The Grapevine Magazine

We are holding a meeting at Lewknor School on Wednesday 11th June at 7.30 In order to discuss this year’s show.
Please come along with your ideas to help to make it an even better show than last year’s.

At the meeting we shall decide upon a date, who will have which stalls, and which village groups will receive the profits.

We hope that volunteers/representatives of the Lewknor Parish Recreation Ground and Hall committee, The Friends of Lewknor School and Krakatoa Pre-School will be able to attend the meeting.

If you would like to help but can’t come to the meeting please phone:
Christine on 01844 353283

Previous advice on the use of bus passes has been to the effect that they cannot be used on the Oxford Tube.
This is not strictly true. The passes can be used, as long as the length of the journey is less than 15 miles.
This means that, starting at Lewknor, the passes can be used to travel to and from Oxford, although they will not take you to London.

“Suite Française” by Irene Nemirovsky was our book for May. It describes a less well-known time at the beginning of the Second World War at the fall of France. The author was a Russian Jewess exiled from Russia as a child by the Bolshevik Revolution whose father continued his successful career as a banker after the family arrived in Paris. The first part of the novel is based on her experience of the mass exodus of people from Paris before the German advance on the city of which she was a part. The second describes life in a small village under German occupation and centres on two main characters, a young French woman whose husband is already a prisoner of war and the German officer billeted with her and her mother-in-law.

A few characters in the first part of the book make appearances in the second partly linking the two. The history of the writing of the novel is a tragic story in itself. Nemirovsky planned it as an epic work in five parts but was only able to write two before being picked up by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp where she died. Her two small children escaped capture being hidden in various locations by a family friend together with the suitcase containing the manuscript of the novel. Her daughter did not decipher its contents until 1995 when the book was first published in France and later translated into the English edition. The wealthy Parisians described in the flight from Paris are not a very likeable lot; more concerned about saving their possessions and their own skins rather than helping their less fortunate compatriots and when some of them meet a sticky end one feels like cheering. The village folk are no less grasping and willing to collaborate with the enemy and it is only the unconsummated relationship of Lucille and Bruno that is told sympathetically. In discussing the book, we wondered how we would have reacted as a nation if Britain had been invaded and we came to the sad but realistic conclusion that the vast majority of us would probably have not been much better than the French. We had mixed feelings about the book and wondered if it should have been published in what was really only an unfinished first draft.

So what is the page 69 test I mentioned last month? John Sutherland has written a helpful book called “How to read a Novel” ( published by Profile Books) in which he suggests that faced with an overwhelming choice of books in a bookshop, reading this one page will give you a good indication as to whether its something you would enjoy reading. Try it and see! Our next books are, “Day” by A L. Kennedy, the Costa Book of the Year 2007, “Perfume” by Patrick Susskind and at lastly, our light-hearted read , “ The Undomestic Goddess” by Sophie Kinsella.
Elan Preston-Whyte

Nine years ago a group of retired and semi-retired folk gathered in Chinnor to discuss the possibility of setting up a U3A in the village. We have never looked back and now, with a membership of 275 and a waiting list, we wonder if the time is right to help establish a branch in Watlington.

The U3A is a self-help educational movement supporting life-long learning for people no longer in full-time employment. It gives members the opportunity to share and develop their skills, knowledge and expertise with others. The members set the program of learning and development of interests, usually in interest groups, but there can be outings and meetings with speakers. Subjects range from the academic through to recreational.

In Chinnor we have a thriving ‘History’ group, a ‘Painting’ group, and ‘Reading’ group and several ‘Music appreciation’ and ‘Walking groups’ among the 24 groups currently running. To quote some of our members (aged 50+ to 90+) “It’s been a lifesaver!” “I’ve met so many interesting people”, “I’m always leaning something new” “Life is full and such fun”. So, if you want to find out more, please contact Anne Marie Lord (Chairman, Chinnor & District U3A) on 01844 3521320 or Pat Fewell on 01491 612715

As mothers of small children in Lewknor, we have felt that the village is missing an outdoor place for children to play and for families to meet up informally.

We plan to approach the Parish Council and Village Hall Trustees to propose having a playground built near the village hall. However, we want to make sure there is enough strong interest from people within the community who would use a playground before we run too far with this.

If you support the addition of a playground to the village, could you please get in touch with one of us in the next month. Thank you,

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Children’s Centres are one stop shops for children with their mums, dads, childminders & other carers.

They are places to play & have fun with your children, to get information, advice, support & good company. To find out more & offer your thoughts & ideas please join us at one of our open mornings at:-
Chalgrove Primary School: Friday 27th June 9-12
Watlington Primary School: Friday 5th July 9-12

Free face painting & refreshments –All welcome
For further information contact Helen Rints 01491 612474

The school children of Lewknor Church of England Primary School and the children of Blair Peach School, Southall will be celebrating their Artwork, picturing wildlife from Southall to Lewknor in St Margaret's at 4.00pm Sunday July 6th at 4.00pm.

