1 BLEDINGTON FOXHOLES AND FOSCOT NEWS August 2020 No 438

The Clouds of Lockdown are Lifting and the Sun is Shining and Smiling as we come out of staying at home for weeks. Our thanks to all those who have helped so loyally and so willingly.

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY AUGUST 2020 Mondays and Fridays; Post Office, Oddington Vill. Hall (p 2) 10.30 to 12.00 Monday 3 Foxholes/Foscot Grey Waste Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Monday 3 Villager Bus Services re-start with reduced timetable (p 12) Tuesday 4 Bledington CDC Recycling Day (p 17) 7.00am Monday 10 Foxholes/Foscot Green Waste Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Saturday 15 Old Vicarage Garden Open Day (p 5) 2.00pm Monday 17 Foxholes/Foscot Grey Waste Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Tuesday 18 Bledington CDC Recycling Day (p 17) 7.00am Sunday 23 BLEDINGTON NEWS COPY DEADLINE (p 2) 12.00noon Monday 24 Foxholes/Foscot Green Waste Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am No short walk or long walk in August

Bledington News is uploaded monthly to www.bledington.com See Bledington News in full Colour Bledington.com is Bledington’s website carrying full details of every aspect of Bledington.

POST OFFICE AT ODDINGTON Angie Price Angie Price has made arrangements to open her Post Office in Oddington Village Hall at 10.30am to 12.00noon every Monday and Friday for the foreseeable future. Entrance is through the back door of Oddington Village Hall, adjacent to the hall car park by the children’s playground.

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FROM THE EDITORS Wendy and Sinclair Scott May we, on behalf of ourselves and ALL residents in Bledington, Foscot and Foxholes thank all the helpers who so willingly put their name forward and provided practical and neighbourly support to those who needed it in the last few months. So many people helped those in total lockdown by giving help for shopping, medicines, gardening, car trips etc., or just a phone call. We thank them all on your behalf, the community spirit shown to everyone in the last weeks has been wonderful to see. We have more comprehensively listed from Cotswold District Council’s website the list of items that should and should not be put into the various containers for waste collection. See page 17. We hope this is helpful. Villager Bus services start again on 3 August. Timetables will be available for all routes on the new Villager Bus website. Face masks are required if travelling on a Villager Bus. As they are short of drivers some services may have to be cancelled at short notice - details of services to and from Bledington and the new Villager Bus website are on page 14.

WE WELCOME NEWS CONTRIBUTIONS TO BLEDINGTON, FOXHOLES AND FOSCOT NEWS

Please send your news contributions for the September 2020 Issue at any time. Deadline for receipt is 12.00 Noon Sunday 23 August 2020. Please send news contributions for Bledington News to the editors, Wendy and Sinclair Scott, by paper copy to 4 Old Forge Close, Bledington, Chipping Norton, OX7 6XW or email us at [email protected] Tel: 01608 658624. Bledington News is published in full colour at www.bledington.com Please ensure you have a prompt acknowledgement of your contribution sent by email; this makes it certain we have received it. News contributions may be subject to editorial adjustment and regrettably, if received after the deadline time, cannot be included.

4 BLEDINGTON COMMUNITY SHOP AND CAFÉ—AUGUST UPDATE Jo Shaw, Bledington Shop Manager The shop continues to be really well supported by our customers, coming from near and far. Still the fruit and vegetables remain strong sellers with the strawberries being a firm favourite; they are now closely followed by the amazing cherries. They look so good, these are my new passion! Sadly, Asparagus is now over, but we have had several weeks selling huge amounts, and the quality this year has been fantastic. I have just had a lovely week’s holiday, and am very grateful to all the volunteers who worked so hard to keep the shop running so smoothly in my absence; I had a great break knowing the shop was being so well looked after. With the holiday cottages and B&B’s opening up and now welcoming guests into the area, we have started doing Welcome Hampers and would be very happy to offer this service to anyone interested. Please contact me on: [email protected] We have started to fire up the coffee machine, and although we are all feeling a little rusty in our Barista skills, we are enjoying getting back to serving coffee. It is still a small offering from the café, and although still a Take-out service, they can be consumed outside on the picnic tables, with the correct social distancing. I am sure you are aware, as of 24 July customers are required to wear a mask when in the Shop building, unless you have a legitimate reason not to do so. We have supplies of masks if customers do not have any and appreciate everyone’s assistance in upholding this new legislation. Please let me know ( [email protected] ) if you need confirmation of any exemptions. During these strange and uncertain times, we hope we can still offer everyone a safe and welcoming environment to do your shopping. Let’s hope the sun continues to shine through August, and we all look forward to welcoming you to the shop.

