The Hook Norton Village Newsletter
April 2005 Series 30 No 2

Village Affairs



NEWSLETTER TEAM

Directory: Diana Barber
Advertising: Judi Leader
Distribution: Bunty Reid
Proof reading: Nigel Lehmann
IT/Web Support: Martin Baxter


FROM THE EDITORS
The Newsletter Box contained £28.15 this month. Thank you.
Sadly, we report the deaths of Cora Joyce Anderson aged 90, Queenie Caroline Patricia Brain aged 80, Darren Paul Cooper aged 30, Stanley Harrison aged 85, Jacqueline Langcaster aged 57 (late of Hook Norton), Wendy Legge, nee Mobley aged 62, Muriel Parker and Paul Carter (late of Hook Norton). On behalf of the village, we send our condolences to their families and friends.


Andy Horne Helen Foster
hookynews@totalise.co.uk helen@broadedged.co.uk

The views expressed in the Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editorial Team.

RATES – CHEQUES PAYABLE TO 'HOOK NORTON NEWSLETTER'
Text & advertising copy deadline MONDAY, 16th MAY 2005
Text for Village activities Free (a small donation is welcome)
Inserts for Village Activities On request from Judi Leader
Commercial Advertising £22 per page & pro rata per issue
Commercial Inserts £20 per issue
Donations can be put in the Newsletter Box in the Post Office or posted to; Newsletter, c/o Hook Norton Post Office, Chapel Street, Hook Norton, Oxon.


HOOK NORTON FESTIVAL OF FINE ALES
Just a reminder that the 2005 Hook Norton Festival of Fine Ales will be taking place at the Pear Tree on Saturday 16th July. As usual there will be lots of different ales to sample, a variety of live music, Morris dancing and two pig roasts. More details will be available nearer the time on the festival web site - www.hookybeerfest.co.uk
This year we are looking for a few public-spirited individuals to join our beer begging team. These are the people who acquire the 70+ casks of beer, every pint of which is provided free of charge by breweries throughout the UK. All it requires is a few hours of your time to phone the breweries and ask them to donate some beer.
Benefits include full training (mostly in the Pear Tree), reimbursement of all costs, the opportunity to make new, like-minded friends and a nice warm feeling on the day when you have an opportunity to drink the fruits of your labours! Last year the festival raised £10,500 for charity. If you are interested in joining us, please call Gill Begnor


ST. PETER'S CHURCH
Although I am writing this issue in mid-March, by the time the newsletter lands on your door mats, Easter day will have just come and gone, much chocolate will have been consumed, and the children will be on their Easter holidays. It has been an incredibly busy and thought-provoking period for everyone involved with St. Peter's, as we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us all. The many, varied services and events in the run-up to Easter included the annual Lent course, a special concert of Music for Passiontide by Cotswold Voices, the Maundy Thursday Passover Supper, and the Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services.
St. Peter's marks the Lent period every year with a special project to raise money for a specific charity. This year the focus has been Tearfund's 'Step Forward' campaign (see www.tearfund.org), aimed at providing villages in Africa with water facilities. The project fits in well with the Make Poverty History campaign. All Easter service collections have been added to this year's Lent project fundraising (I'll have the totals by the next Newsletter). Additional events to raise money for the campaign included Anthea Fowler's very successful coffee morning (£150) a family lunch at St. Peters, which raised over £400, and the sale of 'Make Poverty History' wristbands by our own Fairtrade agent, Di Bowen (£50). Many thanks to everyone who donated to or raised money for this important cause. Every little we can do to help those in developing countries is vital. On the subject of the developing world, please remember that Di sets up her Fairtrade stall at the 10 am service at St. Peter's every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. It provides an opportunity to purchase all sorts of Fairtrade foods and order other goods from the catalogue.
On to forward events now. This year a party of 43 people from the village, including children, will be joining the 6,000 or so from around the country who are making the journey to just one of the six, week-long Spring Harvest festivals that take place in April every year (there are three separate week-long events in Minehead and three in Skegness). Believe it or not, bookings for 2006 will soon be have to be made (although payment will not be due 'til next year), so if anyone is interested in finding out more, please contact Jan Hughes (737900) or Sheila Acreman (737223).


