ISSUE 63 DECEMBER 2017

News and views from our wonderful village of Tiffield in Northamptonshire

Yes, it’s a very Merry Christmas and hopes for a prosperous New Year to all our readers in Tiffield and Caldecote! Here is the Christmas edition of your favourite reading matter, containing a wealth of information about recent events in the village and what is planned for 2018. Many, many thanks to all those who have contributed to this TT, and particular thanks to those who keep all our various clubs and societies going! They do need new blood to maintain their impetus, so don’t feel afraid in coming forward!

Phil & Mary Leggett

Well-known resident leaves village

Residents may have noticed that since October Skittle is no longer taking Eric Welch for a walk round the village. We have seen Skittle grow up from a ‘too cute for words’ pup to ‘debonair dog about village’. Skittle has now left the village to pursue his dream of being a Guide Dog for the Blind.

1

News from the oche......

It’s still a struggle I’m afraid for both our teams in the Gayton & District Skittles League. At the time of writing the A team have been boosted by three recent back to back wins, giving them 10 points from 14 games, but the B team languish near the bottom of the table

(below) with just two wins to their name.  But, hey ho, it’s only a game, and most

Thursdays provide an enjoyable tussle against Your editor as depicted by Chris popular opposition! Reed on his ipad

P W D L Pts 1 Eykyn Arms A, Gayton 14 14 0 0 28 2 Compass, Milton Malsor 13 13 0 0 26 3 Wooden Walls, Collingtree 14 12 0 2 24 4 Towcester SSC 14 11 0 3 22 5 The Bull, Harpole 14 9 1 4 19 6 Towcester Mill 14 9 0 5 18 7 Sun Inn B, Nether Heyford 13 8 0 5 16 7 Bakers Arms, Bugbrooke 13 8 0 5 16 9 Drunken Duck, Kislingbury 14 7 1 6 15 10 Sun Inn A, Nether Heyford 14 7 0 7 14 1 1 Royal India, Fosters Booth 14 6 0 8 12 12 Eastcote Arms 14 5 1 8 11 1 3 George A, Tiffield 14 5 0 9 10 14 Old Red Lion B, Litchborough 14 3 1 10 7 1 5 George B, Tiffield 14 2 0 12 4 15 Old Red Lion A, Litchborough 13 2 0 11 4 1 7 Eykyn Arms B, Gayton 14 1 0 13 2 18 The Boat, Stoke Bruerne 14 0 0 14 0

2

St John the Baptist Church Let There Be Light!

The Church is going to be floodlit for the Christmas Season. Come along and have a look.

Here is a reminder of the regular monthly pattern of services in Tiffield:

st  1 Sunday – 11.00am Holy Communion nd  2 Sunday – 9.30am Family Worship  3rd Sunday – 9.30am Morning Worship  4th Sunday – no service

Services at the three other local churches in our benefice can be found on the noticeboard outside the church door.

We have been in vacancy since June when our previous Rector left for a role closer to her family. I am pleased to say that we have successfully recruited a new minister, the Reverend Canon Káren Jongman, currently minister for a group of four churches north-east of Northampton. We are delighted to have attracted a minister with Káren’s capability and experience. She is working through her notice period and will be licensed to our benefice at a service on Tuesday 6 March. Details will follow.

We have just begun the season of Advent, which is the beginning of the church’s year. The season of Advent is all about looking forward and being prepared - we look forward to remembering Christ’s first coming as a baby at Christmas, and to his promised second coming in the future.

At the Sunday services leading up to Christmas Day we light a special candle each week in our Advent wreath to remember in turn Christ’s ancestors (the patriarchs), the prophets, St. John the Baptist, Christ’s mother Mary, and a final fifth candle at Christmas itself to celebrate Christ’s birth.

We had the Live Nativity (with real beasts!) on 11 December with a procession to the church starting at Bridge House – a different start point because of ongoing building work at the school. continued......