Community Shop Open Every Day 9.00am to 2.00pm

Tel: 01608 65 99 77

Email: [email protected]

Send your shopping list in advance for collection

If you are housebound we can deliver to you

5 COME OUT OF HIBERNATION MEET YOUR FRIENDS IN THE GARDEN OF THE OLD VICARAGE, BLEDINGTON ON SATURDAY 15th AUGUST 2020 from 2.00 until 6.00

in aid of ST LEONARD’S CHURCH, BLEDINGTON

GARDEN ENTRY £5.00 (Under 16s free) Teas and Cakes if the weather is good. Enter the Flower and Vegetable Competition Bring your best flower (1 to 3 stems), your best vegetable (1 to 3 examples) and best Pot Plant and win a prize if it is the Best in the Village. Under 16s bring something you made or a picture you drew during ‘Lockdown’ and show us. Prizes will be awarded.

Competition Entries between 11.00 and 12.00 in the morning.

Because of lockdown I now understand why our pet dog tries to run out of the house when the front door is opened.

Why was six scared of seven? Because seven ‘ate’ nine.

6 BLEDINGTON CARE COMMITTEE Bledington Care Committee is made up of volunteers living in the village. Our aim is to assist the elderly, the disabled and those in distress in the village. This includes: Transport to Hospitals, Doctors, Dentists etc – for the elderly, disabled, those unable to use or without transport. Please ring Hazel Furneaux on 658547. Care Line/Emergency Telephone - Sue Windsor 658525. Medical Equipment – e.g. Zimmer frames, wheel chairs, crutches etc, available on short term loan. Contact Sue Windsor 658525. Medical Prescriptions – most pharmacies now provide a delivery service for prescriptions for the elderly, but should this not be possible a member of the Care Committee will collect. Contact Sue Windsor 658525. Occasional catering for funeral refreshments in the village hall - Sue Windsor 658525. Further information about the Bledington Care Committee can be found in the Bledington Directory (pages 15-16).

BLEDINGTON CARE COMMITTEE A PLEA FOR VOLUNTEER DRIVERS Sue Windsor Tel: 658525 With life coming out of Lockdown I am expecting demands for transport to doctors and hospitals to increase, so we are urgently looking for people who would be prepared to be a volunteer driver. We particularly need those of you who are under 70. If you are able to help I would love to hear from you.

Can a kangaroo jump higher than Bledington Village Hall? It certainly can, the Hall is too old to jump.

What starts with E, ends in E and only one letter? Envelope.

