THE BLUE BOAR INN Temple Grafton, B49 6NR 01789 750010 OPEN GATE NEWs THE LOCAL NEWSLETTER FOR ARDENS GRAFTON, TEMPLE GRAFTON, EXHALL, BLACKCLIFFE, HILLBOROUGH & CRANHILL www.theblueboar.co.uk [email protected] DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019 72ND EDITION Food Served Monday to Friday Temple Grafton Parish Council DIARY DATES AT A GLANCE Noon - 3.00pm & 6.00pm - 9.00pm Temple Grafton Parish Council held their November meet- Fri 7 Dec 18:00 TG School Christmas Fair ing in the village hall, chaired by Cl. Keays with apologies Sat 8 Dec 15.30 Henderson Family Open House Saturday from Cl. Vitty and with DCl. Sue Adams and C.Cl. Mark Cargil Wed 12 Dec 19.00 Temple Grafton W.I Noon - 10.00pm present. The open forum is a platform for local residents to voice their experiences and express concerns for unac- Thu 13 Dec 19:00 Open Gate News AGM Sunday Roast ceptable behaviour that arise in our parish. Cranhill resi- Fri 28 Dec 19:00 Exhall Rural Cinema dents condemned motorists who are breaking the speed Wed 26 Dec 11:00 Exhall Boxing Day Football Noon - 9.00pm limits and driving dangerously along the A439 from Cranhill to Bidford. The parish council were informed that some Tue 1 Jan 12:00 Exhall New Year’s Day Walk heavy goods vehicles and family size cars are speeding Mon 7 Jan 19:45 Temple Grafton Parish Council, excessively. It was also reported that motorcycles were us- ing the camber on the road, doing wheelies and racing. It Wed 9 Jan 19.00 Temple Grafton WI was also pointed out that there is a potential black spot Thu 10 Jan Mobile Library in Parishes outside the Bidford Health Centre, with two bus stops direct- Mon 21 Jan 19:45 Exhall Parish Council ly opposite each other, creating a dangerous blind spot for pedestrians. Thu 31 Jan Mobile Library in Parishes CCll. Cargil expressed his horror at the statements made by the residents of Cranhill and will commence a review of speeding data, and hopefully take steps to alleviate the Exhall Parish Council dangerous problem. The plan for a gas powered generating plan on the bor- CCll. Cargil also informed the parish council that the Police der of the parish is now unlikely to go ahead following station in Alcester will now be in operation 24 hours a day, the large number of objections from both the general and officers will be present to respond to calls reporting public and councillors. criminal activity; he requested that any crime should be reported as soon as the incident takes place. The plan to develop some extra accommodation at the Golden Cross Pub seems to have been approved by the Mrs. G. Nussey reported that the Neighbourhood Watch planning department of the Stratford District Council scheme was progressing well with lots of enthusiastic par- because the original objections of poor sewerage remov- ticipants, but more volunteers are required to cover all the al and lack of parking have been deemed to be incorrect. areas of the parish. The armistice commemorations in Exhall were well at- All residents of Temple Grafton parish, along with the parish tended, culminating with the lighting of a beacon and the of Binton, should be very proud of the wonderful tribute firing of an ancient cannon on the small hill overlooking OIL SERVICE WITH A SMILE paid to our fallen heroes of the Great War. The service at St. the village hall. Andrew’s Church was very well attended, and wreaths were laid in honour of the fallen soldiers. The vicar’s sermon and The next meeting of the Parish Council is planned for all the readings were very moving, and beautifully support- Monday January 21st at 7.45p.m in the village hall and as ed by an excellent choir. Residents of Temple Grafton and always, members of the general public are invited to Binton owe Margaret Kibblewhite and her army of volun- attend. Keith Miller teers a big vote of thanks for organising such a wonderful MIDLAND FUEL OIL remembrance service. Parish Plan Questionnaire YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT FUEL SUPPLIER Our next meeting is 7th January 2019. Robert Kemp Thank you for returning your Parish Plan ques- COMPETITIVE PRICES Please remember to park considerately tionnaires! They have now gone to Stratford PROMPT RELIABLE SERVICE and enable the gritting lorries to get District Council for the information to be collated. BIG ENOUGH TO COPE through our villages in cold weather! Watch this space during 2019 for more news! SMALL ENOUGH TO CARE www.midlandfueloil.co.uk Contributions welcome! Editor: Ann Baylis [email protected] 07748 171882 SAVE MONEY - JOIN THE TOP UP SCHEME Articles for the February/ March edition should be with the editor by 10th January. Simply ring us on: 0121 693 9333 1/6th