3

...... continued

Services in St John’s Tiffield for the Christmas period include:

 Carol Service on 17 December at 3.30pm, with refreshments afterwards  Christmas Morning Family Service at 11.00am, followed by mince pies and mulled wine  Amelcote Benefice communion service at 9.30am on 31 December

Everyone is welcome to come to any of our services at this special season or any other, so please come and join us.

Phil Titheridge, Churchwarden

The George Autumn Quiz

Many thanks to all the twelve teams that turned up for an entertaining evening back in October. The quiz was won by serial champions Jake Roberts,

Martin Steele, Jane Proctor and Mike Davies, with The Brighton Beach Bums (the Burbidge family) coming runners-up. The champs generously donated their winnings to the Pocket Park fund. The Interval Quiz was won by Marc Leggett, Lou and John Burrows and John Beasley. Look out for the next one in the Spring! Make a note – Saturday 17 March

There have been calls to There is no problem with hold additional quiz that – all we need is evenings (aside from the volunteers to organise

Spring/Autumn events). them! See Jane or Russ!

A plea to our dog owners.....

There have been a number of recent instances of dog’s mess on public

and private land throughout the village. Please please can you ensure that you clean up after your pets!

4

Tiffield Village BBQ

Saturday June 30 2018 at 6.00pm on the Village Green

Hi all,

Next year 2018 is the opportunity to have a village BBQ on the Green opposite the Primary School. It is open to all in the village, so just turn up, bring your own food and use the BBQs provided. If you wish to bring a gazebo to erect before the event then please bring one down on the Saturday morning.

Now a plea for anyone with a musical bent, be it singing, playing, dancing etc., would you please make yourself known so that a programme of village entertainment can be arranged on the stage that will be erected on the green for you.

As you can see that we have had royalty come to one of our previous events. Brilliant!

Mr H 01327 353172

5

Tiffield Gardening Society

We will be holding our AGM, with Wine and Cheese, in the Church Room at 8.00pm on January 8. Do come along and help us plan our programme for the coming year. For further details contact [email protected]

THE GEORGE

XMAS OPENING TIMES

Sunday 24 December – 12.00 to 00.00 Monday 25 December – 12.00 to 14.00 Tuesday 26 December – 12.00 to 21.30 Wednesday 27 December – 12.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00 Thursday 28 December – 12.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00 Friday 29 December – 12.00 to 15.00 and 18.00 to 23.00 Saturday 30 December – 12.00 to 23.00 Sunday 31 December – NEW YEAR’S EVE – 12.00 to 00.30 Monday 1 January – 12.00 to 22.30 then back to normal

Neil and Jane of High Street South

Winners of The George’s Halloween Costume Party!

6

MET SOMEONE FAMOUS? THE VILLAGE WEBSITE

Evie Burbidge recently bumped It is fair to say that the current village website has not been successful! The web provider that we employed had into Chris Eubank, former World good references from two other local Parish Councils. Middleweight Boxing Champion, However, in recent months the service received has at a fitness exhibition at the NEC declined, culminating in the site not being visible for several weeks. in Birmingham The Parish Council is now in the process of developing a new website, which it is hoped will be live before Christmas. The new site will be far superior to the previous

one, and will contain full details of all the organisations and events in the village. Those who organise village

activities will have the opportunity to provide input to their own pages, and there will be an interactive calendar. There will be links to the websites of local services,

facilities and businesses. Please contact me to be sure that your organisation or business details are included. Simon Loake, Clerk to Tiffield Parish Council

7

TIFFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL

We have had an incredibly busy first term at the school. We welcomed six children into our Reception Class in September and they have settled into school life amazingly well. Also in September some of the Year 5 and 6 children went on a Federation Residential to the Isle of Wight and from the stories they came back with it sounds like they had a brilliant time. For some of them it was the first time they had stayed away from family and we were very proud of the way they got on with things. Well done!

Some of the other events we have taken part in so far this year include the McMillan Coffee morning (although we had a cake sale), and we joined Stoke

Bruerne School at their church for Harvest Festival and from donations generously brought in by the children we were able to take a large delivery of food over to Towcester Food Bank. The children had a harvest of their own and the older children made parsnip soup with the parsnips and onions that they had grown themselves.

