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Gaydon with Chadshunt Parish Magazine May 2009

This Month's Diary

Parish Council AGM          Tues 5th 8pm                 Village Hall
Coffee Morning              Sat 9th 11am                 Village Hall
Pebbles                     Sun 10th 10.15am             Village Hall
Village Hall AGM            Mon 18th 8pm                 Village Hall
Friendship Club             Tues 19th 2.30pm             Trevose
Pebbles                     Sun 24th 10.15am             Village Hall
Pilates                     Tuesdays 8pm                 Village Hall
Toddler Group               Thursdays 10-11.30am         Village Hall
Mobile Library              Thursday 21st

Nature Notes

Spring at last!

Country sayings were once part of our folklore giving advice on when to grow things by observing the habits, weather or growth of plants. Fear of late frosts which could ruin your coming crop was paramount! Seasonality was still the dominant factor of food production: Blackthorn had to flower, red clouds be seen or rain had to fall to indicate the weather or sowing time. Even if you remember any of these old sayings now, it's doubtful that they can compare with a long-range weather forecast!.

Certainly some sightings around the village are indicative of a rise in temperature. The first Swallows (sadly few in number these days) have appeared along with the odd Swift. The Barn Swallow is hard-pressed to find a nesting place these days: modern hygiene and farming methods do not help. I remember hand-milking in our cow house and watching the nest above my head being built; over the weeks, eggs were laid and red-mouthed fledglings appeared. It was a symbiotic relationship, as any fly in the yard was usually scooped up by the parents!

We still have some House Martins nesting in various places in the village and St Giles Road is a favourite place; they will arrive any day now from their long journey which begins in Africa. Two parishioners tell me of a bundle of five Grass snakes in Chadshunt, sunning themselves after a winter's hibernation. I've seen a spring brood Speckled Wood butterfly and many Yellow Brimstone Butterflies out of hibernation at last, the unmistakable vivid yellow males and females a greenish white. They are our longest-living butterfly. Let's hope it will be a better year for them than the last two cold summers.

Look out for early bee orchids and early purple orchids, rare plants that we are lucky enough to still have in the odd unsprayed spot. Cowslips are spreading in our churchyard and if left to seed will increase - one day it may resemble Chadshunt. Perhaps Yellow rattle, a grass parasite, will be planted soon to limit the invasive species. Bernard Price

Gaydon Village Hall News

The next meeting, the AGM, will be on Monday 18 May at 8pm, followed by the Committee Meeting. Members of the public are invited to attend the AGM.

Mobile Library

The Mobile Library will visit Gaydon on Thursday 21st May.

Coffee Morning Bring & Buy

Our coffee morning is on Saturday 9 May at 11am in the Village Hall. Please bring home-made cakes and other produce or small unwanted gifts to sell; or just your purse and come and buy! There will also be a small raffle; and coffee and biscuits, of course.

Any money we make goes to the Fabric Fund to help with repairs to St Giles' Church.

Friendship Club

We meet this month on Tuesday 19th at 2.30pm at the home of Mrs Pauline Layton, Trevose, in Kineton Road.

Gaydon Village Store

Just a quick reminder that our next fundraising event is a Race Night to be held on Friday 1st May 7.30pm in the Malt Shovel pub. Bets are only £1 each and no ticket is necessary. We look forward to seeing you there.

Shares will also be on sale if you haven't already got one. Please visit our website www.gaydonvillagestore.co.uk for regular updates on the project.

Village Hall Cottage to Let

If anyone is interested in renting the Cottage at the back of the Village Hall, please contact the estate agents, Godfrey-Payton, in Warwick on 01926 492511.

Parish Council Photocopier

There is a photocopier in the Parish Office which may be used by parishioners free of charge to produce a few copies of documents for their personal use (please bring your own paper). It is available on Saturday mornings when Parish Councillors hold their weekly 'surgery'.

