Benefice Clergy

PARISH PUMP is published every month except January, and should be distributed to every household in the Shill Valley and Broadshire benefice. If you do not receive a copy, please contact Jane Brylewski. Advertising revenue does not cover all our costs, and we welcome donations (suggesting at least £5/year) which you can send through your Parish Pump Correspondent (see inside back cover), the person who delivers your Parish Pump, or directly to Ellie Maughan. If you have not already done so, please send your donation to cover 2009’s issues. Cheques should be made out to ‘Parish Pump’. We welcome articles, letters, diary items, or just good ideas for future articles [and criticism, whether good or bad! Ed]. Please submit through your local Parish Pump Correspondent, or directly to Ros Atkinson. Photographs are also welcome. Copy should be sent electronically by email to [email protected]. All copy for inclusion should reach the editorial office by the 10th of the month preceding publication. Advertising enquiries are welcomed, and should be directed to Lin Edgar. We are indebted to all the Parish Correspondents, and to all those in all the parishes who make possible the publication and distribution of Parish Pump every month.

EDITOR Ros Atkinson Cross Tree Cottage, Cross Tree Lane, Filkins, Nr Lechlade, Glos GL7 3JL Tel: 01367 860859 Email: [email protected]

TREASURER Ellie Maughan Home Farm, Kelmscott, Lechlade, Glos GL7 3HD Tel: 01367 252220 Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING Lin Edgar The Cotswold Wildlife Park, Bradwell Grove, Burford, Oxon OX18 4JW Work Tel (Tuesdays - Fridays, 10.00am - 5.00pm): 01993 823006 Home Tel: 01993 845544 Email: [email protected]

DISTRIBUTION Jane Brylewski The Willows, Signet, Burford, Oxon OX18 4JQ Tel: 01993 822479 Email: [email protected]

Any views expressed in Parish Pump are not necessarily those of the Parish Pump editorial team, nor of the benefice clergy

FROM THE EDITOR elcome to a new year at the Parish Pump. What an amazing start it’s been. As we launched into a brand new decade we slipped, slithered or W just stayed at home in the biggest big freeze for years. These days the biggest symptom of any untoward happening in the world or closer to home is panic buying. The minute a petrol crisis/strike/millennium/ change in the weather is announced then whoosh, all the milk and bread flies of the shelves of the supermarket, leaving the aisles emptier than the storeroom of the Marie Celeste. And in a sheep like moment, when I read in the papers that there was a mass buying of thermal underwear, I scurried off to Witney and panic bought a job lot of long johns. Much more useful than a pint of milk on a cold day. I remember my great grandfather used to swear by his long johns. I think they might have been the same ones he wore in the trenches in the First World War, but they must have been good because I don’t think he ever took them off. The only thing I was in need of was some kind of thermal nose warming device. Something you could clip onto your glasses or around your head like a pirate’s eye patch, I’m sure that would make all the difference. Although I think it’s due to warm up, so I hopefully won’t need the nose thingy. I think that’s a relief, it would look pretty silly. This month Old Pumpy, also known (amongst other things) as Richard Martin has revisited us with a short tale of a long walk, which sounds just about right after indulging in Angela’s Nutella Cake (certain death to New Year’s Resolutions!), and Don Seale has a list of Stable rules for unstable parents. And finally, what with it being the first issue of the year, a reminder that subscriptions are due in. These are highly welcome as they are a vital part of funding the magazine. Do send them in to the usual suspects who you will find on the inside cover. ...And have a Happy New Year! Ros

Selected Contents Parish and Benefice Services 4 Around the Villages 8 Regional News 27 Stable Rules 30 Richard’s Ramble 34

THE RECTOR’S LETTER Dear friends A French au pair girl who was working for an English family heard the children whom she was looking after, having a huge argument in the sitting room. So she burst into the room and intending to use the phrase ‘What on earth are you doing?’ she found herself saying ‘What are you doing on earth?’ - which is rather a good question. There are many answers that are often given to that question, and some are better than others. I find it easy to get caught up in the pressures of daily life, and to be endlessly running to keep up with myself, never stopping to check what is really the important priority. A friend of mine who was pulling on his coat to get off to work, passed his son's hamster which was racing on the wheel in its cage. ‘You're a silly creature’ he said to himself as he ran out to his car, ‘you spend your life just eating and sleeping and racing on your wheel’. That evening he came back exhausted, and saw the hamster still running as desperately as ever, and found himself saying ‘You and I have a lot in common!’ But of course a hamster doesn't have the capacity to work out what it is doing in this world. We do. This where our pace of life can so easily get in the way of serious reflection. And this is also where the words of the New Testament are so valuable. ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness’ said Jesus, ‘and all the other things will fit into place’. Seek out some space in our lives where we are able to get a wider perspective on this world. During meetings that ran late into the evening Abraham Lincoln led his colleagues outside and bid them contemplate the night sky for a few minutes. He would share with them his knowledge of the galaxies, reckoning that when they were put in touch with something beyond themselves, they would be better able to deal with the business in front of them. Professor Cottingham of Reading University, writes in his book ‘Why Believe’, ‘As we struggle through life, we seem compelled to acknowledge sooner or later that our human good, our flourishing and fulfilment, depends upon orienting ourselves towards values that we did not create. Love, compassion, mercy, truth, justice, courage, endurance, fidelity - all belong to a core of key values. We may try to go against them, to live our lives without reference to them, but such attempts are always, in the end, self-defeating, and productive of misery and frustration’. However, whenever we see such values embodied in a human life we know that they are what really matter. A person who refuses to lie, even when it is going to mean that they will lose out. A friend who is always generous in what they say about others and never descends to gossip or passing judgement. It is when we see some of these values lived out that I think we find some clues to answer that vital question ‘what is it that I should be doing on earth?’ Harry MacInnes

PARISH & BENEFICE SERVICES FEB 2010 1st Sunday 7th Feb Second Sunday before Lent 10.30am Little Faringdon Benefice PW/HM Communion 6.00pm Shilton Evensong HM 2nd Sunday 14th Feb next before Lent 9.00am Broadwell Holy Communion AM 9.00am Westwell/Holwell Holy Communion NUW 10.30am Filkins Parish Communion NUW 10.30am Shilton Family Communion EJ/PW Children’s Church 11.00am Alvescot Valentine’s DM Celebration 11.00am Little Faringdon Matins AM 6.00pm Black Bourton Evensong PW 6.00pm Kencot Evensong EJ 17th Feb Ash Wednesday 7.30pm Holwell Benefice NUW/PW Communion 3rd Sunday 21st Feb First Sunday of Lent 9.00am Black Bourton Holy Communion NUW 9.00am Holwell Holy Communion HM 10.30am Langford Parish Communion NUW 10.30am Kelmscott Family Communion HM/PW 6.00pm Filkins Evensong HM 6.00pm Westwell Evensong PW 24th Feb Wednesday 9.00pm Kencot Compline NUW 4th Sunday 28th Feb Second Sunday of Lent 9.00am Shilton Holy Communion AM 9.00am Kencot Holy Communion HM 10.30am Alvescot/BBourton Parish Communion AM 10.30am Filkins Family Service PW 10.30am Broadwell Matins HM 11am Lt Faringdon Parish Communion EJ 6.00pm Holwell/Westwell Evensong HM 6.00pm Langford Evensong EJ

Mid-week Services 3rd Feb 10am Black Bourton Holy Communion EJ 10th Feb 10am Black Bourton Holy Communion HM 17th Feb 10am Black Bourton Holy Communion EJ 24th Feb 10 am Black Bourton Holy Communion HM

