The Baldons and Nuneham Courtenay Newsletter October 2012
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The Baldons and Nuneham Courtenay Newsletter October 2012 Halloween Story and Craft Time Wednesday October 31st 2012 3.45pm at the Berinsfield Library All Welcome: Children accompanied by an adult please Sign up at the Library join in explore discover log on Save the date! Christmas Craft Fayre Sunday 11th November 12 till 4. Some old favourites and some new faces. Something for everyone! Shop, have coffee with friends and have a massage! Fantastic glass work, jewellery, cakes, handmade chocolates and much much more! More information to follow so watch this space. 2 October 2012 Dear Friends, The Olympics have had a tremendous impact on our nation. The quality that has stood out for me has been commitment. Commitment by volunteers, commitment by spectators and of course the commitment of those taking part. If there were to be just one legacy of the Games to the nation, I hope it will be an overall change in notions of commitment. Over the years there seems to be an element of conditionality creeping into our understanding of commitment. I will stay in this relationship whilst it delivers the happiness I want. I will keep up my fitness regime until I can get into a size 10. I will keep with this job until something better turns up. Or put the other way round, I am not going to maintain this friendship because it’s only ever me that makes any effort. I’m not going to football practice any more because I didn’t get chosen for the team. In my job, I most often meet ‘conditional’ commitment when people tell me why they don’t believe in God any more or why they don’t come to church any more. The reasons are usually similar, faith or the church did not deliver what I wanted. A relative did not recover when I prayed, the vicar was difficult at my father’s funeral, they’ve changed the time of the service and it means getting up too early. I have been impressed by Mo Farah, Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis and many others. They must have had occasions when they felt like giving up. They must have had occasions when what they were getting out of training did not warrant the effort they were putting in. And what of those who trained for years and then did not even get selected for the games? Commitment in any part of life is not easy, that is the nature of it, in the tougher moments it can be just about endurance and tenacity, but the rewards are to be found in the long term more often than the short, just look at our Olympians. Best wishes, Ros The Revd Ros Latham is Team vicar for The Baldons, Berinsfield and Drayton St Leonard: e-mail: [email protected] and tel: 01865 340460 The Revd Dr Hannah Cleugh is Curate for The Baldons, Berinsfield and Drayton St Leonard: e-mail [email protected] and tel: 01865 341382 3 MARSH BALDON SCHOOL NEWS Everyone returned to school in good spirits at the beginning of September for what promises to be another exciting and enjoyable year in the life of the school. We are aiming to use the brilliant performances of the athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games as an inspiration for the children to go on and achieve great things. We are very pleased to welcome Henry, William, Che, Harriet, Nataliya, Lachlan, Lucy, Finlay, Luke, Samuel, Ottavio, James, Georgina and Angus who are all starting in Class1 and Alexander in Class 3. We have a number of events planned for this term. We are also very pleased to see people from the village join us for these occasions. You are always very welcome. October Thur 4 MacMillan Coffee Morning 9.00am Tue 16 HARVEST FESTIVAL - church 2.30pm December Tue 4 KS2 Play – Dress Rehearsal 1.30pm Wed 5 KS2 Play – Evening Performance 6.30pm Tue 11 Class 2 Christmas Play 2.00pm Fri 14 Nativity Play at the church 9.00am Fri 21 Christmas Carol Service at the church 9.00am In fact we would like to extend an invitation to any villager who would like to come and see the school and the children. Please ring first though just make sure we are there! You can find out all about the school on our website; www.marshbaldonschool.co.uk We have a number of exciting activities planned for the children this term including a percussion workshop and a day of healthy living activities. There will also be some athletics coaching as well as a full programme of after school clubs. We are all very proud of our school. If you have young preschool children, it’s that time of year again to think about future schools. If you have or know of any children who want to enrol at our school in September 2013, Oxfordshire County Council advise the following: For children born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 (inclusive), you must apply for a school place for entry in the academic year beginning September 2013. The closing date for applications is 15 January 2013 . Applications can be made through OCC’s website. The ‘Starting Schools’ booklet is available from the school office and contains all the information you need. Visits from prospective parents are most welcome. Please ring and arrange an appointment. Autumn is a great time to get the children outside and explore! There are a lot of changes happening in the countryside at this time of year and of course, lots of wonderful colours. 4 We have planned a whole week of Outdoor lessons in October and I know we will be ‘out and about’ whatever the weather! Please say hello to us if you see us around the village! Best wishes Nick Pitson SCHOOL CLEANER NEEDED We are looking for a new regular cleaner. The job consists of 2 ½ hours a day, Monday to Friday. Start time can be flexible but must be between 3.30pm and 4.30pm. If anyone is interested in the position, or knows of anyone who might be, please contact the school. BALDON FEAST The Great Village Festival for Nuneham Courtenay, Toot and Marsh Baldon For those fortunate enough to be able to attend this fantastic village festival it was truly a great day and what magnificent weather with which we were blessed. There was a packed schedule of features with high quality music and the beautifully dressed Irish dancers. The market this year had an extra touch, more and varied stalls. Who enjoyed a look at the classic MG motor cars and old speedway motorcycles, many felt it was good addition to our fête. The display of owls and hawks found great interest amongst many of you. You will be pleased to know that we have already booked a slot with Clive the enthusiast in charge of the birds who said next year he will be flying them overhead, should prove to be quite something. Already others have approached me with ideas, some of which I am sure we can accommodate. If you wish to make suggestions please do so by contacting me. The Parish Council who authorize and back the Baldon Feast are committed to its continuation. It has been deemed as a non-profit making event, which means that any surpluses can be offset against any loses and where appropriate funds can be used to source additional even special attractions. In this way and with your attendance the Baldon Feast can have a fresh feel each year whilst continuing to be a traditional funfair and village fête. The Council would really like to see a greater involvement of local talent, features and games so we welcome your participation. I would like to thank very much all the volunteers and sponsors for all of your help, without which there could be no Baldon Feast. You may at any time log-on to www.baldons.org.uk and click on Baldon Feast to keep updated with current progress. BALDON FEAST 2013 will be held 2 - 6pm Saturday 17th August 2013 Ralph Slaney - Baldon Feast Organizer on behalf of The Baldons Parish Council 01865 343 275 [email protected] 5 BALDONS PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Highways Matters Flooding Keith Stenning Area Steward for Oxfordshire Highways Dept. attended the meeting following the concern we had expressed in writing about the long delay in dealing with flooding at the bottom of The Croft earlier in the summer. Whilst he was unable to explain why it had occurred he accepted that mistakes were made and the 11 week delay from first being reported, and subsequently reported, was unacceptable, but he also emphasised that the severe financial constraints of the highways maintenance budget could be a contributory factor. His dept. have now established that there are broken drains under the road that require investigation and repair that contribute to the flooding problem and the council has asked for information on the this and timescale of repair. Road signs New ‘slippery road’ signs have recently been installed on the road between Marsh and Toot Baldon. This is because the Highways dept. has judged the road surface to be smooth and whilst resurfacing may be needed it can’t be afforded at this time and the signs are intended to help with road safety. Traffic Survey During development of the Parish Plan the issue of traffic using the village roads as a rat run was raised as a concern and the need for a traffic survey was identified as a high priority Thanks to help from David Turner our District Councillor the Highways dept.