Category: Community

One Monday in August we were astonished to see an otter on our garden wall. The weather was very poor and my husband Phill thought he had seen something that he couldn’t identify, flash by in the rain. For the next ten minutes we tried to guess what it was: dog, fox, rat, Muntjac deer? He rejected all of these.

The next month is going to be full of change for all of us here at Kibworth Community Library and, by default, for all of our customers. We are moving into our new home at the Kibworth Community Hub at the beginning of October!

Kibworth Chronicle Association (Kibworth and District Chronicle) invites all Chronicle members and volunteers (those involved in the composition, production, administration and distribution) who wish to attend its Annual General Meeting to be held at the Kibworth Methodist Church on Monday 6 October, 6pm.

It has been a busy summer for the Kibworth Community Hub, with the most exciting news being our new kitchen. We are in the process of taking out the old units and putting in new stainless steel ones, which will be easier to keep clean and more hygienic. We are also replacing the old, tatty fridge with a new one which has an A rating, making it more efficient and cheaper to run. And, also getting an A rated electric cooker to replace the old gas one. A new microwave cooker, toaster, and air-fryer will complete the set. The new kitchen would not have been possible without a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, who have been really helpful with our project.

Over 50 local residents gathered in Smeeton Village Hall on Friday 29 August to voice their strong objections to a controversial planning application 25/00793/OUT. The development would see 28 new homes built on green space between Kibworth Beauchamp and Smeeton Westerby, along with a new access road off the already very busy Smeeton Road/Main Street.

As part of the preparation of assembling this publication each month a small number of the lay-up team gather together in Kibworth Methodist church on the Saturday morning and somehow we put together, like a jigsaw puzzle, the pages you see before you. We try to be careful in our approach however we do not always get it right!

Hey there! We’re on the hunt for some awesome folks who’d love to work from home. Our mission is to share our articles and photos online, and we’re currently a small team of five. But we’d be thrilled if you could join us, even if it’s just for a few months to cover absences or holidays. If you’re keen, we can give you a friendly guide to using WordPress. Please drop Antony an email at online@kibworthchronicle.com as soon as you can. We’d love to have you on board!

As we head into Autumn, we celebrated the last of the summer with our annual Village BBQ in the field behind Christ Church. With the marquee, tables and chairs, BBQs and music all set up for 5pm, people started to arrive. The music was turned up, the first pint pulled and then the fun began. This is always a most enjoyable village event and this year was no exception. The following weekend was not only a Beer Fest at The Kings Head but also our Driving Treasure Hunt that took the competitors all around the beautiful countryside of The Langtons, ending at our pub where a BBQ was laid on. 'The Farmers Forum' won this year and we were delighted to hand over to them the privilege of organising next year’s hunt!

Ever since we made the decision to rename Kibworth Grammar School Hall as The Kibworth Community Hub, there has been an understandable regret from some people in the village. The argument for doing so has been laid out by myself in Kibworth & District Chronicle before, but I think that it is worth doing so again. Ever since the Hall re-opened as a community centre, there has been confusion between us and the High School/Kibworth Mead Academy; ‘People phone one building wanting the other’, or ‘phone us to tell us that their child can’t come to school today’ are examples. Also, it is important that those people new to the village and, there are a great many of them, know that the building is not a school, but a building that is vibrant, busy and has real relevance to them.

Kibworth Village Hall