Gaydon Parish Magazine April 2022
index of magazines
Gaydon Gazette
Neighbourhood Plan Saturday 2nd at 10am Village Hall
Parish Council Tuesday 5th at 7.30pm Village Hall
Coffee Morning Saturday 9th at 11am Village Hall
Cake & Crafting Sundays 10th & 24th St Giles' Church
Easter Sunday Service Sunday 17th at 9.30am St Giles' Church
Friendship Club Tuesday 19th at 2.30pm 2 Cottages
Earth Day Saturday 23rd April Village Hall
Something to Look Forward to!
Jubilee Meetings: Thursdays 12th & 26th May at 7.30pm, Village Hall
April Church Services Dassett Magna
3rd 9.30am Morning Prayer Gaydon
10th 9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
Holy Week
Monday 11th 7pm Evening Prayer Gaydon
Tuesday 12th 7pm Evening Prayer Fenny Compton
Wednesday 13th 7pm Evening Prayer Farnborough
Maundy Thursday 7pm Evening Prayer Northend
Good Friday 7pm Evening Prayer Gaydon
Holy Saturday 7pm Easter Vigil Burton Dassett
Easter Day
17th 8.30am Holy Communion Farnborough
9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
11am Holy Communion Fenny Compton
24th 10am Breakfast Worship, Fenny C Village Hall
6.30pm Songs of Praise Gaydon
Roman Catholic Church of St Francis, Kineton
Sunday Mass 11am. www.stfrancis-kineton.co.uk
Easter Services
Owing to the large size of the parish, we are offering the following times in the two churches. Feel free to attend any or all of the services.
Maundy Thursday 7.30: Our Lady and St Michael, Shipston-on- Stour, Mass of the Lord's Supper with watching unto 11am;
Good Friday 3.00pm: Commemoration of the Lord's Passion, St Francis of Assisi, Kineton;
Holy Saturday Easter Vigil 8.00pm: Our Lady and St Michael, Shipston-on-Stour;
Easter Sunday 11.00am: St Francis of Assisi, Kineton.
We wish you all a very Happy and Holy Easter, Fr David Tams.
Parish Council News
Acting Chair Adrian Claxton would like to personally thank Cllr Ian Helps for stepping into the chair at the last minute, as he was ill. Ian did an admirable job by all accounts!
Banbury Road Development
The Chairman welcomed representatives of Lone Star Land Ltd to the meeting to explain the proposed development of land on Banbury Road for the provision of 16 units of residential accommodation. Following presentation of the proposals, Councillors and Members of the public participated in a question-and-answer session.
Concerns were expressed by several residents that the development would have problems associated with access into Banbury Road which already exhibited excessive traffic speeds. Representatives of Lone Star emphasised that they wished to work alongside the Parish Council, the Local Speed Watch group and Warwickshire County Highways to deliver the most appropriate solution to manage the current highway issues. It was noted that the local Speed Watch group had access to traffic monitoring data for Banbury Road and this would be forwarded on to Lone Star to assist with the identification of potential control measures along the highway at points approaching the entrance to the site.
Details of the question-and-answer session can be found in Appendix A of the full minutes available on the Parish website: https://www.gaydonvillage.co.uk/agenda-and-minutes
District Council Matters: your district Councillor is Chris Kettle (Chris.kettle@stratford-dc.gov.uk)
Budget
Stratford District Council had set its budget for 2022/23 which had resulted in an increase on the District Council precept of £5 per Band D property which equated to a £3.5% increase. As this was below the rate of inflation the budget had been set to achieve a static level of service compared to 2021/22. The Council had achieved significant economies through the rationalising of services costs, particularly those of support and administrative overheads.
Police
The Police Crime Panel had scrutinised the budget of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and for the first time had exercised a veto over the PCC budget. This had required the PCC to reconsider the budget which resulted in a revised budget and an increase to the Police Precept of 3.85%, which represents an 81 pence per month or £9.75 per year on an average Band D property. The Panel was working with the office of the PCC to develop Key Performance Indicators to monitor outcomes against the budget.
Fly-tipping
The incidence of fly-tipping at the Gaydon Lay-by had been referred to the Response Maintenance Manager and further action to monitor this problem would be reported in due course.
County Council Matters: your district Councillor is Chris Mills (Chrismills@warwickshire.gov.uk)
Council Tax
The County Council Tax will increase by 3.75% in 2022/23. This is to help fund many services such as:
£10.1m children’s social care, £14.4m elderly and vulnerable adults. £1.9m to support children and young people with disabilities to ensure they can access appropriate support within their communities.
£2.8m to increase capacity in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Adult Social Care budget @ £200m per year.
To read more: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2747/robust-ambitious-and-sustainable-council-sets-its-financial-approach-for-the-next-five-years
County Councillor Grants
Additional funding of £2,000 was agreed for the County Councillor Grants Scheme to support the Council’s Community Powered Warwickshire approach. Therefore, the Councillors Grants Scheme will increase to £8,000 to help fund local worthwhile projects.