LECTIONARY 1st Sunday 7th Feb Second Sunday before Lent (Green) Genesis 2.4b-9, 15-25 Psalm 65 Revelation 4 Luke 8.22-25 2nd Sunday 14th Feb next before Lent (Green) Exodus 34.29-35 Psalm 99 2 Corinthians 3.12- Luke 9.28-36 [37- 4.2 43a] 17th Feb Ash Wednesday (Purple) Isaiah 58.1-12 Psalm 51.1-18 2 Corinthians 5.20b- John 8.1-11 6.10 3rd Sunday 21st Feb First Sunday of Lent (Purple) Deuteronomy 26.1-11 Psalm 91.1-2,9-16 Romans 10.8b-13 Luke 4.1-13 4th Sunday 28th Feb Second Sunday of Lent (Purple) Genesis 15.1-12,17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3.17-4.1 Luke 13.31-35

CELEBRANTS & SERVICE LEADERS The Rev’d Liz Johnson The Rev’d Neville Usher-Wilson The Rev’d Harry MacInnes The Rev’d Patrick Wheaton

FROM THE REGISTERS FUNERALS 27th November Filkins Miss Evelyn Holden (died 14th November 2009 aged 2 days) 3rd December Black Bourton Mr David Edwards (died 23rd November 2009 aged 40) 14th December Filkins Mr Anthony Foster-Taylor (died 30th November 2009 aged 77) 22nd December Alvescot Mr John Tilling (died 15th December 2009 aged 82) 19th January Shilton Mr Ernest Brown (died 3rd January 2010 aged 74)

CHILDREN’S CHURCH f you have children between the ages of 3 and 12 and would like to come along, we meet every second Sunday of the I month at 10.15am in the Village Hall in Shilton for about 40 minutes of fun and creative Christian based activities before we join the main body of the church for the Parish Communion Service. Our next meeting is on Sunday 14th February at 10.15. If you would like to know some more about what we do, or where to find us, either give me a call on 01993 847049 or The Rev’d Harry MacInnes on 01993 845954. Debs Price

BIBLE STUDY GROUP The Benefice Bible Study Group is starting again in January, at a new time. We decided for a variety of reasons to move to afternoon meetings, and to meet fortnightly during school terms. This term we are looking at some encounters between individuals and Jesus in Luke’s Gospel: January 18th The Pharisee and the sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50) February 1st The crippled woman in the synagogue (Luke 13:10-17) February 22nd The rich ruler and Peter (Luke 18:18-30) March 8th The tax collector in the crowd (Luke 19:1-10) March 22nd The disciples on the road (Luke 24:13-35) We shall be meeting on Monday afternoons from 2.00pm to 3.30pm at 11 Oakey Close, Alvescot. (01993 846169). All are welcome do join us. Liz Johnson CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP ur next meeting will be on Wednesday 3rd February. This will be a business meeting, and there will be no speaker. Members please O remember we are looking at trees in the Bible. We will be meeting in the Methodist Schoolroom as usual. Barbara Edwards FILKINS & DISTRICT ROYAL BRITISH LEGION POPPY APPEAL he 2009 Poppy Appeal in the Broadshire villages proved to be highly successful, once again. A total of T £2,477.83 was donated to the Legion. This was made up by: £1,576.94 from House-to-House and Static Point collections; £383.00 from the collection at St Matthew’s Church, Langford on Remembrance Sunday, re-imbursement by the villages for their wreaths, and a donation from the Branch. Our thanks go to all who contributed and to the many collectors who gave up their time for this worthy cause. Rachel Taylor (PAO) REMEMBRANCE TRAVEL The 2010 brochure providing details of Battlefield Tours and pilgrimages is held by the chairman. Please contact him if you would like details of the many tours available. COMMITTEE MEETING The next meeting will be held at the 5 Alls, Filkins at 7.30pm Tuesday 4th May. Jeremy Taylor

SHILTON BAPTIST CHAPEL an I begin by wishing you all a very Happy New Year. Christmas seems a C long time ago now but it’s good to look back and reflect on what we did as a church. Our carol service was very well attended and with Barry Shepherd leading us we all had a good time of praise and worship. I was particularly taken by a seasonal variation on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians which Barry had picked up at the Witney Methodist Church and then read out to us. A couple of sentences from it went: ‘If I decorate my house perfectly with bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator. If I work in the soup kitchen, carol sing in the nursing home and give all I have to charity but forget about the Christ child, I have missed the point.’ I’ve packed a copy of it away with the decorations so next December when life starts getting hectic I can read it again and get things into perspective. Just a couple of days before Christmas we had Carols by the Pond. Although it was actually dry in the evening it had rained earlier and then frozen so the roads were lethal. Amazingly in such weather about 60 people turned up and joined us as we sang, accompanied by accordion and guitar and fortified by lots of piping hot punch. The area around the pond looked magical with lanterns and candles and it was a lovely time. At this moment we are waiting to see whether yet more snow arrives and whether we will be able to have our first Souper Tuesday, I do hope so. Preachers for February 7th February Informal, in the Chapel. 14th February Graham Sparrowhawk followed by communion, in the Old School. 21st February Mike and Chris Barrett, in the Old School 28th February Andy Robinson, in the Old School

All our services in February are at 3.00pm. As you can see the first meeting on 7th February is in the Chapel but the other meetings will be in the Old School because the Chapel floor has to be replaced because of dry rot. We hope to be back in Chapel for Easter but it may well be later than that. Visitors are always very welcome to join us at our meetings wherever they are Finally I do hope the weather is better in February and that some of you can join us at the Souper Tuesday on the 9th. Elizabeth Harfield

ROUND OUR VILLAGES The 15 villages that make up the 11 parishes in the Shill & Broadshire Benefice are lively places. Every month there are dozens of events organized by the many local organizations that flourish here. We are pleased to report on every event that has happened, and to publicise all those that are to come. We try to incorporate all the many contributions we receive, but please accept that we can not always advertise your particular event in the way you would like. But please do keep sending us all your Village News.

ALVESCOT St Peter’s

ST PETER’S CHURCH From our Christmas Tree 2009 to the next one in 2010 n the 19th December 2009 the christmas tree (kindly donated by Ralph Mawle) was delivered to St Peter’s Church. As usual there was a group O of villagers busily involved inside decorating the church and the tree, and also a group working outside tidying and clearing the churchyard. Our finished tree stood tall and golden reflecting the colours and the candles in the church greenery displays. The tree glowed for us in our candelit Carol Service the following day which involved many villagers. This was a friendly, informal service led by Liz Johnson, followed by warming mulled wine made by Jayne Lewin, with tasty nibbles from PCC members. All much appreciated. We were delighted that Honor McFarlane was able to sing for us, and enjoyed the lead and the descants from our impromptu choir. As ever we are lucky to have Sue Cave leading our music at St Peter’s. On Christmas Eve our tree lights shone through our well attended midnight service led by clergy past and present (Richard Harrison and Patrick Wheaton).

There was the usual air of anticipation of the day ahead and the joy of another Christmas morn. Many of us left the church remembering the lovely, clear voice of Annie Rowntree’s solo, and reflecting on different types of chocolates- linked with an understanding of some of the messages of Christmas received from the sermon. There was no service after Christmas but on New Year’s Eve 2009, as is customary in Alvescot, the wonderful bell ringers of St Peter’s were in the church at 11.45pm, all ready to ring in the New Year Our tree stood tall and green in the partially lit church, with the sound of the bells ringing in 2010 and the bright light of the moon and local fireworks flashing and shining in the clear sky outside. On January 4th the decorations were taken down, the Christmas tree was stripped of its golden balls and lights, and moved outside the church, where magically the new snow sparkled on its branches and reflected the light of the sun and the moon. So double value from our tree this year! A new year and a new decade has begun. This is a special one for St Peter’s, Alvescot with 2010 being a centenary year celebrating 900 years of our church on the current site. We have an exciting programme of events planned over this year, and we also hope to start the next stage of the development of the church building to address the problems of damp and inadequate heating in our ancient building. Our first event is a special quiz night planned for Saturday January 30th at the Village Hall. Following this on Sunday 14th February there will be an informal service to celebrate St Valentine at 11.00am in St Peter’s Church, (led by Harry McInnes) followed by an opportunity for a local lunch with friends. Please do join us. By the time we will be once again decorating our church and our Christmas tree for 2010 a busy year will have passed in St Peter’s. We hope that in the year ahead many of our Alvescot residents will become involved in the centenary activities, but we also hope many of you across the villages will have also joined in some of our events, and that together we will celebrate the ongoing history of this village and the richness of the community that we are lucky enough to share in this part of West Oxfordshire. Tessa Farley

ST PETER’S INFANTS SCHOOL n behalf of the children, staff and governors of St Peter’s I O would like to wish you all a very happy new year.

