The Grapevine MagazineJULY 2005 Issue No 202 |
Letter |
The Parish Council welcomes comments from local residents on these and other similar matters. What residents may not know is that they are always welcome to come and raise concerns directly with The Parish Council at its monthly meetings. Alternatively individual Councillors will all endeavour to answer any questions raised. The recent public meeting concerning the dirt bike track was very well attended which was very encouraging for all those concerned. Face to face discussion helps ensure all concerns can be properly addressed, views listened to and any necessary actions agreed.
The dates and times of Parish Council meetings for the next six months or so are published in Grapevine and the specific agendas are posted on the village notice boards five days in advance of each meeting. The next one will be in Lewknor School on July 11th. We look forward to seeing you there."
This year for the first time Lewknor School are sharing the proceeds (and the work) with the Jubilee Hall and Recreation Ground, we hope to have a meeting very soon to discuss details.
We appreciate that it is very soon after School returns, but the week after would be too late in the season for many of the flowers and vegetables.
Please do get in touch with anyone from the Friends of Lewknor School, or the Trustees of the Hall if you can help in any way. A programme will be mail-dropped as soon as it is finalised.
She's based on the Banbury Road but frequently travels to Watlington, Thame, Henley etc. and would really like to hear from you. Everyone has a story to tell and she wants your voice to be heard whether it's something that makes you really angry or something amazing you've done. You can contact her on 01865 889099 or via email sophie.van.brugen@bbc.co.uk
NB Sophie now receives a copy of the Grapevine each month.
For July we have chosen "When we were Orphans" by Kazuo Ishiguro which should prove an interesting contrast to "The Power and the Glory".
Elan Preston-WhyteST MARGARET'S CHURCH IS HOLDING A FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS TREES
in aid of the church on December 9th, 10th and 11th (dates to be confirmed). It is hoped that the parishioners will be involved and bring their trees to decorate or their decorated (fresh) trees to the church for the mentioned dates to be admired by the congregation and visitors. It is hoped that the dates will include both the Christingle and Carol Services. It is the intention to present a prize for the best decorated tree.
More information will be given nearer the time, when a meeting will take place in the church to arrange places for the trees to be displayed.
We can only light about 10 trees for safety reasons but there will be other places for the trees to be displayed.
If you are interested please contact me Brenda Lambourne on 01844 351715
Quintessentially English lavender
For super summer scent and colour look no further than the timeless beauty of Lavender. The species Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) offers many wonderful varieties. It is also one of the richest plants in essential oils, meaning more fragrance power both fresh and dried.
Lavandula 'Hidcote' is one of the best Engl;ish lavenders for dense spikes of sweetly fragrant, deep violet flowers and silvery leaves. This cultivar has a more erect, compact habit so it's perfect for hedges, path edging and borders. When brushed against, the aromatic foliage fills the air with perfume. The plant can reach 30cm in height and width whilst the flowers spikes can get to 60cm.
Lavandula 'Munstead' also has a compact habit and flowers slightly earlier than other cultivars. It grows to around 45cm in height and 30cm in width, and produces lovely grey/green foliage, which is complemented by scented, lavender/blue flowers, which are borne on sturday spikes of up to 60cm high.
Lavandula 'Dwarf Blue' is small enough to fit into a rock garden yet substantial enough to contribute to the garden and is perfect for edging perennial borders or planting in herb gardens. The thin, blue flower spikes are held above the attractive blue/grey leaves on short, stiff stems.
Lavandula angustifolia 'Arctic Snow' is very hardy and has wonderful white flowers bobbing over neat mounds of dense mid-green foliage. Since it's relatively short, this lavender is ideal for pots or where space is limited. It reaches 20cm in height and 50cm in width.
Lavandula angustifolia 'Imperial Gem' is also very hardy and reaches a height of 60cm. It grows in a well-formed habit and bears the most beautiful, deep purple blooms. It produces grey/green foliage on somewhat relaxed stems.
Lavandula angustifolia 'Jean Davis' is a very compact form with an upright habit, reaching just 30cm in height and produces masses of soft pink flower spikes above grey/green foliage. It's ideal for containers or for planting in the smaller garden.
Lavandula enjoys a sunny position and well-drained soil. Flowers are produced from July to September. Flower stalks should be cut back once the flowers have faded but do take care not to cut back into old wood. Lavandula angustifolia is fully hardy and the bonus is that it is evergreen. Lavender is the quintessentially English plant and if you can make room for it in the garden, you will be rewarded with both colour and fragrance in addition to the beautiful sight of butterflies and bees visiting the flowers during the summer months.
