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Barrow upon Soar Community Association
What Does BUSCA Do?
Barrow Upon Soar Community Association is a Registered charity (a C.I.O.) that organizes and runs many community activities in Barrow. It consists of a number of subgroups, each with its own role.
Pick up one of our new flyers from around the village, summarising what BUSCA is all about and giving you contact details for the various activities that make up BUSCA. You can also become a member by filling out the application form.
Activities are:
- Barrow Voice produces the village’s magazine.
- Events Committee organizes entertainments.
- Heritage Group explores aspects of Barrow’s history.
- Library Committee is working to keep Barrow library open.
- New Community Building is seeking to acquire a multi-purpose community building for Barrow.
- Panto Group produces an annual panto and other shows. Its junior branch is the,
- Youth Theatre which puts on an annual production.
- Trustees’ Council is responsible for the overall management of BUSCA.
- Twinning Group is twinned with Marans in France.
- Website administrators look after five Barrow websites.
Here is a flavour of what BUSCA gets up to:
BUSCA’s current major project is to KEEP BARROW LIBRARY OPEN. Click on Library to read an up-to-the-minute account of where we are.
Our main BUSCA Trustee's meetings are usually held four times a year. Do come along.
BUSCA in 2018
Barrow Voice
This lively, full-colour, free village magazine is produced quarterly by an editorial team of about nine members all of whom are volunteers. In 2018 the print run was 3,150 copies per edition. The content is wide ranging but concentrates on publicising BUSCA events, topics of concern in the village, such as the new housing developments, and interviews with local people in relation to their businesses or individual achievements. In January 2018 an on-line picture gallery ’Year in Pictures’ was launched to record village activities on a monthly basis. It is accessed through the web-version of the magazine at barrowvoice.co.uk
Community Building
BUSCA aims to provide a multi purpose building with space for facilities that the village does not have at present.
We are currently pursuing a planning application having undertaken a professional feasibility study of sites. The plan is to build a community hub on the picnic field next door to the Millennium Park.
Events committee
The events committee will be supplying the supper at the Murder mystery play on October 6th. There are two dances arranged the first being on October 20th dancing to Just Us, and the Christmas dance is on December 22nd with C.& J.Sound. The Christmas Street market will take place on December 1st to coincide with the switching on of the lights. Future Centre Stage productions are in the process of being finalised.
Heritage Group
The Group regularly meets and works on projects with connections to the history of Barrow. At present they are analysing the 1939 register in relation to Barrow. This was a mini-census of all the people of England as it became clear there would be a war. For more information about their work and projects, visit their website www.barrowuponsoarheritage.org.uk
Library
The Barrow Library continues to develop and serve the community. Our volunteers are the key to success and they run the library with skill and a warm welcome for everyone.
There are many activities going on, check out the library pages of this website. Don’t forget to come along to our 3rd birthday party on Saturday 7th July and help to celebrate.
Panto Group
The pantomime Dick Whittington performed in March was a huge success enjoyed by large audiences.The next show will be on October 6th and is a murder mystery entitled Death by Radio.
Congratulations to Jo Dring for winning the Best Villain award at the Pantomime Alliance Leicester Awards 2018. Barrow's Dick Whittington was nominated for numerous categories including best script, best director, best panto, best dame and several others.
Twinning Association
Barrow Upon Soar is twinned with the French town of Marans in the Charente Maritime of Southwest France, very close to La Rochelle.
Although the Twinning Association was only formed in 2006, and became part of BUSCA in 2014, the links between the two Communities go back to the Fifties. In those days the exchanges were between Humphry Perkins School and the School in Marans. Some of the youngsters who took part in those early exchange still take part in exchanges today.
The exchanges between the Schools which continued until the late 1970’s unfortunately no longer take place but the Twinning Association continues to arrange biannual visits and many enduring friendships between families in the two communities have been established.
We have a varied social calendar which includes; Garden Parties, Quiz Nights, Pie Nights, Talks, Theatre Visits and much more. Members and their guests are always welcome to our events which are well publicised both in the local press and around the Village.
We are always happy to welcome new members or simply to offer advice about holiday opportunities in the area. If you are interested in joining or would simply like to know more about the Twinning Association please contact; Ted Rodgers 01509 416533 or Helen Duxbury 01509 552867
Websites
The small team of BUSCA website administrators work hard to keep Barrow's four community websites up-to-date and jammed full of useful info. That's the BUSCA, Village, Barrow Voice and Heritage websites. You can pick up a flyer which gives you more information from lots of places in Barrow. The flyer goes hand in hand with a Welcome Pack for new residents. Ask in the library for your Pack.
Contact admin@busca.org.uk if you would like to request your own business page or community group page on the Village website.
The Village website also offers an information service - just use the Contact Us button.
Youth Theatre
Rehearsals for the Youth Theatre production of Hairspray are in full swing, with around sixty youngsters attending each week. The show will be performed on November 16th/17th/18th at Humphrey Perkins. Anyone interested in helping out with costume making or backstage will be most welcome.
Barrow Youth Theatre won Leicestershire's Best Youth Theatre Performance at the Pantomime Alliance Leicester Awards 2018 and were also nominated in several categories including best singing, best young male performer and best female performer.
As you can see, much is going on. We value the continued support of our members.
For details of all forthcoming events, visit the Forthcoming Events page.
Almost all of these events were announced and reported in Barrow Voice, our splendid quarterly community magazine.
So you can see that there is plenty of variety in what BUSCA does. If you would like to join us, give Judith a phone call on 07718 153117 or email judithrodgers155@gmail.com or click on SUPPORT US and follow the links. THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW GOING ON.