Village Coffee Morning Sat 14th 11am Village Hall Friendship Club Tues 17th 2.30pm Wellesbourne Pilates Tuesdays 8pm Village Hall Toddler Group Thursdays 10-11.30am Village Hall Mobile Library Thursday 3rd
1 8.00 Eucharist Burton Dassett 10.00 Eucharist Fenny Compton 11.15 Morning Service Gaydon 11.30 Eucharist Farnborough 8 9.00 Eucharist Fenny Compton 10.00 Morning Service Farnborough 10.00 EucharistNorthend 11.15 Growing Together Gaydon 6pm Evening Prayer Burton Dassett 15 8.00 Eucharist Farnborough 9.00 Eucharist Gaydon 10.30 United Service Fenny Compton 10.30 Village Communion Northend 18 11.00 Wednesday Prayer Book Communion Gaydon 22 9.30 Guest Service Northend 10.30 Family Service Fenny Compton 11.30 Eucharist Gaydon 6pm Evensong Farnborough 29 10:30 Group Eucharist Fenny Compton
The June meeting will be on Tuesday 17th at 2.30pm in Wellesbourne, at the home of Mrs Josie Liddington.
This will be held on Saturday 14 June in the Village Hall, starting at 11am. There will be the usual coffee and tea, as well as a small raffle and donated produce for sale.
In addition, there will be a plant sale. If you have any bedding plants or perennials left after filling your flower beds, borders and baskets, please bring them along to be sold.
All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the fabric of St Giles' Church.
The Library Van makes just one visit this month, on the 12th; after that it will be here again on July 3rd.
New Charges for Hire of Hall
On Sunday 1 June the new charges for the hire of Gaydon Village Hall come into force. Villagers will now pay £5.50 per hour and people from outside the village will pay £11. This is the first rise in rates of hire for five years.
Part of Church Road was surface dressed at the end of May. This means that the road was raised by about 8mm.
The Parish Council asked Highways if they could reduce the road by 8mm before applying the surface dressing. They said that this was not possible.
Residents and the Parish Council expressed concerns about raising the level of the road in an area which had seen flooding. Highways reviewed the situation and agreed to not surface dress from the Church to the end of Church Road.
The Parish Council are liaising with Highways regarding the condition of the remaining part of Church Road.
The grass is now growing long and I would like to have it cut for hay. Could I ask people (and dogs) crossing the meadow to keep to the footpath so that the grass is not flattened for the hay-making machine. John Rickman
Thank you to all those who took the time to complete their questionnaire. All the questionnaires have now been collected in and the results analysed. The following is a short summary of the findings:
98 questionnaires were completed and returned representing a response rate of at least 50% from the village.
70% of respondents felt the shop was 'important' or 'very important' to the village
85% of respondents said that they would use the shop at least once per week or more.
Most requested items included: fruit/veg, stamps, bread, dairy products, fresh meat and newspapers/magazines.
Most-requested services included: dry-cleaning, advertisement board and parcel drop-off point.
Most popular opening days were throughout the week with a slight preference for Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Most popular opening times were 08.00 - 12.00, 14.00 - 18.00 and after 18.00 for weekdays and 08.00 - 12.00 for weekends.
Many thanks to all those who helped to distribute and collect the questionnaires. Thanks also to Alastair and Jo Hotchkiss who analysed the results for us. The committee has had another meeting recently and plans are underway to raise sufficient money to enable us to register as an Industrial and Provident Society (IPS) which will allow us to commence fundraising and - in due course - trading. The committee is also putting together a business plan based on the questionnaire results and bank accounts will be organised shortly.
Annette Conway and I also visited the community shop at Claverdon recently to see how they have managed and it is interesting to note that their shop has only been in existence for 6 months and already has proved to be such a success that they are looking for larger and more permanent premises. Let's hope that Gaydon Village Store will be as successful!
Further updates will appear later but meantime, if you would like to see a full copy of the survey results, please contact me on 647854 or claire.hamm@btconnect.com
Spring, albeit rather late, is now in full swing. A recent very warm spell tended to accelerate the growth of many plants and the lace of Cow Parsley flowers and May blossom decorate our hedgrows.
