Gaydon Parish Magazine February 2023
index of magazines
Gaydon Gazette for February
Parish Council Tues 7th at 7.30pm Village Hall
Mobile Library Fri 10th at 2.40pm Phone Box
Coffee Morning Sat 11th at 11am Village Hall
Friendship Club Tues 14th at 2.30pm Poplar House
Souper Saturday Sat 25th 12.30pm Village Hall
Tai Chi Weds at 7pm Village Hall
Cake & Crafting Suns 12th & 26th at 5pm Church
Coronation Celebrations
King Charles and Queen Camilla's Coronation will be taking place on Saturday 6 May, followed by a Big Lunch and Coronation Concert on Sunday 7th; and a Big Help Out Day on Monday 8th.
No doubt loyal Gaydonites will want to join in the fun! We had a trial run with Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee last June, so we can build on that experience to have a really super Street Party on Sunday 7th May.
Have a look at edenprojectcommunities.com to see some ideas! Ed.
Parish Council News
New Clerk
The January Meeting of the Parish Council commenced with the Chairman welcoming the newly appointed Clerk, Mrs Angela Clarke, who has taken up her position with effect from the beginning of the new year and will replace Robert Nash who has provided support to the Council as a Locum Clerk since January 2022.
Solar Array
The meeting was attended by 20 members of the public, many of whom wished to express their views on the planning application submitted by Jaguar Land Rover to develop a Solar Array on land between the village and the JLR Test Centre.
The time available for a formal response had been extended to allow the Parish Council to consider the application at its meeting. A detailed response prepared by the Chairman, which took account of the many objections voiced by residents and Councillors, was circulated and a copy is now placed on the Parish Council website.
Unconvinced by the applicant’s rationale for selecting the 28 acre site and the absence of due investigation of measures to place solar panels on land at the Car Factory and Vehicle Test Centre, the Parish Council objected to the application. The decision and reasons for the objection can be viewed on the Stratford District Council website at https://apps.stratford.gov.uk/eplanning/
Drains
At recent meetings reports had been made regarding the incidence of blocked drains and gullies along the main highway, particularly the Banbury Road. Warwickshire County Council (the Highway Authority) has investigated but had advised that where drains were adjacent to farmland and used to convey rainwater run-off from the land adjoining the highway, responsibility was that of the land-owner. Individual land-owners are advised to contact the County Council Highways Department if in doubt as to their responsibilities.
Voter ID
Councillor Chris Kettle (Stratford District Council) drew the Council’s attention to a recent change in electoral regulations which meant that with effect from the next Local Elections on 4 May 2023, all voters would be required to have suitable photo identification in order to receive a ballot paper at the polling station.
Voter ID for May Elections
The following advice has been issued by the Elections Office at Stratford District Council:
From 4 May 2023 onwards, electors wishing to vote at polling stations will have to show an acceptable form of photo ID. Full details of the new requirement are available on the SDC website here:-
https://www.stratford.gov.uk/council-democracy/voter-id-at-polling-stations.cfm
This gives details on what types of photo ID are acceptable and what electors should do if they don’t have one. See page 2 for more.
Voter Authority Certificate
Website Applications
From Monday 16 January, anyone without suitable Voter ID can apply online for a new Voter Authority Certificate via the Gov.uk website. You will require your National Insurance Number.
Paper applications can also be accepted by the Elections Department if accompanied by a suitable passport-style photo and your National Insurance Number.
Alternatively, electors can come into the Council Offices and we will assist them in completing the form on-line, take their photo and upload it to the portal. The Certificate will then be posted direct to them. People have to be on the electors' list to be able to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.
Time Limit
Electors have until 25 April to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate in time for 4 May elections. Any applications after that will enable them to vote at future elections.
Postal Votes
As an alternative to applying for a VAC above, you can apply for a postal vote. Please note: Postal voters do not have to produce photo ID as they do not attend the polling station and there are other security measures already in place for them.
Next Meeting of GPC
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday, 7 February, starting at 7.30pm.
February Church Services
5th 9.30am Prayer & Praise Gaydon
12th 9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
19th 9.30am Agape Service Gaydon
22nd 7.00pm Ash Wednesday
26th 6.30pm Songs of Praise Gaydon
Roman Catholic Church of St Francis, Kineton. Sunday Mass 11am. www.stfrancis-kineton.co.uk
February Memorial Book
1986 4th Norman Phillips
1991 7th Ruby Holder
1992 Irene Watts
2002 9th Prudence Averns (née Watts)
2017 12th John Wood Roberts
1994 13th Philip Davidson
2020 20th Mary Fox
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
Funeral
Betty Margaret Leah Bennett, 20 November 1929 - 9 December 2022
Betty Bennett was remembered with great affection at her funeral in St Giles' Church Gaydon on 23 January. A lovely service was conducted by the Reverend Nicki Chatterton and the church was beautifully decorated with flowers. Afterwards, mourners adjourned to the Malt Shovel for refreshments and more memories of Betty.
