Safari Supper

Saturday 17th July 2010 - 7.30pm

Please join us for the annual Safari Supper on Saturday 17 July at 7:30pm. It is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet people who are new to the area.

Tickets are £25 per person which includes a starter, main and pudding (all at different houses).

Please contact Catherine Burdett on 01844 352 973 for tickets. This event always proves popular so please get in touch soon for your tickets!

All proceeds go to support Krakatoa Pre-school. Thank you!

A Big Welcome for Peter Waterson

At long last the "Interregnum" (the period between a Vicar leaving and the next Priest taking over the reins) is over! The selection committee consisting of the churchwardens of the six parishes in the Tetsworth Benefice and our Team Rector (Alan Garratt) from Thame met on 16th March at Adwell House under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Dorchester (Colin Fletcher). We had two candidates to interview for this "House for Duty" post and we appointed Rev. Peter Waterson.

What is a "House for Duty" minister? The answer is an ordained priest, who is not paid a salary, but, in return for a house that is free, devotes 3 days a week to ministering to our parishes.

Why are we not being allowed to have a full time vicar, such as Simon Brignall? Unfortunately the answer lies in the fact that neither Lewknor nor Tetsworth have been able to pay in full their "Parish Share" to the Diocese of Oxford for many years. The "Parish Share" is the "tax" every parish has to pay for the privilege of having a vicar and paying his pension contributions. Indeed, Lewknor was only able to pay £250 last year towards its tax demand of nearly £9,000!

Rev. Peter Waterson is currently Assistant Curate at the church of St. Paul, Astley Bridge near Bolton in Lancashire. He was ordained as a Deacon in 2007 and as a Priest in the Diocese of Manchester in 2008. He came to the priesthood fairly late in life, but has had a lengthy and successful career as a senior manager in Human Resources in a well-known company in the Liverpool area. The emphasis of his ministry is in the field of pastoral care, where, as a former Personnel Manager, he has a vast amount of experience over a period of nearly 30 years in industry and commerce.

His wife June is a Counselling Psychotherapist and they are looking forward to moving to Tetsworth, so that they can be closer to their son, who lives with his family in Chesham, and their daughter and her family, who live in Surrey.

Peter is to be installed by Bishop Colin on 20th July at 7.30 p.m. in St Giles's Church in Tetsworth and will be taking up his duties immediately. Anybody living in our parish can attend, and we hope you will be there to extend to Peter and June the warmest of welcomes!

The P.C.C. will be organising an evening in Lewknor very soon after Peter takes up his post and we hope that you will be able to come along to meet Peter and June in person.
Ian Orr-Ewing Churchwarden and Chairman of the P.C.C.

The Rotation Service is when special prayers are said for the newly sewn crops. This year, this annual spring service takes place on: Sunday 9th may at 4.30pm in Stoke Talmage Church and around Manor Farm (by kind permission of messrs Edward and Terence Smith)

It is a delightful service set as it is against the backcloth of the open fields, the farm animals and the spring chorus - and then it’s back to a hearty tea in the church

The Ascension Day service for all the villages:
Lewknor, Adwell, Postcombe, South Weston, Stoke Talmage, Tetsworth And Wheatfield will be held on:
Thursday 13th may at 7.30pm
In Stoke Talmage church

Hall Happenings!

Following the official opening of red kite park on sunday 23rd may at 11:00, the trustees are organising a bluebell walk to the nature reserve.this will start and finish at the hall, and there will be 2 different routes (short -for those with little legs or short of time, and longer for those with more time and stamina!)

There will be a variety of things to look out for, and a prize for the most items found. We are asking for a donation of £10:00 per family and this will include refreshments at the end of the walk. To finish off your walk, bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the new play park. If wet, then picnics can be had in the hall.

The newly installed picnic tables and seats were purchased with proceeds from the horticultural show and were made locally, and really add to the area.

The storage extension is nearly completed, and the dust just about settled! Thank you for your patience and putting up with some disruption during the building works.

Please could you remember that there is a speed limit in the village, and with more use being made of the recreation ground it is really important to watch out for children. With the weather encouraging more people to be out and about, if you do notice any suspicious behaviour, or have concerns about goings on, then do call the Community Police Support Officer on 0845 8 505 505

Red Kite Park

We would like to invite everyone to join us to celebrate the “Grand Opening” of Red Kite Park on Sunday, 23 May at 11am. Many people have contributed to the creation of our new play area and we can finally come together to officially open it!

The opening will be followed by the Bluebell Walk through the Chilterns so feel free to bring your walking shoes and picnic and join in (more details can be found elsewhere in the Grapevine).

