Gaydon Parish Magazine May 2025
index of magazines
Gaydon Gazette for May
Parish Council Tues 6th at 7.30pm Village Hall
Coffee Morning Sat 10th at 11am Village Hall
Mobile Library Friday 16th at 2.40pm Phone Box
Tai Chi Wednesdays at 7pm Village Hall
Something to Look Forward to
VE DAY 80th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN GAYDON - Celebration Summer Fête in the Parish Council Field.
Summer Fête
The Gaydon Village Fête will be on Saturday 30 August. There will be food, drinks, entertainment, stalls and games in the afternoon in the field with plenty to do for kids of all ages. Then over to the Village Hall in the evening for a hog roast and dance!
Keep an eye on social media for more details and calls for help... MS
Installation of Memorial Seat at the Village Hall
Invitation to Villagers: Please come to Gaydon Village Hall on Saturday 10 May at 11am! In addition to our regular Coffee Morning we shall be raising a glass to the memory of Francis Liddington who will be commemorated with the new seat in front of the Hall. There will be a Raffle, bring and buy and book stall.
Village Store 15th Anniversary this Month
We are delighted to be celebrating our 15th birthday here at the Village Shop this May and would love to invite you all to join us in celebration! Information to follow on social media and in the Shop noticeboard.
Our cover picture shows the opening of the Shop in 2015.
May at the Motor Museum
Gaydon Landrover Show Weekend 3rd & 4th
UK Slot Car Festival Weekend 10th & 11th
Mini Motorists Mondays Monday 12th
Gaydon Gathering Tuesday 13th
Young Driver Experiences Saturday 17th
Vaux ALL all things Vauxhall Sunday 18th
Information and tickets at www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk
Parish Council News
Elections
On Thursday 1st May, the Local Government Elections will take place in Gaydon Village Hall from 7am to 10pm. Don't forget your ID.
Next Meeting
The next Parish Council Meeting will be held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 6 May at 7.30pm.
Housing Needs Survey
You will receive a survey along with your Parish Magazine this month. The form is to be completed only if you have a need for alternative housing and wish to live within the parish. Please return it by 31 May.
Public Spaces Protection Order
It is now illegal to fail to pick up after a dog under your control that has fouled in a public place throughout the District of Stratford-on-Avon.
Further information is on the Stratford Council website under environment/dogfouling
Gaydon Development Update - May
Waiting…VAR and other delays
We shall have been waiting two years, this coming July, for a decision on the Gaydon development (23/01054/OUT). Now, we are all perfectly aware that major decisions that affect large areas of land and infrastructure in a community take time and close scrutiny. However, just as VAR decisions can frustrate football fans, very often it is the puzzling delays and the lack of information which infuriates fans actually in the football ground. (For non-football readers, VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is the remote, visual monitoring system which aids the match referee with help with ‘difficult’ decisions.) So, similar to those football fans, Gaydon residents are suffering ‘waiting’ anxiety.
Unfortunately, it’s human nature that delays and an absence of up-to-date information allows suspicion to fill the vacuum. We sense that the financial power and influence of large corporate businesses can often outweigh the voices and concerns of the ‘ordinary’ citizen. This makes it ever more important that inexplicable delays in the progress of an application are regularly responded to (monthly, at least?) by the planning department/council and not allow us to think we are living as though in (as a poet put it) ‘deserts of vast eternity’ – information-wise!
On the positive side, the delay could indicate that CEG (Malta) Ltd. are having difficulty assembling a coherent and acceptable response to the multiple concerns that the proposed development has raised? Perhaps ‘the law’s delay’ – to quote South Warwickshire’s most famous son, on his birthday (23rd April) - may be working in our favour? We can but hope!
With the above in mind, I sent the following email to the head of SDC Planning:
“The lack of updates on the e-planning site (re:23/01054/OUT) suggests a number of things to Gaydon residents:
The applicant has failed to answer the 28 points of concern raised in Neil Hempstead's letter of the 23 October 2023. Therefore, should the applicant be allowed to keep village residents in limbo indefinitely?
Shouldn't the application be 'struck out' for lack of a coherent response within a reasonable time?
The applicant, CEG (Malta) Ltd. is trying a different strategy that accords with the alleged 'relaxation', by the government, of planning regulations, bypassing existing, environmental protections, protocols and criteria?
