financially support, in a modest way, exclusively local projects that, in as much as is possible, can be seen to enhance the wellbeing of the whole community and its facilities.
Successes Funding has been provided to a number of local projects and events including Art on the Hill, the defibrillator at the Sports & Social Club, the Christmas tree on The Green and Brill Festival
Challenges Awareness of the existence of the fund is probably not that high and we would welcome more applications. We would also like to recruit one or two more committee members, ideally younger people to provide balance to the committee. Almost all our funding comes from the Brill & Bernwode Oil Buying Club (through commission paid to it by the oil suppliers) and we would be keen to diversify our sources of income if possible, especially given that oil buying will (and should) decline in the coming years
Money from BPC? No
Support required from BPC? By raising awareness of the fund

Brill Playground Committee

Joanne Hope
Purpose To build two new playgrounds for Brill
Successes Completed the project; just need to install accessible path from playing field gate to infant playground
Challenges Finding the King George 5th Playing Field deeds and dealing with the disturbance caused by the musical play items
Money from BPC? Yes, used the money to contribute to the project
Support required from BPC? The Playground Committee is now handing over to the PC to maintain and clean the area