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No More Mrs Moore!
I know it’s a corny sounding headline, but I couldn’t resist!
This Easter sees the end of an era at Lewknor, as Shirley Moore retires after giving nearly 23 years service to the school. Her association with the school is thought to have begun in 1978 (accounts of exactly which year vary, depending on who I ask!) when her own children, first Andrew and then Fiona, began their schooling in Lewknor. The headteacher at the time was Mervyn Benford and the school consisted of not much more than the 2 original Victorian classrooms. In 1984 she took up the post of Learning Support Assistant at the school, working only 6 hours a week. Over the years her job has changed and grown along with the school itself and she has for some years now been working more or less full-time.
As well as the obvious improvements and additions to the buildings, Shirley has witnessed a sea change in the ways in which children are taught. She has mastered a whole range of new skills and is not afraid to use the latest technology. In fact, I regularly have to fight her for the use of our ICT room in the mornings, because she wants to use spelling and maths programs with some of her focus children! (We have never actually come to blows, but an arm-wrestle has crossed my mind!)
Despite all this she, like everyone involved with the life of the school, has done it for so long because she cares about the children. She believes fervently that the development and self-esteem of each individual (particularly those children with greater needs) should be our prime concern and she is never slow to point this out, if she feels we are in danger of losing our focus!
This concern for children’s learning and welfare is for us, as it has been for Shirley, at the heart of everything we do and is the very reason for doing it in the first place.
Since working at the school, Shirley has worked with 5 headteachers, as many as 20 class teachers and, I calculate, over 250 children. With her gargantuan knowledge of the history of both school and village, she is always the first person I think of asking when I have some query or other. Similarly, she has been an ideal member of the governing body representing, as she does, something of the views of staff, of parents and of the local community. In addition to her work in class, she has also attended copious sporting events and residential visits. She often speaks fondly (and with some hilarity) of the school’s visits to the county’s outdoor and adventurous pursuits centre at Hill End.
So it was with sadness that we watched Shirley ride her bicycle away from school for the last time as a member of staff. She leaves a gap at school that will, I’m sure, be hard to fill. We do hope it is more au revoir than goodbye and do, of course, wish her and her husband Tom every happiness for their retirement.
Jonathan Walker, Headteacher
www.lewknor.oxon.sch.uk
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Once again the Auction of Promises organised by the Friends of Lewknor School was a lively and well supported event. The lots sold during the evening raised an amazing, nearly £5,000, which will go towards supporting the school and enriching the facilities for all the children. Our thanks and appreciation go to auctioneer Myles Rose who did tremendously well in persuading everyone to bid higher and higher - as well as keeping everyone under control as the evening progressed!. We are extremely grateful to all parents, villagers and local organisations who so generously donated lots - once again we had a fantastic selection of items for every pocket and many offering wonderful experiences or items that just wouldn’t normally be available.
FOLS would also like to thank everyone who helped on the evening, Kelly, Sophie and ‘Mr Marvel’ for keeping the children so wonderfully entertained, those who provided the delicious refreshments and a specially BIG THANK YOU goes to everyone who attended the event and through whose generosity made the evening such a success.
We look forward to seeing you all at the Plant Sale on 21st April and would once again ask for your support, not only in attending the event but through the donation of any seedlings or plants that could be sold in aid of the school.
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There has been a recent increase in the number of distraction burglaries in the Chinnor and Watlington areas. ‘Beat the Bogus caller’ by using this strategy to deal with unknown callers to your home.
LOCKED - If someone knocks on your door and you are not expecting them, before you go to your front door make sure your rear door is secure.
STOP – If someone knocks at your door, stop and think, “Am I expecting someone?” Look through your spy hole or through a window to see who is at your door.
CHAIN – Put your door chain on before opening the door.
CHECK – Ask for the callers Identification and check this by phone.
IF IN DOUBT KEEP THEM OUT
Leaflets about Bogus callers are available from Your Local Police Station.
AGE CONCERN
Are you lonely? Do you have little contact with the outside world?
On the Phone Link service, out trained volunteers phone housebound and isolated people for a friendly chat once or twice a week, free of charge.
‘The Phone link has given me something special to look forward to during the day’
‘It is a lifeline. I don’t know what I would do without it’
If you think you might benefit from the service, or you know someone else who would, please contact Alex at Age Concern Oxfordshire on 01235 849400.