We are looking to put together a special team to run our new After School and Holiday Club launching at the start of the September 2008 term.

Our school is situated in the heart of the beautiful village of Lewknor and is at the centre of our community. We want the club to become an extension of our school, where children experience consistent and supportive play, reinforcing our strong school values and ethos. For more detail about our school please visit our website: www.lewknor.oxon.sch.uk/

The after school and holiday club will be run in partnership with Lewknor Chiltern Gateway Project and will reflect the school’s commitment to environmental education and sustainable living.

We need to fill the following positions

1. After-school & Holiday Club Manager (ref: OCC/08/1438)
   Local authority pay scale grade 6
   Actual salary from £13,369 for an average of 30 hours per week.
   Actual hours will vary throughout the year.
2. After-school & Holiday Club Deputy Manager (ref: OCC/08/1441)
   Local authority pay scale grade 5
   Actual salary from £11,063 for an average of 27 hours per week.
   Actual hours will vary throughout the year.
3. Several Play Assistants
   Local authority pay scale grade 4
   £7.38 per hour. Hours will vary.

For more information please contact
Tony Moody, Parent Governor responsible for extended schools care, tony@boltonmoody.com / 07796 146 134 or
Jonathan Walker, Head Teacher, office.3184@lewknor.oxon.sch.uk / 01844 351 542.
Application Deadline: 6 June 2008

Lewknor C of E Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

News From Krakatoa

The pre-school is currently participating in the Oxfordshire County Council ‘Footsteps’ Traffic Awareness Programme. This aims to teach children eighty ‘key skills’, including holding hands, being safe and seen,

in-car safety, road safety sounds, vehicle and sound recognition, stopping skills, signal recognition and recognising safe places. It should be good fun for the children and will teach them invaluable skills to help them stay safe.

This term we are busy preparing for a fairly big transition in the Autumn, with eight children leaving us to start school either part or full time and a number of 2 ½ year olds ready to begin their time at Karaktoa. Three visits with Bernie Morgan at Lewknor School have been scheduled to introduce the ‘Rising 5’s’ to their new school and we will hold a mini-sports day and picnic in July to celebrate the end of the year and bid these children a fond farewell.

The Open Day in early May was a great success with many new children and their parents/carers coming to visit. We look forward to welcoming them soon! New dates for diaries include the Safari supper (further details in this month’s Grapevine) as well as the Krakatoa AGM and parents evening in July (date to be announced).

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365alive Summer Fire Safety

As part of the County Council’s Fire Service 365alive campaign a leaflet on Summer Fire Safety has been published. It draws attention to the hazards related to barbecues, camping and trips into the countryside and warns of the unnecessary risks that people sometimes take. For example if a barbecue is hard to light people sometimes use petrol or paraffin instead of recognised fire lighters or start fuel to get it going. Often people ‘get away with it’ but the resulting burns can be serious. For more information on this and other fire safety issues see the website www.365alive.co.uk

Concern over door to door sales people Trading Standards has noted an increase in rogue traders calling at houses. Whilst some traders are genuine they are concerned to check activity in the area to track down the rogue ones and protect the public. Please contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards if anyone knocks on your door and offers to sell you goods or services e.g. garden work, driveways or dusters. They are also interested in people wanting to buy from you e.g. antiques or jewellery. Please take as many details of callers as you can, for example any vehicle registration numbers & descriptions and report it to Trading Standards on 0845 051 0845 selecting (option 2) or email trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Carton (Tetra Pak) Recycling in South Oxfordshire Following last months summary on recycling it’s good to be able to report that you can now recycle cartons at one of four new carton recycling banks in the district. This means you can now recycle the paper-based drinks and liquid food cartons (such as milk, fruit juice and soup cartons) that previously could not be recycled. Tetra pak cartons are made from cardboard, as well as thin layers of aluminium and plastic and therefore cannot be recycled in your green recycling box. The news banks are at:

• Mill Lane Car Park, Chinnor
• Cattlemarket Car Park, Thame
• South Oxfordshire District Council office, Crowmarsh Gifford
• Kings Road Car Park, Henley

If you use the community waste vehicle (skip) to dispose of some of your waste please note that there is a new schedule for this which came into effect at the beginning of May. This service is for larger items of household waste, such as broken furniture, that cannot be collected by the kerbside collection. As there are many locations and different times on the schedule it is not possible to reproduce it in this article. Please either visit the district council website or phone the District Council’s Environmental services on 01491 823203 for further details. Please note that the community waste vehicles cannot collect household electrical items, garden waste or hazardous material such as paint and batteries.

