The Grapevine MagazineNovember 2007 Issue No 226 |
People |
Lewknor village could hardly be described as the 'shopping outlet' of Oxfordshire; it is therefore, a surprise to find a soft furnishings business entirely on its own in the middle of this quiet Oxfordshire village.
This small premise is divided into a shop and an upstairs workshop. Walking into the tastefully decorated shop is a joy for those of us who are interested in interior design and love 'doing up' our homes. The atmosphere is light and welcoming with a cup of tea or coffee on offer. It is beautifully appointed, and like walking into an Aladdin's cave of soft furnishing accessories; mirrors, curtain ties, and decorative hangings.
Upstairs is a hive of activity there are three huge tables with masses of material, colour and laughter.
Donna, and her two daughters Sophie and Hayley moved 'Fabric Fields,' an established retail outlet business onto this new enterprise opening on 26th March 2007. Originally it been operating from 'a draughty barn in Nuffield', where Donna had worked for 6 years. Tragically, two years ago they sadly lost Hayley when she died in a car accident.
Also supporting this team at the moment is Janet, and two other independent upholsters, one specialising in loose covers. The success of this business is due to many things as a customer there is total support with time and advice when choosing either curtains or soft furnishings. All the finished soft furnishing products are bespoke many of them being made entirely by hand. The team are also happy to do alterations to your existing curtains, and will visit your home to give inspiring advice on colours and soft furnishings introducing their lively contemporary ideas both for old cottages and new build homes.
Christmas will be an interesting time for 'Fabric. Fields' they are intending to decorate the shop and railings outside in a Christmas theme and share Donna's mantra "Curtains are for life not just for Christmas" !
Opening Times: Tel: 01844 350350
| Monday | closed |
| Tuesday Friday | 9.30 4.30pm |
| Saturday | 9.30 1.30pm |
As the new owners of The Lambert Arms, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and to introduce ourselves.
Firstly though, we would like to thank you for your patience as we have been settling in and making a few small changes; such as introducing our new menus, which we trust you will find to your liking.
We are very aware that The Lambert Arms has a long history and it is absolutely our intention to return this fantastic country inn to its former glory.
We intend to do this in two steps:
The first step on this journey has been to put in a highly enthusiastic and experienced team with a passion for providing great service and great food.
The team is led by myself, and the kitchen team by Adam Boutwell, our highly accomplished head chef.
Step two will be to follow our tried and tested formula of running a business for a few months to understand exactly what is required, and then embarking on a major renovation programme. We anticipate this to start at some stage in the first quarter of the New Year.
But, please don't panic! Whilst we are owned by a small pub company, we are absolutely committed to individuality and branding is not a concept we are familiar with!
The pub company that we are a part of is Merchant Inns. A small, privately owned venture, with a passion for restoring freehold inns and offering not just an unrivalled welcome, but also sensational food, stylish bedrooms and sensible prices.
Our premises rapidly become recognised not just for offering fabulous food, but also for the fact that the pub is at the heart of the business so you are as welcome for a pint of real ale, as you are for a gastronomic experience.
Our sites are all featured in the 2008 Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide and some of our premises can also be seen at
www.horseandgroominn.com,
www.carnarvonarms.com,
www.blackboyinn.com.
We are exceptionally excited by the opportunities presented by The Lambert Arms and we would very much appreciate any feedback you may have to help us make this your venue of choice! We look forward welcoming you time and time again.
Yours, Sarah Deakin
Our 'local, organic, animal-friendly and fair-trade' fayre was a lovely event, with beautiful sunshine for the dog show and a good atmosphere inside the church.
We had stalls of fair-trade gifts from Tearcraft, local fruit and veg from Sandy Lane Coop, delicious home-made cakes and teas, ecological goods from nearby 'Eco-St.', herbal cosmetics made by the monks of Caldey Island, locally made Christmas wreaths to order, displays by A Rocha and Christian Aid, and an activity stall making recycled Christmas decorations.
Outside the church was an organic barbecue, provided by local organic sheep and beef farmers the Stoakes.
After the fayre was a short service of poetry, readings and prayers, with a talk from Br. Samuel of the Franciscan Hilfield Friary in Dorset. He gave three 'tips' from St. Francis of Assisi for 'living lightly'.
These were:
Many thanks to all who contributed to such a good event, and all who participated. All profits will be split equally between St. Margaret's and the work of the Gateway Project.
Results of the LOAF Fayre dog Show!| Class | Category | Winner |
| 1 | Best Puppy | Gunnar and Sarah Hodge |
| 2 | Best senior | Dipper and Naomi Fibert |
| 3 | Best condition | Rosie and Thea Gordon- Creed |
| 4 | Child handler | Nero and Harod |
| 5 | Waggiest tail | Mowgli and Paul |
| 6 | Best smile | Betty and Ali Griffiths |
| 7 | Best Trick | Josh and JP |
Winners of every class competed for Best in show and the winner was; Mowgli, with Gunnar as 'Reserve'
Well done, congratulations to all who took part!
