Parish Council Meeting Tues 5th 7.45pm Village Hall
Villaage Hall Committee Monday 11th 8pm Village Hall
Library Monday 11th Telephone Box
Pilates Tuesdays 6.30pm Village Hall
Traffic Speed: Constable Catherine Morgan attended our December meeting. Residents and councillors explained that traffic was a big issue for Gaydon. Lighthorne Parish have set up a community speedwatch team who have a laser gun to record the speed of vehicles. To set this up we will need at least six volunteers who will be trained by the Police. If you are interested in this please contact the clerk.
EIA: We thank residents for helping us to respond to the Environmental Impact Assessment relating to GLH. The Parish Council sent a copy of the response to the Inspector who will be examining the draft Core Strategy, which has resulted in an invitation to the 'inspector's table' to discuss GLH. Councillors appointed Mrs Annette Conway to represent the parish and we thank Annette for taking on this huge responsibility. A copy of our response is on the website.
Playground Purchase: A solicitor has been appointed to represent the Parish Council with regard to the purchase of part of the Church Lane field from Spitfire Properties for £1.
Tenders for Parish Work: Tenders are invited for the parish grass-cutting contract which starts on 1st March. If you are interested in providing a quote please contact the clerk. We are also looking for quotes for mending benches and the bus shelter seat. If you are interested please contact the clerk.
PC Vacancy: If you would like to become a Parish Councillor please let us know.
Parish Council Meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday each month.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 5th January; followed by Tuesday, 2nd February; Tuesday, 1st March; Tuesday, 5th April; and Tuesday, 3rd May.
Meetings start at 7.45pm in the Village Hall. All residents are welcome to attend. These dates are also shown on the website.
Sunday 3rd
10.30 Group Communion Northend
Sunday 10th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Farnborough
9.00 Holy Communion Gaydon
10.30 Holy Communion Fenny Compton
10.30 Communion by ext. Northend
6.00pm Evening Prayer Burton Dassett
Sunday 17th
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 Gaydon
Sunday 24th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Farnborough
10.30 Morning Service Gaydon
10.30 Morning Prayer Northend
Sunday 31st
10.30 Group Communion Farnborough
December 2015
Still not even a sign of frost; the very mild weather continues with little rain and even some watery sunshine. I notice that already there are pollen-laden catkins on some of the Hazel and Birch trees, attracting bees and a few wasps (survivors from the autumn colonies). Snowdrops are peeping through as are the tips of early Daffodil bulbs.
A few days ago, I was delighted to see a pair of Gold Crests in my garden. These colourful birds would definitely compete with the Wren for the smallest British bird. They are quite exotic with red and yellow crests, dark eye-stripes and olive green plumage. They like Leylandii trees and their shrill piping calls are distinctive, hidden in the dense undergrowth or you may spot their rapid flight up in the branches.
I was interested that a book on "Firewood" is in the best sellers this month. The recent storms have brought down a lot of dead branches and I often collect these for my woodburner - I'm not alone, however. There is much contention over Oak and Ash which are said to be the warmest logs; down to Alder, said to be the least - but useful for attracting woodworm!
Logsplitters, chainsaws and methods to stack woodpiles have their own chapters. I can recommend this seemingly-dull book as a good read! It is written by a Norwegian and I know from my own experience that wood is a national pastime there!
We have been spared heavy rain and threat of flooding so far - touch wood - although many of us will remember a few years back.* How well I remember the damage, the driers and living in a caravan for weeks! I never pass a Church Road drain without unblocking it.
At last there seems to be a sensible debate on this: unrestrained building, deforestation of uplands, industrial Agriculture; these have all gone on too long. Yet politically, the ever-present CUTS in the Environmental Agencies continue.
We need far more woodland, wetlands and wild areas, although they are not favourable to the rampant profiteering that permeates our society these days. A Happy New Year to all readers from Bernard Price
*As we go to press we sympathise with our friends in the north who are suffering the severest flooding ever known there. Ed.
At the start of 2016 I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this magazine over the past year with articles, technical support, deliveries and adverts etc.
Special thanks to Corinne for her tireless reports on the endless activities of our Parish Council; to Bernard for his faithful supply of articles describing the countryside around Gaydon; and to Sue Middleditch for her administrative, editorial and moral support. Ed.
The Library will visit Gaydon on Monday 11 January from 1.30pm-2pm at the Telephone Box.
Your WCC Mobile Library service offers all sorts of books including large print, picture books, children's books and talking books. You can ring the Mobile Library on 01926 851031 to renew your books, order some more or ask about the Home Delivery Service.
The village hall garage (or storage shed) has been given a new lease of life with a fresh, shiny roof of corrugated iron. The old concrete roof was letting in the rain. If you look at the garage down the left-hand side of the hall, you will notice that the front gable has been decorated to match the woodwork of the hall. The next meeting of the trustees will be on Monday, 11 January, at 8pm.
I would like everyone in the village to know that we had another bumper year in regard to the poppies. The magnificent total amount raised was £2,790.97.
First and foremost I thank all those volunteers without whom this staggering sum would not have been raised. The "team" are prepared to go around the village knocking on doors at all times of day and evening to find residents at home who were most generous this year. Our local Esso garage has always been happy to have poppy boxes and is always successful in filling two collection boxes to the brim. Grateful thanks are also extended to Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and the Heritage Motor Centre who were extremely supportive and raised a large proportion of the total. So: a big thank you to all from Pam Furnivall.
New Year and time to open the boxes again. The ChiIdren's Society relies to a large extent on these collections to fund its work. I shall be coming round for boxes in the course of January but would much appreciate your bringing them along to the Old Bakehouse and saving me a journey! You can ring 640349 to make sure that I am at home. With many thanks, Julie Rickman.
I would like to thank all the kind people who helped to make the Christmas Lunch such an enjoyable occasion. There were more than forty lunchers and they were catered for by about a dozen cooks and servers. Other help was provided by the village shop which ordered the food; and by the people who decorated the hall and tables. The cost of the lunch is covered by coffee mornings and raffles during the year and a raffle at the lunch itself.
If anyone would like to host a coffee morning in 2016, I would gladly help organise it. Just let me know! Lunchers and helpers: do try to come to any fund-raiser that we manage to run. A Happy New Year to all! JR
In November, the Government announced plans in its Comprehensive Spending Review to keep policing budgets at current levels during the life of this Parliament; but PCCs have now been told that the only way that police funding will remain at the same level will be if the police precept part of council tax bills is raised by the maximum permitted amount of 1.99% each year by every PCC. Without this, Government funding will actually be reduced by 1.3% in real terms over four years. As a result, the Commissioner is proposing that the police precept be raised by 1.99% next year.
You can find more detail and give your feedback on this proposal by completing an online survey, which asks the simple question:
"Are you willing to spend an extra 31p per month for an average Band D property in order to maintain frontline policing levels?"
For more information and to take part in the consultation online, please visit: www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/preceptsurvey
or email opcc@warwickshire.gov.uk and stating 'yes' or 'no' to the question, plus any other supporting comments
or write to Police and Crime Commissioner, 3 Northgate Street, Warwick, CV34 4SP. The consultation closes at midday on Monday, 18 January 2016.