Copy for the next edition should be given to Roger or Vanessa by midnight on 15thAprilplease.
Paper submissions can be left in the box in the Church
If you normally prepare your material using a computer, it would make my life easier ifyou could submit your offering in electronic form. The ‘official’ e-mail address is: news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk if you wish to send me stuff that way.
This edition (485)
edited by Vanessa Druce & Roger Goodman
Cover Picture
A new arrival in Oxhill!
Fraser Michael Stewart born on February 25th to Andrea and Andrew Stewart.
Contributions to the Oxhill News
The News is what we make it!
The editors would welcome any pictures, photographs, drawings, poems, puzzles, recipes, announcements or items of local news for possible inclusion in The Oxhill News.
Please emailnews-editor @ oxhill.org.ukor place paper contributions in the box labelled ‘The Oxhill News’ in the Church.
May Issue
The copy deadline will be the 15thof each month, this is necessary due to the external printing of the News.
Please can you ensure all copy is sent to us by midnight on 15thApril 2014 for the next edition –news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk A box labelled ‘The Oxhill News’ has been placed in the Church for any paper based contributions.
Roger & Vanessa
Mobile Library
The library van has books withlarge print, ordinary print, picture books, children's books, paperbacks, non-fiction, novels, sagas, crime, mysteries, adventures, westerns and romance. The van also has talking books, cassettes and CDs.
The library van will continue to visit Oxhill every 3rd Friday, stopping at the Village Hall at 2:30pm and staying there for 30 minutes.
This monththe van will visit us on Friday 24th at 2:30pm.
You can renew books between van visits by calling 01926 851031, or online at www.Warwickshire.gov.uk/wild.
Refuse Collections
Recycling and green waste bins (blue and green bins) will be collected on Tuesdays 7th and 21st.
The grey rubbish bins will be collected on Tuesday 14th and 28th.
Weekday Walkers
Weekday Walkers usually walks on the 2nd and 4th Friday's of the month.
If you are interested in joining or to find information, pleasecontact Jim Saxton on 01295 680645 or
at saxton @ talktalk.net.
At the Peacock
Quiz Night
There will be no quiz night this month as it falls on Easter Sunday.
Village Events
The village coffee morning is on Wednesday 1st April at 10:30am and the village lunch is on Wednesday 15th April at 12:30pm.
Broadband Update
The CSW Broadband project announced at the beginning of March that the second wave contract (Contract 2) had been award to BT Openreach. You might be interested to know that Tysoe exchange and consequently Oxhill will be included in this phase as indicated on the project maps as Contract 2 part 1 which is now funded. This suggests delivery from 2016 – 2019 but as surveys are currently in progress a definitive schedule is not yet available.
Full details are available on the project websitehttp://www.cswbroadband.org.uk/where you can register to receive regular e-mail updates.
Mike Collins
Kineton Art Group
Kineton Art Group are holding their Open Art Exhibition and Sale of Paintings at Kineton Village Hall on Saturday and Sunday, the 9th and 10th May 2015 from 10-00 am until 5-00 pm each day.
Adults, 50p - Children, free.
Please come and enjoy the variety of paintings by our members and other invited artists.
Refreshments including home-made cakes will be available throughout.
We will be sponsoring PAINTING FOR PLEASURE, a not for profit organisation for disabled people and those living with or recovering from illness including respite for carers.
If you need any other information please let me know by
e.mail enquiries@kinetonartgroup.co.ukor
visit our website at kinetonartgroup.co.uk
Belinda Keep
Annual Bluebell walk at Whatcote
On Sunday, May 10th, come for a gentle walk up to Hell Brake to see the bluebells and enjoy a cream tea in St Peter’s churchyard on your return. Start any time between 2.00 and 5.00pm from Hell Brake Paddock, Church Lane, Whatcote, Shipston-on-Stour, CV36 5EF.
Free parking - signposted in the village.
Cost £6.00 for adults, accompanied children free – this includes the tea and scones!
Cake & produce stalls. Dogs welcome if kept on a lead. Proceeds to St Peter’s Church.
Strong shoes or boots are essential!
For more information telephone 01295 680007 or
e-mail – susan.price @ ukgateway.net
Is it a swarm?
