Can You Spare a Half Day a Month to Help the Community Minibus?
The Uffington Baulking and Woolstone Minibus Association is run entirely by volunteers and provides essential services to Wantage and Faringdon in the absence of a scheduled bus service. We have lost drivers recently because of house moves and changes in personal circumstances, and it is a fact of life that this will continue to happen. The services are a lifeline for some of our friends in the community, and volunteers who are able to spare a morning a month to drive find it a very satisfying experience.
The minimum age for drivers is 25 and a full car driving licence is needed. John Hatcher (01367 820417) will look forward to telling you more about the Association, or if you already know one of our team please have a word with them.
Uffington Village Christmas Tree
Switching 'On' of the lights - Sunday December 1st at 6pm
Carols and Christmas Songs around the tree - December 19th at 7pm. More information attached here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/c8d13f6f-bb05-483b-bc7f-3ff4229dd54b/Village_Christmas_tree_2019.pdf
Beat the Winter Blues Lunches
All on Tuesdays: 3 December, 14 and 28 January, 11 February. All welcome from 12 to 1.30 pm, at Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, for soup, casserole and bread and cheese No set charge but donations welcome.
Reminder: Uffington Walking Club Wed 4 Dec Bishopstone via Ashbury
For our December walk this year we thought we'd push the boat out and call into a coffee shop en route as well as stay for a pub lunch afterwards…. Well it is nearly Christmas! The Walk. It is a beautiful walk that will take us up a coombe to the Ridgeway, which we shall follow eastwards descending to Ashbury for a stop at the cafe there. Our walk then continues westwards via Idstone back to the start. Hope to see lots of you there.
Arrangements. Meeting at Uffington Village Hall car park at 9.30 where we will arrange car shares to Bishopstone. Those of you who would prefer to meet us at the start of the walk, if you could please let us know. As we will be lunching at the Royal Oak in Bishopstone it should be fine to park in their car park and it has plenty of space. Also let us know if you would like to stay on for the pub lunch so we can book ahead of time.
Remember you don't have to be a regular member of the group to join us, just come along. You can then choose whether you wish to add your address to the e-mail list of regular updates of our monthly walks. No pressure to attend regularly - we are a very relaxed group. We always meet on the first Wed of each month @ 9:30am in Uffington Village Hall car park.
Reminder: White Horse Garden Club 30th Anniversary Special Speaker Pippa Greenwood!
Make sure you have your tickets for this special 30th Anniversary talk by TV and radio personality Pippa Greenwood. December 5th 7.00pm AGM and 30th Anniversary Talk by Pippa Greenwood 'Green gardens; keeping pests at bay the natural way'.
Seasonal Refreshments and Raffle. For tickets contact Hilary Deakin: 01367 820542 or hilary@humanaspects.co.uk. £5 members, £10 non members.
Fitsteps – Dance yourself fit
Information about a new weekly class is attached here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/images/e841814a-41f5-463d-b7e7-c164f7b05923.jpg
From the Police
How To Reduce the Risk of Becoming A Burglary Victim This Christmas. The Christmas and New Year period is a time when Thames Valley Police, and other forces around the country, experience an increase in residential burglary. If you are celebrating at home over Christmas or at New Year, you can help to protect your property by taking a few simple steps: - Don't leave presents on view under the Christmas tree.
- Cut up packaging for any expensive items so that it will fit inside your refuse bin, never leave boxes next to the bin where they can be seen.
- Remember to mark your valuables using a UV pen and register them on the national property register at www.immobilise.com.
If you are going away, you can deter burglars by making your home appear occupied: - Double check that you have locked your windows and doors before leaving.
- Light up your living room using timer switch. A TV simulator can also be used to make give the appearance of a TV screen being used.
- Invite a neighbour to park on your drive while you are away.
You can find more information on how to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of burglary by downloading your FREE Home Security Guide from the Thames Valley Police website here
Uffington benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 1 December is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/7fa99ff6-435e-4d49-9d0f-408b1fd4463b/wsh_2019_12_01.pdf
Village news 22 November 2019 Uffington and Baulking Neighbourhood Plan
The final 6 week public consultation period for the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) and VWHDC Decision Statement ended on 11 November. This was the final action of the NP creation and approval process. Since approval by the referendum on 17 July 2019 the NP, along with the Local Plan Parts 1 and 2, has formed part of the overall Development Plan used to help determine planning applications in the Plan Area (Uffington and Baulking parishes).
