December 2015 (462) re sold he W Cassington Village Hall AGM Teenage angst The Cassington Village Hall Committee invites you to the As is well known, we teenagers have a lot p s AGM on Thursday 18th February at 7.15pm in the Village to be anxious about: school alone with its 60 t F n Hall. endless social and educational pressures RE de E to resi Come and find out what has been leaves one feeling enough apprehension to happening in the Village Hall over last a lifetime. But now it seems we have even the past year and learn about plans more to cope with, another fear to add to the catalogue of for the future. All Village groups worries we teens lug around day after day. In fact it’s more and societies are encouraged to send than a fear. It’s a threat, it’s a threat that provokes more dread a representative for election onto than any bad hair day or impromptu maths test can impose, it the committee and any interested is of course: terrorism. individuals would also be very welcome. Having said this, living in Cassington and schooling in For further information please contact Penny Burroughs, Eynsham I’m left (thankfully) in a relatively invulnerable Secretary of the Cassington Village Hall Committee, on state. If there was ever going to be a ‘last place on earth’ to 01865 731225. stage a major terrorist attack Cassington would be that place. So it isn’t terrorism itself that leaves me anxious, frankly I fear many things more than terrorism: natural disasters, UCAS, The Poppy Appeal Donald Trump to name but a few. No it defiantly isn’t terrorism that gives me such angst; it’s The Poppy Appeal collection in Cassington and Worton our reaction to it. this year realised £1,233.40. To collect more than £1,000 in Every man, woman and child with access to social media in this comparatively small village is a most commendable the wake of the attacks in Paris changed their profile picture achievement. We would like to thank the volunteers who made to a French flag covering their previous photo. A beautiful, it possible by visiting every house or for having collecting inspirational sign of solidarity. However in a teenage world boxes on their premises: Tina Perrin, Janet Bushnell, Pam it’s another excuse for people to abuse an international event Turner, Susan Partridge, Molly Yeats, Carmella Waters, Derek for their own gratification. A massive, ‘oh look at me I care’ Waters, Jack Evans, St Peters School, Longlands Nursing to the social media audience. I care about something that I home, The Red Lion, and The Chequers Inn. We had two new haven’t given two seconds thought to and my only knowledge recruits this year, Marianne Want and Cate Sirkett, to whom on the subject is the half a headline I read as I walked past a special thanks. newspaper. OK maybe I’m being a bit judgemental, but there The Legion is extremely grateful to the many people who is no doubt that what started as a nice gesture was quickly gave so generously. As usual, our Poppy Appeal Organiser morphed into a bandwagon to jump on, the sincerity was Clare Want undertook the donkey work involved in making the Appeal such a success. The service at the war memorial Continued on page 2 on Remembrance Sunday was again well attended. Threatening weather relented Help burn off the Christmas calories at the for long enough to keep us dry and even allowed a glimmer of sunshine. We Annual Festive Boxing were again fortunate in having Allen Day Football Match Aston come specially from Witney to sound the traditional stirring trumpet 11am at the Elm’s Road sports fields calls. Married Men v. Single Men Mike Randle, Hon.Secretary, All welcome including supporters – R.B.L. Cassington players must be over 15 Contributions should be provided by 20th of the month. Email submissions (in the body or as a Word attachment) to: [email protected]. Photographs should be supplied as separate attachments, not placed in the Word file. Typed or (as a last resort) clearly handwritten submissions may be posted to: Rebecca Clare, 12 Hollow Furlong, Cassington, OX29 4ET. We look forward to hearing from you. lost and changing your Facebook profile picture reverted back to its previous state of self promotion and vanity. For Roy’s Ramblings a brief moment it seemed like it could have meant so much Now then, come on you people of Cassington, somebody fill more – originally it was a gesture to the French but thanks the place on the Parish Council, bring it up to the correct to everything teenagers and social media seem to stand for, number. If you let the council shrink West Oxford District people started changing their profile picture out of fear of Council would take over. Sorry I don’t come now; not driving looking out of place or ‘not loving enough’ which could, of restricts me. I hope Mike Linnell keeps it up; I tried to come course affect popularity. Then a battle starts. There are those as much as possible because when I was chair not many folk who