Saturday May 14th is the date for a wonderful evening concert, entitled “If Musick be the Food of Love”, by internationally renowned musicians, Helen Rogers (Harpsichord) and Philippa Hyde (Soprano). The programme will include music by Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, Jacques Duphly, JS Bach, Claudio Monteverdi and Antonio Vivaldi.
Tickets available from Keith Fowler (737657) are £10 each, to include canapés and glass of wine, so please book early. Helen and Philippa have given over 300 concerts together as part of the music ensemble, The Musicke Companye, which has performed extensively throughout Europe with concerts, radio broadcasts and live TV appearances and concerts at London's Wigmore Hall and major festivals throughout the UK.

Please don't miss the St. Peter's Tide service on Sunday June 26th at 10 am. We will be joined by a very special speaker; 'Polly', from Banbury. For many years now, Polly has every evening made the journey through Banbury on her bicycle and trailer to St. Mary's Church. Outside St. Mary's she provides a freshly cooked meal for the town's homeless, feeding up to 20 people each evening, 365 days a year, without fail. Polly is a very special lady, and for some who may feel without hope, represents their only true friend. Her dedication to the homeless in Banbury is unfailing, and her Christian faith has touched many who previously had nothing to hold on to. Please make the effort to come to the service on June 26th. Polly does rely on donations of food items (she will not accept money) and behind the Font in St. Peter's Church there is now always a labelled plastic 'Polly Box' for donations of non-perishable foods. These are passed regularly to Polly, to help her continue with her valuable work.
Sophia Fox sophiafox1@aol.com


TRANSPORT
Bus diversion. As the road from Hooky to Wigginton cross-roads will be closed in the week Monday 4th to Friday 8th April, the bus service to Banbury will be unable to serve the stops at The Green and Austins Way. Do not wait at these stops for buses in either direction.
I hope Stagecoach will put notices at these bus stops. The bus to Banbury will turn up Sibford Road towards The Gate Hangs High after passing the Memorial Hall, and there will be a temporary stop in Sibford Road. I don't know exactly where – possibly near the lower end of The Glebe. Again, I hope there will be a bus stop post. Buses from Banbury will arrive coming down Sibford Road, turning right into the village centre.
Bus service. From an informal discussion with a County Council officer, I am hopeful that our bus service will survive the subsidy review, and that there may even be some improvement. The decision will be made on 24th March. Full details in the next issue.
Timetables. Timetables of several local bus and rail services are usually available in the rack at the Post Office counter.
Peter Fry, Parish Transport Representative


HOOK NORTON PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP
Playgroup offers child care for children aged 2+ years, Monday to Friday from 9.00am-12.00pm and 12.30pm-3.30pm with a lunch club from 12.00pm-12.30pm. Staff also pick up from the primary school children up to 8 years for Out of School care from 3.15pm until 6.00pm.
The Playgroup has been running at almost full capacity this term and is almost full for next term so if you would like a place for you child, please call soon on 01608 730560. Fundraising events have taken priority this term.
Thank you to all those who supported our Race Night last month which raised over £100. Very well done to Lucy Howard who completed the Silverstone Half Marathon with all her sponsorship money going to Playgroup which at the time of press was also over £100. Thank you Lucy!
The next big fundraising event will be a CAR BOOT SALE on Sunday 8th May at Wychford Lodge Farmhouse on the Whichford Road. Look out for details in the Banbury Guardian and for signposts on the day, or for more information please call Nicky on 01608 730270. We hope for good weather so please support us and come along to sell those unwanted goods that are taking up space (£5 per pitch) or to buy a bargain (buyers enter free).