The play area is open for use now but we ask that everyone be aware of the areas that have recently been seeded. The picnic tables and benches that are now in place were purchased with the funds raised at the 2009 Lewknor Parish Horticultural Show and Fete.

Again - a plea - could dog owners please keep unaccompanied dogs off the play area and, in the event that they escape, please pick up after them. Members of the community have already noticed and cleaned up dog mess in the bark under the equipment. We are very excited to have our own play area in the parish but the fun will quickly fade if dog mess is a constant problem.

Thank you,

Car Hit By Distributing Lorry.

“On Monday 19th April 2010 at 2:40pm whilst my car was parked outside MY HOUSE a distributing lorry entered Weston Road in Lewknor on its way to Moorcourt Barn.

This lorry driver was told to take the other side of Weston Road as there was more room and it was the road that he needed, but he refused. Due to the lorry's large size, it proceeded to squeeze past the parked cars knowing it was risky and had potential to hit cars on its way. Whilst passing my car, the back end of his lorry collided with the back end of my car causing a lot of damage. I was actually sat in the car at the time but luckily I was unhurt.

Due to this event this is a very good and valid reason why the recent and disturbing developments concerning the planning application for a storage and distribution operation at Moorcourt Barn should be refused!! If this is only the start, just think about what is to come??”
Kelly (Weston Road).

Good news for rural community buildings

Big Lottery Fund announced at the beginning of February at least £100million a year is to be invested across England in a new improved version of its flagship ‘Reaching Communities’ programme for each of the next five years. The new funding will be introduced in the spring and comes with two distinct improvements. First, applicants seeking smaller sums of money will enjoy a simpler application and assessment process. Second, a two-stage decision making process for larger bids will ensure that all applications will learn sooner whether their projects is in with a chance of receiving funding. For those invited to the second stage, the likelihood of success will be much higher, making work on completing a full application worthwhile. Also, the Big Lottery Fund is promising more informative feedback on all unsuccessful applications. For more information - email lynne.newin@oxonrcc.org.uk

The Bookclub at Lewknor.

Our March book was Sebastian Barry’s ‘The Secret Scriptures’ which was nominated for last year’s Mann-Booker Prize but didn’t win. The novel is set in Southern Ireland and is the story of a woman approaching her one hundredth birthday who has been a patient in a mental hospital for most of her life. This brief synopsis suggests a very unprepossessing story but as the old lady reminisces about her life putting her testimony in writing which she then hides beneath the floorboards (hence the secret part of the title) we are drawn into a story which stretches back to the troubled days of 1916.

The decrepit Victorian institution in which she is living is soon to be demolished and Roseanne's story is interwoven with that of her psychiatrist, Dr Grene, who like Roseanne, is plagued by memories of an unhappy marriage particularly as his wife has recently died. He gently interviews Roseanne when he realizes that the imminent move to a new hospital together with her failing health may mean that her personal history will be lost. The story she gives him sometimes matches but at other times shifts away from the story she is writing and the reader is left to decide which part of it, if any, represents the dreadful and sad reality of her life. Matters are further complicated by details supplied by the local Catholic priest who has had a malign influence on Roseanne in the past. Despite the overall melancholy theme of the book, it describes in vivid detail the influence of religion and politics on a small community which anyone who knows Ireland well will recognize, but the ending reveals a secret that for some will produce a satisfactory conclusion but for others will seem a rather too neat tying up of loose ends.

In April we read ‘The Black Monk’ by Boris Akunin who first made a name for himself in the West with his Erast Fandorin series of detective novels set in 19th century Russia. He has shelved Fandorin for Sister Pelagia, a young nun stationed in a provincial Russia capital who serves the Bishop Mitrofanii and the story begins with a frightened monk roaring into town proclaiming that Saint Basilisk has returned to a provincial religious retreat and is haunting the town. The religious retreat consists of two islands: on the smaller island is St. Basilisk's Hermitage now inhabited only by three hermits; on the larger island, an ambitious abbot (archimandrite) has turned the monastery into a thriving spiritual tourist attraction. Mitrofanii dispatches one investigator after another, but each meets with some ill turn or another. Inevitably, Pelagia goes to the island in her disguise as a Muscovite lady. Almost immediately the book submerges the reader in a mixture of fanciful characters and unbelievable events which with the complicated Russian names serve only to confuse and bewilder. Most of the group admitted they had been defeated by Akunin before reaching the dénoument when the unexpected villain is revealed. .We are hoping our next few choices prove to be more readable: they are, ‘The Street Philosopher’ by Michael Plampin, followed by the first part of the trilogy by Stieg Larrson, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and ‘The Beacon’ by Susan Hill. The latter has recently been dramatised on Radio 4.

