Boules & Barbie Sat 7th 2.30pm The Old House Parish Council Meeting Tues 10th 7.45pm Village Hall Coffee Morning Sat 14th 11am Village Hall Big lunch Sun 15th 1pm Village Hall Village Hall Committee Mon 16th 8pm Village Hall Friendship Club Tues ? 2.30pm Trevose Library Monday 16th Telephone Box Pilates Tuesdays 6.15pm Village Hall Tai Chi Wednesdays 7.30pm Village Hall Cake & Crafting Circle 2nd & 4th Sundays 5pm Parish Church Gaydon Calendar Harvest Festival Chadshunt Sun 9th September 3pm All Saints' Church Harvest Supper Sat 6th October 7pm Village Hall Harvest Festival Sun 7th October 10.30am St Giles' Church Christmas Fair Sat 24th Nov 2pm Village Hall Christmas Lunch Sun 2nd Dec 1pm Village Hall
New Councillor: we are pleased to report that John Davies has been co-opted to the Parish Council. One vacancy remains so if you are interested please contact the Clerk.
Playground Ownership: Cllr Hughes had an excellent meeting with Orbit Housing Association who are willing to lease the playground to us on a 99 year lease or gift it to us. We are now negotiating with them.
No Dogs: thanks to the residents who have alerted us to the 'no dogs allowed' sign being removed from the play area gate. We understand that this will be back shortly.
St Giles Road: reinstatement of the verges and path on St Giles Road should start at the beginning of July. Amey, Severn Trent's contractor, have told us that letters will be sent to St Giles Road residents informing them.
Floral Flagpole: we thank the resident who kindly planted the flowers around the flag pole. Unfortunately he doesn't live near the pole and so is unable to water them. One resident has kindly volunteered to do so but if you live near the flagpole and see them in need of water, would you please water them for us.
Warwick Road: the railings on the Warwick Road have finally been removed by the nearby landowner; JLR not responsible. JLR's contractors have tidied some of the Warwick Road cycleway and we are asking if they could do more. JLR's contractors have assured us that they do not work on Saturdays or Sundays, so they were not responsible for the noise several weeks ago.
Traffic Calming: our Chairman, Cllr Paul Fowle, will be meeting County Officers to discuss traffic calming schemes. County Cllr Williams has kindly given permission for officers to meet him.
Orbit Grass: District Cllr Kettle is aware of residents' concerns about grass-cutting undertaken by Orbit Housing and he will be pursuing this. Please contact him directly if you have any other Orbit concerns.
GLH: Cllrs Brine and Hughes have met again to discuss GLH Community Governance Issues. An update will be given at the July meeting.
Kids of Gaydon: Lisa Andersson, representing Kids of Gaydon, will speak at our July meeting. If you are interested in hearing about their event on Sunday, 24 June, please come to our next meeting.
PC Accounts: the accounts have been finalised and details can be found on our website. If you wish to look at them or have any questions please contact the clerk.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 10 July, and not Tuesday the 3rd. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
Sunday 1st
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Burton Dassett
10.30 Morning Prayer Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Gaydon
6.00pm Evensong Farnborough
Sunday 8th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Farnborough
10.30 Holy Communion with Methodists at Methodist Chapel Fenny Compton
10.30 Morning Prayer Gaydon
10.30 Morning Prayer Northend
6pm Evening Prayer Burton Dassett
Sunday 15th
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Gaydon
10.30 Holy Communion Northend
6pm Holy Communion with Farnborough at Fenny Compton
Sunday 22nd
9.00 Holy Communion BCP Fenny Compton
10.30 Holy Communion Farnborough
10.30 Prayer & Praise Gaydon
10.30 Morning Prayer Northend
Sunday 29th Group Communion & Barbecue in Vicarage Garden Northend*
If anyone would like some clean fresh hay please help yourself from the stack in the churchyard.
St Giles' hay is in perfect condition: it has wild flowers in it but is free of ragwort. Hurry before it is spoilt by the rain!
There will be children's Messy Church in Fenny Compton village hall at 3.30pm on Sunday 15 July.
Thank you to everyone who came to support Fenny Compton Church Fête; it's really encouraging to see the community coming together to support each other. In June we also had two concerts at All Saints Burton Dassett.
The Warwick University Brass Ensemble and Da Capo a capella chamber choir, with more concerts to follow later in the year.
With the summer season fully upon us, perhaps you're looking for some quality time to spend with friends and family.
