December 2011/January 2012
Sid Moody 1922 – 2011
Sid’s home has been in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell all his life and his career was to be a carpenter and cabinet maker.
Following his father, who was a regular soldier, Sid joined the Territorials with the Royal Berkshire Regiment as soon as he was old enough. He was called up to go for active service in 1939 just before the start of World War 2. He was therefore absent from home during the War.
He was too young to be taken to France at the beginning of the War but after the Dunkirk evacuation from France, he was taken with his Regiment to the Western Desert battles. He then fought at the invasion of Sicily in 1943 followed by the landing in Italy. During that campaign he was involved in the very hard fought Battle at Monte Cassino. This was followed for him in 1944 by an attack on Anzio along with many thousands of American and British troops where they met with very strong Panzer Regiments. During this period Sid was severely injured by a grenade. He was transferred to a field hospital and subsequently brought back home for further treatment.
After the end of the War in 1945, he was released from Army Service and returned to Brightwell. He was then able to continue his career as a carpenter and cabinet maker.
In his spare time he was able to develop his skills as a bugler and a drummer which enabled him to join the Cholsey Silver Band.
He and his wife, Teresa, worked very hard for the British Legion. They ran dances and concert parties with Sid playing in the band. Sid also played his bugle for the Last Post and many other calls whenever requested for a formal occasion.
He was Secretary and later Chairman of Brightwell British Legion Branch for many years. For the amount of work he did for the Legion and for those in our village that needed help, he was awarded the Legion’s Gold Badge.
He made a great contribution to our country during the war and to our village before and after the War.
Tony HayzeldenSt Agatha’s Church Extension
Voting exhaustion!
Although official confirmation has not yet been received, we believe that the Extension Appeal has won a grant of £6,000 under NatWest’s Community Force Scheme.
When public voting closed at noon on 24 October it appeared that we were one of the top three projects in our region, based on the highest number of votes amongst 41 competing projects, that would secure a grant.
This is a very encouraging result and thanks go to everyone who voted for us and who also encouraged others to vote as well. It became very intense towards the end of the voting window when we were neck and neck with another project that we had to beat to keep in the top three!
Closing in on that target
Assuming that we are successful with the NatWest grant, Appeal funds now stand at over £163,000. This leaves less than £7,000 to be found to reach the £170,000 target. Some grant applications still remain outstanding; the time between application and decision can be frustratingly prolonged.
Another great Safari Supper
The village was buzzing on 24 September when people were going hither and thither as they participated in the second Safari Supper. The sum of £1,410 raised for the Appeal was much appreciated but, more importantly, everyone had a very enjoyable time, a key criterion for all our fundraising events. Congratulations to Hilary Rogerson and her team for the impeccable organisation!
Pledges redeemed
The majority of the financial pledges by villagers have been redeemed and our thanks to everyone concerned, particularly to those who donated more than they had pledged – always a very welcome sight.
It is still not too late to make a donation; if anyone has held back due to uncertainty about whether the Appeal would be successful, now is the time to let go!
Tony Lascelles
Community Association
AGM – 20 October
Many thanks to everyone who attended our AGM. It’s great to know that we’re on track as far as our activities are concerned.
It was a very good year again in financial terms too. Total income for 2010/11 was £5,172 compared to last year’s £4,529 – particularly due to the success of the Fete, the BAFTAs film event last October, and a repeat of that film event on a Sunday afternoon last Spring.
This meant we had extra income to support village organisations this year – and made record grants of £4,985, compared with £4,182 in 2009/2010. We also jointly funded the purchase of Christmas hampers for the elderly in the village with Fairthorne Trust.
Copy deadline for the last Villager edition meant we couldn’t include details of grants, so here they are now:
| Organisation | £ |
| Scout Group | 750 |
| Brightwell Church | 750 |
| FOBS | 600 |
| Brightwell Church extension | 500 |
| Village Hall | 500 |
| Allsorts Preschool | 450 |
| Junior cricket | 350 |
| Youth Football Club | 250 |
| Womens' Institute | 200 |
| Toddler Group | 200 |
| Cricket Club | 100 |
| Environment Group | 100 |
| Lunch club | 60 |
| Brownies | 50 |
| Brightwell Quilters | 50 |
| Brightwell School | 75 |
We record our sincere thanks to Jim and Madeline Sanger, who last year lent us their garden for the Fete – yet again. Jim is also our esteemed auditor for this year, many years past, and for many years to come we hope.
Amanda Potter and Frank Farquharson stood down from the Committee this year, after giving us unstinting support. We were delighted to welcome Graham Adlard, Mike and Charlotte Woods (as a ‘joint member’), and Laura Evans to the Committee. Current members Helen Baines, John Burdass, Julie Carr, David Fox, Andy Lewis, Ann Linton, Susannah Mangion and Kelly Sherwood were re-elected, as were the Chairman, Secretary (Sue Booth) and Treasurer (James Davys).