We were very fortunate to have lovely weather and the dogs seemed to enjoy showing themselves off! Many thanks to Nicola from The Blue Cross for her time, and judging all the classes. She enjoyed meeting all the dogs and owners. Thank you also to Ali Gordon Creed for entries and stewarding. Let us hope that this may become an annual event, with more prizes, novelty classes and an agility course!
See you next year... Heather Weston
At the Fayre we were delighted to welcome Glen Cox, who runs a local fruit and veg box scheme supplied by Sandy Lane Coop of Milton Common. Glen signed up several customers on the day, who will pick up weekly boxes from Margaret's Church porch on a Wednesday. If you are interested in the scheme, do give Glen a ring on 01844 212 459.
The school has begun working towards its Silver Ecoschools Award, and a number of initiatives are taking place.
An action team has been set up at the school among staff members and interested parents, meeting once a month on Thursday lunchtime. So far we have discussed ideas for our Silver Award Action Plan which we will work towards through the year. Ideas have included:
Our action plan will be drawn up at our next meeting, and reported in December's Grapevine.
Thanks to Jen Russell, we are also developing another great idea, which we hope will raise awareness and be good fun too. Jen and the action team are developing an 'Ecoschools Calendar' for Lewknor School. A photograph competition was launched a few weeks ago, with children invited to submit photos of themselves or their parents engaged in any sort of 'environmentally friendly' activity- anything from filling the composter, cycling to school, or recycling old wine bottles! The best photos will be selected by the children and local photographic expert John Hollywood, and printed in the calendar. Each child will also have the chance to submit their own 'eco-tip', which we are collecting at school, and these will feature throughout. To make the calendar even more useful, it will contain relevant school dates. The calendars will be on sale in time for Christmas, further updates next month.
If you would like to receive more information about the Gateway project, and be added to an email list which receives a more detailed report every 6-8 weeks, please contact Simon Brignall with your email/postal address. Contact Simon Brignall on 01844 281 827
The next session will be a trip to the Nature Reserve on Monday 29th October, from 3.30-5.30pm, when we will be going on a 'fungi foray' in the beech woods! Other activities for the rest of the term include some visiting reptiles, making bird feeders, adopting a sheep at the Nature Reserve, and tree dressing this in the evening.
Contact We need help with many activities of the project, and welcome involvement, from a couple of hours a month to a more regular commitment. Contact Simon Brignall on 01844 281 827
The children were pursuing an enquiry into teeth and healthy eating at school last term. Many of them brought in teeth from home some adult teeth that have been removed and some milk teeth that must have somehow been missed by the Tooth Fairy to examine and investigate as part of their scientific enquiryA highlight of the topic was a visit by parent dentist, Karen Harris. The children have told me all about the enormous model molars Mrs Harris brought in to explain how teeth can decay from eating sugary foods or without proper brushing. Ben in Year 2 told me, "She even had an enormous crocodile puppet and brushed its teeth!" Mrs Harris helped to motivate the children to look after their teeth by giving each of them a lovely new toothbrush!
The children have also explored the different types of tooth and what they are used for and how to plan a healthy balanced diet.
This term our topic is all about rivers and is called 'Go with the Flow'. This topic has a global dimension, when you think about the recent bad whether and flooding in England and elsewhere, and so feeds quite nicely into our increasing focus on environmental sustainability. We are looking forward to a visit to the River and Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames, as well as a study of how rivers are used (for industry, and recreation/leisure) and how they have influenced our development over the years.
Krakatoa has had a really good start to the new term. The children have engaged in lots of fun activities including looking at our hedgerows, painting to music, learning about seasonal fruit and vegetables during our Harvest Festival week, making flapjacks and lots of messy play!
After half term we shall be looking at different types of information such as where we live, looking at maps and what traffic lights are for. We will also cover safety on bonfire night, Divali, lots of songs and rhymes, and a 'feast week' which will be an entire week of cold and hot cooking.
And of course, in the final weeks leading up to Christmas, the children shall be making 'surprise' items to take home along with lots of singing and practicing for our Christmas play.
Upcoming events to support the Pre-school include: Ceramic painting on Weds 14th November. Children and adults alike can make fantastic personalized Christmas gifts for family and friends. Two sessions will be offered: 4pm - 6pm and 6pm - 8pm. For further information and to book your session, please contact the pre-school on 07919081088.
Christmas fancy dress disco to take place during the week of December 17 (exact date and time to be confirmed very soon!) Please join us for this family event to celebrate the holiday season. Refreshments and mince pies will be on offer for the adults and endless fun for the children with games, activities and of course, dancing!
