Useful Information
PCSO: call the Wallingford Team on 101 North Moreton News Non-Urgent Police calls: 101 Crime Stoppers: 0800 555 111 NHS Non-Emergency Number: 111 Issue 131 December 2020 Parish Clerk: [email protected] 01235 511427 Parish Council Chairman: Ros Templeman 07969 349 831 SODC Councillor: Jane Murphy 07970 932054 OCC Councillor: Simon Clarke simon.clarke@oxfordshire.gov.uk Church Benefice Office, Blewbury: 01235 850267 Parish Transport Representative: Veronica Gibbs 01235 813829 Who would have imaged last December the changes to Village Hall Bookings Marion Shipton [email protected] our lives that 2020 would bring? Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators: Elm Road: Derrick Stevens Phone/Fax/Answer m/c 01235 812951 Rest of Village: Nora Haycock [email protected] 812202 This year has been difficult for everyone - for some Concessionary Travel: 0845 310 1111 or www.oxfordshire.gov.uk more than others - but hopefully it has been made a little Didcot Volunteer Drivers: 01235 816709 easier by the support of friends and neighbours, and by Wallingford Volunteer Centre: 01491 836345 North Moreton Volunteers: 01235 812202, 813829 or 813006 the beautiful countryside in which we live. Postal Services: The Village Stores, Brightwell: Mon. - Fri. 9.30 - 5.30 Sat. 9.00 - 13.00 01491 835551 Astons Village Hall Tuesday 9.30 - 12.30 Normal life may have been put on hold but we look for- Citizens’ Advice Line: 08444 111 444 ward to normal service resuming in 2021! Consumer Helpline: 03454 04 05 06 www.adviceguide.org.uk Refuse & Recycling Collections: alternate Thursdays. Garden Waste Collection: alternate Thursdays with recycling Black Bin dates: 10/24 December. 9/21 January, 4/18 February Green & Garden Bins: 3/17/December 4/15 January, 11/25 February Bank holiday dates in bold. No brown bin collection over the Christmas period.
Editor: Nora Haycock, Peckwater, North Moreton. Phone 01235 812202
Email: [email protected]
Copy for the March issue should reach the Editor by A very happy and safe Christmas 22nd February
North Moreton News is published four times a year & can also be read on line at to you all www.North-Moreton.com
North Moreton Parish Council
Car park
After noticing that all runoff from Bear Lane was draining straight through the Christmas 2020 gate onto the Rec, where it made a large contribution to the water-logging of the car parking area, the Parish Council sought advice from the District Coun- cil’s senior drainage engineer, who provided a report and recommendations for remedial action.
We accepted a quotation from the outdoor water engineers, WJ Hatt Ltd, and at Advent Service the beginning of November they installed a half-moon concrete drainage chan- nel at the entrance to the Rec, with a gully trap at either end. (The traps remove 4pm on Sunday 6th December leaves and silt from the runoff before it enters the drainage pipe.) Pipework was laid under the car parking area to carry water from the traps to the ditch by the playground, and so far we’ve been very pleased with the result. Christmas Music and Readings
The next step will be to fence the car park, reinforce the area most affected by 6.30pm on Sunday 20th December turning cars, and install a height barrier in place of the present entrance gate.
We are grateful for financial aid for this project from the North Moreton Chari- table Trust and from Simon Clarke’s OCC Councillor Priority Fund. Roving Nativity Service
More bins! 3pm on Christmas Eve
You may have noticed that we have two new bins opposite the village hall, Start at the Village Hall where the old phone box used to be. The salt bin is full of road salt, and the new dog bin is regularly emptied, so both are now ready to be used for their intended purposes. Christmas Midnight Mass
Parish Council Meetings 9pm on Christmas Eve
We have managed to hold only two “live” parish council meetings this year, with the remainder by Zoom. As the future of public meetings is still uncertain, we would like to encourage anyone who has concerns to raise with the council to contact one of the councillors directly, because, despite the wonders of mod- ern technology, it is still easier to have a discussion face to (socially distanced) face, or over the phone.
Some time ago, we suggested holding a village meeting to discuss whether we Please register your interest by wanted more small houses in North Moreton. As circumstances have so far emailing [email protected] made this impossible, we are considering sending round a questionnaire to eve- ry house, seeking parishioners’ views on further (limited) development.