For more inspiration and advice, visit Newington Nurseries on the A329 just outside Stadhampton. T: 01865 400 533 ~ www.newington-nurseries.co.uk
TWO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE DIARY!
1. Lewknor Pre-School Open Morning
FRIDAY 8 JULY 9.00am - 12noon
We would like to invite all parents, grandparents and friends to our first ever Open Morning. This will give everyone an opportunity to see the children enjoying all the benefits that our setting offers. There will be tea, coffee and cakes available throughout the morning, opportunities to chat to staff, and to join in with learning activities. Please come along!
If you know of anyone with young children who may be looking for a perfect start to pre-school life tell them to come along
2. Lewknor Pre-School fun Morning
SATURDAY 16 JULY
This is one of our biggest fundraising events of the year organized by the staff and children. We will be holding it at the Jubilee Hall between 10 - 12. there will be stalls, competitions, a bouncy castle and lots more......but the main events will be the children's running races including a sponsored obstacle course. All the children will be joining in the fun (in fact they have already begun practising!) and it will make a fantastic end of year Pre-school event.
Please speak to Hayley or Freya if you are able to help on the day.
For waiting list enquiries please call Ali Griffiths on - 01844 352330 Stephanie London
Due to my imminent move a volunteer is required to keep an eye on the church yard mowing during the summer. There is a really good team of volunteers at present who do a brilliant job of keeping the churchyard looking good and so if you would like to get involved please give me a call on 354237. The job consists of holding the keys to the Church tool shed and encouraging as many people as possible to keep the grass cut and the churchyard tidy. Once a year in the autumn a team of volunteers needs to be organized for what has become the churchyard clear-up weekend.
Many thanks to all of you who turn out regularly to keep the grass down and to everyone who has helped in the annual churchyard clear-ups over the last 4 years.
Robin Notley
TRUSTEES REQUIRED :
No experience necessary - just enthusiasm and a willingness to attend a meeting once every 2 months.
DIY/ELECTRICAL Person: needed to check the hall systems monthly, initially on a voluntary basis. Funds permitting there is a possibility of some recompense at a later date.
VOLUNTEERS: Help is needed to prepare and paint the window frames and doors at the hall. Donations of your time and/or paint would be hugely welcome.
For further details please contact Gill Bindoff 01491 612663 Jeff Jefford 01844 281449 Penny McCulloch 01844 353727
Oh, what a lovely weekend it was! It is difficult to select which part of the celebrations was the most memorable. The opening ceremony went without a hitch with the king and queen of Lewknor Primary School receiving the Bishop of Dorchester and the whole school participated in the christening of the baby boy and girl (dolls as no one had loaned real babies!) in St. Margaret's Church.. Proud parents and the honoured guests were then invited to the party in the school afterwards where the christening cake (a real one) was cut and thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The main exhibition of christening gowns past and present set up in the Lady Chapel looked like a collection of wraith like ghosts in the empty church. It was complemented by the display created by the children with charming pictures with a christening theme and a selection of tiny christening robes worn by some children at their own baptism together with their christening presents. Saturday was the official day for attending the exhibition and there was a steady stream of visitors to admire the photographs and other memorabilia accompanying the dresses. One visitor was heard to say ""Good heavens is that Noelle Gordon (of Crossroads fame) in that photograph!"
The concert " Favourite Poems and Songs" on Saturday evening was a great success. The church looked its very best with the most beautiful flower arrangements created by the usual festival flower arrangers. The choir sang, the organ despite being draped in plastic was played and the poems were read. It is difficult to select out the highlights but Jack McIntosh of Lewknor Primary School read his own poem with great aplomb and Neil Allen was in his element reading "Albert and the Lion". Daniel-Konrad Cooper from Postcombe and his colleague, Gethin Anthony, both graduates of Balliol College, Oxford, demonstrated the talent and experience gained as leading members of the Oxford University Drama Society.
Sunday was the culmination of the weekend with a special morning service to which as many members of the village as we could trace who had been christened in St. Margaret's Church were invited together with godparents. The Reverend Simon Brignall led the congregation in the renewal of their baptism vows and everyone present received a lighted candle. There was a lovely moment as the children returned from the altar in a long procession holding their candles carefully so that the flickering flame did not go out.
