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The Grapevine Magazine March 2003 Issue No 178
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LEWKNOR VILLAGE SHOP OPENING IN MARCH! You will all be delighted to know that the new village shop will be open by the end of March. Much excitement has been running through the village as the shelves and fittings have been appearing. As the final work is completed over the next couple of weeks, I expect you are interested in what's happening… First, we welcome Suresh to the village as the shop's manager. Suresh has over 10 years retail experience, most recently running the village shop in Nettlebed. Suresh lives in Hayes, Middlesex. He is looking forward to opening the shop and is particularly attracted to the peaceful location, and the prospect of "doing something to help village people". Second, a bit of background. The shop initiative was started by the Parish Council as part of the Town Farm development. The freehold of the shop is owned by Soha (South Oxfordshire Housing Association). Their aim is to provide improved local services for the village, as they have direct interest in houses in Lewknor and therefore the local community. They are very excited by the project as it is their first such scheme. Soha have provided the fixtures and fittings in the shop, assisted by a grant from the Countryside Agency. The room above the shop can be used by Suresh or sub-let, but at the moment no decision has been made as to how it will be used. To ensure that the shop is focused on the community and to act as a liaison between Soha and the manager, a Steering Group of local people has been set up. Their role is to be supportive, to give advice and help promote the shop locally. More details of this group will be given in further editions of Grapevine. However, an initial meeting was held at the shop at the end of February for the members to meet Suresh and the Soha representatives. So, your stand-in Editor took the opportunity to ask Suresh about his plans for the shop. The shop will be open 7am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday and 8am to 8pm, on Sundays. The shop will be a "mini-supermarket" stocking a wide range of products including:
The shop will be serving hot coffee throughout the day as well as sandwiches, hot pies and snacks. A photocopying machine will also be available, and other facilities such as dry cleaning may be introduced as the shop becomes established. Obviously it is early days, so Suresh will have a lot to think about, but he is very open to ideas about what you would like to see available. There may be some job opportunities to work at the shop for local people, so if you are interested pop in and see him. Suresh's message to the village was "come and visit for yourselves and see what we've got". Let's all wish him every success, as it will be fantastic to have a shop open in Lewknor again.
M40 Junction 6 The County Council's scheme to improve safety at Junction 6 looks as though it will cost far more than original estimates indicated. Costs are now soaring over £600,000 and the County is having a re-think about what to do. Plans for the taxibus service to the bus stops are also changing. Current proposals are to limit the service to a Watlington/Chinnor route along the B4009 so that people will not have to wait too long to link up with the M40 service and the local taxibus. We have been promised that there will be full consultation with local parishes before any final decisions are made and the County is still hoping to be able to put a scheme in place in 2003/2004. There are still no firm proposals about what to do about the arrangements for people who want to park and ride. In the mean time the grass verges along the B4009 are increasingly damaged, litter is a problem and the area is frequently used for car crime. The Lambert Arms Plans to develop The Lambert Arms are also being revised again. A new planning application is expected which is more like the proposal which actually has planning permission already. Subsequent applications have proposed a much larger hotel extension with many more rooms. The most recent plan was for 80 rooms plus the ones in the existing hotel building which most people thought was much too large. Most people want to see The Lambert Arms flourishing again but want to be sure that the development is in keeping with its surroundings and is not going to cause problems for the people who live nearby. Footpath under the M40 People who use the footpath under the M40 between the High Street and Beacon View at Lewknor will know that thieves have stolen the handrail again. It is so annoying because the scrap value of the railings can only be very small but the hassle and expense of replacing them is huge. We have notified the Highways Department but do not expect the railings to be replaced quickly. The path is dangerous without the protection of railings so everyone who uses the path will need to take care. LOCAL ELECTIONS 2003 A reminder: elections for District and Parish Councillors will be held on 1 May. In order to vote you must be on the Electoral Register before 11 March. If you wish to vote by post you must apply by 23 April. More detailed advice can be obtained via SODC's Elections Office on 0800 389 5560 or on www.southoxon.gov.uk/Files/ElectoralRegistration2002.pdf
The good news is that South Oxfordshire's monthly household waste recycling rate in January was 23%, an increase of 4% over the same period last year. Because plastic and cans for recycling may now be collected via our individual kerbside boxes, the communal plastic and can banks that are currently available throughout the district will be removed during March. This does not apply to glass which still needs to be taken to a communal bank. The Kerbside recycling scheme collects:
If you don't have a FREE kerbside recycling box or you need an extra one please contact the Public Amenities team: Tel: 01491 823416 Email: recycling@southoxon.gov.uk Talking of waste… GET RID OF UNWANTED JUNK MAIL Oxford County Council's Waste Management Group are offering you a package to stop junk mail. 500,000 tonnes of junk mail is generated in the UK every year. Most of it ends up in the bin. Help reduce the rubbish going to landfill and save yourself the annoyance of junk mail by calling the Junk Mail Hotline on 01865 816070 and you will receive a junk mail solution package offering you three easy steps to stop junk mail.
