| WHITE HORSE GARDEN CLUB - DECEMBER 2016 AGM – CHRISTMAS MEETING Thursday 1st December at 7.30pm in THMH THE ART OF CRAFT CIDER - TASTING AND CIDER TO PURCHASE By Dr Andrew Lea of Wittenham Hill Cider, Nr Wallingford. Andrew Lea is a retired food biochemist who spent 13 years at the National Fruit and Cider Institute, near Bristol. 25 years in food and beverage research/consultancy including cider. Now a prizewinning hobby cidermaker. Author and contributor of 3 cidermaking books including his own 'Craft Cidermaking' – copies for sale. Cider information website: www.cider.org.uk Visitors £2.50. Christmas Raffle £1. CHRISTMAS MEETING REFRESHMENTS – WINE AND NIBBLES - COME ALONG AND ENJOY A FESTIVE EVENING
Village news 24 November 2016 | Uffington Village Christmas Tree – 1 December
Delighted to invite you to the 'Switching On' of the Uffington Village Christmas Tree at 6pm on December 1st. The pupils of Uffington Primary school will be performing with their hand bells - always a treat to listen to. Come and start off the Christmas season and share a glass of mulled wine and mince pie around the tree.
Everyone welcome. Donations of mulled wine and mince pies welcome. Hope you can join in the fun...
Ruth de Wilton
School warning lights
You will be delighted to hear (and see!) that the school warning lights have been replaced and despite a slight technical glitch with getting the eastern set working, they are set to deliver a great improvement in driver awareness around the school at critical times. This has been made possible by a number of very generous contributions, as follows:
White Horse Show Trust - £1,100
Euro Fine Foods Ltd - £1,000
Baulking Concert Fund - £400
Uffington Parish Council - £200
The School, including the children, and the Parish Council are extremely grateful for these contributions and such wide-spread community support. The warning lights and advisory 20 mph speed limit will make a great improvement to road safety in Uffington, as requested in the Community-Led Plan.
Spirit of the Vale Showcase and Fayre – 8 December
The first ever Spirit of the Vale Showcase and Fayre will take place from 12 - 8pm on Thursday 8 December in beautiful Eastmanton Barn in Sparsholt.
The intention is that it will be a fabulous way to make people aware of the amazing local talent that is right on their doorsteps and raise a bit of cash for two local charities. We have lots of lovely artisans and businesses taking part, including art by local artists, hats, cushions, stocking fillers, candles, locally brewed liquors, hots logs, stocking fillers, pottery, handmade books, soaps, rapeseed oil and pottery. We will also have a corner offering mini massage, make-up and hair.
A poster is attached here:https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/spirite_of_the_vale_poster.pdf
If you need any further information please contact Ruth (07889 707007) or Maia (07595 068998).
Village News 22 November 2016 | Church Bells
You may have heard the church bells ringing on Tuesday evenings regularly, but you may also have noticed how rarely bells are rung on Sundays. At present we rely heavily on the good will of ringers from as far afield as Grove and Childrey who are able to join us on practice evenings, but not on Sundays as their own bell towers require their services. We are looking for people who would like to try this ancient skill - you must be over the age of 12.
Tel: Carl 01367 820230, or Hugh 01367 820014
Saturday 26 November – the MUGA
Don't forget that there will be a short ceremony at 11.00 am on Saturday 26 November outside the Shop, at which the Vicar, Jeremy Goulston, will be "christening" the new Multi-Use Games Areas which have been installed recently, and the Parish Council will be thanking those who have made it possible.
All welcome and it would be nice to see some children there using the new facilities; the press have been invited.
Chair based exercise
Age UK Oxfordshire is running a chair based exercise class from 1.00 to 1.45 pm on Thursdays, before the Zumba Gold session. We have only had 1 lady turn up so far for the trial classes and we won't be able to run them in the New Year if we don't get a bit more support.
Any queries to Mandy Richens at: amandarichens@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk or Direct Dial: 07827 235429
A poster is attached here:https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/Chair_based_exercises.01.pdf
Local News - 16 November 2016 | Crocus Planting
A small team planted 2,000 crocus corms in the shape of the White Horse, on Monday 14 November, in the area of the village sign, on the Jubilee Field. How has this come about?
In 1985 polio was endemic in 125 countries round the world. In that year ROTARY INTERNATIONAL pledged their worldwide efforts towards eradicating this fatal infectious disease. This year there are just TWO countries that remain on the endemic list.
Polio most often affects children under the age of five. Since 1985 Rotary has helped immunise 2.5 billion children globally, at a cost of 20p each. Every £1 raised by Rotary towards this project is improved by £2 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The year 2017 sees the centenary of the Rotary Foundation – the international charity wing of the Rotary movement. The hope will be to complete eradication of the disease – which if achieved would make it only the second such worldwide disease to be conquered.