Before the October half term break the children in KS2 visited Towcester Museum as part of their Romans topic. They were able to dress up in Roman costume and learned lots of new facts about Boudicca and her importance to the local area. continued...... 8

...... continued KS1 had a lovely trip in the sunshine to Stoke Bruerne woods and the KS2 children found a letter and map leading them to treasure in the stream!

As I type the children are starting to gear up for Christmas. They have been busy designing Christmas cards and we will shortly begin rehearsals for the Tiffield Live Nativity. Before we break up for Christmas on 20 December the children will be visiting the Derngate Theatre to see Aladdin, having their Christmas Dinner on 13 December and a Christmas party on 18 December.

From the children and staff at Tiffield Primary School we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

TIFFIELD ART CLUB

Thank you to all those who supported the exhibition that we held in The George over the weekend of 12/13 November. A variety of work was on display showing the versatility and different styles of our members. We were very pleased to receive lots of visitors, many of whom made some very kind comments about the quality of the work and the talent shown, and quite a few paintings were purchased.

New members are always welcome whether experienced or complete beginners. So, if you fancy having a dabble, please feel free to pop along to The George any Wednesday afternoon, between 2 and 4. You don't need to have any equipment to start with, as we have spare materials for people to try out.

If you are interested and would like to discuss any aspect, please give me a call.

Gloria Wells 01327 351138

9

COMMUNITY DEFIBRILLATOR

The community defibrillator is currently at my house, but is soon to be sited in the telephone box next to the Reading Room. A further training session is to be held at The George on Monday 15 January at 7.30pm. Please let me know if you would like to attend and be added to the list below.

All of these residents have been trained in the use of the defibrillator, and in administering CPR

Name Address Tel Mobile

David Wells 24 High St N 01327 351138 07423 199714 Geoff Wilkins 29 High St S 01327 351773 07732 971046

Gloria Wells 24 High St N 01327 351138 Kevin Corcoran 12 Meadow Rise 07860 943334 Luisa Barrios 12 High St S 01327 358935 Mary Leggett 4 Meadow Rise 01327 351308 07729 122743 Miriam Wilkins 39 High St S 01327 351773 07729 403516 Paula Chaplin 1 Meadow Rise 01327 352002 07736 383802 Peter Thomas 5 High St S 01327 323181 Phyllis Power 31 High St N 01327 352667 07925 146617 Simon Loake 1 Meadow Rise 01327 352002 07970 925946 Sue Thomas 5 High St S 01327 323181 07543 032873 Zoe Burbidge Meadowbank, Meadow Rise 01327 359333 07702 831884

You might find it useful to cut/copy this page and keep it somewhere handy just in case you need to contact one of the above!

You should call a responder BEFORE you call an ambulance, as the sooner a heart can be restarted the greater the chance of recovery. You should still dial 999 for an ambulance as soon as possible.

If the defribrillator is used please notify me so that it can be refreshed and recharged for future use.

Simon Loake

10

MET SOMEONE FAMOUS?

Yes, it’s that Burbidge family again, trying to outdo serial stalker Fay Tennet in

meeting the famous. Here’s Mark with boxer Anthony Joshua at Soccer AM on

Sky Sports

Carols in the Village- time to revive a festive tradition?

It has been suggested to me that we have some carol singing through the village this Christmas. Some people have already supported this idea and Mike Dean agrees and suggests that we start off (at 5.30pm?) from St John's Church, which will be FLOODLIT!!

Russell and Jane would also be happy to host the thirsty carollers with some refreshment at The George. It looks as though Saturday 23 December would be a good date for this. I know that we have lots of great singers in Tiffield (we also have me and Pedro!) and would

be very pleased to hear from anyone interested in joining in or helping in any way. If so, please contact me on [email protected] or 01327 351138.

We will let you know more details on the Village Facebook and posters etc -DEPENDING on the responses that we get.

