Gaydon Parish Magazine February 2025
index of magazines
Gaydon Gazette for February
Parish Council Tues 4th at 7.30pm Village Hall
Coffee Morning Sat 8th at 11am Village Hall
Mobile Library Fri 21st at 2.40pm Phone Box
Tai Chi Wednesdays at 7pm Village Hall
Parish Council News
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 4th February at 7.30pm.
February Church Services
Candlemas
2nd 9.00am Holy Communion Gaydon
10am Holy Communion Northend
9th 9.30am Morning Prayer Gaydon
10am Morning Prayer Northend
16th 9.30am Agapë Service Gaydon
10am Morning Prayer Northend
23rd 9.30am Prayer and Praise Gaydon
10am Morning Prayer Northend
Ash Wednesday
5th March 7pm Joint Service Gaydon
Roman Catholic Church of St Francis, Kineton Sunday Mass 11am
Mobile Library
The Mobile Library will call at the Telephone Box at 2.25pm for half an hour on Friday 21st.
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.
Coffee Morning
Saturday 8 February at 11am. We hope that you will join us in the village hall as our monthly coffee mornings start again after the Christmas break. There will be a book stall, bring-and-buy and raffle, as well as coffee or tea and biscuits (50p) and an exchange of news, views and gossip. Money raised goes to church funds.
Nature Notes for the New Year
After a few days the snow has melted but the village is still in the grip of below zero temperatures, icy pavements, black ice and dense mists which shroud the early mornings. Sunshine and blue skies on some days but still freezing. Buzzards sitting in the lower branches of trees get scant heat, Blue tits and sparrows swarm around my bird feeders. Starlings and Jackdaws stab at the fat balls while beneath are Dunnocks, Collared doves, Black birds and Wood pigeons scooping up the fallen fragments.
Sometimes Goldfinches and Great tits join them and more recently Pied Wagtails and coal tits make the odd visit, too. A Green Wood-pecker, resembling an exotic parrot, came once only, 'Yaffling' as if to draw attention to the bright scarlet and green plumage. I'm hoping to keep my local flocks of sparrows fed over this hard spell. My local Robin dislikes this intrusion into his domain and sees all-comers off with vigour.
The increase in bird feeding is helping keep our dwindling bird population alive during these hard climes. Whereas once the 'untidy' old-fashioned farming methods spilled lots of grain around and left stubble in fields, this is compensation for such diminishing sources. Natural, planted gardens (free of astro turf and decking) are substantial refuges now.
The most exciting bird to arrive at nearby Balscote quarry is a single Bewick Swan, lost on its long journey from the Siberian tundra en route to the Wildfowl reserve at Slimbridge. I quite often check this old quarry because it is so close to Gaydon.
I noticed a few cars parked: 'Unusual', I thought; but word had obviously got around. A number of long-lense cameras taking shots and other people arriving - a first record for Oxfordshire/Warwickshire so very exciting. When I reported it to Slimbridge they kept me informed. It had reached the main flock the next day and had been named Balscote! There are always feeders kept topped up at the reserve and there were Greenfinches, Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings on them as an additional treat, well worth braving the intense cold.
Great excitement too about an Otter seen in the middle of Stratford carrying a huge Fish. We know these are around Gaydon too at night and hope there will be no more on the Banbury Road.
The temperatures are forecast to rise next week but i am still waiting for the flocks of fieldfares, Redwings and - best of all - Waxwings to arrive. Luckily, berries are still plentiful. The Bewick Swan, so early in January, is a good start to 2025. Bernard Price
Flag Days
Birthday of HRH The Princess of Wales - 8th January.
If you have something to celebrate or commemorate, ring Siobhan on 07780 689582, and she will raise the flag for you, in return for a £5 contribution to Church funds.
British Motor Museum
Events in February
Jaguar Breakfast Club Saturday 1st
Museum Lates: from Sketch to Street Tuesday 11th
Craft, Code, Create: Techtastic Half-term Fun Saturday 15th -23rd
Information and tickets at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Carers4Carers
Kineton Village Hall 10:30am to 12 noon on Friday 28th February.
