Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Newsletter
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Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Newsletter “Be part of it” SMALL SQUARE also available at http://www.woottondrysandfordshippon.co.uk/newsletter ADVERT Published by the Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre February 2018 The Joint Neighbourhood Plan 4.4cm x 4.4cm The Questionnaire What’s in this month’s (19.36cm²) The Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire should arrive approx. on everyone’s doorsteps before the end of January issue? asking your views on your community; what we need to protect and what we need to improve. This will provide P2 Letters to the editor you with the opportunity to say what is important to you Message from the Editor within your area and for you to have a say regarding facilities in the area plus improvements you feel can be P3 St Helen’s Church Update SMALL HORIZONTAL introduced; it will shape the future of your community Neighbourhood Update from ADVERT PC Rich Osborne for the next 20 years or so. It will be vitally important 6.8cm width, 2.9cm depth that as many members of the community as possible P4 History Society Report (19.72cm²) approx. take the time to complete the questionnaire, as this will The Prehistory of the Upper provide the evidence to the Independent Inspector of Thames what the community wants. Watch out for details of a number of events introducing the questionnaire. Extra P5 Sandleigh Seniors copies of the questionnaire can be obtained or St Peter’s Church completed on-line on the website www.wshwnp.org.uk Wednesday Club or help completing the questionnaire can be obtained by contacting George Edmonds-Brown on 01865 P6&7: Community Centre Events 739419 or e-mailing [email protected]. P9: Friends of Shippon diary Cont’d on page 10 P10: Joint Neighbourhood Plan Cont’d P11: WADS Christmas Craft Fair News from Wootton Parish Council P20: What’s on in the village this month? Dear Editor I would like to thank our patrons for their generosity in 2017. As you can see from below, the money that was raised has gone to some very good local causes. WOOTTON COMMUNITY COFFEE Donations made in 2017 The following organisations received donations during 2017 totalling in excess of £1800.00 St. Peters Church to purchase a lawn mower Sobel House – (Judy Phipps) RNLI – (Tony Morris) Dry Sandford School St. Helens Church to purchase an Altar Carpet 24th Abingdon Scout Group Wootton & Dry Sandford Pre-School Wootton St. Peter’s C of E Primary School also received a donation to purchase a shed for their allotment from previous years funds. Thank you for your support Regards – Tony Fitzgibbon (Wootton Community Coffee Treasurer) Dear Editor I am writing on behalf of the county council, Oxford Health Foundation Trust, Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers to ask if you would support our campaign to recruit care workers across Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire currently has around 14,200 people working in adult social care. But the county's ageing population is growing at twice the average, so there is an urgent need for more caring, friendly and reliable care workers to support older, frail people in their own homes, in nursing and residential homes or in community hospital settings. See advert for more details. Many thanks in advance, Naomi Slade Marketing Officer Oxfordshire County Council [email protected] | 07584481222 Message from the Editor I hope everyone managed to have a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year and managed to stay warm and safe during the winter months. Although we are still very much in the midst of our British winter, it’s reassuring to already see evidence of budding new life in our landscape in readiness for the spring. Taking a little walk with my two dogs and granddaughter recently past the park behind the community centre, we noticed that a heavy mist had landed over the field making it look both menacing and romantic. My granddaughter piped up “look Nanna, the clouds have fallen from the sky.” So sweet! I managed to get quick snap shot but I’m not sure if it does it justice in black and white. 2 St Helen’s Church Update Interregnum Happy New Year everyone! At the start of 2018, we both reflect on the past as well as look forward with high expectations for the future at St. Helen’s Church. Although we reluctantly said our good-byes at the end of December to our well-loved Vicar of seven years, Tim Perry (and his family), we are grateful for the immeasurable difference they made to the life of the Parish. We are actively recruiting a replacement, and during this interregnum we have arranged for Sunday Services to continue each week. Please do join us each Sunday throughout February as we will explore a new sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount and how it applies to living the Christian life. Services in February Sunday 4th Feb (11:15 am) – Morning Service Sunday 11th Feb (11:15am),Morning Service led by the Rev. Stephen Coe Sunday 18th Feb (11:15am) - Family Service Sunday 25th Feb – (11:15am) Morning Service with Holy Communion led by the Rev. Dr. David Wenham We welcome you each Sunday morning for a worship service at 11.15am. Don’t forget updates can be found on our website: www.sthelensdrysandford.org. Marisa Goodenough Neighbourhood update from PCSO Rich Osborn Burglaries The Abingdon Outer Neighbourhood team along with the Investigation Hub have been carrying out high visibility patrols in the areas affected by the recent burglaries. Crime prevention advice has been given out and SmartWater kits have been sold. What is SmartWater? Smartwater is a brand of forensic marking fluid containing millions of microscopic particles that make up an individual property identification code. The liquid is invisible to the naked eye, but glows green under UV light. It can be painted onto valuable items (e.g. laptops, MP3 players, televisions, antiques) so that if the items are stolen and later seized by the police, the markings can be checked and items linked with their owners. For more information please visitwww.smartwater.com We have a small supply of SmartWater and if you would like to purchase some we can offer it at a discounted rate of £11. If you are interested in finding out more about it or would like a crime reduction survey done on your property then please contact me using the details below. Power tools seized A large number of power tools have been recovered from a warrant in the Wheatley area and Thames Valley Police are seeking to reunite the tools with their rightful owners. If you believe that one of the recovered tools belongs to you or your company then please feel free to attend Abingdon Police station to view the recovered items. (The viewing times were too soon for publication in this newsletter. £20,000 of stolen property was returned to their owners, but some power tools remain to be claimed. If you believe that your property may be amongst them, please contact Abingdon Police Station to arrange a viewing.) Please do your upmost to bring proof of purchase with you to the Police station. It is, however, understood that paperwork is not always kept so each case will be assessed on its own merits and the Police officers in attendance will be able to make a decision based on the information provided. What the neighbourhood team have been doing I have been working with Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue carrying out Safe and Well checks on vulnerable and elderly people. We look at smoke detectors to make sure they work (or fit them if they don’t have any). We also discuss a Fire Plan so they know what to do in case of a house fire and carry out a home security check. 3 History Society Report - 11th January 2018 The Prehistory of the Upper Thames This talk was given to the Society by Andrew Sargent. Mr Sargent began by telling us that the period he would cover spanned about 500,000 years. This was a time when Britain was attached to the European mainland, the climate was similar to the Mediterranean climate today and the fauna and flora were very different from the present. The Thames followed a very different course then, taking a channel to the north of the present one. The earliest remains of ancestors of modern man (hominids) in Britain were found in Boxgrove in Sussex, and have been dated to 500,000 years old. Similar (though later) finds were made in Swanscombe in Kent and Kent’s Cavern in Devon. Later evidence of hominids in Britain is rather slight for a long period, until the appearance of Neanderthal man some 60,000 years ago. Only a few Neanderthal remains have been found in the Thames Valley. The first humans appeared on the scene about 40,000 years ago, although, again, there is very little evidence of their presence in this area. Then about 16,000 years ago the climate worsened and the Neanderthals disappeared. From now on there is more evidence of human activity. Flint axes and tools have been found in many places, including Burford and Goring, and this shows that groups were passing along the Thames, probably in pursuit of game. Between 9,500 and 6,000 years ago, the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, objects with a ritual significance were produced, and around 6,000 BC, at the beginning of the Neolithic Age, the first pottery and stone tools have been found, for example on the confluence of the Ock and the Thames, and in Tubney woods.