Loneliness
Find out how you can help lift someone out of loneliness by going to: https://warwickshire.gov.uk/loneliness
Planning
No planning applications were discussed at this meeting. However, the following applications are now available to view. Full details of applications can be viewed at: https://apps.stratford.gov.uk/eplanning
Application 21/03633/FUL
Address: Land off Manor Farm Court
GPC response: Object
This is a brief summary. A full version of the minutes is Available at: https://www.gaydonvillage.co.uk/agenda-and-minutes
Next Meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 5 April In the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Please come along and share any concerns you may have.
If you would like to raise anything at the next meeting, please contact the Clerk at gaydonpc@gmail.com or by phone 07930 517811.
The Vicar's Letter
Dear Friends, the Power of Sharing a Meal and talking together.
Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to share a meal with someone. Over the years I’ve shared many meals at Just-a-Bite in Fenny Compton and Pensioners Lunch in Northend, not to mention the numerous Harvest meals, Burns Night and Passover meals. As I sit down to these meals, both with people I know quite well and with others I barely know at all, it has been wonderful to see how the food on the table brings us together: it lightens the mood, it shifts the dynamic, develops rapport and it strengthens the bonds that we are building.
Church services are meant to be like this - to refresh us, feed us spiritually, to build community and communion together. But all too often that isn’t the case. People feel the services we hold are old-fashioned, too formal and quite alien. Most people I know aren’t looking for a church that answers all of their questions, but rather a space in which they feel safe to ask them. I’ve often been asked if we could hold a more informal, easy-going, family-friendly gathering where they can ask questions, explore what Faith is and where parents can relax if the children are children. I call it a gathering because a service speaks of formality.
Well, we’ve done just that. We have started “Breakfast - food for thought” to be held on the 4th Sunday of every month in Fenny Compton Village Hall (because it has a kitchen to prepare breakfast). We start at 10am with a breakfast of tea, coffee, fruit-juice, croissants and brioche and at around 10.30am, as we continue breakfast, we go into a very informal, easy-going family-friendly, all-age faith gathering. There will be quizzes and simple colouring or a craft to ponder on if you wish over breakfast and each month we will choose a different topic to discuss which is relevant to us all. In February, being the month with Valentine’s Day, we talked about love; in March it was Mothering Sunday and we talked about Mothers and those who have cared for and nurtured us.
Come along and find out what topic we choose this month! Sharing meals is a fundamental component to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Over meals we can talk, be silent and listen, ask questions, eat, drink and be merry. So as we sit down for breakfast, whether with family, friends, or neighbours, I hope that we are able to savour not only the flavours on our palates, but also the connections that we build. Rev. Nicki Chatterton
April Memorial Book
1991 2nd Mary Neal 2008 14th Iliana Hayes
1998 " Muriel Phillips 1985 16th George Hayes
1993 3rd Roland Phillips 2004 24th Kathy Welsh
2014 7th Gabriella Talbot 1995 29th Sybil Worrall
The names above will be on display in the Memorial Book this month. If there is a special entry that you would like to see, let me know and I will try to make sure that the Book is open on that day. Julie Rickman
March Nature Notes
First Signs of Spring
We are now into the middle of March and at last we are set to have days of clear blue skies and glorious sunshine for the coming week. It is always exciting to see the first early butterflies on the wing. The earliest species I’ve seen this week is the hardy fast-flying Brimstone. The bright Saffron-yellow males and greenish-white females have all visited my garden a few days ago, nectaring (feeding) on the early Primroses and Cowslips. Crocuses and Hellibores, heavy with nectar, are also settled on by this fascinating species. In Spain, there is a sub-species which has a large orange splash rather than the ‘dot’, which is on the wing all year, having two broods.
Our Brimstone is the longest-living British species, hibernating in September and emerging to breed in Spring and early Summer. It’s possible to see a worn parent and fresh specimens on the wing together in a good year. Their food plant, Alder Buckthorn, a small attractive hedgerow shrub, is available at nurseries. The female will always find this plant to lay her ribbed eggs under the leaves. Other hibernators like the Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and even Red Admiral - a recent behaviour due to milder winters - will be on the wing soon.
There are other unusual insects that emerge early. The exotic Bee Fly, a mimic of the Bumble bee, with a long stiff proboscis, follows early Bumble bees to lay in their nests. Its larvae eat the debris around the combs. I was glad to encounter an Early 'Batman Fly’, so named because of its black ‘cape’ and orange bands. Again, this large Drone Fly bee-mimic's flight is a hovering Dart with loudly buzzing - but quite harmless. They may appear on your window panes whence they are easily released by the card and jar method and do not sting, although they hope their resemblance to bees will make you fear them! The clue is the large compound eyes.
There is a great increase in birdsong as territories are established; the Song thrushes are a delight to hear in early mornings. Early wild flowers like Dandelions,Coltsfoot and Hawksbit have made their appearance: all bright yellow and valuable early pollinators, though not so welcome in a cultivated bed. 'A weed is just a flower in the wrong place' is very true. Bernard Price
Local Hero
Ukrainian Mercy Mission: Gaydon's Paul Hannan flew a humanitarian volunteer mission to Poland in March to take 52 orphans rescued from Ukraine to safety in London. Thank you, Paul, for helping Ukraine!