Please note that the Ferret racing event planned for late November has been postponed and will take place in the first part of 2008. More details to come in future editions.
We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support of Krakatoa.
After a number of comments from parents concerning foul footpaths and vile verges we thought it time for a reminder...
Philip Pullman's 'Northern Lights", the first of his trilogy, was our October choice. The story for those unfamiliar with the books is that of a quest by a 14 year old girl Lyra who lives in a parallel world to our own whose civilisation is recognisably similar to ours but not quite. For instance airships have been invented but not aeroplanes. Lyra grows up believing herself to be an orphan within the hallowed walls of an Oxford College called Jordans and sets out on a series of fast- moving adventures mainly set in a land in the far north- hence the title of the book-meeting fantastical creatures and discovering the identity of her parents.
We spent a lot of time debating for which audience the author was writing and decided eventually that it was probably initially aimed at young teenagers and we thought that girls would be more attracted to it than boys- possibly because of its heroine. However, it has become something of a cult book and with the developing anti-religious theme in the trilogy has been taken up by the media with the National Theatre producing a stage version (for its Christmas show!) and a current film, The Golden Compass, in production with Nicole Kidman as one of the key characters. On balance we decided to give it an average score of about 5 out of 10.
As a change to the schedule we are now reading. "Crow Lake" set in Canada by Mary Lawson this month and Terry Pratchett's ' Good Omens" in December. We have been set the challenge to read "Darkmans" by Nicola Barker ( on the Booker list) with over 800 pages for the New Year.
As usual, if anyone has a book they would like to recommend or would like to join our group, I can be contacted on the number below.
Elan Preston-Whyte
Get into some winter 'lipstick gardening' and pep up your patio or doorstep.
With just a couple of well chosen, well placed planters you can make a new addition to your outside space that will put a spring in your step throughout winter.
Euonymus fortunei cultivars are the ideal evergreen shrubs for the job with their bright, beautiful leaves and attractive growth habits. Choose a couple of these and some matching pots to give you patio an instant eye-catching makeover or make you shrub border glow.
This range of cultivars bring striking, confident colour even on the dullest winter day. With names like 'Emerald Gaiety' and 'Emerald 'n' Gold' or 'Silver Queen' you know it's going to be good! These three shrubs are particularly fun examples - 'Emerald Gaiety' has green leaves with white margins that bear pink tinges in winter. This shrub is compact, reaching a height of approx 1 metre. Alternatively, go for 'Emerald 'n' Gold'. The gorgeous, deep yellow margins and green hearts on the leaves of this plant never fail to get noticed. Looking like a trove of sparkling gold coins, this exciting small shrub is a great choice to take pride of place to greet you to and from your journey to work. The unmistakable star of the range has got to be 'Silver Queen'. The glossy, dark green leaves with exquisite white margins bring a sense of affluence and style to the garden. Growing to a possible height of 2.5 metres and a width of 1.5 metres this shrub really is a winter treasure bringing all year round garden magic to your home.
These plants offer masses of value throughout the year. In addition to boosting the look of your garden or patio in early winter, when Christmas comes, you've already got outdoor colour to enhance your festive decorations. Plus, if you are planting your Euonymus fortunei in a shrub border, then how about adding some spring bulbs to change the scene as spring comes and take advantage of the sumptuous colourful backdrop your Euonymus can provide. Choose spring bulbs with mellow yellow, soft blue or crisp white flowers to create a really special seasonal show.
Euonymus fortunei cultivars not only make your garden feel like a million dollars, they're easy to have and keep too. The plants will cope quite happily in poor soil, are tough and of course, can stand winter frosts. They enjoy a sunny position especially if you really want to make the best of the variegation on the leaves. Planting some fabulous foliage is quick, easy and gorgeous a fun winter project to bring some special plant magic to your garden on those grey days.
For more inspiration and advice, visit Newington Nurseries on the A329 just outside Stadhampton.
T: 01865 400 533 -- www.newinqtonnurseries.co.uk November 07Keen recyclers all over Oxfordshire are now able to dispose of electrical items from their homes in an environmentally friendly way - thanks to changes introduced by Oxfordshire County Council. Items such as unwanted toasters, stereos and irons can now be taken to all eight of Oxfordshire County Council's waste recycling centres for the first time. Where has the facility been available?
It had already been possible to recycle such items at:
Where can electrical items now also be taken? Such items can now be recycled at:
The changes have been made following the introduction of new national regulations this year to cover the disposal of electrical items from domestic premises. The introduction of the "Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment Regulations", known as WEEE for short, means that unwanted items of electrical equipment should be taken to a registered site from where they will be taken back for refurbishment or recycling at the cost of the producer.
Councillor Roger Belson, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: "The more we can recycle, the better. Oxfordshire is already one of the best areas of the country for recycling but there is such a lot of potential for yet more to be done."
