The Grapevine Magazine

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve’s 50th Anniversary

Excited staff and volunteers at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve (NNR) are preparing to celebrate its 50th Anniversary this year, and invite everyone to come along and join in the fun! Natural England staff are hosting a series of fun and unique events to immerse everyone in the magic of nature.

This series of events, and the wider community engagement work at Aston Rowant NNR, is supported by funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Jenny Crook, Community Liaison Officer at the reserve says: “Aston Rowant National Nature reserve is a great place to walk, make contact with nature, and ‘get away from it all’. The reserve is well known for being the best place in the South East to see rare Red Kites and many people come here in the summer to see the spectacular show of wildflowers. We have also hosted a number of school visits and many children have already enjoyed a visit with their class. The reserve lays either side of the M40; so many more people have been through it without realising. Whether you know the site or not, this is the time to venture over here and discover more about it for yourself!”

The events throughout the spring and summer including a Bat and Moth Night, the popular “Fungi-tastic” mushroom event, rustic chair making workshops and a Glow Worm Walk.

The more intrepid adventurers can embark on one of the unique themed Eco Trails which give people of all ages a chance to discover the wonders of the reserve at their own pace, and by the end they will have completed their very own Eco Passport.

The highlight of the year’s celebration is the ‘Sounds Like Summer’ musical event on Sunday 13 July, where community groups from all cultures come to perform their interpretation of rhythms inspired by nature. The event is in partnership with the Chilterns Conservation Board and is open to all. The day includes musical tours of the site with the mysterious Green Man, natural instrument making and the tastes and smells of a wonderful local barbeque!

It is recommended that people pre-book the events which are all free of charge. Anyone who would like to get more involved with conservation at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is very welcome to join the volunteer group.

To receive an events programme or for more information on the reserve or the events mentioned here, please call the reserve office on 01844 351833 or email jenny.crook@ naturalengland.org.uk.

The Bookclub at Lewknor

Since my last Grapevine contribution, the Bookclub has met twice to discuss two very different books. The first was “ Runaway”, a book of short stories by Alice Munro, a Canadian author in her seventies well- known and celebrated in her own country but much less so in this. The stories were interesting in their description of life in mainly rural Canada but they seemed to have the same narrator despite the name changing in each. Researching the author’s background suggests the stories are endless variations on her life with an occasional twist to the tale. We felt that her compatriot Margaret Attwell was a far better writer and that Munro’s reputation depends on her being the grande dame from the prairies.

Our next book “The Warhorse” by Michael Mapurgo had been written for children and was recently dramatised by the National Theatre as their Christmas show. It is a story like Anna Sewell’s “Black Beauty” where the horse is the narrator of his early life first on an English farm, then requisitioned as a cavalry horse in the First World War, captured by the Germans and subjected to the same experiences as the human combatants in the battles of the Somme. We discussed whether children would enjoy reading this and the experience of two of the group suggested that for one her own children and for another her grandchildren had done so. It is a simply but beautifully written book and for young teenagers would be an introduction to the horror and sadness of war and even for adults as one of us admitted she had cried all the way through!

In May we are reading “ Suite Française” by Irene Nemirovsky set in France in the Second World War. Still on the choice of books to read I have come across the page 69 test, more about this in Grapevine next month.

IT’S GOING TO BE MURDER IN MIDSOMER ON MIDSUMMER WEEKEND!

Hundreds of Midsomer Murders fans will be converging on the South Oxfordshire and South Buckinghamshire area on the weekend of 20th to 22nd June, for the first ever annual Midsummer In Midsomer gathering.

Events planned include a Murder Mystery Boat trip along the Thames, a quiz night with special guest speakers, a Midsomer Location Hunt around some of the places in which the series is filmed, a mass picnic and a steam train ride with cream tea. All these events will be taking place around the wonderful location of the fictional Midsomer county.

Fans of both the TV series and the Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham will have the chance to meet and mingle. There’ll also be special raffles where they will get the chance to win goodies donated by, amongst others, Bentley Productions, makers of the drama series and headline books, publishers of the original novels in the uk. Many of the prizes have been specially signed by the drama’s star actors John Nettles (DCI Tom Barnaby) and Jason Hughes (DS Ben Jones). All profits from the Midsomer weekend will be donated to The Shakespeare Hospice, based in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The hospice has been keenly supported by Mr Nettles in the past and the hospice movement is dear to his heart.

Fans from as far afield as Australia, America, Canada, Scandinavia and all over Europe will have the chance to re-live the wonderfully indulgent but often gruesome dramas, stopping off at some of country pubs and quaint English villages so often used in the filming of the series.

It is hoped to make this occasion an annual event, and this year we are honoured to count amongst our special guests the writer of the original Barnaby novels which sparked the TV series, Caroline Graham.