Afterwards it was coffee and cake and the opportunity to meet up with people who had returned to the village especially for the occasion and to have a last opportunity to see both the children's and the main display of christening gowns.
POSTCRIPT This description has been written very quickly and briefly to meet the requirements of the editor of Grapevine who has held the front page so that it will appear in this edition of Grapevine as there is not an August one. For me, the most enjoyable memory has been the involvement of so many people from the village willingly giving up their time and most importantly coming along to support all the events. Money is still coming in so we cannot give an exact amount of what has been raised but the main events of the concert and exhibition and the collection at the opening ceremony have produced about a £1000 most of which will be put towards the Church Restoration Fund. The revenue from the concert, however, will be divided between the Restoration Fund and Power International a charity helping disabled people in the developing world to a better future.
My thanks go to:Claire Hague, head teacher, and all the teachers and parents who helped to create the christening ceremony and children's display with the children of Lewknor Church of England Primary School Colin, the Bishop of Dorchester All the people who readily loaned their beautiful and valuable christening gowns and memorabilia whom I shall thank individually. The Festival Flower arrangers (in alphabetical order) Jill Bindoff, Joanna Gordon, Jackie Graham, Sue Graham, Pam Ritchie and last but not least Charlotte Rose who also created the stunning bouquets presented at the concert The Festival choir and their musical director, Sarah Hodge, who is also the Chief Executive of Power International. Keith Cullup organist All the readers at the concert who included Peter MacKinnon, Ian Orr-Ewing, Tony Smith as well as those mentioned above. Caroline Notley who organised the raffle The people who not only helped set up the display, Fran Hollywood and Caroline Notley, but gave helpful advice along the way All the volunteers who helped to steward the exhibition and to Christine Smith, Barbara Mullins, Joy Collins and Beryl Witney who organised and provided the refreshments in the church on the Saturday and Sunday. Jim and Jean Senior who without having to be asked mowed the grass in the churchyard so it was looking its very best and also did a wonderful job in tackling the cobwebs in the church with a cobweb brush about fifteen feet tall. Most importantly my thanks go to Elizabeth and Ian Orr-Ewing, who remembered all the things I did not know needed to be done, and to my husband Robin who has had to put up with a house full of gowns and never being able to use the computer when he wanted to for the last few months! Lastly, everyone from the village who came along and hopefully enjoyed themselves. I am sure I have forgotten to mention someone so I shall apologise for the omission in advance.
Elan Preston-WhyteOn 1 April 2005 the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an executive agency of the Inland Revenue, commenced an exercise to revalue all domestic properties in England for Council Tax purposes. The new values will take effect on Council Tax bills from 1 April 2007.
What does revaluation mean? When the Council Tax replaced the community charge (Poll Tax) in 1993, homes were placed into one of eight valuation bands, from A to H, based on the value of the property at 1 April 1991. The system works so that those in band H pay three times as much Council Tax as those in band A. The middle, or average, band D pays one and a half times band A. Since 1991 house prices have risen dramatically and the revaluation is about updating the values to distribute the tax burden fairly.
It is important to remember that this is not an exercise in raising more money. The total amount raised in Council Tax across England will remain roughly the same. The exercise is about how the burden is shared between properties of different values.
How will the exercise be carried out? In 1991 properties were checked largely by estate agents and valuers. This time technology will play a much bigger role, with fewer site visits to individual homes. The VOA will use computer modelling technology to speed up the process, using sales information and data about number of rooms, floor area and the age of properties.
The VOA will be working on the valuations from now until the summer of 2006 when draft valuation lists will be available. It will be possible to appeal against the bands but not until April 2007.
Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 gives Local Authorities powers to deal with complaints about high hedges and comes into operation on 1 June 2005. From this date people will be able to make a formal complaint to the Council, provided they have taken all reasonable steps to resolve the dispute amicably.
The role of the Council is to adjudicate on whether the hedge is adversely affecting the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of their property, not act as a mediator.
The ODPM will shortly be publishing further guidance on administering high hedges complaints and enforcing remedial notices. Susannah Mangion, the Enforcement Officer responsible for dealing with high hedge disputes is continuing to undertake preparatory work to ensure the Service is ready to respond.
Susannah Mangion, Enforcement Officer (high hedges) 01491 823284 Susannah.mangion@southoxon.gov.uk