THE

HOOK NORTON

NEWSLETTER

December 2001 Series 26 No 6

Page 3


   

ON THIS PAGE
PARISH COUNCIL
NOTICEABLE
THE CHILDRENS' VOICE
MEMORIAL HALL
OUT OF THE BLUE
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
HOOK NORTON PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP
THE HOOK NORTON PRE-SCHOOL COMMUNITY MORNING
PRIMARY SCHOOL
HOOK NORTON OUT OF SCHOOL CLUB
WEA
THE BREWERY VISITOR CENTRE
DEDDINGTON COMMUNITY MARKET
RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE!
REFUSE COLLECTIONS
CARERS





Parish Council Meetings October and November 2001






TOWN TWINNING

The small French town of Sailly sur la Lys, near
Lille, is looking for a town twinning partner in England.
Anyone interested in this idea is asked   
to contact Ray Jelf on 737129.  
The town has a web site at   
www.ville.sailly.free.fr .    










YOUTH CLUB

The Council has approved
the taking of a 10-year lease of
the Youth Club building, and
expects to let a tender very shortly
for extensive redecoration to
enable the Out of School
Club to open there
in January.










HEART OF ENGLAND
JAZZ BAND
An old favourite returns to the Memorial Hall, 7.30pm,
18th January


VANDALISM
IN THE CEMETERY
A number of headstones in the lower cemetery were desecrated in October. The Police were notified, and regular visits have been made. Evidence (bottles and cans) has been collected for use in possible prosecutions. Anyone with any information, or who sees or hears anything suspicious, is asked to contact the Police. See the notices in the window of the Village Shop.







SPEED LIMITS
In response to the concerns of residents, Councillors met officers from the County Council and the Police recently to discuss the location of the speed limit signs on South Hill. The officers agreed in principle that these should be moved further up the hill. Changes to the location of the signs in Sibford Road and Swerford Road were also discussed. The proposals will be the subject of formal consultation and possibly a public meeting, and would take up to a year to implement.











DOG BINS


These are supposed to be emptied twice a week, but this has not been done recently. The Council is challenging the bill it has received from Cherwell for work not done. Please do not put dog litter in ordinary rubbish bins.








SCHOOL GOVERNOR
The Council has nominated Joe Williams to fill a vacancy for a Governor of Hook Norton Primary School.











VILLAGE PLAN

 At its next meeting on Thursday 13th December the Council will welcome Jackie Simpson from the Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council, who will speak on the preparation of Village Plans. A Village Plan might look at housing and transport issues, recreation facilities and any other social, economic and environmental issues. Any resident interested in this topic is invited to attend the meeting. (All meetings are of course open to the public).





The Council has received with regret the resignation of Mrs Chris Howe as Parish Clerk. It is clear that the amount of work now involved demands a rethink of the terms of the appointment, and the Council has agreed to advertise the post with a salary in the region of £10,000.
















ALLOWANCES FOR COUNCILLORS
 The Council has rejected proposals in a Government consultation paper for allowances for Parish Councillors, but has commented that it would be appropriate to be able to recompense individual councillors who have undertaken specific tasks involving many hours of work.








NOTICEABLE
- Do you notice notices?
If so, you might have noticed that there are far too many of them. This is, of course, just a reflection of the healthy number of activities going on in Hook Norton. But there are so many advertisements for up-and-coming events (as well as for some long gone) that the Parish Council's notice boards are full to overflowing and almost every telegraph pole in the village has its equivalent of a Wild West 'wanted' poster. In an attempt to solve the situation your ever-caring councillors are in the process of re-erecting the vandalised freestanding notice board outside the Memorial Hall and also considering - subject to cost - putting up two others at opposite ends of the village. In the meantime, it would be a huge help - and also considerate to your fellow advertisers on these freely provided facilities, if everyone could keep notices to A5 size (the same as a page in the newsletter) and remember to bring your own drawing pins (4 of them) rather than pinch other people's. That way we might all notice an improvement!


THE CHILDRENS' VOICE
Thank you for the note in October's Newsletter about the Green at Down End.
Throughout the day from dawn until 4.00pm you can almost hear a leaf drop. It's silent and hardly any traffic comes past. The few children whose homes border on Down End, do not go and play at the park because on police advice they should stay near their own homes and not play at the park, because of the teenagers who take drugs and smoke. These teenagers have bullied some of the children at Down End and have even beaten them up in the park. Those teenagers make the park an unsafe place to play in and have even vandalised the ramps at the park. Yes we have made a ramp on the Green but it's small and portable. There are toys on the Green but only when we are playing with them. The Green has always been a playground to us children and it was for generations before us. The children who have grown up now and have started families used to play there and I don't know why things should change now. We only want to keep out of trouble, away from the park because those teenagers are dangerous. There is never any litter left on the green and we have been taught never to drop any. If there is any litter my mother goes out and picks it up because she cares about the environment. Children should play in a safe place and here (where your parent can see you) is totally ideal and safe. This is a piece of land that belongs to the village not to one person. It is peaceful, quiet and clean for you all the long day so please tolerate us few children playing when we come out of school! Thank you.
Marianne Underwood.