The next parish council meeting will be on Tuesday 12 January at 8pm.
Ros Templeman Chair NMPC
Shop Safely this Christmas! Moreton Cricket Club
Many more of us will be shopping online this Christmas - some of us for the first time - so here are some tips from Neighbourhood-Alert to help There is more to report on with regard to the Cricket Club than keep you safe: ever seemed likely half way through the summer.
Make sure the website is authentic by checking the address is spelled cor- With Covid precautions in place, the men’s section was able to play 14 rectly. Ideally, type it in rather than clicking on a link in an email, text or games (along with one internal game). Six were won and there were eight post as it’s easy for scammers to set up fake websites that are very similar losses (two of which were to boundaries off the last ball of the game, so to the real thing. the balance could have been so different!). Perhaps the most noteworthy feature was the latest game in the calendar year in living memory at More- When paying, make sure the page is secure by checking that addresses ton aside from the Boxing Day matches which were briefly played in the begin with ‘https’ (‘s’ is for secure) and there’s a closed padlock in the mid 1960’s. As I recall three inches of snow in 1968 brought these to an address bar. But beware - although this means that the page is secure, the end when my father was rather shocked that no-one else turned up, but site could still be operated by fraudsters. memory may be playing tricks. Due to Nigel Hessey’s enthusiasm and per- th Many advertisements for items such as gifts, holidays and events on social sistence we were out there on October 11 playing Iffley Village. It was media and online forums are genuine, but be aware that others are fraudu- not too cold and a remarkable 10 wicket victory ensued as we chased down the opposition score of 220. Steve Vinnicombe scored an unbeaten century lent. Don’t transfer money directly to people or companies you don’t know. and Andrew Payne 93 not out. If you can, pay by credit card and when payment is completed, log out of the web page or app - simply closing it may not log you out automatically. Our women’s section did well to come third in the Home Counties League
Avoid ‘free’ or ‘low-cost’ trials – whether for the latest handset or slim- Division One competing against clubs of greater size and with more re- ming pills – without thoroughly reading the small print and trusted re- sources than Moreton. Dave Powell won the Carpenter Cup which is views. You could be signing up for large monthly direct debits which are awarded annually to a member who has made an outstanding award to the Club. Dave celebrated his award with a match winning half century against very hard to cancel. Goring. Christmas is a favourite time for scammers to send fraudulent emails, texts Regrettably, our close season events this year (including the quiz) will not or DMs, or post fraudulent offers on social media. At this time of year, take place, but we all cling to the hope that 2021 may be a more normal with the increase in internet shopping, fake parcel-firm delivery notifica- summer. tions are commonplace attachments or links, as are emails and other mes- Mike Howat. President , Moreton CC sages featuring ‘special offers’ and ‘prizes’. Don’t click on links in emails, texts or posts that you’re not expecting, and don’t open unexpected email attachments. New Click and Collect Service at Oxfordshire Libraries And don’t forget - if an offer looks too good to be true, it usually is!! Although Oxfordshire County Council’s library service is currently unable For more information and expert, easy-to-follow, impartial advice on safe- to open libraries for browsing, the government has made it clear that librar- guarding yourself, your family, finances, devices and workplace, visit ies may offer a collection service during this period. www.getsafeonline.org. If you think you’ve been a victim of online fraud, report it to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting To access the service, residents need to complete a short online form centre on 0300 123 20 40 or at www.actionfraud.police.uk. https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/leisure-and-culture/libraries/ click-and-collect/click-and-collect-form, telling the library what sort of books they like to read and how many they would like or call
Astons Online North and South Moreton WI
Sadly we haven’t been able to hold our normal monthly meetings in the vil- Free and friendly IT help is available to North Moreton computer users every lage hall but we have kept in touch as far as possible. It was a delight to be Tuesday morning from 10:00 to 12:00 noon until the end of 2020. Book an able to meet up for a ‘socially distanced’ walk at Basildon Park in October online appointment by email: [email protected] . and even a welcome coffee at the outdoor café there. We had planned to re- (www.astonsonline.uk for more information) peat the experience in November as it was such fun but, of course, events overtook us. NHS - Hand It Back If you would like to be involved in this very friendly small group do get in touch with Sue on 01235813829 or Veronica on 07788752628. Oxfordshire’s health and social care system is still asking people to help by re- Veronica Gibbs turning any aid and equipment they’ve been loaned and no longer need. Much of this equipment could be recycled and reused. Items currently required will have an NRS sticker with a bar code. Other items should be held until after the North Moreton Village Hall pandemic.
