August/September 2012
Revd Martin Lovering
St Agatha’s Church overflowing with garden flowers and silent people spoke volumes on that sad day. There was no need to talk - we were there to support Jen and her family and to show how much Martin was respected and loved by us all.
Following the beautiful Thanksgiving Service, the Church bells rang joyfully, solidly and poignantly highlighting the place where Martin worshipped, did part-time ‘vicaring’ and was a member of the garden gang – or ‘likely lads’ as they were often called.
The loss of Martin leaves a huge gap in our village community - he instilled confidence in people and provided support in a very quiet and thoughtful way. To say he was always available to help regardless of people or project would be an understatement.
Whether as a member of our walking group, Trustee of the Village Hall, Church Building Committee, Stores helper, craftsman, handyman or artist – it would be impossible to paint a picture that fully embraces his involvement and interests in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.
On the practical front, if you asked Martin for a technical opinion - you often received a drawing. On the other-hand, if drawings or plans were requested – he usually ended up making the thing! Look no further than refurbishment work in the village hall or the blue ‘extension fund-raising thermometer’ that we all see by the Church gates.
Martin was a loyal friend, a good listener, a ‘gent’ - but always very much his own man with an opinion to be respected. Indeed, he was famous for an ability to level the pompous or summarise a committee meeting with his mischievous and succinct comments!
To Jen, Peter, Jeremy and Judy, their families and close relations, we can only give our heartfelt sympathy, support and ongoing friendship. Martin was held in high regard by everyone and he was an immensely important and integral part of our village and Church community life.
Community Association
Village Fete – 7 July 2012
The answer is obvious. If you want respite from wet Britain just come to the Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Village Fete!
Somehow we got away with three hours of almost dry weather in Sotwell House gardens in July. But there’s a sneaky feeling that even if it had pelted down all afternoon, our stallholders would have stuck to their posts and our stalwart visitors would still have turned up. After fantastic profits in recent years, it is hardly surprising the uncertain weather affected visitor numbers and consequently our takings. But the effect was small: just short of £4,000 profits this year compared to £4,200 in 2011. The same stalls as usual made most money: White Elephant, Books, Pimms, Bottles, Teas, and the WI’s home made and grown produce. Everyone who put in so much hard work deserves our thanks. Most of all a very big thank you to Jenny and David Dobbin for letting us trample their lovely garden underfoot.
Profits now get split between different village organisations, who bid to meet a specific funding need. All groups that want to apply for funds and haven’t received an application form should contact our Treasurer, James Davys on 834195. While the rules are not hard and fast, we do try to favour organisations that have made big efforts to support the Fete, and other fundraising events during the year.
Brightwell Eurovision, Saturday 20 October – Village Hall
Only your Community Association can make the real Eurovision look classy. Individuals and groups of performers are booking their country representation as you read this. But if you have a strong urge to make a fool of yourself – or show up the rest – please contact Helen Baines on 837047.
Annual General Meeting – Thursday 18 October, 8pm – Village Hall
Please come to the AGM of the Community Association. It’s your chance to have your say about the events we put on, and to put yourself forward to join the Committee. A number of people are leaving this year, so do think about joining. It’s fun. We offer a free glass of wine to tempt the uncertain.
Hugh Roderick
St Agatha’s Church Extension: Construction Continues Apace
If you have yet to see the new building springing up by the north door of St Agatha’s, go down and have a look. Feast your eyes on the marvellous stonework. The roof is now on and work should be completed before the end of August.
Donations from The Gladiator Trust and The Beatrice Laing Trust have taken the Appeal Fund up to £180,000. This is £10,000 over our target and may enable additional work to be undertaken on external access areas to the church and the extension.
This will be a great opportunity to take a close look at the extension and consider whether your organization, business, village group etc could make use of the meeting facilities available.
The Villager AGM
This year, although not uneventful has been straightforward as far as The Villager goes.
Angela Lewis stepped into Gill Dexter's shoes for the December/January issue, going back to our roots by doing it succesfully in Word format. Anne Cordey has stepped down from the committee and we thank her for her support over the years, and are glad she is happy to continue delivering to Sotwell distributers. Annabel Rodda has decided that it is time to resign from the committee and pass on baton of editorship Helen Connor. I must admit that I do not actually know how long Annabel has been editor – I only dimly remember those who went before. I am sure we would all like to thank Annabel for all her guidance over the years and hope she will enjoy her new found freedom to book holidays whenever she wants and not to fit in with the issues of The Villager! I would like to welcome Helen Connor who has agreed to take over as editor from the September issue. Lesley Dore has also joined the committee to swell the ranks and add her unique insight to all things literary.