MEMORIAL HALL
The new toilets at the Memorial Hall were officially opened on 8 November by District Councillor Kieron Mallon, the member responsible for Recreation matters and Mrs Betty Couldrey, widow of former Parish Councillor Barrie Couldrey, who had been responsible for getting the project off the ground. With the aid of a grant of £10,000 from Cherwell and £5,000 from the Lottery "Awards for All" scheme and with the Parish Council providing the balance of £7,500, a disabled toilet has been provided and the very shabby ladies' toilets completely rebuilt and refurbished. The scheme was designed and the contract supervised by Cherwell DC officers and the contractor was Derek Mill of Bourne Lane. Peter Fry, Chairman of the Hall Committee, thanked them all for the financial support and the excellent work done. Booking forms for use of the Hall are available in the Post Office, or phone Mrs Chris Howe on 737399.


OUT OF THE BLUE
If you read the notices I put on my notice board in the Village Store window you will have seen the one concerning recent damage in the cemetery in Tite Lane. Several headstones have been damaged at great cost to the community and distress to the relatives of those concerned. This is not acceptable! I quote the following for your information and would ask you to pass on this information to anyone you feel deserving:


Section 59 Cemeteries Clauses Act 1847
It is an offence for any person within the cemetery to:
* play any game or sport, or
* discharge any firearm (except military funerals), or
* wilfully and unlawfully disturb assembled persons gathered for a burial, or
* commit any nuisance.
so, no riding of bicycles, playing football, causing general nuisance etc.
Section 1(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971
It is an offence for a person without lawful excuse, to destroy or damage any property belonging to another:
* intending to destroy or damage any such property, or
* being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged.
ARRESTABLE !

Further notice on the graffiti in Cow lane, Swerford; any information to the numbers below please.
Someone has decided to dump their building rubbish on the corner of Holly Bush Road. Any witnesses?
We have received further complaints about the parking in Bells Lane.
Thank you for reading this.
Rosemary Dilsaver WPC818
Tel: 01608 648715 Fax: 01608 648724
e-mail rosemary.dilsaver@thamesvalley.police.uk


A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
I thought that I would use this magazine as an opportunity to introduce myself to the local community. I was promoted to the position of Inspector for the Chipping Norton Sector in May of this year. I would like to think of myself as an experienced police officer having joined the Thames Valley Police in 1975. I have had many roles in the police including area beat officer, control room and have spent a considerable time on CID investigating serious crime including child abuse.
On a personal note I am married with a young child and live in Northamptonshire.
I have served in large towns, namely High Wycombe and Milton Keynes and now find myself policing the Cotswolds, quite a contrast. That said, many of the issues that effect urban communities are also relative to rural communities and vice versa.
My initial impression of the area is that the people are friendly, prepared to work in partnerships and have a genuine pride and belief in their community.
On our particular 'Patch' we operate from Chipping Norton 24 hrs a day. Some of the incidents that we have to respond to are obviously urgent and our response times for such a vast rural area are excellent. As well as emergency incidents many of the calls that we receive are about issues that do not require an immediate response but need a joint approach to resolve long term. An example of these type of commitments may be parking problems, nuisance behaviour, minor damage etc. I know that to some people these types of incidents may seem petty but if you are personally affected by them then I know that they are anything but.
We are lucky that we have area beat officers at the police station who are very experienced, know their area and care about their work. This is not replicated in all police areas and their particular role is one that I wholeheartedly support. There may be times when an officer has to be used to provide cover for the shifts at Chipping Norton but we try to keep this to a minimum.
I hope to remain at the station for a considerable time but as many of you will know from your own professions continuity of role is not what it was. Many of my friends who are not in the police get work on short term contracts, moving between companies on a regular basis.
My hopes are to support and build on the already excellent work that your particular area beat officer Rosemary Dilsaver already does. We hope to improve communication links between the local community and the police. We are shortly to have trial boxes in some local shops that people can use to pass information to us. If successful we will endeavour to site these boxes in all local shops in our area.
We can not operate without the help of the community. We need you to be vigilant and suspicious of people and vehicles that are acting unusually, please pass this information on either to us directly or via your watch co-ordinators.
Please do not leave valuables on display in your vehicles. Lock and secure your sheds, garages and outhouses. Of course we do not live in a crime ridden community and yes of course we will investigate every reported crime. But it is frustrating and often deflating when property is stolen and often the theft was because it was clearly on display and attractive. You will be inconvenienced and probably suffer financially. Record serial numbers and visibly post code your items. We have been told all this before on many times but still fail to take notice.
I intend to hold a local forum in your parish in the New Year where hopefully we can meet in person. We will publish the dates in the near future. This will be a chance for you to air your opinions on any local issues that the police are involved in and hopefully by working together we can resolve them. I am happy to speak at any time about local policing issues and can be contacted at the police station.
Ian Edwards, Inspector.


