Highlights from The Villager
October / November 2006
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Parish Council: Oxfordshire Villages of the Year Competition
In mid July the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council informed the Parish Council that Brightwell-cum-Sotwell had been short listed for the Villages of the Year Competition, with 7 other large villages and 8 small villages from across the County. We were asked to send 3 representatives to Eynsham Village Hall on 10 August to present our village to the judges, for them to select an overall winner for the County, District winners and runners up. We were offered a table for displaying material, but the invitation put the emphasis on meeting and talking to the judges. John Rodda, Sally Dugan and Louise Oldroyd were the three who volunteered for the event and with help from many village bodies and groups prepared a display. On the evening, the Hall at Eynsham was lined with 16 displays and the judges moved from one to another giving the representatives of the different villages each a 15 minute grilling. Brightwell-cum-Sotwell was questioned about the surgery car service, support for local businesses, and what was available for young people. The judges were interested in the affordable housing, fundraising for the preschool building and they had looked at the website. The displays from other villages looked impressive: obviously a considerable amount of time and thought had gone into their preparation. The results of the competition were announced in early September. We were awarded Large Village of the Year for South Oxfordshire, with a prize of £250. Cholsey won the equivalent prize for the County while the small village award went to Filkins and Broughton Poggs. Checkendon won the small village award for South Oxfordshire. Our thanks go to John, Sally and Louise and to all those who helped us win this event. Steve Luck Community Association - Distribution of Funds I am very pleased to report that the following grants to village organisations have been distributed from various fund raising activities over the past year:
Hugh Roderick If you are anything like me, you forget the things you need to remember and remember the things you would rather forget! The church’s calendar and events such as Remembrance Day hold before us the things we definitely ought not to forget. It is a nation that forgets its history that is in danger of repeating the mistakes of its past. The 12th of November is Remembrance Sunday and we have a special service commencing at 10.55 am at the War Memorial followed by a service in St Agatha’s to remember those who have died in war, to recall their heroism and their sacrifice and to pray for peace. The price that war exacts is a heavy one, so heavy that it leads some to question the wisdom of engaging in warfare at all, even as a last resort. Do violent means ever achieve a peaceful and lasting outcome? The ongoing situation in Iraq is enough to bring that question to the forefront of people’s thinking yet again. In November we also celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. All Saints’ Day gives us an opportunity to remember the heroes of our Christian faith, those of biblical fame and those who have sacrificed much during two millennia of Christian history and witness. It is a church that forgets the heroes of its past that may well fall into the danger of complacency about its witness in the present. Many sacrificed so much in order that we might hear the Good News of Jesus. How much are we as Christians today prepared to sacrifice in order that this present generation might hear that same Good News too? All Souls’ Day on 2 November provides a more personal opportunity for remembering those we have known and loved who have died. On the following Sunday - 5 November - we will be providing an opportunity in our Sunday morning service at 9.30 am for people to light a candle in remembrance of loved ones, as part of a special time of prayer. Invitations will be sent out to families in the village who have been bereaved during the last year but you don’t need an invitation to come! We also welcome anyone to join us and to remember those special people in their life who may have died in the more distant past. Jill Chatfield With summer fast receding, we welcome the children back for a new academic year and extend our good wishes to those former pupils who have moved on to secondary education. Many of our new children, coming from Allsorts Pre-school with whom we share the site, are already familiar with the surroundings and are settling in well. We sadly said farewell to Mrs Garrard, who taught Years 3 and 4, and to Mrs Tallents who had been a Teaching Assistant with us for many years. We welcomed back Mrs Evans at the end of her maternity leave, to teach Class 3 (Years 3 and 4). At the end of last term, following a comprehensive audit, we were granted Healthy School status. This award recognises the hard work the staff, children and parents have put into the school for the last three years to promote healthy eating and active lifestyles. Over the summer we had some additional