page adverts cost £60 a year / £10 for a single edition. Inclusion of Inserts cost £10 per edition. Temple Grafton School Church Services FASTER BROADBAND UPDATE St Andrew’s Church, Temple Grafton For latest details, see the CSW project website at cswbroad- Temple Grafton W.I. With school bags packed, lunches 9th Dec 8am Holy Communion band.org.uk. To find out what services are currently availa- December 12th: Temple Grafton W.I. will be having a made and PE kits organised, we are ble at your number see the BT line checker dslcheck- 9th Dec 4pm Christingle Christmas get together with some fun and festive food. ready for the countdown to the fes- er.bt.com or virginmedia.com/shop/broadband.html tive season, with plenty to keep us occupied both in and 16th Dec 6.30pm Carol Service with Choir January 9th: Reflecting on the difficulty of winter travel out of the classroom. Many properties in Temple Grafton on the CSW map are last year we decided to have a trip down Memory Lane 25th Dec 10.30am Family Communion showing blue stars, which indicate work is ongoing with a At the end of last half term, our ‘Golden Rules Day’ saw with all members. The more amusing the better! St Giles’ Church, Exhall completion date of December ’18, or yellow stars which the whole school take part in mixed-class group activi- show properties are proposed for work commencing Au- February 13th: `Teddy Talks` by David Chatterley. Bring 9th Dec 11am Village Praise ties based on our core values, resulting in some fabulous tumn ’18, completing by end ’19. Openreach state the ‘blue along your Teddy and he will talk about them. 16th Dec 8am Holy Communion new artwork around the school. It was wonderful to see star’ area in TG is fibre enabled, but cabinet 16 is not yet Our meetings are held at the Graftons Village Hall on the the children working collaboratively on these pieces and 16th Dec 3pm Carol Service ready. I believe final checks involve some more road/ 2nd Wednesday of the month, 7.00 for 7.30pm. New what a fantastic representation they are of everything pavement engineering works… we shall see! 25th Dec 11am Family Communion members are always welcome! For further details please we strive for here at TG. Alun Thomas – CSW community broadband champion contact Mrs Eileen Timms on 01789 773671. St Milburga’s Church, Wixford We’re very pleased that Heart of [email protected] Jean Cholerton England Forest have invited us to 2nd Dec 6.30pm Evensong & Refreshments use their woodland learning space 23rd Dec 8am Holy Communion Warwickshire Libraries POTTERY GROUP SEEKING NEW MEMBERS! near Spernall. Each class visits 24th Dec 9.30pm Holy Communion once every half term for outdoor Warwickshire Libraries offer a free Home Library Service Do you enjoy making pottery? Our small group meets St Peter’s Church, Binton to those unable to visit their local library or learning activities led by Heart of every Saturday in Ardens Grafton between 11am-3pm and Mobile Library due to ill health or infirmity: England Forest staff. We are find- 23rd Dec 5pm Carol Service with Choir we just do our own thing, producing an array of pottery ing these trips a valuable addition www.warwickshire.gov.uk/homelibraryservice. 24th Dec 3pm Family Nativity items. It’s all hand-build – coiling, slabbing, etc (we have a to our forest school learning programme and the chil- 25th Dec 10.30am Family Communion slab roller, and room for a wheel if anyone really wants) dren are all looking forward to their next visit. The Mobile Library 30th Dec 8am Holy Communion timetable for plus we have kilns and all the various tools needed. No Class 3 and 4’s topic of World War 1 has been made all Thursday 10th & tuition, but we do assist one another with ideas and ad- the more poignant this year as we commemorate the Thursday 31st January: vice. It’s very informal; we currently have 2 chaps and 1 centenary of Armistice Day. The children worked hard Exhall Village News lady – all silver tops! Contact Fraser: 01789 565988 on their production of the play ‘Archie Dobson’s War’, which they performed during celebration assembly. TG We had a very special day on Remembrance Sunday in the Exhall Noticeboard: 10.45 - 11.10 village. We started with a special church service where we children were also very proud to have been invited to Ardens Grafton T Junction: 11.35 - 11.55 Nature Reserve Project take part in the Remembrance Day Parade in Bidford. read out the names of those lost in both wars connected to Temple Grafton Croft Lane: 13.35 - 14.05 the village. We observed a two minute silence and local Volunteers came back last week for the last time this year Our PTA Christmas Fair is 6-8pm villager Andy Cain played the last post.