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Past Activities
One of the first actions of the group when it was set up in 1994 was to ask villagers for their thoughts about the village; what they liked best, what they liked least and, if they had the chance to change one thing what would that be. The intention was to reinforce the good things, and trigger change if desired.
Since then the group has worked quietly within the Village lobbying the local Parish, District and County Councils for such things as a sign to signpost the Village recycling facilities, for dog litter bins and for damaged grass verges to be re-instated. It has also arranged for tree and flower planting around the Village, and for traffic censusing in connection with safety issues. Occasionally, events transpired in such a way that the group needed to take a higher profile in order to raise local awareness concerning large development applications. For instance, it organised an exhibition on waste management issues to raise villager-awareness on this subject. More than 10% of the village attended the exhibition.
Members were closely involved in Purton's Village Appraisal 2000, which was a survey that gave villagers an opportunity to comment on issues affecting their lives in Purton. From the results, the Parish Council created focus groups to look into the issues causing concern.
Members of Ps and Qs joined focus groups in Purton concerned with Traffic & Road Safety and Litter. The work of these two focus groups added to the lobby for the major improvements on the village's main roads and for village-wide participation in reducing the litter problem. Ps and Qs was highly commended by the local district council for its work on litter.
Community Fayre
Over the years, the group developed a reputation for the ability to motivate people, to organise large participation events and to network effectively throughout the village. Consequently, at the turn of the century, Ps and Qs was invited by the Parish Council to provide a focus for the Millennium Festival of Village Life. Initially starting out as a showcase for village organisations, the Festival developed into a week-long celebration of village spirit. The celebration involved a mass-participation picnic, a parade, gardens open for viewing throughout the village, specially commissioned music, and the burial of a time capsule to be opened at sometime in the future. Also during this week, the village concluded its twinning arrangements, in a formal twinning ceremony, with a village in France called Héric.
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