Jubilee Celebrations Saturday 4 June
Thanks to everyone who came to the last meeting for events to be held in Gaydon on Saturday, 4th June.
The next meetings will be on Thursdays 12 and 26 May at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. DP
Friendship Club
The April meeting of the Friendship Club will be held on Tuesday 19th at 2.30pm by kind invitation of Jan Ewers, at No. 2 Cottages, Gaydon Hill Farm.
Coffee Morning
Village Hall Saturday 9 April at 11am. Coffee & Biscuits, Bring and Buy, Raffle. Last month's special event for Ukraine raised £461 - thanks to everyone who took part and contributed. There will be more Ukraine fund-raisers this month, so do come along!
Celebrate Earth Day
Saturday 23 April, Village Hall 1- 3 pm
The Millennium group are planning our first event of the year by celebrating the natural world and how we can contribute to improving our planet. We will be focusing on COMPOSTING with demonstrations and activities for all.
Refreshments will include plant/ fruit based cakes and savouries. We would like to hold a plant and seed swap stall so please pot up any surplus seedlings and cuttings to donate. More info to follow on social media. Please join us! Debbie Price
Spring is well and truly here!
Foxes chose a partner and stay together for life; they will now have little foxes ready to be born. When they are first born they are called kits, and I expect readers will know they become cubs when they emerge from the den after 4-5 weeks.
Bees, butterflies, ladybirds, newts and many more creatures are just waking up from their winter slumber and although it is temping to mow the grass, please hold off for another month, just to give them a chance after surviving the winter. If you can't wait, please don't cut it all! The hedges now should be left until the end of the birds' breeding season.
Many of you may have seen Bernard's sign to be aware that newts are crossing; they have been asleep and now will be looking for woodland and green spaces to spend the summer, so please drive with care.
We have a wonderful eco-system and every living thing is an important part of it.
Some of you may have noticed a new nesting box and some feeders have been put up in the Churchyard, so keep an eye out for blue tits.
If you are about to put a box up, make sure it faces north, north east, so the chicks don’t over-heat in the sun.
Good news from the Reverend Nicki: an active nest has been spotted in the church porch, so please leave the outer door open at all times. SN
Flowers,Butterflies and Bees for the Jubilee
The Gaydon Cake and Crafting Circle are busy knitting, crocheting and sewing a display for St Giles' Church, Gaydon, for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. It would be wonderful to get the whole village involved in this project. Flowers and butterflies can be made from virtually anything to any design. The bigger and more colourful the better!
Please feel free to join us in Church every second and fourth Sunday at 5pm when we gather over cake and tea and get creating. Can't knit or crochet? We can teach you or YouTube is always useful! Any donations of oddments of wool and scraps of fabric will be gladly accepted and can be left at the Shop or in Church.
Interested? Then please get in touch with Jo Hotchkiss or Gilly Bolton.
April Allotment News
The Mowing season has started as the buzzing echoes around the village. The sunny days act as a magnet to get people outside to tend to their precious outdoor spaces. It's been a long winter but we are rewarded for our patience with outstanding scenery around the village. Blossom, daffodils, and birds singing are incredibly revitalizing. Quite remarkably, we have a cock pheasant that simply enjoys a walk down the Gaydon streets, presumably enjoying the scenery also!
March has been a busy time on allotments across the country as we are all eager to get seed beds ready to start planting. We have actually started harvest already, as fresh Rhubarb is the delicacy of the month, especially in a lovely crumble! Whilst warmer days are forecast, It's not quite time to get on the summer dress or dig out the shorts, though, as that wind gives a chill when the sun hides away. The left-over winter weeds offer a free workout to keep you warm, however. Dandelions are my enemy as their taproots can reach up to 18 inches below ground level!
As many of us start outdoor planting, it is not just the pests to watch out for! The deadliest killer is a hard frost. Many a plant has succumbed to the appearance of those icy temperatures. We are far away from our average last frost date, so be prepared to cover particularly vulnerable seedlings.
April Jobs:
Harvest first Asparagus of the year;
Sow seeds outdoors if soil is warm and workable (remember to protect against frost);
Plant Second early and Maincrop potatoes;
Earth up first early potatoes;
Prune cherry and plum trees once leaf buds have opened. Andrew Smith
Flag
The flag was raised on 4 March to mark the third anniversary of Jo and Paul's arrival at the Malt Shovel Inn. Congratulations to our excellent publicans! On the 14th the flag flew for Commonwealth Day.
If you have something to commemorate or celebrate, contact Siobhan Hannan on 07780 678582 and she will raise the Flag for you. The cost is a donation of £5 to Church funds.
Gaydon Parish Council
invite all residents to
Explore Gaydon's Green Spaces
Meet on Saturday 2nd April at 10am in the Village Hall
Refreshments and Introduction to the
Neighbourhood Plan
Participate in a Green Spaces Audit of all the areas that make our parish special to you
More information @gaydonparishcouncil facebook