EASTERTON ECHOES EASTCOTT AND EASTERTON SANDS ELECTRONIC ISSUE 15 JANUARY 25TH 2021 “There are no strangers living here, only friends that you have yet to meet.” Chairman’s message A New Year – a new beginning with vaccinations against Covid-19 being rolled out faster and faster in the area. There is, of course, the very real cautionary note that we have to continue to respect the current lockdown instructions and the scientific advice even when you have had the vaccination, to wash hand, cover face and social distance 2m. These are all designed to control the spread of the virus and its mutations – not only to protect lives but to reduce the pressure on our NHS workers. The rewards that we can look forward to – a slow return to some normality – will be worth this continued pressure on our sanity and well-being. Your Parish Council continues to work on your behalf although severely restricted by the effects of the pandemic on some of the support structure within Wiltshire Council. Councillors really appreciate the neighbourly help given within the community, and recognise that success in containing the infection in this area is down to each and every one of our readers playing their part – thank you. I don’t normally draw attention to poems but hope that some part of the following will strike an encouraging note with readers. Chris Saunders New visions of all that is noble and true, New powers for service, new knowledge of God, New zeal for the ways that the heroes have trod, New comforts, new courage, new graces, new joys, New peace where the evil assails or annoys, New friendship, new helpers, new faith and new love, New treasures on earth and new treasures above, New wisdom, new glory, new health, and new cheer, Nothing old, all things new, in the happy new year! (anonymous) NEXT PARISH MEETING: 15TH FEBRUARY 2021 AT 7:30PM ON ZOOM For any further information or if you would like to attend the meeting please contact the Parish Clerk. Email: [email protected] THE PARISH COUNCIL NEEDS YOU ! The Annual Parish Meeting is coming up in April and is open to all the parishioners. Easterton Parish Council invites a guest speaker to talk about their subject, career or adventure. We have some options of subjects at the moment such as a talk on green energy, on Ash die back problems, on Covid but perhaps you know of a potential guest speaker for the Annual Parish Meeting who will be of great interest to us all? Additionally, with the options of Zoom nowadays, this might be an opportunity to organise monthly talks from a guest speaker with interesting jobs, careers or views. Please contact the Parish Clerk with ideas or views on any of the above [email protected] 1 of 10 www.eastertonpc.org.uk Market Lavington schoolboy has a strict message for irresponsible dog owners across Wiltshire. Noah Plumridge is frequently forced to jump out the path of dog poo on his way to school, and has now taken it upon himself to create posters and put them up across the village. The seven-year-old, who goes to St Barnabas School, said: “We walk to school three days a week and the paths we walk on have been littered with poo for a while now. I was getting fed up of my Mum shouting ‘POO’ or ‘Watch where you are walking.’ “So on Tuesday I decided to make some posters which we are sticking on the trees on the track where we walk.” Active Noah, hopes “naughty” dog owner’s will now keep the paths clear for other young people. He added: “I hope that my posters will get people to pick up their dog poo and put it in one of the bins in the village. There are lots of bins.” DOG POO PROBLEM AGAIN !! Since this 3rd Lockdown started there are some irresponsible dog owners not clearing up after their pooches. This is not pleasant nor hygienic as there is a health risk to both humans and livestock. A concerned and responsible dog owner has come across dog faeces in public areas such as the Village Hall Playing Field. Some dog owners seem to think it is OK to hang the plastic bags of dog faeces up in trees and hedgerows. This photo was taken recently on Eastcott Common footpath. This is both unpleasant for other users of footpaths, public areas and the Village Hall playing field. There are dog poo bins in different parts of the village, including 3 at the Village Hall. DON’T LEAVE IT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO STEP IN. CARRY A DOG POO BAG WITH YOU AND USE IT ! 