THE NEWSLETTER FROM HAMPTON LUCY, CHARLECOTE AND LOXLEY PARISHES Issue No: 148 April 2013 Charlecote Village Hall Wall-Hanging The Charlecote wall-hanging, which will be made from twenty five panels of scenes and relevant aspects of Charlecote village and Park, all worked wool on canvas by residents. The project is progressing very well and regular workshops are held so that the ‘stitchers’ can admire each other's work and sort out any problems. Since the project began in November, one member of the group, Maddie Thorpe, has married and another, Judith Harris, has given birth to beautiful twins. The photograph shows Jill Wilson with her work entitled ‘The Gatehouse’, and Erica Fairfax-Lucy, who is working on a panel displaying the Lucy Family Crest. HH Parking in Hampton Lucy A New Millennium Yew Tree! A reader has contacted The Grapevine, asking us to draw In the year 2000, attention to a problem with parking in The Close and "millennium" yews Bridge Street. They write: “Please remind drivers that the were created from pavements are for walking on, not parking cars. There are cuttings taken from often several cars parked wholly across the pavement in yew trees which were The Close, with the result that one has to walk in the road. a thousand years old. Could we also respectfully ask residents of The Close to One was planted in the park on one side of the road only (the left hand side as you churchyard but it died. enter The Close), as recently cars have been parking on Now Fiona and Chris both sides, restricting access even for a small car. One Aylett have given us wonders what would happen if an emergency vehicle a replacement tree. needed access!” (Ed’s note: Perhaps the best approach This tree is now would be for the residents to get together to sort it out thirteen years old so it amongst themselves) is some seven feet tall … and whilst we are in Hampton Lucy: There is and very bushy. Admire it the next time you walk or drive an extraordinary amount of dog mess on the pavements past Charlecote Churchyard. Thank you Fiona and Chris. and the verges. Dog walkers - please be more considerate! It will be a magnificent tree for the residents of Charlecote It’s unpleasant, unhealthy and unnecessary. AJW to enjoy at the next millennium! SL Wellesbourne Airfield Open Day Wellesbourne Airfield will be open to visitors on Sunday, 5 May, from 10.00am to 4.00pm. You will be able to visit the flying clubs, with special trial lessons available, (booking advised), look around the restored Vulcan V-bomber, and see the hangars, fire vehicles, and control tower. The Touchdown Cafe will be serving their famous all-day breakfasts, hot meals, drinks and snacks with patio viewing for customers. A minibus will be available to shuttle around the airfield and between the various sites. Admission is free for all, so make it a date. FS The Hampton Lucy ‘ Knowledge and Nibbles’ Quiz Evening On Friday, 1March, the Village Hall Management Committee hosted a 'Knowledge & Nibbles' quiz evening. It was a new venture for the hall committee, but proved to be very successful and lots of fun, raising £290 for village hall funds. The event was a sell-out and comprised eight rounds of questions with an interval during which tasty savoury food was served. 'The Hampton Quartet' team were the worthy winners. Watch out for the next quiz! CG is printed by Think, Design and Print, 1 Windsor Court, Windsor Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6LF Telephone: 01789 415921. e-mail: [email protected] Rev’d David Jessett Rev’d Cathy Davies The Rectory 3 Wilkins Close Church Lane The Parish Letter Barford. Barford CV35 8EX CV35 8ES Tel: 01926 624139 Tel: 01926 624238 Working days: E-mail: [email protected] Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. E-mail: [email protected] Dear Friends, As I sit and write, it is March and impossible to imagine It can feel like that in other ways through Lent. It is a time summer eventually coming! The current sub-zero of journeying through the Gospels - the accounts of Jesus’ temperatures and snow flurries are Arctic, the pond is life - towards the cross and Good Friday. It can be heart- frozen and the birds are fluffed up and feeding like mad breakingly sad, particularly in the last week. It can seem, to fend off the cold. There are signs of change - the and must have seemed to the first Disciples, the end of occasional dazzling blue skies, spring flowers and buds, everything they had hoped, lived and worked for. By Good but the overall feeling is of having long forgotten last Friday afternoon they are left alone in danger, sorrow and summer and not being able to