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The Grapevine Magazine February 2003 Issue No 177
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Not Enough People Know That... Oxfordshire Children's Information Service
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You will hopefully have noticed we now have a variety of events running at Jubilee Hall, on a regular basis. It's really great to see the hall being used by so many different local people, of all ages and for all kinds of activities. It's certainly increasing the social interaction of the village and helping a number get more exercise too! What would you like to do at Jubilee Hall? We are really keen to make sure that we offer events and activities that people will enjoy and support, so if you have any ideas or would like some help in getting an activity started please contact Louise Boitoult on 01844 351327. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The day-to-day running of the hall is undertaken by the Management Committee, under the guidance of the Trustees. Those involved in the Management Committee are:
New Members Wanted We would be pleased to hear from anyone else who would be interested in becoming involved with the Management Committee. We particularly need someone to focus on fund raising so that we can buy more equipment for the hall and continue to improve what we can offer, but general involvement would also be appreciated. It's a great way to get involved in village activities. Contact Gill on 01491 612 663.
Fancy a bit of a laugh during these long dark evenings? Then why not come along to Jubilee Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday, 15th February for some WINTER SUNSHINE. This promises to be an evening filled with music, mirth and old chestnuts!! All proceeds will be going to Jubilee Hall, so do come along and support the hall and have some fun too! Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for concessions available from 01844 281263.
I'm sure you will all be sorry to hear that Kay has been quite poorly following her knee operation, and no doubt you all join with me in wishing her a speedy recovery. So consequently, this month's Grapevine has been produced by a very much stand in Editor. I apologise to anyone who has not seen something they expected to see in this issue, or for some items that by time of publication have passed. I have just concentrated on as many of the local items as possible. And I have to say that from stepping in, I realise what a fantastic job Kay does every month to get Grapevine out! Going forward, we do need to get a few more people involved producing Grapevine, if you are interested please contact me on 351327. Please submit items as normal for the next issue, but also bear with us if it is a little late out. Louise Boitoult
LEWKNOR PARISH COUNCIL - LOCAL ELECTIONS 2003 Elections for District and Parish Councillors will be held on 1 May. Of specific local interest are the two District Council seats for the Watlington Ward and the six seats on the Parish Council. Points to be aware of: 1. In order to vote (and you should vote) you must be on the Electoral Register. If you are not, eg because you are a recent arrival or have just reached 18 years of age, you must register before 11 March. NB If you are not on the Electoral Register you may find it difficult to obtain credit. 2. You now have a right to vote by post (you no longer need to provide a 'justification') but to do so you must apply for this concession by 23 April. 3. If you wish to stand for election (and are over 21 years of age) you must be nominated as a candidate between 24 March and 1 April. More precise information on this procedure will become available in due course. More detailed advice can be obtained via SODC's Elections Office on 0800 389 5560 or on www.southoxon.gov.uk/Files/ElectoralRegistration2002.pdf
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 You may be aware of some recent publicity devoted to the gradual implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Parish Councils are required to comply with the provisions of the act by 28 February 2003. Lewknor's council elected to adopt one of the standard schemes on offer and its application was approved by the Information Commissioner on 10th January; the information/documents covered by the scheme are detailed on a separate page. In practical terms, the Act will make very little difference locally, because all of the information specified would previously have been (and occasionally was) made available for inspection on request. That being so, in the case of parish councils, one could regard the Act as being 'full of sound and fury, signifying nothing' but it is hoped that it will have the power to change the ethos in Whitehall so a member of the public would be well advised to refer to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 whenever seeking material from a Government Department. All of that having been said, it should be stressed that parish councils are obliged to retain only those documents which they have raised, so correspondence held on file often represents a very narrow and focused, indeed parochial, viewpoint. To gain a broader understanding of local issues, eg the adjustment of ward boundaries or the provision of rural bus services, one would need to apply to the District or County Council.