Coffee Morning
Please come for Coffee and Company when we start our monthly get-togethers again on Saturday 11 February at 11am in the Village Hall! Our usual attractions will be available: Bring & Buy, Books & Puzzles, Raffle, Tea & Coffee and Biscuits. Donations and profits go towards the upkeep of the Church.
Souper Saturday 25 February 12.30-3pm Village Hall
The Millennium Group are holding their first event of 2023 in order to raise funds for the over-65s Christmas lunch. At our Saturday Lunch there will be a variety of delicious home-made soups, accompanied by crusty bread from the Village Community Shop.
Prices as follows:
£3 for soup and bread
£1 tea and coffee
50p soft drinks
Board games and table tennis will be set out for families to have some fun. Please join us! DP
Friendship Club
The first meeting this year will be on Tuesday 14 February at 2.30pm at the home of Sharon Pettit, Poplar House. We look forward to seeing everyone again after the festive break. This club was started a long time ago when Gaydon's WI closed and there has been tea and talk ever since. If you would like to join us, give the Editor a ring.
BinAid
Wed 1 Food+Blue+Green+Grey, Wed 8 Food, Wed 15 Food+Blue+Green, Wed 22 Food+Grey
Gaydon and Chadshunt Parish Magazine February 1985
Vicar, Rev'd A Fermor, Church Wardens, Dr R Davies; Mr M Dunne, Treasurer, Mr C Owen,
Secretary, Miss P Bowden, Magazine Committee, Miss J Hammond; Miss J Parker; Mr LA Watts
Dear Friends,
Here is a nice warm thought for February, quoted from the poet Milton:
'Beauty is Nature's Coin; must not be hoarded. But must be current'.
Milton knew what he was talking about. The snow, as recently seen from many a window, covered everything, beautiful and ugly alike, with a pure white surface, sparkling in the sunshine. Now, at any rate for the time being, that 'levelling' element has disappeared; no longer hiding the bad with the good.
Of course, anyone's opinion of that same beautiful surface can alter quite rapidly when it reveals its hidden dangers and lands one heavily on one's back!
It is not so long now that through those same windows will be seen the cheerful golden yellow of the dancing daffodils. More beauty; but you cannot 'hoard it' as the poet says, because in time it will fade and go. This alternate flush of beauty and decay carries on right through the year. One sight to gladden the eye is succeeded by another as the cycle of the year is completed.
Thinking about this, one begins to realise that we cannot hang on to one perishable beauty for ever; but that it will be replaced by another of different but equal worth. We really should not want it to be otherwise, because without change and contrast there would be no variety; and without variety there could only be dreary and unrelieved boredom.
On another plane, the world could not exist if all its inhabitants were nothing but children, or nothing but old people. Innocence and experience must balance each other. Again, we cannot 'hoard' either state. Look at the joy of watching children grow up: the anxiety as to what might happen to them, the pride and happiness as we watch their successes; the comforting sympathy given when something does not go quite right! Then there is the calm light gained through long experience, the tolerence which can help defeat the trials of old age. As with beauty, life cannot remain static. Our interest must be in its present state and its future development.
People always seem to be grumbling about sin and wickedness - and of course it must always be fought against - forgetting that there are other sides of life displaying the essential generous goodness of the majority. Ninety per cent of 'news' is made up of evil things which are mercifully often transient; the other ten per cent consists of brightly shining goodness which is always consistent and lasts for ever, so that one gets used to it and it is hardly noticed at all.
But the beauty of God's world is ever with us. The truth of God is always there: 'and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God...'.
So let us face the evil that surrounds us, and fight it with all our strength, strong in the knowledge that goodness - the goodness and beauty of God the Creator - must always prevail. Goodness and beauty, as Milton said, 'must be current', for God is the God of love, and evil can never defeat Him, or us. Yours sincerely, Alan Fermor
(Click on:- Vicars of Gaydon to see more Gaydon vicars.)
Nature Notes for January 2023
The leaden landscape around the village has endured a cocktail of weather of late. The intensely cold 'freeze-up' having evolved into storms and driving rain. I have been observing from a position of shelter how our local wildlife are coping. The warmth of central-heating, woodburners and car heaters is not for them: I imagine it must be so hard to survive, on a daily basis, for many birds and mammals that have not hibernated or migrated to warmer climes!
I peer from my passenger window at a rain-lashed hedgerow, now denuded of leaves and berries, and notice the outline of a crouched Buzzard hoping a rabbit or small bird will break cover. A red kite glides low, scouring for roadkill along the verges. The more confident Rooks seem already to be scouting for nesting places, seagulls looking for newly ploughed fields and Magpies jauntily confident that their opportunist instincts will 'turn something up'.
