Thursday 28 April 2011

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Chearsley Show
Our fruit and vegetable and handicraft show will be held this year on Saturday September 3rd. Now is the time to be thinking about sowing with the Show in mind – there is a category for annuals, best hanging basket, longest runner bean etc. Schedules for the Show and more details will be available nearer the date.

Mobile Library
This will next be in the village on Monday May 9th from  12.20 until 12.45am.

Parish Council Meeting

This will next be held in the Village Hall on Monday 9th May at 7.30pm. Come and meet your new Councillors!

Recycling
Don’t forget refuse collection Thursday, 5th May and all recycling boxes and baskets.

Thursday 21 April 2011

May 5th - your votes

Chearsley Parish Council - Elections

Contrary to popular belief, each eligible voter has seven votes for the Parish Council, and two votes for the District Council.

In other words, you may vote for up to seven of the ten candidates for the Parish Council. You do not have to use all your votes, but if you vote for more than seven, your ballot paper will be considered to be spoilt and none of your votes will be included in the count.

Please do use your votes and get the councillors you want on the council!

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

The Wedding Celebrations on Friday 29th April
The Bell will open at 11am and be open all day. Barbeque food will be available. The Street party for children outside The Bell starts at 1pm. Please contact Angela Gray on 202105 for more information.

The Bell
The Bell will be open all day Saturday and Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend, 30th April and 1st May.  Tuesday 3rd May is the next session of Bingo in the evening starting at around 8.30pm. A quiz is being organized for Saturday May 8th – more details available at The Bell.

Eric Carte
Eric opens in The Wall – a new drama by Douglas Watkinson at New End Theatre, Hampstead on Tuesday 26th April. It runs until 6th June. More details are available at www.newendtheatre.co.uk

Bins, bottles and baskets
Bins and all recycling baskets including glass boxes will be collected on Thursday 5th May.

Chearsley Cricket Club - Quiz
If you haven’t booked your table for the Quiz at the Village Hall on Friday May 13th, hurry up. Tickets cost £10 per person to include a curry dinner. There will be a Bar with real ales and fine wines, raffle and auction. Please see the Cricket Club website.

Chearsley Cricket Club – Aunt Sally
There is no end to the club’s talents – a team of 8 cricketers and associates are now taking part in Warburton’s Bicester and District Aunt Sally League. Their first match will be on Wednesday 27th April at the Club starting at 8.30pm when they play The Six Bells, Long Crendon. They welcome as many supporters as possible. Come and see how Aunt Sally is played, and enjoy the the bar facilities. The team have already taken part in a Cup match when they beat The White Horse, Bicester 3.0. The next round of the Cup is against The White Hart on Wednesday 4th May at home. Again, supporters are welcome

Oliver Picot
Congratulations to Ollie, who lives in Church Lane with his family, and attends Lord Williams School,  on winning first prize in the 14 to 15 year old’s Key Stage 4 category in Bucks New University’s My Big Furniture Idea competition recently. Students were asked to design outdoor seating for their school. Ollie’s design was commended for its originality. There was a good photo of Ollie and his fellow student who won second prize in a recent copy of the Thame Gazette.

Don’t forget ...... to support the shop as much as possible and to vote on Thursday May 5th.

Monday 18 April 2011

Community Message

This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Monday 18 April 2011.

Two males have been identified and detained by neighbourhood policing and Shift officers after reports of them taking scrap metal from someone’s garden in Brill without permission on Tuesday 14 April. Both males were arrested on suspicion of Theft and later received cautions for Theft.

Thames Valley Police are reminding residents to report any suspicious behaviour in your area immediately to the Police on 0845 8 505 505. Where possible obtain a description of any persons along with the make, model, colour and registration number of any vehicle.