Registered Charity no: 1032151
Registered Voucher
Provider no: 11234677
The Old School, off Osney Close
Queen Street, Hook Norton
OXON, OX15 5NW
Tel: 01608 730560
Hook Norton Pre-School Playgroup is now offering the following:
1)  Teeny Tots (2 to 2.5 year olds) 9.15am to 10.45am Tuesday & Thursday
2)  Morning Playgroup 9am to 12 noon
3)  Pick Up from Morning Nursery at Hook Norton C of E Primary School
4)  Lunch Club 12 noon to 12.30pm
5)  Take to Afternoon Nursery at Hook Norton C of E Primary School
6)  Afternoon Playgroup 12.30pm to 3.30pm Monday & Tuesday currently
For further information please contact Playgroup Staff on (01608) 730560 in opening times.


THE HOOK NORTON PRE-SCHOOL COMMUNITY MORNING
We meet in Hook Norton Primary School Study Centre on most Wednesday mornings during term time from 09.15 - 11.15. The entrance is to the left of the main school reception.
Each week there is a 'make' to take home toys and jigsaws, an opportunity to play and share with other children, share juice and biscuits with your friends (Tea and Coffee for adults) followed by songs and a story read by one of the school's teachers.
Entrance is 50p.
If you know anyone looking after small children who might be interested, please bring them along. Next meetings we will be making:
05.12.01 - PARTY HATS
 
12.12.01- CHRISTMAS PARTY
Charlotte Pashley


PRIMARY SCHOOL
A few weeks into the new school year and all pupils have been engaged in a wide variety of activities related to their academic work and after school activities. Jessica Nicholls reports on 'Harvest Festival' which took place in September.
At Hook Norton School, Harvest Festival took place to a packed audience on the 28th September. All sorts of songs were sung, traditional ones and also modern ones. Mr Bowen, our Head Teacher introduced it all. Year Two started off singing 'Paint Box', the Nursery sang 'Oats and Beans' and Mrs Groome's class told everyone the origins of harvest Greek style. The adults smiled when Key Stage Two sang 'The Sharing Bread'. A recorder trio played the 'Green Bushes' beautifully and a choral speaking of the poem 'Golden Boy' by Ted Hughes was spoken by year Five and Six. A collage of a cornucopia cup made by Year Three was shown and then some prayers said which made us all think how lucky we all are. Mrs Collins gave a talk about giving of yourself using oranges to demonstrate, then the whole school and the parents sang the closing song 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter'. It was a great service. Jessica Nicholls
A collection on this occasion raised £254 for the 'Children in Distress' Charity and on 'Jeans for Genes' day £200 was donated to that organisation. The school orchestra raised yet more funds for less fortunate children when they joined with Deddington Primary School to play at Castle Quay for 'Children in Need'.
The rich variety of literature enjoyed by pupils was illustrated during 'Book Week'. Pupils dressed up as a character or made puppets or scenes depicting their current reading book and teachers reviewed books that they had read at half term. Two pupils from the Computer Club won prizes for designing a picture for the new Surgery and older pupils took part in a Cricket Day. Children from the Nursery to Year 6 have benefited from visits beyond the school environment. These include the Village Shop and Day Centre, Tesco and Sainsbury's, The Ashmolean Museum, The Black Country Museum, Britain at War Museum and H.M.S. Belfast.
Twelve children and three Staff made a memorable visit to Vara, Sweden, as part of our international link. Our partner school arranged a wide range of activities for our children
to share with their pen friends. Everyone agreed it was a fantastic visit and helped us to further develop the link.
On the 7th November twelve children and three teachers from Hook Norton school went and visited Sweden. It was the first time Mr Bowen had ever taken children abroad but the trip went really well. We travelled by mini bus to Heathrow and boarded the aeroplane. We landed in Gothenburg at 1.30pm and got on a coach which took us to Vara where we would be staying for five days. We arrived at Vastra Skolan which is my pen pal's school. My partner that would be staying with me was Eleanor Reid. Luckily my host's house was very near the school so we didn't have very far to walk.
On Sunday 11th November Eleanor and I went to a Moose Museum, it was brilliant! It had two floors that were full of interesting things such as smell bottles which you would smell in the forest where the moose live. There was a rifle which you fired at a card moose and a computer would record your score. We also went looking for moose but we didn't find any! This was a brilliant trip and I really want to go to Sweden again. Lucy Curtis Year 6

Christmas activities will soon be underway. Songs are already being learnt for the Christmas Production when pupils will entertain members of the Day Care Centre and Welcome Club, as well as parents.
The School would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped the children in many ways during the year and to send best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.


