Gaydon Parish Magazine November 2-23
index of magazines
Gaydon Gazette for November
Parish Council Tues 7th at 7.30pm Village Hall
Church Gift Day Sat 11th at 11am Village Hall
Remembrance Sunday 12th at 10.45am Church
Village Hall C'tee Mon 13th at 8pm Village Hall
Mobile Library Fri 17th at 2.40pm Phone Box
Stir-up Sunday Sun 26th at 9.30am Church
Tai Chi Wednesdays at 7pm Village Hall
Craft Circle 2nd & 4th Sundays 5pm Church
December Diary Dates
Carols by Candlelight All Saints BD - Sunday 17th at 3.30pm
Gaydon Village Hall Carols - Monday 18th at 7pm
Crib Service - Christmas Eve at 6pm
St Giles' Church Christmas Gift Day & Coffee Morning
Saturday 11 November 11am - 1pm in the Village Hall. Stalls, Refreshments and Raffle. Christmas Tree for Gift Day Envelopes.
DONATIONS OF RAFFLE PRIZES, UNWANTED GIFTS, CRAFTS AND CAKES WILL BE VERY WELCOME
AND CAN BE LEFT AT THE HALL ON SATURDAY MORNING OR AT THE OLD BAKEHOUSE.
PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR PARISH CHURCH!
Remembrance Sunday 12 November
The Act of Remembrance begins at 10.45am outside St Giles' Church under the Clock which is the Village War Memorial. Following the two minutes' silence and the laying of wreaths there will be a Service of Remembrance inside the church.
After the service, please sign up to contribute ingredients for the Crib Service Cake which will be mixed on Stir-up Sunday, 26 November.
November Church Services
All Souls' Day Thursday 2nd
7pm Memorial Service Northend
5th 9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
10am Holy Communion Northend
12th 10.45am Remembrance Day Service Gaydon
19th 9.30am Agape Service Gaydon
10am Morning Prayer Northend
26th 9.30am Stir-up Sunday Service Gaydon
10am Agape Meal Northend
Roman Catholic Church of St Francis, Kineton, Sunday Mass 11am.
All Souls Day, Thursday 2nd November
We have a memorial service at The Chapel of Ease, Northend at 7pm led by Reader John Davies.
We will remember those who have died in the past year and also those who died many years ago and whom we still remember. If you wish anyone's name to be read out, please add it to the list in either church; or you can do so before the service.
November Memorial Book
2010 4th Wilfrid Hotchkiss
2014 9th Joyce Hammond
2006 16th Leonard Walker
2005 21st Joyce Walker
2006 22nd Edna Young (formerly Rickman)
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
Remembrance Sunday at St Giles
We meet outside the church under the War Memorial at 10.45am for the Act of Remembrance at 11am. Following that, we have our Service of Remembrance inside the church.
Over-65s Christmas Lunch Sunday 3rd December
Invitations to the Lunch will be sent out shortly. If you are new to the village or have had that magic birthday recently, please let Debbie or Julie know if you would like to come. Helpers will be contacted soon. If you are a newcomer or have never helped before, just tell us you want to help and you will be added to the team! Debbie is on 640757 and Julie on 640349. DP&JR
Village Hall News
The next Village Hall Committee Meeting will be held on Monday 13 November at 8pm.
Mobile Library
The Mobile Library will call at the Telephone Box at 2.40pm for half an hour on Friday 17th.
Parish Council News
The next parish council meeting is on Tuesday 7th November at 7.30pm in the village hall. There is no report on last month's meeting.
The Bells, the Bells!
On Thursday 2nd November at All Saints, Burton Dassett at 2pm, John Anderson will be giving a guided tour of the Tower to demonstrate ringing; but more particularly to show the bells in situ before four of the six are taken away for modification at John Taylor's, the Bell Founders in Loughborough. He will explain why and what work is to be done.
On Wednesday 22 November there is a visit to John Taylor's Bell Foundry to which you are invited. The four bells will be there awaiting their modifications.
If you would like to participate in either of these events, please let John know on 07930 322467.
Stir-up Sunday 26 November
Please join us in St Giles at 9.30am and help mix the ingredients donated for the Crib Service Cake that we share on Christmas Eve. Sign up on Remembrance Sunday for the ingredients of your choice!