1. Most pedestrians hit by a vehicle travelling at 40 mph will die as a result; at 30 mph only half will be killed; at 20 mph most will survive. 2. If two cars are travelling at side by side, one at 30mph and the other at 40 mph, and both apply their brakes, when the slower vehicle comes to rest the other will still be doing 26 mph and will travel another 10 metres before it stops. 3. If you drive at 45 mph in a 30 mph limit you are 25 times more likely to be involved in a collision. THINK ABOUT IT
Our topic this term is One World and we have been extremely busy learning about different countries. On Thursday 16th January we had some special international teachers come to visit us. They explained the differences between here and Spain and Portugal. The teachers: Chon, Paola and Anna were very impressed with all our displays and said we made them feel very welcome. That night to celebrate Chon's, Paola's and Anna's arrival there was a party at Lewknor School. Everyone had a great time. On Saturday Miss Williams and Mrs Courtney took Chon, Paola and Anna to London where they saw all the main sights and spent lots of money in Harrods! That evening we had to say goodbye to our international friends. This has probably been the highlight of the topic so far, because they were such nice people. By Louise Hague Our topic this term is One World. To help understand about it we have had people from different countries come in and talk to us. I really enjoyed Mrs Brignall coming in and talking to us about Peru. She showed us a toy reed boat which people live on, an Alpacker toy. Mrs Brignall also told us about the sad history of South America when the Spanish robbed them of their wealth such as gold and tin and their food as well as their lives. I thought the talk was really good and very interesting. I've got family in Peru and I really want to visit them. By Katy Hammond On Friday 25th, Mr Richard Moore came in to talk to us about Sierra Leone and the company Tear Fund that he works for. We learned about how they make wells and toilets is Sierra Leone. He also told us about all the different diseases and illnesses that the people got there. He said that the children have no toys, but Tear Fund took over 30,000 footballs for them to play with. He told us they have no running water or electricity, and that many snakes, spiders and flies are deadly. It was a very interesting talk and he showed us lots of interesting pictures. Thanks to Mr Richard Moore. By Louise Hague Our topic this term is One World and we were very lucky to have a Scotsman come in to talk to us. Mr Cumming wore his kilt with pride and told us about every part of his outfit. It was magnificent to see a true Scotsman in real life other than on TV! His favourite food is haggis, a Scotsman's meal, he will be eating it next week on Burn's night. Mr Cumming told us how men dressed in the olden days. They used one big tartan wrap. It would be so thick they didn't wear any underwear. An interesting fact was you could tell which family you came from because they made the dyes themselves. It was amazing hearing about a Scotsman's life and I would like to know more about it. I would really like him to come in again. By Sarah G. Our topic this term is One World and we have had lots of people in and one of them was Mr Higgins and he came in to talk about drums. The first set of drums he showed us came from Cuba and they were called Timballies. He also showed us the Kongas and Bongos. Then he showed us the Domebeck from Africa and the Stormdrum from India. He played them and then we got a go. Mr Higgins put signs on the floor for us to play and he said we all did really well. It was just really fun to play the drums, but is was just as fun to listen to Mr Higgins play! By Harry Mangion It was Wednesday 22nd January when the drummer Mr Higgins came in to tell us all about his exciting drums. There were the Bongo drums, the Domebeck drums and the Lightning drum and the Timballi drums and lots more. The drums came from Brazil, Africa, Native America, India and Cuba. My favourite drums were the Timballi's. The Lightning drum was the strangest. It worked by a wooden cylinder box and a spring, you just shook the box and the spring would vibrate making lightning effect. I loved it and I would love him to come in again. By Stephan Coll
CHURCH NEWS - SNAPSHOTS FROM SABBATICAL Rev Simon Brignall Kenya - 'Hope springs eternal' Springs ministries is the name of a small local NGO, working with the orphans and widows left struggling with the devastation that Aids has caused. In Kenya, 900 people a day are said to be dying as a result of Aids related diseases. We visited villages, where it appeared, a whole generation has been wiped out leaving just the very young and the old who care for them. But this small agency working alongside the Anglican Diocese of Maseno South on the shores of Lake Victoria is bringing hope to women and children who have lost husbands and fathers. Margaret Auma, the founder and Director of Springs had arranged our visit to help the church tackle the Aids crisis. Our task was to look at the issues related to benefits and values. As in every country beliefs and values are often mixed in with cultural practices that can have destructive consequences. In neighbouring Uganda, where 20 years ago HIV/Aids was destroying the country, President Musevine called on the churches to give a lead in transforming the country. That close partnership has brought down infection rates dramatically. Today Uganda is the only country in the world where HIV/Aids is declining. Sadly the same initiative has not been seen in Kenya, but this small initiative may be a start. Turkey - The Clash of Civilisations? Turkey was the bridge that brought Christianity from the East to the West - it was also the bridge that brought Islam to Europe through the mighty Ottoman Empire. Whilst I was in this country it seemed another shift was taking place in this land which has witnessed the cross currents of history over the centuries. By a massive majority, eclipsing the liberal democratic parties, the people elected the first Islamic party to govern modern Turkey. Civilisations have swept across this land bridge since Alexander the Great. The Greeks from the west, Turks from the east, Russians