If the ‘swarm’ is thousands of bees in flight darkening the sky or a grapefruit sized or larger accumulation of bees clustered together – then Yes. Otherwise – No.
Most honeybee colonies swarm each year when the old queen leaves the nest with half of the bees to find a new home. Whilst scout bees search for a suitable nest site the rest of the swarm cluster around the queen, perhaps in a tree, somewhere near their old home where at least one virgin queen is waiting to hatch, mate, and be the new matriarch of the colony.
Unless disturbed, a cluster of honeybees is not a problem and, if accessible, your local beekeeper will be pleased to come and take them away to his / her local apiary. All other manifestations of bees – be they honeybees in chimneys, garden bumble bees in compost heaps, miner bees in the ground, tree bees in bird boxes, masonry bees in soft mortared brick walls – are of no interest to0 a beekeeper other than for t6he part they play in the wonderful world of nature.
No honeybee or variety of bumble bee is naturally aggressive if left alone. Be grateful that they have temporarily chosen your home as a ‘des res’ – all bee colonies die off in the autumn other than honeybees and even they will not survive as a colony for more than a year or two unless they are in a hive competently managed by a beekeeper.
A feral honeybee colony cannot be enticed out of its chosen home. It will not cause any damage to the fabric of a building and only in extremis should a pest controller be employed to eradicate any specie of bee. Wasps are a different matter!
In the months of April, May and June the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) routinely receives a thousand telephone calls a week from ill-informed members of the public who are gently (normally!) directed to the BBKA website
http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/do_you_have_a_swarm.php
where there are pictures of bees, wasps and hornets for identification purposes. Should the so-called ‘swarm’ be exactly that (see beginning of article!), the nearest registered beekeeper(s) can be found by the simple expedient of entering the affected property’s post code.
Douglas Nethercleft (Shipston Beekeepers)
07850 352905
Garden Club
Advance Notice / Global Invitation / Advertisement
Steve Brookes is coming to Town – well, our Village of Oxhill anyway!
The next Garden Club meeting should be a real treat. We have local gardening broadcaster and author Steve Brookes giving us some special tips on a wide range of gardening subjects. With many years experience of presenting on TV, Radio and garden shows his talk is an event not to be missed.
As well as being a professional horticulturist for over 35 years, Steve has owned and managed a publishing house and, with contacts built up over the years in the business, is happy to organise entertainment for any style of event.
The Village Hall can only cater for a seated audience of some forty persons. Doors will be unlocked at 7pm on Thursday April 16th ready for the scheduled 7.30 start of proceedings. Get there early to reserve your seat. The world and his wife will be there, make sure you are too!
Oil Thefts in the Village
I expect everyone has heard of the oil thefts in the village at the beginning of March. Three properties in the village were targeted in the middle of the night. All three properties had had recent oil deliveries and thus their tanks were nearly full.
It is a timely reminder for everyone to remain vigilant and be a good neighbour. If you see anything that you consider to be slightly odd or suspicious happening in the village write down the details. Take a note of time, date and especially registration numbers of cars, vans, lorries and a brief description of what you saw. If you can take pictures on your mobile phone, all to the good. File it away somewhere safe. The majority of the time it will mean nothing but no doubt one day it will be the final piece of information which is helpful to the Police. It is unfortunate that these thefts and burglaries are becoming more and more common in rural areas. All we can do is look out for each other.
Gaynor van Diyk
William David Day
Bill Day's family hereby advise of his passing peacefully in his sleep on 16 March 2015 aged 93.
Bill will be remembered as a long time resident of Oxhill and former post master.
His family arranged a celebration of his long life on 26 March 2015.
He will be sadly missed.
Linda Wood (Bill’s daughter)
Kineton Amateur Dramatic Group
KADS are pleased to announce that our next production will be
"The Actress",
a comedy by Peter Quilter.
This is a story of an actress giving her final swansong performance.
Performances will take place at Kineton Village Hall at 8:00pm on 23rd, 24th and 25th April 2015
Tickets will be available from "Flower Thyme", Banbury Road, Kineton from early April, or can be reserved by calling Jane on 01789 841730
Check out our website for further information at www.kads.org.uk.