British Motor Museum Events
Half-Term: Roadmap to the Future: Explore the Future of Motoring
4th November Jaguar Breakfast Meet
14 November An Evening at the Collections
20 November Mini-motorists Mondays
Book tickets online at britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Proposed Development Update (November)
Following last month’s news that the ‘Determination Date’ for the development had been pushed back until at least the end of the year, Stratford District Council have produced a hefty document (12 pages) for the developers to respond to. This can be viewed in full detail in the ‘Correspondence’ section of the application (23/01054/OUT), but it’s worth, in summary, considering the sheer range of answers/explanations demanded by SDC. There are no less than 28 sections in the document all requiring very detailed responses from the developers. The comprehensive range of topics relate to: the overall environmental impact; the construction involved and the permanent impact on the village and the district as whole.
Among the 28 listed, there are such headings as: ‘Flood Risk and Drainage’; ‘Air Quality’; ‘Landscape and Visual Issues’; ‘Ground Conditions’; ‘Climatic Factors’; ‘Impact on Adjoining Businesses’; ‘Noise and Vibration’; ‘Formation of the building platforms’; ‘Cultural Heritage’ and so on. It very much appears, when reading this, that SDC have taken up the many hundreds of points raised by villagers and other bodies (e.g.CPRE) and paraphrased them into this challenging document for the developers to answer. As a whole, it is a testimony to the sheer energy and diligence of all those who have objected to it so far. Well done, us! It must be said, though, that as satisfying as it is that our concerns have been heard, we should not be complacent. It would be mistaken to assume that SDC is on ‘our side’: they have to arbitrate the outcome even when there are so many, seemingly irreconcilable, issues and questions to be answered by the developers, CEG Land Promotions (Malta) Ltd.
Another piece of recent news which relates to building development pollution generally in the U.K., has come to light. It seems that the government has abandoned plans that would have allowed planning officials to ignore the extra pollution caused by sewage and run-off from construction sites. The ‘radical’ House of Lords objected to this transfer of responsibility from the corporate building companies (who would benefit financially) on to the hard-pressed taxpayer who would face the cost of the clean-up. It also appears that during the recent by-elections, all the political parties found that as well as the cost of living, one of the other great concerns of voters was the scandal of sewage and toxic pollutants swilling into our rivers and seas. This possibly made the government have a re-think. Who knows? If the catastrophe of the proposed development does happen, we would be naïve to think that pollution capture and filtration would completely prevent a toxic swill affecting our village: the elevation of the site means that gravity is not on our side…
Update on Proposed Development continued...
On a final, upbeat, note: following on from the request in the October magazine for someone with photographic and software skills to create ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, we now have a volunteer (thank you!), but in order to make the projected hangars and their elevation as accurate as possible on a CGI’ed ‘after’ photo, we need someone who is skilled at interpreting two-dimensional drawings/plans to liaise with this volunteer. If you think you might be able to help, contact me on 01926 641889 to arrange contact.
Reminder: nearer to whenever the new ‘D-day’ is we should be ready to take up the offer of the Stratford Herald (they published an update piece on the 19th October) for a photo-op and report with villagers standing in front of the (current…) green-field site. Watch out for an alert via social and other media. Tony Hughes
Nature Notes for October
Autumn days of sunshine, sometimes strong winds and a distinct 'nip' in the air, are a feature in the last few weeks. The nights are drawing in, too. The sun moving quickly across clear sky; dusk rapidly follows sunset. I've got out my torch to guide me locking up the the hens - they are roosting before I even arrive. The moult is over, but when will they start laying again? The reassuring hoots of Tawny Owls in the trees accompany me back.
The following day a walnut hits me on the head - above me the culprit, a seldom-seen Grey Squirrel, scampers into the ivy-clad tree trunk but does not return because my placid Bengal cat chases them. All the nuts are falling now. I hasten to get my magical German (or is it Italian?) Nut collector, a rotating wire basket on a long handle that scoops them up.
Earlier in the week, I collected a bag of Medlars (a strange ancient fruit) from a secret location. These are now in my Shepherd's Hut for 'bletting', i.e. you have to let them rot before making the bright red jelly so expensive in Harrods' Food Hall! The aroma is delicious. I have a fair crop of Quinces, too, huge yellow pear-shaped fruit, inedible until cooked. You can make Jams, cheeses and cut into slices. I was collecting them from my drive when a passing Rumanian scrap dealer begged me for a few. I was pleased to oblige.
