This Month's Diary
Coffee Morning Sat 8th 11am Village Hall
Friendship Club Tues 18th 2.30pm Corner Cottage
PCC Meeting Weds 26th 7.30pm St Giles' Church
Parish Council Thurs 27th 8pm Village Hall
Pilates Tuesdays 6.30pm Village Hall
Mobile Library Thursday 6th & 27th
Church Services in June
2nd
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Burton Dassett
10.30 Morning Prayer Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Gaydon
6.00pm Evensong Farnborough
9th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Farnborough
9.00 Holy Communion Gaydon
10.30 Holy Communion Fenny Compton
10.30 Communion by extension, Northend
6.00pm Evening Service Burton Dassett
16th
9.00 Holy Communion Farnborough
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Gaydon
10.30 Family Service Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Northend
6.00pm Songs of Praise Northend
23rd
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Farnborough
10.30 Prayer and Praise Gaydon
10.30 Morning Prayer Northend
30th
10.30 Group Communion Gaydon
Parish Council News
At our annual meeting John Rickman agreed to be Chairman, with Bernard Price as Vice Chairman.
Jaguar Land Rover
Councillors attended a meeting at The Heritage Centre with representatives from JLR and other parishes. The
main issue appeared to be traffic. Councillors complained about the parking of the employees' cars on the
footways along The Warwick Road. JLR said that they have employed a parking attendant to try and sort out this
issue. In the meantime we have notified the Police, as it is difficult to walk safely along this busy road, and parking
on footways is illegal if it causes an obstruction.
Councillors also spoke about the report that the number of car transporters travelling to the site outside daylight
hours has increased; the testing of JLR vehicles along Pimple Lane; and the car alarms which are sounding when
the vehicles are on the transporters. We hope that JLR will address these issues.
Horse Chestnut Tree
The tree has been felled. Arrangements have been made for logs to be distributed to any residents requesting
them. The Parish Council will decide shortly what type of tree to plant on the Green. If you have any suggestions
please contact either the Clerk or a Councillor.
Water Leaks
County Highways are discussing the water leaks on the Warwick Road and the Banbury Road lay-by with Severn
Trent.
Grit Bin
The Clerk will be meeting Highways to see if it is possible for a grit bin to be located at the back of Telephone
Green for Church Lane. Highways have provisionally given two locations: one along Church Road or one on
Telephone Green. The grit is needed to help medical staff get to Barnfields in difficult weather conditions.
Accounts
Councillors have received copies of the draft 2012/3 accounts. Any resident wishing to view the accounts should
contact the Clerk. The accounts should be approved at the 27th June meeting.
Next Meeting
Thursday, 27th June at 8pm in the Village Hall. All residents are welcome to attend.
Great Walks of Gaydon Number 2 The Allotment Walk
Start in Church Lane at the back of the church with the churchyard wall on your right. Now walk Westward to the
end of Church Lane and enter the snickett.
Keep going for about a hundred yards until you come out at a grassy patch at the end of St Marks Close.
Negotiate the footpath alongside a garden fence and climb over the stile at the end.
You are now in a field. The path goes off to the left and heads due South across the grass to a stile in a hedge.
Climb the stile and the path ahead should be marked out in yellow against the green corn. Walk over the corn field
to a gap in the hedge beside a stile.
The farm track to your right leads to Tollgate Cottage on the Kineton Road. Cross over the farm track to another
corn field.
Again the path should be marked out in yellow against the green corn. Follow the path for about 200 yards. On
this leg of the walk do take time to stop and look around.
There are clear views of Edge Hill to the South and you can get a good impression of the village of Gaydon
nestling in its hollow. You may be lucky enough to see skylarks here.
The path now turns right and heads for a stile in the hedge that separates the field from the Kineton Road. The
clue to this mysterious turn is in the name of the field you have just crossed.
It is known as the "Allotment Field" as the village allotments used to be here. The path was used by villagers
walking out to tend their plots.
The ditch shown on the Explorer OS map 206, like the allotments, now exits only in the country of the past.
To return to Gaydon either walk along the road or retrace your steps and walk the path in reverse.
Playground
The Gaydon Volunteers will be working in the playground this month and re-assembling the roundabout. If you
would like to help, see John Rickman at the Old Bakehouse or ring him on 640349.
