Local news.
Uffington Wed Walk 1st February 2023. Hi Everyone. Our first walk of 2023 will be a circular walk from The Great Barn at Great Coxwell. We will head out via Badbury Clumps and on to Coleshill, where we will take a coffee break. Then return via Coleshill Park. A beautiful walk.
Meeting initially as always in the car park at Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, Uffington SN7 7RE at 9:20 for a 9:30 start and car sharing to Great Coxwell. If you would like to go directly to Great Coxwell please let Pamela know on 01367 820251 or parrottspreene@aol.com
Walk will commence from Great Coxwell Barn at approximately 9:50. Pamela Preene and Joe Trichler will be leading the February walk.
Two walk details for you this time.
Uffington Wed Walk 1st March 2023. Faringdon via Littleworth, Tagdown Barn and returning via The Faringdon Folly. Meeting initially as always in the car park at Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, Uffington SN7 7RE at 9:20 for a 9:30 start, and car sharing to Faringdon. If you would like to head straight to Faringdon, meeting place for start of walk is junction of London Road and Stanford Road. There is usually parking space along either of these roads. Walk commencing from here at approx. 9:50. Let us know if you are meeting us in Faringdon. Looking forward to walking with the group again and hopefully some milder weather as we head into Spring.
Pamela, Joe, Verity and Hilary. Verity Cavanagh veritycavanagh@gmail.com 07975 861790
Tom Brown's School Museum - COVID Survey -- DEADLINE. Please complete the questionnaire and contribute to a permanent record of how businesses, groups, families and individuals in the village managed to get through the pandemic. Remember….all questionnaires must be returned by 31 January 2023. If you have not received a survey pack, please email the museum on: uffingtonmuseum@gmail.com
- Special Offer. You will have found a Membership Form to join Friends of Tom Brown's School Museum in the survey pack. Please Note, join before the end of January 2023 and your membership will be extended to the end of this year! Support your community museum and become a Friend today.
White Horse Gardening Club – 2 February. There will be a talk by Nick Bailey (Garden Designer, Plantsman and BBC TV presenter) at 7.30 pm on Thursday 2 February, in the THMH. Non-members are welcome to attend - entrance fee £5:00. More information attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/images/20989e15-3933-7795-6f0e-549608843409.jpg
General information
Statement: Government provides more detail on £200 Alternative Fuel Payment. See: Statement: Government provides more detail on £200 Alternative Fuel Payment - UKIFDA
Vale District Council news
Vale News - January 2023. See: Vale News - January 2023 - Residents (emailblaster.cloud)
(Please note particularly the new requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at some elections).
County news
Oxfordshire's transport and travel bulletin. See: Modular Template Patterns (mailchi.mp)
YourOxfordshire. Cabinet decisions, park and ride and extra support for cost of living. See: Cabinet decisions, park and ride and extra support for cost of living (mailchi.mp)
From the Police.
Police & Crime Bulletin Jan '23 - 582 more police officers and more…See: Police & Crime Bulletin Jan '23 - 582 more police officers and more… (matthewbarber.co.uk)
New Police Command Team for South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse. On 23 January, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse welcomed two new members to their senior management team. Superintendent Lewis Prescott-Mayling starts in his position as the new LPA Commander, replacing Superintendent Dave Horsburgh who has retired.
Chief Inspector Rachel Patterson also started in her position as the new Deputy LPA Commander in November 2022. C/Insp Patterson brings with her over twenty years of policing experience in operational roles covering response, custody, neighbourhood policing and the force response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Loan Free Fraud. This pack was received from Cyberhood Watch. Please feel free to share with your Neighbourhood Watch groups, friends and neighbours. Loan fee fraud is when someone who is looking for a loan is asked to pay an upfront fee before receiving it. They pay the fee, but they never get the loan. More at: FCA Loan Fee Fraud Toolkit.pdf
From the Churches of Uffington Benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 29 January is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/77bd406d-896f-6aec-134e-9fba2331836a/wsh_2023_01_29.pdf
For all information, please see: https://www.uffingtonbenefice.com/
Village news 20 January 2023 Local news.