7 BLEDINGTON VILLAGE HALL Jenny Beacham Many people are, understandably, wondering when the Village Hall will re -open. We are taking advice from Gloucestershire Rural Community Council who, in turn are sending directives out from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as well as ACRE – Action with Communities in Rural England. It is very much a decision of the Trustees/ Management Committee. The feelings of Bledington’s committee have not changed. Based on August being school holidays when no Toddlers, Brownies or Guides take place and other bookings in August have been cancelled, the Hall will remain closed. Indeed, Girlguiding has stated this week that groups of no more than 15 may meet outside only. This leaves regular events such as Rendezvous and Table Tennis. I have included below excerpts from the guidance for your information. The Committee is well prepared for re-opening having obtained supplies of hand sanitiser and printed the necessary signage so, rest assured, that as soon as we feel able, the Hall will be back to the ‘new normal’. There will, of course, be a full clean of the Hall before this happens. Risk assessments for Covid-19 are in process and you will be required to give name and addresses for Track and Trace. Be prepared also for distancing measures in the entrance where it is too narrow for social distancing! Excerpts from guidance Rules: Users should continue to socially distance from those they do not live with wherever possible. Users of community facilities should limit their social interactions to 2 households (including support bubbles) in any location; Premises or locations which are COVID-19 secure will be able to hold more than 30 people, subject to their own capacity limits, although any individual groups should not interact with anyone outside of the group they are attending the venue with – so in a group no larger than 2 households or 6 people if outdoors. People meeting in a club or group context at a community centre should be encouraged to socially distance from anyone they do not live with or who is not in their support bubble. In general, people are being advised to only meet indoors in groups of up to 2 households. Indoor Sports - it is now clear that yoga and Pilates are not allowable in community centres and village halls. This is the same for other exercise activities. Certain groups of people are at increased risk of severe disease from coronavirus (COVID-19), including all people aged 70 or over. Such individuals are advised to stay at home as much as possible and, if they do go out, to take particular care to minimise contact with others outside of their household.

8 BLEDINGTON SCHOOL ASSOCIATION ‘100 CLUB’ WINNERS FOR JULY

The following numbers win £5 each in July’s draw: 49 Mel Gorton 11 Matt Hammerstein 52 Emma Cox 62 Barry Way Congratulations to all the winners.

The big prize draw for April and July was done on 9 July 2020. Whoop! Whoop! to Plum Brackenbury and Jackie Gorton, both won £75.

Registered with: Cotswold District Council under Gambling Act 2005. Registration Number: 07/01271/GASSP Promoter: Annie Hammerstein, Harwood House, The Green, Bledington OX7 6XQ Tel: 01608 659819

BLEDINGTON MUSIC FESTIVAL Rodney Beacham The Trustees of the Bledington Music Festival are currently applying for a grant which is available for arts organisations which have suffered losses due to Covid-19. Costs for the 2020 Festival had already been incurred before lockdown and without the expected income from Chastleton Teas an input of funds would be very welcome in order to secure the 2021 season. Donations can always be made via the website – www.bledingtonmusicfestival.co.uk

MICHAEL WELLER Jayne Weller Jayne and family would like to thank friends and family for all the help and support that they have given us over the years, especially during Michael’s decline in health over the past few years and since his demise. He went peacefully early Friday morning 10 July at the JR following a massive stroke early on Monday evening 6 July. We would especially like to thank the South Western Ambulance team, and the amazing, caring staff, particularly on the stroke ward of the JR. We have been very privileged to live in a lovely, caring village. Michael’s funeral will take place at 12noon on 3 August 2020 at The Oak Chapel, Cheltenham Crematorium. Numbers are restricted so if you wish to attend please contact Jayne Weller on 658570. The service will be available to see via Live Weblink at www.obitus.com using Username: Tage7916 and Password: 317296. You can log in to the webcast from 11.55am.

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Bledington Play Areas Open PLAY SAFE This is the Government Advice Please sanitise/ Keep your wash hands before and after using distance Max 1 family No food or member per drink child NOTE Stick to the Covid advice The equipment is not sanitised by Safety is your the Parish Council responsibility Please use the bins provided Have Fun Bledington Parish Council

Bledington Parish Council has now re-opened the children’s play area and also the Village Green play area. The threat from the Covid-19 virus has not been totally eliminated and members of the public should stay alert and follow the Government issued guidelines summarised above and on notices around the play areas.

Please note that the Parish Council will not be sanitising any of the play equipment so it is important that users of the play area act responsibly and follow the guidelines for their own safety and the safety of others.