For more information please email: info@midsomermurders.me.net Or visit www.geocities.com/televisioncity/satellite/9476/fanconvention2008.htm to register. But hurry, places are going fast!

NB: For most of the events, numbers have had to be limited so some may be fully booked at time of press.

Not For Broadcast: For further information or interviews on the “Midsummer In Midsomer 2008” weekend, please contact DENISE ABBOTT on (01535) 632591 or email denise@rockrabilia.co.uk.

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‘Looking After the Community – Looking After the World’

The work is supported by the Lewknor Chiltern Gateway Project whose aims, as readers will know, are to promote care for the environment on both a local and a global scale. Much of the initial work was led by the Gateway Project’s project worker, Jane Pendlenton, who helped the children and staff to decide what needed to be done and to look at ways of improving the school’s eco-credentials.

Since then, the project has really taken off with the whole school community coming on board. The introduction of recycling and composting and the promotion of other ways of saving energy through, for example, a weekly nature club and monthly eco-assemblies enabled the school to qualify for the bronze eco-schools award. The Autumn term saw the launch of the school’s very successful eco-calendar. Sold to parents and friends, the calendar consisted of photographs of or taken by pupils promoting various eco-friendly activities as well as a ‘handy eco-hint’ from every child in the school.

The new term after the April break saw the start of a whole school ‘Sustainable Living’ topic, where the children are exploring various aspects of environmental education, from living in sustainable communities to calculating their carbon footprint. The topic culminates with a special eco-week at the end of May/beginning of June when the children will spend all day, every day on environmental activities. This will include visitor-led sessions on paper making and re-cycled fashion as well as a farm visit and a visit to the environmental education centre at Sutton Courtenay.

The latest and on-going project is the schools new kitchen garden. In January and February, parents and other volunteers from the local community stripped out two large (but rather tired) flower beds and prepared the soil for planting. Since then the children have been busy sowing and planting in their weekly Friday gardening sessions and the first signs of growth are beginning to show.

Work on the kitchen gardens will help the children to understand about where food comes from and the processes involved in producing it as well as promoting healthy eating and organic food production. The formal opening of the kitchen gardens will take place on 9 May at 3:30pm at the start of a maths workshop for parents. Do please come along. All welcome!

In September the school plans to begin after-school and holiday care for its pupils and other local children. Uniquely, alongside the usual elements of consistent care and supportive play, the new childcare club will continue the school’s eco-theme with a whole variety of activities on nature, sustainability and local and rural crafts planned into the programme.

The school is seeking to recruit staff to lead and help with the new after-school care club, both on a casual and permanent basis. If you are interested in finding out more, or if you are interested in a place at the club for your child, please contact the school office.

ECO SCHOOLS SILVER AWARD

You can read about the creation of our school kitchen garden in this months article submitted by the School. We are busy sowing, digging and planting and enjoying watching the Spring growth. As a recent Nature Club session, we also planted a medieval style medicinal herb garden!

UPCOMING EVENTS & NEWS

We are welcoming a group of students training to become ordained on May 6th.

This is featured in the school article on the front page.

Revd. Brignall and local volunteer Jo Whitfield are planning a special family service to mark Environment Sunday on 8th June. They will be using material from a new book by A Rocha Director Dave Bookless, called ‘Planetwise’.

Our relationship with the ‘Climate-X-Change’ community climate change project at Oxford University (www.climatex.org) led to us creating a low energy Light bulb Library for Lewknor, which we launched in November 2007. This is still available to borrow from the church- please ask Jane for details. They have also supported us in hosting a film showing of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (25th April- update in next month’s Grapevine). We are hoping to arrange an event at St. Margaret’s in June to bring together some of the many community projects around Oxfordshire that are working on solutions to climate change and other environmental problems. The evening will have a thematic focus such as alternative energy sources for the home. (More details in June’s Grapevine).

CONTACT
Please contact us with any queries or comments.
Phone:01844 281 827/ 07974 018 482
Email: jane.pendlenton@ googlemail.com simon.brignall@ arocha.org
Address: Jane is now based at St. Margaret’s and Lewknor C of E School on a full time basis. Postal contact can be made to Revd. Brignall at the Vicarage, 46, High St Tetsworth, OX9 7AS

News from Krakatoa

Summer term is upon us and we are looking forward to a bit of sunshine and time outside with the children. We would like to congratulate staff member Jan Baker for achieving her NVQ Level 3 in record time. We now have two NVQ Level 3 members of staff which is a fantastic achievement for the pre-school.

On May 14, we will hold an open day/coffee morning for parents/carers. Everyone is welcome to this drop-in session to get a better feel for the setting and to chat to the staff and some of the current parents. Of course, anyone interested in visiting the preschool at another time can always contact Jeannette Portnall direct on the Krakatoa number: 07919081088.