The parish council is increasingly concerned about the state of the Icknield Way which is part of the Ridgeway National Trail. Off road vehicles and bikes have been allowed to use the trail with no restrictions. These users are totally irresponsible. They disregard the voluntary Code of Practice which says that the trail should not be used in winter conditions. The result is that the trail has been damaged so badly that it is just about unusable by all the other people who want to be able to enjoy this ancient track. It is a very bad situation when local people feel they cannot walk or ride along the Icknield Way because it is so rutted and slippery that it is dangerous. The parish council is giving its support to a campaign by The Friends of the Ridgeway to limit access for motor vehicles (not including farm vehicles) and has written to Oxfordshire County Council to ask what action is proposed to improve the situation.
The Government is carrying out an exercise on the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly. The intention is to assess the level of interest in each region and then propose assemblies for the regions most interested in forming one. The parish council has grave doubts about the principle of regional assemblies. Although local government is not always very efficient, both SODC and Oxfordshire County Council are locally based and we know the people we need to talk to about the issues which affect our community. Elected regional assemblies are not intended to replace the other levels of local government at first but the reorganisation of local government is clearly on the Government's agenda. How can it be better for people living in Lewknor parish to have decisions made by a regional assembly based in Guildford ?
WHY NOT REGISTER FOR BROADBAND? What is it? Broadband is a way of accessing the Internet at many times the speed which can be achieved using a normal telephone line. This additional speed actually makes the Internet usable! Other benefits include no separate phone charges for access (you pay a flat rate monthly fee instead), plus your telephone phone line is permanently free for normal calls. Unfortunately, for BT Broadband to be made available in any particular area, the local telephone exchange has to be upgraded at some cost (which BT is naturally reluctant to do). Nevertheless, they have set up a scheme whereby residents in any area can register their interest in Broadband. At the time of writing, only 32 people have registered on the Tetsworth (01844) exchange and 190 on the Watlington (01491) exchange. This is nowhere near the numbers required in either case. In order to move things along, you are urged to register your interest in Broadband with BT by filling in the short application form at www.bt.com/btbroadband/register. Note that registration is merely an expression of interest; it does NOT represent a financial commitment.
The "Friends of Lewknor School" are holding their eighth Art Show at Lewknor Primary School on Saturday 5th April 10am - 5pm, and Sunday 6th April 11am - 4pm. Our thatched village School is an excellent location for local artists to exhibit around 150 original paintings, photographs and pottery. There will be a demonstration of "carving" and "coiling" hand built pottery during the weekend, by Eddie Kent. He is hoping to set up a workshop on the Saturday for the children. Home-made refreshments will be on sale, including lunches and cream teas. There is a catalogue charge of £1, for more information or last minute entries please contact Caroline on 352720. This is an enjoyable event for both the School and the village, please come along and support us.
MORE CHURCHYARD HELPERS PLEASE ! We are looking for a few more people to help cut the grass in the Churchyard, as several of our regular helpers have moved out of the village. Machinery is provided (unless you prefer to use your own) - all that is needed is about an hour at a time to suit you. The condition of the churchyard has improved tremendously in recent years, thanks to the effort put in by a number of people. However, some areas of the churchyard will not be able to be cut this year unless a few more helpers can be found. Please contact Robin Notley on 354237 if you can help.
Can you help us provide funding for the running costs of your local hospice by holding a fundraising event? The charity needs to raise around £800,000 this year to provide hospice care, which is not covered by the NHS. We are hoping to contact people who read this local newsletter to ask if you would consider holding a summer fundraising event for us. This could be a BBQ, garden party, open garden event, or even a sponsored event. We all hope that hospices will be there for us if we should ever need them. Can you help us to raise much needed funds to ensure that Sobell House Hospice can continue to maintain the range of care that they would wish to provide? If you are interested in providing support in this way, but you would like some advice on how to go about organising an event, please contact the Charity Office on 01865 8883339.
The New Year for Krakatoa started with us welcoming Isabel Boitoult, Travis Cann and Imogen Rose to the group. Last half term's theme was "underground", covering all things animal, vegetable and mineral, including pipework, electricity, water etc. The children have done indoor growing experiments, made underground trains and cold weather permitting have been on outside explorations for fossils! This half term up to the Easter holidays the theme is about the children themselves in the world. Also there are the annual spring topics including chick making and of course, Easter bonnets. The children are enjoying the space available at the hall, noise levels being accordingly high at times! We are looking forward to being able to develop a safe and fun play area outside for the spring and summer. Hence more fund raising activities are planned with a Bring and Buy Coffee Morning to be held on March 18th, see the fliers for details, or contact Charlotte Rose 353743 or Morag Barrie 281752. Further plans include a re-run (sic) of the highly enjoyable Ferret Racing Night, so look out for more details soon.
