June/July 2007

Village Shop

Over the last five years, the Parish Council and Shop sub-committee have worked hard to try and re-establish a shop in the Village. At times it must have seemed that nothing was happening. Many of the discussions had to be kept confidential due the nature and sensitive of the possible solutions being dealt with. However, during this time we have visited many community shops both in Oxfordshire and the near by Counties, a wealth of information has been collected.

Our thanks go to Matt and Sarah Allen who have given us the opportunity to restore a village shop in the previous location and to the community supporting the project.

The results of the questionnaire distributed in March are as follows: -

77% return (512 delivered - 394 returned)

Question 5 "How important do you think it is to have a shop in the village (please circle order of priority) 1 2 3 4 5" (5 being very important). 76% were 4 and 5
19% were 1 to 3
5% did not answer this question.

Question 6 “Would the following encourage you to use a shop in the village? Post Office, bakery, local produce, newspapers, home-made produce, and delicatessen came top.

Question 7 "How much would your household be likely to spend per week in a Community village shop" 200 said £10 to £20, 96 said £20 to £30, 36 said £30 to £40, 16 said £40 to £50, 2 said £50 to £60, 3 said over £60.

Question 9 "Would you, or anyone in your household be interested in voluntarily helping a Community Shop to get started by" Fundraising 71, Marketing 27, Donation 72, Buying shares 75,
Making a loan 39.

Question 10 Volunteering to work in the shop Over 150
Book keeping 5…Shop manager 1

This is very encouraging and gives us a positive result to move forward to the next stage.

Next Steps
When embarking on a Social Enterprise such as this, all the options must be considered. In addition to the refurbishment and alteration costs, any planning issues to overcome, and grants and funding which may be available.

We propose to have an open meeting in June to keep the Community informed. Jane Barker the Shop Advisor from

The Red Lion - Good Luck to Bill and Mo

For 31 years it has been a great privilege to visit our quintessential thatched English village pub, the Red Lion. Over the years many landlords have come and left. This peaceful village was interested in the arrival of Bill Prince, the new and different landlord of our pub in August 1997.

It was to be different both behind the bar and in the pub. Bill quickly established himself as a character within our community due to his personality and involvement in so many village activities. These included the football team, cricket team, quiz teams, Millennium Year activities and Save the Children charity, and his fancy dress birthday parties on 30 December, to mention but a few. He was a Parish Councillor for a while and sat on a village shop sub committee.

On the 16th December 2001 fire devastated the pub. In one year Bill had restored the pub and was open for business on 23 December 2002. They moved into new accommodation, created out of a converted barn that was part of the pub. Soon Mo had created an attractive and secluded garden for guests and themselves. She was often seen riding her horse through the village. Bill’s food and the quantities became well known locally and afar. The Red Lion has prospered under the management of Bill and Mo.

Bill’s northern sense of fun and directness were not always understood by some and this was a matter of concern to Bill. It was always “as it was” with no nonsense. Bill has always been a fount of sporting knowledge and many a sporting event has been enjoyed on the pub TV, in the company of likeminded villagers. Bill has contributed enormously to our village. His generosity in temporarily hosting the Post Office, for three years, was a great service to the village.

Bill and Mo leave the village on 9 July but not without so kindly organising the charity Cricket Match on 8 July. Please come and support Save the Children and Bill and Mo on that occasion. Bill and Mo are moving to the Merrymouth Inn at Fifield on the A424 between Burford and Stow on the Wold.

On behalf of all Bill and Mo’s patrons and friends I wish them well and good luck. We will miss you. We also welcome Bob and Sue as the new landlords of the Red Lion. I hope it may be very many years before I, or someone else, writes another note like this in The Villager.

Tony Stapleton

New Team Vicar

Our new team vicar, Mr Jeremy Goulston, has been appointed by our bishop, Bishop Steven. The licensing ceremony will take place at St Mary Le More church in Wallingford on 22 July at a 5pm service followed by a reception in the Regal Centre. Lists will be in churches for those wishing to attend, so that we know how many to cater for. All will be welcome.