PLAYGROUP HOLIDAY CLUB
Operating the same hours as term time the club will be open: 9.00am-12.00pm, 12.00pm-12.30pm, 12.30pm-3.30pm Monday 4th April - Friday 15th April and Tuesday 31st May - Friday 3rd June. Please call 01608 730560 to book your places.


COMMUNITY SPIRIT?
Would the person who removed a brand new 'Lilo', silver blue handled child's scooter from outside our front door in our front garden just before Christmas kindly return it immediately.
You might be chastened to know that you completely ruined a little boy's birthday by stealing his birthday present. You don't want a fuss and nor do I – just put it back quietly. Thank you.
Kate Underwood


FRIENDS OF HOOK NORTON SCHOOL (FOHNS)
A night enjoying dance and the Hooky sunset
Roll up, roll up for the event of the year - The Hook Norton Summer Ball on 17th June. Tickets are now on sale at the School Office and going fast. So don't hesitate to choose this romantic date when you can enjoy a three course meal in a marquee in the school fields and dance the evening away to the Blue Meanies through the night until the Survivors' Breakfast at 1.30pm. All for £45 a ticket. Forget winter, think summer, think sunsets, think fun.
Speaking of fun, the FOHNS Auction of Promises turned into a brilliant evening on March 12, when Chris Jury, that most polished of auctioneers, deployed his persuasive patter to great effect and succeeded in separating the participants from nearly £3,400. This stunning achievement means that FOHNS has now reached its target this year of raising £6500 for the school's new adventure playground. There were some wonderful promises up for auction: a week in a six berth caravan in Dorset raised the top bid of £300. There was a day's free golf at Chipping Norton Gold Club (£16), two waitresses offered themselves to serve and clear up a supper party (£30), there was a bicycle service (£28), a Shiatsu treatment (£32), a chimney sweep (£38), a helicopter ride with Fox FM (£120), a batch of drop scones (£7), an evening babysit (£18), half a lamb for the freezer (£52), drumming lessons (£32), not to mention eight rock cakes (£3), a car wash (£6) and a barrel of Best Bitter (£18), plus many more.
Thank you to everyone who attended and spent so generously, to all who donated such a wonderful and quirky set of promises. Thanks particularly to Jill Martin and to Hazel Hope, whose commitment to and organisation of the event over many months made such a great evening possible. As for those who made the promises: now you've got to keep them!
FOHNS chair Sally.scullion1@btinternet.com


HOOK NORTON AFTER SCHOOL CLUB
Having opened up its doors in January this year, the after school club is proving to be a huge success.
Aimed at children aged 8 - 11, the club offers an excellent facility in the Norman Matthews Community Hall (next to the library) with a snooker table, games, computers, books and much more.
Staff collect children at the school at 3.15pm and offer care until 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. There are still places available but they are filling up fast.
Thank you to those of you who came to our very successful Open Day. For anyone who missed it, please do arrange a visit soon by calling 01608 730560.


HOLIDAY CLUB
The after school club is also running for 8-11 year olds throughout the holidays but again places are filling up, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Holiday club will run from 8.30am until 6.00pm on the following days:
Monday 4th April - Friday 15th April and Tuesday 31st May - Friday 3rd June
Please phone 01608 730560 or 07854 982128 to book your places.


1st HOOK NORTON GUIDES

Click for larger image
We have had a very busy time since Christmas working on the Chocolate go-for-it. This has not all been tasting and eating, but looking at the history of chocolate, types of chocolate and looking at what chocolate everyone eats as well as their favourite bars.