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The Nature Club, Lewknor C of E Primary School
The Nature Club is due to start on 23rd April, after the Easter holidays. It will run on Mondays from 3.30-4.30pm, initially for six sessions, and there are spaces for around 15 children, from Years 4, 5 and 6. Letters will be going out to parents on the 23rd March. At the first session the kids will choose their own name for the club, so we may no longer be updating you on the ‘Nature Club’ after that!
The scheduled activities for the club are as follows (some sessions may be revised if necessary):
Monday 23rd April Naming the club, ground rules, fun games
Monday 30th April Learning about red kites with a local expert, Cathy Rose
Monday 14th May Learning about waste and recycling with ‘Wiggleberta’!
Monday 21st May Making a pooter to collect and identify creepy crawlies in the churchyard
Monday 4th June A mini beast and flower safari at the Aston Rowant reserve
Monday 11th June Learning about climate change, and how we can make a difference Official Chiltern Gateway project launch
The official project launch will be on May 11th, from 7-9pm at St. Margaret’s. Everyone is welcome, and we hope it will be an inspiring and fun evening for all. The Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt. Rev’d Colin Fletcher, will be addressing the launch, along with speakers from Natural England and Hidden Britain, a rural charity. There will also be a short film from A Rocha introducing their work around the world.
We would like to provide local food and drink for the event, and would really welcome any help with this, either in sourcing or preparation. Please contact Jane on 01844 281 827 or jane.pendlenton@arocha.org to offer help, or suggestions of local food providers.
An invitation to the event will be posted to all in the village nearer the time.
An electronic Chiltern Gateway!
A website will shortly be set up for the project, address www.chilterngateway.org.uk so do check soon and please get in touch with any comments. There is also a page about the project on the A Rocha UK site, at http://en.arocha.org/ukmembers/index33.html
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Five of the current members of the Parish Council are standing for re-election, which means that there is still one vacancy. Why don’t YOU get involved? Any of the current members – or the Clerk (names and addresses in last month’s Grapevine) will be happy to provide specific advice on how business is actually conducted locally, or – for a more generalised summary of what parish councils are all about – go to the National Association of Local Councils website at www.nalc.gov.uk then Click on ‘Latest News’ and follow the links to an ‘Elections Booklet’ which you can ‘download’.
It really isn’t desperately time-consuming, just one evening meeting a month.
BUT you have to submit your Nomination Papers to SODC between 27 March and noon on 4 April.
District Council elections are also being held on 3 May and there are some important dates associated with these:
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| Normal collection day | Revised collection |
| Tuesday 10 April | Wednesday 11 April |
| Tuesday 8 May | Wednesday 9 May |
| Tuesday 29 May | Wednesday 30 May |
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Want to start a business helping people less fortunate than you? Interested in working with others to form an enterprise that will benefit your local community?
Even if you have no previous experience of running a business, Co-operative Futures can help. We are an independent organisation providing advice and support to community enterprises and co-operatives across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon. Our local office is based in Oxford, so please feel free to call in.
How we can help?
Co-operative Futures works with all types of social enterprise including charities, community businesses, credit unions, development trusts and co-operatives. Best of all – it’s free!
If you are interested in developing your ideas, please feel free to contact us:
Tessa Hennessy and Richard Snow, c/o Restore, Manzil Way, Oxford, OX4 1YH
Tel 01865 726521, www.co-operativefutures.coop
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The Thame Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) will be holding its AGM at Punches Barn in Holton at 8.00pm on 19 April. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.
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A treasure hunt-style event, ie specifically NOT a race, for mountain bikers is to be held on 13 May 2007. Centred on Lane End, the entrants will be leaving, either solo or in pairs, over a period of 1½ hours – there will be no massed start. There are no fixed routes, but participants will be using public roads, bridlepaths, byways, RUPPs and Sustrans bounded by the following:
| West/North boundary | B481 and B480 between Nettlebed and Watlington. The B4009 between Watlington and Princes Risborough (which means that we may well be seeing some of them locally). |
| East boundary | A4010 between Princes Risborough and High Wycombe. The A404 from High Wycombe and Marlow. |
| South boundary | A4155 From Marlow to Henley. The A4130 from Henley to Nettlebed. |
Anyone seeking further information, or perhaps interested in entering, is referred to www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk
or the event organiser, Nicholas Calkin of 117 Chapel Lane, High Wycombe, HP12 4BY
(Tel 01494 437382; Mob 07774 113739; nickcalkin@btinternet.com )
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Entries in the LPC (Lewknor Parish Council) Comment column will normally be confined to one of three options: ‘Approve’, ‘Object’ or ‘NSV’ (No Strong Views), the latter being the most usual. Entries in the SODC Status column will be ‘Current’, ‘Appeal’, ‘Withdrawn’, ‘Granted’ or ‘Refused’; all of which are self-explanatory. Further details of individual Planning Applications are available on-line, as follows. Open SODC’s Home Page at www.southoxon.gov.uk. At the top – click on ‘On-Line Services’. On the window that opens, scroll down to and click on ‘Use online planning services’. Then click on ‘View planning applications via the Planning Register’ and follow the instructions to find the specific application that you seek.