10 BLEDINGTON PARISH COUNCIL Heather Pearson, Acting Clerk to Bledington Parish Council Notes by the Editors from the Minutes of the meeting by conference video on 6 July 2020. Attending. Councillors Mr R Pearson (Chair), Mr N Jackson (Vice-Chair), Mr B Ball, Dr S Rawstorne, Mrs R Gaskell. Also Mrs H Pearson (Acting Clerk) and DC J Beale and CC N Moor. Matters Arising. Trees requiring attention in Chapel Lane. Mr R Pearson to speak to Mr W Pearson. Areas of brook to be treated with herbicide spray. Mr R Pearson has sent off the forms to the Environment Agency to seek approval to carry out this work. Confirmation is yet to be received. Low Cost Housing. Chloe Maliphant of GRCC and Rebecca Ashby of CDC were welcomed to the meeting. Chloe gave a brief resume of the results of the housing survey carried out in the village in March. The survey had a response rate of 37.3%. This is considered a good response at the higher end of a normal survey of this type. Briefly, the survey was divided into three sections, ‘You and Your Household’, ‘Home Working’, and ‘Housing Need’. The report concluded that four households require affordable rented housing, one household can afford affordable home ownership and five can afford market housing. Two households are recorded on Homeseeker Plus with a local connection to Bledington. The survey will be published in full on the Bledington website. If the parish council wished to take it further the next steps would be to hold a village meeting to gather people’s views. This will be discussed at the September meeting. Report from District Councillor Julian Beale. Changes at Cotswold District Council with the resignation of two long standing council officers. White paper expected on the possibility of Gloucestershire becoming a unitary authority. This is yet to be confirmed but seems a strong possibility. The possibility of the Cotswolds becoming a National Park is still being considered. No further information on correcting the Old Burford Road sign. Some inconsistency on waste collection in some of the villages. Report from County Councillor Nigel Moor. Meeting had been held with the Highway Officer and a walk around Bledington. The following repairs were considered necessary:- Footway in New Road to be repaired. Setts missing by the bridge. Granite setts to be installed along Chapel Lane for the first 60m. This will be done with further consultation with the parish council. Mrs R Gaskell to look at the options. Main street by the school needs some repair work. Old Forge Close – a weeping silver birch requires cutting back. Mr N Jackson will approach the owners. Firs Close – repairs required by the access along Church Lane. Tree in the cul-de-sac New Road is leaning.

Continued on page 11

11 Continued from page 10 Highways will consider this work. Informal shop sign to be removed. (Cllr Moore was advised of the new permanent sign currently being erected). On 5 August an experimental 7.5 tonne maximum gross weight restriction will be introduced on the A361 at Burford and on the bridge over the River Evenlode and the railway near Adlestrop on the A436. (The alternative route for the HGV’s being the A40/A429 into Gloucestershire). Gloucestershire County Council have agreed to monitor the HGV traffic flows resulting from these changes at Sheep Street, Stow-on-the-Wold and Stow Road, Bledington. This will be assessed against pre Covid data the council hold. Maugersbury parish council have requested feed back from Bledington Parish Council regarding the safety of the junction with Stow Road at Maugersbury. No major concerns were raised by councillors. The clerk will report back to Maugersbury parish council. Flood Group. The request for funding of £900 + VAT for the initial phase of work on flood relief work in the village was agreed. Risk Assessment. Dr S Rawstorne has considered the government guidance with respect to re opening the play areas in the village and carried out a risk assessment. It was agreed that the play areas could be opened following the posting of notices at both areas advising users of government guidance on use. Dr Rawstorne and Mr R Pearson will replace one of the children’s swings on the village green. Mr B Ball will post notices at the play areas and on the Bledington website. A member of the public made a request that the parish council publicise information on Facebook to enable people to see information quicker and easier. This was rejected by parish councillors, but consideration would be given to how information can be publicised in a timelier manner to residents. Cemetery Hedge. Revised quotes to grind the stumps will be discussed at the meeting in September. Correspondence. Heath Lane. An email regarding a bush that is leaning down Heath Lane had been received from the residents of ‘Brooklands’. It was agreed that it should be cut down. Mr R Pearson will organise this. Memorial Stone. A memorial stone in memory of Paul William Jefferies was approved. Gravel Pit Field. Thames Water have provided a quote of £2,112.00 for a new water connection. It was agreed that this quote be accepted. Fencing of the field to be done by the end of September ready for letting. It was agreed that the field should be advertised for let as soon as possible. This would be done via the website, email and a sign by the field. Mr R Pearson would provide details on the size of the field and the letting agreement. Next Meeting 8.00pm Monday 7 September: no August meeting.