Further information can be obtained from Oxfordshire County Council's Waste Management team on 0845 050 4550.
M40 Bridge Works - Junctions 7 and 5 You may be aware that UK Highways M40 Ltd, on behalf of the Highways Agency is planning to carry out major work on two bridges over the M40.
The two bridges are at Junction 7 what was the Three Pigeons bridge, and at Junction 5 the Stokenchurch bridge. Work will commence on Junction 7 first followed by Junction 5 and take approximately nine months at each location.
UK Highways are currently in discussions with the Highways Agency, Oxford County Council and Thames Valley Police about the final speed restriction on the M40, diversion routes and traffic management generally during the various works.
Some preliminary works on the M40 commenced during October. The impact of these will be on lane and speed restrictions on the M40 only.
It is anticipated that the impact on local villages will not be felt until the local roads over these bridges need to be closed (possibly for six months) and diversions are put in place during the actual work on the bridge decks. This work is not due to start until the end of the year or the beginning of 2008. More details will be provided nearer the time and when the arrangements have been finalised.
In the meantime, if you would like more details you have an opportunity to hear from John Gardner, Route Operator who is the guest speaker at the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group (M40 CEG) AGM on Tuesday 13th November at the Oxford Belfry at 7.30pm. He will be speaking specifically about the bridgeworks and implications of the bridge works on the local roads.
The M40 Chiltern Environmental Group are working hard to get noise reduction strategies implemented along the M40 from Junction 7 to Junction 3. They have become a respected and well known group, demonstrated by the fact that they managed to have an adjournment debate called at Westminster on 16 October 2007. The debate included representations from three local MPs speaking about the noise
Johnson supported the need for noise reduction, and said: "I think that the villagers deserve some noise abatement. I am thinking in particular of Lewknor and Postcombe, and, above all, Milton Common, which is very close to the motorway." He went on to say "It seems to me that it would be sensible to consider that time (the bridgeworks) for the erection of greater and more protective barriers to the sound pollution that is so greatly diminishing the quality of life of people in the villages. "
If you would like to read the full transcript of the debate on the M40 then go to the following link http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm2006 07/cmhansrd/cmO71016/halltextf71016h0005.htm
The M40 CEG welcome your support and would be pleased to see any local people who are concerned about the motorway noise coming to their AGM meeting in November. The more people who get involved the more likely we will be able to make a difference to our villages.
Charles Edward Basden. Baptised on Oct. 21st. at St. Margaret's, Lewknor.
Mirrin Ella Harris. Baptised on Oct. 21st. At St. Lawrence, South Weston.
John Prichard, our new Bishop of Oxford will be visiting St. Margaret's, Lewknor, as part of his tour of the Deanery of Aston and Cuddesdon on Monday 29th October.
He begins the day at At 11.15am at St. Andrew's, Chinnor with a Eucharist followed by breakfast with the Clergy of the Deanery. He will be at St. Margaret's to meet with member's of the Lewknor Chiltern Gateway project and their partner organisations, Natural England, the Chiltern Conservation Board, and A Rocha UK.
There will be a presentation of the work of the Gateway project in our Church of England Primary school and in the village. All who would like to meet with the Bishop and learn more about the work of the Gateway project are very welcome to come and join us at St. Margaret's.
His day will be full with stops at Berinsfield, Ewelme, Chalgrove and Watlington to see the work of the church in these communities.
All PCC office holders are invited to a short service of Evening Prayer at St.Leonard's, Watlington followed by refreshments. Bishop John will then lead a short discussion. The evening will end with a service of Compline at 8.20pm.'
| County Councillor | Roger Belson 01491 612091 | ||
| District Councillors | Rodney Mann 01844 281426 | ||
| Rev'd Angie Paterson 01491 614033 |
| Ref No | Remarks | LPC Comment | SODC Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| P06/E1231/RET Appeal | Beech Farm, Salt Lane siting of ISO Containers. | N/A | N/A |
| P07/E0445 | Jubilee Hall storage extension. | Approval | Granted |
| P07/E0919 | 6 The Glebe, Lewknor extension | Object | Granted |
| P07/E1065 | (Highfield) Lower Rd, Postcombe erect new 2-storey house. | Object | Withdrawn |
| P07/E1166 | Church Farm convert barn to office and erect four new dwellings | Approval | Current |
| P07/E1167/LB | Church Farm demolish existing farm buildings, convert barn to office and erect four new dwellings | Approval | Current |
| P07/E1168 | Field Farm, Lewknor barn conversion and erect new barn | NSV | Current |
| P07/E1263/CA | Church Farm demolition of existing farm buildings | Approval | Current |
| P07/E1313 | Old Inn, Postcombe three new dwellings | Current | Current |