| Ref No | Remarks | LPC Comment | SODC Status |
| P06/E1179 | 9 High St, Lewknor – change to roof design of approved new garage. | Object | Refused – appeal registered |
| P07/E0270 | Blue Cross Centre – erect ‘barn’. | NSV | Current |
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| County Councillor | Roger Belson | 01491 612091 |
| District Councillors | Rodney Mann | 01844 281426 |
| Rev’d Angie Paterson | 01491 614033 |
An ‘excellent’ County Council
The County Council is now officially an ‘Excellent’ or Four Star Council according to the Audit Commission – a major improvement in just two years. The Commission ranks councils according to a scale of excellent, good, fair, weak and poor. South Oxfordshire, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell are ranked ‘good’, Vale of White Horse ‘fair’ and Oxford City ‘weak’.SODC hands out £14,400 to talented young people
Bursary awards have been made to 37 young people to help them achieve their sports and arts ambitions. Young people in our area have been among those to benefit gaining bursaries to pursue swimming, sabre fencing and golf. They will receive their awards from the Chairman of the Council in a special ceremony to be held in Dorchester Abbey. Well done to them!Review of Bus Services
The County Council four-yearly review of subsidised bus services in our area will be completed at the end of March. The review includes the Lewknor taxibus and it is thought unlikely that this service will be continued due to the very high level of subsidy it has needed. In order to try to retain a service a small team led by Angie Paterson have submitted an alternative plan to develop a community transport based scheme. If accepted this will provide the taxibus link and also meet other local transport needs.SODC Website rated among the best
South Oxfordshire District Council’s website has been rated as one of the best websites in Oxfordshire in an annual survey of council websites.The survey, carried out by the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitim), assesses how useful, usable and used council websites are. According to Socitim, the website is easy to use, offers a good range of interactive services and provides up-to-date information. They particularly praised the website’s A-Z of services as being easy to use and liked the way it provided links to countywide information as well as district council services.
OCC Website rated one of the most accessible for people with disabilities In an accessibility test carried out by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) the County Council website sight was among about 15% of council websites meetings the accessibility standards. This means that it is designed to work with special tools such as screen-readers and alternatives to the standard mouse and keyboard. It also features large text and high colour contrasts versions and has an option to have each pages read aloud.
Public Satisfaction with SODC rises
Recent research has shown a big jump in satisfaction with SODC services. Overall, nearly two thirds of people asked were satisfied with the council, compared with just over half four years ago. Street cleanliness has seen one of the biggest increases, with 73% of the public pleased with our street cleaning work (62% four years ago).
FINALLY DON’T FORGET - Brown wheelie bin scheme extended In response to public demand the smaller brown wheelie bins for garden waste will be available from April from the District Council. For further information or to order a bin see the District Council website www.southoxon.gov.uk or call 01491 823416.
Compiled by Angie Paterson.
Topiary, as shaped trees and hedging plants are generally known, is definitely the height of style (again). Back in Roman times owners of large houses included a topiarius on their staff whose function was the maintenance of ornamentally clipped bushes and trees known as topia. Renaissance Italy saw a massive upsurge of interest in the form which has waxed and waned up to the present day. Now, topiary is viewed as an imaginative and creative way to bring evergreen structure as well as wit and fun to the garden.
Box (Buxus), yew (Taxus) and laurel (Laurus) are the main species used in this country for ornamental clipping but others can respond well too. These three have the advantage of being evergreen, which provides effect year-round, as well as being readily available in shaped forms.
