Copy for the next edition should be given to Mr. George Adams at "Karibu", Main Street, tel: 680286 by midnight on Sunday, 24thAprilplease.
If you normally prepare your material using a computer, it would make my life easier ifyou could submit your offering in electronic form, though paper is, of course, fine. My ‘official’ e-mail address is: news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk if you wish to send me stuff that way.
This edition was edited by George Adams.
May Issue
Please could I have all copy for the next issue by midnight on Sunday, 24th April?
If you normally prepare your material using a computer, it would make my life easier if you could submit your offering in electronic form, though paper is, of course, fine.
If you do use electronic form, the best format is a Word file with the page size set to A5 and Margins of 1.5cm all round. The font size should in general be 10 point.
My ‘official’ e-mail address isnews-editor @ oxhill.org.ukif you wish to send me stuff that way.
George Adams - 680286
Cover Picture
This month, a typical street scene in Malta.
Editor
Walk The Walk
My name is Yvette Baker and I live at the Moat House in Oxhill (just behind the Church).
I have been successful in applying to do Walk the Walk (in aid of Breast Cancer) on June 18th 2005. This consists of power walking 26 miles in London beginning at midnight and walking through the night within a certain time.
I am looking for sponsors and wondered whether I could advertise in the Oxhill news for anyone who would like to sponsor my walk (I am not asking for large donations as every penny helps towards such a good cause) - most people know someone that has died of breast cancer!
Kind regards,
Yvette Baker
Plant Stall - 18th and 19th June
In case you hadn't heard, we are having a plant stall again!
Please sow, dig up and pot on anything you don't want and which you think someone else might be glad of.
More information next month. Happy gardening!
Eve Whaley, 680224
Nature Notes
The Spring month or Cuckoo’s month. In Anglo-Saxon: Eostramonath – the month of the dawn goddess Eostra. It is from this pagan goddess that the English get the name Easter. Her sacred animal is the hare, perhaps the ancestor of the Easter bunny.
On two consecutive evenings while driving back from work I saw between Honington and Whatcote a flock of about 20 Golden plover. I can’t even remember seeing Golden plover in south Warwickshire before. I understand that this is now a very scarce bird due to its breeding range contracting steadily during this century. It is a wader and in autumn and winter forms flocks, moving south to feed on estuaries and farmland. In summer they are to be found on northern open moorlands where they breed, and their mournful call note and liquid song (not unlike the Curlew) supposedly helped shepherds find their lost sheep. In the fells they are still known as sheep’s guide!
In the winter they often join and mix in with feeding flocks of lapwings. Years ago when I travelled a lot around East Anglia, particularly in Norfolk, I can remember seeing vast flocks of both these birds feeding on farmland, and when disturbed the flocks split in the air into their two separate groups and then on landing will regroup and mingle. In winter plumage Golden plovers look greyish, losing the conspicuous black under-parts which extend from the cheeks almost to the tail, bordered on the head and shoulders with a band of white. Burns wrote of the Golden plover in the line “The deep toned grey, wild whistling on the hill”.
In flight their small pointed wings are noticeable and like most waders, they fly in a compact group, rising, falling and swerving in perfect coordination. I suspect the small group I saw were making their way north for their breeding season. Now on the protected list, up until about ten years ago they were legal quarry, shot in small numbers mainly on estuaries by wildfowlers. I have some 30 years ago in Scotland eaten a Golden plover soup. My recollection is that it was very good, but not worth the death of these wonderful little birds.
April 6th is old Lady Day and historically swallows begin to appear. If current theories on global warming are correct, these should appear around the 3rd or 4th.
“In whatsoever house the swallow breedeth, the Goodman of the house is not there made cuckold, what day soever he be married on.” – Accedence of Armory, 1562.
On April 21st the Sun enters the House of Taurus: “The woman shall be effectual, labouring and a great liar. She shall have many husbands and many children. She shall be at her best estate at sixteen years; but then sickly, and if she escape shall live seventy-five years. She ought to bear rings and precious stones about her”– Kalendar of Shepheardes, 1604.