Parish Plan
You may all remember that in the February Oxhill News I outlined the points that required action to be taken, with regard to parking and dog fouling. There seems to have been some improvement; however with regard to another three points, support for the elderly, activities for young people, and speeding through the village, I requested volunteers to step forward to help with issues. I am sad to say only one person has offered help (for the community speed trap). I’m afraid it is often the case that folk want things done, but want others to do it for them. Are there any volunteers out there?
Grenville Moore
Notes of the Oxhill Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 10th March 2015 at 8.00pm in theVillage Hall
The meeting, chaired by Grenville Moore, was attended by Parish Councillors Carol Taylor, Tom Heritage David Hill and Brian Badger.
One member of the public also attended.
Matters Discussed
Parish Council Election
There are five seats available on Oxhill Parish Council. Should more than five nominations be received by Stratford District Council then an election will take place on 7thMay. Nomination papers can be obtained from me, or SDC, and these are to be completedfrom Monday 23rdMarch to 16.00 hr on Thursday 9thApril 2015. All nomination papers have to be hand-delivered to the Returning Officer’s office at Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford for checking during the above timetable. My telephone is 680441.
Speeding
No one has come forward to operate community radar equipment. Seven volunteers are required and training will be given for this. Please let me know if you are interested.
Finance
Grants towards mowing the churchyard and Village Hall land were paid at £600 and £200 respectively. Payment for printing the Oxhill News for the year April 2014 to March 2015 inclusive at £764 was also paid.
Planning
Outline planning permission has been granted for one detached dwelling on land in Green Lane. The application for four detached dwellings at “Fithers Field” has gone to Appeal.
Litter Collection
It was brought to the attention of the meeting by Tom Heritage that grants can be obtained by the Parish Council for collecting litter within the parish. More information will be obtained.
Potential and Actual Flooding
Severn Trent had been contacted re the Oxhill watercourse and water runoff from higher ground. They have clarified the position and say that they only maintain foul sewers which discharge to the pumping station. The watercourse is the legal responsibility of either the Environmental Agency if classed as a main river or the landowner (under riparian ownership). Run off from fields and drainage off the highway is the responsibility of the County Authority. County Councils will help with liaison with landowners and dealing with overland flows and may have legal powers to enforce.
Annual Parish Meeting
This is the village annual meeting and will be held on Tuesday 12thMay at 7.30 p.m. prior to the Parish Council Meeting. Please let me have any items you wish to place on the Agenda or just come along.
Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday 12th May 2015 at 8.00 pm in the Village Hall.
Angela Kean, Parish Clerk
Nature Notes
Huntigowk Day, Tailie Day, April Noddy Day, Preen-tail Day, or as most of us know it, April Fool’s Day. The origin is unknown, but is thought to derive from the French poisson d’avril, literally ‘April Fish’. The French term was used in the late 15th century for a go-between in an amorous liaison and to anyone sent on a fool’s errand. The poison d’avril custom also involved pinning a paper fish on the back of some poor unsuspecting victim.
Where would you find Colin Blackhead, Toad Snatcher, Coaly Hood, Chink, Riverside Sparrow, or Bog Sparrow? Well surprisingly in several gardens in Oxhill over the last few weeks, for they are all names for the Reed Bunting (Emberga schoeniclus). The one I have seen in our garden is a male and in his breeding plumage he is very striking; a black head and bib, a white moustachial stripe and white collar, his body plumage is virtually the same as a cock sparrow but slightly more pronounced, he is also about the same size. As the name implies they were once exclusively a species of wet meadows, rushy pastures, reed beds and rank vegetation surrounding freshwater bodies of almost any size. They are now found in a wide range of settings well away from water and can occasionally be seen in gardens on bird-tables. The main reason we are now seeing them on farmland is due to the high densities of oil seed rape and this crop has been crucial in reducing the dependency of the species on wetlands. In the mid seventies through to 2000 they suffered a dramatic decline and were placed on the red list. They are also very susceptible to hard winters and the loss of weed seeds inflicted by modern herbicides is also a factor. Thankfully from about 2009 there has been a recovery and the species has moved from red to amber.