2 of 10 www.eastertonpc.org.uk STICK TO THE COUNTRY CODE AND DON’T DESTROY FOOD AND HAVE FOLLOW THE COUNTRY CODE YOUR DOG ON A LEAD Click on this link below for all the rules The Country Code in detail See what happens when you don’t stick to the path. An example of people not sticking to the legal path. Signs were put up urging walkers to stick to the pathway, but this has not solved the problem and some of the signs have been knocked down. Crop damage means loss of food production. This farmer estimates about 0.69ha of the field has been damaged, which could have yielded about 6tons of wheat – equivalent to 9,000 loaves of bread or about £1,000 in lost income. A farmer in Buckinghamshire. DOGS drilled a crop of winter wheat in early October in a 20ha field. The field contains a 727m Please keep your dog on a lead especially near stretch of public footpath, which is normally or when walking through a field with livestock about 1.5m wide – the minimum legal in. requirement – and allows walkers to enjoy Do not to let your dog chase livestock. panoramic views towards Aylesbury Vale as Pick up the dog poo. part of circular walks. General message to people visiting the But the increased footfall during the countryside, a “common sense approach” and coronavirus pandemic had turned the footpath understanding of the role farmers play in into a quagmire – and its width had increased producing food stick to the legal paths. from 5.5m at its widest in early November to as much as 11m in places today. Don’t dump rubbish anywhere except in your dustbins..! This was builders waste thrown into the ditch in White Street recently !!! Take your litter home or go to recycling Centre with larger rubbish. Recently bricks, tree stumps and general building rubbish was dumped at the top of Eastcott Common just beside the Byway. Don’t do it ! 3 of 10 www.eastertonpc.org.uk LOCAL LINK SCHEME NEEDS YOU….. Wiltshire Link Schemes are voluntary groups which offer a transport and good neighbour service to local people who are in need, perhaps because they are elderly, disabled, isolated and lonely, single parents, or temporarily in need because of illness. Due to Covid-19, local Link Schemes are For more information about Covid-19, including experiencing a shortage of volunteers who are the vaccine rollout in Wiltshire please visit unable to drive due to age and/or vulnerability. Wiltshire Council's dedicated Covid-19 page. They desperately need more volunteers to Information about the national Covid-19 support those in need of transport to and from vaccine rollout is also available on the their Covid-19 vaccination appointments. gov.uk website Volunteering your time could make a huge difference in supporting the national Covid-19 Vaccination programme vaccine effort. If there is anyone who has received a letter for If you are able to help, please get in touch to the vaccination and haven’t got any transport to find out more. get there please phone Wilts CC who are Telephone: 01380 722 241 operating a link programme to help anyone get Email: linkproject@communityfirst.org.uk to the vaccination centres. SURGERY AND VACCINATION NEWS through messages when it is quieter or the surgery is shut. Market Lavington Surgery The surgeries all have lists of people who have www.marketlavingtonsurgery.nhs.uk been sent letters by the government because of Courtyard Surgery underlying illnesses. However if you are a frontline health or social care worker, which www.courtyardsurgery.co.uk includes groups as diverse as paid carers and By the time you read this, everyone living or undertakers assistants, the surgery may not working in a local elderly care home will have have the information they need, to include you in had their first vaccination. Nearly everyone over the correct group. 80 will have been vaccinated at least once and Send the surgery information about your job and practices will be calling people aged over 75, someone can try to match your job to one of the and those who are carers, or in a health support allowed categories. job for their vaccinations. The practice also may not know if you are At the same time surgeries are providing all the temporarily housebound because you are self- usual services prescriptions, medical checks, isolating. clinics, referrals etc., even if most of these are It is the responsibility of patients to contact their being done at a distance. surgery, giving as much detail as possible, if they Organising and booking vaccination feel that their records need updating with any appointments takes a lot of time, so if phoning information that may be relevant to their care. your surgery you may have to wait longer than Please do not contact surgeries by phone as the usual, so please try to contact your surgery by e- surgeries are very busy and the people mail or via their website if possible.