Whilst our area remains under Tier 2 regulations we are only allowed to open To arrange a FREE collection, please call NRS Healthcare on: 01869 225 420 for educational purposes and to provide support for certain vulnerable or email [email protected] Please do not attempt to return groups. Covid regulation and the list of permissible events are subject to the equipment in person. change so please contact the booking clerk via [email protected] for up to date information.
Tables, chairs, etc. are still available for hire - all prices and booking form Wallingford Museum News - Nov/Dec 2020 are available on the village website www.north-moreton.com Wallingford Museum’s dedicated team of researchers are working with architectural model maker, Ben Taggart, to create a 1:300 Nora Haycock Chairman VHMC The Bear scale model (1.5m x1.6m) of Wallingford’s royal castle as it may have been in the mid-14th century. This amazing collaboration Following the announcement that Oxfordshire will be in Covid Tier 2, it is draws on15 years of research, unravelling the castle’s history, using archaeolo- with great sadness that we have no option than to remain closed. Operating as gy, geophysical surveys, LiDAR, maps, and the transcription, translation and a restaurant only would not be financially viable. analysis of many documentary records. Some of these records, from the 12th-
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience 19th centuries, also contain surveys with measurements, which greatly help the study. caused and we look forward to a time when we can reopen. Heather & John Norris Virtual meetings with Ben use all the available evidence to try to accurately position the walls, drawbridges, moats and buildings, such as the great hall, kitchens and stables, as they would once have looked. Ride and Stride September 2020
Four cyclists from North Moreton raised £340 for OHCT (Oxfordshire His- The culmination of all this research will be this magnificent model of the castle toric Churches Trust) and half of this will go directly back to All Saints North at the height of its power, to share with everyone, once the museum reopens in 2021. Moreton. ‘ More visitors than last year called in to All Saints on their Riding and Striding In 2021 the museum will celebrate its 40th anniversary - created and entirely run by volunteers since 1981. We look forward to re-opening in 2021. routes and were pleased to be met (at a distance of course!) by a welcomer to tell them more about our historic church and its 13th century window. Visit their website www.wallingfordmuseum.org.uk for more information
Clare Price and to access online jigsaws and quizzes.
NM GreenShoots South Morton Primary School
South Moreton School PTA has set up a GoFundMe page to help towards the North Moreton Green Shoots has grown from strength to strength. The poly- school’s £16k fundraising target to provide Chromebooks for all Key Stage 2 tunnel is up and operational. Several raised beds have been populated with pupils. Any donation, big or small, is hugely appreciated. seedlings of winter lettuce, rocket, pak choi, broad beans, onions, garlic and coriander. Please ask for a space if you would like to try polytunnel growing. https://www.gofundme.com/f/south-moreton-school-chrome-book-fundraiser? Meanwhile outside, the pumpkin patch was a great success with just under 30 utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share- pumpkins selling to local families who came to harvest one on the weekend sheet before Halloween. The pond is now established and the fence and plants around it are under construction. Any well-behaved pond plant donations would be very well received!
South Moreton Pre-School On the morning of Saturday 5th December NMGreenShoots are planning an .….. are holding a Christmas Raffle to be drawn online on 11th December at ‘open to everyone’ working party starting around 10am to help plant a small 3.30 pm. orchard of fruit trees, underplanted with daffodils, and a community crop of a Tickets can be purchased on their Fundraising Facebook page which can be few Christmas Tree saplings. We also hope to start the turf cutting for a wild- found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/671685917072538 or by flower area and there will be some locally made kits and help on hand to emailing [email protected]. build some bird boxes. Bring a spade and/or trowel with you and join in. Hopefully both COVID restrictions and the weather will be kind to us.