With the end of the NP process the dedicated website has been closed and the complete final document set is available from the Parish website here:
https://www.uffington.net/community-neighbourhood-plans/ .
Paper copies of the Plan and its supporting documents will also be placed in Tom Brown's School Museum.
The chairmen of Uffington Parish Council, Baulking Parish Meeting and the NP Steering Group would like to thank all those who participated and contributed to the creation of this plan.
Uffington allotments – free 1st year to new tenants
There are 30 plots at the Uffington allotments, on the Fernham Road out of Uffington, and only just over 50% are occupied at the moment. The site is in easy reach of most of the village by footpath and there is parking on the verge for a small number of cars. The soil is of very good quality and there is a good atmosphere of cooperation and friendly rivalry amongst the tenants – sometimes of the traditional 'my beans are bigger than yours' variety!
The Parish Council would like to see more use being made of this facility which is available to all residents and which is also open to others outside the village in the event of lack of internal demand. Some of the plots have never been worked, and those that have been empty for a period rapidly get very overgrown, so the first year of occupation is likely to require more work to clear the plot and get it ready for production. In recognition of this, the Parish Council is offering all new tenants an initial 12 month free period, before the annual rent of £40 kicks in.
If you are interested, please contact the Parish Council at: uffingtonpc.clerk@gmail.com
Entry to Primary or Infant School – September 2020
This is for families who have a child due to start primary or infant school for the first time in the 2020 / 2021 academic year. The most important dates in the admission process are:
15 January 2020 – closing date for on time applications see:
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/schools/apply-school-place/infant-and-primary-school?utm_term=nil&utm_content= (Paper forms are available from local schools).
16 April 2020 – letters offering places will be posted second class.
More information is attached here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/68e2ebf0-cbb8-4503-bf5c-f446e2801bb7/Entry_to_Primary_or_Infant_school_Sept_2020.pdf
Wanted - Loft insulation
If anyone has any spare loft insulation or even sheep wool that could be donated to Tom Brown's School Museum, could you please let Karen Pilcher know. She has kindly been offered some but needs more to finish off the loft space. Contact points: museum@uffington.net or 01367 820978.
Apply now for right to remain in UK – Citizens Advice
If you are a European Union citizen living or working in the UK, you might be wondering what will happen when the United Kingdom leaves the EU and what you should do so that you have the right to remain in this country. See attached: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/195b6e78-53c5-4af7-b063-3706ccbc1d71/Citizens_Advice_EU_settlement.pdf
White Horse Garden Club 30th Anniversary Special Speaker Pippa Greenwood!
Make sure you have your tickets for this special 30th Anniversary talk by TV and radio personality Pippa Greenwood. December 5th 7.00pm AGM and 30th Anniversary Talk by Pippa Greenwood 'Green gardens; keeping pests at bay the natural way'. Seasonal Refreshments and Raffle. The poster is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/0c5e6570-d2a4-4ea5-b36a-f3562883c01e/Pippa_Greenwood_talk_Dec_5th_2019_pdf.01.pdf
For tickets contact Hilary Deakin: 01367 820542 or hilary@humanaspects.co.uk. £5 members, £10 non members.
Uffington Walking Club Wed 4 Dec Bishopstone via Ashbury
For our December walk this year we thought we'd push the boat out and call into a coffee shop en route as well as stay for a pub lunch afterwards…. Well it is nearly Christmas! The Walk: It is a beautiful walk that will take us up a coombe to the Ridgeway, which we shall follow eastwards descending to Ashbury for a stop at the cafe there. Our walk then continues westwards via Idstone back to the start. Hope to see lots of you there. Arrangements: Meeting at Uffington Village Hall car park at 9.30 where we will arrange car shares to Bishopstone. Those of you who would prefer to meet us at the start of the walk, if you could please let us know. As we will be lunching at the Royal Oak in Bishopstone it should be fine to park in their car park and it has plenty of space. Also let us know if you would like to stay on for the pub lunch so we can book ahead of time. Remember you don't have to be a regular member of the group to join us, just come along. You can then choose whether you wish to add your address to the e-mail list of regular updates of our monthly walks. No pressure to attend regularly - we are a very relaxed group. We always meet on the first Wed of each month @ 9:30am in Uffington Village Hall car park. From the Vale
Vale News. This includes news about the election, free parking and changes to waste collections over Christmas. See: https://campaign.emailblaster.cloud/OTQ5Mg/224.html
From the Police
The Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner's monthly bulletin for November is here:
https://mailchi.mp/matthewbarber/bulletinnovember2019?e=1a0db8a8b7
Neighbourhood Watch. The November edition of Our News, the e-newsletter for Neighbourhood Watch supporters, has been published this week.