The Rotary Club of Faringdon & District has been part of the campaign for quite a few of the 31 years. To celebrate 2017 the Club has donated 20,000 crocus corms (bulbs) to Faringdon town and villages within its District. With thanks to Douglas Dalrymple for organising the gift to Uffington, we wait to see what they look like in the spring.
A photograph of the team hard at work (Julie Rumble, Karen Pilcher and Messrs Church, Keene, Rumble and Dalrymple) is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/_compresseds/829c21a0-a3ae-43a9-bb6b-ffc932d0edc4.jpg
Recycling
Whole lorry loads of recycling are still being contaminated by food waste, dirty nappies etc. The Vale will only empty green wheelie bins if the recycling in them is loose or in clear sacks. Despite a recent campaign to raise awareness of the issue, food waste, dirty nappies, and other items we can't recycle are still contaminating whole truckloads of recycling. When these are put into recycling bins in black or coloured sacks they're not spotted until it's too late.
If there's a sack in a recycling bin and the waste crews can't see what's in it, they won't empty it.
The best option is to put your recycling in loose (give it a quick rinse beforehand to keep your green bin smelling fresh). If you would prefer to use clear sacks, you can buy them from most major supermarkets and hardware stores. If you have any questions, please contact Biffa on 03000 610 610 or at admin.vale@biffa.co.uk.
Free Parking
In the run up to Christmas, for the first time, motorists can park for free in district council car parks, all day, on a number of select days up until 24 December. (You don't have to display a ticket during these times): - Abingdon: Saturdays - from 26 November to 24 December
- Faringdon: 3, 6, 9 and 17 December
- Wantage: Fridays - 2, 9, 16 and 23 December
Priority Service for vulnerable residents during power or water failure
If the power goes off, or there's a problem with the water supply then utility companies have a priority service for vulnerable people to ensure that supplies for those residents are dealt with first. Many people don't like to ask for help, however if the water or electricity fails then it can be distressing, especially in the winter, and potentially dangerous if someone uses equipment such as a dialysis machine or ventilator. If you are elderly, disabled, have a child under five or use specialist medical equipment, then you could benefit from joining water and electricity priority care registers. Sign up to priority services by calling: - Electricity: SSE 0800 294 3259 or text phone 0800 316 5457, UK Power Networks – 0800 169 9970, Western Power Distribution – 0800 096 3080
- Water: Thames Water 0800 009 3652 or text phone 0800 316 6899, Anglican Water 03457 91 91 55
- Power failure? If there's a power cut call the free number 105 to check what's happening with your local provider
- No water? Find out what's happening by calling Thames Water on 0800 980 8800
Message in a bottle
If you live alone it's important that your contact and medical details are easy to find in the event of an emergency. To help out, Oxfordshire County Council are giving away a free green bottle for you to store important information, such as personal details, emergency contact details, doctors details, medications and allergies. These bottles are provided by Lions Club International.
If the emergency services are called to your home they will look for the green cross symbol on the back of your front door and will then know to look in the fridge for the information in the green bottle. To get hold of free green bottles for your community group or parish please contact 01865 323765 or email emergencyplanning@oxfordshire.gov.uk, or contact the Parish Council at uffingtonpc.clerk@gmail.com
More information can be found at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/emergency-planning.
Over 60? Join the Vintage Village Games
Residents aged 60 and over in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse have the chance to compete in their very own indoor games. Taking place across four different locations, the Vintage Village Games will see people try fun and friendly team games of indoor Croquet, Skittles, New Age Bowls and New Age Curling. The Vintage Village Games takes place on the following dates: - 22 November – Watchfield Village Hall, 10am to 12noon
- 28 November – Steventon Village Hall, 10am to 12noon
- 6 December – Great Milton Pavilion, 10am to 12noon
- 13 December – Shiplake Memorial Hall, 11.15am to 1.15pm.
To sign up for the Vintage Village Games, or for more information, please call 01235 422219 or email participation@southandvale.gov.uk.
The Vintage Village Games sessions are being organised by South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils as part of their GO Active Gold initiative which helps people aged 60 and over live more active lifestyles by offering physical activities to those in rural areas.
New slip roads open on the A34 at Chilton
Following an £11m investment and 13 months of construction the new north facing slip roads at Chilton have opened providing better connection to the A34. With the forecast increase in homes and jobs in Science Vale the new slip roads will play a vital role in ensuring that the local road infrastructure meets future demands. Harwell Campus, which is set to see a significant increase in jobs on site, will benefit from an improved access to its site from the A34.
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