I am also thrilled to have seen several times in the village a Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). This is now a rare bird; from the mid 1960’s it has suffered a massive 97% decline, not only here but right across northern Europe, and shows no sign of recovery. There is a small breeding colony at The Natural Burial Ground in Tysoe. The noticeable feature of this bird is the chestnut-coloured head and a very white collar, whereas the House Sparrow has chestnut sides but a grey top to his head and a more smudgy white part-collar. Keep a lookout, you will notice them if they are in your garden.
Talking of unusual sightings I have just been watching a Moorhen wandering round the Pub car park doing his tail display! There didn’t appear to be any other Moorhen in sight…and in a pub car park? just shows how popular the Peacock has become.
23 April St. Georges Day; beware of dragons!
‘To save a Maid, St. George the Dragon slew
A pretty tale, if all is told to be true
Most say, there was no Dragon, and tis said
There was no George; pray there was a Maid’
John Aubrey ‘Remains of a Gentilism’ 1688
Grenville Moore
Gladman Appeal - Oxhill Road, Tysoe Dismissed!
The decision letter runs to 12 pages and the Inspector agreed with the applicant that SDC cannot demonstrate that they have that crucial 5-year housing land supply, thus bringing into effect a presumption in favour of sustainable development. He found nothing in the objectors’ arguments regarding highway safety, ecology, biodiversity or flood risk that weighed against the scheme. However he decided that the significant harm that would be caused to the setting of Tysoe Manor (a Grade II* Listed Building), and its harmful effect on the character of the local landscape outweighed the presumption in favour of the scheme, and therefore dismissed the appeal.
Grenville Moore
Brooks Williams Gig at the Village Hall
13th March 2015
Around 30 lucky Villagers plus a similar number from Tysoe, Banbury, Balsall Common, etc were treated to a superb exhibition of musicianship by Brookes Williams. He played an Acoustic guitar, a ‘National’ guitar a ‘Cigar box’ guitar and a Mandolin during the 2 hours that he entertained us and held us in thrall with his skill, versatility and fascinating tales. A fantastic musician and raconteur.
A big ‘Thank You’ to Pat Crowther for bringing another quality act to Oxhill – your taste in what music will work for us is impeccable, as verified by so many travelling from outside of the village.
Village Hall Events
Forthcoming Events
Village Hall Committee AGM – 22 April, 2015
The Village Hall Committee AGM will take place on Wednesday, 22 April at 8.00pm and this is an opportunity for new ideas to influence the way that the Village Hall is run and the sort of event that is available. If you would like to join the committee please let me know in advance of the meeting. However, even if you do not want to stand for a committee post, please come along and enjoy a glass of wine, get to know more about our finances, our challenges and share your thoughts on how you think the Village Hall should develop.
Derek Harbour on 680676
A Red & White English Friday Night – 24 April, 2015
Another casual Friday Night event but this time with an English theme; Shakespeare’s Birthday & St George’s Day on the 23rd of April makes this a good reason to celebrate being English. There will be a typically English main course plus a pudding and a quiz all for £10 per person and doors will open at 7.30pm and a quiz will be held during the evening.
Tickets will be available from Tricia Harbour on 680676
Gala Weekend – 13/14 June, 2015
Shown below is the provisional plan for the forthcoming Oxhill Gala Weekend. To augment the celebrations, the Peacock will have music in the Pub on the Friday night.
Saturday, 13 June:
Afternoon:
A free all-comers ‘Rounders’ and/or Cricket match in Mrs. Gardner’s Field Plus great value Cream Teas in the Chapel
Evening:
Pig Roast and a Band for £15 per person in the Grain Barn at Kirby Farm (Some transport may be available)
Sunday 14 June:
Lunchtime:
A Salmon Salad Lunch in the Chapel for £15 per person
Knit & Natter
Please Note that Knit & Natter will take place on 2nd, 16th & 30th April.
New Exhibits at Compton Verney
As Oxhill News co-editor I was lucky enough to be invited to Compton Verney’s new exhibition for the new season ahead of its opening to the public. We were shown the new exhibits by the director of the museum as well as the head curators of each exhibit. It has been a few years since I’ve been to Compton Verney – and though my memory of the museum is wonderful (especially the grounds) I was blown away by the refurbishment, new displays and brilliant new plans for the grounds.