Our Christmas celebrations began with the Christmas Gift Evening. Once again we welcomed many traders to the school and there was a great festive atmosphere as everyone enjoyed the mulled wine and mince pies. Many thanks to Sharon Waters and Sandie Morris for organizing this event and to Liz Savage for the wonderful hamper. Thank you to everyone who turned out on such a wet evening to support this event. After the gift evening came the Christmas Bazaar. This year we raised the incredible amount of £1222.00 and we would like to thank you all once again for supporting this event so well by helping man stalls, selling raffle tickets and coming along, which all contributed to such a great total. Once more Christmas time at St Peter’s was filled with many wonderful memories. This year’s nativity, ‘Mary’s Knitting’ was truly magnificent. The children were wonderful and there were many memorable performances. Thanks go to all the staff who worked so hard to give the children this wonderful opportunity. It truly was a great team effort. Many thanks to Colin Newlands who accompanied the children’s singing on the piano once again. £132.00 was collected after the Nativity performances for ‘Children In Need’. This year the children of St Peter’s were very proud to send more than twenty shoeboxes to ‘Operation Christmas Child’. Many thanks to Mrs Witt for delivering the boxes on behalf of the school. Reverend Wheaton led the Christingle service on the last Sunday of the term. This was well supported and a total of £96.00 was raised in aid of ‘The Children’s Society’ and £136.00 was collected at the end of the service for the Church. Thank you to all those who attended and for your donations, as well as to the Cotswold Wildlife Park who donated the oranges. This year the whole school visited the Oxford Playhouse to see the pantomime of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The children, and staff thoroughly enjoyed the performance! We were delighted to accept an invitation from ‘The Plough’ to Christmas dinner. All the children and staff had a delicious traditional Christmas dinner followed by a surprise visit from Father Christmas who gave all the children gifts. This was a truly wonderful community event. The staff at The Plough were absolutely fabulous and it was quite remarkable how they managed to feed all of us with such efficiency and jollity. It was certainly a Christmas meal that will not be forgotten! Many thanks to all members of the local community for all their support during 2009. We look forward to what this year holds and look forward to working together to ensure the continued success of the school in 2010. Sam King

CHILDHOOD REFLECTIONS eople often ask me what has changed in the village in the P last 70 years or so. Well, as I have lived here longer than anyone else, I thought I would write down what I think is the biggest reason for change in our village, from a close knit community to a more fragmented one. These days I do not know half the people who live here now, whereas at one time, every person in the village was not just known to me but most were personally involved in one way or another. I can remember when the Rev’d Benjamin Lloyd was vicar of St Peter's. He had a bowling green on the rectory lawn. He organised fetes in the rectory garden and of course in those days nothing went missing or was ill treated. To go back a bit further, Mrs Canidine, the previous vicar's wife started and ran the Girl Guides and Brownies. She also arranged accommodation for all the evacuees during the Second World War. Harold Oakey (Skip) ran the 1st Alvescot Air Scouts, the first in the country. At St Peter's there was the weekly Sunday School, a large choir and a full complement of bell ringers. Today, Alvescot is very lucky to still have a stalwart band of ringers, but in Benjamin's day there was a waiting list to join the bell ringing team. We also had a post office/village store, a centre of the latest village gossip, in fact the telephone exchange was there also. The Oakey’s had one of the first phones in the village, our number was 6 and we had to wind a handle to get the Alvescot exchange and if Mrs. Eldridge, the post office mistress, was serving a customer you had to wait until she answered. If it was a local call she used to plug into the exchange and wind a handle to make it ring (if you wished to make a 'trunk' call you had to prebook this with Mrs Eldridge) Later, when the exchange was transferred to Carterton our number was 236 and even now it still end with a 6, so you could say that our phone number has an antique value as it is at least 70 years old. There was also another shop in Alvescot next to the Red Lion which was run by Fred Neville from Clanfield. I can remember he always had all sorts of sweets and goodies, as well as cigarettes and groceries. There was always a ham at the back of the store which he used to sell in slices. We youngsters used to meet outside his shop as the Post Office was more an adults meeting place. During my young days the Red Lion was very popular, but prior to that The Plough was the most popular; they used to run a ‘Benefit Club’ where everybody who could paid

11 a subscription. When hard times struck money would then be given to the needy. This was a very important part of living and looking after fellow villagers. On Sunday evening the young men of the village would meet by the blacksmith's forge at about 6.30pm and walk to Carterton via Black Bourton, calling in at the Horse and Groom (now The Vines) and the Beehive and then continue the circular walk back to Alvescot. I never knew what state they were in when they got back to the village as I was usually in bed by then; I used to plead to go with them, but they wouldn't take me, said that I was too young. By the time I was old enough all the young men had been called up to go to war, and afterwards the practice never resumed. There were 9 farms in Alvescot, now there are two. Virtually all the men in the village worked on the land. As the RAF base grew one or two started work there and also one or two caught the train at Alvescot Railway Station to go to Witney or Oxford. There were two bakeries, one next door to the Post Office and the other just on the left as you go down into the village, there was also an a carpenter who acted as the undertaker!

In my day coach parties were organised for trips to the sea side, now the car has taken over, and if car trips had not taken the place of coach trips I do not think coach-loads of villagers would make the same trip today. On one occasion, a week's holiday to Butlin's was organised. If you would like to share your memories of Alvescot and surrounding villages, do get in touch with me I would love to hear from you on [email protected] David Oakey

BLACK BOURTON St Mary’s

CAROL SINGING veryone who came to the Carol Singing on Sunday 20th December was in good voice, especially the young children. They all enjoyed delicious E mulled wine and mince pies. The Church looked beautiful, decorated with Christmas wreaths by the ladies of Christine Pope’s Flower Class and a lovely tree decorated by Jeanette and Tom Lanham with many knitted bells, it looked very jolly. The path to the Church was lit by five Christmas Trees. Many thanks to all the mince pie cooks, Pete Miles for his mulled wine, to those who sponsored trees and all those who helped in different ways. Doreen Hart

BROADWELL St Peter & St Paul’s

ALTAR FLOWERS None til Easter; form for choosing dates for 2010 will appear soon.

CAROL SERVICE espite all Global Warming could throw at us by way of sub-arctic conditions, Broadwell church was packed, for a really special carol D service on the Sunday before Christmas. Singers, organist, and congregation braved ice and bitter wind, and we were rewarded with an inspiring service. Lovely readings, and singing of the highest quality, ending with the Halleluia chorus ringing from the rafters. Many thanks go to the providers of this unique offering, which was such a wonderful prologue for the joy of Christmas. (We have to admit there were some cases of semi-hypothermia at the back of the nave on such a very cold night, even with all available heaters going full blast; but fret ye not, we are developing a Cunning Plan!)