Seasonal Recipe: Spring Onion and Chicken Terrine

Ingredients
110g SR flour                          3 free range eggs
bunch of spring onions                 2 cooked chicken breasts finely chopped
200g/12 slices Parma ham               100g grated gruyere cheese
2 tbs milk                             3 tbs cranberry sauce
2 tbs balsamic vinegar                 1 tbs olive oil
rocket and basil

Method

Set the oven to 180°C. Line a loaf tin with 10 of the Parma ham slices.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and flour together. Stir in the chicken and cheese.

Chop the onions and layer with the chicken mixture in the tin. Cover the top with the remaining Parma ham and bake for 1 hour.

When cool, slice and serve on a bed of rocket and basil salad, drizzled with the oil and vinegar. Cranberry sauce makes a tasty relish.

Flag

The flag of St George, England's patron saint, was raised on Thursday 23 April for St George's Day and in honour of the Birthday of William Shakespeare, our local poet.

Competition

As our readers may have noticed, we like to have a picture of our village church on the front cover of the Parish Magazine. If you have a nice snap or drawing of the church, please send it to the Editor by the end of May.

The prize is to have your entry on the cover of a future issue of the magazine.

Pilates - Tuesday evenings 8.00pm

Pilates classes are held in the Village Hall on Tuesday evenings. Pilates is an exercise system that is particularly good for your back. Our instructor Debbie Birch is fully trained and qualified. It costs £40.00 for five sessions.

We are a mixed group and anyone is welcome, you can be any age, male or female. There is no age limit - we have had people from fourteen to seventy five years old in our group. There are even people from Other Villages!

There is always room for more people so if you want to join you can go on a waiting list and when we have a few "beginners" then our instructor Debbie can do an introductory session. If you have done Pilates before and would like to join then just get in touch. If you are interested please call Madeleine on 640636.

St Giles' Church, Gaydon, Services for May AD MMIX

3                 8.00             Eucharist                   Burton Dassett
                 10.00             Eucharist                   Fenny Compton
                 11.15             Morning Service             Gaydon
                 11.30             Eucharist                   Farnborough

10                9.00             Eucharist                   Fenny Compton
                 10.00             Morning Service             Farnborough
                 10.00             Eucharist                   Northend
                 11.15             Family Service              Gaydon
                6.00pm           Evening Prayer              Burton Dassett

17                8.00             Eucharist                   Farnborough
                  9.00             Eucharist                   Gaydon
                 10.30             Morning Service             Fenny Compton
                 10.30             Morning Service             Knightcote
Ascension Day
21               7.30pm            Eucharist                   Burton Dassett

24               9.30              Eucharist                   Northend
                10.30              Family Service              Fenny Compton
                11.30              Family Eucharist            Gaydon
                 6.00pm            Evening Prayer              Farnborough
Pentecost
31              11.00              Group Eucharist             DM Kineton

Pebbles

Pebbles is an activity group for children aged approx 4-8 years. We meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 10.15 in the village hall.

Sessions include games, stories, craft activities and quizzes, all of which allow us to explore stories from the bible whilst having lots of fun. We finish with a drink and biscuit before moving over to church for the family services.

We'd love some more children to come and join us. If you have children who may be interested, please contact Jo Hotchkiss 642248 or Chris Corner 640523 - or pop along, join in and see what you think!

St Giles' Church is holding a Village Barbecue

in the early evening on Saturday 20 June at The Leys, Church Lane. Entry to the barbecue will be free and tickets will be available in June (for catering purposes). Hot dogs, burgers and drinks will be on sale at reasonable prices.

We hope that lots of villagers will come and enjoy the evening with us! See next month's magazine for more details.

WRCC

Time is running out if you want to qualify as Warwickshire's Best Village!

Does your village have a recent achievement it is particularly proud of? If so, why not enter Warwickshire's Best Village Competition? The closing date for entries is Sunday 30 May 2009.