Shipston Home Nursing
NGS Garden Open at Burmington Grange, Cherington CV36 5HZ by very kind invitation of Patrick and Fudge
Ramsay on Sunday June 16th 2.00-6.00pm. Teas served supporting SHN.
Concert at All Saints' Church Burton Dassett
Warwick University Brass Ensemble returns on Friday 21st June. Tickets, costing £12, from Norma King on 01295
770292, to include strawberries and cream and a glass of wine.
BIG LUNCH
Gaydon Village Hall will be holding its annual Big Lunch on Sunday 21 July at 1pm. It will be an American Buffet
and Bar i.e. bring your own food and drink to share with the other lunchers.
There will be a raffle and children's games. Everyone welcome: start the school holidays in style!
Parochial Church Council Meeting
Gaydon PCC will meet on Wednesday 26 June at 7.30pm in St Giles' Church.
Messy Church
There will be a Messy Church at Fenny Compton on Sunday 9 June at 3.30pm in the Village Hall.
Seasonal Recipe
Orange and Rosemary Chicken: Prepare well in advance - delicious for barbecues
Marinade 2 oranges, zest and juice 3 sprigs fresh rosemary 60ml (2 fl oz) dry white wine 2 tsp tabasco sauce 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard 2 garlic cloves 4 chicken breasts Place all the marinade ingredients into a jar, shake well to mix and refrigerate for 24 hours. Prick the chicken with a fork and spoon the marinade over. Cover and store in the fridge overnight. Grill the chicken on a medium heat for about 10 mins on each side, basting with the orange marinade until cooked; or cook on a barbecue.
Serve with salad and sparkling wine.
Mobile Library
The Library will be here on Thursdays 6th and 27th June. The van will be at the Telephone Box 1.50-2.10pm and
at St Marks Close from 2.15-2.35pm.
Friendship Club
The June meeting will be on Tuesday 18th at Corner Cottage, the home of Mrs Mary Fox, in Church Lane, at
2.30pm. These informal monthly gatherings were initiated by Mrs Betty Davies when Gaydon's WI closed down in
1986. Ring Mary on 641834 if you would like to come along.
Coffee Morning and Market
Saturday 8 June at 11am in the Village Hall Bring & Buy cakes, plants and bric-a-brac Raffle Everyone Welcome!
Funds raised are in aid of the church fabric fund. MF
Wall-Painting Talk and Tea
at All Saints' Church, Burton Dassett on Sunday 16 June from 2.30-4.30pm. Impromptu Talks by Mr Roger
Rosewell, lecturer, author and mediaeval wall-painting expert. Teas will be served throughout the afternoon from 2-
5pm; proceeds to go towards the new church roof.
There will be no charge for the talks and you are therefore free to come and just listen to Mr Rosewell; or to simply
pop in for a cup of tea and a cake; or better still, do both! It should be a very interesting afternoon.
The purpose of the event is not only to raise funds but to raise the profile of the church, together with an awareness
of the importance of the paintings and the history of All Saints' Church.
Lighthorne Heath Primary School
This month has been a busy one at Lighthorne Heath Primary School and may I start by saying a huge 'well done'
to the children in Years 2 and 6 who have been taking their SATs tests over the last couple of weeks. Everyone has
worked extremely hard and we are very proud of them all.
At the end of April we were thrilled to be able to welcome a team of eager volunteers from Jaguar Land Rover to
our school. Over 3 days they created an amazing new wildlife garden and allotment for us at the back of the
classrooms. The team of volunteers worked very hard and the final result is filled with beautiful flowers, shrubs and
vegetables. The Living Environment Trust came to school to do workshops with the children, during which they built
bird boxes, hedgehog boxes and ladybird houses. All of the staff and children at the school are hugely grateful to
Jaguar Land Rover and all of the other companies who gave up their time and donated a range of resources, plants
and equipment to fill the garden. Thank you!
Finally our football team, sporting their brand new kit, recently played in a match against Bishop's Tachbrook
School. The final score was 3-3 and the children all played fantastically! Well done!