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall AGM. The Annual General Meeting of the THMH will be held on Monday 23rd January 2023, in the small hall, from 7.00pm. More information attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/de31e994-72fc-9d34-5122-512beee24c60/THMH_AGM.01.pdf
Bridge Afternoon. We'll be having our usual Afternoon of Rubber Bridge with a really good tea in aid of all our 4 Churches on Wednesday 22nd February, 2 - 5 pm, in the Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall. If you're a Bridge player do join us either as a four, a pair or as an individual - £15 per person - all levels of players welcome. To find out more please contact Joanna Jenkins (820776), Linda Lord (820134), Tricia Northmore (718985), Patricia Dalrymple (821063) or Val Chapman (820975), or see attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/3991c5d2-74da-6840-cba5-735864866a84/Church_Bridge_day_Feb_2023.pdf
Lucy Farrell and Jake Charron, St Nicholas Church, Baulking, Friday March 17th.
Lucy Farrell was folk singer of the year in 2017 and she has worked with some of the finest folk musicians in the UK including Eliza Carthy, Jackie Oates and Emily Portman. She is a quarter of The Furrow Collective who won folk album of the year in 2018 and has toured extensively throughout the UK. She is one of the folk scene's finest singer songwriters and one the most revered traditional singers. To coincide with her visit to Baulking she will be releasing a brand new solo record called We Are Only Sound on Hudson Records. We are delighted to say she will be accompanied by Jake Charron of The East Pointers and many of you will have seen Lucy join the lads for some songs on their recent visits to Uffington. Tickets are £15 each from 01367 820282 or via Cow Muck Promotions on Facebook.
From Paul Armishaw.
"I would like to thank all those who so kindly donated to my angling voucher for my involvement as the local oil scheme coordinator. I am very touched by this generous gift. It pleases me to know that in a small way, the scheme has helped many villagers make savings from the Community First programme over the years.
Once the scheme gets back to bulk monthly orders again, it would be great if someone else could take over the coordination role. It is not onerous and they would continue to provide a focus for orders from local residents. Membership of the scheme with its present procedure of daily orders due to the fuel climate still provides very competitive prices and the satisfaction of getting a good deal without a lot of shopping around. Paul Armishaw"
General information
David Johnston MP Article – February. See attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/8d7e538c-5043-a112-a34d-2943973aa06a/David_Johnston_MP_Article_February.pdf
From Thames Water. Thames Water have started a public consultation on the future of our water supply. Substantial water shortages face the whole of the south east of England. The extreme heat and lack of water we had over this summer make it clear that this situation is likely to get worse. We have worked closely with Water Resources South East (WRSE) and our neighbouring water companies - Affinity Water, Portsmouth Water, SES Water, South East Water and Southern Water - to plan ahead and build future resilience for the benefit of our customers now and in the future, and the environment.
Our draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024 sets out the predicted water supply shortages and how we intend to provide a secure water supply for our growing population; protect against the growing risk of drought; and improve the environment over the next 50 years. Our plan sets out ambitious reductions in leakage, actions to reduce the amount of water we all use and investment in new infrastructure including a new river abstraction in west London, a new reservoir in Oxfordshire, and water transfers between regions and across the South East. We want to hear what you think.
We're consulting on our draft plan until 21 March 2023. You can read a summary of our draft plan, and the detailed technical reports, and have your say on our dedicated consultation website www.thames-wrmp.co.uk. Tell us what you think, your feedback will help us to refine our draft plan. We'll carefully consider all the responses we receive and in June 2023 we'll publish a report setting out how we have taken the comments into account in revising our draft plan.
Throughout the consultation we're holding information events across our area including in Cirencester, Abingdon, Richmond and Steventon to give you the chance to talk to us about our draft plan and give us your feedback. Details of where we will be and when are on our website www.thames-wrmp.co.uk/events.