SURREAL HAPPENING AT MANOR BARN Having listened to odd noises in the (luckily unlit) woodburning stove for two days, and wondering about RATS or something, Annabel heard the chimney go ‘Too-whit Too-who’ and realised she had a Tawny Owl that had somehow got

13 through the chimney cowl and slid down. What to do? Well, she picked on the right person, because Ian Grey, who knows about birds, came post-haste and between them they extracted the owl, still alive and pecking, stuck on some soot. At the time of writing it is at a bird centre being checked over, but it will be released as soon as possible where it was found (with an improved chimney cowl). This will be a great relief to its mate, who has been heard calling and calling for it. We hope all we will have left is a good photograph of the release. June Goodenough

BROADSHIRES PRESCHOOL he children at Broadshires really enjoyed their Christmas celebrations at Pre-School and learned about Christmas through stories, songs and role- T play. They also made festive cards for their families and wrapped up warm for a walk to Broadwell post box. They were delighted to see their mail arrive a couple of days later and parents proudly place the creations on the mantlepiece! The end of term was an exciting time with a visit for our morning children to St.Peter's Infant School in Alvescot to watch their nativity ‘Mary's knitting’. The children were enthralled by this fabulous version of the Christmas story. Many were able to see older friends and siblings in their school environment and for some it was a first visit to a ‘big school’. The children were really enthusiastic about their own nativity morning the following week which was followed by a Christmas hamper draw and mince pies; festive, fun and fundraising. The other focus of the term has been numbers and counting and the wall is currently adorned with a ‘Ten in the Bed’ mural. All the children helped paint this and they have also enjoyed singing and performing this classic counting song. The number topic has been continued into baking sessions, with the children weighing and counting ingredients, and of course enjoying the delicious results. Outdoor play continues whatever the weather and our children are always eager to make the most of our outside area. The bikes and trikes are ever popular but the music ‘den’ has been a great place to shelter from the elements - we have some super composers and musicians in the making! It is wonderful to see how the newer children have settled into Pre-school and are gaining confidence and new skills. The older children are really learning to work together, helping pour and serve drinks at snack times and becoming more independent. The younger children (aged 2 & 3) can attend up to three afternoon sessions and the older children (aged 3 & 4) are able to come four mornings a week with some of them now staying for lunch and a longer session once a week, in preparation for school in September. For more information on our Pre- School, please contact Jackie Overton (supervisor) on 01367-860729. Abbie Ogden

FILKINS & BROUGHTON POGGS St Peter’s

EVELYN ROSE FLORENCE HOLDEN 8.56am 12th November 2009 - 4.40pm 14th November 2009 Andrew, Jacob and I would to thank everyone for their kind words of support and love following baby Evie's unexpectedly early arrival and short life. We are so grateful and happy that we got to spend even the briefest of moments with her - moments that will stay with us for the rest of our lives and make us better because of them. If a person's life can be measured by the people they touched and the amount they were loved then Evie lived as full a life in those few hours as any of us she left behind. Our beautiful little girl was and always will be perfect and part of our family. We would also like to thank everyone for their generous donations. After discussions with the equipment manager at the NICU at St Michael's in Bristol it looks like there will be sufficient to purchase a syringe pump, a piece of equipment which was used for Evie. The Holden Family

WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER This is to be held on Friday 5th March 2.30pm at Filkins Methodist Church. The service this year has been prepared by the women of Cameroon and is an Interdenominational service so everyone is welcome. The speaker will be Mrs Duffy of Faringdon.To learn more about Cameroon please join us prior to the service at the Methodist Church on Wednesday 3rd March at 3.00 pm when we will be showing a short slide show of the country. For further information please contact me on 01367 860504. Diane Blackett

PARISH COUNCIL Do please remember that minutes and notices of meetings are displayed on the notice boards in the bus shelter, in Broughton Poggs in the Village Shop, and in the Post Office. There is a more comprehensive file of Parish Council bumph in the Cotswold Woollen Weavers Coffee Shop. Cris Hoad

FILKINS NURSERY UPDATE We have now returned to our ‘normal’ nursery life after a very busy Christmas term. Our Nativity play was a great success and was followed by mulled wine and mince pies for parents. We had a Christmas party at the end of term with traditional games and a visit from Father Christmas. This term the children have been talking about winter and so far have been fortunate to experience some very varied weather conditions! The role- play area was transformed into a ‘Winter Wonderland’ complete with snow, snowballs, icicles and a variety of polar animals. Children became famous explorers venturing across glaciers in their sledges and camping out in igloos. We are looking forward to an exciting week just before half-term, learning about Chinese New Year, eating Chinese food and exploring Chinese culture. We are delighted that work will shortly begin on our undercover canopy. It will be wonderful for the children to have use of this facility, bringing the outdoor curriculum into the nursery and vice versa in all weathers. We hope to have a small ‘opening celebration’ later in the year, which local residents would be very welcome to attend. Our half-term Holiday Club is running from Monday 15th February - Friday 19th February. We welcome children aged 2-11 years. Please ring 01367 860594 to find out our planned activities during the week. Louise Jenkins

2010 ANNUAL VILLAGE LITTER PICK UP Filkins & Broughton Poggs Parish Council would like to announce our annual litter pick up on Saturday 27th February at 1.30pm. Please come along and help to keep your village among the best kept villages in Oxfordshire. Starts from The Granary, Filkins. The pick up will take place rain or shine! All you need to bring is yourselves and a pair of gloves Refreshments afterwards at The Granary, 01367 860195. Chris Bristow

ROSTER FOR VOLUNTARY CAR SERVICE TO SURGERIES Covering Filkins, Broughton Poggs, Kencot, Broadwell, Langford and L Faringdon Tuesdays Thursdays 2nd Feb Miss H Squire 860337 4th Feb Mrs M Cover 860302 9th Feb Mr A Woodford 860319 11th Feb Lady Allison 860787 16th Feb Mrs J Higham 860197 18th Feb Mrs B Bristow 860195 23rd Feb Mrs J Geake 860534 25th Feb Mr J Moir 860031 2nd March Miss H Squire 860337 4th March Mrs J Higham 860197 9th March Lady Allison 860787 11th March Mrs B Bristow 860195 16th March Mr A Woodford 860319 18th March Mr J Moir 860031 23rd March Mr A Heath 860129 25th March Mrs V Godfrey 860498 30th March Mrs J Geake 860534 All codes 01367 Copies of the roster are pinned in the Filkins and Langford Bus Shelters Charges: Surgery Runs: Carterton, Lechlade and Burford - £2.00; Fairford and Witney - £5.00. Hospital Runs: Cirencester and Swindon - £8.00, Cheltenham and Oxford - £10.00, (plus parking charge if applicable). Please note that these charges cover a single return journey by the driver. Surgery Runs - Patients should notify the nominated driver at least 24 hours in advance. Appointments should not be later than 4.00 pm. Hospital Runs or problems please contact me on 01367 860319 as early as possible. Users of the service must be able to walk to and from the car unaided. Tony Woodford FILKINS VILLAGE SHOP

Telephone number: 07796 064197 Out of opening hours: 01367 860998

DAY AM PM Monday Closed 3-5pm Tuesday 10-12pm 3-5pm Wednesday Closed 3-5pm Thursday 9-12pm 2-5pm Friday Closed 2-5pm Saturday 9-1pm 3-5pm Sunday Closed 3-5pm

ST PETER’S CHURCH, BROUGHTON POGGS hank you to everyone who supported the annual candlelit Advent Service at St Peter’s Church, Broughton Poggs in December. It was a really lovely T Service and the Church looked beautiful. I have been asked about the Flower Rota for the Church. A group of women who live, or have lived, in Broughton Poggs have volunteered to be on the rota for a month each year. A list can be found inside the porch of the Church. Usually, because of the weather, there are no Services in January or February and then one each month until the December Advent one. We aim to keep fresh flowers in the church at all times to welcome visitors. Anyone who would like to join the rota would be welcome, especially for occasions when we join together to decorate the Church for the Advent Service or any other special service. Please contact me for further information on 01367 860282 Lucille Jones

