1 BLEDINGTON FOXHOLES AND FOSCOT NEWS March 2021 No 444 Wandering amongst the tens of thousands of snowdrops at Colesbourne Park with the blue coloured water in the lake reflecting the clay minerals in the water. 2 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY MARCH 2021 Mondays and Fridays; Post Office, Oddington Vill. Hall (p 3) 10.30 to 12.00 Monday 1 Foxholes/Foscot WODC Grey Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Monday 1 Bledington Parish Council Meeting (ZOOM) (p 12) 8.00pm Tuesday 2 Bledington CDC Recycling Day (p 17) 7.00am Monday 8 Foxholes/Foscot WODC Green Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Wednesday 10 Egyptian Art, Walls and Murals (p 13) 10.30am Monday 15 Foxholes/Foscot Grey Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Tuesday 16 Bledington CDC Recycling Day (p 17) 7.00am Wednesday 17 Music in European Art Collections (p 13) 10.30am Monday 22 Foxholes/Foscot WODC Green Collection Day (p 17) 6.00am Tuesday 23 BLEDINGTON NEWS COPY DEADLINE (p 2) 12.00noon Sunday 28 CLOCKS GO FORWARD ONE HOUR 1.00am WE WELCOME NEWS CONTRIBUTIONS TO BLEDINGTON, FOXHOLES AND FOSCOT NEWS Please send your news contributions for the next Issue at any time. Copy deadline is strictly 12.00 Noon 23rd of each month (January to November). Please send news contributions for Bledington News to the editors, Wendy and Sinclair Scott, by paper copy to 4 Old Forge Close, Bledington, Chipping Norton, OX7 6XW or email us at [email protected] Tel: 01608 658624. Bledington News is published in full colour at www.bledington.com Please ensure you have a prompt acknowledgement of your contribution sent by email; this makes it certain we have received it. News contributions may be subject to editorial adjustment and regrettably, if received after the deadline time, cannot be included. 3 FROM THE EDITORS Wendy and Sinclair Scott Are we now seeing a relaxation on the horizon of the lockdown? Many in the Village have received the first vaccination jab and we are told we may be able to get a second jab and a haircut in the next weeks! However the Village will not come to life just yet. There will be no Spring Flower Show in April. The June Music Festival is postponed for another year. Are we actually going to see the return of the Lunch Club, the NCANT meetings, Parish Council Meetings with actual people? Perhaps go to church services where we can actually meet and talk to each other. Let’s hope so, as soon as it is safe; ZOOM is a great substitute but we are looking forward to some real meetings again. Bledington News is uploaded monthly to www.bledington.com See Bledington News in full Colour Bledington.com is Bledington’s website carrying full details of every aspect of Bledington. POST OFFICE AT ODDINGTON Angie Price Angie Price has made arrangements to open her Post Office in Oddington Village Hall at 10.30am to 12.00noon every Monday and Friday for the foreseeable future. Entrance is through the back door of Oddington Village Hall, adjacent to the hall car park by the children’s playground. 4 BLEDINGTON COMMUNITY SHOP AND CAFÉ—MARCH UPDATE Jo Shaw, Bledington Shop Manager February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March. J.R. Stockton I think in the current climate (weather and Covid!) this is probably a sentiment felt by everybody. I am sure we are all hoping that skipping through to March will provide us with some warmer weather and fewer restrictions! February in the shop has been very similar to January; we are still lovely and busy and very grateful to all our customers who continue to support us and shop local. The weather has been extremely cold; so our hot food offerings have been very welcomed, especially by all the local builders in the area! We also celebrated Valentine’s day and the cards and produce were really well received - must be lots of romantics in Bledington! The heart shaped chocolates flew out, as did the bouquets from Stow Flower Shop, which was amazing. We also promoted Shrove Tuesday, ensuring we had everything needed to have the perfect pancakes! Going forward, we are sourcing lots of lovely Easter chocolate, cards and gifts. With the fruit and vegetables, this month has seen Passionfruit, Kiwi, Blood Oranges, as well as some early Asparagus and delicious Rhubarb. And to brighten us all up, the daffodils are back! Our outside stands of fruit/veg are still a huge draw for our customers, knowing they can get fresh produce everyday. We are