Come along and meet other local carers for refreshments, conversation and support. Feel free to bring your loved ones along - they can join our Companionship Group while we meet. Speaker to be confirmed. We look forward to welcoming you there!
For further details about our carer support group or help with transport arrangements to/from our meetings, contact Gillian on 07947 893504 or send an email to kcarers4carers@gmail.com or explore our website www.carers4carersonthefosse.org.uk.
Shipston Home Nursing
Support from our community is always very much appreciated and we start the fundraising year with:Saturday 22 March - Dinner and Dancing at Primrose Hill Farm which promises to be a lovely evening. We're extremely grateful to Primrose Hill Farm for inviting us to host events in this beautiful venue.
Tickets are limited and on sale now here: (https://www.shipstonhomenursing.co.uk/event/dinner-dancing-at-primrose-hill-farm/) .
Hello from the Village Shop!
This January our lovely volunteers arranged a fabulous lunch to celebrate the New Year together. Delicious food was served at our Village pub and although not all Volunteers could attend, a wonderful afternoon was enjoyed by all who went.
These local heroes give their time up with nothing expected in return, to ensure our local community continues to enjoy this fabulous asset to the village. If you have an hour or two to spare to serve in the Village Shop or to offer any services required to run this small business, please do get in touch.
We very much look forward to another year of serving our village and the community.
The Village Shop volunteers and committee were very sad to hear of the death of Gill Malsbury who was so generous and supportive of the shop, both as a loyal and regular customer and as an original supporter in the very beginning of the shop's creation. We send our thoughts and love to her friends and family; she will be missed very much.
We thank all our customers for continuing to support the Village Shop especially since the garage has increased its product lines. As a non-profit and volunteering organisation, our sole reason for being here is for the benefit of the village and surrounding areas. We continue to strive to supply all of your households needs, treats and luxuries. Please do pop in and see us because spending just £5 per household per week in the Shop can ensure that we continue to serve the community for years to come. Siobhan Dodd, on behalf of the committee and shop volunteers
Compton Verney
New Exhibitions for February. Starting on Saturday 8 February at our local gallery is a new show, an immersive installation entitled The Marshmallow Laser Feast: Breathing with the Forest.
On Saturday 15th another new work, by the artist Emil Alrai, will open. It is the exploration of a volcanic eruption and was inspired by Compton Verney's Naples Collection. You can find out more at www.comptonverney.org
Gaydon Development Update for February
SWLP?
I have had a (brief) reply to my enquiry in December as to the significance and progress of CEG (Malta) Ltd's planning application (23/01054/OUT) after it had been taken out of the hands of the original planning officer (who had kept us well-informed). It is now in the hands of the Head of Planning/Development, whose P.A. stated:
'We are still in discussions with the applicant regarding amendments to the application. We will be able to update you further in due course.' Hopefully, we will hear more before the new Determination Date of 28 March and we don't have to endure - to quote a Son of Stratford - a seemingly interminable 'law's delay'!
SWLP? The initials of a radical political party perhaps? No, these are the initial letters of the new, proposed South Warwickshire Local Plan which is currently open for consultation, submissions and comments from mid-January until FRIDAY 7th MARCH. (Deliberately capitalised for prominence.) In summary (apologies in advance if you're already up to speed on this) it is a joint venture between Stratford and Warwick District Councils both to visualise and plan, as far as possible, the South Warwickshire area from the 2030s onwards.
To quote from the actual document, here is what is envisaged:
By 2050 South Warwickshire will be a flourishing, healthy and vibrant place where people will want to live, work and visit. The vision is to meet South Warwickshire's sustainable development needs and strengthen local communities, while responding to the climate emergency. The plan will provide homes and jobs, boost and diversify the local economy, and provide appropriate infrastructure, in suitable locations, at the right time.
Five overarching principles will determine how this development is delivered:
(1)A climate resilient and Net Zero Carbon South Warwickshire adapting to the effects of climate change and mitigating against its causes, while avoiding any further damage that might arise from development and drive towards net zero carbon.