FILKINS POST OFFICE Telephone: 01367 860620 Opening hours Day Morning Afternoon Monday 9.00am to 12.30pm 1.00pm to 5.00pm Tuesday 8.30am to 12.30pm Closed Wednesday Closed Closed Thursday 9.00am to 12.30pm Closed Friday Closed 1.30pm to 4.30pm

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT... Watching the antics of Gordon Ramsay and MPW, you would assume that all high class haute cuisine requires a liberal peppering of fruity language. So when my husband decided to 'volunteer' me for a guest chef stint at Filkins' Five Alls pub, I was more than a little reticent and the air was certainly blue at our house! Resistance peaked when it emerged that 5 Alls chef Matt Wardman is not only talented but highly experienced; he was never going to agree to my 'noddy entry level' menu choice, insisting that I 'stretch myself' - 'Sage Baignée' he said, nipping out the back to harvest lavender heads for shortbread, caramelising walnuts, pear tarte tatin, creme patisseries, roasted figs in gorgonzola, - what in the name of Gordon Ramsay had I let myself in for! The first challenge to my 'sauté shmauté, chuck it on a plate and have another glass of wine' approach was the potato and celeriac dauphinoise. Wafer thin, uniformly sized potato slices, overlapping with military precision in synchronised columns, changing the direction with each layer for a better 'knit' and alternated with celeriac - 2 potato, 1 celeriac, seasoned, sprinkled with parmesan, evenly doused with thyme and rosemary infused cream - fun the first time but contemplating self harm by the twentieth. The white chocolate mousse was almost a disaster; in a reckless moment I over whipped the cream into a solid, unforgiving mass. Carrot spaghetti: forcing reluctant root veg through a razor sharp mandolin. After just half an hour I gave up and ate the evidence. When I was released from the inferno, 39 happy diners applauded my one off stint - unbelievably to me, Matt does that every day. I now appreciate the true meaning of hard work and how skillfully I have avoided it to date. Thanks very much to all the locals who so generously supported the evening and raised over £400.00 for Cancer Research. This is a great way to raise money for your chosen charity, so step forward the next guest chef! Charlotte Ashby

HOLWELL St Mary’s

No news this month

KELMSCOTT St George’s

CHURCH BRASS AND FLOWERS Ellie Maughan MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE Thank you to all who gave when I did my House-to-House collection around Kelmscott a few weeks ago for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We raised a grand total of £101.71. A copy of the thank you note from Marie Curie Cancer Care is on the village notice board. Thank you once again. Christine CAROL SERVICE The collection at our Carol Service enabled us to send a donation of £100.00 to Douglas House. Many thanks to all those who came and donated so generously. Ellie Maughan

KENCOT St George’s

CHURCH FLOWERS 5th & 13th February Susan Portergill LENT CAROL SINGING Treacherous conditions on 22nd December prevented the Carol Singers from visiting the houses in Kencot ( probably the first time in nearly 40 years). However the Village Hall was decorated and warm and thanks to Susan Portergill and the helpers, refreshments were available. These were much enjoyed by a dozen or so hardy souls, who then raised the roof with many of the traditional carols, accompanied as always by Andrew Auger. Singing, ‘While Shepherds watched’ to the tune of Ilkley Moor has been part of the repertoire since the time of Mr Magee who was Rector of Kencot 1960-67. A cheque for £210.00 has been sent to Cancer Research UK from the Broadwell collection on 21st December and donations later received from Kencot residents. John Barstow

LANGFORD St Matthew’s

CAROL SERVICE Carol singing took place on 2 bitterly cold nights in December. Nevertheless they managed to raise over £440.00 for church funds. Many thanks to Christine Romanek for her organisation and to the Dudleys, Johnstons and Jacqui and Paul at the Bell for their hospitality and to all the other who donated. CHRISTMAS EVE Due to the inclement weather, the Christmas Eve Service was not as busy as usual. I trust that whoever donated chocolate money to the collection managed to also put some of the real stuff in as well! Richard Kirby LANGFORD LADIES We had a very enjoyable night at the Bell Inn for our Christmas celebrations. Visitors are most welcome at £1.50, (We meet every 2nd Thursday in the month at the Village Hall) raffle and refreshments are available. Our next meeting is on Thursday 11th February. Members are invited to join anytime, our yearly membership is £10.00 for the full year. If you would like to know more, or even a lift please call me on 01367 860514. If you have a hobby and would like to share it with us, then we would welcome you. CHRISTMAS BINGO What a fantastic night, it was our best ever yet. We raised £421.93 for Langford Village Hall; from the feedback we know you also had a good time. We must thank everyone who helped, whether it be in the kitchen, on the door, giving donations or your attendance on the night. If you have any unwanted gifts, these could be used towards the raffle for our next bingo. CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Thank you to Father Christmas for making our bazaar go down a treat, and thanks to those who generously gave donations, their time and support on the day, we raised the grand sum of £884.00, split 50/50 between the Village Hall and St. Matthew’s Church. Chrissy Tinson WHIST Join us for an evening of whist at Langford Village Hall on Tuesday 2nd February. We start at 7.30pm however if you would like some tuition please

21 arrive a little earlier than this. The entrance fee of £1.00 includes tea and biscuits at half time with all the profits going to Langford Village Hall. We play for small prizes, everyone is welcome. You do not need to be an expert card player to come and join us, if you would like to know more or even a lift please call me on 01993 852378. Apologies for anyone who turned up for the previous Whist, it was cancelled due to inclement weather. Jo Hutchings NEWS FROM ST CHRISTOPHER’S The Spring terms started with a hiccough in January as the freezing temperatures and deep snow set in. The roads around St Christopher’s remained ungritted and dangerous forcing closure during the first week of term. Staff were disappointed and frustrated after planning an exciting and stimulating first few weeks. We did manage to open despite the weather on the first Friday of term and had a fantastic day with those children who braved the elements to join the skeleton staff who managed to get in. Mr Cornish planned a great cross curricular day for the mixed age group. This included the children working with the digital cameras to take pictures of the snowy scenes. The children learnt to download and print of their work and the pictures were then used to stimulate poetry writing. The snow theme continued as children looked at snowflakes on the interactive whiteboard using the digital microscope, with great interest and excitement. We held the obligatory igloo building contest but the snow simply didn’t pack together well and it soon became clear that there was to be no igloo on our field this year. I would like to thank the staff who managed to get to work through the treacherous conditions to support our families. We have a visitor for the first three weeks of term, Morgane Tisseau, a French trainee teacher came to join us. Thanks go to our two families who are hosting Mademoisell Tisseau during her stay. Another great opportunity this term is the Burford Partnership Music Festival. St Christopher’s has been taking part in this for many years but this year we have revamped the festival to make it more appealing to children and parents alike. Gordon Campbell, an Advanced Skills teacher from the Faringdon partnership will be working with KS2 children from across the partnership over the next two months. He will be visiting all the partnership schools teaching all the children involved the same songs. On 4th March all the children will gather for the day at Burford Community College for a full day’s rehearsal. This will be followed in the evening by a concert in the hall for parents and carers. The theme of the festival is ‘Anthems night’ and will include songs from Queen, Abba and of course the St Christopher’s favourite Take That! This will be a really wonderful experience for