Please also remember not to leave items in your garden which might be attractive to criminals. Use good quality locks and bolts on garden gates and ensure garden tools etc are locked away securely in sheds or garages.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Jumble Sale
The Village Hall Committee would like to thank everyone who gave jumble, raffle prizes , donations and cakes and to those who bought raffle tickets and came on Saturday afternoon to support us. Despite a disappointing turn out, possibly because a beautiful day and the Grand National held more attraction, £290 was made, which will go towards the ever increasing costs of maintaining the village hall. Florence Nightingale Hospice has benefitted from the left overs. Thanks to everyone who helped on the day.

Chearsley Elections May 7th
For the first time in many years, there are more candidates wishing to be on Chearsley Parish Council than there are seats. A list of the 10 proposed candidates is on the noticeboard. There are 7 available seats. It is up to all Chearsley residents to vote for the candidates they consider will serve Chearsley in the best way, and then to support them by regularly attending the monthly Parish Council meetings to let them know of any problems and to compliment the committee when they get things right.

Annual Parish Meeting – Monday April 11th

About 30 Chearsley residents attended this meeting. Michael Edmonds, Chearsley’s County Councillor reported on the year’s road repairs programme, mentioning that the road into Cuddington will very soon be resurfaced. He reported on the review of libraries, speeding, Local Area Forums, waste incinerator at Calvert and Long Crendon and HS2, to which both Bucks CC and AVDC objected. As AVDC councillor, he reported that all services had been maintained, with money in reserves being used to balance the books. He spoke of the new theatre in Aylesbury, the involvement of Parish Councils with the AVDC plan about housing developments, that the present weekly refuse collections would remain and that the collection of garden waste would soon be implemented, the demolition of the Civic Centre car park in Aylesbury and the move of the local offices to Gatehouse Way. He thanked his colleague, Dave Smith of Long Crendon, who is standing down, for the work he had done as a District Councillor.

Comments were made from the floor regarding the amount of money set aside by the councils to object to the HS2 project. Chairman Nic Brown pointed out that there will be local meetings for the pros and cons of the railway to be discussed.

The Police Report covered speeding in villages, and pointed out that the speed gun had been used many times in Chearsley; that the crime rate in AVDC had dropped and more uniformed officers were to be appointed despite cuts.

The question of use of grit from the grit bins was brought up and it was agreed signs would be put up pointing out the grit was not for private use and also requesting cars not to be parked in front, which would prevent refilling.

Janine from the shop reported bad sales figures and felt that unless an extraordinary solution could be found in the next few weeks to make the shop profitable, she would have to close. It is hoped that through talks between Janine and Nic Brown, a solution will be found.

Village Car Service – Keith Wright reported that more than 200 requests had been made this year, which he and Beryl had mostly carried out. More volunteers are desperately needed to maintain this vital facility.

Cricket Club – Tony Babington reported on the newly refurbished club house, there are many juniors, and he encouraged more support from local residents to watch the cricket and enjoy the facilities of the club house.

Village Trust – many grants had been given over the year, including the Christmas tree. More applications are welcome including help with voluntary work during gap years by students or for help with school trips.

Village Hall – the kitchen had been refurbished and the hall redecorated. Chuf had funded a new door leading on to a patio, which had been put to good use at the recent Jumble Sale for refreshments. There were good regular bookings. Funds were however low due to the recent refurbishments and repairs.

The Chairman’s report reminded us how the pub and shop are vital to the village and need constant support. Traffic Calming in the village was awaiting finalisation. Benches on The Green had been installed. Maintenance of Stockwell in Church Lane and other projects are being managed by villagers. The newly installed picnic bench by the War Memorial would be moved. Christmas celebrations and the tree had been successful. There would be more kerbing in the village. There are good communications via Village Happenings and our enviable Website. Nic Brown thanked all the councillors for their past hard work and reminded us all of the forthcoming elections for the AV vote, Parish and District Council seats. Clare Clark, secretary to the Parish Council for many years was thanked.

From a show of hands, it was agreed that Chearsley should enter the Best Kept Village.

Refuse collections
Due to Easter, our bins only will be collected on Wednesday, 27th April. The next collection after that will be Thursday May 5th (Election Day) when all the recycling baskets and boxes will also be collected.

