Community Choices

A Fun Filled October Half Term
A Fun Filled October Half Term 2333 1750 Liz Matthews

Young minds and active bodies were energized during our action-packed Half Term Halloween events, where sports, science, and creativity combined to create an unforgettable experience for local children. Over four exciting days, our community came together for a celebration that proved learning and staying active can be frighteningly fun!

Day 1: Hi-Impact Multi Sports Kick off

The week burst into action with our Hi-Impact Multi Sports session, where young participants channeled their energy into an afternoon of fitness and fun. Children enjoyed a dynamic mix of activities designed to get hearts pumping and faces smiling, setting an energetic tone for the days ahead.

Day 2: Sublime Science Spooktacular

The excitement continued as our Sublime Science Halloween Party transformed curious kids into passionate young scientists. The air crackled with excitement as children explored various hands-on experiments:

Electric Currents: Children discovered the fascinating world of electricity, safely exploring how circuits work
Wacky Experiments: From creating instant snow to challenging gravity, these demonstrations left everyone amazed
Sound Investigations: Young scientists unravelled the mysteries of vibrations and sound waves
Chemical Lemonade: Science took a tasty turn as participants mixed up their own refreshing concoctions
Slime Time: No modern science party would be complete without this crowd favourite!

To continue the scientific journey at home, each participant left with delicious chocolate treats and experiment-packed books – much to their delight (and perhaps their parents’ amusing concern)!

Day 3: Crafty Halloween Creations

The third day unleashed our visitors’ creative spirits through a variety of spooky crafting activities:

Biscuit Decorating: Sweet treats transformed into edible Halloween masterpieces
Trick-or-Treat Bag Design: Young artists personalized their candy-collecting gear
Monster Hairband Creation: Fashion met fright as children crafted unique Halloween accessories

Day 4: Grand Finale – Sk8Jam Thrills and Soft Play Smiles!

The half-term activities concluded with an exciting split event that catered to all ages:

Sk8Jam at the Skate Park
The ATBShop Sk8Jam proved to be an incredible success, featuring:
* Professional skating instruction
* Fun-filled games and competitions
* Expert guidance from the ATBShop team
* An atmosphere buzzing with excitement and achievement

Soft Play Paradise
While the older kids were mastering their skating skills, our youngest community members enjoyed:
* Engaging soft play activities
* Creative coloring sessions
* A gentle, joy-filled environment perfect for little ones

Special thanks to ATBShop and all our volunteers who made these half-term events such a tremendous success.

Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights, 26th October
Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights, 26th October 2333 1750 Liz Matthews

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS ✨

Our Parish Council Offices burst into life with the most magical Diwali transformation ever! 🎨 The colours were INCREDIBLE! The entire building was adorned with vibrant decorations, twinkling lights, and beautiful traditional ornaments that transformed our everyday workspace into a spectacular festival venue.

The celebration, led by Cllr Omkar Munagala, saw many activities including:
• Creative souls crafted stunning rangoli patterns, bringing ancient art forms to life with colorful powders and intricate designs
• Beautiful handmade lanterns took shape under skilled hands, each one unique and glowing with warmth
• Traditional dancers shared amazing performances, filling the space with graceful movements and rhythmic energy
• Mouthwatering Indian delicacies filled the air with irresistible aromas, from crispy samosas and flavourful curries to sweet treats that delighted everyone’s taste buds

The community came together in a wonderful display of cultural sharing, with both young and old participating in the festivities. Many tried their hand at rangoli for the first time, while others observed the religious ceremony.

✨ The afternoon concluded in true festive spirit as everyone gathered outside with sparklers. The sparklers created magical patterns in the darkness, perfectly capturing the joy and light that Diwali represents. ✨

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us in this spectacular celebration of the Festival of Lights. 🪔

 

Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights
Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights 2333 1750 Liz Matthews

🪔 Celebrate Diwali with Us! 🎉

Join the Haydon Wick community for a vibrant celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights!

📅 Date: Saturday, 26th October

🕐 Time: 3.30pm – 5.30pm

📍 Location: HWPC Offices, SN25 1QQ

Immerse yourself in the joyous spirit of Diwali with:

✨ Craft activities

🎨 Plate Rangoli making

🏮 Lantern creation

💡 Festive light displays

Traditional dress is encouraged but optional. Let’s come together to brighten our community!

This event is part of our Community Choices programme, aimed at bringing people together and combating loneliness. All are welcome!

To help us plan, please register your interest below.

