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The Grapevine Magazine July 2004 Issue No 192
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OBITUARY - Patrick Ellerton 1926 -
2004 The funeral of Patrick Michael
Knox Ellerton took place at St Margaret’s
Lewknor on Friday 4th June. The
service, led by Simon Brignall, was followed by a
short committal at Oxford Crematorium attended by Giles, son, and Nicholas Marston, son-in-law.
The church was full and the family would like to thank all those from
the village who came along to support them; also those who sent messages of
condolence. These were very much
appreciated. Patrick would have been
astonished at the numbers present. The
retiring collection taken for the church Restoration Fund amounted to £607. The Jubilee Hall proved
to be the ideal venue for people to gather after the service for
refreshments; excellent parking space and readily accessible from the church
for newcomers to Lewknor. Many of them
had driven a long way and were surprised to find such a large pavilion in our
little village. Its first-rate
facilities, plenty of space for seating and open doors giving on to the
cricket ground. What more could you
wish for? Well, sunshine of course -
and we got it! It was a happy day for us
when we moved into the Old Vicarage in December 1983. We remember that there was a power cut and
no less than three neighbours came in with
candles! Patrick’s office had
moved to Flackwell Heath and we were able to return
to Oxfordshire where his parents had had a house in Bampton. He belonged to the Bampton
Cricket Club and we spent many summer weekends there when we were first
married in the late fifties. We always
promised ourselves that one day we, too, would live in the country so Lewknor
became our new home. Latterly, Patrick managed a small company who were
agents for a Belgian Steel Mill so it was handy to be near Heathrow, Head
Office being in After retirement, Patrick
spent a lot of time playing golf at Huntercombe
where he made many good friends. He
was happy to involve himself in the Lewknor Cricket Club activities and
became a qualified umpire of the game.
He’d had a passion for cricket from his very early days. It was only later in life that golf took
over. Painting was another serious
interest of his, and I have wonderful memories of our visits together to
galleries in He was deeply devoted to
his three children, Vicky, Rosalind and Giles who were all able to be at the
service, and his five grandchildren adored their ‘Grumpy’ - young
Patrick Ellerton was one last April. He will certainly be most
dearly missed. Alison Ellerton Bus tokens are now
available from Mrs Eileen Swell at Please telephone Eileen on
01844 353694 to arrange a convenient time for you to call and collect your
tokens Once again this year Andrew
White, together with a colleague, has kindly agreed to judge the gardens. The results will be
announced at the Horticultural Show in September. Our topic for this half
term is the In between times we held
the official opening of the outdoor area where our special guest - Tigger - was welcomed with great excitement by the
children. Oxford T.V. reported on the
occasion and a great time was had by all. We have also just held
our annual sponsored Trike Ride, at Following on from last months’
news - we are now able to announce that the new Pre-School Supervisor is Mrs Hayley Sutton, who works
part-time at To further strengthen our
links with school and consolidate the Pre-Schools’ position within the
community, from September we will be “ For any enquiries please
contact Mrs Freya Fraser
(01844 354053). BRING
& BUY COFFEE MORNING The summer coffee morning
was held on 17 June 2004 and once again we were invited to Home Farm, by kind
permission of Mrs Andrew Gordon. The event raised £240.00
for the repairs to the fabric of our church, which is a Grade 1 Listed
Building. We are extremely grateful
to Mrs Gordon for so kindly hosting this event once
more and, despite the weather being very cold, which meant we could not sit outside, it was a pleasant opportunity to meet old friends
and made a useful contribution to the funds for the restoration of the
church. This month we read
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark
Haddon in which the narrator, a boy of 15, solves the mysterious death of a neighbour’s dog and goes in search of his
mother. The novel was conceived as a
children’s book but became a runaway success with adults as the hero has
Asperger’s syndrome perceiving the world and
the people around him in a funny but unique way. He has, however, a genius for solving
complex mathematical problems and this allows him to partially compensate for
the difficulties he has with social skills in relating to people around him. The plot zips along at a
tremendous rate and although at times the group felt that some scenes tested
our credibility, the overall feeling was of great sympathy for Christopher
and his parents. It brought into sharp
relief the problems that families dealing with this high functioning form of
autism face. However a recent book
written by an expert on this condition suggests that it might be a necessary
ingredient of human creativity (perhaps even the crucial ingredient) and
cites Einstein, Freud, Yeats and the mathematician Turing among others as
having the condition. July’s book is
“Samuel Pepys - the unequalled
self” by Claire Tomalin, the overall winner
of the Whitbread Book of the Year 2002.