improvements to our pathways around the school. We now look forward to the installation of new windows in three of the classroom during this term. This year we are focussing on the school ethos, staff wellbeing, the new national frameworks for literacy and mathematics, and developing an innovative approach to the curriculum through a thematic approach- what we used to know as ‘topic work’, only we’re not allowed to call it that. Also, as part of our push on healthy eating we are eager this year to achieve the Silver Award as an Eco School. We currently hold the Bronze Award. This will mean committing ourselves to being a ‘greener’, more environmentally-friendly school. It will involve us in projects with our garden pond and our allotment in the village. Lastly, if you or someone you know missed out on life at school and would really be interested being our ‘handy person’ for a few hours a week, please contact the school. (We may experience some difficulty squeezing you into a uniform, although the older children are a whiz with a needle and thread! Roger Grant
Wellsprings
Millennium Wood
Activities of the Group Our next event will be a talk by Harry Barton the new Executive Director of the Northmoor Trust on 28 November in the Village Hall. John Rodda The response to our questionnaire in the last Villager produced only 29 replies. Most of these were from existing lunch club members and helpers who were keen to see it continue, perhaps on a monthly basis instead of the present two weekly, and offered their help. We only received one new offer of help for the hot meal and one new member. When the Lunch Club was started in 1990 there were 40 members and a waiting list, we now have 24 members and average attendance is 18 which is not viable or rewarding for the people who put so much time and effort into producing the meals which are greatly appreciated. At our meeting this week it was decided almost unanimously that unless there is a surge in interest in the next three months the Lunch Club will be suspended after the Christmas lunch in mid December... there will be lunches on October 17th, November 14th and December 12th to which anyone is welcome .....please phone Viola Crowe on 01491 839368 or Belinda Lee-Jones on 01491 836223 a few days before if you would like to come. We have received several very helpful suggestions especially from the parish council members and WI which we have discussed at length and which may well be the way forward. However the feeling of the meeting was that the need for a midday meal in its present form is limited and the time has come to have a break. We appreciate the offers of produce from the allotment holders and hope to take these up in the coming weeks. Please could the writer of the very thoughtful pink typed sheet get in touch? You had so many good questions and ideas. On behalf of the present Lunch Club organisers and helpers Belinda Lee Jones, Viola Crowe, Jaqui Brown and Chris Varley and original founder member Cynthia Hurley (Trueman). Belinda Lee-Jones How many of us know what our MP looks and sounds like? At our July meeting we found out. Ed Vaizey talked about life in Parliament and what it’s like being a ‘new boy’. With humour he described the staff, his office, getting to know other MPs and the snares and pitfalls of speaking in the House. In August Julie Summers, local author, researcher and broadcaster told the story of the 40,000 men in prison camps across Thailand and Singapore and her grandfather Major Toosey, the true hero of the bridge over the river Kwai. In October members will be bringing and talking about their collections ranging from American glass to Rupert books. Why not join us? It’s pampering time of the year again. On Friday, November 10th in the Village Hall - please note the new venue - we are having another pampering evening, so do get your ticket for a mini facial, a bit of reflexology, or perhaps a manicure. Or you might like to just come along and buy some early Christmas presents. There’ll be a greater range than ever to choose from. Mais Appleton Many years ago, when the school was down in the village, it was the custom to take the older children on walks around the area studying the seasonal changes in the plant and animal world Moving up to the new school at Greenmere, gave us the chance to study a new area. So, one day, some fifteen children and one teacher, set out to climb Green Hill, which was not only a continuation of the high ground of Wittenham Clumps and Brightwell Barrow, but it lay directly north of the school. Crossing the old High road, with its much lower density of traffic at that time, was no problem, Racing across was one of the highlights of the day, A thick hedge, double in places, grew beside the footpath which followed it all the way up the hillside. Climbing plants, old birds’ nests and rabbit holes in the hedge bottom were all noted. On reaching the top of the hill, and turning to look back down onto the village below, was like viewing a sea of green, from all the orchards and trees with the occasional chimney stack showing through. On the left the Greenmere estate was almost completed, while