To find out more and learn all about our school you can visit our new website:
www.lighthorneheathprimaryschool.co.uk
Juliette Westwood (Exec. Headteacher) and Michelle Cragg (Associate Headteacher)
Farewell
I know that many villagers were sad to see Madeleine, Jonathan and Tilly leave Gaydon after eighteen years in
Church Road. They always involved themselves in village matters, from the Parish Council to summer fêtes,
pilates sessions to street parties. On the Saturday evening before Christmas, many of us would gather at Bedford
House for their drinks party, the kitchen table laden with delicious nibbles which included a plentiful supply of
cocktail sausages, much enjoyed by the younger guests in particular. There was always a large Stilton cheese and
mini star mince pies, and as the mulled wine flowed, it felt as if the seasonal festivities had really begun.
Everyone wishes them well in their new venture in France; and I am sure that it won't be long before ex-neighbours
are visiting them in their B&B. DP
Nature Notes
A slow start to a late Spring!
It is still more reminiscent of April rather than May. Oak and Ash trees are only just showing green with almost a
reluctance to open their buds.
The Swifts arrived in Gaydon a few days ago. We always have a good complement of these, which seem to have
maintained their numbers, whilst House Martins have declined and not yet appeared; and Swallows no longer
weigh down the telephone wires.
One intrepid pair has once again returned to Poplar Farm's barns but there is a diminishing supply of nest sites in
the face of "Barn Conversions".
In fact, Barn Owls are hard pushed as well: one can only hope that they may be considered in Planning
regulations. I was a least able to rescue a malnourished Male Sparrow Hawk last week which my neighbour had
noticed. Sadly its wing was broken and the Falconry at Warmington was able to take it in - for one moment I
wondered if I should ring the RSPCA! but previous attempts have proved fruitless. Sentiment rather than
knowledge is the policy these days.
The increasing infantilisation of Adults is now a feature of everyday life: cuddly toys, inane U-tube clips of Kittens
and the endless jargon of call centres; all are annoying and of little practical value.
Neither are the attempts by celebrities to become animal experts on the TV! Most people know that young birds
should be left alone when newly fledged, though perhaps having to reckon with well fed cats is an extra hazard .
Nest building is a constant source of fascination. I have a Robin nesting in the arch of a wheelbarrow, a blackbird
in a Honeysuckle bower. My Canary forsook a woven nest and used a water bowl lined with grass and is now
feeding three fledglings.
I have yet to hear a Cuckoo, though Skylarks are active in our local fields. Early butterflies are on the wing, like the
Orange-Tip that lays its eggs on the pale pink Ladies Smock; Green-Veined Whites; and the Sulphur-coloured
Brimstone that is attracted to Alder.
Buckthorn have emerged to brave the odd sunny intervals. Hibernating butterflies, like the Peacock and Small
Tortoishell, are scarce as their food supplies probably did not last out. One has to hope that these species will have
the enduring quality of recovery after a very hard season so far. Bernard Price
The Tallest Tree in Gaydon
Who knows which is the tallest tree in the village? Answers on a postcard to the Old Bakehouse by 20th of June,
please.
Extract: Gaydon and Chadshunt Parish Magazine June 1973
The Golden Jubilee of the WI
Seventy people came to the Village Hall on the evening of Friday, June 15th, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the
WI in Gaydon. The excellent and varied refreshments were provided by members and the celebration cake, made
by Mrs Walton of Kineton WI Market, was cut by a founder member, Mrs Gulliver.
Mrs Betty Davies, President of the Gaydon WI, welcomed past presidents and members and present members and
their guests and introduced the Square Dancers, who not only demonstrated some of their dances but also
persuaded a somewhat reluctant audience to take part in this most enjoyable entertainment. It was nearly midnight
when the last guest had left but young and old all thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful evening.
The 'T' Club
We will meet at Mrs Fellowes' house [The Old House] on Wednesday, July 18th at 3pm. There will be no meeting
in August.
Gaydon Horticultural Society
The Coffee Evening held in the garden of The Forge House on June 13th was a very enjoyable and successful
evening. Our thanks to Mr and Mrs Watts and all the people who supported this effort.
Gaydon Youth Club
The club is taking a break for the summer at present, although games of football and cricket have been held
occasionally. It is hoped that there will be more adult help in running the club when it resumes; anyone who is
interested please contact Mike Phipps.
We have been asked to point out that in the last report of the bowling, we erroneously stated that 'Fred' Evans had
won the Juniors match, when in fact Michael Walford deserves the accolade for this - our apologies, Michael.