The Grapevine MagazineJuly 2006 Issue No 213 |
Elizabeth Orr-Ewing |
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The Tribute by Julian Sandbach, Elizabeth Orr-Ewing’s son to his mother at the Service of Celebration of her Life in St Margaret’s, Lewknor, on 27 June 2006
Thank you all for coming today – you are all welcome to join us at the house after the service. Thank you also for all the letters and cards that we have received. They all have a common theme to them - they speak of Elizabeth being a courageous, kind, caring and thoughtful person, who above all else put the well-being and needs of others before her own. This is of course true, and I sometimes wished I could have told her more often how many qualities she possessed. Elizabeth did not have an easy life, and was beset with terrible loss at an early age. My father’s untimely death 22 years ago took away her soul mate and the father of her 4 children. She was left with a deeply wounded heart, which she coped to come to terms with for many years, and he was never too far from her thoughts.
If a tragedy on this scale was not hard enough, she still had a young family to raise, but as is so typical of the woman she was, she discharged her responsibilities with great pride, dignity, success and an enormous sense of duty. These were difficult times for us all, as the path that life had laid for her was a difficult one, which on many occasions was challenging for her to stay on that path, but collectively her family and friends were there for her to help with the burden. She was a truly remarkable woman.
Elizabeth was born in 1942 in Newport, Wales and it seems somewhat ironic that even her birth event took place in hardship, in an Anderson shelter during an air raid. She was terribly proud of her Welsh roots, and loved nothing more than singing “Land of my Fathers” when the Welsh were playing the English at the Arms Park. She spent the first 20 years of her life in Wales, moving from Newport to Wrexham, becoming Head Girl of her school and then attaining her degree in biology from Bangor University. Gwylym, her father was a successful bank manager, whom Elizabeth, along with her Mother May and her brother Richard, was so close to, which reinforces how much family meant to her. I will always remember how much it affected her when her parents passed away within such a short time of each other.
A degree in biology led her to my father, as they met working at the pharmaceuticals division of Glaxo. By coincidence they both rented flats in Kensington Place, and late for work one morning, a lift was offered in my fathers open top Triumph herald 40 minutes and one ruined bee-hive hairdo later, started a deep and loving relationship. They lived at Meadle, Pednor and then Amersham and built a life that was encapsulated by 4 children, a plethora of friends, and for me, years of fun, laughter and of course the endless parties.
Although it is impossible to replicate what Elizabeth had with my father, I must pay tribute to my stepfather, Ian, who Elizabeth married in 1991. She was very lucky to find love again, and for the past 15 years, he has been an enormous strength, a great companion and true friend to her, and we are so indebted to him for helping her following her first stroke, which only happened a short time into their marriage. We were enormously grateful to Ian for the support he gave her, sticking with her through thick and thin, and the constant love he showed her, and she loved him very dearly in equal measure. She was extremely fond of Ian’s children and was equally delighted at the arrival of Ian’s grandchildren as she was with her own.
He will miss her dearly and we hope he will find comfort in the many happy memories they shared together. The stroke Elizabeth suffered 13 years ago was truly a turning point in her life. Circumstances had caught up with her, and took her to the brink. There were those who doubted her resolve, but those who really understood her steely determination and courage, knew that her life was not over and there were more chapters to write. A repentive, reflective and thankful Elizabeth emerged, who although physically weakened by her illness, possessed such a desire to embrace her second chance in life that one could only watch with such admiration.
The past 13 years have been some of Elizabeth’s happiest. She has seen all four of her children married, and has adored each of her nine grandchildren. She constantly told us how thankful she was to have more time with her family, who she was so devoted to and adoring of. She also took much strength from the community, and forged strong links with Lewknor Church, where she was a Church Warden. She was a popular figure in the village and surrounding area, and my sisters and I have been overwhelmed by the number of local people that Elizabeth was known to and have supported her today. It is fitting that Lewknor church will be her final resting place.
Elizabeth’s death will leave a void in all our lives. It is impossible not to admire a woman who experienced so many difficulties in her life, but recovered from them as a mentally stronger and more determined character. She was charming to everyone who met her, possessed a wonderful sense of humour, was generous in both spirit and pocket, and put the needs of others before her own.
She cared deeply about those around her and was an example to us all of someone with courage, fortitude and ability to face life’s difficulties head on and beat them. She is now reunited with my father and her parents and has gone to a place to take a well-deserved rest and reflect on a life which dealt her a poor hand, but a life which she enriched for all who had the pleasure of knowing her.
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Lewknor route to Aston Rowant nature reserve improved
We hope you have noticed that the County Council’s Countryside Service has recently improved the unsurfaced section of Hill Road to make it much easier to use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The road is an unclassified county road which provides a direct link from the Leathern Bottle pub up to Aston Rowant Nature Reserve, Cowleaze Wood and the wider public rights of way network. A large part of the work was paid for by the Countryside Agency with the remaining part paid for by the Countryside Service.
You may also have noticed that on some footpaths stiles have been replaced with gates and kissing gates to make the routes easier and safer to use.
