This Month's Diary
Coffee Morning Sat 13th 11am Village Hall
Gaydon Voices Sat 20th 7pm Village Hall
Big Lunch Sun 21st 1pm Village Hall
Cemetery Work Sun 21st 3pm Cemetery
Friendship Club Tues 23rd 2.30pm Almeley Chase
Pilates Tuesdays 6.30pm Village Hall
Mobile Library Thursday 18th
Parking along the Warwick Road
The Parish Council would like to thank Jim Butler from the Police for his assistance in helping with the parking problem along the Warwick Road. We understand that Jaguar Land Rover will be meeting Highways to discuss the erection of a fence to stop parking on the verges.
Cemetery Work Force: Sunday 21 July from 3pm onwards Gaydon Volunteers will be at work in the cemetery cutting hedges and tidying graves. More helpers are needed so please come along.
After enjoying your 'Big Lunch' in the village hall you can work off the calories in the cemetery. Follow this month's Great Walk of Gaydon to get there!
NB The latest Parish Council meeting was held on 27 June and will be reported in next month's magazine.
Bus Passes
If you are eligible for a free bus pass and have not yet received a new one, please contact the Concessionary Travel Team at Warwickshire County Council by emailing concessionarytravel@warwickshire.gov.uk or by phoning them on 01926 418026.
7th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Burton Dassett
10.30 Morning Prayer Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Gaydon
3.30pm Pet Service Burton Dassett
6.00pm Evensong Farnborough
14th
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
21st
9.00 Holy Communion Farnborough
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Gaydon
10.30 Family Service Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Northend
28th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Farnborough
10.30 Prayer and Praise Gaydon
10.30 Morning Prayer Northend
There will be a service of Holy Communion at the church of St Giles on Thursday 25 July at 10.30am.
Children in Year 4 went on an exciting residential trip in May. They visited Stratford, learning about butterflies and insects at the butterfly farm and then the history of Stratford on a boat trip down the river. They stayed in the Youth Hostel over night and took part in a range of outdoor nature trails, treasure hunts and orienteering the following day. Everyone had a brilliant time and didn't want to go home, although there were a few sleepy people on the coach on the way back. Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 have been working on some poetry this month. Here is an example of their work.
My Magical Box
I would put in my box
My memories of Marle hall, with my mates and more!
Memories of that holiday, sunbathing ashore
Eating fish and chips on the quay
And chatting with my family
I would put in my box
The bark of my dog on a misty, cold night
Echoing through the dark air, her breath white
She lies by the fireplace, and the dancing flame
It's only now that she acts tame
I would put in my box
A drive through the countryside on a hot Sunday
To sit outside the pub, and enjoy the day
When I arrive home to eat Sunday lunch,
The beef is nice and crackling goes CRUNCH!
My box may seem to be made of wood
To all but the smartest of people who should
Be able to crack the locks that the protects that place,
Those who cheat only see vast, empty space. Archie, Year 6
Don't forget you can find out more about our school on our website: www.lighthorneheathprimaryschool.co.uk
Juliette Westwood (Exec. Headteacher) and Michelle Cragg (Associate Headteacher)
Martin Phillips called a meeting in the Village Hall on the evening of
17th June to raise a petition to save the Gaydon Inn from development into a private house and its car park from becoming the site of three new houses.
Speakers at the meeting pointed out that under the right management (and possibly with some B&B accommodation), the Inn is perfectly placed to attract custom from JLR for meals and from the M40 as an off-motorway venue for drivers wanting a break for food and petrol.
Most importantly, the Gaydon Inn is a historic landmark, having been a coaching inn since the 17th century. The village of Gaydon would be diminished by its loss.
Petitions were to be sent to Stratford District Council in time for the next planning meeting.
Gaydon Village Hall Committee is hosting a Big Lunch for villagers and their families and friends, on Sunday 21 July at 1pm in the Village Hall.