We are greatly indebted to Louise Boitoult for producing at short notice, such a splendid 'Grapevine' last month. Once again this month she is taking over the production - a big, big thank you Louise. May I take this opportunity to thank everyone who sent their kind wishes to me when I was laid low in recent weeks - everyone has been so kind. You may have seen me out on my sticks in the village recently - I hope soon to be really fit again. Kay H
Francis was born here in Lewknor on the 19th October 1925. He was the youngest of nine children, born to Robert and Emma Nunn. He went to the village school and then to Chinnor. As a young lad he played football for the village. He joined the Royal Navy and served during the 2nd World War. Upon returning back to the village after the war, he worked for his father's building business, he then met his wife to be, Mary Redrup, and they married in Stokenchurch in March 1952. They lived here in the village and had three sons, Alan, Philip and Andrew. Later in life he worked for British Leyland at Cowely until retiring. Sadly he spent the first part of his retirement, nursing and caring wonderfully for Mary until she died in 1992. To keep himself busy he used to do small jobs for local people, and was a keen gardener, and spent many hours in his garden growing lots of vegetables, which he used to really enjoy. He also watched football on TV, and liked to follow Wycombe Wanderers. Having travelled a lot in the Royal Navy he always had plenty of stories to tell about his exploits. Francis had five grandchildren who live in the village. He was a very kind and caring man, and will be missed deeply by his family and friends. The family would also like to thank everybody who came to the funeral and their kind donations, we will let you know the total amount as soon as we know.
Calling all sports fans! A three day Sports Camp has been arranged for the Easter Holidays at Jubilee Hall, Lewknor for 7 - 13 year olds. Neil Maguire (PE teacher from Icknield) will provide an opportunity for children to participate in a variety of sports and team games. The sports will be made up of some of the following: Rounders, Tennis, Tag Rugby, Cricket, Basket ball, Hockey, Badminton, Boules, Croquet, Football and other activities. All coaches have been CRB checked and have sport coaching qualifications. Whilst trying out the various sports the children will also play with frisbees, giant jenga, skipping ropes, hoops etc. This camp is being organised by SODC and in addition a week's Summer Holiday Roadshow is currently being planned. See the posters and later in Grapevine for further details; to participate you must enrol. Forms are available from Lewknor Primary School, Janet Black, Caroline Hjorth or by calling 01491 823417.
There may be many in the village and surrounding areas who have seen a lone figure in a very bright yellow jacket pounding the streets recently. That lone figure is me, and the reason I am going to all this effort is that I am taking part in the Flora London Marathon this year on April 13th. In doing so I am hoping to raise over £1000 for the charity Refuge, who provide safety, shelter and support for victims of domestic violence throughout the UK. I would be extremely grateful if anyone would be willing to sponsor me in this venture and help me towards my target. The easiest way you can do this, if you have access to a computer, is online at www.justgiving.com/madmum using your credit or debit card. All online payments are 100% secure, are sent straight to Refuge and Justgiving will add 28% to your donation if you are a UK taxpayer. Alternatively, if you prefer the more traditional method of using pen and paper (and paying after the event!), please give me a call on 350290. If you do see me out on one of my training runs, please say hello as I need all the encouragement I can get. With many thanks, Lisa Cumming, Hamilton Cottage, Church Road
AUTISM AND VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES IN OXFORDSHIRE What is Autism? Autism is a lifelong disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Children and adults with autism are often unable to relate to others in a meaningful way. They can have difficulty in developing friendships and understanding other people's feelings. People with autism can often have accompanying learning disabilities but everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world. Could you spare a couple of hours a week to befriend someone with autism? What is a befriender? Befrienders spend a few hours a week with a person with autism or their family. Befrienders can help break the wall of isolation for families and individuals whose lives are affected by autism. Some befrienders always spend time in the family home, others go out and about. We match volunteers and families to individuals who have something in common. Volunteer befrienders do not have to be 'experts' in autism. We're looking for people who are friendly, reliable, willing to learn and sensitive to the needs of others. We'll provide initial and ongoing training and support and we'll pay travel expenses too. The scheme is part of the National Autistic Society's Volunteering Network. "Befriending is very much a two way thing - families get practical help which is flexible and informal; befrienders meet new, like-minded people, find the training fun and informative and learn a lot. It's extremely rewarding." For more information, contact: Rachel Pike Family Services Development Officer - Autism Thomely Hall Centre, Menmarsh Road Worminghall, Bucks, HP18 9JZ Tel/Fax: 01844 338696 Email: rachel@childrenintouch.freeserve.co.uk
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