We are always happy to welcome new recruits to the group.
Elan Preston-Whyte.

The Festival Choir

On Saturday 20th March, The Festival Choir under the baton of their director Stephen Armstrong, along with soloists, organist and an ‘up-and-coming’ trumpeter came together in Tetsworth Church to perform the popular ‘Armed Man’ by Karl Jenkins and ‘Olivet to Calvary’ by J.H.Maunder (1858-1920). The ‘Armed Man’ is a modern and very popular ‘Mass for Peace’ commissioned for the Millennium and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis, was the main reason for my attendance at the performance. I was not disappointed, as it was so well and sensitively executed. With the added bonus of Tristan Harkcom on trumpet; Tristan has been a pupil at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, and is a confident and very capable trumpet player, who will be touring Europe and the USA later this year.

However, little did I realize that the icing on the cake would be the now rarely performed ‘Olivet to Calvary’ by Maunder. The Choir was supported by Alexander Duval (baritone), Ian Barrett (tenor) and the choir’s own Christine Stevens (soprano) and Colin Spinks at the organ. ‘Olivet to Calvary’ was regularly performed at Passiontide alternating with Stainer's ‘Cruxifixion’ but had gone out of fashion - until now. It is a wonderful Victorian/early Edwardian piece for small parish choirs. The drama and gripping impact that the Festival Choir conveyed to their audience was performed with such confidence. From the opening, of the jubilant journey to Jerusalem, to the most moving rendition of ‘Crucify Him before Pilate’, and then onto Calvary, with ‘Drop Sacred head’. The whole work was interspersed with Hymns sung by the audience and congregation.

The choirs are to be congratulated on the tone they brought to this taxing work, both musically and emotionally. The Festival Choir is small but there is a good balance of voice parts. We were introduced to a rare treat and our thanks must go to all those hours of rehearsals as well as the performance.

On researching the history of ‘Olivet to Calvary’ I came across this quote from Percy Scholes who wrote in 1955 edition of ‘The Oxford Companion to Music’ “Seemingly, inexhaustible cantatas (have) long enjoyed popularity and still aid the devotions of undemanding congregations in less sophisticated areas”!
Sarah Hodges.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Lewknor School Clerk to the Governing Body.

Lewknor Church of England Primary School is currently looking for a Clerk to the Governing Body. The role requires a commitment of approximately three hours a month, primarily linked to the six Full Governor Body meetings that are held over the course of the year. For these meetings you will be required to collate all documentation as well as liaise with the Chair of Governors to create the agenda and to produce any subsequent minutes. The role will also require you to:

Liaise with the local Council on all matters relating to the successful functioning of the Governing Body;

• Keep a record of all training, attendance at meetings and terms of office;
• Ensure that all paperwork, such as the Terms of Reference and Standing Orders, are effectively maintained;
• Collate all Governor contact details and ensure that there is a schedule of work for all sub-committee meetings, as well as help with Desk Top Audits; and
• Act as a ‘critical friend’ to the board of Governors.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone to put something back into the local community with a very limited time commitment!

If you are interested in discussing the opportunity further, then please do not hesitate in the first instance to contact the current Clerk, David Balls, on 01844 354277. All expressions of interest / applications for the position should be made to Hilary Lamb on 01844 352716 or by using: aerodisplaysh@aol.com

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News from Krakatoa

Spring has finally arrived and we are looking forward to lots of time outside this term. We are welcoming three new children this term and said a sad goodbye to Alfie Denham who has moved.

We would like to extend a giant thank you to everyone who helped out with or attended this year’s Easter Egg Hunt. It was great fun and raised an amazing £500 for the pre-school!

A special thanks must go to Jean Senior who once again very generously donated the chocolate eggs (and did the clues for the hunt).

Our next event will be a Quiz Night for the parents. Watch this space for more details.
www.krakatoa-preschool.org.ik 07919081088

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News from your District and County Councillors

Vacancies On The Parish Council

Two members of the Parish Council are standing down voluntarily, so there are two vacancies. Why don’t YOU get involved? It isn’t that demanding - basically, a 2-2½ hour long evening meeting once a month plus a couple of training sessions during the first year to get to grips with one or two specific procedures. It really isn’t onerous and it gives you an interest in, and some influence over, local affairs.