There will be an *American Buffet and Bar, with Children's Games and a Raffle after lunch. Please bring your contributions of food and drink with you at one o'clock. Plates, cutlery and glasses will be provided.
* This simply means that you bring a serving plate of food, together with a bottle of soft drink or wine, according to your choice. All the plates are placed on a big table so that lunchers may help themselves to the variety of dishes available. Drinks are shared in a similar way.
Ring either Debbie Price 640757 or Julie Rickman 640349 for any information required.
The July meeting will be on Tuesday 23rd at Almeley Chase, the home of Mrs Olive Richards, in Kineton Road, at 2.30pm. Ring Mary on 641834 if you would like to join the group.
Our regular second Saturday in the month produce market and coffee morning will be held on 13 July at 11am in the Village Hall. There will be Bring & Buy bric-a-brac, cakes and a raffle. Everyone Welcome!
Funds raised are in aid of the church fabric fund. MF
The Magic Roundabout has now been installed - do run along to the playground and give it a test drive! Next on the list for treatment is the climbing frame. Many thanks to the Gaydon Volunteers who did all the hard work. JR
Bridge Afternoon and Tea at Moorlands Farm, Little Kineton, CV35 OEA, pn Friday July 5th (arrive 1.45pm, finish for 5.00pm) by kind invitation of Anthony and Sue Forsyth.
Choice of a set table of four, or rubber bridge in pairs, or Chicago-style pairs, state preference. Single players please enquire to organisers for partners. £10 table money to include delicious afternoon tea; Bridge Prizes Plus a Raffle.
Rebecca Mawle 01608 674 929 or rebecca@shn-fundraising.co.uk
The Restaurant Scheme July
The Norman Knight, Whichford CV36 5PE, 01608 684621, phone Tim Young to book a table;
The Churchill Arms, Paxford GL55 6XH, 01386 594000, phone Richard to book a table.
The Library will be here on Thursday 18th July. The van will be at the Telephone Box 1.50-2.10pm and at St Marks Close from 2.15-2.35pm.
Great News! Milk Prices Reduced!
As you may have noticed we have been trying a new milk-supplier. He has shown himself to be reliable during the last few weeks and so the committee have agreed to stay with Spa Dairy Ltd of Leamington Spa. As a result we are able to pass our savings on to you, the customer.
2 litres were £1.65, now £1.49
1 litre was £1.05, now 95p
1 pint was 65p, now 55p
Sue Roberts
Birdsong and Migration
Some early risers may be listening to the daily Tweet of the Day. I wince at this banal title! However, Radio 4 broadcasts a different song each day at 6.45am and it's well-presented by David Attenborough.
I'm awake by habit some hours earlier in the summer, so I've been rewarded by the late dawn chorus; and last week a distant Cuckoo was heard amongst the more familiar Blackbirds, cock Pheasants and far-off roosters.
A repeat Cuckoo calling was perhaps my best experience last week. I was at the early antique market held on a field near Stratford last Saturday and a crowd was gathered around a house clearance van parked against a tall hedge. Bargains are often to be had and the dealer was unloading a cornucopia of junk from the back tailgate. All of a sudden, a stereophonic Cuckoo called from a few feet away, obviously seeking a nest in the dense vegetation. Smiles of pleasure broke out on the surrounding faces, mobile phones were put down. A link with childhoods past or a long-forgotten rural world maybe? Malcombe, the dealer spoke:
"Do you know, I was the only boy in my school to have a Cuckoo's egg? We spotted one lying in the Reed Warblers' nests on the canal, at that time silted up with sedges. There were around 10 in various nests but of course you only took one and you had to collect it yourself, that was the rule! It was real status then!"
"What did you do with your collection?" I asked. "Oh, I swapped it for a fishing rod!"
We all exchanged our egg collecting experiences of climbing tall trees, buildings and cliffs as children, before the hobby was made illegal. I nearly fell to my doom getting a Sand Martin's egg from a gravel quarry in the Glen of Aherlow - a bit of a contrast to the sanitised Springwatch! There is nothing like first hand experience, barred to so many these days. It was not thought, by authors like Richmal Crompton or Henry Williamson, to be anything but the norm; but times change with increasing detachment from the natural world other than by contrived media presentations.