12 MICHAEL WELLER Jayne Weller Michael was born in Maidenhead to Harry and Marie Weller, who later retired to Bledington in the 1960s. He went to Sir William Borlase Grammar School in Marlow where he excelled academically especially in geography, having persuaded the headmaster to introduce that subject at A Level. He read Physical Geography at UCL, followed by an MA where he mapped Bodmin Moor and then a PGCE at Hull. By this time he was married to Glenise and had a daughter Karen. His first teaching post was at Ashford County Grammar School, Middlesex, where he introduced cross country running and was delighted that the team won the county championship. During this time Michele was born. He was appointed lecturer in physical geography at Bulmershe College, Reading where he inspired a lot of future students, many of whom became senior teachers or went into lecturing . He was innovative, encouraged field trips to such places in South Wales and Dartmoor. Michael met Geoff Squire at a head of department interview. Geoff was appointed, only to meet Michael and Michael Storm on an interview at Bulmershe. Michael held no grudges and was pleased for Geoff to join the team. On one occasion Geoff and Michael took a group of students on a field trip. As far as the bursar was concerned they were heading to the South of England but somehow ended up in France. Never trust a geographer to read maps! Latterly, he accompanied students to the island of Stord, Norway with fellow lecturer Dr Les James, whom he had met at UCL and linked with their cross country team. He took on the leadership of the PGCE course and became an external examiner. He had planned to do a PHD but this was thwarted when he was asked to take over training of FE lecturers, which although reluctant to do so at the time, he thoroughly enjoyed visiting various colleges meeting keen students, learning how to dehorn cattle, laminate cabinets etc. He reviewed geography text books and being critical of some, he was put in contact by Cassells, with Dr Frances Slater from the London Institute and they wrote a series of very successful, modern textbooks for middle school years, which are still used today around the world. She and Michael remained friends. He wrote other textbooks for MacDonald too. Continued on page 13

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Continued from page 12 When the government Technical Vocational Initiative was introduced he persuaded the principal to second him to industry working with the HR department of 3M and Foster Wheeler, helping them to improve in-house training. This successfully resulted in getting companies to be involved in primary schools with students and the production of teaching resources. At Bulmershe he became a warden, enjoyed the social life and together with his wife Jayne, attended Hall dinners, one of which included the late Sir Robert Hardy. Sarah arrived in 1984 and the family were privileged to live on campus. When the College was taken over by the University of Reading, he continued to be in charge of the PGCE course and was elected, by his fellow lecturers, to become Secretary of the Academic Board and later Chair of the Teacher Education Board. He was involved with many schools with teaching practice and one deputy head that he worked with, Rachel Connor said ‘He was a great innovator of students many of whom went on to become heads’. We made many life long friends among the staff. During our time at Reading we bought our bungalow, mainly because of the size of the garden, which he transformed from ‘elephant grass’ to what it is today. It also meant that he could see his parents more often, so it was not surprising that we retired here. Like his parents, he became actively involved in village activities, from the flower shows, winning many cups over the years, the local history society where he wrote various articles for the Bledington News, also editor of The Book of Honour, his Farm Holdings and Cottages Books which were well admired and as Frances said ‘a meticulous account and a delight to read’. He became treasurer for the Bledington News working alongside the late Arthur Cox and then Rollo Bruce. He was persuaded to step in as Clerk to the Parish Council who instigated the purchase of the new cemetery plot which is already in use. Together with his wife and family, over the years they have made many friends in the village. He was delighted when people would pass by, stop and admire his garden. Many plants have found their way into other people’s gardens including that of our daughter Sarah. Many holidays whether in America or Europe were chosen for their landscapes. Michael was a very proud Dad, loving husband and grandfather to Sophie, Rachel, Robin, Sam, Luke and Emily. Both families will miss him deeply. He shall be fondly remembered by friends and family, for his achievements at work, in Bledington and within the family. Michael was born in 1936 and died on 10 July 2020.