New recycling banks in supermarkets
New British Heart Foundation banks for the recycling of books, CDs, videos, DVDs, cassettes and records have been located in several car parks in the District. The nearest to us are in the car parks at Waitrose in Thame, Asda in Wheatley and Tesco in Henley.
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is working in partnership with South Oxford District Council to provide a means of disposing of unwanted audio/visual items away from landfill. The resale of the best collected items through the British Heart Foundation Charity shops will assist in revenue generation for research into heart disease. So by recycling your CDs, video’s, DVDs, cassettes and records you can both increase the amount of recycling and support an excellent cause.
No time to waste
The new recycling banks are a timely reminder that we need to think carefully about the amount the way we deal with rubbish. In order to meet European targets and avoid financial penalties in the future we need to rethink our rubbish and reduce what is sent to landfill. Working with both County and District Councils, the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership is preparing a new waste strategy for the future. You can have your say by responding to the consultation leaflet "No Time to Waste" which you can download from www.notimetowaste.org.uk
Free parking in Oxford
The County Council has been running a trial for free parking in Oxford after 6.30 pm from Monday to Saturday and all day on Sunday. The trial will now become a permanent arrangement. It should, therefore, make life much simpler for local residents to get to the city centre for leisure and entertainment in the evening at times when congestion is not much of an issue and take advantage of new attractions such as the development around Oxford Castle and the prison. Great news as the summer holidays approach.
District Council continues to perform strongly
In the recent annual report from the District Auditor the headline message is that your District Council continues to perform strongly with a good focus on improving services in key areas. In the scored use of resources assessment, the Council receives an overall score of three out of four. Analysis of the component parts show that the Council has received one of the highest ratings in the country, placing it 22nd equal out of 238 district councils.
| County Councillor | Roger Belson | 01491 612091 |
| District Councillors | Rodney Mann | 01844 281426 |
| Rev’d Angie Paterson | 01491 614033 |
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On Sunday 17th September Lewknor’s Parish Fete and Horticultural Show will be held once again at Knapp Farm. This is a well established event that is supported by the whole Parish. This year the proceeds will be shared between The Lewknor Pre-school and the Jubilee Hall and Recreation Ground.
We want to make this year’s show an even greater success so please enter as many classes as possible. The classes are for all standards of gardeners so come along and have a go- it’s the taking part that counts! . Details of the classes are in this edition of Grapevine so that you can start nurturing and/or planning your entries, more details will be circulated nearer the time.
It will be fun for all the family with stalls and games available, as well as a barbeque. As usual, we will have the traditional auction of items at the end of the show.
If you have any items to donate for the tombola, or crockery for the plate smashing stall, or would like to lend a hand on the day, please contact
Sarah Pagett on 01844 354015 or
Caroline Hjorth on 01844 352720.
There will be a planning meeting on Monday 17th July in Lewknor School starting at 7.45pm - all are welcome to attend.
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CHAIRPERSON
Freya Fraser will sadly be standing down as Chairperson at the end of term. We are extremely grateful for her dedication and hard work, running the Pre-School for the past two years. A BIG THANK YOU from the committee, the children and everyone involved in the Pre-School.
We are very pleased to welcome Cheryl Spittles as our new Chairperson. Cheryl has two children at Pre-School and we wish her all the best in her valuable new role.
We would like to welcome Ben Brook and Billy Griffiths who have joined this term. We wish them a very happy time with us.
For all enquiries regarding Pre-School please contact Chris Selby on 07919-081088. Stephanie London
ASSISTED FUNDING FOR LEWKNOR PRE-SCHOOL
Many of you have used the Pre-school for your children in past years, some of you still have children in attendance so you will be aware of how lucky we have all been to have it.
Since the Pre-school opened nine years ago it has proved an invaluable asset to both the reputation of the village and indeed to the village itself. It has provided exellent staff and brilliant facilities (evidenced by our glowing Ofsted report last year) which in turn has enabled toddlers to become happy confident children ready for their transition to Lewknor School.
The problem we are facing at the moment is serious but not uncommon. Many of you will be aware that after the 2000 baby boom many nurseries and schools alike have suffered due to lack of children taking up places. Many are closing as a result. You may or may not be aware that the Pre-school relies directly on fees from the parents for our income. We are currently making a loss every day we open. Staff have been forced to reduce their days because we simply do not have enough children this term to cover the shortfall. In addition, we also lost one of the biggest fundraising events of the year, which has had a serious impact on our finances and we cannot meet our costs this term.
Should the Pre-school close, not only would it have a knock on effect for the school’s annual intake but also on the Village hall for whom the Pre-school are the main source of income. We do anticipate that next term will be better. We have children on a waiting list ready to start in September and going forward we would be keen to do more joint-fundraising events with the school as it is felt the relationship is mutually beneficial.
However, in the short term we urgently need financial donations – anything would be gratefully received. If you feel you can help in an hour of need please contact Freya Fraser, Ali Griffiths, Nigel Burnand, Gerry Coles or the School Secretary.