22 the children singing as part of a choir of 150! Also along the musical theme is our new community initiative which is ‘The Cotswold Voices’, a brand new adult choir aiming to add a more pop approach to choral music (Take That, Abba, Beach Boys etc). Everyone is welcome to join this new Choir - no previous experience required, just a love of singing. Please come along on Tuesday evenings from 7.30 - 8.30pm to join in the fun! ‘The Cotswold Voices’ is the third community group we are hosting, don’t forget the Cirucits training on Thursday evenings and Salsa for beginners on Mondays. Please contact the school if you would like to join in any of our activities. Our WW2 topic last term was a huge success with children and parents alike and I would like to thank all the readers of the Pump who contacted the school with offers of memories and their time. The children and teachers really do appreciate these offers and the children were enthralled by the artefacts from the Filkins Museum and the beautiful paintings leant to the school. Our topics this term are ‘Home and away’ for KS1 children which is a geography topic based on the Katie Morag stories set on the Scottish Isle of Coll. For KS2 the topic is ‘Communications’ followed by ‘A contrasting Locality.’ Please have a look at our website, www.st-christophers.oxon.sch.uk for more information. If you can support our learning in any way please contact the school on 01367 850318. Thank you for all your support. Sarah Nisbett

LITTLE FARINGDON St Margaret’s

A very Happy New Year to everyone in Little Faringdon! CHURCH FLOWERS February Caroline Holden March No flowers – Lent. FEBRUARY SERVICES Please note that there will be three services at St Margaret’s Church in February: 7th February Benefice Service at 10.30am. 14th February Matins at 11.00am. 28th February Parish Communion at 11.00am. CANDLELIT CAROL SERVICE Flickering candles inside our beautiful floodlit church provided a fitting backdrop to yet another memorable carol service on the evening of Sunday 20th December. Our thanks go to Barbara Browne for putting the service together and to her impressive supporting cast. The delightful trio of singers included Wanda Adams as the musical director, Gerry Shields of the Burford Singers and our own Wendy

Browne, with organist Geoff Holmes playing brilliantly as always. We are also most grateful to the younger members of the village for reading so superbly and to the Reverend Neville Usher-Wilson for leading the service. It was lovely having a full church to enjoy the carols and the Christmas message. Mulled wine and mince pies after the service ensured that everyone got into the festive spirit of the Christmas season. Jeremy Taylor SHILTON Holy Rood

appy New Year! At the time of writing we are still knee-deep in snow with the threat of more to come so things can only get better. H I had hoped to be able to start the year by providing a list of all the activities being organised in Shilton in 2010, but unfortunately the arctic weather meant our committee meeting had to be postponed and therefore the list won’t be available until the next edition of the Pump, but there will be lots to look forward to. We ended the year in seasonal style with carol services in both the Baptist and Parish churches and carols by the pond. Most of the congregation at the Parish Church carol service gathered in the Old School after the service to enjoy a convivial supper, and their generosity with donations resulted in a small profit on the evening which will be split between the Church of the Holy Rood and The Old School. Many thanks to everyone who contributed the wonderful array of dishes, and to all those who enjoyed eating them and made such generous donations. The pub was heaving for the splendid meal Martin and Jamie laid on for New Years Eve, after which a large gathering of village folk saw out the old year in the church to the accompaniment of the church bells and a glass of champagne. Shirley Cuthbertson CHRISTMAS SERVICES Our Carol Service and Christmas Day Service were truly memorable occasions and very well supported. The church was floodlit for the Carol Service which made it look extremely welcoming on a cold evening and then inside it was very festive with lovely flower arrangements, candles, the crib and Christmas tree. A big thank you to everyone who spent so much time in decorating the church. Many thanks to all the readers, to Donald for playing the organ and to Reverend Patrick Wheaton for conducting the service and for his fascinating talk.

As it was a very frosty evening our churchwarden very kindly went to great efforts to create a ‘salted gritted pathway’ so that everyone walked safely across the road to the Old School after the service where a delicious supper was served. Very many thanks to the Old School Committee and ladies in the village for putting on such a fine spread. I do hope everyone enjoyed singing the carols, listening to the readings, Patrick’s talk and then the supper to round the evening off. Jean Roberts PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS 27th January Shilton 24th March Shilton 19th May Shilton (Statutory Annual Meeting 6.30pm, Annual Parish Meeting 7.30pm) 21st July Bradwell Village 6th October Shilton 1st December Shilton All meetings start at 7.30 unless otherwise stated. Meetings at Bradwell Village will take place in the Hobbies Room. Do contact me on 01993 840825 if you have any queries. Katherine Robertson SHILTON HISTORY GROUP Our Christmas meeting was a good time, many thanks to the Ha’penny Bridge singers from Lechlade who entertained us marvellously. Unfortunately because of the weather we had to cancel our talk by Carol Anderson about steel in Woodstock but we hope to rearrange it for another occasion. Our talk on February 12th, weather permitting, is on ‘The growth of popular music in the 20th century’ and will be given by Ken Fitt. As usual it is at 7.30pm in the Old School and visitors are always welcome. Fred Robertson KEEP FIT Keep-fit every Thursday in Shilton Old School, 7.00-8.00pm, £3.50 per session. Call 01993 706265 Sandie Hunter BRADWELL VILLAGE Bradwell Village Coffee Shop This has now re-opened every Friday in Term Time from 10:30am - 12:30pm serving hot and cold drinks and biscuits. It provides a wonderful opportunity to get to know your neighbours and is a splendid social focus. Further details from me on 01993 824801. Volunteer helpers are needed please. Sharon Howat

BRADWELL VILLAGE STITCHERS The next meeting is on Tuesday 9th February from 10.00am until 2.30pm. Visitors are most welcome, at £2.00 for the day. The half-annual subscription is £10.00. Please bring along your latest project to work on. Drinks and biscuits are provided, but please bring a packed lunch. Marion Ellis 01993 824475 BRADWELL BABES Established in 2002 the group has been running successfully with a huge range of equipment suitable for new borns through to pre schoolers. We have many ride on cars/bikes and a slide complete with floor mats. Weekly craft activity, songtime, playtime and refreshments included in the £1.50 per family contribution. Come along to the village hall for a free taster session, you and your children would be very welcome. Mondays 9.30-11.30am. Any queries contact Angela on 01993 823623 or me on 01993 837296 Miranda Mowbray WESTWELL St Mary’s

Westwell was delighted to welcome back Ron Lloyd to lead our carol Service, and Sue Cave to play the organ for us. With the above lovely people, we all enjoyed singing our carols to set the scene for Christmas, and were able to send £109 to the Children’s Society. We do thank Ron and Sue, who, like many, braved the icy roads to come to us. Nearly a week later we rang in Christmas Day with a midnight service on another cold night. As the New Year starts, I am as ever aware and grateful to all who have kept our Church going over the last twelve months. Thank you very much. The cold and snow goes on. We in Westwell were relieved that the Eastleach to Burford Road had been snow ploughed quite promptly, but now four days after the first snow, not all the little roads have been ploughed, we shall have to ask our Councillor. There was a time when local farmers used to clear the roads, often under contract to the Council; they have now very large tractors which would do this job well and they know the roads. I hear that the current madness relates to the fact that this is not allowed as they use Red Diesel. Chris Fox

AROUND THE REGION A look at events and news from a little further afield.