Grenville Moore
Church Service Times
St. Lawrence Oxhill
Sunday April 3rd - 1st after Easter - 10:45 - United Benefice Service of Holy Communion in Tysoe.
Sunday April 10th - 2nd after Easter - 9:30 - Holy Communion.
Sunday April 17th - 3rd after Easter - 6:30 - Evensong.
Sunday April 24th - 9:30 - Holy Communion and Christening of Ralph Roberts.
Sunday May 1st - 9:30 - Open Air Service for Rogationtide at Church Farm (by kind permission of Ann & Tom Heritage).
Mid-week Service - 7.30pm Thursday evenings
An informal service lasting no more than 30 minutes.
Thursday April 7th - 7.30 p.m. - Holy Communion.
Thursday April 14th - 7.30 p.m. - Compline.
Thursday April 21st - 7.30 p.m. - Holy Communion.
Thursday April 28th - 7.30 p.m. - Evening Prayer
Thursday May 5th - Deanery Ascensions Service in Alderminister.
Jill Tucker
Oxhill Festival Choir
My thanks to the choir for singing Evensong so beautifully on Palm Sunday.
We are singing next on Whitsunday, Sunday, May 15th, at 9.30 a.m. in Church. Practices will be held on:
Friday, April 15th at 7.30 at The Old House
Friday, April 22nd at 7.30 at The Old House
Friday, May 6th at 7.30 at The Old House, and
Friday, May 13th at 7.30 in Church.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no practice on Friday, April 29th!
Beyond that, we will be singing for the Festival Evensong during the Scarecrow weekend, i.e. Sunday, June 19th at 3.00 p.m.
Look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Jill Tucker 680663
Membership of the Parochial Church Council for 2005
Thanks to some sort of electronic glitch, some names were left off last month's list of P.C.C. members. With apologies to those concerned, here is the complete list:
John Baines -(Treasurer, 680676)
Rosemary Brown -(Electoral Roll Officer, 680260)
Andy Buchanan -(Deputy Church Warden, 688112)
Josh Collins
Bill Fox - (Clerk of Works, 688117)
Carol Fox - (Church Warden & Deanery Synod Representative, 680223)
Janet Gardner -(Church Warden, 680280)
Diane Harper
Ann Heritage -(Secretary, 680216)
David Knight -(Rector, Chairman, 680201)
Charles McColl
Graeme McDonald
Belinda Roberts
Gill Rodwell
Jill Tucker -(Reader, 680663)
Lilian Welsby -(Social Committee, 680468)
Jill Tucker
Joy's Jumble
Will be happening on Saturday, 16th April at 2.00 p.m. in Tysoe Village Hall.
Jill Tucker
Canadians at Charity House
From April 14th to April 30th John and Donnee Pelechaty will be living at Charity House and will be driving our Peugeot whilst we are in Canada.
We are sure they will enjoy their time in Oxhill and that you will make them feel welcome.
Jill and Tony Eastaugh
Notes of the Oxhill Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 8th March 2005 at8.00pm in theVillage Hall
Apologies received from Brian Emmerson. All other Councillors were present.
Matters Discussed
Planning
We have supported the following applications:
Change of use from agricultural land to residential (garden) at rear of “Silverdale” and “Northside”.
Erection of single storey visitor centre at the Horse Sanctuary, Banbury Road.
Removal of one conifer and reductions of two further trees at “Gateway”
A review was taking place of the Area Planning Committee System and a questionnaire was completed in regard to this.
Finance
A contribution towards the cost of replacing windows in the Village Hall was agreed and paid. Also a contribution towards the cost of mowing the churchyard for the 2004 season was agreed and paid.
Highways
The Highways Department had been contacted on a number of occasions concerning the road repairs being carried out and had responded well.
The Warwickshire Hunt
A letter of apology had been received from the Warwickshire Hunt for allowing their horses to gallop through the village and along the footpath of Main Street.
Government Publications
The following publications had been received:
Vibrant Local Leadership
Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter
These documents represent the strategy for the future of local government and can be viewed by visiting the websitewww.odpm.gov.uk/localvision.
Date of next meeting
Tuesday 10th May 2005 at 8.00 p.m. in theVillage Hall.