It was my first viewing of the works of the painter Canaletto. Not only was the collection of his work outstanding but there were 3 rooms showing his brilliant canvases! There were also 3 rooms of modern photos and over 100 ancient Chinese artefacts (in 2 brand new beautiful display rooms). And in the garden there is 5 metre high Corn Dolly – in a full length white dress! This was not the Compton Verney I remember. I’ve always loved the museum – mostly for its grounds, but that day I couldn’t get enough of the indoor collections.
If you’re looking for something fun and entertaining to do, somewhere beautiful to walk and some great food to eat – local and lovely Compton Verney is the place to visit!
Vanessa
Deanery News
Dear Friends,
As we come up to Easter, our final Deanery Lent Service will be on theWednesday of Holy Week, April 1st, at 7.30pm, in Ettington Church,and it will be a Holy Communion for Holy Week. The preacher will be Ven. John Green CB, Archdeacon Pastor, who will be closing our series on Baptismal Vows with the final question: ‘Do you renounce evil?’ Everyone is welcome to join us.
Over Easter our churches will all be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the fact that God is alive, and invites us to be alive in him – so please do join in the celebrations, wherever you are.
After Easter we will be holding our annual meeting to explore the mysteries of Diocesan and Parish Share issues onTuesday, April 21stat St. Mary’s Church, Tysoe at 7.30pm.Everyone who is involved in the leadership of our churches is invited – church wardens, treasurers, secretaries and Synod members, and I am delighted that our guest that evening will be David Oglethorpe, the Diocesan Director of Finance.
OnAscension Day: Thursday, May 14th there will be a Deanery Service of Holy Communion for Ascension Day, at7.30 pm in Barcheston Church,when it will be lovely to welcome their Rector, Revd. Stuart Allen as the preacher.
Finally, looking ahead, there will be another of our increasingly popularDeanery Quiet Mornings on Thursday, June 4th, from 10 am – 1 pm at Brailes Free Church. ‘Pots, Pans and Prayer’: a morning with Brother Lawrence, will led by Elisabeth Ashworth.
Have a wonderful and blessed Easter:
As the stone was rolled away,
and the people went to tell the Good News,
may we go from here to share and rejoice.
Worship Words, Nick Harding.
My incredibly grateful thanks to all who baked, made soup, came, ate and gave so generously during Lent here in Oxhill. At the end of the day I have sent the amazing sum of £500.75 to a combination of Save the Children and Christian Aid. As you will realise, every penny makes a difference to the children in war-torn parts of the world, so your gifts will make a lot of difference.
My thanks, too, to those who have and are still contributing to the Spend a Penny Challenge to provide clean, piped, water to villages in Burundi. The Challenge ends at Easter – so if you are filling a jam jar for this, could you get it to me or bring it to church at some point: we will count all the pennies and send it off to CORD (Christian Outreach, Relief and Development, in Leamington Spa).
On Good Friday we invite all small children to bring an adult along to an informal ‘Messy Church’ in The Old Chapel, on Main Street. We are going to make an Easter Garden for the church, and we need their help – and provide hot cross buns and drinks in the process. That’sFriday, April 3rdbetween 10.00am and 12 noon –ish.
The evening of Good Friday, the singers of Oxhill are joining those of Tysoe in a service of music, reading, prayer and silence for Good Friday in Tysoe Church at 7.30pm, to which all from the benefice are very welcome.
Finally, we celebrate Easter Morning, Sunday, 5thApril in St. Lawrence Church with the Holy Communion on Easter Day at 9.30am.
Jill
Church Service Times
St. Lawrence Oxhill
All are warmly invited to our services
Sunday 5th - Easter Day "Alleluia, Christ is risen"
9:30 a.m. Parish Communion (ML)
Sunday 12th - Easter I
6:30 p.m. Songs of Praise followed by
Annual Meeting (JT/NM)
Sunday 19th - Easter II
9:30 a.m. Parish Communion (ML)
Sunday 26th - Easter III
9:30 a.m. Family Service (NM)
For details of other services in the Benefice please see the list in Church or telephone the clergy.