Easter Services at St Nicholas Church Chearsley
Good Friday, April 22nd – Good Friday service at 10.00am
Easter Day April 24th – Easter Garden Communion at 10.00am
Easter Saturday, 23rd - Children’s Easter crafts at Sharon Sampson’s Cloverdale Lower Green Lane, from 10 – 12pm

Aylesbury Vale Village Pub Competition 2011
Closing date for nominations is 30th April. The Bell has many reasons to be nominated. Oli and Sharon work hard and deserve recognition for all their efforts. There are application forms in The Bell, or apply online at www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/pubcomp

MacMillan Cancer Support – World’s Biggest Coffee Morning Project

Macmillan Cancer Support are aiming to raise £8.4 million this year from the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and need someone to join their fundraising team to manage this project. It will entail working for 3 months from July to October, based at Launton and would be suitable for anyone interested in fundraising events, PR and anyone wanting to move into the charity sector. Out of pocket expenses will be paid covering travel and lunch. Own transport would be helpful but not essential. Please contact Eleanor Green on 01869 322 279 or email her at egreen@macmillan.org.uk for more information.

Walking With the Wounded Charity Event – Saturday May 21st
A Chearsley lady is organizing this fund raising event when 2 local bands will be playing at The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury in the Promenade Function Suite. Tickets are on sale at £10 each. There will also be a Silent Auction. Doors open at 7.30. Bar open until 1am. Please ring the theatre on 01296 745596 for tickets. The charity which currently has Prince Harry trekking to the North Pole with 4 soldiers who were severely injured in Afghanistan, is hoping to raise £2million for the education and re-training of wounded service men and women and to help them get back into work.

Volunteers wanted re the tv switchover help scheme

The analogue signals from the Oxford transmitter will be switching over to digital from the 14 to 28th September 201. Community Impact Bucks needs local volunteers to help with this programme to ensure that no-one misses out on the help available for making the necessary changes. Training will be given on May 10th at Quainton. Please contact Bridget Wythe, Community Impact Bucks on 01908 566438 or email bridget.wythe@communityimpactbucks.org.uk for more information.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Community Message

This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Tuesday 12 April 2011.

Community Impact Bucks has been contracted to work with voluntary and community groups in the region, mostly North Bucks, and the Chiltern area, to ensure that the message about the Digital Switchover is widely spread, so that people are not left without a TV signal.

We are currently looking for Community Volunteers and Community Supporters who will identify the 5% of the population who are classed as 'hard to reach'. They are generally those aged 75+, or people with learning and physical difficulties, who need extra support in their community. The scheme will ensure that they have the correct equipment, i.e. digi box, aerial etc so that they will continue to receive their TV signal after switchover.

Community Volunteers are invited to attend a training course on 10th May from 10.00 - 2.30, in Quainton, where they will receive full training and all the materials they require.

If you would like to know more about this volunteering opportunity please open the attachments below. If you have any questions, please contact Bridget Wythe, Community Impact Bucks on 01908 566438 or by email to bridget.wythe@communityimpactbucks.org.uk

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Neighbourhood Police Team: April Newsletter

The Neighbourhood Police Newsletter for April can be downloaded here.

Community Message

This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Monday 11 April 2011.

A distraction burglary has been reported in Abbot Ridge, Long Crendon, between 4 and 4:30pm on Thursday 7 April. A male called at the address of elderly resident, claiming to be from the waterboard. He said he had to test the water in the tank and was allowed in. Cash was then discovered to have been taken from a bedroom.

The offender was a white male, aged 25 - 30 years with black straight hair. He was wearing a black waterproof jacket and showed the occupant some kind of photo identification.

As always, please be on your guard when dealing with any unknown or unexpected callers at your door. Always check their identity and then confirm this with the company that they claim to work for - by using a telephone number from your own records. Do not allow them in unless you are completely satisfied that they are genuine - if in doubt, keep them out and call the Police immediately.

Officers would also like to hear from anyone that might have witnessed anything in relation to this crime. Did you see this male, or any suspicious vehicles in the area around the time of this offence? If you do have any information please call the 24 hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505 and state that you are responding to this message.