from the north, and Arabs from the south. Today Turkey wants to be part of the European Union but has been repeatedly cold-shouldered. Do these recent elections mark another turning point in history? The seesaw of history has left its mark on the landscape. The strange underground cities of Cappadocia where the Christians fled during the persecutions of the early church. The weird and wonderful monasteries of the Orthodox church, cut into the living rock. The awe-inspiring domes of Haggia Sophia overlooking the Bosphorous for 1400 years and still standing! To stand in these places is to relive history and then to walk in the streets of Ephesus and enter the stadium where St. Paul faced the crowds baying for his blood is to enter the pages of the New Testament. Today the Christian Church is a much reduced minority, but we were able to be part of an act of worship in a Greek Orthodox church in Istanbul led by the Patriarch of Constantinople which was essentially unchanged since the days of Byzantium. Even the sermon was in a language that St. Paul would have understood! Caught between east and west throughout its history, destiny today hangs in the balance once more. Lindisfarne - 'A desert in the ocean' A small spur of land linked by a narrow causeway washed by the tides was the home to the Celtic monks who brought the light of Christ and transformed the Kingdom of Northumbria. St. Aiden and his small band were invited by King Oswald to live in the royal castle but they chose instead to settle on this deserted wind swept island. It was to be their 'desert in the ocean'. In choosing this isolated spot they followed in the footsteps of the Desert Fathers whose caves and monasteries I had seen carved into the rocks and cliff faces of Cappadocia. Like them they sought out a dessert place not to escape the world but to more effectively serve it. From this holy island a succession of saints emerged following on from St. Aiden. Their life and teaching transformed the life or our country. This small island was where Christian England was truly born. The Celtic saints lived amongst the people and spoke their language. Their worship was inspired by the majesty of creation and their homely preaching was close to the lives of a rural people , their prayers were powerful in a dark age. Though St. Augustine later brought the English within the fold of the Roman Catholic Church our spiritual roots go back through those Celtics saints to the desert fathers of the Byzantine Empire. In the footsteps of Saints The Celtic monks would often set off in their coracles allowing the wind and tides to take them where they would. My travels seem a bit like that! Kenya, Turkey and Lindisfarne as diverse and different as any places you could find, but now in my mind part of a journey in the company of amazing people, some from a different age. Men like Basil and Gregory, the great teachers and founders of monasticism in the early church, whose influence spread across the world to Ireland, touching and transforming the Celts. Then through this vibrant and visionary people to the Christian faith was taken to Scotland and then through Saints like Aiden and Cuthbert to Anglo-Saxon England. In their turn the Anglo Saxons were great missionaries and travelled to Germany, Scandinavia and France. The church in Kenya today and in many other parts of Africa is part of the same movement of faith and vision reaching back in time and out across the world. It was a privilege to be in the company of living saints like Margaret working to transform her nation for God today. 'Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their heart on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs' Psalm 84 vs 5-6 WEDDING at St Margaret's, Lewknor 21st December 2002 I would like to express my most sincere thanks not only to Rev. Simon Brignall, who returned specially from study leave, but also to Sarah Hodge and all the choir, who sang so brilliantly at my daughter, Claire's marriage to Alex Basden on the Saturday before Christmas. I would also like to thank Joanna Gordon, who organised the 'Flower Team', for making the church look so extremely beautiful, and many other contributed in no small measure so as to ensure that we had a day that we and Claire shall most certainly remember for the rest of our lives. With grateful thanks Elizabeth Orr-Ewing
£25 was raised for 'Help the Aged' collection in Weston Road, Lewknor during December. Many thanks to all. B. Mullins.
Following a very successful first term at the Jubilee Hall, a wonderful nativity production (our first ever - now an annual event!) and a much-needed holiday, we started back at Pre-School full of energy and ready for the new term and an exciting topic. We will be discovering what's under the ground, encouraging future generations of scientists! There will be a fossil hunt, a dinosaur expedition as well as searching for exciting creatures that might be lurking around Lewknor. (Although any self-respecting animal or insect will smartly evacuate the area when it hears us!) There are some exciting fund raising projects planned for the year - largely to fund a secure a fenced area for outside play - which will be put to good use when the weather warms up. Further details will be published in next month's Grapevine. We are still desperately seeking a supervisor for 2/3 mornings/week - please phone Penny (353727) if you are interested - or know anyone who might be.
OXFORDSHIRE CHILDREN'S INFORMATION SERVICE This is a service which provides information for parents and carers about childcare and leisure activities, for children aged 0-16 in the Oxfordshire area. The service is totally FREE of charge and includes information on all registered childcare such as Childminders, Nurseries, Pre-School Playgroups and Holiday Play Schemes. We also provide information on Toddler Groups, Family Centres, Special Needs, Youth Groups and Libraries. They would be pleased to hear from you to arrange a drop in visit or to chat informally about your childcare needs, or to provide you with further information. The service can be contacted by: A telephone help line, open 9-5 Monday to Friday: 01993 886933 Email: enquiries@oxoncis.org.uk Web site: www.oxoncis.org.uk
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