HOOK NORTON OUT OF SCHOOL CLUB
Urgently needs Supervisors and Play Workers


The Club:
  • Is hoping to open early in the New Year.
  • has received a grant from the New Opportunities Fund to pay for running costs for the first year, buy equipment for the club and carry out some of the work to refurbish the Youth Club building.
  • Is currently going through the Registration Process with OFSTED.
BUT despite extensive advertising has been unable to recruit staff.
We need Supervisors and Play Workers to run the club after school during term time and all day during the school holidays. All the workers would need to be enthusiastic about working with children aged 5 to 11 and the Supervisor should hold a relevant qualification. Hours can be flexible and we can provide free training to provide a relevant qualification. It would be an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in working with children.
If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in working in the Club, please contact any of the following committee members:
Lynda Chalcraft, Vicky Sargent, Mandy Watkins.


WEA (Hook Norton Branch)
Another successful six week course ended on Thursday 16 November. The tutor Alice Foster took the course members through the artistic shifts in the late 19 th century together with some of the major artists of the 20 th century who followed new trends. Everyone agreed, after a great deal of discussion and laughter during the Course that they had gained a great deal of knowledge and enjoyment.
The Day Workshop dealing with 'The History of 15th to early 18th Century Furniture Design' held at the Brewery Heritage Centre was well attended. Fifteen students enrolled, two travelling from Abingdon and three representatives from a local auctioneering firm. Andy Gunn, a lecturer on furniture design from Rycotewood College, Thame, gave an informative talk relating to the design of furniture. He took into account the social, political and economical context of the period, creating the development of architectural tastes during the period.
The next six week Course starts on 31 January 2002 when the subject will be William Morris. Again Alice Foster will be the tutor. Alice has studied in depth the life and work of this pioneer of the Pre-Raphaelite Movement. Early enrolment is recommended. Class sizes are limited. Fee £25
On 17th April 2002 a Day Workshop will be held at the Brewery Heritage Centre from 10am to 1pm. The lecturer will be Martin Greenwood, an authority on the subject of the 'Civil War'. This Course will discuss the causes of the Civil War, the Campaigns, their impact on the countryside and people's lives, particularly here in North Oxfordshire.
Fee £17.50 - the cost includes a lunch and a visit to Broughton Castle.
For Enquiries and Enrolment please contact Sue Coltman or Paul Warwick.


THE BREWERY VISITOR CENTRE
The Centre which is normally open from 9am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday,
will also be open on Saturdays December 8th, 15th and 22nd from 9am to 5pm.




DEDDINGTON COMMUNITY MARKET
Deddington Community Market will continue throughout the winter. Markets are held between 9am and 1pm on the fourth Saturday of every month and there is a wide range of fresh local meat, game, poultry, eggs, honey, veg, cooked dishes, homemade bread and handicrafts.


RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE!
Cherwell District Council will provide kerbside collection of Christmas trees under six feet for recycling. On Saturday, 12 January 2002, place your tree - minus all decorations - out for collection by 7.00 am. Alternatively take your tree to centres at Alkerton and Ardley where new green waste skips have recently been introduced. For opening times and information, contact the Oxfordshire County Council on 01865 815796.


REFUSE COLLECTIONS
Over the holiday period household refuse collections will change as follows:
Tuesday December 25 th : No collection. Collection will be on Saturday 29 th December
Wednesday December 26 th : No collection. Collection will be on Wednesday 2 nd January
Tuesday January 1 st : No collection. Collection will be on Tuesday 8 th January 2002.
If your normal collection day is a Monday, Thursday or Friday then collections will be as normal over the holiday period.
BLUE BOX PAPER RECYCLING COLLECTIONS
No blue box paper recycling collections will be made over the Christmas period, collections will stop on Monday December 24 th for a fortnight.
For details of paper recycling collections in your area after the holiday period please refer to the sticker which will be attached to your bin or to the sack which will be left in your blue paper recycling box.


CARERS
Are you a Carer and in need of a break? Ring Val Gainsley on 088457 125546 and see if she can help you.