Our next big event will be the annual Safari Supper on Saturday, June 28. This is always a well attended and enjoyable evening, so please don’t forget to mark your calendars. Tickets will be available soon.

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Are you recycling all you can?

Recycling is a hot topic. Most people are aware that we need to recycle more not only to protect the environment but also to avoid large landfill taxes that will soon be imposed by the European Union. Questions are regularly asked about what can be recycled and how. It can be confusing especially as new regulations and new opportunities come along. Many items now carry the recycle mark so that we know that they can be recycled but many items don’t. Recent queries included whether the following items could be put into the green recycle boxes – a tick or cross indicates the answer:

• Bottle tops from beer or coke bottles ? (but they can be collected and taken to waste recycling centres)
• Plastic coat hangers ?
• Drinking straws ?
• Plastic golf balls ?
• Drinking cups from fast food outlets ? (if made of composite materials e.g cardboard with a plastic lining)
• Plastic tops from plastic milk bottles ?
• Plastic toys ?

The weekly kerbside collection using either the green recycle boxes (provided free of charge) or the special clear sacks which you can buy for the purpose enables us to recycle everyday household items. Many people are good at recycling things in the kitchen but often forget the rest of the house, especially things from the bathroom! With the weekly collection you can recycle all paper and cardboard - including glossy magazines, catalogues, envelopes with windows, phone directories and the Yellow Pages; plastic drinks bottles, detergent bottles, plastic tubs and pots that food and cosmetics come in, carrier bags, shampoo bottles, plant pots, drinks cans, food tins.

Common household items that can’t go out with the weekly collection include glass, foil, cling film, textiles and footwear. Drinks cartons and crisp packets can’t be put out either due to their foil or plastic lining. However many of these items can be recycled at Recycling Banks. There are a number of different recycling banks located at various places such as car parks. You will find glass banks, books banks, textiles banks (clothes and household linens), shoe banks, audio banks (for CD’s, cassettes).

You can get rid of household rubbish at one of the waste recycling centres (rubbish tips). The recycling centres accept a wide range of household recyclables and waste for landfill for no charge, except tyres and DIY waste. In addition to all the things collected in the kerbside collection – which can also be taken to these centres – you can recycle household batteries, car batteries, televisions, fridges and freezers, computer monitors, soil, rubble, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, foil, engine oil, timber and textiles. At some you can also now recycle tetrapaks. (such as juice cartons) are made up of different materials including cardboard, plastic and foil and have been a problem to recycle in the past.

Some items are classed as ‘dangerous waste’ and need special handling for recycling. These include garden chemicals, solvent based paint, paint strippers and thinners, varnishes, wood stains and preservatives, sealants and glue, car care products. The County Council offers free advice and doorstep collection of these items.

You can contact the District Council on 01491 823416 or email recycling@southoxon.gov.uk or ask you local Councillors to find out. The District Council and the County Council have responsibility for different aspects of waste collection and disposal and detailed information can be found on their websites.

RUBBISH COLLECTIONS

SODC provides a community waste vehicle (a skip) to collect domestic waste from the four main towns and nine rural villages in South Oxfordshire. This service is for larger items of household waste, such as broken furniture, that cannot be collected by the kerbside collection. It does NOT cater for household electrical items, garden waste or hazardous material such as paint and batteries.

From a local point of view, the relevant information is that a skip will be in the Cattlemarket Car Park off North Street in Thame (this not quite the same place as the bottle bank), on Saturdays between 8am and 12 noon on the first and third Saturdays of every month. A skip will also be available in Chinnor and Watlington on the following dates/times:

For additional information, including an interactive map showing the precise locations of the mobile skips, and much else to do with recycling and waste collection, start at this link:

DISPOSAL OF GARDEN WASTE

It is a criminal offence to dispose of household waste outside the curtilage of a private property. This includes the waste generated by mowing lawns, by lopping trees and trimming hedges and accumulations of fallen leaves, none of which may be disposed of by dumping it on the verge or in hedgerows (it does happen – on London Road.

Should such an offence result in a formal prosecution, the consequences could be very serious (fly tipping is now an arrestable offence carrying with it, depending upon the severity of the case, of course, a potential fine of up to £50,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to five years). Action can only be taken, however, if the time and place of an incident is known, along with the identity of the offender (Who? What? Where? When?). Members of the public who observe specific cases of fly-tipping (of this or any other nature) may wish report such incidents to SODC. This may be done, on line at http://www.southoxon.gov.uk (then enter ‘fly tipping’ in the search window) or, anonymously if necessary, by calling 01491 823416.Road and Weston

There are, in order of preference, three acceptable ways to dispose of garden waste. It can be composted on-site. It can be stored in one or more of the brown wheelie bins provided by SODC (at an annual cost of £30 each – or £28.50 if you pay by Direct Debit) which are emptied on a fortnightly cycle or you can take it to one of the Waste Recycling Centres (rubbish tips) operated by Oxfordshire County Council, the nearest one being at Oakley Wood (off the A4130 Nettlebed road, 1½ miles east of Wallingford; Tel 08450 504550).