Community Groups Enquiry Form
I live in the Haydon Wick Parish *
Address
Line 1 Site Address
Line 2 Site Address
Town
County
Postcode
I am interested in attending the following community groups: *

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the magic of Diwali right here in Haydon Wick!

For more information contact your Community and Youth Co-ordinator Sean on: community&youth@haydonwick.gov.uk or call: 01793 722446

See less
  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Successful Murder Mystery & Curry night helps to reduce loneliness and isolation in the parish
Successful Murder Mystery & Curry night helps to reduce loneliness and isolation in the parish 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

“The room was buzzing with the sound happiness, laughter and people enjoying the lovely meal…”

On Friday 22nd September, the Council hosted a Murder Mystery & Curry night at the Haydon Wick Working Men’s Club. This follows on from a series of quiz nights and supper evenings that have taken place throughout the year in line with the Council’s commitment to reduce loneliness and isolation in the parish.

Tickets were a sell out and at 7pm the room filled with attendees, in groups and alone, joining together to enjoy an evening of murder so gruesome. Purton Amateur Dramatic Society performed their latest ‘Christina’ murder mystery act, which left people in the interval wondering who did the terrible deed.

Chennai Dosa arrived to serve their wonderful Indian street food to all attendees and actors and the room was buzzing with the sound happiness, laughter and people enjoying the lovely meal.

The raffle was drawn in the interval, and this saw lots of lovely prizes donated. Our lucky winners walked away with bottles of wine, sweetly scented candles, sweets and most importantly, chocolates! In total the raffle raised £103 for the Council’s chosen charities, BEST – Be A Better You and The Kelly Foundation.

As the rest of the evening unfolded, the audience were left with clues to try and decipher who they felt was the guilty party or parties. The actors and actresses distributed themselves amongst the audience, looking at the reasoning behind the team’s decisions.  The winning team ‘Too Much Prosecco’ won prizes for their creative detective skills. The Council received some positive feedback about the event:

“It was lovely to come out on a Friday evening and do something totally different”.

“Wow the curry was delicious, thanks for a great evening”.

“I can’t wait for what the next event might be”.

Help the Parish Council choose next year’s Community Choices

In 2020 the Council launched its Community Choices initiative. This is where Haydon Wick residents provide ideas and suggestions for what to spend the Community Choices budget on. The community then vote, and the most popular choice(s) are delivered by the Parish Council in that financial year. For the past two years the community has voted for a programme of events to help reduce loneliness and isolation.

Residents are now being asked to submit suggestions of projects, activities, or events for 2024/25. To find out more about Community Choices project contact the Council’s Community Development Officer or visit the Council’s website: cdofficer@haydonwick.gov.uk / https://haydonwick.gov.uk/community-choices/.

Never miss an update by keeping up to date with all the latest Haydon Wick Parish Council news and events by subscribing to our monthly email bulletin. To do this visit: https://haydonwick.gov.uk/latest-news/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wicks Over 60s Afternoon Tea
Haydon Wicks Over 60s Afternoon Tea 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

“We are so lucky to live in a Parish that cares so much about us and who put on events like this”.

 

Saturday 9th September 2023 saw another fabulous, free event for over 60s in the community of Haydon Wick. The afternoon tea organised by Haydon Wick Parish Council was part of the Council’s Community Choices initiative where ideas are chosen and voted upon by the residents in the parish to deliver projects throughout the financial year. For the second year running, the community chose to focus on reducing loneliness and isolation in the parish, and this event did just that!

 

The afternoon tea was hosted in the Parish Council Offices on Thames Avenue and saw around 30 wonderful attendees join in for a fabulous afternoon. There were some faces which the staff recognised from the Council’s fabulous Haydon Wick Haven (every other Monday from 11.00am – 1.00pm) and the valuable Community Bus (daily service with subsidised fares), it also welcomed some new faces.  The Council is looking forward to welcoming them back for more exciting activities and events which they have to offer.

 

The beautifully decorated room was set up with vintage chinaware and table clothes. There was lots of lovely food available, from sandwiches, to cream cakes and freshly prepared scones with clotted cream, jam and fresh fruit. It was satisfying to hear snippets of the conversations shared between old and new friends, of lovely stories about passed loved ones, childhood memories, upcoming trips and funny tales of past experiences.  Some of the lovely quotes from attendees were as follows:

 

“We don’t want to leave; we’ve had such a lovely time.”

“We have put the world to rights today, we’ve spoken about everything.”

“We are so lucky to live in a Parish that cares so much about us and who put on events like this.”

