Bingo at The Bell – a very quiet evening of Bingo was held on April 1, when £50 was the prize for winning the final Full House and £28 was made by the raffle in aid of the Oli Bell Fund. Birthday wishes to Andy Camden who tirelessly supports Paul Kingsman in calling the numbers each month and providing the banter. A great photo of Andy and his birthday “cake” can be seen in the birthday gallery in The Bell. Sharon and Sarah are still keeping to their chocolate diet and have so far raised over £700 also in aid of the Oli Bell Fund. If you would like to sponsor them for the final few days, they would welcome your support. Bingo in May is on Tuesday May 6.
Steam train through Chearsley – Sunday April 13
There is a steam train planned to leave London passing through Chearsley en route to Warwick and Stratford Upon Avon on Sunday April 13. It is the Sunday Luncheon Special run by Steam Dreams. The locomotive is scheduled to be Braunton, a Light Pacific express passenger engine designed by Olliver Bulleid, a West Country Class locomotive which takes its name from the North Devon town.
This locomotive was retired from service in 1965 and sold to Barry scrap yard. Work to restore the engine started in 1996 and was completed by 2008.
Departure time from Paddington is 10.50am being at Beaconsfield at around 11.45pm and coming through Chearsley possibly between 12 noon and 12.30pm. As always, there could be many hitches, but if it is a pleasant day, what better way than to spend an hour or so in the field near the train track waiting for a few seconds’ glimpse of a Proper Train as it flashes past! On its return journey, it is due to leave Stratford Upon Avon at 6.30pm. If it leaves as scheduled, it should pass through Chearsley around 8.15 to 8.30pm.
Chearsley W.I. - their next meeting will be held on Tuesday April 15 in the village hall when Peter Hague will be giving a talk on West Wycombe Park and the Dashwoods. Visitors are very welcome to come for a charge of £4.00. Meetings start at 2.00pm.
Easter at The Bell - hopefully the weather will be warm and sunny and the large, safe, child friendly garden at The Bell can be enjoyed by everyone. An Easter Egg hunt will take place on Easter Sunday, April 20 at 11.00am in the garden, rain or shine and on Easter Monday evening Sharon and Sarah, having successfully gone without chocolate for Lent will be indulging themselves in a Chocolate Party in The Bell with lots of chocolates for everyone.
St George’s Day – this will be celebrated in fine style at The Bell on Saturday April 26. Please contact Sharon for more details of the menu and to book a table. Space is limited, so don’t delay.
Be Good – three lads, who all attended Lord Williams school make up this Oxford band ” Be Good”. One of them is Charlie Clark, son of Clare Clark, secretary to the Parish Council. Their song,” I’d have Told you Anything” which they recorded in the house they share in Cowley was recently played on Radio Oxford Introducing. It can be heard on their website www.begoodsometimes.bandcamp.com. A good start and good luck to them all with the band’s future.
The Book House, Thame
Chearsley now has a local connection with this independent bookshop, as Lesley, who works there, has recently moved to the village. We are fortunate to have a lively independent bookshop so local, well established for nearly 40 years selling a wide range of books with a particularly good children’s section which encourages families with children to come and spend time enjoying and browsing amongst the books.
The Book House prides itself on selling and promoting works by local authors, among them, Steve Cole, who writes the”Astrosaur” series and who has been chosen to write the new Young James Bond books, the first one to be published this Autumn and Jenny Smith who writes for teens and children “My Big Fat Teen Crisis” and “Diary of a Parent Trainer”.
The Book house has also published books about Haddenham and Cuddington’s history – “Before Domesday” by Bruce Alexander and “Hill Top village” about Brill in Tudor times by Canon Vincent Strudwick. Not forgetting Jean Daish from Chearsley whose first book “Operation Pied Piper” is on sale in The Book House.
The Literary Festival in October in Thame welcomes many authors to the shop and a number of book signing events have been held in the past, among them, Terry Wogan, Kate Mosse, Raymond Blanc, Rick Stein, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Mary Berry, Sophie Dahl and the list goes on. The Use it or Lose it slogan to keep local shops in business applies to The Book House like many other local enterprises, particularly with increasing competition from online shopping. Why not call in and see the wide range of books, cards, book related toys, CDs and DVDs at The Book Shop where the staff are always happy to offer advice and can obtain a book usually within 24 hours if it is not on their shelves.
Diary Dates –
St Nicholas Church:
- April 13 10.00am Palm Sunday Morning Celebration Service – celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This will be followed by the PCC AGM at 11.00am in the church, to which everyone is invited to stay for. Please note there is no evensong this day.
- Tuesday April 15 8.00pm - During Holy Week, Compline will be said with Meditations. Compline is a quiet late-night service, traditionally ending the day in convents and monasteries.