If you want to know more, any of the current council members will be happy to provide advice on what is involved - or, better still, you could call the Clerk (Jeff Jefford - of ‘Walnuts’, Lower Rd in Postcombe - TelNo 01844 281449).

Fake Biodegradable Bags

A trader in Thame market has recently been prosecuted for selling plastic bags bearing the slogan ‘this bag is fully biodegradable and 100% compostable’. They weren’t.. Despite being marked with the correct reference number, EN 13432, they were not compostable caddy liners made of starch; they were ordinary plastic bags. As a result the content of all food bins containing such bags have had to go to landfill - which is bad news for the environment - and expensive - which means that, ultimately, you will be paying for it via higher Council Tax.

Genuine compostable caddy-liners can be bought at most reputable supermarkets and SODC outlets - like Thame Town Hall. - Alternatively, you can simply line your food caddy with a couple of sheets of newspaper. What you may not/must not do is use an ordinary plastic bag.

Help Yourself Firewood?

You will have noticed that the overgrown hedgerow at the Hall end of the extended High Street has been tidied up. There is a pile of cut timber lying on the verge - and another on the right as you pass through the green gate into the new Play Space. This scrap wood will be cleared from the site between 5 and 12 May. If anyone wishes to salvage it as fuel before then, they are welcome to take it.

Clear Up - Litter Pick

Further to the above, in preparation for the formal opening of the new Play Space, we need to carry out a general tidying-up of the whole Recreation Ground (and why not the rest of the village?) This will be done between 5 and 12 May. Any casual labour to assist in this endeavour would be much appreciated.

Vandalism - Again

For the first time in several years the notice board in the centre of Lewknor village has been vandalised. The damage has been made good by the Parish Council at public expense. That is to say, at your expense, because the Parish Council’s only income (other than grant funding which is dedicated to specific projects) is the Council Tax - which you (we all) have to pay. If you know who was responsible, you can report it, anonymously if necessary, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or to Thames Valley Police on 0845 8 505 505.

Families on low income will benefit:

South Oxfordshire District Council is highlighting changes to the way benefits are worked out starting next month. From November 2, child benefit will no longer be counted as income when the council calculate housing or council tax benefit. The change will be good news for many families on low incomes, who may find themselves better off each month. Some people who previously did not qualify may now be eligible for help. There are also likely to be some changes for the over 60s on state pension credit, as the £6,000 lower savings limit has been raised to £10,000. In both cases, if people already receive housing and/or council tax benefit, the councils will recalculate any entitlements and notify them of any changes.

Leisure Centre Charges:

Since Nexus Leisure took over the contract to manage the leisure centres on behalf of the District Council there have been some queries over pricing of activities. Through the ‘Community Leisure Card Scheme' Nexus offer various types of membership options to encourage use. Cards include ‘pay as you go’ as well as prepaid memberships and unlike some private gyms, membership and payment can be amended as and when your needs change. There’s even a scheme for infrequent users, so they too can benefit from discounted activities by building up reward points. Other benefits include a free or discounted first activity and the ability to book online.This may seem complex but it is likely that most users will find charges much lower than the advertised list prices if they take advantage of the schemes on offer.

Details of the schemes are on the Nexus website www.nexuscommunity.org or if people go along to the local leisure centre staff will discuss specific needs and guide them to the best package. The leisure centres have not been sold to Nexus; they have been awarded a contract to manage them on behalf of the District Council. Full details about Nexus and what they aim to do is also on their website together with an offer of a 7 day free trial period at your local centre. The nearest is leisure centre is Thame Leisure Centre and the phone number is 01844 215607.

County Council applauded for care support

Oxfordshire County Council has been given a strong and positive rating for the way it delivers adult social care following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The commission concluded that the council was performing well in supporting increased choice and control for older people and in the way it supports improved health and wellbeing. It found that the authority was performing adequately when safeguarding adults. The CQC ruled that the council’s capacity to improve on the way it delivers adult social care was promising.

Trading Standards warning on bogus workmen:

Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards are warning people in South Oxfordshire of a company who are leaflet dropping then cold calling offering to do anything from small jobs to house extensions. They generally appear to be targeting elderly residents. When calling, they state they are a company from Swindon who have a number of builders looking for work, then quote a cheap price. If someone is cold calling in your area who state they are from a Swindon company offering cheap work, please contact the Doorstep Crime Team at Trading Standards on 0845 051 0845.