If you don't wish to give your details you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Monday 11 April 2011

Chearsley Parish Council - Annual Parish Meeting

A reminder that all are welcome to the Annual Parish Meeting, to be held tonight in the Village Hall at 8:00pm

Community Message

This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Friday 8 April 2011.

Thames Valley Police is appealing for anyone who has recently had power tools stolen but has not reported it to police to come forward.
The appeal follows the discovery of a variety of tools, believed to have been stolen, at an address in Lembrook Walk, Aylesbury, on Wednesday (6/4).

Among the items recovered were Hitachi angle grinders, a Dewalt drill, a Hitachi circular saw and a Paslode nail gun. All the items appear to have been used.

If you have had similar items stolen please call the Thames Valley Police 24-hour Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505 and state that you are responding to this message. If you don't want to speak to police or leave your name, call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Thursday 7 April 2011

Village News

with Margaret Morbey.

W.I. Next Meeting
Visitors are very welcome to attend the W.I. Chearsley’s Gardeners’ Question Time, when there will be a panel of local gardening experts to answer questions. This will take place on Tuesday, April 19th in Chearsley Village hall starting at 2.40pm and will cost £2.50 to include tea and cake.

Sunshine Club Spring Bazaar

This will be held in The Bernard Hall, Cuddington on Saturday 16th April at 2pm with all the familiar stalls, including home -made cakes, white elephant, clothing, tombola, raffle and teas. Contributions are welcome on the morning at the hall, or phone 291516 for collection.

The Club continue to collect used ink cartridges and old mobile phones for recycling. These can be left at Cuddington Post Office or with Yvonne Edmonds at Chearsley.

Chearsley Fun Day 2011
This will be held on Saturday 21st May, similar to last year’s Chearsley Camp, but without the tents, when a” bring and share” picnic lunch is planned with a barbeque in the evening with fun and games in between.

Have your photo taken
Perry Smith, who is currently studying N.C.F.E. Digital photography, wishes to get as many people with their dogs involved in a project in Chearsley. Dogs and their owners would participate in an individual photo shoot to make up a portfolio presentation. Please contact Perry on 07704 263605 for more information and to arrange a time for the photos to be taken.

Chearsley Shop
Issue 16 of the Village Happenings reports that the shop is struggling to survive. For the shop to keep open, it needs regular use by all residents. Please consider coming to the shop for your daily newspaper or magazines, which can be ordered, for bread and milk, fresh ham, cheese, local eggs, for greetings cards, for dry cleaning. You may have noticed that fresh fruit and vegetables and the local butcher’s ham are now on sale again. Don’t let us lose our shop again.

Recycling
Tuesday 19th April is the next collection day for recycling baskets of paper, cans and plastics.

Elections on May 5th

Please note that proxy or postal votes must be applied for by April 14th. Contact AVDC on 01296 585807 or see their website for more information

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Community Message

This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Monday 4 April 2011.

The National Census day was 27 March and most households will have now completed and returned their answers, either on line or by post. However, this national event may give opportunity to bogus callers to take advantage of elderly or vulnerable residents, so please pass on this information to friends, family and neighbours:-

Census staff should not call at your address provided you have submitted your questionnaire by 6 April. All Census field staff will have photo ID, with logo and hologram on it, which they will show automatically. If you are in any doubt about their authenticity call the Census Helpline on 0300 0201 130, or outside of helpline hours, call the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. Do not allow them in unless you are sure they are genuine.

As always, be vigilant with when dealing with any unknown or unexpected callers. Bogus callers often seem very plausible but not everyone is who they say they are. Where possible open the door using a door chain and regardless of who they claim to work for, do not allow them into your home unless you have checked their details by contacting their company, using a telephone number from your own records.

Together, local communities and Police can make a difference in deterring bogus callers and preventing offences of distraction burglary.

Further advice on preventing distraction burglary can be found on our website www.thamesvalley.police.uk or by calling the 24 hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

Saturday 2 April 2011