Thank you
Lewknor Pre-School Committee
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Sadly, David and Robbie have given the South Oxfordshire Housing Association notice that they wish to terminate their lease and the shop will be closing shortly. It is a great shame that they have not been able to make the profit they need from the shop despite their hard work and enthusiasm. The shop has been a financial disaster for them and their experience has been that not enough people use the shop to make it economically viable. It has been a bad experience for them and people will be very sorry to see them leave in such a way.
There is now just one final chance to save the shop for our community. It really is a case of support it or lose it for good.
We have had two tenants since the shop first opened and they have not been able to make it financially viable on a commercial basis. The only option for the shop now is for a local community management scheme to be set up on a non profit making basis with management committee members and some staff working on a voluntary basis. There are several village shops in Oxfordshire and many around the country which successfully work like this and serve their communities very well. This could happen in Lewknor.
There are already people in the community who are willing to support such a scheme but the most urgent thing to do is to undertake one more survey in the parish to see if the shop is still wanted and if there are enough people who are willing to support it by committing themselves to give the shop their regular custom and/or by giving some time to work in the shop as volunteers. Survey forms will be circulated throughout the parish shortly. Please make sure you fill them in - it is no use being sorry that the shop has finally closed if you have not made your views known.
The shop will only continue if local people really want it and are willing to give it their support.
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THE RIDE AND STRIDE
Sponsored Cycle Ride and Walk Annual Event in Aid of the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) and to support your local PARISH CHURCH Saturday, 9th September 2006
Dig the bike out of the shed, pump up the tyres, check the brakes and oil the chain! Once again, this year on Saturday 9th, you and your children can cycle or walk (or even go by car!) to the churches around Oxfordshire and, with the help of your sponsors, raise money for the maintenance of the fabric of Oxfordshire Churches. Even a stroll from South Weston will qualify!
Remember, 50p in the pound of what you raise goes towards saving YOUR OWN PARISH CHURCH of St Margaret, here in Lewknor.
This year, St Margaret's received a grant of £6,000 from OHCT to help us in our project of improving the heating and replacing the floor in the church. Indeed, we are likely to receive more grants during the next few years from this charity towards the necessary on-going repair and renovation work. So please do your best to support OHCT by participating in this event. We benefit from every penny you raise!
Sponsorship forms are available from: Neil Allen "Lancing" 11a Weston Road, Lewknor 01844 354082
If anybody could spare an hour to sit in the church during the day between 9am and 6pm on Saturday 10 September, please contact Neil on the above number.
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In June we read “Behind the Scenes at the Museum”, a first novel by Kate Atkinson which is a story of three generations of a family spanning the two World Wars living in and around York. The author’s inspiration obviously comes from the Museum in York, where the old city is recreated by scenes depicting life in the cobbled streets and small shops of the Shambles, as she uses photographs and even a tiny button as the trigger to describe an episode in the family’s past. By the end of the book she has built up a detailed portrait of the characters involved adding an unexpected twist to the tale (tail!).
Our next book for July is “ The Lovely Bones “ by Alice Sebold which is going to be introduced appropriately by Kate, our temporary American member, After that, for something completely different we are taking on Field Marshall Allenbrook’s Memoirs of the Second World War and in September we have pencilled in Ian McEwan’s book “Saturday” which was nominated for the Mann Booker prize in 2004.
We are always keen for new people to join the group. There is no obligation to read the chosen book in its entirety or express an opinion unless you really feel you want to say how much you liked or disliked it. Opposing views make for a good discussion!
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Summer Flowering Climbers
Get excited about climbers this summer! Here's a selection of climbing plants from three different families, each of which can bring cascades of colour to your garden through the summer months. Climbers are also really handy for disguising unsightly features in the garden and don't need much space on the ground.
Campsis, or Trumpet Creeper, is a favourite because it's vigorous, tolerant of most soils and the trumpet-shaped flowers are just so much fun! Look out for Campsis grandiflora which produces clusters of wonderful trumpets in later summer. They can be dark orange to red. Campsis radicans produces more slender flowers, again in late summer, and has the added bonus of being self-clinging.
Clematis is a garden classic and it's easy to see why. Yellow, pink, red, white and blue flowers all are possibilities. At this time of year, it's those varieties that flower from summer into autumn which are most interesting. Clematis 'Abundance' is a great choice with its wine-red flowers and light green leaves. 'Bill MacKenzie', with its bell-shaped, yellow flowers is another winner.
Lonicera is, quite simply, a defining summer garden plant. The flowers are beautiful and many have a fragrance that is so evocative and romantic that it stops you in your tracks. Look out for Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore scarlet' if you want flowers over a long period in summer. For a very fragrant variety, Lonicera x americana is ideal.
Most climbers need to be trained against walls (using trellises), up fences or on other plants (trees, tall shrubs). Some varieties of Clematis & Lonicera can reach 7m in height, but there are many in the 2 - 4m size range and some smaller still. Campsis can reach up to 10m in height. Moist, well drained fertile soil is perfect for any of this selection. Work in compost when you plant to help drainage and fertility. Lonicera & Clematis thrive in sun or partial shade. Campsis prefers full sun against a wall (this plant is only hardy down to -5oC). Pruning will help to establish strong plants - check when you buy how to prune the climbers you've chosen.