Rural Services Network ('RSN') - Cost of Living Survey. On 17January we featured the following article in our weekly rural newsletter:
https://rsnonline.org.uk/suffering-from-the-rural-cost-of-living-make-your-thoughts-known-in-household-survey
As a community contact, we would appreciate your help in getting as many people as possible to complete the survey. The survey is being held in partnership with the Citizens Advice Rural Issues Group. Research commissioned by the RSN last year shows rural areas are suffering more acutely from the rise in the cost of living compared to urban areas. The purpose of the survey is to understand more about rural household budgets at, what is, a very difficult time for many. Results from the survey will help us to engage more effectively with Government Departments, MPs and other policy makers. - The survey can be found at the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Rural_Households_Cost-of-Living
Note the survey closes on 31 March 2023. Please share the survey with all your contacts, networks, family and friends living in rural areas – the greater the response the better.
Vale District Council news
The Household Support Fund scheme has opened again for people finding it hard to cope with the rising cost of food and energy bills. South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have reopened the scheme to help households meet the costs of life's essentials. The fund is initially open for applications to help ... You can see details on our website by clicking this link
County news
Road closure – Baulking Lane. OCC Highways have notified that a section of Baulking Lane, from the A417 junction to the Kingston Lisle turning, will be closed for the period 26 to 30 January (0800 to 1700 hrs daily) to allow for pole replacement works to be carried out. The suggested alternative route is via Baulking Lane, Station Road, Broad Street, Fernham Road, B4508, A417, Baulking Lane and vice versa.
OCC Report. The latest report (for January) from the County Council is attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/d1fc0631-98b4-8a23-d4ef-dd1b6bcefe47/OCC_Parish_Report_Jan_2023.pdf
From the Police.
Have Your Say & Warm Spaces Event 25-01-23. Come Have Your Say at Uffington Village Hall next Wednesday 25th January at midday till 1pm. Chat with your local neighbourhood officer about your concerns in your area & talk crime prevention materials.
Warm Spaces is also being run at this time in the main hall from 10.00 am, offering warm drinks & food until 1:30pm. Warm Spaces is a scheme helping to welcome those struggling to heat their homes this winter. Click here to find a warm space supported organisation with opening times & services near you: https://orlo.uk/4J1OH
From the Churches of Uffington Benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 22 January is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/35ee71d2-a4cd-5179-93f5-9ed8c710f7be/wsh_2023_01_22.pdf
For all information, please see: https://www.uffingtonbenefice.com/
Village news 13 January 2023 Local news.
The Uffington Players Present 'Hansel & Gretel', in the Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, on 16th, 17th & 18th February. Ticket Includes Fish & Chip Supper. More information attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/1e2a9adb-a1ba-ecb2-1132-79ab3739efb1/Hansel_Gretel.pdf
Pop up - pop in – 2023. Pop-in Café on Broad Street – 11-ish to 2.30-ish tomorrow, using local produce, at Belmont House. Please support us!
Warm Space and Soup lunches. Don't forget the Warm Space and Soup Lunches every Wednesday, from 10.00 am and 12 noon respectively, in the Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall, up to and including 8 February.
Future Trees Trust. Future Trees Trust are planting a sycamore trial of 2,000 trees in the field owned by the National Trust (known as Craven Field), which is a little to the north of Britchcombe Farm; Foot Path 19 runs through this field on the way to Britchcombe Farm after passing through the new kissing gates from High Street. Sycamore is a valuable timber tree and the progeny trial will test individual sycamore from across the UK and Ireland to see which ones grow the best to include in a breeding programme. Sycamore is an important wildlife tree, and is a good alternative to plant instead of ash, following ash dieback. A photo of the planting team and the planting on 12 January is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/d3a5ba20-53b8-0d03-2631-829a93cd610c/FTT_planting.pdf
More information on Future Trees Trust can be found at: Home - futuretrees.org
Elm Tree Surgery - January 2023 Update. Elm Tree Surgery has said a sad goodbye to Dr Crockett, who has retired after over 30 years at the practice. We would like to thank him for all his care and support over the years. Enjoy your retirement Dr Crockett and thank you from all the team at Elm Tree.