Cheaper home composting for all:

Oxfordshire Waste Partnership is offering compost bins to Oxfordshire residents at reduced prices. Since 1999 over 48,000 compost bins have been bought across the county through cut price council schemes and this new offer helps build on that impressive figure. Bins are from just £18.50 including delivery for a 220 litre bin and £21.50 including delivery for a 330 litre bin. Research by the Oxfordshire based Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) indicates that garden waste accounts for around 20% of household waste, with a further 17% of kitchen waste suitable for home composting. To order compost bins Oxfordshire residents can call 0845 130 60 90 or visit www.owp.getcomposting.com

Citizens Advice Bureaux:

South Oxfordshire District Council gives large grants to the CAB to help secure the service they provide to residents. There are four permanent offices in the District (the nearest to Lewknor is Thame) and 9 ‘outreach’ locations where a service is provided once a week. The nearest to this area is in Watlington. CAB have seen an increase in people seeking advice from them in the last year with the main issues being concerns over benefits, debt, employment and housing.

All staff are well trained to help others. If you need advice do use the service they provide which is free to users.
Contact details: Thame CAB: Market House, North Street, Thame, OX9 3HH. Telephone advice: 01844 214827.
Appointments: 01844 217186 Watlington CAB (open on Thursday mornings) Community Office, Old School Place, Watlington, OX49 5QH.
Contact the Parish Clerk on 01491 613867 for details or to arrange an appointment.

UNSOLICITED TELEPHONE SALES:

Be aware that there have been a number of incidents of local people receiving unsolicited telephone calls from a company using high pressure sales techniques to persuade them to purchase a home alarm system. They have claimed to be working in conjunction with the police, and may even identify police officers by name. Thames Valley Police would not divulge the details of any individual to a commercial firm and they have no connection with, and do not endorse, this campaign.

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 here
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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News from Newington Nurseries

Fresh Fruit

It looks fantastic and nothing tastes as good as fruit that you have grown yourself: fresh, in jams, bottled or in delicious pies and pastries. Fruit species are generally divided into two major groups: top fruit (everything that grows on trees including apples, pears, plums, cherries and peaches) and soft fruit (including berries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries). Nearly all the fruit trees that are grown in our climate are members of the rose family. Nuts are an exception and are actually not classified as fruit but as a separate group of fruits.Apples: grow best in nutrient-rich, free-draining soils which must be slightly acidic. Apple trees are supplied in standard (full-size), half-standard, cordon and bush form. The cordon is ideal for a small garden and also because cordons can yield fruit as early as the third year. There are early, intermediate and late flowering apple varieties and the harvest times can also vary considerably. One of the best known apples is ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ which stores extremely well. To get a good apple harvest, cross-pollination is generally needed between different apple trees that flower simultaneously. Self pollinating apple trees include ‘Summerred’ and ‘Benoni’.

Pears: are only known as cultivated crops (wild equivalents do not exist). They are closely related to apples, but need more warmth and they root deeper than apple trees. Well-drained, rich, loose soil is required for their cultivation. Pears can be trained very successfully. Some pear varieties have ‘alternating years’: in one year they will yield a far bigger crop than in another year. This applies particularly to older varieties such as ‘Juttepeer’. Pears also produce the best fruit if different varieties can pollinate one another but fruit can also be produced through self-pollination. ‘Conference’ is a good self-pollinator as well as producing fruit that keeps well.

Plums: on the other hand, usually need a lot of space. The trees can get quite large (depending, on the rootstock onto which they are grafted). ‘Victoria’ is a very well-known variety with purple fruit the size of hen’s eggs. This variety bears so much fruit that the branches often need to be supported to prevent them from snapping. Nearly all plums are excellent self-pollinators. You therefore only need one tree to get fruit. One variety with a big yield is ‘Czar’ (ripe in August). This has nice fresh tasting purple-blue fruit which look a bit like damsons. Damsons are the well-known firm, fleshy plums which are used for mixed dried fruit, baking and jams. They are ready for harvesting in August-September. One good variety is ‘Italian Damson’. ‘Reine Claude Verte’ is the well-known green plum with an unusual taste.

Cherries: broadly speaking, are divided into two main groups; sweet or sour (or morello). Sweet cherries can grow into large trees on nutrient-rich soil and they need cross-pollination. One tree is therefore not enough to produce fruit unless you opt for a ‘duo tree’ whereby branches of different varieties are grafted onto one rootstock. Sour cherries, on the other hand, are excellent self-pollinators. They do not bear fruit on the old wood but on annual shoots and must therefore be pruned vigorously (with the added benefit that the trees will remain small and compact).

Once you have been bitten by the bug for producing edible fruit you won’t want to give it up. You’ll always want something growing in the garden!

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