This new way of nominating people to the District Council housing register will come into effect in the summer as has previously been reported. The new service will be called Homechoice. It will enable home seekers to see the Rev’d Angie Paterson 01491 614033 properties that are available either online or via a newsletter. They can then ask to be considered for a particular one. Bids will be considered according to priory need. Currently there are two housing registers one held by the District Council and the other by SOHA (South Oxfordshire Housing Association). The SOHA list will close at the end of May and there will then be just one register. All those currently on the SOHA list will be advised that the list is closing and be encouraged to make sure that they on the new register. In the run up to the new system going live there will be road shows and drop-in sessions to explain how the process works. These will be advertised as widely as possible

The popular taxi bus service linking Lewknor with Watlington and Chinnor to connect to the Oxford Tube Service to London or Oxford has been re-instated by the Watlington Community Interest Company (CIC). The new service started running again at the end of February and had its official launch event on Friday 4th April attended by local MP and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Called ‘Watlington Connections’, the service runs early mornings and evenings, Monday to Friday. There is a published timetable for morning and the evening service.

The Connections bus has been supplied by Oxfordshire County council and is run and maintained by Watlington CIC, which was set up to run the service. Watlington CIC is run by local residents and operates services for the benefit of the community.

Much of the work is being undertaken on a voluntary basis and any profits will be reinvested into the community it is set up to serve. An initial bus subsidy from the County Council has enabled Watlington CIC to start operating.

Angie Paterson, local councillor and one of the founders of the Watlington CIC commented:

“Now that the Lewknor link service is up and running we are looking for other ways that the Watlington Connections bus can service the community during the rest of the day. We are canvassing local opinion for ideas and suggestions for daytime services that would benefit the community.

This would not have been possible without the imaginative support of Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council. Many thanks are due to them”

Owing to a recent resignation there is a vacancy on the Parish Council.

The basic qualifications for membership are that applicants must be registered electors, over 21 years of age, who have, for the previous twelve months, resided or worked in (or within 3 miles of) Postcombe, South Weston or Lewknor.

Anyone interested in filling the position should apply, in writing, to the Chair of the Council, Mrs Caroline Hjorth at No 2 The Glebe, Lewknor, Watlington, OX49 5TZ.

If you would like to know more about what the appointment entails, the Clerk to the Council, Mr Jeff Jefford (Tel 01844 281449), can provide further details.

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.

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If you are thinking of revamping an area of your garden and want something that will cause excitement year round, why not choose some hardy exotic plants? Some have powerful architectural shapes and others just have a magnificent presence. Whichever plants you decide to have, you’ll certainly create a distinctive and unique look to your garden. So to create some structure, start with the Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). Despite looking extremely tropical with its large, fan-shaped leaves and hairy trunk, it can withstand temperatures of -20oC. This palm is happy in all but the most exposed situations. A smaller but equally robust palm is the Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) which produces really tough spiky leaves. It tolerates all sorts of wild and windy weather, including snow, and is hardy to -10oC. Like the Chusan Palm, it can be planted in a sunny position or light shade and puts up with most soils apart from waterlogged conditions.

Bamboos create a wonderfully tropical feel in the garden and the sound of their leaves moving in the breeze is truly relaxing. The Arrow Bamboo or Metake (Pseudosasa japonica) makes an excellent screen or container plant. It is one of the most forgiving bamboos, tolerating conditions that most bamboos dislike. It is happy in virtually any soil, sun or shade. Or try the Black or Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra or Phyllostachys aurea). Again, both can be used as screens and are very tolerant of cold conditions down to -20oC as is the Metake.

And don’t forget the Cabbage Palm (Cordyline australis) or the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). Both are equally exotic in look but extremely hardy in nature. The Cabbage Palm is forgiving of winds, salt and frost! When mature, it produces beautiful and superbly fragrant sprays of white flowers. The New Zealand Flax will also produce stunning flower spikes in various shades of red/brown, sometimes twice the height of the plant, and their fragrance is reminiscent of pine needles.

Having created some structure, you can add some smaller but just as resilient plants such as the False Castor Oil Plant (Fatsia japonica). Its delightfully glossy green foliage is topped by gorgeous white flower spikes in the autumn. Or the Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) whose young foliage is bronze in spring, turning green in summer then rusty red in autumn. Its mass of white spring flowers are followed by shiny red berries in the autumn. And don’t forget the hardy ginger (Hedychium ‘Assam Orange’) whose lush green leaves are complemented by masses of orange flowers on tall stems. The best thing about all (except for the hardy ginger) of the plants listed above is that they are evergreen! Maintenance is minimal so you can spend more time enjoying your garden 12 months of the year. Just give the plants occasional food, water if weather conditions are really dry and remove the odd bit of dead foliage. It couldn’t be easier!

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