Happy Christmas!! David Wells and friends

TIFFIELD COMINGS AND GOINGS

 Sam and Millie Bowditch have moved into Meadow Rise  Ryan Blake-Morris and Louise Norman have also moved into Meadow

Rise  Stephanie Leggett and Mitchell Evans finally tied the knot in November Sue Thomas  with regret we note that John Tustian, long-time resident of Caldecote

and staunch supporter of community events, passed away last month Please do let us know of any births, deaths, marriages, or folk moving in and out of the village!

11

HISTORY OF TIFFIELD SOCIETY

Our September meeting consisted of a home grown presentation all about the history of the village together with a display of old photographs. This proved to be one of our best attended meetings ever – it was so nice to see new faces and a genuine enthusiasm to learn more about Tiffield. We hope to follow this up in the future as we gather more fascinating facts about the village. As ever, a plea for any information, however trivial it may be, and any old photos of course!

October saw something completely different, 'History with a smile on it's face and an occasional shudder', presented by Tony Boullemier and based on his book 'The Little Book of Monarchs'. It took us at breakneck speed through all 42 rulers of England since 1066, covering all those Edwards, Henrys and Georges, their major battles, the rebellions they faced and the bizarre ways many of them died. Yes, a few shudders there!

November saw a presentation on the history of

Blisworth medical practice so another bit of local history for us to savour. Our recent meeting was on 12 December and this was our Christmas quiz. There were rounds on Tiffield, the local area, music, the 1970s, Christmas (of course) and even a round on the Thunderbolt. The emphasis was very much on fun and there were even prizes!

The New Year has plenty of delights in store. We are still putting the programme together but speakers will include some old favourites plus some new faces, so watch this space and look out for the posters around the village. continued......

12

...... continued

If you have never been along to HoTS why not give it a try! Non-members are always welcome and you will find that history does not have to be a dry subject, especially as our meetings are held at The George! (second Tuesday of the month at 8.00pm).

Sue Thomas and Helen Welch

If you would like more information or would like to get involved, please contact: Steve 01327350292 Sue 01327 323181 or Helen 01327 358628 or Email [email protected]

MONDAY 28 MAY 2018 : TIFFIELD OPEN GARDENS

We are now in our 16th year and each year we have an increasingly interested number of people coming from as far as Leicester and even Malvern to see the quality of the gardens. We have had heaps of praise - I can give you many quotes. Please if on the Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday you can just spend the time see that the grass is not greener elsewhere. All the money raised goes to help keep the church open for access in those sometimes difficult periods of your life. Refreshments are served on the day and a minibus is provided for those who find walking from one end of the village to the other difficult. We also need some new gardens to open so if you want a deadline when to get your garden looking at its best then please contact me, H on 353172.

13

The Oldest Building

Last time I hinted that the

church had undergone changes in its history. To appreciate how it has altered, we need to see the plan as it

today.

As far as can be ascertained from records, the church was constructed in the twelfth century. It would have had the tower, the nave, the chancel and a North aisle. We don’t know where the entrance would have been. It could have been through an opening in the North aisle, now bricked up, or more probably through a doorway in the south wall of the nave.

In the mid-1800s, the church was radically altered and extended. In approximately 1856, St. John’s Reformatory was built near the A43. This was to house young offenders, as an alternative to prison. Part of the remit of the institution was to provide some religious education and an opportunity for Christian worship. Rather than construct a new facility on the site, it was decided to inject new funding into St.John the Baptist church in the village. When we moved into the village in 1973, we would still see a column of smartly dressed young men march down to the church on Sundays.

The church, in the form in which it had existed for centuries, was not of a suitable size for the larger congregations that would be using it, so the South aisle was built. The porch may have been a reconstruction of an existing one, or a new addition.

continued...... 14

...... continued

The construction of the South Aisle is an almost identical copy of the North. If you look carefully there are subtle differences, such as the profile of the columns and the springing of the arches, but

they are barely noticeable.