BURFORD SCHOOL NEWS STEP INTO SPORT Step into Sport focuses on young people aged between 11 and 19 years and aims to encourage them to undertake an involvement in sports leadership and volunteering that will continue later in life. Richard Stratford completed his Community Sports Leaders Award whilst in the sixth form at Burford School. He was keen to put these skills into practice and continue his voluntary work with sports clubs with which he had already knew. By registering with the Step into Sport Passport he was able to receive recognition for his voluntary work whilst continuing his coaching. Over the course of 20 months Richard worked with a number of sports clubs in West Oxfordshire and accumulated over 100 hours of voluntary work tennis coaching children in the local villages. This was all done in Richard’s own time mainly at weekends and occasionally after-school. Richard is now studying at Swansea University and hoping to carry on volunteering. Richard said: ‘I was already

27 volunteering with tennis coaching before I found out about and joined the Step into Sport volunteering scheme and I am pleased that all the hours I volunteered have now been formally recognised. I intend to continue for as long as my studies allow.’ Mrs Haig, Headteacher said, ‘I am very proud of Richard’s achievement. He is a keen sportsman who has dedicated many hours to developing sport with younger children. He deserves this recognition and I am proud to be presenting him with his Silver certificate. He is one of few students to achieve this award in Oxfordshire.’ U19 WEST OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT RUGBY FINAL 2009 Burford School's 1st XV rugby squad finished their season with a 22 - 0 win over Marlborough School, Woodstock, at Chipping Norton R.F.C. ON 16th December, in this new competition, played for the first time this year. All six West Oxfordshire schools with sixth forms, played each other on a league basis during the term, with the top two teams playing off in the final. Right wing Chris Mills, scored three tries, which earned him the Man of the Match award and left wing replacement, Max Outteridge scored the fourth and final try in the last minute of, what had been, a very hard and competitive match. This rounded off a good season for Burford, who had only been beaten three times in eleven outings this term. Mary Alcock THE LENTHALL CONCERTS Burford’s young choir joins forces with another Lenthall favourite. At 7.30pm on Wednesday 10th February there will be a concert at Burford School. David Watkins on the harp and the Cotswold Children’s Chamber Choir with conductor Jacki Pattenden will be performing a variety of music, Tickets in advance, unreserved £10.00 from:- Red Lion Bookshop, 122 High Street, Burford (01993 822539),Music Stand, 62 High Street, Witney (01993 774890),The Lenthall Concerts (01993 822412) or £12.00 at the door. Jan Campbell.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD High Street Methodist Church, Witney There was an excellent response to the Appeal with just under 3,000 boxes donated by local schools, churches, organisations and individuals. The shoe boxes were dispatched to Belarus and the Ukraine on 1st of December. We would like to thank everyone who donated, knitted, checked, loaded and transportedthe shoe boxes. Well done everyone! Ian and Marie Cotton

WITNEY THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Professor Alister McGrath will give a talk on ‘Theological Themes in The Godfather’ in St Mary's Church, Church Green, Witney, on Monday February 15th. Coffee from 7.00; talk begins at 7.30. Admission free. Reservation not necessary. This talk will look at some of the religious ideas explored in this classic 1972 film by Francis Ford Coppola.

WESSEX MALE CHOIR The Wessex Male Choir is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2010 and would like to boost their number of choristers to 100. Currently the choir has over 65 choristers of various ages. The choir is well known in the Swindon and surrounding areas performing a variety of music in concerts for charities. They have recently passed the £60,000 mark for Parkinsons and will continue raising funds for that and other charities throughout the year. If you are a male aged 18yrs and over and would like to join them please look at their website www.wessexmalechoir.co.uk. Their events in 2010 are as follows 20th March All Saints, Faringdon 6th July Holyrood, Swindon 16 - 18th April Tour of Devon 9th October St Andrews, Chippenham 8th May Reading 13th November St Johns, Cirencester June date to be fixed, Cricklade Tim Yeoman

HELPING THE HOMELESS If you'd like to donate to the homeless of Oxford, items such as sleeping bags, blankets, duvets, tinned or dried food, I'm happy to take them to Oxford where they will be distributed to the homeless via volunteers with Oxford City Council ID. Call me on 01993 846230 or email [email protected]. Thank You! Alma Tumilowicz

FRENCH CLASSES – BACK TO O LEVEL? Many people know that I teach private adult French classes from our home in Filkins (The Granary). My more advanced classes are full but I do have some vacancies in my Lower Intermediate class (those who can hold a basic conversation in French but need more practice and confidence). This is currently held on a Monday afternoon. I have also been asked if I would consider starting a ‘back to O level’ class for those who did O level many years ago but who would like to go right back to the beginning and revise everything.

Classes could be held on a Thursday or Friday and the price would depend on how many people take part. At this stage I am trying to gauge the amount of interest and whether such a class would be viable. Please call me on 01367 860195 for more information or to register your interest. Barbara Bristow

SPRING BALL Burford Primary School Spring Ball is to be held in aid of the school’s Outdoor Learning Space on Friday, 12th March at St John the Baptist Church, Burford. Sparkling Reception 19.00; Carriages at midnight. Black tie. Tickets £39. Book now! Call me on 01993 822159. Helen Blantz

A VIEW FROM COUNTY HALL (Methinks Don has learnt some wise things from our American cousins!-Ed) or those who have teenagers in the house, I have copied the rules pinned on the wall of a Pony Club in Georgia USA, which may help to recover F your stability. They would do well on the bedroom walls of some teenagers near to home.

STABLE RULES IF YOU UNLOCK IT, LOCK IT BACK. IF YOU OPEN IT, CLOSE IT. IF YOU BORROW IT, RETURN IT. IF YOU DON’T KNOW, ASK. IF YOU DRIVE IT, CHECK THE OIL AND GAS. IF YOU LOSE IT, REPLACE IT. IF IT DOES’NT CONCERN YOU, DON’T MESS WITH IT. IF YOU TURN IT ON, TURN IT OFF. IF YOU BREAK IT, FIX IT IF YOU MOVE IT, PUT IT BACK. IF YOU THROW IT DOWN OR DROP IT, PICK IT UP. IF YOU RIDE IT, FEED IT. IF YOU FALL OFF, GET BACK ON. Don Seale

FERNDALE PREP SCHOOL Ferndale School is offering for the first time a range of scholarships to any child in school years 3-5 to enable more children to access local independent education. These are aimed at children who excel academically or who are talented in art and music. Said Andrew Mersh, Headmaster : “We are delighted to introduce these scholarships which will celebrate and reward the many talented children in our local community. They are a reflection of the value we place on high academic standards at Ferndale where we believe that every child can achieve great things. The academic, music and art scholarship opportunities are open to all children in school years 3, 4 and 5 and the deadline for applications is Friday 19th February 2010. Ferndale Prep School is situated in Faringdon, just a short drive from Wantage, Witney and Highworth. It has an on-site Nursery School providing a warm, lively place for children to begin learning activities. The arts thrive with every child learning a musical instrument as they progress through the School, and the School keeps working parents in mind by running before, after-school and holiday clubs to provide around the clock care. To apply for a scholarship or more information call 01367 240618 or visit www.ferndaleschool.co.uk Andrew Mersh

NATURE NOTES ‘When the rowan and blackberries have all been consumed and bitter November blasts come roaring like hungry wild beasts out of the frozen North, driving worms and other forms of lowly life to their sleeping quarters deep down in the bosom of Mother Earth, the hardships of bird life commence in earnest. Vast multitudes of fieldfares and redwings travel south to share with thrushes and blackbirds such store of hips and haws as a barren or bounteous summer may have left upon the leafless twigs of hedgerows and bush clad Common for them.’ This was taken from a cherished book I have in my collection dated from 1903 by two brothers, Richard and Cherry Kearton, better known in natural history circles as the Kearton Brothers. They came from the little village of Thwaite, at the top end of Swaledale in Yorkshire, an area in which I have spent some happy holidays and discovered more about these famous brothers, then went on to collect a number of their much sought after books. Cherry (the curious Christian name derives from the surname of another family linked to the Keartons) went from a poor village boy to friend of an American President and inspired David Attenborough to become a wildlife film maker, being one of his childhood heroes. The brothers took their first natural history photograph on 11th April, 1892.