Hugh Roderick
Traffic Survey A4130 (Didcot to Wallingford Road)
Following a request from the Parish Council, I agreed to organise a traffic survey. The purpose of the survey was to provide additional information relating to the proposed development near Slade End – Site B.
The survey was undertaken on Thursday 22 September from 7am – 7pm. The survey site was situated about 150 metres west of the entrance to Root One, on the opposite side of the road.. 24 volunteers undertook the survey. The count took the form of the 2 people at a time, one counting traffic travelling to Wallingford and the other traffic travelling to Didcot. Vehicles were categorised as either, cars, light vans, small lorries, HGV, buses, motorbikes or bicycles.
We all know that this is a busy road, but the actual number of vehicles might be a surprise. During the 12 hour period a total of around 12,000 were counted. The peak time was between 8 and 9am, when 1457 were counted of which 1204 were cars. There was a previous survey in 1999 and when the results are compared some surprising facts emerge.
Total vehicle count was up from 10560 to 11993
Total cars were up from 8230 to 9468
Small vans were up from 1397 to 1595
Small lorries down from 496 to 391
HGV down from 262 to 211
Motorbikes about doubled from 88 to 190
Apart from the bald statistics I was very encouraged to notice very little excessive speed during this period – perhaps this is one crumb of comfort from the increase in the traffic.
Finally a big thank you to all the people that took part in the survey – we were very fortunate to have a beautiful late September day.
Derek Brooker
Brightwell School
We have had a fantastic autumn at school with such fine weather and are now looking towards Christmas. Even whilst I write my article I am serenaded by the Christmas Nativity Songs from the Key Stage 1 children. Our new class (apple) names are beginning to roll off the tongue with Pippin, Bramley, Russet, Worcester and Discovery becoming embedded within everyday talk.
At the beginning of term we received the Wallingford Schools’ Olympic Torch from Cholsey school and held a welcoming ceremony for the torch bearers. We were able to keep it for 24 hours for all children to look at before our older children ran it across to Fir Tree School to continue its journey. The Torch is being taken to all sporting events organised by the partnership of schools during this Olympic year.
We are delighted with our new vegetable beds, dug for us by James Davys (school governor and parent) and colleagues. They have already been planted with garlic and onions and we are investigating the possibility of school chickens for the spring term. If any local resident would like to come and help the children to tend our new organic garden we would love to build a relationship with you and learn all we can about “growing our own.”
We held a very successful Vision Evening earlier this term. The evening provided an opportunity for staff, parents and governors to meet and exchange ideas for the future vision for a Brightwell School Pupil. At this evening Simon Numphud, retiring chair of Governors returned to school to officially open the refurbished areas of the school. Thanks to donations from FOBS our Key Stage 2 resource area is a haven for cooking, design and technology classes, art clubs etc. We are currently looking into the viability of purchasing a pottery kiln for use by the school and other local organisations.
Liz Hunt
Traditional Acupuncture in Brightwell
It is with great pleasure that, as well as providing acupuncture treatments in Nettlebed GP surgery, I can now offer treatment in Brightwell. As a way of introducing this service I thought it might be helpful to answer some frequently asked questions about acupuncture.
What is Traditional Acupuncture?
Traditional acupuncture is a healthcare system based on ancient principles which go back two thousand years. It has a positive model of good health and function, and looks at pain and illness as signs that the body is out of balance. The overall aim of acupuncture treatment is to restore the body's equilibrium.
Acupuncturists believe that illness and pain occur when the body's qi (pronounced “chi”), or vital energy, cannot flow freely. There can be many reasons for this including infection or injury, emotional and physical stress, and poor nutrition. By inserting ultra-fine sterile needles into specific acupuncture points, a traditional acupuncturist seeks to re-establish the free flow of qi to restore balance and trigger the body's natural healing response. Recent scientific advances in Western medicine have shown that physiological changes occur in the body during acupuncture treatments.
What can it be used for?
Many people come to acupuncture for help with specific conditions eg. muscle or joint pain, fertility issues, migraine, and nausea. Others choose acupuncture simply to enhance their feeling of wellbeing. Acupuncture is considered suitable for all ages including children and it can be used alongside conventional medicine. In 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended acupuncture as a cost-effective short-term treatment for the management of early, persistent non-specific lower back pain.
More information on current research into the effectiveness of acupuncture can be found on www.acupuncture.org.uk or by talking to me.
Is it safe?
Yes. The results of two independent surveys published in the British Medical Journal in 2001 concluded that acupuncture is a safe therapy. The needles used are single-use, sterile, and disposable.
Does it hurt?
Acupuncture needles are much narrower than needles used for injections and blood tests. When the ultra-fine needle is inserted you may feel a tingling sensation or dull ache but it shouldn’t hurt.
Can I try it?
Please call for details on 07851 326 885.
Maria Wells