Local news.
Scouring of the White Horse. The annual scouring of the White Horse takes place Monday 23rd to Wednesday 25th August 9.30am to 3.30pm. No booking required & the National Trust will supply all tools. Suitable for all ages young & old! See attached photo: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/images/0492e549-bd8e-2512-ab55-8d94f61a2b20.jpg
Uffington Feast. The Parish Council is pleased to advise that the Scarrotts will be bringing the Fair back to Uffington this year, on the usual dates in the week after the Bank Holiday, and will be open Thu, Fri, Sat (2 to 4 September), and from 1- 5pm on SUNDAY afternoon. For this year only, there will be a slightly reduced number of attractions, for reasons associated with the Covid pandemic.
Ride and Stride, Saturday 11th September, 10am-6pm. It's just 3 weeks until Ride and Stride 2021! Cycle, walk or horse ride between the churches in Oxfordshire to raise money for our benefice churches and Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust. Sponsorship forms are online this year from https://ohct.org.uk/ride-and-stride/ plus a list of which churches are taking part. Please check before you Ride or Stride! Last year over £108,000 was raised and each church in our benefice gets 50% of what the parishioners can raise with all the proceeds going towards repairs to our churches which is very much welcomed by the church wardens! Further details Annabel Campbell campbellannabel@gmail.com
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall. For those of you who read the Village Hall report in the Summer Courier, you will know that the Hall is open, freshly decorated, has a new audio-visual system and bookings are getting back to pre-Covid levels. Unfortunately, although the hall is in excellent condition, membership of the management committee is struggling and new members are urgently needed to help with the general running and administration.
Being on the committee need not be a time-consuming or onerous role but when the number of volunteers falls dramatically, as it has in recent years, it becomes increasingly difficult to efficiently carry out all the activities needed to keep this public building open and available for hire. The Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall is a charity, created in 1974 by the three villages of Uffington, Baulking and Woolstone and is run by volunteers who wish to see the hall continue to fulfil its function as a valuable community facility. Please consider whether you can spare a small amount of time to join the Management Committee and help achieve this.
If you are able to help, please contact me or one of the other committee members asap. The next hall meeting is Monday 20th September and I hope by then we will be able to report the creation of a larger, enthusiastic group of supporters.
Geoff Rumble - 01367 820 036 - geoff.rumble@btinternet.com
FIBRE BROADBAND
Some of you will have noticed work starting on fibre broadband installation on behalf of Airband for those who provisionally signed up with them in April 2020. We were expecting this to start over a year ago but everything went quiet from Airband after their email in September last year stating "Due to unexpected implementation delays partly due to the impact of COVID-19 on our operations, we regret to advise the completion of your section of the network build is now scheduled for between Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of 2021 with customer connections estimated towards the end of this period."
This installation is NOT that which Kat Foxhall and the Parish Council have been pursuing for an Openreach (BT) community project implementation and for which many residents have provisionally signed up to. We are seeking clarification from OCC on how these 2 projects relate and can be made complementary and will update residents as soon as we have more information.
Friends of the Ridgeway summer 2021 newsletter. The summer issue of the Friends of the Ridgeway newsletter is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/41691289-b289-9176-d3ba-7a7ca31bd7e2/FOR_Summer_2021.pdf
This has a new look, coinciding with the Ridgeway getting back to normal, with articles on Trail events and maintenance that resumed at the start of summer. Anthony Burdall describes the outcomes of this year's Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize, with the winning works for you to see and read. Janice Bridger reminds us that the Ridgeway is a firm favourite of horse riders and carriage drivers. Jim Gunter describes new archaeological findings near the west end of the Ridgeway, and we look at a trial to see if trail bikes can be allowed back on the Ridgeway there without causing significant damage. There is a request to you to send us your photographs on the subject of our theme for the autumn issue: 'in the sky'. Lastly, a few words from our new chair, Mike Lewington, and thumbnail sketches of all members of your Friends executive committee.