I would like to thank the committee for their continued support and the various teams; production, printing, and distribution for their efforts which produce the magazine, not forgetting of course the scores of assembly and distribution volunteers who give their time, and Mike Dunn our auditor.
Anne Brooker
Allsorts Pre-School
Olympics fever has arrived at Allsorts. The children have been more active than ever, if that is possible, keeping warm as the rains threatened to wash summer away before it even began. So far the children have excelled in the ancient sports of Roly Poly, Star Jumps and of course the premier event, after the 100 metres sprint, balancing on a beam. They also asked for some practice sessions on running in preparation for their own sports day. Again the kids were hard at work, getting their last minute training in for egg and spoon and the sack races, throwing the bean bag and jumping hoops. I am exhausted just writing all that down but rest assured the kids had plenty of vim left to have made it a memorable day for all involved.
The other great British occasion of course was the Jubilee. The children made flags, crowns and their own bunting, as well as decorating cakes for a Jubilee Tea Party. Meanwhile the home corner was turned into a ‘Palace’ with the kids having a great time dressing up as Queens, Kings and Century Guards and bossing the rest of us around. Each child also received a coin from Allsorts to celebrate the occasion..
Many of you may have heard tell of the mythical “Giant of Brightwell”. Well, it seems he may not be a myth after all. If you go into Preschool and look very carefully you will see the big green monster looming over you. This is the children’s entry for the art competition to be displayed at the Cornerstone in Didcot. The giant has been the focus of the arts and crafts this term and aside from making the monster we have also made recordings of the children giving their own first-hand accounts of encounters with this mysterious colossus.
Finally, in spite of the rain, Allsorts have been out and about on a farm. They visited the farm in Mackney where they rode on tractors and had a great time seeing the cows with their calves. A big thank you to Patricia who showed them around. When they got back the children made their own cows, pigs and sheep to go on the display board. The next day some of the animals were missing and the giant had a big grin on his face.
Barbara Montanari
The Village Stores
The second AGM of the Village Stores was held for Members on 20 June. At the meeting five Members were voted in to serve on the Management Committee for the coming year, and a further three Members have been co-opted, making up the full compliment. The Committee members are: Gina Coupar, Celia Collett, Gary Kent, Anna Bartlett, Wendy Murton, Keith Brooks, Chris Baines and Charles Hunt. Ceza Field has accepted the post of Honorary Secretary.
The sales in this financial year are up on last year, but in order to maintain a good working cash flow we still need to increase the number of people spending money in the store. If you haven’t shopped at the store, please do come and pay us a visit, you will find a friendly welcome and a well stocked shop including, fresh vegetables on Wednesdays and Fridays, fresh meat, supplied by a local butcher every Tuesday and Thursday, Brightwell honey, locally made cakes, and many other local goodies. We haven’t forgotten the everyday items either, these are available and reasonably priced, in many cases, the same or cheaper than the local supermarkets.
We are always looking for additional volunteers to work short regular shifts in the shop, so if you are interested or would like more information then please contact Wendy Murton at brightwellstoresvolunteers@
Finally, those shoppers who use the stores on a regular basis will know that Stephanie, our shop manager, is expecting her first child and will be going on maternity leave in early August. Plans are well in hand to ensure that we maintain the good service she has set in place, and two people from the village will be taking on day supervisor roles to provide cover, along with Margot, who is already in post. We would like to use this opportunity to give our very best wishes to Stephanie and husband Russ, a very happy future.
Gina Coupar, Chairman
Flower and Produce Show 2012
Home brews, from Morello Cherry Vodka to King’s Orchard vin de noix (a muddy brown but delicious walnut wine) were the surprise stars of this year’s show. Comparing cider to sloe gin is like comparing the proverbial apples and oranges – so, for next year, we plan a separate class for cider. Stock up on empty bottles ready for the autumn apple harvest now!
Entries held up well, despite the mercurial weather –the only disappointment being the lack of entries for our Popular Vote class (a jubilee crown). There were high standard entries for the Jubilee flower arrangement, though, with Josephine Butterfield’s design winning her the Win Glendenning Memorial Salver. Shena Luck had an ingenious solution to the problem of finding red, white and blue flowers in the garden by using the Queen’s racing colours instead: purple, scarlet and gold. Still on a patriotic theme, our newest cup – given by Paul Chilton – went to Helena Varley for her bright red geranium.
We were pleased to welcome new judges this year, including Jenny Reid for the children’s section, and Kevin Harvey of Images of Wallingford for photography. Bernard Novell kindly judged the produce, along with his father, Les, who officially retired last year. We are very grateful to all our ‘volunteer’ judges.