changed their picture and those who didn’t and because bothered. of this in the most bathetic and undermining way imaginable Now then, one more cry for help: looking at the British terrorism now affects all of us (my social group). Legion membership we are all fading away. Come on you And this is what brings me angst, that teenagers and youngsters, please join in and help out. There is nothing especially social media users can turn anything – even an much to do: we have a good lass who deals with the Poppy international travesty like the events that have been happening Appeal and now also looks after the Memorial surround after in France – into a popularity contest. Teenagers suddenly find my sister felt she could not carry on. We don’t want to see the themselves spouting uninformed, unwanted and just generally branch shut down. Unfortunately at 90 I had to stop cutting ludicrous comments about ‘how to stop terrorism’ and ‘how the Green and the British Legion now misses that payment by terrorists aren’t showing respect to British servicemen who died the Parish Council, after just over 30 years. for their country’ (yes, one of my peers genuinely did say this) June and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a and then there are those who chose not to comment as they healthy and prosperous new year. fear that posting anything on social media implying any sort Roy Partridge of real emotion is just simply ‘not cool’. With everyone ‘caring’ and ‘not caring’ so much, so publicly and so relentlessly it almost begs the question who are the real victims of terrorism. OK of course it doesn’t, but for an avid social media user like June and Roy wish everyone a very happy myself it pains me to see people’s desperate attempts to sum Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous up the effects of an ‘event’ in the allotted 140 characters on New Year twitter whilst trying to remain: educated yet naive, passionate yet bored, eloquent yet street, political yet sexy, opinionated yet the same as everyone else. And although it pains me – that in itself is ... teenage angst. Ben Copelin PELLMANS Contents YOUR LOCAL SOLICITORS Desert Island Discs ...................................3 Cassington WI ......................................3 • Business and Employment Law Are you ready for a swashbuckling adventure? ...........4 Contracts, Legal Compliance and Disputes Church flowers ......................................5 • Property Christmas was collections .............................5 Buying and Selling Homes, Find out what happens to your food waste ...............6 Commercial and Agricultural Green TEA swap shop ................................6 • Wills, Probate and Trusts Yarnton Scout Group .................................7 Tax Planning and Lasting Powers Logs for Labour .....................................8 of Attorney Rotary Club of Eynsham ..............................8 Cassington Advent Windows ..........................8 01865 884400 Village contact list ..................................10 www.pellmans.co.uk Community Learning ...............................11 St Peter’s School news ...............................12 1 Abbey Street, Eynsham, Oxford OX29 4TB St Peter’s Catholic Church news .......................14 Home visits and evening Remembrance day photo .............................16 appointments available St Peter’s Church of England news .....................17 Parish council news .................................18 What’s on? .........................................19 Noticeboard ........................................20 2 Desert Island Discs Cassington WI Last month’s castaway was Ron Langston, correctly guessed first Jane Cook welcomed us all including our visitors. The minutes by Marcus Copelin. Here’s our December castaway, a frequent were read and approved and it was noted that the Jumble Sale and regular visitor to Cassington, though not a resident. made a profit of £282. Well, I don’t think I would be able to sneak in Mike A very interesting talk this month was given by Gillian Oldfield’s Tubular Bells or Jeff Wayne’s musical Franklin, who told us about apples. Gillian had been an apple version of War of the Worlds as single tracks – grower for almost 40 years near Mapledurham, until she and so here go my eight picks: her husband retired to live in Henley. 1. Are ‘Friends’ Electric – Tubeway Army. The Originally, she told us, England only grew crab apples, but song that started my record-buying obsession. when the Romans came they brought vegetables and fruit Still brilliant today and an influence for many to this country, including the apple, to keep their armies fit. bands over the past 30+ years. Too long for most We now know that apples contain vitamins C and B, calcium radio stations to play but it still got to number one at and iron and if you eat an apple 1/4 hour before a meal your a time you had to be good to even get in the Top 75.