Equipped with a camera that cost five shillings, they depicted the nest and eggs of a song thrush. They pioneered the wildlife hide, adapting an old tree stump to take closer pictures. Crouched in an artificial rock every day for a week, at arm’s length a pair of ring ouzels feed their young and waiting for a gleam of sunshine to photograph them. A reversible cap and jacket, dead grass brown on one side and living meadow green on the other in which to remain unobserved. Richard writes:- ‘As the Greeks of old entered Troy in a wooden horse it occurred to me one day that by the employment of similar stealthy means I might enter some of the secrets of the bird world. I therefore went straightaway to a butcher and requested him to buy the largest fat ox he could lay his hands upon, skin it carefully and send the hide to my old friend, Mr. Rowland Ward of Piccadilly, who stuffed it so well that during its palmy days before it had been blown over and otherwise injured, it was several times mistaken, when out in the fields, for a live animal. Although an admirable hiding device, the stuffed ox has one fatal drawback, if used during breezy weather, it is liable to be blown over. I remember once returning to see how my brother was faring whilst waiting for some subject, and arrived upon the scene just in time to witness man and beast occupying a very undignified position. The back of the ox had landed in a slight declivity, and the feet of both biped and quadruple were pointed towards the zenith!’ Cherry Kearton was a man who liked to be first. He published the first photographically illustrated bird book in the world and was one of the first naturalists to use a telephoto lens. In 1903 he took the first motion picture of a wild bird and pioneered aerial photography. In Africa, he flew in the first aeroplane to appear there and showed East Africa the first film of its own fauna. The fieldfare I started off with has taken over part of my garden since the cold snap started and chases off the many blackbirds from the windfall apples I put out everyday. He has become very fierce and possessive and even chases off a robin I have seen several times attempting to eat one of the apples. Every morning he is there staking his claim and remains all day, eating and guarding. Other small birds he does not bother with as long as they leave the forbidden fruit alone!! David Roberts POETRY GROUP Earlier in the year I attended a Blake poetry study day in Sutton Courtney and met someone from Fulbrook who was also a Blake fan. We're considering starting a Blake study group meeting either fortnightly or monthly. If this would be of interest to you please contact me on 01993 846230. Alma Tumilowicz

WHAT SHALL WE HAVE FOR DINNER? Holwell’s Marie Antoinette urges us to stuff the diet and lets us eat….. NUTELLA CAKE know I should be writing about diet food after the usual Christmas excesses (which of course last well I into January, and beyond, because all that chocolate has to be eaten and you may as well eat it up and then start the diet … However, some of us have birthdays in January (which it still as I write this) and birthdays require cake so I thought I would draw your attention to my current cake of choice; Nigella’s Nutella Cake, or Torta alla Gianduia to give it its posh name, from her Domestic Goddess book. I have made this several times and it always works. Nigella puts toasted hazelnuts on the top but I prefer it with just the chocolate icing. I have also used ground almonds in place of ground hazelnuts and it was fine. It works just as well as a pudding, with whipped cream, as it does with a cup of coffee.

Torta all Gianduia For the cake 100g ground hazelnuts 6 large eggs, separated 100g dark chocolate, melted pinch of salt For the icing 125g soft unsalted butter 100g hazelnuts (peeled weight) 400g jar Nutella 125ml double cream 1 tbsp Frangelico (a hazelnut liqueur) or 1 tbsp Frangelico or rum rum 125g dark chocolate Grease and line a 23 cm Springform tin. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together then add the Frangelico (or whatever you are using), egg yolks and ground hazelnuts. Fold in the cooled, melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of egg white, then fold in the rest of the egg white. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is beginning to come away from the sides. Cool on a rack. For the topping, toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upwards and the nuts are golden brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so that they don’t burn or brown unevenly. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cream, liqueur and chocolate and heat gently. Once the chocolate has melted take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice the top of the cake. Cover the cake with the icing then dot thickly with the whole, toasted hazelnuts. Serves 8 Angela Galione

CARTERTON FOOTBALL CLUB Things will be starting back on the social activities front in the month of February and may be advertised at short notice. Because of this please consult the main web site on www.cartertonfc.co.uk to get the latest on what is happening that has being planned.

THE THAMES PATH So, Christmas over and the bird-bones consigned to the stock pot. What do you do then? Sit in front of the fire and discuss plans for 2010 of course...... Or you pack a small rucksack and set off down the Thames Path. Well, part of it, for the whole thing meanders 184 miles from the source at Thames Head in Cricklade (yes, I know learned chaps in saloon bars have discussed the exact source since Old Father Thames was a lad) down to the Thames Barrier. We walked a middle bit from Oxford to Reading: from Folly Bridge below the sublime pinnacles of Christ Church Cathedral to the ridiculousness of a very wet and very cold Reading railway station four days later. ‘What?’ You cry. ‘Four days to walk 40 miles?’ But when contiguous alternate stretches of mud and ice means that every step is either squelch or slither, walking is a very slow business indeed. And anyway ‘The Thames Path’ is a somewhat grand name for what is essentially a discontinuous series of local paths joined by fiendish deviations around intractable obstacles like towns and tributaries. Most of the path lies along the river bank, and is pretty clearly marked by the Thames itself which is not only a fairly clear signpost of the path, but has a built-in direction arrow (the current) which continuously announces ‘this way to London.’ However for those who suffer from river blindness, the Powers-that- Be have very helpfully supplied small direction markers nailed to fence posts. The deviations are a different matter all together: those same Powers-that-Be having casually signed the path away from the river, hide behind a tree and have a good laugh as walkers plodding off round the obstacle turn into somewhat irritated bloodhounds quartering the ground to find the river again. But notwithstanding the vagaries of the path, the river itself is a faithful guide to the unfamiliar in a familiar landscape. Well-known towns and villages look quite different from the river, and of course bridges one speeds in a car over look and feel so very different when you walk slowly under them alongside the river. At the Oxford end there are terraces of innumerable university boathouses, all emblazoned with their college arms, and looking like encampments on a medieval battlefield. There are the locks and the weirs crisscrossed with footways over the torrents of water, and the remarkable Isis Tavern at Iffley approachable only from the tow path. There are the trees lining the banks that even in wintry daylight are constant

34 reminders that this is where Ratty and his hirsute mates messed about in boats. And as the shadows lengthen, and the woods grow dreary and not a little sinister, one thinks instead of BB’s Little Grey Men trooping about their gnomish business. And there are the astonishing arrays of Very Large And Opulent Houses Indeed which are perched on the skyline above their Equally Opulent Gardens that sweep down to the water’s edge. It is a very curious coincidence that the path is always on the opposite bank from the very large houses, rather as in India the sacred cows never seem to graze in the rich neighbourhoods. These are blessed, lucky worlds in which bread always falls butter side up. The Thames Path also provides comfort to the walker, for there is no shortage of pubs for lunch and hotels for dinner and a bed. The first night it was a four- poster in Abingdon, on the second it should have been in Wallingford. But well after dark we stumbled round a bend in the river to see the Bridge Hotel at Shillingford lit up like a liner alongside the quay. Who could resist it? So Wallingford was relegated to a coffee-stop on the next morning. The third night was spent in Goring at a pub that had been made-over to such a height that everyone had forgotten such low things as ‘how to light the fire’. However, one of the regulars at the bar knew where the wood-axe was kept, and yours truly wielded the matches to excellent effect. Even after getting very wet and very muddy, we are now, of course, bitten with the Thames Path bug, and look forward to soon doing the up-stream tranche from Oxford back to Cricklade, and then marching from Reading through the monied Maidenhead and Marlow onwards to London. Come on, get your boots on. . . And we’ll race you to the sea. Richard Martin

LETTERS Dear Editor, If anyone has photo's or information of James Wickens (baker of Shilton ) and the family through the 1800's to 1900 could they please contact me on [email protected] or 01326 573755. His sons were also bakers and grocers; they had the post office in the village in the mid to late 1800's. Many thanks. Simon Finch FREE ADS – SALES AND WANTED (Not trade) (Subject to space availability) Send to Lin Edgar (details inside front cover) before 10th of each month Small Bosch fridge, good condition, 2 years old, £45.00 Phone 01993 846169

The organic skincare range Neals Yard Remedies is still available locally. For more information, please call Alma on 01993 846230