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The Grapevine Magazine February 2004 Issue No 187
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Oxfordshire
Nature Conservancy Forum
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Make a note in your diary of the 27th and 28th
March when we are holding the eighth ART SHOW at Village Shop As I’m sure you know by now the Village Shop
has been closed for several weeks. The
South Oxfordshire Housing Association, who owns the freehold, will by now
have met the tenants to discuss a way forward. We will keep everyone informed of any
developments. Dog Fouling Once again our verges and recreation ground seem to
be constantly scattered with dog mess.
The School pupils and Krakatoa children have
trouble keeping out of the way of cars on their way up to Jubilee Hall
without having to dodge piles of faeces left by careless dog owners. There are ‘free’ Council dog
bags hanging on the dog bin by the Hall gate.
Please clear up, there is now a hefty fine by the Courts for anyone
convicted. Village Notice Boards The parish council is planning to improve the
notice boards in Lewknor and Postcombe. The board
in South Weston is still in reasonable condition and will, hopefully, last a
while longer. There will be a new,
larger board in Lewknor which will have a better chance of accommodating all
the notices people want to display.
Part of it will be reserved for parish council information and the
rest will be availble for local people to use to
publicise events etc. It will be in
the same style as the old one, with timber posts and timber framed doors and
should fit in well with the character of the village. The new board should be in place during
February, so look out for it. The old
board at Postcombe which is pretty rotten will be
replaced by the existing Lewknor notice board so both villages should end up
with servicable boards for local information. Postcombe
Play Area The parish council is responding to requests from
parents in Postcombe to provide a play area for
children in the village. This idea was
put forward a long time ago but came to nothing. Parents in the village are now keen to have
another try at getting something set up and the parish council is
investigating the willingness of local landowners to make some land available. SOMETHING
UNUSUAL from Orchids are the ultimate exotic houseplant and -
with Valentines Day upon us again - the most unusual and romantic gift. ‘But don’t such elegant plants
demand a lot of attention, and aren’t those delicate blooms short
lived?’ It’s a question we
are often asked at the nursery. The
answer is that, while there are orchids that need controlled environments,
many others will bloom for months in the average living room, kitchen or
bathroom. And with at least 25,000
species and more than 110,000 man made hybrids, there is quite a selection to
choose from! For sure-fire success
choose a Cymbidium (Wind Orchid) or a Phalaenopsis
(Moth Orchid). These are incredibly
popular now so you will have no trouble finding either. For something more unusual, but still easy,
try the following: Brassia
(Spider Orchid) The fragrant yellow flowers of this plant have
long, thin petals with green and brown markings. For full impact, grow it in a hanging
basket, give it plenty of light, and keep it cool and moist during the
summer. Dendrobium This is another orchid that loves cooler
conditions, lots of light, plenty of water in summer and less in winter. It produces several flower stems carrying
sprays of flowers in various colours that are, again, best displayed in a
hanging basket. Epidendrum
(Crucifix Orchid) This rampant grower produces aerial roots and
pendant flower stems up to two metres long.
So, again, it’s ideal in a hanging basket. It will survive with very little
attention. Give it good light, a
minimum temperature of 12 degrees centigrade and, for even better results,
feed it during the summer. Zygopetalum
(Ladybird Orchid) The unusual green, brown and purple blooms on
this sweetly scented orchid normally appear in spring and autumn. This plant likes dappled shade and lots of
water in summer and good light in winter. Basically, the rules are simple. They may look precious, but with care,
orchids will bloom for months - and live forever! To:
Grapevine From: Elan
Preston-Whyte(Mrs)
Knysna,
(Church View Development) “I was a member of a book
club/literary group in Leicester and I would be interested in joining an
existing local one or starting a new one if there were enough people
interested (6-8 initially). I arranged
a visit to the BBC at I would be very happy to host the
meetings at our home off Do get in touch with me if you are
interested - males and females very welcome - on 01844 350382” ST MARGARET’S CHRISTMAS COFFEE MORNING Thank you to everyone who came to the
Christmas Coffee morning in aid of St Margaret’s Church on 3rd December
2003, held by kind permission of Robin and Caroline Notley
at In addition to the ever popular raffle,
coffees and homemade mince pies, there were stalls selling candles, home made
truffles and you could guess the weight of the Christmas cake. Charlotte Rose was selling her beautiful
wreaths and table decorations, and we were also selling lovely cards and
wrapping paper from Phoenix Cards, great books from Usborne
books and a wide range of gifts from Tradcraft. A big thank you to all those who came
and supported us on the day, donated prizes, made things to sell or gave
their time to help, which enabled us to raise £270 for St Margaret’s
Church. We have an exciting term ahead -
exploring shapes, making a variety of vehicles, as well as some cooking and
learning about measurements and spatial awareness; a topic guaranteed to fire
the imagination of every child. At the end of this half-term we will be
saying a fond farewell to heather, who is leaving
after two and a half years to pursue other interests. We will all miss her, and wish her all the
very best for the future. We have just received news that Krakatoa has been awarded a grant of £6,500 from the
Oxfordshire Community Foundation - Local Network Fund, to develop the outside
fenced area. This is fantastic news and will be of
huge benefit to the pre-school and Lewknor Lollipops. It will enable us to extend our play and
learning areas to include outside. The
children will be able to indulge, freely in sand and water play, as well as
having a small garden area to plant with their choice of flowers and
vegetables. A bird table will
hopefully encourage a variety of bird-life - local cats permitting! For all enquires - including waiting
list details - please phone Penny McCulloch, 01844 353727. Unfortunately the process of
establishing a new play area is inevitably a long one. It takes time to establish exactly what is
needed, how the scheme will be funded and how it will be maintained over
time. However, a start has been
made. The parish council recognises
that it is very frustrating that so much time is needed to provide something
as seemingly simple as a play area for children but in realistic terms it is
very unlikely that anything will be established until 2005. The trustees are still hoping that
people will come forward to help with some of the management tasks that are
needed - for example to take on the job of treasurer and of the bookings
secretary. The trustees also need a
secretary to help with organising meetings, taking minutes and writing
letters etc. We realise that it was
not a good time of year to be asking people for a commitment to help in the
run up to Christmas but now the new year is well on its way it would be
wonderful to hear from some willing volunteers. If you are willing to give some of your
time to help run the hall and recreation ground contact Gill Bindoff, 01494 612663.
All offers of help will be very much appreciated. It is very sad that there is a
continuing problem with damage caused by young vandals in our community. It is very disheartening for the people who
make an effort to provide good facilities for everyone to enjoy when young
people cause damage which then has to be repaired. This causes unnecessary hassle and costs
money which should be used to provide new facilities, not to repair existing
ones. The windows at the Jubilee Hall
which were broken last year have now been replaced but a group of young
people were found lighting a fire at the premises recently and covers on the
roller for the cricket square are repeatedly stolen. Aware that its response to (the more
than 30,000 weekly) non-emergency calls was inadequate, Thames Valley Police
have recruited more operators, refined their system and introduced a new
contact number, 0845 8 505 505. This
number will be responded to by one of the Police enquiry Centres, all of
which are manned 24-hours per day, seven days a week. This does not preclude your ringing a local
police station, although these are not all permanently manned. For emergencies, the normal 999 service is still available. Oxfordshire Nature Conservancy Forum (ONCF) The ONFC supports any groups who are
interested in practical local nature conservation work and/or in surveying of
species. Anyone who wishes to register
a group with the ONCF or who might consider starting one can obtain more
information from: http://www.oncf.org.uk
or contact the organisation directly via bulletin@oncf.org.uk.
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