14 VILLAGER BUS SERVICES Timetables and information - www.villagerbus.co.uk Villager bus routes will re-start on Monday 3 August. Routes below will be running subject to drivers being available. All passengers are by law required to wear face masks. The number of passengers on buses will be reduced if required to allow safe separation of passengers.

V2 Bledington Green 09.24: Bledington School 09.25 Wednesday arrive Chipp. Norton Co-Op 9.50; Medical Centre 9.53 only Leave Co-op 11.30, Hlth. Centre 11.32 arr. Bledington 12.00

V6 Bledington School 09.39: Bledington Green 09.40 Thursday arrive Stow Square 9.49: Stow Tesco 9.53 Leave only Stow Tesco 11.04: Stow Square 11.08, arr. Bledington 11.19

V9 Bledington School 13.55: arrive Chipping Norton 14.09 Friday Chipping Norton Co-op Car Park, 15.45 arr. Bledington 16.00. only Goes on to Westcote/Oddington - no return from Oddington

Bledington Green 09.18: arr. Chipping Norton West Street V19 09.51, Health Centre 09.53 (by request). Leave Health Monday and Centre 11.34, West Street 11.36 arr. Bledington 12.12 Tuesday (This service travels to Milton-u-Wychwood, Shipton-u- only Wychwood and Ascott-u-Wychwood)

V20 Bledington School 09.05 Arr. Witney 10.06. Leave Thursday Sainsbury’s 11.55; Market Sq. 12.00, arr. Bledington 13.02 only (This service travels to Kingham, Shipton-under-Wychwood)

V25 Bledington Green and School 08.56 arr. Witney 10.13am Wednesday dropping off at Hospital, Sainsbury’s and Buttercross. only Witney Buttercross 12.08pm, arrive Bledington 1.29pm (This service travels to Churchill, Shipton, Milton, Fulbrook, Burford, Bradwell, Filkins, Carterton, Minster Lovell)

15 WEATHER RECORDS Robert Pearson 20 JUNE TO 19 JULY 2020 2020 2019 Total rainfall 66mm 50mm Wettest Day 15.5mm on 27/6/20 34mm Highest day temperature 24C on 17/7/20 33°C Average maximum day temperature 21.5°C 23°C Lowest night temperature 7°C on 11/7/20 7°C Average lowest night temperature 12°C 12°C After the dry scorching hot summer of ‘lockdown’ (April and May) we have now settled into a typical British summer. At least it is reassuring that some things are returning to normality!. It is good to see the grass is green and growing once more.

AIR AMBULANCE Wendy Scott A big THANK YOU to those of you who have given me stamps this month in support of the Air Ambulance. Your support has never been more crucial, more needed, or more appreciated, than now. Please continue to collect your stamps. If you deliver them to me at 4 Old Forge Close and encourage others to do the same, I will pass them on. Thank you.

COMMUNITY WELLBEING SERVICE Louise Fletcher, Project Manager All requests for help should be addressed to 07738 016 384 or by email [email protected] The service offers practical and financial help and advice to those who may need any help to stay safe and independent at home for as long as they wish or as long as they can.

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COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATORS In a life threatening emergency, where a defibrillator MAY be required you MUST CALL 999. Bledington Community Defibrillators are located at: 1. Bledington Village Hall on an outside wall. 2. In the telephone box outside Bledington School. The Village Hall defibrillator is locked; 999 will give you IN AN EMERGENCY the key code. The defibrillator in the telephone box is not CALL 999 locked so does not require a key or key code. DO NOT CALL 111 If Ambulance Control think the use of a defibrillator is required they will ask you to take the nearest defibrillator to the patient. You will be given instructions on how to use the defibrillator. DO NOT DIAL 111 in a life threatening emergency. A defibrillator is used to shock the heart into re-starting if the heart has arrested or is not beating properly. Please report to Sinclair Scott 01608 658624 if you have deployed the defibrillator. Defibrillators are dangerous to use unless under instruction from a 999 call operative or qualified medical practitioner.