Angela Kean, Clerk
Annual Parish Meeting
This is your meeting. It will take place on Tuesday 12th April at 8.00 p.m. in the Village Hall. Any items for the agenda please let me know prior to the meeting. Helen Whitelegg has kindly agreed to come along to the meeting to explain their plans for the Horse Sanctuary.
Angela Kean, Clerk
Tysoe Marionette Group
We are pleased to announce that our membership of the British Puppet & Model Theatre Guild has been confirmed giving us national recognition in this fascinating art form.
Our dramatisation of Paul Gallico’s “LOVE OF SEVEN DOLLS”
is scheduled for
Friday 10th & Saturday 11th June
and
Friday 24th & Saturday 25thJune
at 7:30pm.
Work on our new production is reaching the interesting stage. The sound track is in the can; Ann Cole’s backcloth and wing flats for Scene 1 are in place, beautifully painted, and of the same high standard as the sets for “The Little Mermaid”; members of the cast and friends in the village are busy sewing costumes; and the model Citroen is nearing completion. We have been fortunate to recruit Sheila Jones from Ratley to paint faces and generally give us professional advice, but we would welcome with open arms anyone who could help with putting the final touches to the dolls and making props at Stonehouse, Baldwins Lane any morning or afternoon except Thursdays.
Rehearsals take place on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. It is not too late to join the Group. We need a couple more manipulators and a Stage Manager.
Please contact:
Jon and Ann Beeny on Tysoe 680431, or
Email: JonandAnn@annbeeny.f9.co.uk
Text2talk and Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police in partnership with Warwickshire County Council, Connexions Youth Service and Stagecoach in Warwickshire, has launched an service to support young victims of bullying and racial harassment - text2talk.
Throughout the country, bullying causes distress and anxiety to many children. Victims often avoid reporting the problem because they feel uncomfortable about telling their teachers or family, or they fear reprisals. By consulting with groups of young people about how best to report these incidents and acknowledging the fact that over 80% of young people now own or have use of a mobile phone.
The text2talk service has arrived.
Text2talk is a new mechanism where young people can text in a message to help them'stand up to the bullies' without using traditional and face to face methods.
The young person texts in 07786 200 999 to report bullying or racial harassment If the incident is bullying, then bully istextedin, if the incident is racial harassment, then racist is texted in. If the young person doesn't want any further contact with the partnership then, No is texted in. If the persontextingin the message wants help and support from the Warwickshire Partnership, then Yes is texted in.
The service is confidential.
The text message is received at Warwickshire Police headquarters where it is evaluated by a call handler working within the Communications Centre. If the message is a Yes message then the message will be passed on to the appropriate partner agency to support and help the young person. If the message is a No message, no further contact will be made.
Every message will receive an automated response immediately and any call back contact requested is guaranteed within five working days.
text2talk is being promoted at senior schools throughout the county and also by posters and marketing material distributed around the schools.
Within the community, details about text2talk will be displayed in police stations, libraries, doctors' surgeries, dentists' surgeries, on parish council notice boards and in community centres.
The Stagecoach Bus Serviceis also displaying posters on their buses for the next two years, free of charge.
The service has been set up following a successful bid by Warwickshire Police for a Home Office grant of £105,000 to provide support for young people suffering this type of victimisation. An additional grant of £40,000 was received from the local Positive About Young People group and Warwickshire Police have contributed £40,000.
The Warwickshire Partnership includes Warwickshire Police, Warwickshire County Council, Positive About Young People, Connexions Youth Service and Stagecoach in Warwickshire.
Village Hall News
The Casino night was extremely successful. The Committee would like to thank all those who provided food and supported the event. Special thanks to Una for her marvellous arrangement of the decorations and the event would not have been possible without the casino equipment and decorations supplied by Karen and Tony. We survived the evening with one bottle of beer left – a big thank you to all.
A significant amount of money was raised for the village hall.
Thanks to Ms Richardson for her kind donation of her hob and oven for the village hall.
Forthcoming events will be announced in future editions of the News.
Linda Dagg
Garden Club
The Garden Club has had its usual very convivial AGM. We are in profit and all officers and members of the committee were re-elected with thanks.