Sally Dugan
Flower and Produce Show 2012 Trophies
The Talbot Cup for most points in the show: Tony Debney
The Chilton Cup for the best exhibit in the flower, fruit and vegetable classes: Helena Varley
The Win Glendenning Memorial Salver for flower arranging: Josephine Butterfield
The Talbot Rose Bowl for the best rose exhibit: Paul Copley
The Joan Sheard Cup for the best under-16 entry in an adult class: Louis Wornham
Junior Trophies:
9–12 year olds: Alexandra Peach
5–8 year olds: Louis Wornham
The Swan Allotments Cup for the best-kept allotment: Bev and Jes Charlton
Flower and Produce Show 2012 Results
Flower Arranging. Judged by Mrs Fay Crabbe
1. A miniature flower arrangement. 1.Sue Myatt 2. Olive Sutcliffe 3. Shena Luck
2. A Jubilee arrangement.1. Josephine Butterfield 2. Shena Luck
3. Leah Gordon & James Davys
3. An arrangement of garden flowers and foliage in a basket. 1. Anne Elliott
2. Shena Luck 3. Josephine Butterfield
4. A bowl of floating flowers.1. Shena Luck 2. Josephine Butterfield
3. Amelia Butterfield
5. A table centre arrangement. 1. Shena Luck 2. Olive Sutcliffe 3. Julia Costello
6. MEN ONLY Arrangement on a sporting theme.1. James Davys 2. Louis Wornham
Flowers and Vegetables. Judged by Bernard and Les Novell
7. A Vase of Cottage Garden Favourites.1. Mavis Connell 2. Mary Dunn
3. James Davys
8. A rose, Hybrid Tea.1. Paul Copley 2. Shena Luck 3. James Davys
9. A rose, multi-headed.1. Anne Elliott 2. Mavis Connell 3. Madeline Sanger
10. Three stems flowering shrub, not rose.1. Jason Debney 2. Sue Myatt
3. Josephine Butterfield
11. Potted plant, flowering or foliage.1. Helena Varley 2. Helena Varley
3. Tony Debney
12. Dish of soft fruit of one kind.1. David Green 2. Freddie Marshall 3. Paul Copley Highly Commended: Paul Chilton
13. 3 sticks of rhubarb.1. Felicity Peach 2. Jill Brooks 3. Alison Bloomfield
14. Box of vegetables – 3 varieties. 1. Paul Chilton 2. Paul Chilton 3. Mark Metcalfe
15. Box of salad vegetables. No entries
16. 3 courgettes.1. Rosemary Greasby 2. Paul Copley
17. 6 potatoes.1. Tony Debney 2. Tony Debney 3. Tim Daly
18. 6 pods broad beans.1. Annabel Rodda 2. Rosemary Greasby 3. Paul Chilton
19. 6 pods peas.1. Felicity Peach 2. John Bloomfield 3. Paul Chilton.
20. 4 named herbs in jars.1. Jason Debney 2. Maria Wells 3. Jill Brooks
21. 4 onions.1. Tony Debney 2. Paul Copley
22. 6 hen’s eggs.1. Louis Wornham 2. Alison Hedges 3. Josephine Butterfield.