There are still a couple of sub-tropical plants in flower as we have been spared frosts so far. Blue Morning Glory Flowers, the vivid shades of Lantana and Campsis, and even my Banana trees which survived last winter are putting out a confident new leaf. Red Admirals still feeding on fallen fruits - will they hibernate I wonder? - a few do so now, a sign of climate change maybe.
I was delighted to visit Chadshunt Church for Harvest festival yesterday, famous for its wildflower churchyard and Mediaeval stained glass window. The candle-lit church was unique and atmospheric. We walked over the vibrant springy lawns afterwards for tea and delicious sandwiches and cakes at Chadshunt House. The woodlands, apart from the Horse chestnut trees, are yet to show seasonal colour.
I noted the sea gulls on nearby ploughed fields. Previously, one of my ex-students from the Agric College sent me a facebook photo of himself driving a combine in pitch darkness, entitled 'Still at it!'. Of course, they plough automatically by computer program these days, so no need to look! I have even seen Kites and Buzzards picking up worms after ploughing in the early mornings. The hedges are now trimmed, perhaps losing a few berries but a lot left,for the winter migrants when they arrive. Time to get the bird feeders cleaned - a Robin is pecking hopefully at one of my empty ones! Bernard Price
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.
Wellesbourne Safer Neighbourhood Team
This covers the policing areas of Snitterfield, Wellesbourne, Kineton and Burton Dassett.
Police non-emergency phone number is 101. In an emergency, when a crime is being committed or life is in danger, always call 999.
Warwickshire Connected
This is a free messaging service brought to you by Warwickshire Police where you decide when and how you hear about the issues that matter most to you: whether that be regular crime updates; the latest information on ongoing incidents and emergencies; or learning more about what your local police are doing.
Sign up at: https://www.warwickshireconnected.com
Four Apple Jelly
This old recipe makes a lovely translucent pinkish jelly. Ask Alexa to help you translate if you are not familiar with pints, lbs and °F.
Ingredients: 3 or 4lbs of Quinces, Japonica Apples, Crab Apples and Cooking Apples; juice of half a Lemon; Sugar.
Cut up the fruit into bite-size pieces, put into a preserving pan and cover with cold water. Add the lemon juice.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for about an hour until the apples are soft and melting.
Put the squashy apples in a muslin bag and suspend it so that the juice runs clear into another pan.
Measure the juice in pints.
Allow 1lb sugar to each pint of juice.
In the preserving pan, boil the sugar and juice together until a setting point is reached, around 221°F.
Ladle straight into clean, warm jam jars (4 should be enough).
Footnote to Nature Notes
The verb 'blet' has an interesting etymology in the Shorter OED 1965 edition. It derives from the French 'blettir': to become 'sleepy' as an over-ripe pear. Ed.
Allotment News November
For the first time I can remember, this year we have not run out of water!
We are trying a new way of suppressing weeds by layering the freshly cut hay from the rest of the field to a depth of about 30cms. It will be interesting to find out if it works. I notice that the latest thinking about Autumn leaves is to leave them in place as a mulch and let worms do the work. Untidy is the new tidy!
A good crop of apples and the perennial kale is looking good. Seems to have been a disappointing year for our squashes but other people's have done well. On the other hand, I have just collected a surprisingly big crop of autumn raspberries, with more to follow. DP
Flag
If you have something to celebrate or commemorate, contact Siobhan Hannan on 07780 689582, and she will raise the Flag for you in return for a £5 contribution to Church funds.
Christmas Concerts Coming Up
IN DULCI JUBILO!
A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT
6th December at 7.30pm
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
ARMONICO CONSORT'S
PRESIDENT'S CAROLS AT WARWICK CASTLE
20 December at 7.30pm
Warwick Castle
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT
21 December at 7.30pm
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick
Tickets: www.armonico.org.uk or 01926 334418
Bishop Christopher leaves Coventry Diocese
The Bishop warmly invites all in the Diocese to his farewell service which is to be held at the Cathedral on Saturday 4 November at 2pm.
He prays for the Diocese of Coventry quoting St Paul:
‘I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love towards all the saints,
and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you
as I remember you in my prayers.
I do pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
as you come to know him,
so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know
what is the hope to which God has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.’ Ephesians 1.15-19
The Bishop leaves to become Dean of St Georges Chapel, Windsor.