Author: Santa-Cru1s3

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Obituary – Dave Godwin

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Dave Godwin, a cherished member of the Burghfield Santas and the broader community.

Dave was a phenomenal human being, whose kindness and dedication touched countless lives.

For over a decade, he served as a committed Parish Councillor, and for 25 years, he was a devoted school governor at Burghfield St Mary’s.
Dave’s passion for our community shone through during his 15 years of organizing the Burghfield May Fayre, working tirelessly way before the event – and always being the last to leave site having overseen the final clean up, to the annual Burghfield Remembrance parade and even organising the Christmas tree on the Hatch.

As a Burghfield Santa Dave was famed for his expression ‘Leave it with me mate’. Nothing was too much trouble to make community events a success, and once the phrase had been uttered – it was guaranteed to be done, down to the smallest details, including the Fire Extinguishers serviced and available to buckets of sand for cigarette butts outside the marquees.

His incredible contributions and unwavering spirit will be sorely missed as a true unsung hero of our village. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dave’s family and friends during this difficult time.

RIP Santa Dave

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Santa Cruise

This is where it all started when a group of mates went out for a few drinks after making and wrapping many presents. We wore our red suits and raised a little money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

Registration for this year’s Santa’s mini-cruise for the kids now open.
Signup at signup.com/go/iHuuYnk.

All mini-santas will get their own copy of the Burghfield Santa’s story book, “The Boy Who Nearly Wrecked Christmas”, staring an Air Ambulance of course.

Here is a sneak preview…

Check out the antics from previous years below.

2021. I’m Still Santa

2019. We’ve got a brand new sleigh and sack…

2018. Santibidi

2017. Santa Cruise & Mini Cruise

2013. Santy Python

2012. Sexy Reindeer

2011. Santa Prepares

2010. Catch the Reindeer

2009 – Santa Cruise La La

2008 – Hey Hey Santa

2008 – Santa Cruise…. Its not that far

2007 – Santacus the Movie

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Santa’s Sleigh Ride

Saturday 20th January 5.00pm – 6.30pm

Pie & Pint at The Nag’s Head.
“Limo” departs 1615 from Village Hall


Following the success of last year’s outing to Siren Craft and Elusive, this year’s sleigh ride will be to Reading’s finest and one of our favourite places, The Nag’s Head for a “Pie & a Pint for a tenner”.

There’s a little more to it than that of course!  While you sip on your beer, we’ll do a short talk on what we’ve achieved in the past year or so and kick off 2024 by talking about the events we’re planning for the coming year. This isn’t just about us talking, we want your feedback, questions and suggestions. Maybe you want to know how we setup and run Burghfest, choose & brew our annual Beer, or have a fabulous idea for a new event we could run – we’ll answer as many of them as we can.

We’ll then have a Pie from Sweeney & Todd to finish off the formalities. Our rough plan is to be finished around 6:30pm, although there’s a fairly high chance most people will stick around for a beer or two and we’d love to chat with you more.

Timetable:

4.15pm Coach from Burghfield Village Hall, or make your own way there.
5pm Arrive at The Nag’s Head, get a beer & grab a seat in the “Santa Lounge”
5:15 – 6pm Santa Meeting
6 – 6.30pm Pies Served

This is a break-even event and we are not funding this from proceeds raised, so you’ll need a ticket, which will cost £10 (plus booking fee) for a pie and a pint. Coach is £2, payable on the day.

Please buy your ticket(s) ASAP – we will close tickets a few days before so the pie order can be placed in time.

Tickets on sale now at
ticketsource.co.uk/burghfieldsantas

Frequently Asked Question

(Well, nobody has actually asked any questions but here is some stuff you might want to know.)

