Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.
Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.
Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!
Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.
Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/
It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.
Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.
8th April 2020 - With regard to pay-as-you-go electricity keys which, since the demise of Rudloe Stores, have to be topped up elsewhere, the following information may (may!) be useful.
For SSE customers with 'legacy' (old) meters, there is a hotline, 03450729495, where payments (and temporary credits) will be accepted. The keys/cards will be sent by post but may take 3-5 days. Alternatively, arrangements may be made through a local 'paypoint' (some of which hold stocks of keys): local paypoints are McColls, High St, Box; Co-op, Macie Drive (Katherine Park) and Co-op, Pickwick Road. Local volunteers (see list at the foot of this webpage) will take on this task if a householder is unable to.
For SSE customers with smart meters, the phone number is 0121 6214038; payments made by debit card are sent directly to the meter (temporary credits are also available).
For British Gas customers, information is as follows:
For 'legacy' (old) meters, keys have to be topped up at a local store and since the demise of Rudloe Stores, the closest store is Barnett Brothers, High St, Corsham. Again a volunteer can help with this if a householder is not able to make their own arrangements.
For those with smart meters, payments may be made online at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/my-account/guest-smart-meter-top-up/ or over the telephone at 0333 2029612.
31st March 2020 - Wiltshire Council has produced a Covid-19 Volunteer Pack which may be found here: WC Volunteer Pack. Whilst, as indicated, this is aimed principally at volunteers, it contains quite a bit of general information, such as the social media 'accounts' of public bodies such as Public Health England - @PHE_UK for example.
22nd March 2020 and there's little else in the news other than Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so here's a local update. Andrew Marr said, in his introduction to an interview with Robert Jenrick MP, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, this morning that he (Mr Jenrick) "... has written this morning asking 1.5 million people to stay at home for the next 12 weeks". He then asked Mr Jenrick "Who are these people you are writing to and what are you telling them?" Mr Jenrick responded that these are people with underlying health conditions who are particularly at high risk of contracting Coronavirus; these individuals will now receive a letter from the NHS in the coming days giving them specific guidance and asking them to stay at home for 12 weeks or more ... we'll be setting out to them how we are going to help them; they might be staying at home for a long time but they shouldn't feel alone ... medicines are going to be delivered through community pharmacies and food and supplies are going to be delivered through local councils with the support of supermarkets and the armed forces and we've set up quite a sophisticated community effort to do that" to which Andrew Marr responded "So people will be getting guaranteed food supplies to their door if they're self-isolating come what may?" To which the minister responded "If you don't have family or friends or neighbours who can support you then we will be contacting those individuals or they can come to us via their local councils and for those people who really need our support we will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get them the supplies delivered to their doorstep".
We will see what happens regarding this Government initiative but in the meantime, for those individuals identified by the NHS and for others, the over 70s for example, who are advised to self-isolate, Box Parish Council has produced the leaflet below which should (should!) have been delivered, inside the Spring 2020 Newsletter, to every household in Rudloe over the past few days.
Individuals, couples or families potentially in need of help may have already received offers of support from neighbours (we have ... and I'm only 46 (ho ho)). Beyond this neighbourly support, the Box Parish Council 'support group' mentioned in their leaflet includes the following organisations/individuals for the Rudloe community:
Box, Colerne & Rudloe Link here: Box, Colerne & Rudloe Link, telephone: 07970 617617
Hannah Creighton, 1 Long Close Avenue, telephone 07816 219543, email: hannah@guidancetherapy.co.uk
Laura Emerson, 'Fernfield', Bradford Road, telephone 07454 598564
Stephanie & James Waller of 1 Park Avenue: email: stephanieweedon@hotmail.com
Dave Wright of 14 Kidston Way, telephone 07885 513281, email: dave.wright533@tiscali.co.uk
Lizzie Swain of 2 The Sheilings, Pine Close, telephone 07734 682600, email: lizzie@lizzieswain.com
Harry & Kathryn Barstow, 2 Highlands Close, telephone 01225 811829, email: hwbarstow@yahoo.co.uk
Dave & Jenny Liston, 12 Kidston Way, telephone Dave on 07854 312269 or Jenny on 07736 944952
Helen Bouillet of Leafy Lane, telephone 07815 757887, email: bouillet@live.co.uk
Paul Turner of 29 Springfield Close, telephone 07803 295291, email: wirepuller@hotmail.com or through the 'Contact' page of this website
Others may be added to this list in the coming days.