(2)A well-designed and beautiful South Warwickshire creating spaces where people want to be, which respect and reflect the existing beauty and heritage of the area.
(3)A healthy, safe and inclusive South Warwickshire enabling everyone to enjoy safe and healthy lifestyles with a good quality of life and addressing health inequalities.
(4)A well-connected South Warwickshire ensuring that development is physically and digitally connected, provided in accessible locations, and promotes active travel.
(5)A biodiverse and environmentally resilient South Warwickshire strengthening green and blue infrastructure and achieving a net increase in biodiversity across South Warwickshire.
The above are very noble aims and it would be easy to be cynical about its Utopian, desirable ways of living. There is a need to be positive about it, but (I think you suspected it was coming!) councils and residents alike must ensure that our area is not turned into a gaming board territory which allows questionable, speculative, purely money-motivated developments to be littered across our region - as opposed to community-driven, necessary projects.
I would urge all magazine readers to access this document and submit your comments and proposals via:
https://southwarwickshire.oc2.uk/document/148/4580#d4580
If you do not have digital access, all the local libraries have printed copies for consultation by Friday 7th March.
Finally, some Gaydon residents have asked whether the Government's desire to 'revise' local planning laws will allow such anti-environmental, highly questionable, speculative developments like that proposed by CEG(Malta)Ltd easier to be granted permission? I will be monitoring that situation and will report back in the next edition of the magazine. Tony Hughes
Something to Think About
What are you looking for?
A survey by a British insurance company found that, on average, each person loses nine items per day and spends about 10 minutes looking for them. That’s 3,285 items per year and about 60 hours lost per year. Over a lifetime, that’s around 200,000 items lost and over 150 days spent looking for things!
Unfortunately, I think I’d have to add more time than the average because of the number of times I go upstairs looking for something and then forget what I went to find! “Now… what was I looking for?”
“What are you looking for?” is a question Jesus asks a couple of his disciples at the beginning of John’s Gospel and it is an excellent question for the start of a New Year. “What are you looking for?”
We may have short-term hopes for things like a successful meeting, a good day at work, or a time of laughter and fun with friends and family… medium-term hopes for things like holidays or travel… longer-term hopes for things like a new job, a promotion at work, an end to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a drop in energy prices, solutions to the climate change problems we’re facing, and so on.
However, in the busyness of life, we rarely pause to think about what is behind all our hopes. We don’t stop to reflect on our deeper longings.
When I think about this, I long for happiness, peace, belonging, justice, freedom, joy, to be fully known and loved. Pleasure is great but fleeting; what I truly long for is far deeper than that. I long to be more at peace in myself, more easily let go of my worries and anxieties, more joyful, more confident, and to laugh more. In short, I want an all-round sense of well-being in my life.
And I don’t think we long for those things just for ourselves. It might seem altruistic, but I don’t think we can truly be happy when we know others are suffering. So, I long for everyone to have the above things.
All of the above is summed up in the Hebrew word ‘Shalom’, which is translated as ‘peace’ in English, but in Hebrew, it means so much more. Shalom means peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, belonging, and tranquillity. It brings a deep sense of being known and loved that can help us cope in times of turbulence and change. When I reflect on this, I realise that I long for Shalom, for myself and for others.
It is Shalom that Jesus gives to his disciples in John 14:27:
“My peace [shalom] I leave with you…” This is a peace that transcends all that life can throw at us, a peace that comes from him, that offers hope and strength amid change and uncertainty.
As we move into 2025, I pray that we will all come to know more of that Peace, and through that, we might do our part to help bring some stability and hope to others. Rev Barry Jackson
February Memorial Book
1986 4th Norman Phillips
1991 7th Ruby Holder
1992 7th Irene Watts
2002 9th Prudence Averns
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
Collect for Candlemas
Almighty and ever-living God
We humbly beseech thy majesty
That, as thy only-begotten Son
Was this day presented in the Temple,
In substance of our flesh,
So we may be presented unto thee
With pure and clean hearts,
By thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who liveth and reigneth with thee,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and for ever.
Amen