Vicarage Notes
Dear Friends
Writing these notes on the 12th, my diary is full of occasions to which I look forward: Mothering Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, St.George’s Day and 8 (!) baptisms booked in for April and May in the various parishes - is there a baby boom, I wonder?
The annual meetings are all taking place over the coming weeks and our thanks go to the many people on the PCCs who faithfully keep the little country churches alive and kicking, particularly the churchwardens.
We are still in Lent, of course, with thoughts of faith and the challenges it faces today. May we be strengthened by the transforming love of Christ on the Cross and the joyful celebration of Easter, with its message of new life and hope for the world.
One of the Eastertide prayers:
Lord God our Father, who through our Saviour Jesus Christ
hast assured us of eternal life and in Baptism made us one with him:
deliver us from the death of sin and raise us to new life in thy love,
in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, all are very warmly invited to a short Songs of Praise service on the 12th to be followed by the Church Annual meeting.
Happy Easter!
Best Wishes and God bless,
Nicholas Morgan
01608 685230
braileschurch @ gmail.com
Parochial Church Council
St Lawrence - Sunday April 12th at 6:30pm.
The service on Sunday 12th will be SONGS of PRAISE at 6.30pm. This will be followed by light refreshments and then the Annual General Meeting of the PCC.
All are cordially invited.The meeting is not a long one. Short reports are submitted and then election of PCC members. Nomination forms will be in Church from next Sunday
Carol Fox and Charles MacCall
Churchwardens
Welcome
Jo & Richard Collings
Please welcome them to Oxhill. They will be moving to Church View from Priors Marston when their house is built.
Shipston Home Nursing Events
20 Walks Challenge - April 10th,11th& 12th
Please support local vet Martin Foster & walking enthusiast Mike Langrish on their epic challenge to complete all 20 walks from the book “ 20 walks in Shipston Country “ by Peter Titchmarsh
Do join them for one walk or try and do them all!
contact Martin on 07967 371282.
Sponsor them atwww.justgiving.com/rebecca-mawle
Spring Run, Jog or Walk -Sunday 19th April - 10am.
Walton Wall Wellesbourne
£5 adult, £3 child
10.00am registration
10.30am start (dogs welcome on leads please)
refreshments and hot dogs available
for more information
call Gilda -
01789 740083 or 07970 177951
or Rebecca -
01608 674929 or 07932 043111
WOT2Grow - Community Orchard
Spring is almost here! The trees have fat buds and the apricots look to be the first that will break into blossom, it surely cannot be too long before we put the winter behind us even though it has not been too cold or too wet.
Work has continued on the annual tasks and we have been busy weeding the trees prior to feeding them and mulching them. All the matting around the summer raspberries, gooseberries and some currants has been repaired after the badgers and then winds ripped some sections away!
The sensory garden is coming back to life and it has been cut back and tidied up although the rosemary is waiting to be trimmed after it finishes flowering.
The Bee Team are up and running after the winter and are checking out the hives – hopefully we have a couple of good colonies ready to come out and do their work! The wild flower and poppy strips are looking promising and will provide food for them again this year.
Grass cutting has started – not a week too soon as the dandelions are beginning to show their heads and need to be nipped off, the war of attrition has started!
The orchard is there for everyone to enjoy – just a plea that if you walk your dog through the orchard that you pick up their poo. None of us want to pick up or sort out your dogs poo and it can be dangerous especially to children.
There's much to be done in an enjoyable and social environment so why not come along and help out - just contact one of the team for details of when and what!
Liz Atkinson (680045), Paul Sayer (680451), Sue and Mike Sanderson (688080)
Lamb and Curry Lunch
Sunday April 19th 2015 - 12:30 for 1pm
at The Old Chapel
Come and enjoy the flavours of whole roast lamb and various home made curries including vegetarian.
Followed by delicious home made puddings.
Donation bar and Raffle
Price £12 Children £6
Book your places now with Carol Fox - 680223
email ceafox @ aol.com or
Cath Pugh - 680958 or
Sue Hunt - 680419 or email sue.hunt @ onebillinternet.co.uk
Proceeds to St Lawrence's Church - Oxhill