Plans for the next few months include planting up the pond, deciding on next year’s crops, establishing a bed of ‘Flowers for Giving’ and a herb bed, and planting the Woodland Trust hedgerow trees in March. What community crop would you like to see? If you have particular ideas / interests (vines??) come and see if they might work at the community allotment.
EVERYONE WELCOME to join in.
More information via village emails and on the village website. Or contact [email protected].
Plant & Produce Stall
The Plant and Produce Stall continues to have donations for sale and is cur- rently supporting the Wallingford Emergency Food Bank. It has raised over £2000 for local charities so far. Spare plants, crops, chutneys, jams, garden equipment and garden-related items all gratefully received. If you have any flowerpots of the small and medium size that you no longer require please do drop them at the Stall ready for refilling. (Please label plants although I am getting better at recognizing what they are!)
Many, many thanks to everyone donating and purchasing. Clare Price
News from All Saints’ Church Primary School Applications
Well, the Good News is that we WILL be celebrating Christmas at All If you have a child born between 1st September 2016 and 31st August Saints' this year, just as the villagers of North Moreton have been doing for 2017 you need to apply for a Primary School place now! hundreds of years. That said, we will, of course, be making some changes to The deadline for application is 15th January 2021. our traditional services and following the latest Covid guidelines. You must apply even if your child attends a nursery attached to a school. So, here's our current plan, which may be subject to change:
We will start our Christmas preparations, a week later than we would usually To apply online visit www.oxforshire.ov.uk/primaryadmissions. do, with an Advent Service at 4pm on Sunday 6th December.
What would normally be our Village Carol Service now becomes our Neighbourhood Watch ‘Protect your Password’ Campaign
Christmas Music and Readings at 6.30pm on Sunday 20th December. Your personal email account contains lots of important information about you There will be a Roving Nativity Service at 3pm on Christmas Eve: wend- and is the gateway to all your other online accounts, including banking, social ing its way from the Village Hall to the Church. It looks as if we will be able media and online shopping. to sing carols outdoors, as long as we keep to the guidance on family groups If your email account is hacked. all your other passwords can be reset, so use and social distancing. And don't forget: we need as many of you as possible a strong password that is different to all your others. to dress up in your festive attire! Weak passwords can be hacked in seconds. Three random words is the rec- Then, we will hold our traditional Midnight Mass at the earlier time of ommended way of generating passwords, as it is easier to remember and
9pm on Christmas Eve. takes trillions of years for a computer algorithm to crack.
We have a large church but we will need to get an idea of number of people Start with your most important accounts (such as email, then banking and who will be coming to the Christmas Music and Readings and the Mid- social media) and replace your old passwords with new ones. night Mass, help us keep a record of contacts and just in case we have to limit the numbers. In the first instance, please register your interest by The Police Digital Security Centre (PDSC) recommend looking around the emailing [email protected]. Father Jason will, then, be in touch room and picking three things your see, for example table, computer, map about the arrangements. would become tablecomputermap – DO NOT use words that are associated with you for example animal names or surnames, as these are easy to identify if you are someone who uses social media.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a free security feature that gives you an Most of you will think of Christmas as a time of giving. In North Moreton, extra layer of protection online and stops cyber criminals getting into your the giving started much earlier this year. On 24 October, many villagers accounts - even if they have your password. turned out to help clean the church and tidy the churchyard. It was a marvel- 2FA reduces the risk of being hacked by asking you to provide a second fac- lous effort, particularly after the enforced summer closure because of the tor of information, such as getting a text or code when you log in, to check Covid restrictions. Ever since the turn of the century, we have known it as you are who you say you are. Quinney Day: a time for people to get together and give of their effort for the benefit of the village. A big thank you goes out to them. Check if the online services and apps you use offer 2FA – it’s also called two -step verification or multi-factor authentication. If they do, turn it on. Start Another - anonymous - benefactor will be fondly remembered for years to with the accounts you care most about, such as your email and social media. come as the donor of the new heating system for our church. As a result you Your bank automatically carries out an extra security check if you use online will be guaranteed an even warmer welcome at All Saints' this Christmas. banking, so you don't need to turn this on yourself. However, you should I wish you all a very happy, prosperous and safe Christmas. check that your bank has your correct phone number so they're able to text a code to your mobile or call your landline to confirm it's you. Keith Hutchence, Secretary of the Parochial Church Council