Jeremy studied at Durham University, then after a spell working for Lloyds of London, he worked for many years with L’Arche Kent Community and Elizabeth Fitzroy Charity Homes working with people who had learning difficulties. This experience led him to take up training for the ministry. Jeremy trained for the ministry at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, not far from Wallingford. He is now just at the end of his Curacy training at Henfield in the diocese of Chichester. We will no doubt find out much more as he becomes our local Vicar and gets involved in our village life. We look forward to July and wish Jeremy every success in his new and demanding ministry.

Roy Thorpe and Olive Sutcliffe (Churchwardens)

Brightwell School

Hot on the heels of our successful Ofsted inspection came the Diocesan examination of Brightwell as a church school. The process is as tough and rigorous and, in some ways, more challenging than Ofsted. The inspector, Mrs Gillian Allison, looked at our distinctiveness as a church school, how we meet the needs of our pupils through our Christian character, the impact of collective worship on the school community, and how effectively the school is led and managed as a church school. She graded the school as good in all these matters. She describes us as ‘a happy, caring school with a good sense of community … where children flourish because there is a shared commitment to the school aims rooted in Christian values’. She identified the care everyone shows for each other as a real strength. As a focus for development, she asks the school governors to involve pupils, parents and staff in evaluating the distinctiveness of the school as a church school and to incorporate the findings into development planning.

Year 3 & 4 children participated in a Tag Rugby Festival at Wallingford School. As defending champions, the team of boys and girls acquitted themselves well, showing good skills and a positive sporting attitude. Also, our Y5 & 6 football team, coached by villager Bob Howarth, drew one match and lost another against Benson. However, the performance of the term was Miss Shinner’s troupe of dancers. They performed at the Wallingford Partnership Dance Festival in March and, with a very professional presentation, were excellent ambassadors for the school.

A workshop for parents on the new approaches to teaching adding and subtraction was well attended. Parents have also added another phase to our adventure trail in the playground through the Friends of Brightwell School. On the fundraising front, our children have done remarkably well to raise £93.50p for our adopted charity this year - Feed the Children - through a ‘cinema evening’, £23 for Book Aid International on World Book Day, and a whacking £653.54 for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day!

Forthcoming events include an Open Afternoon 1-3 pm on Friday 8 June (all visitors welcome) our Summer Fair on Friday 22 June 6-9 pm. Do come along and enjoy a fun-filled and relaxing evening. Also, on the evening of Monday 9 July, 6-8 pm, we will be holding a sports event when the children will compete in their House Teams.

Roger Grant

Environment Group

It’s raining again today, as it has been for most of May. By way of contrast Angus Dart recorded only 1.6mm for April at Sherwood Farm, his driest month ever. But remember the wetness of the winter when it simply poured. In fact the months from October to March were the wettest over the UK since 1914, with 138% of the average recorded over the Thames Basin. Angus measured 413.5mm over the 6 months, compared to the average for the whole year of about 580mm. It’s no wonder all the springs in the village have been gushing and the stream from the Wellsprings flooded. Climate change seems to be bringing longer spells of one weather type as well as advancing the spring.

Sustainable Energy for the Home
About 50 villagers listened to Ian Bacon of Thames Valley Energy, Newbury talking about the different ways of reducing household energy consumption, to save money and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In Blewbury, where he lives, the Blewbury Energy Initiative found that the average house produces about 7 tonnes of carbon a year and that this could be lowered through a range of measures. Closing curtains at night and turning off lights and standbys were relatively simple means. Fitting low energy light bulbs and thickening loft insulation were next. Cavity wall insulation was relatively cheap to do and improved heating controls, like zoned thermostats and time switches which altered from week days to weekends, could be fitted inexpensively. Double glazing was recommended. Next he talked about installing solar panels to heat water and to produce electricity together with systems which used ground heat, but these required an outlay of between £3000 and £15,000. There was also the problem of selling unused electricity to the electricity company. Small wind generators caused planning problems and they required bearings to be replaced periodically. There are different types of boiler which can be fired by wood chips, wood pellets and other fuels which can be grown locally.