quite believe the next one despair. It must have been impossible for them to imagine is coming! Easter Sunday in the darkness of Good Friday. But new life did come on Easter Morning - dazzling and That reminds me of Lent. My daughter and many of her irrepressible. friends have given up something for Lent. It was fine at the start, with none of the withdrawal symptoms they Jesus alive - unimaginable, impossible, but true. expected from chocolate and their other favourite snacks. The real struggle has come two weeks from the To be light and life through our winters and summers. end, when they can hardly remember the taste of To be light and life at our journey’s end. chocolate and the opportunity to taste it again still seems impossibly distant! Happy Easter. Cathy Rev’d CD News from the Parishes A complete list of church services, including those at Barford, Wasperton and Sherbourne, is displayed on the notice board in your church. The 3P Prayer Group The 3P Prayer Group will meet on Thursdays, 4 April and 25 April, 7.30pm for 7.45pm, at the home of Janet and Duncan Fairfax-Lucy, by their kind invitation. NS 2013 Church Meetings - dates and venues: Charlecote Annual Church Meeting, Monday, 15 April at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall. Hampton Lucy Annual Church Meeting, Thursday 18 April at 7.30 pm in the School.Loxley Annual Church Meeting, Monday 22 April at 7.30 pm in the School. Rev’d DJ Hampton Lucy Parish Council The Parish Council met in the village hall on Wednesday, 13 March. The Council was addressed by Colin Pittam, West Midlands Ambulance Service, about the introduction of a defibrillator scheme in the village. The defibrillator would be supplied free of charge, leaving the Council to finance a 'green bag' kit for Community First Responders (CFRs). There is a CFR living close to the village and it is hoped others may offer their services for this important role. The 'green bag' would be transferred between the CFRs. More details will be supplied by WMAS for the Council's consideration. There are problems with the WCC Highway Spreadsheet and the Council is very concerned about the inordinate delay in rectifying the problem at the Packsaddle Junction. Charitable donations of £100 each were awarded to St Peter's Church and the Air Ambulance Service. Repeated call-outs to Severn Trent to clear the blocked foul water drain in Bridge Street appear to have finally sorted out the problem. The Village Hall Management Committee's annual financial report was read to the Council, and the committee was thanked for its tireless efforts in raising revenue. Derrick Clark was thanked for chain-harrowing the King George V playing field and he kindly offered to roll it when conditions allow. The minutes of the meeting are available from the Clerk by e-mail. Those not currently receiving the minutes but who would like to do so please contact [email protected] MW The next Grapevine will be the May edition. The copy deadline will be Wednesday, 10 April. It will be published on the village websites on 18 March, with printed copies delivered some time after 22 March. AJW There are no entries in the local parish records for this month. Wellesbourne & District Lions Club By the time you read this article the clocks will have sprung forward and winter will have become spring. We would like to say a big “thank you” to everybody who bought tickets in the raffle for our Giant Easter Eggs which were located in many local venues. We really value your support. I’ll announce how much was raised later and, if you were a lucky winner, I hope you enjoyed your prize! The Lions would also like to thank all the pubs, restaurants and businesses that kindly agreed to participate. We are often offered second-hand furniture items. Unfortunately, we are unable to store such items and reluctantly have to turn down the opportunity, but Shakespeare Hospice has a second-hand furniture store at Avenue Farm, Stratford. They would be pleased to accept good quality furniture and electrical items and are able to collect items free of charge from the local area. The shop is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 9.00am to 5.00pm and they can be contacted on 01789 205333. Happy Easter to you all from the Wellesbourne & District Lions. AS Hampton Lucy and Charlecote WI At the March Meeting ‘The County of Warwickshire’ was the title of the talk given by Rob Eyre, an archivist from the County Records Office. The archive is a collection of preserved items relating to the County, ranging from minutes, judicial papers (quarterly papers from the courts), letters, documents, papers and photographs.