 

As always, the event was well supported by Councillors and other wonderful volunteers, who helped to set up, pack away and look after our residents. The Council is proud to see the impact these events are having on this targeted community. They are helping with their mental health and wellbeing simply by giving them a change of scenery for the afternoon, offering tasty cakes and lovely company for a good old fashioned chin wag!

Councillor Rebecca Ross, Chair of the Community Development Committee at Haydon Wick Parish Council had this to say about the event:

 

“What a wonderful time was had by everyone who came to the Over 60’s tea on Saturday. This is always a popular event and is aimed at reducing isolation and loneliness in the older generation, so it was great to see everyone chatting and enjoying themselves. A huge thank you to everyone who helped with the event. The food as always was superb!”

Councillor Paul Park said these words about the event: “I was completely blown away with the work everyone had put in before we even showed up! And I am truly grateful to have such amazing people working for the parish”.

 

To keep up to date with upcoming events and news from Haydon Wick Parish Council, visit our website and follow us on social media. Alternatively, subscribe to the Council’s monthly news bulletin using the following link: https://haydonwick.gov.uk/latest-news/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Community Choices 2023
Community Choices 2023 500 500 Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Council successfully develops community participatory budget project.

Following the success of last year’s Community Choices programme of ‘Reducing Isolation & Loneliness’, the Council resolved to continue the participatory budget project scheme again this year.

The scheme is designed for the community to decide what it would like the Council to spend this budget on and residents of Haydon Wick had the opportunity to vote on which two projects they would like to see the Council deliver in the financial year 2023 – 24.

The participatory budget was a first of its kind for Haydon Wick in 2022 – 23 and last year’s events included Food & Quiz Nights, BEST Be A Better You Boxing Camps, Community Yoga sessions, Toddler Soft Play sessions, Wellie Walks around Mouldon Hill, Skate Jams, Childrens Toy & Clothes Sale, Christmas Activities and Over 60s Meals and Bus Trips.

One of the residents who voted had this to say:

“The previous programme has been excellent and captured a variety of ideas. I look forward to what the Council is able to bring to the community in 2023/24.”

The options for this year, chosen by the community, were:

  • Baby/toddler group: To establish a carer and baby/toddler group
  • Youth: to deliver a series of inclusive youth community activities
  • Event for all: a community event for Haydon Wick
  • Outdoor gym: to purchase and install an outdoor community gym
  • Reducing isolation: community programme to create opportunities to reduce isolation within the community.

Voting closed on Tuesday 4th April 2023, and the two most popular projects were reducing isolation and youth. The Council will be developing a schedule of events focussing on these two priorities.

All events will be advertised on our social media and programme leaflets delivered through doors, so keep an eye out for further information.

If you have any ideas for future events, please contact events@haydonwick.gov.uk

Explore our latest news

Previous
Next

Haydon Wick Parish Council Strengthens Its Commitment to the Armed Forces Community

 Haydon Wick Parish Council Strengthens Its Commitment to the Armed Forces Community 1860 1392 Liz Matthews

Building a Stronger, More Resilient Community Together 💙

 Building a Stronger, More Resilient Community Together 💙 2016 1512 Liz Matthews

Haydon Wick Through Children’s Eyes: Creative Ideas Inspire New Community Mural

 Haydon Wick Through Children’s Eyes: Creative Ideas Inspire New Community Mural 1600 1200 Liz Matthews

Summer Extravaganza 2026 – a Fantastic Day of Fun, Music and Community Togetherness

 Summer Extravaganza 2026 – a Fantastic Day of Fun, Music and Community Togetherness 766 540 Liz Matthews

Grounds Maintenance Facility Officially Opens 

 Grounds Maintenance Facility Officially Opens  2560 1707 Liz Matthews

What a wonderful morning at the Haydon Wick Haven

 What a wonderful morning at the Haydon Wick Haven 2048 2048 Liz Matthews

Goodearl Dog Park Grand Opening & Dog Show

 Goodearl Dog Park Grand Opening & Dog Show 1417 2126 Liz Matthews

Today at the Companions Café

 Today at the Companions Café 1100 1100 Liz Matthews

Proud to Support Our Local School Summer Fetes

 Proud to Support Our Local School Summer Fetes 1296 972 Liz Matthews
About Us

We are the Parish Council that wants to lead and develop our local community. We are self-aware and are committed to focussing on the urban issues that are important to the entire community.

Our Address
Haydon Wick Parish Council
Thames Avenue
Haydon Wick
Swindon
SN25 1QQ
Contact Us

© Haydon Wick Parish Council | Website by clearwater

Our thanks to Mark Weaving, Phil Jefferies, Rimpy and Shohini Dutta Kanungo for many of the photographs used across the website

Enter your
text here