Of the three, yew is the toughest, tolerating acid or alkaline soil conditions, sun or shade, dry conditions and urban pollution. However, all parts of the plant are toxic if eaten. Box is happy as long as it doesn't have to cope with full sun and dry soil in which case leaves become dull or scorched. Laurel is only happy down to -5oC and is best kept out of cold winds. In regions with harsher winter conditions, keep laurels in large containers and move them into a greenhouse over winter.
The main options for bringing topiary to your garden include formal hedging (try cutting battlements along the top for a castle theme) and geometric shapes or life-like impressions crafted from the living plants. Container growing adds to the flexibility of this approach and makes it possible to adorn steps, patios or drives. You can choose between ready-grown specimens or take the DIY route and teach yourself as you go. Either way, to maintain a topiary shape you'll need to become proficient with the clippers.
Topiary is a great aspect of gardening to get into. We're lucky in this country to have some wonderful examples of historic topiary collections to visit. From Hampton Court Palace in the south to Levens Hall in the north and plenty in between, make a trip this spring to see some wonderful examples of this horticultural art form.
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Oxfordshire County Council is stepping up its campaign to find more people who can offer a short break to local disabled children and their families in Share the Care Week 2007 (March 19 - 25 2007). The council runs a ‘Break-Time Scheme’ which gives parents and families of children with disabilities the chance for a well-earned break, while offering the children themselves a change of scene, a chance to try new activities and make new friends.
Currently there are 50 families in Oxfordshire involved in the programme but the county needs to find carers of all ages and backgrounds for another 18 families.
National Charity, Shared Care Network, will be launching the findings of its UK survey into short break schemes during Share the Care Week. It shows that nationwide there are 10,500 disabled children linked with break-time carers but another 3,500 are still waiting.
Make a difference
The county council’s Break-Time Recruitment Worker, Helen Oliver, said: “Most of our break-time carers have busy lives already - but have found that just offering a weekend a month to a child with a disability brings with it huge rewards because they can give just a little time but make a big difference.
“Break-time carers are one of the ways that we can make sure children with disabilities get the opportunities they deserve - the chance to meet new people, broaden their horizons and have new experiences. Short breaks also make an enormous difference to the family.
“There is a real need for more carers both nationally and locally and we would like to be able to offer these breaks to more disabled children.”
Antoinette from Carterton has been a break-time carer for just over a year. She and her family offer short breaks to 13-year-old Ollie. She said:
“We so enjoy looking after Ollie; my children get to have an awareness of disability… and we get to help another family.
“That’s great because I think we can all get very involved with our own lives and hardships - but this opens yours eyes to the issues other families have to face.” Ollie’s Mum Shirley is also very positive about Ollie’s time spent with his break-time carers. She adds:
“It’s become much more than just Ollie going to them for short breaks - we’ve all become really good friends. What’s really, really struck me is that the whole family play with Ollie - and when he gets there and sees them his face just lights up.
“It gives us a break too. There’s something about knowing that you’re going to get a weekend off that is bliss. The short breaks this scheme provides make our family life much more sustainable.”
Antoinette is available for interviews and photos with Ollie and his Mum. To set up, please contact Helen Oliver on 01865 816057.
How to get involved
For further information about getting involved in the county council’s Break-Time Scheme, please call 01865 375515. Training and support is provided and the time commitment can be anything from a day a week to one weekend a month. Allowances are offered on a sessional basis depending on the number of hours.
Contact: Helen Oliver on 01865 816057
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“The Accidental” by Ali Smith, our book in March, proved to be another book which was not liked very much by those who had managed to read it to the end. Again it was a novel which had received plaudits from the great and the good. Hmm! The plot involves a very dysfunctional family and a young woman who arrives unannounced and influences all their lives in various ways. However, the author manages to wrap up what could have been a very intriguing story in such a pretentious way it irritated rather than inspired us.
In April, we are reading “Old Filth” (“Failed in London, try Hong Kong”) by Jane Gardam, and for May and June, “The Master “ by Colin Toibin and “Human Traces” by Sebastian Faulkes. Later we have on our list “Restless” by William Boyd, “The State of the Union” by Douglas Kennedy and “ Northern Lights“ by Philip Pullman (which is currently being filmed with Nicole Kidman in a leading role). Mostly male authors as recently we have had a not very successful run with their female counterparts.
Some of the group are going to the BBC soon for a recorded discussion with Germaine Greer of her seminal 1970’s book “The Female Eunuch”. Whether we shall be able to get a word in edgewise with the author and presenter, James Naughtie, remains to be heard.
Elan Preston-Whyte