A few years later, in the early 1870’s, there was a ‘reordering’ of the church. This may have been as a result of the new usage the church was having. The chancel was extended and widened and the arched opening to the nave was enlarged. The minstrels’ gallery at the tower end was removed as was the rood screen at the entrance to the chancel. There was work to the windows and the large stained glass window at the East end was installed. The old box pews were replaced by the Victorian pews still in use today. The work to the chancel and the East window were paid for by the incumbent at the time, the Rev Harcourt Delafons, a very generous gift and a lasting memorial to him.

This is how the church as it is today came about. Still in use for Sunday services, weddings, baptisms,

funerals, carol services etc., we are incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful building in the centre of our village. We need to care for it, look after it and

use it!

Mike Dean

15

Tiffield Parish Council John Beasley, Chairman

The annual bonfire and fireworks display was extremely successful and very well attended including many from outside the village. Word is getting around that it is great value for money, helping us make a profit which will pay for next year’s display. The caterers provided high quality hot food, and the WI stall was a great success – particularly the mulled wine and cider! Look out for details of next year’s display on the Tiffield and other local village Facebook pages and the new village website when it is up and running (keep Saturday 3 November free as this is likely to be the date for the display next year). Other brief updates include:

 The Parish Council has put in a new playhouse on the mound in Claydon’s Field  New goal posts and nets have arrived and are waiting for volunteers to install them  The new hall at the front of the Primary School is going ahead and we are still hoping that it will be available for some community use  We are still awaiting other sites for the vehicle activated speed sign to be fitted out by the NCC employee responsible for this  The community defibrillator is presently stored at the Clerk’s house at 1 Meadow Rise as we are still waiting for BT to sell us the old phone box by the Reading Room. Several parishioners have been trained in its use (see page 10 for the list).

 The new LED streetlights are finally going in, after many delays caused by the contractor. Apologies to those of you who have had to wait so long for these to replace old lamps which were faulty  The Parish Council has agreed to fund essential repairs to the clock mechanism at St John’s Church. Despite our many commitments we once again decided not to increase the precept this year. The Parish Council has

built a sufficient reserve to pay for the new streetlights and our other commitments such as the upkeep of Claydon’s Field, the play equipment, funding the Thunderbolt, grass

cutting in the village, street lighting, insurance etc. We are prepared, as always, to consider supporting other causes and organisations if asked. Come along to one of our meetings. They are held in the Reading Room on the second Monday of every month except December and August.

Your Parish Councillors are John Beasley (Chairman), Paula Chaplin, Mark Godwin, Steve Jowers, Sarah Pady, Phyllis Power, Andrew Tennet and Eric Welch. The Clerk is Simon Loake. You can contact him on 352002 or at [email protected] 16 John Beasley. Chairman, Tiffield Parish Council.

TIFFIELD POCKET PARK

As I write, the Pocket Park is full of autumn colour. The Fieldfares have arrived for the winter and the other day there was a large amount of beautiful long tailed tits noisily flitting about around the playing field entrance to the park.

There are two trees that have fallen across the path which need to be removed. If anyone has a chainsaw and would like to volunteer, please let me know.

On the fundraising front, I would like to say a big thank you to Russ and Jane Proctor at The George, who continue to keep a collection tin on the bar to which their generous customers give their small change. Jane recently handed over more than £400, which will really help with our maintenance costs for the next 12 months. Also thanks go to Kevin Corcoran who collected £50.40 at the fireworks display.

Paula Chaplin, Park Warden, 07736 383802

GREAT OAKLEY BREWERY

Welland Valley Mild wins Silver at SIBA

Midlands Beer Competition 2017

Great Oakley Brewery was delighted to win yet another award for their

Welland Valley Mild when it won Silver in Standard Mild and Brown Ales category at the SIBA Midlands

Beer Competition held at Nottingham Rugby Club on 2 November.

This beer has now won 8 awards since it was first brewed in 2006.