Make Sure Your House Is Not A Pot of Gold. Thames Valley Police has received reports of burglaries where houses have been targeted for high-value gold jewellery. Often, the gold is melted for cash or sold on. Avoid giving burglars this opportunity by following some simple crime prevention tips:-
Please don't keep your high value jewellery at home – use a bank safety deposit box If you have to keep your jewellery at home, then please invest in a home safe suitable for protecting your jewellery; your insurance company will provide advice as to which type and grade of safe best suits your needs Keep an inventory of your jewellery. This can be done in a paper version or online with companies such as Immobilise. For more information go to www.immobilise.com include identifying marks, value, and purchase date.
Photograph your jewellery. Place your jewellery against a plain background with a ruler next to it to give an idea of size Check your home insurance to ensure that it covers keeping high-value jewellery at home Make sure your home is kept secure at all times – windows/ door locks, timers that switch lights on when going out Set your house alarm if you have one.
As with other valuables, do not leave jewellery on display. Use forensic marking to identify your jewellery. ![cid:image001.gif@01D59B13.253D0EA0]()
Uffington benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 24 November is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/91d3d39d-7004-4e5e-831e-b90db77865d0/wsh_2019_11_24.pdf
Village news 15 November 2019 Singers Wanted!
The parish Carol Service this year in St. Mary's Uffington is on Sunday 22nd December at 6:00pm. If you enjoy singing Christmas Carols and would like to join our small seasonal choir, then come along to the first rehearsal on Wednesday 27th November at Norton House, on Broad Street. Ability to read music an advantage but not essential - give it a go! Further information: Carl Oberman, Tel: 820230
Benefice 200 Club
Did you know that the Benefice runs a 200 Club which has a quarterly draw? There are 8 prizes every draw which range from £200 to £50. The aim is to make a profit which is ploughed back into the running costs of our four churches. This is a great opportunity to win some money as well as supporting our churches – two birds with one stone!
The next draw is on 1 December. There are still a few numbers available at the moment, which each cost £50, so if you would like to join please contact Steve Harris at: stevecharris@btinternet.com or telephone 07785 341165.
Uffington Market
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm on Sunday 17 November.
For the diary: Sunday 15 December.
Beat the Winter Blues Lunches
All on Tuesdays: 19 November, 3 December, 14 and 28 January, 11 February.
All welcome from 12 to 1.30 pm, at Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, for soup, casserole and bread and cheese No set charge but donations welcome.
From the Vale
Free parking in the run up to Christmas, in Abingdon, Faringdon and Wantage. See: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/news/2019/2019-11/free-parking-run-christmas
Volunteers needed to help set councillors' allowances. See: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/news/2019/2019-11/volunteers-needed-help-set-councillors-allowances
From the Police
Faringdon Neighbourhood Policing Team newsletter for November 2019 is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/89054d55-70de-4080-96af-501c58d58bd7/Faringdon_NH_newsletter_November_19.pdf
Dispatches - Police and Council Join Forces In Fight Against County Drug Lines. Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council have joined forces to combat county drug lines. Filmed for Channel 4's Dispatches programme, 'Britain's Child Drug Runners' shows police officers and social services working together in tackling the exploitation of vulnerable children to transport drugs in Oxford, Banbury and the surrounding areas. The documentary aired on Wednesday 13 November and can be watched on demand here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-child-drug-runners/on-demand/68368-001
Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Prescott-Mayling said: "County drug lines have a horrifying impact on children, their families and the community around them. We are pleased to be able to bring this to light through our involvement in this documentary. This is not an issue that is seen in Oxfordshire alone. County drugs lines affects towns and cities across the Thames Valley area and the UK. By working closely with social services and local organisations, we are determined to ensure that these crimes are stopped and vulnerable children are protected."
Following the airing of the documentary, Thames Valley Police will be hosting an online Q&A Engage session on the documentary and county drug lines on Thursday 21 November between 6 and 8pm. This will provide an opportunity to ask any questions raised by the documentary, which can be answered by our officers. Please check the Thames Valley Police social media channels in the coming week for further details of how you can get involved. The Engage site is available here: www.tvpengage.co.uk
![cid:image001.gif@01D59B13.253D0EA0]()
Uffington benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 17 November is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/cea35d7f-f302-4e8f-b942-840ef9fcab1e/wsh_2019_11_17.pdf
And finally:
The good news is that we actually have otters living in or around the village; see the photo taken last week of one having a meal from an Uffington pond: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/images/67603538-fc84-4a2b-bfc2-e4034460e6cb.png
And here is another way to lose your fish: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/4a058361-f4be-47ca-aaaa-f1e8c1474e97/Heron.01.mov
With water voles also known to be in the village, it seems that the cleanliness of the streams and the general improvements in the natural habitat are encouraging a wider range of species than we had previously thought, so our thanks are due to all those who have helped to improve the village.