In that case, join us on the 7th July for some exercise and fun with family, friends and your dogs on our annual Parish Walk. We walk between the villages visiting churches in the group for a prayer, a song and a sit down!
We'll finish in Gaydon where there will be an afternoon of Boules and BBQ starting at 2.30pm at The Old House, Church Road, Gaydon.
Don't know how to play? We'll teach you. Fun for all the family at £8 adults and £4 children under 14 (to include a burger). Come for the walk, meet us at the churches or come to the Boules and BBQ in Gaydon.
*On 29th July we'll be having another BBQ following a worship service in the Vicarage garden, Northend.
Watch for the Brick BUS LEGO Club on tour in the school holidays - coming to your village Hall or Reading Room. Dates to follow on the village Facebooks and our page Dassett Magna Parishes. Contact me for information on any of these events. It would be really lovely if you could join us.
Many of you will be taking a holiday soon and I hope you will return refreshed and re-energised. It's important to use such time to strengthen relationships with those closest to us. I believe it's also important to use this time to reflect on the events of our lives, our priorities and how we use our time.
You don't have to go back far to see that we get many more holidays than people a few generations ago. The only time people got off from work was on Holy Days, from which the word holiday comes. There were very few Holy Days, which always came as single days, so we really are fortunate to have our holidays.
I hope that whenever you take yours and wherever you go you will have a good holiday.
The Reverend Nicki Chatterton
On Sunday 1st July at 4.15pm there will be P@THWAY PRAISE at Temple Herdwyke Community Centre. See www.dassettmagna.org.uk
The flag on the village green was raised on 2nd June for the Anniversary of HM the Queen's Coronation. It was flown for the Duke of Edinburgh's Birthday on the 10th and for Her Majesty's Official Birthday on the 11th; then for the Birthday of the Duke of Cambridge on the 21st.
Mobile Library
The Library will visit the Telephone Box at Gaydon from 1.35-2.05pm on Monday 16 July.
The July meeting will be held at Trevose, Kineton Road, the home of Mrs Pauline Layton. Members will be informed of the date as it is undecided at present.
Our coffee morning and bring-and-buy stall will be in the Village Hall on Saturday 14 July at 11am. There is also a book stall and a raffle. Coffee and biscuits (50p). We raise money for our parish church and welcome any contributions.
Tea in the Garden at Northend Manor on Tuesday 24 July.
More details from Linda Lower 01295 770395 or lj.lower@yahoo.co.uk
Do you play? Would you like to play? Come and learn, practise or even compete! Remember, points mean prizes! Gates open 2.30pm on Saturday, 7 July. Tickets: Adults £8 Children under 14 £4 - Free Burger! Tickets available from Village shop, Church or The Old House. All proceeds to St Giles' Restoration Fund. Come and meet your neighbours and other villagers and have fun!
Don't forget the Big Lunch at the Village Hall on Sunday 15 July at 1pm. Bring some food to share - drinks provided by the Hall. If the weather is nice, the barbecue will be in the front garden and you can cook your own burgers and sausages.
The next meeting of the Village Hall Committee will be held on Monday 16 July at 8pm.
Saturday 7 July Parish Walk Have some exercise and fun with family, friends and dogs! At each church we will have a prayer, a song and a sitdown! 9am Chapel of Ease, Northend, Coffee, Croissants and short service 9.30am Walk from Northend to Fenny compton 10.30am St Peter and St Clare Church, Fenny Compton 11am Walk from Fenny Compton to Farnborough Noon St Botolph, Farnborough 12.30pm Walk from Farnborough to Avon Dassett 1.30pm St John the Baptist, Avon Dassett 2pm Walk from Avon Dassett to Burton Dassett 2.45pm All Saints' Burton Dassett, drive to Gaydon, lifts available 3pm Finish at St Giles' Church Gaydon
21 July - 2 September
This summer the British Motor Museum is celebrating Land Rover's 70th Birthdaywith some great themed family activities!
Every day, follow our Land Rover Explorer Trail and discover some of the many Land Rovers in our collection.
Get creative with colouring and unleash your design skills to make your own model Land Rover.
Join a family Explorer Tour with our costumed guides and hear about some of the amazing adventures our cars have survived, through wilderness, jungles and deserts.
How did they do it? ... come and find out!
Then every Wednesday, discover the wonderful world of science with AutoScienceLIVE - a 25 minute show full of cool interactive demonstrations with ourown 'mad scientists' Professor Pickle and Doctor Pumpkin!