Birdsong is usually for territorial or alarm purposes, so when I heard a chirping like a grasshopper's I knew it to be yet another African migrant, the Grasshopper Warbler. Next evening, I took my scope along on my dog walk route and was rewarded with a pair of these slender mimics perched on a dead tree. The branches were also used by a small flock of Linnets, clad in mottled pink plumage; and several Skylarks and a distant Cuckoo were calling there too. The location is a only a few miles from the village.
Good news: some House Martins have returned to the flats in St Giles and another is nesting in Church Road. One pair of Swallows are around Poplars Farm and a large contingent of Swifts. There must be insects around but I have seen very few, even though we have a profusion of flower heads and blossoms. Only hard-working Bumble Bees observed in any numbers as yet and one very late Peacock butterfly. I hope the year will just be late and extend into an Indian Summer to catch up, maybe? Bernard Price
Although Gaydon is undeniably a country village it is severely challenged in the matter of country walks. It is securely bounded in three of the four cardinal directions by man-made obstacles.
To the North there is the three mile long fence of the vehicle testing ground. The South is no more welcoming. The security fences of the Army equally deny the walker the freedom to roam across fields to the beckoning hills. The passage to the East is little better as the M40 motorway can be crossed in three places only and traffic noise is
very intrusive.
"Go West, young man," Indiana newspaper writer John Soule advised in 1851. Sound advice for the Gaydon walker who would like to go for a stroll from the village without feeling fenced in; and there is a footpath that provides an interesting and challenging walk in this direction.
The Cemetery Round starts at the back of the Church. Go up the short drive to the gate into what my children used to call the Pony Field. Cross the field by the well-marked footpath - watch where you put your feet - to the stile on the far side.
Over the stile, keep left and follow the hedge down to the cemetery; it always seems to be farther than you expect. Turn left at the cemetery and 25 yards on turn into the Place where Gaydon's dead have been buried since the Churchyard was closed in the 1930s.
After paying your respects, leave the cemetery by the main gate and make your way back to Gaydon alongside the B4100, turning left into Church Road and back to the Church, passing the now-closed Gaydon Inn on the way.
This walk can be clearly seen on the website at www,gaydon.org.uk.
*See Page 5: Cemetery Work Force: Sunday 21 July from 3pm.
The Annual General Meeting on 21 June was attended by volunteers and shareholders. Sue Roberts, the Chairperson, announced that the shop was now so successful that it was able to employ two part-time paid workers. Gerry Scott, the Treasurer, presented the accounts which showed a profit and rising takings. Claire Hamm, the Secretary, took the minutes. Debi Morisot resigned from the committee and was thanked for her past help with running the shop. Bev Pirie, already a trusty volunteer, joined the committee.
After all this hard work, prosecco and strawberries and cream were served to the exhausted attendees.
There was a flurry of flags on the Village Green in June.
2nd - 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of HM The Queen;
10th - Birthday of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh;
15th - Official Bitrthday of HM the Queen; 18th - Waterloo Day.
There will be a Messy Church at Fenny Compton on Sunday 14 July at 3.30pm in the Village Hall.
When you are planning an event to be held in the village hall, please make sure that it is not already booked by someone else. In the excitement of fixing a date it is easy to forget this key bit of research! Do remember to ring Sue on 640695 and book your dates with her.
Gaydon Report: we are happy to report another quiet month.
Holiday Season
The holiday season is upon us. Please ensure that you leave little or no sign to passing traffic that the house is empty, e.g. letters or papers sticking out of the letterbox, wheelie bins left out for days. Most importantly, please report immediately any strangers seen hanging around (Dial 101); and more particularly, if you see two or three strange males driving around the Village and parking for a while (Dial 999). The Police will respond immediately.