on the right King’s Orchard was but a meadow with a few cows in. Blue in the distance were the rounded tops of the Berkshire downs, some eight miles away. Most of the children hadn’t seen this view before. I think this was the only time when all the children stood perfectly still for fifteen seconds. Before descending from the hilltop, the children were spaced out a short distance apart, right across the field, which had recently been harvested, and they were told to look among the corn stubble for the tiny flowers missed by the combine, such as the red scarlet pimpernel, the yellow field pansies, the white smelly mayweed, and anything else of interest. A skylark might rise from the stubble, singing as it climbed. A flock of finches, lower down, could be searching for fallen grain. Also, a hare might be squatting in its form - a slight depression scraped out of the soil. With its long ears laid flat along it back and with its large eyes set high in its head, it will see you long before you see him. (In literature the hare is referred to in both masculine and feminine terms). If your direction was away from him, he would remain hidden, thinking you hadn’t seen him, which you undoubtedly hadn’t. But should you stop, or turn towards him, he will think he has been seen and will be up and away at a speed equalled only by the racing greyhound. Back in the classroom, short notes would be written, sketches drawn, to be coloured later, flowers to be put in water, coloured stones washed, etc. Then the day came when everything changed. The sound of a tractor ploughing on the hill could be heard. The small flowers were being buried under the plough, the rabbit was back in its hole, it hates newly ploughed land, it impedes its running. The skylark had gone, so too the finches; only the hare might remain sunning himself among the furrows. Before leaving the hare, I should say, that in days of long ago, many of the older folk of the village believed that the hare was an animal by day, and a witch by night! poor thing. Was this a genuine belief? Or was it a ruse to get the younger children in from the meadows for an early bedtime? Probably both. Leading westward from Mackney Lane is a short length of footpath. It once had a wide ditch beside it, and was overshadowed by tall hedges on either side. Few children would play along it after sunset. It was, and still is, known as Witches Walk. Back at school, it wasn’t long before the anticipated question, or pleading arose, "When can we do that again?" Sadly, the answer had to be, "Not for a long time", as children’s shoes and a ploughed field, just don’t go well together. Ron Wood Farming Update - Sherwood Farm A well-known Hampshire farmer was once asked the difference between a good farmer and a bad one. "About a fortnight" was the considered reply. Having comfortably finished our harvest in August, we might concur with how correct he had been. However a big tractor out of action for several days, a wet weather delay and a wait to be able to hire some F.Y.M.(farmyard manure) spreaders, and suddenly - a week in farming seems like a long time! This resulted in our plantings of Winter Oilseed Rape not being as timely as originally envisaged. I understand from some kind inquiries the condition of the Spring Bean crop in the Croft field had dismayed those watching the crops progress. After flowering the developing green pods had steadily filled, but no action was taken by us to harvest them. Instead we stood by while green pods turned to brown then black! Why? Whilst the actual plant looks exactly like a garden broad bean, with seeds that are developed to remain a succulent green for as long as possible, the seed of this variety is smaller and is bred to senesce quickly to allow us to harvest the light brown beans dry with our combine harvester. Our beans will ultimately end up as a protein source in a farm animal ration or even, if quality is good enough, for human consumption as protein utilised in a range of food preparations.
Now a puzzle. If you want to do this...
Welcome, welcome to pedigree dairy cow breeding!! Many breeders buy in good cows on a regular basis. However from the perspective of commercial milk production this can risk bringing disease onto the farm. Since purchasing our foundation stock we have opted to run a closed herd so all subsequent generations are related to the original genetic pool. The male line is brought in via artificial insemination straws which do not carry a disease concern. It is notoriously difficult to measure success in breeding as the goal posts move over time. Whole herd success can be checked in dairy herd competitions. Individual cows are regularly assessed by the Holstein Friesian Classifier. Both of these measures show Derek to have been remarkably consistent over the years. It is without doubt this consistency that marks Derek out as an outstanding cattle breeder. In this, his retirement year, there has been the challenge of being invited to participate in the National Milk Records Gold Cup Competition, which is open to the top 50 recorded herds in the United Kingdom, and where we were semi-finalists. Angus Dart |