The Nag's Head? Where is it? Never Heard of it?
Really? If you love your beer, you are missing out on this pub! This is our favorite place to go out for a pint when we’re not running our own events! 5 Russell Street, Reading, RG1 7XD. They have a great selection of cask and keg beers, gins, snacks and yes, they sell lager too.
How do I get there?
Funny you ask. Turns out there’s a shared stretch limousine service that leaves from outside NISA / opposite the Burghfield Common Village Hall. It’s called Lime and will only cost a few quid. Based on the timetable as of 10th December 2023, there’s a bus that leaves there at 16:29, goes all the way down Russell Street, stopping about 90 seconds walk from the Nag’s Head on Oxford Road, Reading. If you’re super keen, there’s one at 15:59.
Pies? What Pies?
They’ll come from another of our favourite places in Reading, Sweeney & Todd’s. We can’t guarantee specific pies until the day of the event, so we’ll do our best to match what you ask for. When you book your ticket, you’ll be asked for your selection from Vegetarian, Beef, Chicken, Santa’s meaty choice! The Nag’s Head will sort out the pies, heat and serve them. We’re not doing vegetable side dishes.
What do I get for a tenner?
A Sweeney’s pie and a pint upto about £5 in value. Some of the craft beer / high ABV is more expensive so you’ll either get offered a smaller volume or asked to supplement it. If you want to take the coach its £2, payable on the day.
I don't like beer, can I have something else?
Yes, it’s  pub, they have other drinks on offer, you get about £5 value towards a drink and can pick something else if you like.
I'm not a volunteer but would like to be
Grab a ticket and sneak in at the back, we’d love to meet you.
Is there a dress code?
You’re more than welcome to come in evening dress, but this is a casual, social event and we’re going to be in the first tent on the right at the back of the pub – although it has some heating, we’d recommend dressing warmly!.
Is this a Santa only event?
Absolutely, 100% NO! We’d like anyone who has volunteered or sponsored, is thinking about volunteering or sponsoring, wants to know more about the Santas, has questions or ideas about events, wants a scrummy pie, tasty beer and a chat with us, any of you lovely people to attend.
I can't make it but have a question
No problem, email admin@burghfieldsantas.org.uk and we’ll get back to you!
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Staff

Please bookmark this page as it has useful links that you need.

Bar Staff Handbook

Pegas Bottle Filling demo video

Order processing demo video

To login go to burghfieldsantas.org.uk/orders and use username ‘Bar’ and the password you have been provided.

To see outstanding orders for your shift, use one of the following links:

To view stock levels. (This page is best viewed in landscape or as a desktop site.)

To check your sign-up time, or to sign-up for additional shifts, go to our Signup Page

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The Bulging Sack

The Bulging Sack 8th & 22nd December

6pm – 11pm Friday 20th December

Burghfield Village Hall,  Recreation Road, Brughfield Common, RG7 3EN

Featuring Christmas Quiz by Rudolph:

  • Quiz will start at 8pm.
  • Teams of up to 4 people. No need to register in adavce.

Live Christmas Music by local band, Burghfield Uncommon.

Fully stocked bar serving:

  • Real Ale and Craft Beer including our Christmas Special Beer, Leave it with Santa,  brewed for Burghfield Santas by Loddon Brewery.
  • Lager and Craft Lager
  • Top-quality wines, and Prosecco
  • Range of regular and flavored Gins and Rum.
  • Check out the Menu for details

Mexican food will be available from local street food vendor, Squires of Benson.

We need a few people to help with set-up and serving. If you would like to help, see How Can I Help?

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Schedule

The Bulging Sack will be Popping Up through out the year. The latest schedule is below:

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How can I help?

Our events would not be possible without the support of our volunteers. We are currently looking for volunteers for The Bulging Sack.

We’re using SignUp.com to manage this. Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:

  1. Go to our SignUp page  on SignUp.com
  2. Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
  3. Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

If you are a local community group that can provide volunteers, and in return raise money for your organisation, check out the Burghfield Santa’s Affiliate programme.

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What is your Safeguarding Policy?

The Burghfield Santas  Safeguarding Policy ensures the safety and well-being of all participants, including volunteers, attendees, children, vulnerable adults, and those with disabilities. The policy is designed in accordance with UK safeguarding laws and guidelines, including the Children Act 1989, the Care Act 2014, and relevant best practice standards.

For more details see our Safeguarding Policy or contact our Designated Safeguarding Officer(DSO) at  safeguarding@burghfieldsantas.org.uk.

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Do you have the appropriate permits for your events?

All Burghfield Santa events that are attended by the general public are organised in accordance with UK legislation. We have the necessary permissions and licenses to host public events in public places. This includes:

This license governs the use of copyright music across the UK, giving businesses and organisations the legal permission they need to play the music they want. These licences ensure that music publishers, songwriters and composers are fairly rewarded with royalties so they can keep making music.
PPL collects and distributes money on behalf of performers and record companies for the use of their recorded music.
  • Permission for temporary road closure for Box Kart
  • Permission to use public land.
  • Premises license for Burghfest.
  • License to sell raffle tickets for all events
A temporary event notice (TEN) allow us to hold one-off licensable events at unlicensed premises without the need for a premises license, club premises certificate or the presence of a personal license holder, provided certain criteria are met.