Click for larger image
Early in March, Gill Judd came into our unit and showed the girls how to make truffles and put them into a chocolate box that the girls had made and decorated. Very impressive Mothers Day presents!
Later in March, we had some members of the Trefoil Guild come to make Easter cards with the girls.
Our community action this term has been making glove puppets for a primary school in Chipping Norton, together with back clothes, so that the children can make up their own plays. The guides thoroughly enjoyed making the puppets, as you can see from the photograph.
We are looking forward to the lighter evenings, so that we can get outside and practice our camping skills ready for the summer!
Julie Wood
WELCOME CLUB
It is with regret that I am unable to carry on running the Welcome Club.
The Club was formed 54 years ago and its aim was to bring retired persons in the village together for a Social Afternoon every fortnight.
If there is anyone willing to take over please let me know, otherwise the Club is closed.
Denise Gabriel


AGE CONCERN – HELP NEEDED
Age Concern Oxfordshire is looking for new volunteers and clients for its expanding befriending service. The befriending service reaches out to frail, isolated, housebound and lonely older people. This is covered in two ways. Firstly through our Phone Link service in which volunteers telephone older people on a regular basis between 2-4pm to have a chat. Secondly through Personal Home Visits where volunteers provide both practical and emotional support.
If you know of an older person who may benefit from this service or if you are interested in volunteering for this service please contact Laura Rowbotham on laurarowbotham@ageconcernoxon.org.uk


NEWS FROM THE SPORTS & SOCIAL CLUB
There have been a couple of events since the last newsletter, one on 19th February, which was a charity night in aid of Katherine House Hospice and the other on 26th February, where we had a truly fantastic band called the Tomcats, play for us.
At the charity event, Lee Stratford, very bravely had his head shaved, after many months of cultivating a rather long hair do and by doing this, managed to raise a massive £1000 for the hospice. Neville Pearce raised over £250 by having his beard shaved off (it's taken years off him, too!). Many thanks to Kerrie and Colette for organising this event.
The Tomcats gig was a great success raising £230 in ticket sales and plenty more at the bar, we even ran out of Hooky Best!! The evening was so good that we have arranged for the band to come back in October for a repeat performance, so start letting me know if you want tickets in advance.
On the subject of tickets, we are now selling them for our Slade tribute band SLYDE, who are due to perform on 19th March. We will also be taking advance bookings for tickets for our concert with the Yetties very soon, so get in quick with requests, as this will be a very popular event, with people coming from outside the village too.
We still need your support, so if anyone would like to become a member of the club, and utilise its facilities, then please let Geoff or I know, and we will be more than happy to chat!! (Anybody who knows us knows that chatting is as natural as breathing to both of us!!)
So, fellow villagers, we hope to see you at the club soon!


HOOK NORTON GARDEN CLUB
By the time you read this the 2005 Gardening Season should be well underway - weather willing.
The first Open Meeting in February was an amusing talk on flowering shrubs by Ernie Bingham. His illustrations on how and when to prune and the effect it has on shrubs were memorable.
As I write we look forward to a talk in March by local gardening Author Val Bourne followed by the annual Spring Show on the 2nd April.
On 20th April Hilary Twigg will talk on The Kitchen Garden and on 18th May Roger Huyton will talk on a Year in the Life of Kew. So there is lots to look forward to and if you haven't already joined or renewed your membership do get in touch with our Treasurer, Tony Freeman.
Verity Calderan


WORLD WAR 2 VETERANS REQUIRED
If you were born in Chipping Norton or Over Norton and did military service for your King and country then the Chipping Norton Family History Group would love to hear from you. The same applies if you know of any family member who served.
For our local project this year we are trying to trace every man and woman that served and thankfully came home at the end of the war. To do this, please Email: GenStudies@aol.com with a service number, rank and what part of the services you or the person concerned were attached to together with regiment, ship or squadron. If you happen to have a photograph of yourself or family member in uniform and would care to lend it to us to copy then please mention this as well. When complete this war time record will then be sent to the Imperial War Museum together with County depositories.
On Easter Saturday 26th March members will be found at the Co-operative Supermarket, in Chipping Norton with a small display together with the family military personnel list that so far stands at 120. So please come along and see if you or the family member is on the list and if not then we will add it on the day.


MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING – FRIDAY 30th SEPTEMBER
Advance notice that the Macmillan Coffee Morning this year will be held on Friday 30th September, 9am - 11.30am, in the Study Centre, Hook Norton Primary School.
Everyone is welcome - more details will be sent out nearer the time. Please make a note in your diaries.
Julie Wood


BAPTIST CHURCH
By the time this news letter comes out Easter will have come and gone. During Lent, we have been enjoying special meetings at the school on Wednesday evenings along with St. Peters' friends and, at Easter, a full programme of appropriate events.
In January we were delighted to be able to host a service of baptism and valediction for Susannah Rowe, who was off to Africa (Benin) on one of the 'mercy' ships for a year of discipleship training, language learning and practical service in the local community. We are following her activities with interest and wish her God's blessing on this big adventure.
In February we held a week of prayer, when the upper room in the new building was open for two hours in the middle of each day, and again each evening, for people to spend time praying for the Church, the village, the world and each other. That was a week of concentrated prayer, but 'normal' prayer life continues at different meetings every week, particularly on Saturday mornings between 8 and 9am. If there are things you would like us to pray about, please ring the church number, 737315, and leave a message, or speak to one of the leaders.
Our pastor, John, won't be available for the next three months as he is taking a well-earned sabbatical, but any needs or enquiries will be dealt with via the same telephone number.
Looking ahead, holiday club will be 1st to 5th August this year. Bookings will be taken during the summer term but keep the dates free if you want your child to be part of it. As this is my first time as a contributor to this newsletter may I add a personal note? As some may know. I suffered a stroke at Christmas at roughly the same time as the Asian earthquake and subsequent tsunami. As I watched the newsreels from my hospital bed I was reminded again how very fragile is our tenure on human life. I grieved for the thousands whose lives had been cut short so tragically and so instantly, many without having had the opportunity of knowing God.
I realized too, that had my stroke been more severe, I might not have been here either. Somehow I felt constrained to urge people to consider their own lives and put things right with God while there is still time because we never know which day will be our last. Think about it.!
Dorothy Smith


HOOK NORTON WI.
We had a really enjoyable meeting in February. All the items at the meeting were organised by the members themselves. Some of the poems and the prose that were read were delightful, some were funny and some were very moving.
There was also a members' own hilarious story recited with props and there was also a quiz.
Members were reminded of the next Group Meeting in Cropredy on April 28th
Alrys Morris


FREE VEGETABLES
If you enjoy fresh garden vegetables and have some land available but not the time or energy to grow your own, contact Malcolm Black. If this is of interest please give me a call on 01608 730668 to discuss without any obligation to proceed.
 
 
Malcolm Black.


FIREFIGHTING
The crew of Hook Norton Fire Station have had a reasonably quiet start to the New Year. During January to March we have answered 27 calls, out of these 13 standby calls for cover at Banbury, Bicester & Chipping Norton were answered along with a variety of calls which include 3 Chimney Fires, 4 False Alarms, a shop fire & a kitchen fire at a takeaway in Chipping Norton were answered along with a boiler fire at Brailes, a disused factory at Banbury, an electric pylon which caught fire in Hook Norton finally a Road Traffic Accident on South Hill which resulted in no injuries.
As you can see we have had a varied range of calls in the last 3 months, a few minor incidents we have attended around this area in 2004 year were a result of arson. Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service would like to remind householders & Businesses of the following: -
Wheelie bins are an excellent innovation for both storing and disposing of rubbish, but burn fiercely when on fire and if left next to or moved near buildings when ignited have serious consequences.
If you have any fire safety concerns contact the community fire safety help line on 0800 0 325 999 or e-mail community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Push The Button Not Your Luck!

Finally we would like to remind you of the importance of maintaining access for all emergency service vehicles, here are a few points: -
Help us to Help You
Remember, that emergency service vehicle may be coming to help you!!

Congratulations to Sean & Emily on the birth of
James Christopher
from all the Crew at Hooky Fire Station!!


