Parish Council Tues 4th 8pm Village Hall PCC Mon 10th 8pm Parish Office Village Hall Committee Tues 11th 8pm Village Hall Friendship Club Tues 11th 2.30pm Corner Cottage Mobile Library Thurs 13th & 27th
The times for the Library visits have been slightly adjusted. This means that the van will be due at Telephone Box Green at 1.10pm and at St Marks Close at 1.25pm on Thursdays 13th and 27th of this month.
Christmas Market
The final figures from the Christmas Market have now been released and we are very pleased to report that a grand total of £1251.55 (plus a Canadian $.25) was raised. Very many thanks to all who took part in any way, by donating, collecting, stall-holding and - of course - buying.
The PCC will meet on Monday 10 January at 8pm in the Parish Office.
It is with sorrow that we record the death of Mrs Jean Welch on 19 December 2004. The funeral was held at St Giles' Church on the 29th. We offer our sympathy to her family and friends.
We are happy to report that apart from a vehicle used in a Banbury crime being abandoned at the Gaydon Inn, the past month has been very quiet for Gaydon.
Trading Standards
Trading Standards Officers have circulated a number of warnings about rogue 'Door Knockers' at present operating in the south of the county. Their advice is that you should not buy services from people who knock on your door. Please inform Trading Standards at Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards, Budbrook Road, Warwick CV35 7DP Tel: 01926 414039 or your Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator if you are approached. Ian Miller
The first meeting of the new year will be on Tuesday 11 January at 2.30pm at Corner Cottage, Church Lane. Anyone interested in a quiet afternoon of friendly conversation over a cup of tea will be made very welcome.
The Village Hall Committee meeting takes place this month on Tuesday 11th at 8pm in the Hall.
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held in the Village Hall at 8pm on Tuesday 4 January 2005.
The flag was raised in December for the Birthdays of William Perry and Theo Rickman; and the Flag of St George was flown on Christmas Day.
The Village Flag Officer is George Hayward at The Old School, Kineton Road, 642963. Please contact him if you would like the flag flown for a special occasion.
Over 60s Christmas Lunch
The Over Sixties' Christmas Lunch was held in the Village Hall on Sunday 12th December. This event has become a tradition in the village and this year's was as successful as previous ones. The ladies and gentlemen who worked so hard to make it all so good are to be congratulated. We all enjoyed the convivial atmosphere and fine food - your hard work was much appreciated and we thank you all. RD
The Editor would like to thank all those kind people who continue to help with the production and distribution of the Parish Magazine. I am also very grateful to our contributors and advertisers for their support.
2 11.15 Joint Parish Covenant & Communion Gaydon 9 11.15 Family Service Gaydon 16 9.00 Holy Communion Gaydon 23 11.15 Family Communion Gaydon 30 6.00 Evensong Gaydon
In 1939 King George VI quoted a poem written by Minnie Louise Harkins in his Christmas broadcast. The words of the poem have inspired many people and I share them with you as we look to the New Year, praying and hoping for a better year, for light in the darkness all around us, for peace in a world torn apart by violence and war.
The poem reminds us that in God we find both strength and hope to face the future. God also gives us his grace and helps us to trust others and live in fellowship and openness. May we walk in the light of faith and bear up those who are wearied; and work for the dawning of God's Kingdom in our lives.
I wish you a peaceful and blessed New Year.
I said to the man
who stood at the gate of the year,
'Give me a light that I may tread safely
into the unknown.'
And he replied,
'Go out into the darkness
and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you
better than light
and safer than a known way!'
So I went forth
and finding the Hand of God,
trod gladly into the night.
And he led me towards the hills
and the breaking of day in the lone East.
Minnie Louise Harkins 1875-1957
January is invariably a bleak month where we trudge water-logged fields under gloomy grey skies and hope for a crisp sunny day as a bonus, albeit frosty. Around Gaydon, the local bird population of finches adds colour to a drab scenario. The bullfinches are the brightest but also most seldom seen; whilst the most abundant species, the greenfinch, does not leave our gardens for long. Feeding is very important to all birds at this time, especially tits and wrens who have a hard time finding insects. Sparrow hawks and even a kestrel (perched in the poplars of Poplars Farm) seem to have regular patrols too. Magpies have appeared recently though fortunately they do not seem to stay long due to the local crows mobbing them, a fate that befalls the odd buzzard that dares to venture over the village too. Thousands of waxwings have come to Britain this year. They are a very exotic hird from Northern Europe about the size of a thrush with brilliant colours 'painted' on their wing tips and a distinct crest like a cockatiel. I spotted a flock last week near Chadshunt but they will not come into the village unless the weather is very severe. Then they will love to strip any berries from ornamental shrubs 'mob-handed'.
Roe deer often walk the outskirts of Gaydon looking for fallen crab apples: you can see their tracks in muddy trails as sharp sets of 'V' formation. Foxes are quite active too. At present it is mild and there is lots of wild food around for all species but a prolonged cold snap or snow changes this!
The sweet smell of burning wood is still a feature around the village. There is a lot of ash (one of the best woods for burning) about this year. In damp weather the trees simply keel over on stoneless soil to naturally regenerate from suckers. I've seen several barn owls around the village too, a scarce and exciting species which we are lucky to have. Somewhere there is an old building, or tree, that has not been 'tidied up' or converted, which gives them sanctuary. A small covey of wild grey partridge often gathers in stubble that skirts the graveyard but is very shy and keeps its distance. You may see them running like small chickens and then take off low and fast towards the hedge line. As recently as the 1940s these birds could beseen in hundreds in Warwickshire. Old game books from Ettingron Hall record this but now five individuals are a rare sighting. In an increasingly urban society perhaps such things are of little importance compared to motorways and television. Country-dwellers are now in a monority but can still value diminishing traditions and environments that still survive.
A Happy New Year to All, Bernard Price
will re-open on Thursday 6th January. We wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year.