Village news 8 November 2019 Jubilee Field Autumn Tidy
Saturday 2 November was a disappointing day for more than one reason. Sunday 3rd was cloudy but dry and the Parish Council is extremely grateful to those who turned out to help on the Jubilee Field – including the Beavers. We achieved a lot, especially in trimming back two big areas of very vigorous brambles, and getting a large pile of rubbish burnt.
Reminder! Church Auction
St. Mary's Church AUCTION is to be held tomorrow at the THMH. The day begins at 12 noon for viewing the auction items, when lunches will be available. There will be stalls of good Bric a Brac, homemade cakes and preserves, books and toys; tickets are on sale for the Grand Autumn Draw, 1st Prize a 32" TV/DVD player. The Auction begins at 2.30pm.
Please save your stamps for The Leprosy Mission
As Christmas cards start to arrive in your letterbox, please save the stamps - even ordinary first and second class UK ones - for The Leprosy Mission. Last year the charity raised over £50,000 from stamps and other collectables such as old and foreign coins. There are stamp collection boxes in the churches in Uffington, Baulking, Shellingford and Woolstone or you can drop them off at my house: Hookside, Upper Common.
Thank you.
Mike Thomas 07803 035603
From the Vale
Letter to EU citizens. The Council has written to thousands of residents of our district who are EU nationals from countries outside of the UK. The letter explains what affected residents need to do to remain in the UK after Brexit and signposts them to further information. For data protection reasons, we were not able to send this letter to all our affected residents, and so we would like your support to help us reach as many more as possible; please pass the word to anybody who you think may need it. The letter is attached here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/cfaf4251-08de-4005-81e6-01e9288f4d01/Letter_to_EU_Citizens_VALE.pdf
Do you want to work for Oxfordshire Library Service? - Casual Customer Service Advisors – flexible hours
- £9.55 per hour, plus holiday pay supplement
- 50 positions
- Various locations (working in libraries within 10 mile radius of your home)
Are you a people person who wants to play a key part in your local community? We're looking for confident, enthusiastic and committed people to work in an exciting customer service role for Oxfordshire Library Service! You could be part of these wonderful community hubs, welcoming everyone to explore, read, learn, meet, connect, collaborate, share, adventure and be inspired!
Our Customer Service Advisers play a vital role in our libraries and we offer flexible hours to suit your lifestyle and where you live. No two days are ever the same - you could be leading events such as rhyme-time and storytelling for children, as well as helping people to access IT and directing customers to reliable online sources of information. If you enjoy helping others, offering great customer service and want to bring enrichment to young and old, apply to join the library service and start a great new chapter: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs
Applications open 11 Nov. Closing date 9 Dec.
Ed Vaizey
From the Chairman, Wantage & Didcot Conservative Association. Ed Vaizey contacted me on 6 November to inform me that he will not be seeking re-adoption as our Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the upcoming General Election. I would like to thank Ed for over 14 years of sterling service to the constituency.
Register to vote
Registering to vote - or updating your details - online is easy – all you need is five minutes and your National Insurance number. Register by midnight on 26 November to vote in the General Election on 12 December. Go to: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
From the Police
TVP strategy. A presentation by the Chief Constable of TVP to the Vale District Council, outlining the force strategy for 2019 / 2020 is available in the website, here: https://www.uffington.net/app/download/16915812/TVP+Chief+Constable+Vale+of+White+Horse+Council-051119.pdf
Victims First Launches Video on Relationship Abuse. Victims First, which supports victims of crime and abuse across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, has launched a video to raise awareness of coercive control and emotional abuse in relationships. The video, 'Don't Disappear' can be viewed here.
It highlights the red flags to look out for in a relationship, which can be the warning signs of controlling behaviour and abuse. More information here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/534c2052-f16d-4e0c-81e3-dde150afa4d8/Victims_First_Launches_Video_on_Relationship_Abuse.pdf
Uffington benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 10 November is here: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/ccc934c7-b9de-4ea9-8db4-c89b2c8e67c9/wsh_2019_11_10.pdf
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