Cherwell District Council (Banbury) acted swiftly and decisively when faced with a very similar application (Amongst other things, they pointed out the thousands of vacant square-footage of warehousing and related buildings in the North Oxfordshire /South Warwickshire region, nullifying the claim that the applicant was fulfilling a current or future need.)
Could 'land banking ' be a factor in this application?”
At the time of writing, there has been no reply: we are still waiting…
Tony Hughes
May Church Services
4th 9.30am Morning Prayer Gaydon
10.30am Baptism Burton Dassett
11th 9.30am Holy Communion Gaydon
10.00am VE Commemoration Northend
18th 9.30am Morning Service Gaydon
10.00am Holy Communion Burton Dassett
25th 9.30am Morning Service Gaydon
10.00am Morning Worship Northend
Ascension Day
29th 7.00pm Evening Service Northend
Roman Catholic Church of St Francis, Kineton
Sunday Mass 11am every week
May Memorial Book
2016 4th Alfred Diston
2001 11th Violet Simmonds
2022 13th Geoffrey Gordon Pinches
2002 15th Jack Talbot
2003 23rd Mabel Middleditch
1999 26th Joyce Povey
If there is a special entry that you would like to see, let me know and I will try to make sure that the Book is open on that day. Julie Rickman
Obituary
It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Sheila Heath on 22 April 2025. We offer our condolences to her family and friends.
Forthcoming Events at All Saints' Church, Burton Dassett
Bank Holiday Monday, 26 May 12-5pm, Teas and Bell Tower Tours.
Friday 20 June, Concert, Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Tickets by email from normakinghollies@btinternet.com
Bank Holiday Monday, 25 August 12-5pm, Teas and Tower Tours.
Shipwrecked Mariners' Society Appeal
When you visit seaside resorts and harbours this summer, please spare a thought for the seafarers who work from there. The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society supports merchant mariners, fishers and their families when they face hardship and distress. It is a forgotten and vulnerable sector of society where life is uncertain and dangerous.
See more on the website http://www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk
Thank you for helping the Society with your donations.
Something to Think About
What do you see?
When you look out at the world, what do you see?
The news is full of wars, disasters, and the impact - or potential impact - of Donald Trump’s tariffs. Directly, or indirectly, we are all impacted by these things... even if it’s only in our concerns for the people we love.
Sometimes, these world problems get eclipsed by our personal troubles and tragedies, such as relationship problems, work difficulties, or the loss of someone we love.
We’re quite right to be concerned by world events, or to feel lost in the face of personal struggles. And sometimes, we need to sit with these feelings. There are no meaningful quick fixes to the cares and griefs we carry. However, if we’re not careful, we can let the bad news we hear, or the emotional pain we feel, overwhelm us and paralyse us. When we do, we stop seeing the beauty and goodness in the world… and there is so much of it.
When we lift our eyes to look around, we see new life springing up everywhere. When I’ve been out walking our dog this week, I’ve seen new growth all around - beautiful, vibrant spring green in the leaves and a carpet of fallen white blossoms covering the paths. After the cold and dark of winter, the freshness of spring brings new hope.
When we take the time to notice, we can see many ways in which people show love and compassion to us and others: comforting those who are grieving, helping out their neighbours, investing in friendships and community, and noticing and responding to those in need.
The beauty and good in the world far outweigh the evil we see in the news, but the news media rarely feel it is worth reporting.
As well as being spring, it’s also the season of Easter. In the church calendar, Easter is a fifty-day season that starts on Easter Sunday and lasts until Pentecost. In this Easter season, Christians celebrate the new life and hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Too often, this is reduced to people declaring what they believe, but that’s not what the season of Easter is about. It is about bringing hope in despair, light in the darkness… bringing compassion, care and kindness in the brokenness of our world. And we can each play a part in that.
As Gandalf says in the movie The Hobbit, ‘Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.’
So, this Easter season, I pray that we’ll take time to notice the beauty and good around us and be part of bringing that light and hope to the lives of others. Rev. Barry Jackson, Priest-in-charge
Nature Notes for April
Whilst there are still very low temperatures and very little rain so far
this month, Signs of Spring are everywhere around our area. A few early swallows have been seen although so far just passing through. I saw a large number around the river Severn last week. If you are in Leamington, maybe with luck you will see the now regular pair of Peregrine falcons which are once again nesting in the Town Hall tower. You can even access their progress online and there are several eggs in the nest so far. Once rare, and still persecuted by Pigeon-fanciers, there are now many re-establishing in town centres, using the domestic pigeons as their main food source.