If you would like to join the Book Club or would like to suggest a
book for us to read, please contact me on 350382. Elan Preston-Whyte, ‘Knysna’, REMOVAL OF BT PAYPHONE FROM SOUTH WESTON The suspense date for
correspondence concerning BT’s previously notified withdrawal of its
payphone from South Weston has been extended from 11 June to 31 July. Letters, which should quote the number of
the handset (01844 281254) should be
addressed to:- BT Payphones PP06A21 Delta Point CROYDON CR9 2YZ Or by email to: btp.authorisation.team@bt.com B4009/M40 BUS INTERCHANGE and SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
- Summer 2004 Work
will commence week beginning 12 July for approximately 11 weeks. On the Watlington side of the motorway there will be two lay-bys
on the B4009 between the two slip road junctions, but on the north side. The larger of the two lay-bys will be for
buses and taxis, and the smaller (called a ‘Kiss and Ride’
lay-by) is for private vehicles to pick up or set down passengers. The bus lay-by will be the subject of a bus
stop clearway (no stopping for cars), and waiting at the ‘Kiss and
Ride’ lay-by will be limited to twenty minutes. Similar facilities are to
be provided on the Chinnor side of the motorway
except that the bus lay-by and ‘Kiss and Ride’ lay-by are to be
fitted into the present slip-road taper on the north side of the B4009. Illuminated wooden bus
shelters will be provided at both the northern bus lay-bys, along with a
number of bicycle racks. Street
lighting columns at the pedestrian crossing points between the north and
south bus stops will provide a safe level of illumination during the hours of
darkness. A third pedestrian
crossing point is being provided to help people safely across to the
Chilterns Area of To make the area safer for
pedestrians and other users, further islands (without pedestrian refuges) and
other traffic calming features are to be built, a permanent 40mph speed limit
is to be introduced, and the layout of the motorway exit slip road from
London is to be modified to slow the traffic at this junction. Construction of all these
facilities, to be built by Isis Accord, will start on July 11 and will take
about 11 weeks to complete. A
temporary 30 mph speed limit will be in force during this period. If you have any queries about the scheme
please contact Colin Devlin of the Babtie Group on
(01844) 296316 or email colin.devlin@babtie.com To: Grapevine From: Paul & Natasha Scott, Barley Close, Lewknor “We are writing in
response to your piece in the June 2004 Grapevine. As residents of Lewknor and have been for 9
years, we would like to give our support to any objections raised with
regards to the possible housing development on Church Farm. We feel that any further development in
this village would spoil it. Please
could you keep us informed if you have any news.” Our thoughts are well
under way for this year’s Village Horticultural Show. It
is the Jubilee Hall’s turn to host the event this year. Mrs Watt has
kindly agreed to allow us to use Knapp Farm on Sunday 12th September from 2pm. Once the programmes are printed we shall be posting them
throughout the Parish, and asking for tombola
prizes and volunteers to help with the stalls. Please contact Jessie on
351975. SOMETHING UNUSUAL from Gardening is good for
you. We all know that
gardening lifts our spirits. There is
no more rewarding or relaxing pastime than growing and nurturing your own
plants and making your garden look good.
Now there is a mounting body of research to prove what keen gardeners
have known instinctively all along; gardening is good for our physical as
well as our mental health. Did you know, for
instance, that you can burn as many calories in 45 minutes of gardening as in
30 minutes of aerobics? Just one hour
of weeding burns 300 calories, the same as walking or cycling at a moderate
pace and manual push mowing of the lawn burns 500 calories per hour, the same
rate as playing tennis. It is not just
about burning calories, though. In one
study, women 50 and older who gardened at least once a week had higher bone
density than those who jogged, walked, swam or did aerobics. A further report by the American
Horticultural Therapy Association found that women recover from breast cancer
surgery quicker if they spend time in the garden. Much of this positive
healing power has to be due to the calming influence of our gardens. A well-kept, green and leafy space is a
pleasant place to be, and researchers tell us that surroundings like this can
reduce blood pressure, muscle tension and stress related electrical brain
activity. In fact, just five
minutes’ exposure can bring measurable benefits. And this doesn’t
only apply at home. Workers with a
view of natural elements from their desks such as trees and flowers, have been proven in studies to experience
increased job satisfaction, reduced job pressure, fewer ailments and less
headaches than those with no outside view or a view of built elements. Trees and plants can help
in other ways. More studies, this time from Southampton University and
General Hospital, show that plants remove gaseous pollutants, aerosols, dust
and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as intercepting particulates
from diesel fume. So gardens are good
news for those with respiratory problems.
They are good news for children too, whose lives can be physically
improved by having a safe green space to play in and for whom outdoor play
will improve both physical and motor nerve development. So it’s official;
gardening is good for all of us.
Let’s get out and enjoy it! 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 gate. Please
clear up, there is now a hefty fine by the Courts for anyone
convicted. St Margaret’s Parish Church, Lewknor “THE RIDE AND STRIDE” Sponsored Cycle Ride and Walk An Annual Event in Aid of
the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust and Your Saturday 11 September 2004 Dig out the safety
helmets, check the brakes and oil the chain!
Once again, this year on Saturday September 11th, you and your
children can cycle or walk to the churches around Oxfordshire and, with the
help of your sponsors, raise money for the maintenance of the fabric of
Oxfordshire Churches. Remember, 50p in the
pound of what you raise goes towards saving YOUR OWN Sponsorship forms will be
available in July from: Elizabeth Orr-Ewing Icknield House Lewknor Tel: 353600 If anybody could spare an
hour to sit in the church during the day between 9am and 6pm on Saturday 11th
September, please contact St Margaret’s Parish Church, Lewknor Summer 2004 Children’s Holiday Club JUNGLE JAMBOREE!! A date for your diary The children’s
Holiday Club “Jungle
Jamboree” will be held at Tetsworth Village Hall from: AUGUST 23rd to AUGUST 27th Please watch the Church Notice Board for further
details AN 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 G Bindoff at Field
Farmhouse, Lewknor, HAVE
A GOOD SUMMER - ENJOY THE LOVELY COUNTRYSIDE AROUND US Next
edition of Grapevine in September |
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