The competition provides an opportunity to win a few hundred pounds, as well as to share ideas with other communities facing similar challenges. Last year's winner - Ufton, used their prize money to seek match funding for the restoration of their village pond and Wolvey are building on their success by adding a walkway to their wetland reserve. Another winner - Barford offered help and advice on setting up a community-run village shop and post office.

In this year's competition there are six categories to choose from : Community Projects, Community Buildings, Communication, Business in the Community, Environment and History & Heritage and there is a separate entry form for each one. By popular demand, a Best Kept section has also been included in the Environment Category

Anyone living in a village with 5,000 or less inhabitants can enter. Just fill in an entry form telling us about what's going on in your village and send us some evidence to back up your view that your village is the best. All sorts of things are welcome - for example photographs, DVDs and publications. Entry is free (apart from Best Kept) and help is available for filling in the form.

Competitions Organiser, Ariadne Uslu from the Warwickshire Rural Community Council says: 'We want to celebrate what's going on in rural Warwickshire. We believe that entering a competition can be a very positive experience and we would encourage everyone to have a go.' For further information visit our website www.ruralwarwickshire.org.uk or phone 02476 217390 or email competitions@wrccrural.org.uk.

May 2009 - Events at Heritage Motor Centre

Mini's 50th

A new exhibition opens on 10 May commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Mini. Discover how this iconic car became part of the social history of the nation and read our nostalgic collection of Mini stories. The exhibition runs until the 23 Dec and is part of many other Mini celebrations taking place this year. For more information visit www.minifestival.co.uk

The Heritage Land Rover Show on 3rd May offers a full day of activities for enthusiasts, club members and general Land Rover fans. For ticket prices and more information visit www.hlrw.co.uk

Free Event!

Heart of England Bike Show 9 May. A great day out for two wheels at one venue! Featuring displays from the Internationally renowned stunt riders and much more. Museum entry fees still apply. www.warwickshire.gov.uk/bikeshow

May Half Term Activities

Stop Start Under 17 Driver Sessions 26 - 29 May

Learner driving experiences for 15+yrs in our dual controlled vehicles. 1 hour session cost £30 and includes entrance to the Museum for the driver. Pre-booking essential Tel: 01926 645029

Go Karts, Miniature Roadway and 4x4 Experience 23 - 31 May Outdoor fun every day during Half Term (weather permitting). No pre- booking required. Prices start from £3. (Age & height restrictions apply)

Parish Council News

Flood Defence Plan

Drains have recently been cleared. However, if you see a blocked drain please call the Clerk on 641220.

Talks are continuing regarding the Banbury Road pipe and also the field at the back of the Kineton Road.

Highways

We have been told that the broken rail along the Banbury Road should be repaired this year. Village Green and Verges (Kineton Road)

Balfour Beatty have reseeded the areas which they damaged last year. They have said that they will revisit the area in 12 months time and if necessary reseed again. If you are not happy with this reseeding during the next 12 months could you please speak to a Parish Councillor or alternatively the Clerk or email or write to the Clerk.

Parking

Please consider other road users and the village when deciding where to park. We have had several complaints about people parking on the grass verges in the village, or inconsiderately or illegally - these are not just about people from outside the village, but regular illegal parking by residents. This is a serious safety issue in some cases, blocking sight-lines on the junctions in the village, and a community issue in others, damaging grass verges and blocking pavements.

Church Clock

As you are probably aware, St Giles' Church Clock is a war memorial and the responsibility of the Parish. The clock has been serviced and we hope will keep 'good time' for the next 12 months.

Refuse/Recycling System

Anyone having trouble getting a green bin should contact the Clerk.

Litter

We have repeatedly asked the District Council for new litter bins to replace the damaged bin in the Play Area and the one by the bus shelter. To date we still have no idea when these will be replaced. We will continue to pursue this.

Bus Service

If you are not happy with the current bus service could you please tell the Clerk.

Footways

Please remember to keep plants and hedges which overlap onto the public footway well trimmed. Some of our footways are quite narrow so please think of others.

Next Meeting

Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 5th May at 8pm in the Village Hall. All residents are welcome.