Might I urge you to consider joining the group. During the year there are about 6 speakers on very varied aspects of gardening; in the forthcoming year we have presentations on Bamboos and Grasses, Whichford Pottery and Painting Flowers for example. There is a day outing which is planned for June 21st and this year will be to the Abbey Gardens, Malmesbury, and an evening outing to a local garden of merit. The Christmas and Summer get-togethers are fun and this year the Garden Party in my garden is not to be missed as it will make everyone feel so much happier about their own gardens after it!
Our next meeting will be in the village hall on Thursday April 21st at 7.30 and will be a slide presentation of Japanese Gardens given by Brian Douthwaite.
Heather Brennan, Secretary
Local Decorator
If anyone is looking for a decorator who provides high quality work, at realistic rates, then I would recommend you call Jeff Ludlow on 01608 664036 or 07813 127029.
I can strongly recommend him to you and I also know he has some spare time available as a result of the recent cancellation of a major contract.
Paul Roebuck
STOUR SINGERS MAY CONCERT 2005
at
ST. EDMUND’S CHURCH, SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR
on
SATURDAY 7th MAY at 7.30pm
‘THE FRENCH CONNECTION’
PURCELL - BELL ANTHEM
CHARPENTIER - TE DEUM
FAURE - REQUIEM
With
NAOMI WATSON - soprano
WILLIAM MISSIN - counter-tenor
NEIL SIMON - tenor
PETER TAYLOR - bass
THE CHERWELL SINFONIA
(Leader: Judy Springate)
RACHEL BIRD - organ
Conducted by – RICHARD EMMS
Tickets: £7.50 (accompanied children of school age admitted free)
from
Clarke’s Electrical, 27 High Street, Shipston-on Stour
choir members & at the door
Stour Singers Programme Notes
The main work in the evening’s programme is the much-loved Requiem of Gabriel FAURE (1845-1924) written after his mother’s death in 1888. Part of the Te Deum of Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER (1645-1704) is familiar as the signature-tune of the European Song Contest but why is the great English composer HENRY PURCELL (1659-1695) included in this essentially French programme?
PURCELL was a choirboy in the Chapel Royal at the time of the Restoration of Charles the Second who favoured all things French, particularly style in music. A choir member some 12 years older then the young Purcell, PELHAM HUMFREY (a prolific composer in his day but now virtually unknown) was sent to study in France and returned in 1667 a ‘an absolute monsieur’ (Pepys) full of enthusiasm for the French ornamental style in composition. Purcell was greatly influenced by this and royal approval and the short Bell Anthem which starts tonight’s performance contains as much orchestral flourish as choral content. This then is the ‘FRENCH CONNECTION’.
V.R.T.
W I Report
At our March meeting Gill Ashley-Smith, assisted by Peter as projectionist, gave us a fascinating insight into life in Kineton during the First World War years. This started in the War Memorial and included the fund raising and running of the VAD hospital, the influences of the hunt on the prosperity of the village, the Willoughby Brokes and Fieldens, and the formation of the WI in 1917.
After delicious refreshments served by Ruth Fothergill and Kath Silman, we were entertained by Belinda Keep who showed us finger puppets, tabards and story bags needed for the Early Years Project Lending Library at Bishopton School, Stratford.. We became children aged 3-5 again and laughed a lot, as she told the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Giant. She encouraged members to get busy sewing and knitting for the Craft Section of the Spring Show in May, handed out patterns and kindly arranged a couple of sewing afternoons at her house.
The next meeting on Wednesday, 6th April at 7.30 pm will be “Local Cheesemaking” by Mr D. Fowler.
Ann Beeny
Blue Bell Walk
On Sunday May 8th starting from Hell Brake House, Whatcote. 2-5pm
Come for a gentle walk up to Hell Brake to see the Bluebells, and enjoy tea and scones on your return.
£4.00 for adults and £2.00 for children, (Family Ticket £10.00) and this includes the tea and scones!
The proceeds will go towards St Peter’s Church.
Strong shoes or boots are essential!
Enquiries:- tel. 01295 680007