GOOD NEIGHBOURS
I moved in December from my home of 35 years in Wellbank to a new neighbourhood of Osney Bank and I would like to thank my new neighbours for making me feel at home among them.
I would also like to thank all my old neighbours at Wellbank for putting up with me for the last 35 years. You have all seen me through some very sad times and I am grateful to you all for being there for me. Also, a big thank you must go to my sisters, brother, brother in law, nieces and nephews who have supported me throughout the move and who's love has seen me through a very sad time.
Love to all family and neighbours, new and old.
Kim Woodward


WILDLIFE NOTEBOOK - MID JANUARY TO MID MARCH
I am writing this article whilst watching a male and female Blackbird searching around our garden for worms. The Blackbirds seem to vanish after breeding and are missing for months, apart from the odd one or two, then when they do return we see so many. If you have garden feeders, then I expect you have been buying an enormous amount of seeds and peanuts. It is so wonderful to see all the birds. We enjoyed taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch for an hour over the weekend of 29th-30th January. You do not need to be an expert and it does not matter if you do not see many birds, but it does build up a picture about how our garden birds are faring. Stella Taylor phoned to say that she has seen 2 male and 1 female Blackcap in her garden in Watery Lane. For the first time ever we have had a male and female Blackcap in our garden. Has anyone else seen a Blackcap? A Nuthatch was seen in the back garden of Nailsworth by the Pickerings at the beginning of March and Tawny Owls have been heard in East End and in the middle of the village. Late evening on 10th March a Barn Owl was seen flying across the road near Turpins Lodge. Since Christmas Cedric Brain has seen a Barn Owl flying at about 4.00am on the Hook Norton to Chipping Norton road. At this time of the morning he often sees Owls, large and small Deer, Badgers and Foxes along this stretch of road. David Shirt reports that on 19th February a Sparrowhawk suddenly appeared in his garden in a large shrub a few yards from the bird table. It hopped onto the ground, where it spent a few moments before flying off across the fields. Betty White of Round Close Road phoned to say that on the morning of 24th February, as well as the normal very black and white British version of the Pied Wagtail, she had seen a much greyer European version in her garden. A Buzzard has been seen 5 times in February and March in the East End. When Stella Taylor phoned on 1 March she also wanted to tell me that there had been a resident Pheasant in the Watery Lane area which had been around for about a month and for the past two weeks had been in her garden for up to 5 hours a day, but she had not seen it the last three days, so it must have moved on. On 19 February in Mobbs Lane there was a female Blackbird with nest material in its beak flying into the ivy. I have also been advised in the last couple of days that Blue Tits are building a nest in a bird box in the middle of the village. I have been thinking about the fact that, particularly at this time of the year with young birds and animals around, we should all protect plants and animals and take our litter home and that dogs should be kept under control so that they are not a danger or nuisance to wildlife or farm animals - please follow the Countryside Code. The 1st February was the sighting of the first Bumblebee. These are social bees and they make their nests with wax from their own bodies. Bumblebee colonies last for just one season. Young mated queens hibernate and begin new colonies in the spring. They have long tongues and can obtain nectar from deep-throated flowers. They carry pollen on their hind legs, held by stiff hairs which form the pollen baskets. The first butterfly, a Small Tortoiseshell, was seen on 4th February. Frog spawn was seen on 8th March in a pond in the middle of the village. Has anyone else got frog spawn in their pond? Mid evening on 9th March David Shirt saw a large pale Polecat-ferret running about on the verge near The Gate Hangs High (it was obviously a feral animal).I would like to remind you about the Wildlife walk which will take place on Saturday 30th April, starting at the Memorial Hall at 8.00am. We will be walking down to the bottom of Park Hill where we will take the footpath signposted to Swerford and Wigginton. We will walk round in a circle taking about 2 hours. As the walk will be through fields you will have to keep an eye on the weather as we might need to wear Wellington boots, but if it has been dry good walking shoes or boots might be alright. The arrival of the migrating birds will have been held up as the wind has been coming from the north, but it has now changed around, so we need to look for the first Swallows, House Martins and Swifts and who will be the first person to hear the Cuckoo? Thank you very much to those of you who have been in touch, please keep calling.
Geraldine Moore email: geraldine.moore1@btinternet.com