BLEDINGTON NEWS The Editors Bledington News is usually distributed free of charge to every household in Bledington, Foscot and Foxholes. We would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or contributions for news etc. for inclusion. [email protected] or call 01608 658624. Our printing costs are our only expense; they are around £2,000 annually. A huge thank you to those who have made donations towards the printing costs; if you wish to donate please contact our Treasurer, Michael Lear, Trinders, Main Street, Bledington Tel: 659371. Cheques should be made out to ‘Bledington News’.

17 WASTE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION DATES BLEDINGTON - COTSWOLD DISTRICT COUNCIL WEEKLY: EVERY TUESDAY: Small grey food waste caddy. Uneaten or out-of-date food, eggs, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, kitchen roll, paper tissues, small amounts of oil/fat, animal hair. NOT food packaging, animal faeces, pet litter/bedding/carcasses, cardboard, nappies. FORTNIGHTLY: TUESDAYS 4 AND 18 AUGUST: Large green wheeled garden waste bins (licence required). Grass cuttings, leaves, bark, tree prunings and branches up 2” across, tree stumps up to 4” across, rabbit and guinea pig bedding, flowers, plants, weeds, fruit windfalls, cold wood ash. Grey wheeled bins for land fill waste. Cat/pet litter/bedding, nappies, light bulbs, crisp packets, plastic bags/wrapping. NOT fluorescent tubes. Blue bag for cardboard. Cardboard must fit into bag. Remove packaging tape. NOT card with glitter. White bags for tins and cans. Rigid plastic, plastic bottles, clean foil, aerosols, tubs, tetra pak cartons. NOT crisp packets, plastic bags, clingfilm. Black boxes: 1. Glass bottles, jars. NOT broken glass, light bulbs. 2. Paper, catalogues, newspaper, magazines, plain wrapping paper. Also in Black boxes, wrap in separate carrier bags:- 1. Small electricals, household batteries, e-readers, fairy lights, toys. 2. Shoes, clothing, hats, gloves, belts, scarves, textiles, handbags.

FOSCOT AND FOXHOLES WEST OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL FORTNIGHTLY GREEN WEEK: MONDAYS 10 AND 24 AUGUST: Grey food waste bins. Blue lid bins for recycling. Green lid bins for garden waste. FORTNIGHTLY GREY WEEK: MONDAYS 3 AND 17 AUGUST: Grey food waste bins. Grey lid bins for landfill waste. RECYCLING CENTRES Fosse Cross, Cirencester waste centre (CDC) is open from 10.00am to 4.00pm (not Tuesdays) 18 miles from Bledington, signposted off A429 at Hare and Hounds, 6 miles north of Cirencester. All visits must be pre- booked on-line at https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/HRC_CarBooking Dix Pit, Standlake waste centre (WODC) is open from 8.00am to 4.00pm every day. 21 miles from Foscot signposted off the A415 south of Witney.

18 EVENLODE VALE CHURCHES ST LEONARD BLEDINGTON Mark Smallwood (Youth Minister) Dear Friends, It is a privilege to write this newsletter for the first time! And it has been so good to be able to meet up again in person for prayer meetings and services, as it says in Psalm 133:1 ‘How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!’ Our youth work has taken another exciting step forward: we have begun a series of socially distanced walks to raise money for Ibba Girls’ School South Sudan! Our first walk was Sunday 12 July, and we covered thirteen kilometres. We started in Stow and walked down to Lower Swell, then we joined the Roman Road known as ‘Ryknild Street’ (where we saw a snake!) to Condicote. From Condicote we walked to Donnington and thence back to Stow! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the light turning golden as we moved from afternoon to evening. Our next walk will be starting from Lower Slaughter and I think we’ll do a good loop to Naunton and back. A highlight of this walk will be following the River Windrush through a steep wooded valley and then into lazy meanders in flat meadows. Ibba Girls’ School provides a quality education for girls and young women in the youngest country in the world. This is an education which changes lives and society for the better. As Christians we believe that God has made us all, male and female, in his image, and therefore we all have a great potential which can be unlocked by education. If you would like to hear about how Ibba Girls’ School does this, please visit www.friendsofibba.org Finally, there has also been another change to our youth programme — we are now running a ‘Bible Breakfast’ over Zoom every Sunday morning. If you or a young person would like to come to this and to hear from the God who still speaks today, please be in touch with myself (07584 561378) or Lydia (07852 329193). And don’t forget that our online services are still happening twice a month! Best wishes in Christ.