Annie Catley our Practice Nurse has also retired but is coming back to support our diabetic patients. Dr Patel has commenced her maternity leave and Dr Wallage has joined the practice.
Tom Brown's School Museum - COVID Survey. At the time of reading this, all households in Uffington should have received a COVID Survey pack. Please do complete the questionnaire and contribute to a permanent record of how businesses, groups, families and individuals in the village managed to get through the pandemic. Remember….all questionnaires must be returned by 31 January 2023. If you have not received a survey pack, please email the museum on: uffingtonmuseum@gmail.com
- Special Offer. You will have found a Membership Form to join Friends of Tom Brown's School Museum in the survey pack. Please Note, join before the end of January 2023 and your membership will be extended to the end of this year! Support your community museum and become a Friend today.
Uffington Lawn Tennis Club - Club Social Sunday and Coaching. Happy New Year! I just wanted to remind you that on Sunday 15 January we will kick off the New Year with a 'Club Night Plus' (!), running 10am-midday, culminating with a sociable 'bring-your-own' tea/coffee/snacks to allow everyone to catch-up on each other's' news, and to meet people if you're new to the Club. Regarding coaching, I also wanted to remind everyone that we are offering a fabulous introduction to tennis for children. For the price of £29.99 (plus P&P) you will get 6 quality sessions, a free tennis racket, set of balls and branded T-shirt. Don't miss this one-off opportunity, spaces limited, sign up today LTA Youth Start / Course (Must be NEW to tennis). More generally, coaching is currently being offered on Saturdays from 1.30-2.30pm for primary age group and 2.30-3.30pm for secondary. To join in please use our website at the following links (Primary Age Coaching and Secondary Age Coaching). If you have any questions on coaching, please contact Ruth Thomas on ruth@tictocmusic.co.uk
Robert Hart, Club Chairman
County news
YourOxfordshire. Budget update, on yer bike and bus fare cap. See: Budget update, on yer bike and bus fare cap (mailchi.mp)
New CEO. The Council has now formally agreed to employ Dr Martin Reeves, currently CEO Coventry City Council, as the new chief executive for Oxfordshire.
From the Police.
January edition of OUR NEWS is here - our newsletter for you: Jan 2023 OUR NEWS.pdf (ourwatch.org.uk)
Minimising Burglary Risk. A checklist is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/c67db18a-be2f-af75-e578-92ebc149c44e/Minimising_burglary.pdf
The latest warnings from Trading Standards. Oxfordshire Trading Standards have asked me to share these warnings: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/03739cb5-719b-204c-36d3-63a7728ff9c1/Latest_scams.pdf
From the Churches of Uffington Benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 15 January is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/bc5ed9ff-7976-1866-43a4-24acc7690d20/wsh_2023_01_15.pdf
For all information, please see: https://www.uffingtonbenefice.com/
Village news 6 January 2023 General information
Help for households. Help is available for every household, with energy costs, childcare bills and more. See: Help for Households - Get government cost of living support
From the NHS. Emergency departments (A & E) at all hospitals in the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire (West) area are under significant pressure and patients are facing very long waits. For more information see our news page: NHS Winter Pressures | BOB ICB
For advice on getting the right care, see: Your health | BOB ICB
Low-cost broadband. Citizens Advice Oxfordshire South and Vale has issued a press release on the subject of "social tariffs" or low-cost broadband; see attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/3f912344-bb60-d086-811f-036009f0b467/CAB_social_tariffs.pdf
Local news.
Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall AGM. The Annual General Meeting of the THMH will be held on Monday 23rd January 2023, in the small hall, from 7. 00 pm. More information attached: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/15ba34ab-9822-5619-35c6-509e3913c58c/THMH_AGM.pdf
Stamps for The Leprosy Mission. Over many years The Leprosy Mission (TLM), with your kind support, has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds from stamps, enabling it to cure tens of thousands of people affected by leprosy and transforming their lives. Thank you for your donations.
TLM is a small charity with very limited resources that it has to use as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, the stamps scheme is no longer cost-effective and it has reluctantly decided to discontinue the scheme. Far fewer people collect stamps nowadays, many parcels are sent by courier services, high denomination stamps are now often replaced with labels, and the introduction of barcoded stamps is also having an effect.
I'd like to have one last push before the scheme closes. As well as giving me your Christmas card stamps, please can you let me have any old stamp collections you no longer want, First Day Covers and UK stamps without barcodes (no longer valid after 31 January). TLM will also be pleased to receive any other 'collectables', including foreign money, discontinued UK notes and coins, medals etc. Please let me have your donations by 31 January.
I shall continue as the local representative for TLM and will always be happy to talk to churches, schools and service organisations about leprosy and the work of the charity.
And please keep saving your computer ink cartridges for Suited & Booted; there is a collection box at the village shop. Thanks for your support.
Mike Thomas, Hookside, Upper Common. 07803 035603.
ukmcthomas@gmail.com
Pop up - pop in – 2023. Pop-in Café at Belmont House, Broad Street – 11-ish to 2.30-ish on Saturday January 14th using local produce. Please support us!
Vale District Council news
A graffiti-strewn car park in Wantage has been transformed into a colourful modern mural thanks to a local youth group and Vale of White Horse District Council. You can see details on our website by clicking this link
How to recycle your Christmas tree. Recycling your Christmas tree is easy if you have a brown garden waste bin. Just leave it next to your brown bin on the next garden waste collection day (Monday 16th January) and remember to cut it down if it is over 6 feet tall. If you don't have a brown bin, the nearest Christmas tree collection point is the playing field at Childrey - just drop your tree off by Sunday, 15th January. Further details on the Vale's waste page: Christmas Waste - Vale of White Horse District Council (whitehorsedc.gov.uk)
From the Police.
New Look for Neighbourhood Watch. See: Home | Neighbourhood Watch | National network | Local Watch areas | Community crime prevention groups (ourwatch.org.uk) Views on policing budget 2023/24. There is just one week left to share your views on where you would like the policing budget to be focused in 2023/24. The survey can be completed at https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90503915/OPCC-public-consultation or by visiting the PCC website. The deadline to complete the survey is 12pm on Friday 13th January 2023. More than 700 arrests made as part of Op Holly. Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary's Joint Operations Unit made more than 700 arrests across both force areas as part of Operation Holly. From 1 December to 31 December, officers carried out targeted activity in order to stop drivers under the influence of drink and drugs.
Across both force areas, 737 arrests were made, with 451 of those being made in the Thames Valley alone. This is an increase of 24% compared to last year. Of those arrests made, 283 were for drink driving and 168 for drug driving. There was also a 42% increase in arrests of those aged under 25 on last year with the figure rising to 101.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Bettington, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said: "Operation Holly is carried out throughout the festive period every year and it's disappointing to see that people are still getting behind the wheel when under the influence of drink and/or drugs. We see all too often the devastating consequences that can result from this behaviour and I am pleased that we have managed to make so many arrests and prevent the potential harm that can be caused by drink and drug drivers. Our priority is to make the roads safer for everyone and we'd ask the public to help us do this by challenging anyone you think may be about to drive having drank alcohol or used drugs. Even the smallest amount of alcohol or drugs can impact on your driving. It's not worth the risk."
From the Churches of Uffington Benefice
The Weekly Sheet for Sunday 8 January is attached here: https://mcusercontent.com/c90a1a7b6d1f693a28c947f92/files/a20192cc-5694-93fa-a9ce-813d4a7a85c6/wsh_2023_01_08.pdf
For all information, please see: https://www.uffingtonbenefice.com/
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