17

TIFFIELD WI - our newest village group goes from strength to strength

We have had our own WI in Tiffield now for nearly two years and it has been lots of fun and opened so many opportunities to those who have joined up. We meet once a month in the upper room at The George and we find that members really enjoy getting involved with ‘hands on’ sessions such as painting, cooking, crafting, etc. We recently had a ‘Stir Up Tuesday’ with Jenny Dicks from Baytree Cottage taking us through making a Christmas pudding which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Some of us have visited Denman College, the WI training centre near Abingdon, and had a tour of the wonderful facilities and beautiful grounds. Those of us who have gone back to attend courses have enjoyed craft and cookery courses, as well as the fabulous food and hospitality on residentials. Highly recommended for members or non-members.

As well as our monthly meetings, the WI has provided refreshments at the Tiffield Fete and Fireworks events, thanks to the catering skills of Wendy and Peter Grace, plus volunteers. In addition, the WI craft group produced an amazing array of wonderful Christmas decorations and gifts to be sold at the Northampton WI craft fair, not forgetting the Braskets event in the summer. Our events this year have made total profit of more than £300 to help us support our meetings over the next year and contribute to local charities.

At our October AGM, Kami Nuttall stepped down as President, after doing a sterling job done since our inception in 2015. Jackie Beere also resigned from the committee after 2 years of service. Wendy Grace was voted in to the role of President, Michelle Charles and Phyllis Power have since taken on the roles of joint Secretary as Louise James has had to step down. We would like to thank Kami, Jackie and Louise for all their hard work in setting up Tiffield WI. In addition, a very special thanks to Paula Chaplin who worked so hard to create this group from the very beginning and continues to be a great support and inspiration.

The committee, with the help of Sarah Meade, is hard at work setting up next year’s calendar with a view to having more social, interactive members’ meetings and encouraging more local people to give us talks. We have a lot of interesting people in this village! So - if you have ever wondered what goes on at our meetings, come along and join us as a guest. You never know, you might enjoy it! We have a varied age group, so we are not all old biddies! In a world where women still have to fight for equal pay and respect, the WI is a haven of sanity and genuinely promotes welfare and learning for women across the world.

continued…………. 18

...... continued

Our meetings are held at 7.30pm for 7.45pm start on the third Tuesday of each month in the top room of The George. Look out for the posters on the notice board and on the village Facebook page. If you are interested in joining, or would just like an introductory chat, give us a call or Email.

Contacts:Michelle Charles at [email protected], Wendy Grace at [email protected] or call Paula on 07736 383802

For those of you that attended, the village firework display on 4 November is probably a fading memory. However, this long standing event requires a fair degree of planning and earlier this year it became apparent that those who had been responsible for the firework display in recent years wanted to hand the baton on to new volunteers. It was for this reason that early on a Sunday morning in October I found myself driving Peter Thomas and John Beasley to Hilton Cricket Club just outside Derby so that the three of us could undertake the training offered by the company that supplies the fireworks for the village display.

We arrived in plenty of time and mixed with a group of other attendees who represented a wide range of associations and clubs from around the area. The training kicked off around 10.00am and was delivered by the owner of the firework company. Most of the delivery was supported by a very informative PowerPoint presentation and covered a whole host of subjects including the different categories of fireworks, the legislation which dictates and controls the size of fireworks and their import (as you might suspect, most come from China).

A large part of the presentation focused on safety, both of the crowd watching the display and of those responsible for the setting up and lighting of the fireworks. Did you know that the firework responsible for the largest number of injuries is the humble 'Sparkler'?

As a group we agreed to forgo a tea break and ploughed on with the training, which lasted around three hours. At the end, all attendees were presented with a certificate to show that we had undertaken this brief but informative course.

Once the other attendees had left we went with our instructor to the company warehouse which due to the amount of gunpowder that is stored on site was very secure! Lots of big fences and radio controlled gates etc. Inside we were offered some last minute deals on a number of significant fireworks and having made our purchases loaded up the car and made our way back to Tiffield.

On the day of the display, Peter and I were on the field around midday and with some advice and guidance from those who have done this before, set about laying out the fireworks we had - just over 110 in total! 19 continued......