Highly Commended: Isabelle Peach
23. Pick of the crop: one vegetable and one flower.1. Tony Debney 2. Paul Copley
3. Alexandra Peach
24. Any fruit or vegetable not listed above. No entries
Cookery. Judged by Mrs Jean Calvin Thomas
25. A jar of onion marmalade.1. Janita Clamp 2. Timy Daly
26 A jar of marmalade.1. Shena Luck 2. Janice Chilton 3. Josephine Butterfield
27. A jar of any jam.1. Rosemary Greasby 2. Alison Bloomfield 3. Felicity Peach
Highly Commended: Janice Chilton
28. 4 decorated cup cakes.1. Louise Uffindell 2. Amelia Butterfield
3. Amelia Butterfield
29. An alcoholic fruit drink.1. John Bloomfield 2. Tony Debney
3. Shena Luck. Highly Commended: Alison Hedges
30. A non alcoholic fruit drink.1. Tim Daly 2. Paul Chilton 3. Alison Bloomfield
31. MEN ONLY: A plate of fudge.1. Louis Wornham 2. Tim Daly
32. LADIES ONLY: A plate of chocolate brownies.1. Alison Hedges
2. Julia Costello 3. Jennie Walmsley
Photography and art. Judged by Kevin Harvey
33. A sporting photograph.1. Eric Dore 2. Joshua Baker 3. Josephine Butterfield
34. A set of four photos, b/w or colour, on the theme of the four seasons.
1. Paul Chilton 2. Eric Dore 3. Laurence Gray
35. Photograph,‘The gardener of the future’.1. Amelia Butterfield
2. Josephine Butterfield 3. Josephine Butterfield
36. Photograph,‘Make us smile’. Amusing, with caption.1. Tony Debney
2. Paul Chilton 3. Keith Brooks
37. A hand-drawn cartoon on the theme of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.
1. Alistair Luck 2. Isabelle Peach 3. Francesca Allen
Junior Section. Judged by Jenny Reid
9-12 year olds
38. A poster for the Olympics.1. Alexandra Peach 2. Georgia Wornham
3. Benjy Davys. Highly Commended: Leah Gordon
39. A model made from unusual shaped vegetables.1. Alexandra Peach
2. Isabelle Peach
40. 4 Jubilee cup cakes.1. Alexandra Peach 2. Leah Gordon 3. Freddie Marshall.
Highly Commended: Isabelle Peach
41. An Olympic medal, with ribbon or string.1. Annie Lines 2. Georgina Eccleston
3. Alexandra Peach. Highly Commended: Isabelle Peach
5-8 year olds
42. A poster for the Olympics.1. Theo Costello 2. Max Fuller 3. Rachel Daly . Highly Commended: Louis Wornham
43. A model made from unusual shaped vegetables. No entries
44. 4 Jubilee cup cakes. 1. Ava Gordon 2. Louis Wornham 3.Beatrice Marshall
45. An Olympic medal, with ribbon or string.1. Louis Wornham 2. Beatrice Marshall
Under fives
46. Decorate the Olympic circles, using a template provided.1. Theo Stephenson
2. Theo Stephenson 3. Maisie Stephenson
47. A medal.1. Freddie Barringer 2. Thom Seth Gordon 3. Thomas Debney.
48. A collage made from pasta and/or other edible material.1. Freddie Barringer
2. Erika [Allsorts pre-school] 3. Theo Stephenson
Brightwell School
I hope the summer is going well for everyone. I am looking forward to welcoming back all the children at the start of a new school year.
We are extremely pleased to be welcoming all our new pupils to the school. We have pupils joining us in various year groups as well as those just starting out on their school journey at the tender age of 4! We are delighted that Brightwell is their chosen school and look forward to getting to know them all across the coming year.
At the very end of last year the school received a monitoring visit from County. I am delighted to report that we were judged as a good school under the new Ofsted framework. Achievement for all pupils at the school has been judged as good or better. We were praised for the detailed analysis that staff make for all pupils so regularly. This enables them to really understand the next steps required in every pupils’ learning. We are very proud of the outcome.
I would like to congratulate the year 6 pupils who left us in July. 100% achieved Level 4s (National Average) in Writing, Reading and Maths this year with over a third of our pupils gaining a level 5. We also gained a Level 6 in mathematics – the first year that a paper has been available for the most outstanding students.
Our Key Stage 1 pupils are also worthy of big congratulations. Their results were also good with 100% of pupils achieving a level 2 (National Average) in Reading, 84% in writing and 92% in Mathematics. The number of level 3 children (those working within Key Stage 2 expectations already) has increased significantly on last year. Well done to every one of them.
We are pleased to welcome Pebbles and Olive to Brightwell School. They are our new chickens. They are cared for very well by the children and provide us with delicious eggs that are used by our, very successful, breakfast club.
Rain! Rain! Rain!
When is it going to stop? Rainfall records have broken in many parts of the country with a month’s rain falling in one day or less time. The drought has been displaced by floods, while water tables in aquifers have been rising from very low levels. Angus Dart recorded 125.3mm for June against an average of 50mm for the month. Explanations of the deluge experienced since the start of April along with the disappearance of summer 2012 include: the southerly position of the jet stream, the reducing ice cover in the Arctic and changes in sea temperatures in the North Atlantic. However it has all happened before. Exactly one hundred years ago the summer of 1912 “was unexampled for persistence of wet, gloomy and unseasonable weather across the south of England and Wales”. A total of 273mm was recorded in Oxford for June, July and August and in Norfolk on 25 and 26 August there was a great storm with rainfalls of over 150mm covering a wide area, including the record 182mm measured at Sprowston near Norwich. Can we expect the summer of 2012 to continue to the same pattern?