The Group is planning to investigate household energy use in the Village, starting with a thermal imaging survey. Anyone wishing to join in should contact a member of the Committee.

The annual meeting of the Group took place before the talk when reports on activities and finance were presented and the existing Committee was re-elected. The members are: John Rodda (Chair), Betty Price (Secretary), Steve Moll (Treasurer), Mais Appleton, Paul Chilton, Viola Crowe, Josie McCarthy, Annabel Rodda and Trevor Wintle.

John Rodda

Allsorts Pre-School

As many of you will be aware, last month saw Allsorts’ long awaited opening party. This was our opportunity to show off our new building and to showcase the work that the staff and children have produced. Most importantly it was an opportunity to thank in person those who have so generously supported the pre-school. Having only moved to the village 2 years ago, I was not aware of just how many people have been involved - drawing up the guest list highlighted that the success of Allsorts relies as much on individual contributions, as the generous donations of large companies. A successful pre-school aims to be at the heart of a community and the number of you who continue to support our efforts pays testament to how well we are achieving this.

The day itself was a huge success. Our guests enjoyed glorious weather and wonderful cakes! (donated by our parents). It was particularly good to welcome back past committee members including Lydia Cook (who travelled all the way from Devon for the event). It must be acknowledged that without the dedication of these individuals the dream of a new building would never have become a reality. Ron Wood cut the official cake - he is a much loved member of the Allsorts family, generously giving his time each week to read with the children.

This term the children have been investigating Mini Beasts ! Discovering insects and wildlife in Brightwell. They have discussed worms and learnt new vocabulary (slimy, moist, earthy) and skills (comparing and measuring). As you would expect it is one of their favourite subjects and they have all been keen to follow up this work at home - my 3 year old is now an expert spider hunter!

We continue to work to improve our own wildlife habitat i.e. our pre-school garden. We do need help in this, please contact Hilary at the Pre-School on 826387 to find out more.

Natasha Fuller

Parish Council

Elections
The local elections are over, we congratulate Celia Collett on her success on being elected to the District Council; she will be an asset to the SODC and of great benefit to the Parish. We send our commiserations to Mary Greene with our sincere thanks for the tremendous work she has done for the Parish during her years as our District Councillor. There has been a considerable change to the Parish Council, Steve Luck, David Greasby and Nick Spencer have stood down. They have made a great contribution to the Parish and we thank them most sincerely for their efforts over the years. We welcome Alistair Butt, Charles Hunt and Adrian Wood who have filled the vacancies so created and they will play a full part in matters concerning the council and the Parish. For a full list of councillors see the next Parish magazine.

Affordable Housing
The construction of the flats on Greenmere is proceeding well; we remind you that if you wish to be considered for the occupancy of one of these flats you must register with SOHA.

Skateboard
The skateboard will be in use on the following dates: 16 June and 15 September. Volunteers are needed to erect equipment and dismantle it after the sessions. No volunteers will mean no skateboarding . If you are available please contact Carol Walters on 833194 for times and venue

Threat from Sand and Gravel Extraction
In April the County Council published an “Issues and Options consultations on Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste” within the Local Development Framework. The publication contains the targets that the County has to meet for the production of sand, other minerals, and a list of potential sites.

One is much of what is now Severals Farm. It extends from the rear of the properties on the East Side of the Wantage Road, across the Shillingford Road down to the Thames. Within the 212 Hectares there are 14.6 million tonnes of sand and gravel. Most of this land lies within our Parish.