...... continued

Soon enough it was time for the display and with the bonfire blazing in the background, Peter and I set about letting off the fireworks in a pre-agreed sequence. It was harder work than we anticipated but we soon got the hang of it and hope that you enjoyed our efforts. We both agreed that we learnt a lot about the setting and letting off of the fireworks and will apply our learning to next year, hopefully making it an even better display.

At the end of the evening, there was just one minor injury. A small burn to my thumb from holding the lighting taper the wrong way round. I won’t make that mistake again!

Andy Tennet

The Thunderbolt

Each edition will see us interview a local resident, asking some deep and soul-searching questions. This time it is ...... Sylvia Dean

1. How long have you lived in Tiffield? 44 years

2. Age? 72 Married to? Mike 3. Any children? Emma (39) and Jo (37) 4. Where did you work? Sponne School until 2010 as a Classroom Assistant in Special Needs 5. Where did you grow up and where were you before you moved to the village? Barnet, but British Columbia in Canada before I moved to Tiffield 6. Favourite holiday destination? Tavira, in the

Algarve, Portugal 7. Football or rugby team? The Saints 8. Favourite meal and tipple? Roast rib of steak with all the trimmings, and a glass of wine

9. What village activities do you participate in? The Church, HoTS and the Wine Appreciation Society

10. Favourite tune? Saint-Saëns, Symphony No.3, the ‘Organ Symphony’ 20

Some news and updates on our local community programmes and personal development programmes from our PSHE lead, Katie Newberry;

Dear All,

It’s been another busy year again at the Gateway in PSHE (personal, social, health, education) and Community lessons with some great achievements. In July we entered the County Schools Challenge which is run by Northamptonshire

Police and the Arson Task Force. The County Schools Challenge aims to encourage pupils to think about the causes and consequences of people’s actions and identify solutions. Our pupils gained valuable skills such as delivering presentations, working in teams, finance planning and undertaking research. The theme this year was NPS (New Psychoactive Substances). Our pupils did brilliantly and were one point off the final with their idea of a board game to make young people stop and think about the consequences of their actions. This was a fantastic achievement as we were the smallest school that entered and we were up against the biggest schools in the county. In fact, the panel were so impressed with our pupils they were awarded a special achievement award from the Chief

Constable and were invited up to police headquarters to be presented with the award. Special thanks need to be given to our PCSO Stephanie Bacon who spent time supporting us. This year the theme is Road Safety and we will be entering a team to get into the final again.

Also, in our Community enrichment group, we have completed the Bronze Eco Schools Award and are almost ready to achieve our Silver Award. In order to complete this award we have been looking at Biodiversity in relation to all the wildlife on our site and how we can encourage more to thrive. To do this we have been looking at building bat boxes, more bird boxes, insect hotels, hedgehog houses etc.

Another positive was our radio project with Mark Dean from Inspiration radio and BBC Radio Northampton (some of you know Mark from the treasure quest programme on BBC Radio Northampton on a Saturday morning!). This was a 12 week programme which, along with improving self-esteem, taught our pupils how

continued...... 21

...... continued to use the radio equipment and produce a radio programme. This was a huge success and we hope to repeat it in the summer term.

Once again if you have any community projects that we could help you with, to improve our local area, please get in touch.

Finally, from all of us at The Gateway School have a very happy Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.

Best Regards,

Katie Newberry

Chefs Challenge

6.30pm. Saturday July 14 2018

Now c’mon all you budding chefs, this is a chance for you to shine. We have 40 guests out of which 5 men doth cook a main course and serve it to 8 people in total (which includes his partner). It is judged by someone from outside of Tiffield and the winner does win the much coveted Wooden Spoon.

Last year we had an ex British Lion, England and The Saints rugby player to judge. The winner was Peter Grace, a worthy champ! He does enjoy his food and was in his element.

This year we have the daughter of a Malawian Village Chief to judge (perhaps she could be called a princess!) (see photo!)