delighted to have several new volunteers signing up, which is really fantastic and we are very grateful to have them joining the team and helping to make the shop the success it is today. Community Shop Open Monday to Saturday: 9.00am to 4.00pm Sunday: 9.00am to 1.00pm Tel: 01608 65 99 77 Email: [email protected] Send your shopping list in advance for collection 5 CARE COMMITTEE DRIVERS - PLEA TO JOIN Sue Windsor With hospital trips beginning to increase and, hopefully, with life becoming more normal in the foreseeable future it would be good to have a few more drivers who would be prepared to do the hospital journeys. So if you are able to spare a few hours a month I would be very grateful to hear from you. It is so important that we keep this worthwhile service for the Village going. In the meantime a very big “Thank You” to our current drivers for all the help they have given us over the past year in very difficult circumstances. Do please contact me if you can help. [email protected] BLEDINGTON DIRECTORY Sue Windsor In view of the restrictions placed by the rules on Social Distancing you should have received, or will shortly receive, your copy of the Bledington Directory. As this is considered so useful by many of you, it was thought that it would be best this year not to call for the money but we would ask that, if you feel able, you make a donation to the Care Committee either at The Old Vicarage or to Angela Lear at The Trinders. Many of you will know that the sale of the Directory every third year is the major fund raiser for the services provided by the Committee and we would be most grateful for your help in this difficult year. What do you call a man with a spade? Doug. What do you call a man without a spade? Douglas. 6 BLEDINGTON SCHOOL Mrs J Kewley, Headteacher Tamsin Year 4 During the Corona virus lock-down I’ve been going into school three days a week because my parents are key workers for the NHS. The other two days I stay at home and do remote learning. When I’m at school I love Art lessons best; we’ve done shadowing. We drew trees in different seasons and showed the features. I also love Golden time because we’ve been doing Hama bead pictures which you have to iron to complete. We have literacy and maths to do every day and we get French and PE lessons too! At home my brother and I have set up a work station at the kitchen table. We do our work at the same time with mummy supervising us and then we have 15 minute breaks, either to watch telly, draw or listen to music and relax. My brother uses his breaks to do lego! We are doing Zoom sessions with our class friends, teachers and teaching assistants twice a week; once when I’m at home and once when I’m in school. This is really good because we haven’t seen each other since before Christmas! Even though we can’t meet up we can still see each other’s faces and tell everyone what we’ve been doing so it’s really fun. I really want Covid to end, I know everyone does. I’m looking forward to seeing more of my friends and family and being able to travel to places again. BLEDINGTON SCHOOL ASSOCIATION ‘100 CLUB’ WINNERS FOR FEBRUARY 2021 The following numbers win £5 each in February’s draw: 37 Sophie Baldwin 64 Christina Hiatt Edgar 100 Not Allocated 15 Polly Ingestre Congratulations to all the winners! Prize money will be distributed once school re-opens for all the children. Registered with: Cotswold District Council under Gambling Act 2005. Registration Number: 07/01271/GASSP Promoter: Annie Hammerstein, Harwood House, The Green, Bledington, OX7 6XQ Tel: 01608 659819 7 WE NEED YOU Would you be interested in supporting Bledington Primary school by becoming a governor? We have vacancies for co-opted governors and are looking for keen and enthusiastic people to join our dedicated team. You do not need to be an expert in the field of education. What you do need is an interest in the school and in the welfare of its pupils, together with the time and willingness to get involved. If interested, contact Sarah Newton ([email protected]) or Jill Kewley ([email protected]) 01608 658388 NEIL THE POSTMAN Tony Windsor Some readers may have wondered what has happened to our postman, Neil. I bumped into him in Chipping Norton the other day (12 February) and he told me that he had had a seizure at New Year resulting in a hospital stay. Thankfully he is recovered sufficiently to return to work but unfortunately is not allowed to drive so has a round in ‘Chippy’.