The recent rare appearance of a Goshawk around the village was probably encouraged by the pheasant-shooting - the scattered poults a bonus. Watery Lane and beyond has waterlogged areas around the pool where large flocks of Teal flew up as I approached. The neighbouring farm has seen Snipe near the house and I, too, put up a couple along with a Woodcock on the boundary of the Army Camp. The prospect may be bleak as even crows and Wood pigeons seem to huddle in the trees. There were few large flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares this year, though they might arrive if there are more severe temperatures in Northern Europe.
One delight, however, is feeding garden birds. I have now attracted a large flock of Sparrows which have set up home in a nearby tree, amongst them a couple of Leucistic birds (similar to part-albinos with lots of pale plumage) that seem to be coping fine in spite of their conspicuous white feathers.
The other regulars are a large family of delightfull long-tailed Tits, also numerous blue tits and great tits. Niger seed draws in a small flock of Goldfinches which arrive at first light. Food dropped by these acrobatic birds is picked up by large Wood pigeons, black birds and Dunnocks and our local Robin is able to feed by both methods, tending to rule the roost. I surmise that I'm a sort of food bank in hard times! The rarest visitors have been a Great spotted woodpecker, a Coal tit and a Brambling.
Primroses and snowdrops are flowering; Lonicera, Clematis and heavy-scented Verbena are hoping to attract pollinators from hardy moths and flies which appear on milder days of glimmering sunshine. Hazel catkins, a rich source of nectar for hardy insects are in profusion. Clear blue skies and weak sunshine - perfect walking weather! BP
Mobile Library
The Mobile Library will call at the Telephone Box at 2.40pm for half an hour on Friday 10 February.
Gaydon Cake and Crafting Circle
Please join us in Church every second and fourth Sunday when we gather over cake and tea and get creating. If you don't know how to knit or crochet, we can teach you; and You Tube is always a useful tutor! Pop into Church on the 12th or 26th of February after 5pm or get in touch with Jo Hotchkiss.
Tai Chi
The Tai Chi group meets every Wednesday evening at 7 o'clock in the Village Hall. Please text 07514 011406 so that we can look out for you. After a month, please donate a coin for the hire of the Hall.
Voter ID at Polling Stations
What is this?
From 4 May 2023 onwards, the Elections Act 2022 requires voters who are on the Register of Electors to show photographic identification at polling stations before they are given a ballot paper.
What are the accepted forms of photo ID?
This is the list of items that can be used as photo ID at polling stations:-
A passport issued by the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country.
A photo-driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state.
A biometric immigration document.
An identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card).
Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card).
A Blue Badge.
A national identity card issued by an EEA state.
An Older Person's Bus Pass.
A Disabled Person's Bus Pass.
An Oyster 60+ Card.
A Freedom Pass.
A Voter Authority Certificate or a temporary Voter Authority Certificate.
For more information, see the Parish Council article above.
Do You have any Ideas to Improve Living in Gaydon?
Stand for the Parish Council!
Parish Councils have overall responsibility for the wellbeing of the local community. They deliver services; improve the quality of life for residents; and give communities a democratic voice.
Becoming a local councillor
As a local Councillor you can become a voice for your community and make real change. Local Councillors are the champions of their community who invest time in local projects and issues to the benefit of residents and the neighbourhood.
Local Councillor responsibilities are: decision-making; monitoring; and getting involved locally.
To stand for election to a local council you must be:
A UK or Commonwealth citizen; or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; at least 18 years old; an elector of the local council, or in the past 12 months have lived in the area the local council serves, or work in the area local council serves, or live within three miles of the local council boundary.
Find out more at: www.walc.org.uk/information/become-a-councillor
Seasonal Recipe for Shrove Tuesday 21 February
Pancake Day, or Mardi Gras, precedes the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, the Christian fast that leads up to Easter Day.
Ingredients
4oz plain flour; 2 eggs; 1/2 pint milk; tsp olive oil (for the pancakes); 4oz cheddar or gruyere cheese, grated;
4 slices ham; 2 lemons; caster sugar (for the fillings)
Method
Beat the flour, eggs, milk and oil in a bowl to make a smooth mixture.
Fry 4 pancakes and lay a slice of ham on each. Roll them up, lay them on the grill pan and cover with the grated cheese. Grill until the cheese is nicely melted and slightly browned.
Meanwhile, make another 4 pancakes and keep them warm while you eat the hamcakes. When you are ready for dessert, eat the remaining pancakes sprinkled with lemon and sugar in the traditional way.
Flag
The flag was raised on 9th January in honour of the Birthday of HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales.
If you have something to commemorate or celebrate, contact Siobhan Hannan on 07780 689582 and she will raise the flag for you.