There's been a very short period for bluebells and cowslips which have been shaded out by leaf cover and aggressive growth of Nettles and Dog's Mercury.
The same has been true for early butterflies. I've seen very few Orange Tips and Brimstones, though the delightfull Holly Blue was out in large numbers in Church Road and many other spots.
To return to Urticae or nettles: few will forget being stung by them and they are at their most virulent in the spring. There's some rather worrying news that a parasite of the butterflies who depend on nettles for a larval food source, has increasingly moved here from the continent. It's a fly that lays eggs on the leaves and any caterpillar unfortunate enough to eat them injests a living death and dies before pupating.
Global warming is blamed but certainly there seem to be far fewer Peacocks and Small Tortoishells on the buddleia and emerging from hibernation this spring. I've not heard a Cuckoo around Gaydon either.
Has anyone listened to the dawn chorus this year? I would be delighted to hear if you have.
The Skylark seems still to be common here and a delight to encounter on a field walk around the village. A local fox has been taking chickens once again and appears in the daytime or at dawn in the Church Road area, so beware: secure runs and lock up. This goes for hutches of pet guinea pigs and rabbits, too.
I was awakened at three in the morning to the alarmed clucking of my hens and found one dead and another (that has since recovered, though has a small bite on the neck) lying in the run. A few minutes later I saw it audaciously return - a large dog fox under the street light outside the Village Hall! My dog and the lights scared it off. My neighbour lost a hen a few weeks back; one of the "hazards of rural life"! Bernard Price
I would like to send a message of very sincere thanks to all our friends in Gaydon who sent wishes of sympathy and who were able to attend Syd's farewell at Oakley Wood; not forgetting absent friends who could not be there in person but who were with us in spirit. Our grateful thanks to you all, Marjorie Worrall and Family.
Flood Defence Plan Update
We have asked the Housing Association to arrange for the ditch which runs adjacent to St. Marks Close and the Kineton Road to be cleared and deepened.
Highways have said that the grips along the Kineton Road will be cleared in the next 3 weeks.
We are seeking quotes for the clearance of the pond outside Gaydon Farm.
We have arranged for site surveys for land behind the Banbury Road houses and the Kineton Road houses.
We are liaising with EON regarding the resiting of 2 electricity poles which have been placed in the Banbury Road ditch.
Highways
Temporary speeding signs (VAS) will be installed along the Kineton Road going towards Kineton and on the Warwick Road going towards Lighthorne Heath.
The broken manhole cover near the roundabout has been reported along with the pot hole in Church Lane.
We have asked UK Highways if they could repair the Pimple Lane bridge which goes over the M40, tidy the fences and clear the litter which has accumulated on their land.
Alarms from Car Transporters
Landrover believe they have fixed the problem with car alarms being heard from car transporters. If you do still hear them please tell the Clerk.
Dog Fouling
If you witness an incident can you please contact the Dog Warden, Parish Clerk or visit the Councillors on a Saturday morning between
10 and 11am in the Village Hall.
Emergency Plan
We are reviewing Gaydon's emergency plan. In light of the flooding last July the Parish Council feel that a plan with a contact from each street would be most effective. Ideally we would like someone who either works from home or is available during the day to assist if there is a need.
If you are willing to help in an emergency could you please contact either the Clerk or one of the Councillors.
Best Kept Village Competition
This is different to previous years but we have decided to enter. We will be entering the Village in the Community Projects and Environment categories.
Drains/Lights
If you notice a blocked drain or a light which is out could you please contact the Clerk.
Street Furniture
The Church Road bench will be repaired shortly. Tony McGrath has kindly volunteered to do this for us.
We will be buying a new bench for the cemetery to replace the wooden bench which is past repairing.
The bus shelter is again covered in graffiti. It will be painted this summer and we hope that it will remain clean and tidy. If you know or if you see anyone writing on the walls of the shelter can you please let the Clerk or the Councillors know.
The telephone box was vandalised last month and the contents of the dog fouling bin were emptied into it. If you have any idea who did this could you please let us know.