Now, since the late 1990’s every Street/Hill has won the top prize but no-one from Meadow Rise has won! Perhaps because there is no–one from Meadow Rise who has ever entered!! So gird up you your loins and put your best tastes forward!

Interested?? Then please ring H on22 353172

Gayton and Tiffield Community Minibus

Well no doubt you have all heard that Northants County Council is planning to drastically cut bus subsidies from next year as part of its widespread expenditure reduction programme.

We are included in its current consultation process and our grant is currently scheduled to be unaffected by the cuts next year, although the 86 service (Towcester via Stoke Bruerne to Northampton), the 87 service (Towcester via Hanger Lane to Northampton) and the County Connect demand responsive services are currently scheduled for cuts. I will keep everyone updated on the developments as the consultation process progresses.

We held our AGM on the 23 October at Gayton Village Hall which was very well attended this year. Our existing Trustees Geoff Wilkins, Steve Jowers, and Chris and Rae Spencer with the addition of Cate Gardner were all nominated and elected for next year. Cate Gardner was also elected as Treasurer from 1 June this year and her previous high-level skills and experience in similar roles have enabled her to provide a great service. Rae Spencer, Cate Gardner and Chris Spencer were duly nominated and elected as Chairman,

Treasurer and Secretary respectively for next year. There were two major items of discussion at the AGM, the potential replacement cost of the minibus which is now 8 years old and has completed almost 60,000 miles and the viability of including Weston Favell Shopping Centre into our Tuesday timetable. I am currently looking in detail at these possibilities and will report back as soon as possible.

We have an excellent group of 11 committed volunteer drivers and accumulated reserves of circa £40,000 thanks to a record year for private hire usage by local schools and community groups. But we still desperately need to keep our passenger numbers up as we have lost several regular users in the past two years. With all forms of NCC transport subsidies scheduled for savage cuts, our Tuesday and Friday passenger numbers will be key to continued NCC grant support. So please do utilise our service because we have many residents who depend upon it.

Rae Spencer

(Chairman)

23

GAYTON AND TIFFIELD COMMUNITY MINIBUS

AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE YOUR BUS PASS!

GAYTON & TIFFIELD COMMUNITY MINIBUS TIMETABLE

Out to Towcester Tuesday Friday Tiffield High Street N (opp Meadow Rise) 09.35 09.35 High Street S (opp Pigeon Hill) 09.40 09.40

Towcester Tesco/Aldi (by request) 09.45 09.45 Market Square 09.50 09.50 Waitrose (drop-off bay) 09.55 09.55

Return from Towcester Towcester Waitrose (drop-off bay) 10.45 11.40 High Street 10.50 11.45 Tesco/Aldi (by request) 10.55 11.50 Tiffield High Street S (opp Pigeon Hill) 11.00 11.55 High Street N (Meadow Rise) 11.05 12.00

Out to Northampton Tiffield High Street S (opp Pigeon Hill) 11.00 10.00 High Street N (Meadow Rise) 11.05 10.05 Northampton Tesco Mereway (by request) 11.25 10.25 Morrisons (by request) 11.35 10.30 Drapery 11.40 10.35

Return from Northampton Northampton Drapery (Bus Stop 15) 14.30 12.30 Morrisons (by request) 14.40 12.40 Tesco Mereway (by request) 14.45 12.45 Tiffield High Street N & S 15.05 13.05

We very much welcome your contributions. The next edition of the Thunderbolt will be due out in mid- March 2018. Please send any contributions as soon as possible but in any event no later than 6 March to us at [email protected] , text to 07729 122743, call 01327 351308, or pop in to see us at 4 Meadow Rise. Note the dedicated Email address – please don’t use our personal ones! The editors reserve the right to hack around with your submissions as much as they want to!

Articles – photographs (particularly unusual views in the village) – cartoons – forthcoming events – puzzles – letters – jokes –births, marriages, deaths – village comings and goings - met anyone famous?

Printing by Parish Magazine Printing, Northmoor, Whitstone, nr Holsworthy, Somerset EX22 6TD Tel 01288 341617 24