DISPOSAL OF BATTERIES, LIGHT BULBS AND CDs

Did you know that the nearest place that you can dispose of dry batteries, electric light bulbs and CDs/DVDs and stay ‘green’ is at the Eco-St department within the garden centre in Chinnor. Just save them up and take them along next time you are out that way and drop them off in the bins provided – they will then be recycled safely and you get to feel good about yourself.

30 mph Limit in Stokenchurch

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the speed limit in Stokenchurch has recently been reduced from the previous 40 mph, to 30 mph.

RECENT LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Entries in the LPC (Lewknor Parish Council) Comment column will normally be confined to one of four options: ‘Current’ (ie recommendation still pending), ‘Approve’, ‘Object’ or ‘NSV’ (No Strong Views); the latter is the most usual and is often amplified by specific observations and/or reservations. 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. In the box on the right, click on ‘Planning’. Then click on ‘view applications via the Planning Application Register’ and follow the instructions to find the specific application that you seek.

Henley Leisure Centre refurbishment

The refurbishment of Henley Leisure Centre is almost complete. Practical completion was awarded on 2 April 2008 and SOLL is now working towards getting the centre up and running for public use by early May.

The improvements made to the centre include extending the gym, a new reception and café area, a new accessible customer entrance and new lift provision for first floor access, downstairs viewing area for the swimming pool; new wet changing village, area for group change, dry changing rooms and disabled changing facilities; two refurbished squash courts with glass backs; purpose-built crèche refurbished dance studio; new multi-use space and viewing area upstairs new sauna and steam room; new meeting and event room and extended car park.

Wallingford Riverside Park and Pools

Riverside Park and Pools are gearing up for the summer season. The 18 pitch campsite and amenity block opened on 5th April, the paddling pool will open on 3rd May and the 20m heated outdoor swimming pool will open on 24th May.

For further details, please contact Riverside Park and Pools on 01491 577909 or visit the SOLL website www.soll-leisure.co.uk

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Stylish Wisteria

Branches laden with eye-catching flowers are perfect for capturing the mood of late spring and early summer. Wisteria is a ‘love-it-anywhere’ plant, perfect around a country house or the courts and quads of ancient colleges or against a modern building. The hanging bunches of pea-like flowers bring a feeling of comfort and elegance wherever you find them. As with all the best plants, they’re always in fashion.

Climbers like wisteria are a possibility for every garden; they’re incredibly economical on space. And when it comes to climbers, wisteria is an especially good choice because it’s tough and easy to look after as well as putting on a breathtakingly beautiful display every year once it’s established. It also provides attractive features beyond simply the blooms. The foliage of some wisteria turns a lovely yellow in autumn.

Wisteria x floribunda (Japanese Wisteria) is one of the best choices for flowers now. It’s a vigorous, twining climber that produces racemes (long, hanging clusters) of violet blue flowers in spring and early summer. Foliage is refined and attractive too, with numerous leaflets lending it an almost feathery appearance. Some superb varieties to look out for are ‘Alba’ which produces white blooms in racemes up to 60cm long and ‘Multijuga’ which is outstanding because of its exceptionally large flower racemes – the largest of any wisteria at up to 90cm.

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese Wisteria) is often the one you see growing around older houses and gardens. Varieties include ‘Sierra Madre’ which produces very fragrant, lavender-violet flowers. ‘Alba’ bears white flowers and ‘Prolific’ will yield an abundance of lilac-blue or pale lilac-blue flowers. Look out also for hybrids also - Wisteria x formosa is a great example (a crossed Japanese and Chinese wisteria). Flowers of this hybrid are fragrant. ‘Black Dragon’, which produces purple-violet flowers, is a real beauty.

Wisteria is fully hardy and quite fast growing. It’s happiest in fertile, moist, well drained soil, but will tolerate poorer soils too. Full sun or partial shade is equally suitable. Train against a wall, over an arch or pergola, or into a tree. Wisteria can also be grown as a specimen half-standard. To keep wisteria under control, it should be pruned twice a year; once in summer and again in winter. As wisteria flowers in spring, the major pruning should be done in August. The long trailing shoots should be cut back to 15cm (6in). In December, the shoots should be again cut back to two healthy buds from the main stem. If mid August pruning was forgotten, prune to two buds now.

So if you want some comfort and elegance around the exterior of the house or somewhere in the garden, consider a beautiful and long-lasting wisteria. You won’t be disappointed!

Newington Nurseries, Newington, Nr Stadhampton, Oxon, OX10 7AW Tel 01865 400533 www.newington-nurseries.co.uk