If you wish to object, as the Parish Council will be doing, please write to the County Council before 30 June at; Minerals and Waste Policy Team
Oxfordshire C.C.
Speedwell house
Speedwell Street
Oxford OX1 1NE

Lionel Cooper

St Agatha’s Church Choir

Music forms an important part of our worship at St Agatha’s Church. Below is an account of the choir and its activities over the past year. New members of the choir are always welcome.

Junior Choir
At present there are 17 members of the Junior Choir (14 girls and 3 boys). Members are encouraged to study and practise for progressive awards based on the Royal School of Church Music’s ‘Voice for Life’ programme. Congratulations to Fiona Alder, Amy Aldworth, Lucy Baines, Lucy Govan and Becky Murton, all of whom have gained their light blue ribbons, the first stage towards being eligible to enter for Bishop’s awards.

In April 2006 seven members attended the RSCM Easter Course at Magdalen College School, where they enjoyed three full days of singing instruction and practice, ending each day with Evensong in Magdalen College Chapel. Several members also enjoyed a ‘Singing Day’ later in the year in the Falklands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College. During the year several Holiday Workshops were held and, in October, four of the juniors went, with senior choir members, to the annual Festival Evensong organised by the Royal School of Church Music at Radley College. At the children’s service on Christmas Eve the juniors gave an excellent performance of ‘Are you travelling with joy in your heart?’, a short musical play. Thanks go to Annie Hearn, whose idea this was, and to Chris Baines, for lending his voice, as well as to the supporting cast and all who helped with the production.

A special thank-you must go to Annie Hearn and Janice Chilton for helping at junior choir practices throughout the year. However, it was with great sadness that we accepted Annie’s resignation from involvement with the Junior Choir after 9 years of outstanding commitment. Also I would like to thank parents for supporting and encouraging their children’s singing.

Adult Choir
The adult choir has continued to lead the singing in St.Agatha's and to provide an anthem at the Sung Eucharist services. We were delighted to welcome two new altos as members this year and the choir now comprises -Sopranos - Ruth Harris, Annie Hearn Olive Sutcliffe Altos - Janice Chilton, Janita Clamp-Gray, Dee Hornblow, Wendy Murton
Tenor - Roy Thorpe Bass - John Rodda

We were glad also to welcome additional singers for the Christmas Carol service.

Derek Nightingale.

Sydney Robert Jones, Artist

Sydney Jones was an artist whose last years were lived in The Knowl, Bell Lane, Sotwell. He made an etching of the outside of his house and of the inside. These were published in one of his last books “England South”. There are many other local pictures, but the largest number are of London.

My father-in-law, Jim Weatherall was a builder who used to work on the house and he was given copies of the England books which gave us a taste for the pictures.. After Sydney Jones’ death in 1966, my husband, Brian, bought nine of his etchings and over the last few years we have had a lot of pleasure in acquiring others. (If anyone has one they would like to sell, please let us know.)

Most of Sydney Jones’ pictures were monochrome, the largest number were etchings, but he also did works in pencil and pen and ink. He did a number of watercolours which were a distinctive style, but there are very few around. We don’t have any and I should love to find one. Although there are some landscape pictures, the majority that we have are of buildings, my favourites are King’s College, Cambridge and a view of the Houses of Parliament across the old Lambeth Bridge. There are many other superb views, but last year, in Hungerford, we found (and bought) a picture of a shipyard! The pencil drawings are as detailed as etchings, the pen and ink pictures are less complicated, but just as attractive.

Sydney Jones illustrated at least eighteen books, many of which he wrote as well. The first was illustrated in 1906 and the last in 1954. We have acquired most of these on Abebooks, where there are many of the England South, England West and England East series and also London Triumphant and Thames triumphant. Thames Triumphant covers much of the local area and we have pictures of the source of the Thames at Seven Springs and of Wallingford Bridge.

If you have any information about Sydney Jones I should like to hear from you.

Unrelated to Sydney Jones, but to the house, is that when looking into family history we discovered that my husband’s great grandfather was born in The Knowl, but neither he nor his father knew about that.

Edwina Weatherall