Upgrading of Uffington Footpaths 387/17, 18, 19 and 27 - stiles to kissing gates. Further to the notice in last week's newsletter, the Parish Council's press release on this project is attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/bd2ac0b1-613b-f55e-7a32-0194b44b10f9/FP_19_press_release_final.pdf
Church Teas. Don't forget that cream teas are served from 2.30 - 5.30 every Sunday till the end of September including Bank Holiday Sunday 29th August.
Road closure – Uffington Mill bridge. Further to the notice in last week's newsletter about the closure of a short section of Fernham Road for the reconstruction of Uffington Mill bridge, the closure period is now extended; the estimated duration of work and closure will be 12 weeks. The work and road closure start date is 31/08/2021 and the estimated end date is 19/11/2021.
Vale District Council news
Following a motion agreed at the Vale of White Horse District Council meeting last month, Council Leader Emily Smith has written to the government to request that it scraps its proposed changes to planning laws in the United Kingdom which could have serious implications for local communities across the country. You can see details on our website by clicking this link
Vale councillors have agreed to use a number of key consultations this summer to reaffirm the district council's commitment to tackling the climate emergency. The council has declared a Climate Emergency and adopted targets to be carbon neutral by 2030, with a target for the district to be carbon neutral by 2045. You can see details on our website by clicking this link
County news
Oxfordshire Plan 2050. Don't miss the chance to have your say! There are still two weeks left to have your say on major future infrastructure plans for Oxfordshire.
We need you to tell us what you think of the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS) which provides a framework for Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire's five planning authorities and key partners to deliver a sustainable, clean, and healthy future for everyone in the county up to 2040.
The OxIS consultation is open until 31st August. It is asking the public to give their views on which of the five themes they feel are most important - environment, health, place-shaping, productivity, and connectivity to planning for infrastructure improvements. We need to know what you think on this and other aspects of the strategy and if there is anything you feel we have missed.
You can take part in the consultation by visiting https://www.oxfordshireopenthought.org/oxfordshire-infrastructure-strategy-oxis
Police matters:
Apply Today to Become a Police Officer
Are you looking for a rewarding career that offers challenge and variety? Do you have a degree qualification? Start your career in policing - apply today for our Police Constable – Degree Holder Entry Programme:
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(This recruitment window will close on Tuesday 31 August 2021 at 23:55)
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum (SOFO). SOFO will hold an online talk and live Q&A session through their website on Tuesday 14th September 2021 to reveal the Great War story of Winnie-the-Pooh illustrator E. H. Shepard. - E. H. Shepard, famous for his Winnie-the-Pooh and Wind in the Willows illustrations saw service on the Western Front and in Italy during the Great War - he was decorated for gallantry.
- An online talk followed by live Q&A session with speaker James Campbell at 7pm, Tuesday 14th September 2021
- Shepard's Great War sketches and humorous illustrations will feature in the talk throughout.
- No ticketing or registration to view, but donations to support the museum are encouraged.
Ernest Shepard is best known for delighting generations of children with his charming illustrations for A. A Milne's Winnie the Pooh and later editions of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows in the 1930s. Before he found the height of his fame bringing Pooh, Piglet and Tigger to life, he used his artistic talent to document his time in the trenches during the First World War through a series of humorous caricatures and detailed sketches.
James Campbell explores the life and Great War experiences of E. H. Shepard in this talk, illustrated with sketches and drawings from the artist's early career as a cartoonist right through his military service as an artillery officer on the Western and Italian Fronts.
Like previous online talks hosted by the museum, no pre-registration or digital tickets are needed to watch the talk - but viewers are encouraged to donate to support Oxfordshire's only dedicated military museum. Donations allow SOFO to tell more stories through events like this, as well as supporting the museum's work in preserving and presenting the county's military heritage and the history of all those affected by conflict in the region, soldier or civilian. Watch the talk at: www.sofo.org.uk/whats-on/
From the Churches of Uffington Benefice
Please find attached the Weekly Sheet for Sunday 22 August: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/d1599107-c986-8761-4c10-8e0346713c93/wsh_2021_08_22.pdf
Please see the Uffington Benefice web site for resources and links for the Zoom services: https://www.uffingtonbenefice.com/home
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