19 CHURCH NEWS – AUGUST 2020 Farewell Service for Lydia on Sunday 2 August At the end of this month we say farewell to our Sports and Outreach Worker, Lydia Holloway who is moving on to continue her career in sports ministry. Lydia has accepted a Trainee Minister job with PSALMS, an organisation dedicated to ‘Putting Sport Alongside Local Ministries’. We say farewell to Lydia at our online streamed service from Holy Ascension, Oddington on Sunday 2 August at 10.30am. Lydia will be greatly missed and it is an opportunity to pray for her and thank her for her work with our young people here in the Benefice. Our Youth Minister, Mark Smallwood is staying on for another year to continue the work that Lydia and he have started. Church Services We are pleased to say that the resumption of services in our Parish Churches has gone well. Many thanks to all our church wardens who have worked hard to ensure that our churches are as safe as possible and who have completed the various risk assessments and modifications necessary to meet Government and Church of England guidelines. We will continue to stream online services on the 1st and 3rd Sundays in the month and have socially distanced attended services in our local parish churches on the 2nd and 4th Sundays in the month. Daily Readings We are continuing to provide our daily readings which have proved so popular. They are designed to be deliberately short and thought-provoking to help us through these challenging times. You can access them from the Spiritual Resources page of the Benefice website www.evenlodevalechurches.org/spiritual-resources or follow our Facebook page @evenlodevalechurches and receive them each day in your news feed. The readings can be read online or printed off to give to those who don't have internet access. Please do help your neighbours who find it hard to access online resources. DVD's of our Services We continue to produce DVD's of our streamed Sunday Services for those who can't access them online. These are available in advance so that those who wish to can join in with our Sunday worship. If you would like to take advantage of this please contact your church warden or Kirsten in the church office by email: [email protected] or telephone 01451 831424:

Evenlode Vale Churches Website: www.evenlodevalechurches.org

20 CHURCH SERVICES - AUGUST 2020

Sunday 2 August The Eighth Sunday after Trinity 10.30am Morning Prayer Online Service only recorded from Holy Ascension, Oddington

Sunday 9 August The Ninth Sunday after Trinity 9.30am Holy Communion (CW) St Mary, Adlestrop 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) St Mary, Icomb 11.00am Family Service followed by baptism St Mary, Westcote 6.00pm Evening Prayer (BCP) St Leonard, Bledington

Sunday 16 August The Tenth Sunday after Trinity 10.30am Morning Prayer Online Service only recorded from St Mary, Adlestrop

Sunday 23 August The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 9.30am Morning Prayer (BCP) St Mary, Adlestrop 9.30am Morning Prayer (BCP) St Mary, Icomb 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) St Nicholas, Oddington 11.00am Holy Communion (CW) St Leonard, Bledington 6.00pm Holy Communion (CW) St Mary, Westcote

Sunday 30 August. The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) St Leonard, Bledington 11.00am Joint Service Westcote Chapel

ST LEONARD CHURCH ROTAS FLOWERS AND BRASS TO MAIN CLEANING ALTAR AND SIDE ALTAR AUGUST 2020 Week Commencing: Monday Week Ending: Saturday 3rd Mrs Oldridge and Mrs Packe 1st Mrs Rosemary Power 10th Mrs Oldridge and Mrs Packe 8th Mrs Elaine Way 17th Mrs Cooper and Mrs Jenkin 15th Mrs Anita Ferrero 24th Mrs Cooper and Mrs Jenkin 22nd Mrs Angela Lear 31st Mrs Pearson and Mrs Algar 29th Mrs Sue MacConnal-Mason

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