Parish Council Tues 2nd at 7.30pm Village Hall
Over-65s Lunch Sun 7th Village Hall
Carols & Refreshments Mon 22nd at 7pm Village Hall
Crib Service & Cake Christmas Eve at 6pm St Giles'
Family Communion Christmas Day 10.30am Church
Mobile Library Friday 2nd Jan Phone Box
Tai Chi Mons & Weds at 7pm Village Hall
Victorian Gaydon A Talk by Martin Phelps at St Giles Church on Friday 12 December at 7.30pm Free Admission/Church Donations - please tell Martin if you are attending, on 640559
Monday 22nd at 7pm Carols in the Village Hall
Christmas Eve, 6pm Crib Service in Church
Christmas Day at 10.30am Family Communion
The Shop is now taking orders for Turkeys, Geese and cockerels as well as other essential Festive necessities like pigs in blankets and sausage rolls. Pop in to the store for more details and place your order!
Advent
7th 9.30am Morning Worship Gaydon
10.00am Holy Communion Northend
14th 9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
10.00am Morning Service Northend
21st 3.00pm Carols by Candlelight Burton Dassett
22nd 7.00pm Village Hall Carols Gaydon
Christmas Eve
24th 6.00pm Crib Service Gaydon
11.30pm Midnight Mass Burton Dassett
Christmas Day
25th 10.30am Family Communion Gaydon
28th 10.30am Benefice Holy Communion
Christmas Eve
7pm St Francis of Assisi, Kineton; 11pm St Peter and St Paul, Brailes
Christmas Day
9.15am Our Lady and the Apostles, Shipston on Stour
11.00am St Francis of Assisi, Kineton
Friday 5th-30th The 12 Cars of Christmas Family Activities
Saturday 6th Jaguar Breakfast Club
Monday 15th Mini Motorists Mondays
Monday 22nd Winter Access Day
Information and tickets at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
The first severe frosts have cut down the tender annuals and it's time to take in Geraniums for another year. The prolonged hot spell gave a false impression that the mild weather would continue - it's certainly lasted well into November.
Most insect life will now seek a place to hibernate so expect to discover Lady-birds in dry plant stems and butterflies in curtains or sheds. Wasps and bees tend to keep just the Queens to start new colonies next spring.
My garden feeders are already getting attention from Sparrows, Blue Tits and Wrens. I have heard a few goldfinches and seen a few Migrant Redwings (a small thrush). The latter are the forerunners of larger migrations from northern Europe. There is a good crop of berries and fallen crab apples this year; most trees have now lost their leaves.
Large groups of Rooks around the outskirts of Gaydon. They often gather to form new colonies but will mostly return to their traditional nesting places which have been battered by recent winds. They will repair them in Early March. Buzzards and Kestrels are more visible now, perching on the tall lamps around the traffic island. Otters are once again active around Lighthorne.
This has been a good season for fungi and many are still flourishing in wooded areas - check edibility though! The bright red Muscari are very toxic, for example. Large frogs have enjoyed the wet spell and can now wait until early spring; I was suprised when they appeared in the garden. Darker, shorter days and log fire time now, listening to the Owls - still heard, even in the centre of the village. Bernard Price
Starting in January 2026 the Book Club will meet at the Malt Shovel on the 1st Tuesday of each month. We begin our meeting at 7pm - we welcome new members. LA
Friday 12 December: 10:30am to 12 noon at Kineton Village Hall.
The festive season is not always easy and that's why our Christmas meeting is a gentle one. Join us for a relaxed meeting with mince pies,refreshments and a few carols to lift the spirits. Whether you are feeling festive or not, you will be warmly welcomed.
The Mobile Library will call at the Telephone Box at 2.25pm for half an hour on Friday 2nd January 2026. N.B. no visit on 26 December.
2005 3rd Rex White
2022 9th Betty Margaret Leah Bennett
2004 10th Trevor Taylor
2004 19th Jean Welch
2018 25th Trevor Lightowler
2000 27th Evelyn Olds
1999 30th John Barker
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
John Randall, 10 March 1938 - 19 November 2025
We are sad to record the death of John Randall at the age of 87. His funeral will be held at Oakley Wood Crematorium at 10am on Thursday 11 December. Our condolences go to Heather and his family and friends.
9th - 11th Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day; 14th Birthday of HM King Charles III. God bless the King!
Visit the Gift Fair on Friday 5th till Sunday 7th; or Spot Santa on Saturday and Sunday 20/21st and Wednesday 24th; many more events and activities. See the website www.comptonverney.org.uk for all the details.
Something to Think about
What’s your story?
If your life were a film, what type/genre of film would it be?
Comedy? Action/Adventure? Drama? Thriller? Romance? Disaster?
In reality, our lives can be a mix of all genres; there are times when the story we’re living through seems darker or impossible, and times when we find hope and joy. Times of tears and times of laughter. Times when we might feel we can conquer the world, and times when we feel we just can’t go on.
Our culture tends to encourage each of us to focus on our individual story, where we’re the main character, where what we want matters, where our security and our wellbeing are paramount. As we progress through the different chapters of our stories, there are people who support us or hinder us in achieving those goals; people who pick us up when we fail, and others who, deliberately or accidentally, trip us up when we’re doing OK. In A.J. Greimas’ structural approach to analysing narratives, he refers to these people as ‘helpers’ and ‘opponents’.
However, despite the predominant focus that our society has on the individual, we are also part of other stories - part of the story of our family, our community, our workplace, our sports team, our nation, the whole human race, and even of all creation. As the 17th-century poet, John Donne, wrote,
“No man [or woman] is an island, entire of itself; every man [or woman] is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”.
Our stories are woven together, our words and actions have consequences that ripple through those of others, impacting their lives for better or worse.
We see our role as ‘helper’ most clearly for the people who are closest to us. We will sacrificially help the people we love, wanting success for them in their story. And perhaps we see our role as ‘opponent’ most clearly in the people with whom we strongly disagree politically or at work, wanting to stop an initiative or movement to which we strongly object. But the reality is that we are always both helper and opponent in all the stories we touch.
There are times when, unintentionally, I’ve ‘tripped up’ people that I have been trying to help, times when I’ve said or done the wrong thing. And there are times when I’ve inadvertently helped the agenda of someone with whom I disagree. We are all helpers and opponents, all heroes and villains.
God is also woven into the many stories of our world, and at this time of year, we remember how he was born into the story of humanity in Bethlehem.
Jesus came in humility to help us see and understand that greater story of which we are all a part. He came to show us how to be better helpers in the stories around us, and in that overarching story (or metanarrative) of God’s love, a story that is woven into all of our stories.
I think we all catch sight of that story at Christmas in the feelings of goodwill and concern we have for others, insights that move us to want to bless and do our part as helpers in the stories of others.
My prayer for us all this Christmas is that we’d be vulnerable enough to receive the love and help of others (and of God) and that we’d clearly see those places where we could be a helper in the stories of others. I pray that we would carry that on into the year ahead.