Litter
A Litter Pick will take place on Saturday, 14th June. Everyone welcome! Please meet at the Village Hall at 11am.
The Council will be clearing rubbish from the ditch by St. Marks Close and at the start of the Pimple Lane footpath.
07/08 Parish Accounts
Draft accounts were circulated to Councillors at the last meeting. These accounts will now be audited and will be available for inspection by any member of the Parish in the next month. A notice will be placed on the noticeboard giving details.
The AGM was held on Monday 19 May and two members of the public attended. The current committee of trustees was re-elected, with Debbie Price as Leader. She thanked the Treasurer, Secretary, Bookings Clerk and Toddler Representative for their help in managing the Hall over the past year.
She said that a new hardwood window has replaced the rotten one to the left of the hall door; flood defences have been carried out in the back garden and further refurbishment of the Cottage has taken place.
The Treasurer reported that bookings were considerably better than last year but pointed out that the money raised barely covered the cost of electricity bills; everything else had to be met from other income.
The committee aims to improve the heating of the hall this year by the installation of ceiling fans and new radiators.
It is with sorrow that we record the death of Sid Worrall on 18 April 2008. We offer our sympathy to Marjorie and family.
Olive and Ron Richards would like to thank all their friends for their prayers, cards, flowers and good wishes during Olive's recent trouble. Her operation was successful and she is feeling very well.
Straining over a number of weeks, I have belatedly heard the cuckoo sing on 8th May. Perhaps a fall in numbers, the perils of migration or the cold and wet start to the spring has had a part to play in this late hearing of a call that always gives me pleasure. Or I might have been too busy to really listen!
Augustine of Hippo, a long time ago, wrote that it was only late in life that he finally heard God calling him. He wrote in his 'Confessions' how one day, sitting in his garden, he heard the voice of a child singing in a nearby house: ''Take it and read it, take it and read it' -' and rushing into his house he opened the scriptures and it was as if for the first time he heard God. He wrote that God had always been calling but that until that moment, he had been deaf to God.
In what way are we deaf to God, deaf to what God is saying to us through others? Are we too busy, too distracted, to hear what God is calling us to recognise in ourselves? I believe that God calls us to so live in the present moment that we can listen intently to that still, small voice that can open us to change and transformation in the future; that this is what being fully human and sharing the Divine life means.
01926 641714
Carers required - part-time or full-time - in friendly residential home and also to help staff in our soon-to-be-opened Dementia Unit. If you are interested in working in this Home please ring the above number for any further information you may require.
Heritage Motor Centre would like to remind local residents that the Centre's Café & Shop can be accessed free of charge, so if you are looking for a gift, or fancy popping out for coffee or lunch, do come and visit. Just come to the museum pay desk and let the attendants know.
The Go Karts & 4x4 track are also now open every weekend and every day in the school holidays and are charged separately to the Museum, so again you can come and have a go without having to pay entrance to the Museum. We hope to see you soon.
As we approach the anniversary of last year's floods, Gaydon has had a timely reminder of the need to be vigilant.
On Tuesday 20 May the residents of Church Road received a letter from County Highways informing them that:
"...the road in which you live is scheduled to be surface dressed by Warwick-shire County Council's maintenance contractor...the work is due to start tomorrow Wednesday 21st"!
At this alarming news I phoned our Parish Clerk who heroically managed to get the Highways department to stop the work going ahead in the part of Church Road that was most affected by the flooding.
At the flood meeting in Gaydon on 6 March, Nigel Chetwynd had promised that the Parish Council would be consulted before he started any works which might raise road levels.
It seems in this case that he was not aware that his contractors were about to do just that. The Parish Council will follow this matter up.
Mrs Joan Morgan writes:
'My son and I were driving out of St Giles Road to turn right into Kineton Road. A large vehicle was parked on the grass to our right. We wound down the window to listen for traffic coming from the right on Kineton Road but we could see nothing owing to the position of the car on the pavement. As we drove out we were narrowly missed by a car heading towards Kineton - a very frightening experience indeed.'
This letter has been passed to the Parish Council. Please do try to park considerately.