BLOXHAM BROADSHEET  –  Dec 2016

Our front cover of the paper edition of the Bloxham Broadsheert this month this month shows all the coloured Christmas Broadsheet covers from the last 16 years, and five samples of black and white Christmas covers from before that.

The December issues of the Broadsheet have always had a festive picture and a Christmas greeting on the cover, and up to and including the 1999 issue the Christmas Broadsheets were printed in black and white. Although in June 1999, we decided to venture into colour for one issue and the front cover was kindly sponsored by Keith Mitchell and showed a coloured photograph of Bloxham Church. In December 2000 we produced our first coloured Christmas cover with a delightful photograph of children in the Pre-school nativity play.

In recent years the Broadsheet has had a coloured cover every month and finding ten pictures a year, topical to each month, has sometimes been quite difficult.  On rare occasions it has been a last minute search to find a suitable photo, preferably in portrait shape, and I have resorted to using photos that my daughter has taken or in desperation, a picture of my own. But most months I have been incredibly lucky and have had photographs supplied by kind and helpful local people who have heard my plea for photos for the cover and come to my aid.

In particular I would like to thank Peter Barwell who has never failed me and has supplied many suitable photos, and sometimes he has taken his camera and captured just the right scene ’to order’.

Thanks also to John Groves, Bruce Duncan, Ian Fallon for his interesting aerial views, Alan Griffin, Anne Williams for photos of old Bloxham, my daughter Sheila Heywood, and in fact anyone who has sent us photographs to use, they have been much appreciated and such a help and it has been a pleasure to exhibit them on the Broadsheet.

The fireworks photo on last month’s Broadsheet was taken in Brixham, Devon by my daughter during our holiday there in August. No picture of Bloxham fireworks was available.

This is my last Broadsheet before I hand over the reins to Sarah Bradford who is the contact for items for February 2017 onwards.   Sarah.bradford00@gmail.com

– or for advertising bloxbroadsheet@gmail.com

A very special thank you to my friends on the Broadsheet committee, it has been a privilege and a pleasure working with you all. Not forgetting John!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL and BEST WISHES FOR 2017

Brenda Kirkham