All activities are included in Museum admission. Family ticket £39.
Buy 1 day and get 12 months free when you Gift Aid your entrance. For moredetails visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/events/family-activities or call 01926 641188.
A prolonged spell of very warm weather is continuing at present. The bird life in the village is a hive of activity. In the skies, a large group of Swifts have returned and their strident calls are a feature of the evenings. The Swallows are also still here, albeit in small numbers, deprived of barns. A pair have enterprisingly set up a nest in a Timber-slatted garage, a traditional wooden one with cross beams, where they are rearing a nestful of young which are almost fledged. One snag with this is that the very considerate owners can't use it for a car owing to the droppings from above!
I'm hoping that the other group may return to last year's nest site. We have at least three pairs who meet up to 'hawk' for flies over the back fields. This involves flying at high speed with beak open until they have collected a large plug of flying insects to feed to the nestlings. They will then have to teach them to fly and locate the site when they return next season.
There have been several reports of Cuckoos calling from the Army Camp area and, sure enough, the dawn chorus included a distant call today. We may also get second broods this year: certainly Goldfinches have been collecting nesting material from the chinks in the pavement in front of my house. Many weeds growing in the chinks have attractive seed heads for them.
As a child I liked the Collins New Naturalist books and one of my favourites (now a rare collectors' item) was entitled 'Weeds and Aliens'. It predicted the spread of many species. Gaydon is notable for the huge clumps of mostly Pink, but sometimes White, Valerian; attractive but invasive. It arrived only fifteen years ago and it is much liked as a nectar source by night-flying moths. At night time, it is often covered in ghostly hovering forms of large Hawk Moths and numerous Silver Y moths, both continental migrants. In the day you may spot the Humming Bird Hawk which resembles the bird.
In quiet moments the birds in the village often break the tranquility. Jackdaws, whose young have newly hatched, are now forming very noisy flocks as, one can only assume, they teach them flying skills. You see Rooks behaving in the same way later in the year. Wood pigeons are everywhere with clumsy flapping in undergrowth and death-defying swoops across busy roads. Our local sparrow hawk had plucked several near the village hall. Some unfortunates become roadkill, often a food source for Crows, Buzzards and even the odd Red Kite. Quite shy of noises, Kites tend to drag the body into the fields rather than share it. They are happier on the wing grasping at prey in mid-air.
The church Meadow, still known by some older villagers as Watts's meadow, as it was once attached to the forge, now has a clear divide: one side a well-cut green expanse and the other a traditional hay meadow. Prior to cutting, the hay meadow was a mass of wild flowers and when working nearby one could hear the chirping of crickets and Grasshoppers. Marbled White and Meadow Brown Butterflies, whose larvae are grass-feeders, flopped from flower heads.
A similar grassland area can be seen on the old cemetery field; these places are scarce remnants of traditional livestock farming from forty years ago when Hay was 'saved' for winter food. Silage has replaced it and now 90% has gone since the 1960s. With it have gone the plants, insects and birds that used it as habitat. I am just old enough to remember Corncrakes, now extinct in the U.K. except for some remote islands.
It is very important, if this drought continues, to leave water out for birds and on the ground for Hedgehogs - as well as watering your plants. Bernard Price
This circular walk starts in Church Lane at the back of the church. Walk West through the snickett, past the end of St Marks and climb over the stile at the end of the overgrown path. Head South for 120 yards, go through a gap in the hedge and cross the next field and the lane. Halfway across the next field turn right and walk to the road.
Walk about a mile along the road to Chadshunt, where it is worth a diversion to look in the churchyard. Turn left at the crossroads a bit further on and walk down Watery Lane. In three quarters of a mile you will cross a bridge where the stream from Chadshunt Lake meets Piper's Brook, which runs from Piper's Spinney on Gaydon Hill. Walk on and cross over the old railway bridge to find a galvanised metal gate on your left. The waymark sign has fallen off, but go through the quarter-gate. The path is straight and well-marked for the next half-mile. Cross the corner of a field, through a gap in the substantial hedge and ditch system and turn North. At the end of the hedge cross a stile into the small field beside Ireland Farm and go over the footbridge.
Cross the lane over a stile and head up the field towards the village. At the top of the field you should see the tops of the Old Vicarage pine trees. Head for the pines across an open field, cross the plank bridge, then another field. After a hundred yards you are back in Church field.