Whilst you are driving at night, look out for young Roe Deer fawns with
their mothers, crossing roads awkwardly or possibly being left alone in woodland clumps.
We hope that our House Martins, now established in Spitfire Close, will be back soon and that our rarer Swifts will return to the Village Hall area. Sadly, no swallows last year but we live in hope. I must ask if anyone has actually seen a Greenfinch? I hear them constantly with a chirring song - unlike the more vibrant rippling of Goldfinches - but never a sighting. I have several great and Blue tits nesting in my garden; and Blackbirds and collared Doves are gathering beak-fulls of nesting materials. The wood pigeons are vocal and pairing up on rooftops and the ubiquitous Jackdaws are pulling thatch from roofs and exploring chimneys.
Early Cowslips are again increasing everywhere: once rare - they dislike chemical spraying - this is a good sign. The banks of the nearby M40 are solid with them, much paler than Dandelions, in both directions - but keep your eyes on the road! Buzzards perch in sunny spots whilst Kites circle overhead too. Look out for early Bee orchids though we need more rain to encourage them. I have seen a few on the traffic island near Tiddington in the past.
Butterflies have arrived early in small numbers but are a delight never-the-less. So far I've seen had freshly-emerged Speckled woods, Holly
Blue, Orange Tip and green-veined White. The long-lived Bright yellow Brimstones were the forerunners, having hibernated, and even the odd Peacock.
It was a bad year for most species last year. One positive sighting further south has been the reappearance of the Large Tortoiseshell, once thought extinct. The commoner Small Tortoiseshell has been decimated by a virulent parasite recently, where once upon a time large colonies of the black spiny larvae formed protective webs on most nettle patches.
Another interesting insect that is active here will be the Bee-fly. At first glance it appears to be a Bumble bee then you notice the rigid, protruding proboscis and high-pitched sound. They often visit Cowslips and Primroses. They are parasites of Bumble bees' nests and they 'fire' their eggs into the entrances using compressed air! Their larvae do not however actually harm the bees because they feed only on the discarded droppings and debris.
This is a great time to use the Merlin app., a great device which picks up bird songs within a few miles radius. I set mine at dawn with a cup of tea and listen to the dawn chorus - very loud at this time of year as birds establish territories. Even my elderly hens have started to lay! You can often pick up a surprising number of species; I'm hoping for a Cuckoo, though my favourite is the melodious Song Thrush. Happy birding! Bernard Price
Lighthorne Allotment Association
Do you enjoy growing your own vegetables but lack the space in your own garden?
Do you wish you had a cutting garden?
Come and join our small and friendly allotment group based next to Lighthorne Pavilion Café at the sports ground.
We currently have a limited number of plots available.
For further information please contact Fiona on 07725 575186 or Jo on 07790 652138
Flag
The flag was raised on 9 April to celebrate the 20th Wedding Anniversary of The King and Queen: long may they reign! And happy 13th birthday Bunty! On Easter Day the flag was flown and on the 21st it commemorated the 99th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. On 23 April the flag marked St Georges Day and the Birthday of the Bard of Avon. If you have something to celebrate or commemorate, ring Siobhan on 07780 689582, and she will raise the flag for you, in return for a £5 contribution to Church funds.
Mobile Library
The Mobile Library will call at the Telephone Box at 2.25pm for half an hour on Friday 16th.
Carers4Carers
Kineton Village Hall 10:30am to 12 noon on Friday 23rd May.
We'd love to welcome you to our carer support meeting for refreshments, chat and mutual support. Relax with a mini hand massage from a local award-winning therapist; and learn about the WRCC Community Food Fleet, our local not-for-profit "meals on wheels" service. Please bring along your loved ones - they can join our Companionship Group while we meet.
For further details about our carer support group or help with transport arrangements to/from our meetings, contact Gillian on 07947 893504 or send an email to kcarers4carers@gmail.com
or explore our website www.carers4carersonthefosse.org.uk.
Tai Chi
The Tai Chi group meets every Wednesday evening at 7 o'clock in the Village Hall. Please text 07514 011406 so that we can look out for you.