John Rodda
The Red Lion
It seems quite a while since BrightFest but the weather stays rather unsettled to say the least. I think most people are in agreement that moving BrightFest to the Recreation Ground worked very well. We are hoping to repeat it again next year. Thank you again to all the people who helped to make it work, it wouldn’t have been possible without you. We were so lucky with the weather for most of the day and it was great to see so many people of all ages enjoying the day. It was a shame that the weather turned so inclement that the last two bands couldn’t play on the stage but many of us decamped back to the pub and the music carried on until rather too late. There was a great atmosphere so we certainly made the best of the situation.
The Street party and River Pageant definitely suffered from rain but we still had a great turnout and a good time was had by all – particularly the small children in the big puddles. We had a lot more expenses this year on the stage and sound front even though virtually everybody involved offered their time for free but we still managed to donate £185 to Save the Children.
As The Brazilians, our headline act, were rained off they have agreed to do a special ‘BrightFest Continued’ gig at the pub on Saturday 15 September to raise more money for ‘Save the Children’.This will be a ticket event including a one pot supper. We will start selling tickets in August so keep an eye out for posters as space will be limited.
Our other news is that we have changed our opening times on Sundays. We now serve lunch from 12 till 2.30 p.m. and stay open all afternoon, shutting at 9.00 p.m. This seems to make a lot of sense and has been popular so far. By the way if you are planning to come for lunch on a Sunday please ring to book as we are virtually always full.
The Jazz Jam which used to be on a Sunday is now on the first Monday of the month and we have another Jazz night with different musicians on the third Monday of the month. See below for details.
Ellie has now finished University and is managing the pub but I am afraid I am still around rather a lot – I am finding it difficult to stay away!!!
By the by if you haven’t been to the pub for a while why not pop down and have a meal, a drink or even just a cup of tea or coffee and say hello. I know how easy it is to get out of the pub way but we are a very un pubby pub (but with very good beer) and not expensive. It’s a funny thing but even though we are very busy, we are CAMRA Pub of the Year for South Oxfordshire 2012 and have lots of loyal villagers, whom we really appreciate, most of our regular customers come from outside the village. We would love to see you, we welcome children, dogs, young people, old people – just about anybody really!!.
Sue Robson and Ellie Devey Robson
The Soil Association Inspects the Bach Centre
It’s not widely known, but the garden at the Bach Centre is inspected by the Soil Association once a year. As well as verifying what we put on the plants (answer: nothing!) the inspector looks at the remedy-making equipment (bowls, pans etc.) and at the process itself, including the way the remedy-maker goes about collecting flowers on remedy-making days.
We don’t really have much to fear from this inspection. In many ways it's only signing off on what we have always done. The Bach Centre garden has remained wild and natural and organic - and animal- and environmentally-friendly - since Dr Bach dug it over and threw handfuls of seed around back in the 1930s.
In those early days the idea of having somebody come along to check how a garden was dug would have seemed a bit odd. But the success of the remedies over the years has seen remedy-making involved in many arcane areas, from EU directives to British Standards, fire insurance and Quality Control.
In comparison with those, an inspection by the Soil Association feels quite homely.
Stefan Ball
Our Village 80 Years Ago: The Girls and School
Some eighty years ago, several children lived in cottages just opposite the Recreation Ground in Mackney Lane. This was their play area where girls would skip with long and short ropes, run hoops, and learn to ride any old abandoned lady’s bicycle. But above all they would run to meet Mr Stanley Kew and his cart because they know there were some “Tommy Loaves” for them for them. Mr and Mrs Kew also gave the children these small loaves from their bakery in the village street.
At this time most of the land around the village was permanent grassland. In spring and early summer the girls would go out into the meadows and pick bunches of cowslips, ragged robins, moon daisies, buttercups and other flowers to give to their mothers to decorate their cottage windowsills.
On school day, a mother would say goodbye to her five or six year old at the garden gate, but no further. He or she would then be on their own until other girls aged thirteen or fourteen would join them and safely escort them to school. The girls were very protective at all times regarding the infant. The infants’ small classroom was the nearest to the village road. It was almost unbelievable to state that when an infant wanted to use the toilet he or she had to come out of the large door facing the roadway then walk or run all along the outside of the school to the toilets back by the playground, then back again whether it was raining, snowing or bitterly cold. At 12 noon each day, because there were no school dinners, everyone had to go back home again. Infants, aged five and six, had to go back to Mackney, Sotwell and the High Road then back again for school at 1.30pm. If it was a rainy day, half the school would not return in the afternoon. The school had no electric light, no telephone and no mains water. At the age of fourteen, girls cycled to a school at Didcot for two years. The boys attended a Wallingford school. All these seemingly hardships were, at the time, accepted as normal. I wonder what today’s children would think of them?
Ron Wood