Friday 31 October 2014

Beryl's Blankets


Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Community Oil Buying Scheme – Chris Long has been the co-ordinator of this scheme since Ann Hooton left the village. There are currently about 15 members in Chearsley. Please see the Cuddington website for more information, application forms and the phone number of Chris Long.

Jeyan and Suki at the shop
It is surprising to realise that nearly 3 years ago Jeyan and Suki re-opened the village shop since when it has grown and grown in goods and services which they provide. I think most villagers use the shop in some way, but here is a reminder of some of the things that Jeyan and Suki have to offer so willingly and happily 7 days a week – daily and weekend newspapers, which can be delivered if desired; dry cleaning service with collections on Tuesdays and Fridays; greeting cards, toiletries; off licence, groceries, household goods; chilled and frozen foods; fruit and vegetables; bread from The Cottage Bakery, Thame; Payzone to enable you to top up phone cards and electric key charge; Myhermes parcel collection and drop off service; National Lottery scratch cards which will hopefully lead to selling the National Lottery tickets; and of course, tea or coffee from the neat little machine on the counter for £1.00.
The shop is open long hours from 7.00am until 8.00pm Monday to Saturday and until 2.00pm on Sundays. The shop phone number is 01844 208777. Chearsley without a village shop would not be a good thing, as many of us remember, so keep using it!

3 New Bells for Chearsley – The Die is Cast
On Friday October 17, a group of parishioners, the vicar and churchwardens travelled to Whitechapel Bell Foundry, in the East End of London to witness the casting of the 3 bells which will soon hang in the bell tower of St Nicholas Church. A team of 8 men carried the red hot metal from the furnace and poured a steady stream of glowing liquid into the 3 bell moulds. During the next few weeks, the bells will be cooled and tuned to blend perfectly with the existing bells and then transported to Whites’ workshop in Appleton, Oxford where the bell frame will be constructed and the fittings added. It is hoped they will arrive in the village in time to be rung at Christmas. Prior to hanging, they will be briefly displayed in the church for all to inspect. In early 2015 there will be a special service of dedication and celebration for everyone to attend. More funds of around £10,000 are still needed and there will be more fund raising events – the next one being“Elevensies” on Saturday November 15.
(Full illustrated story here.)

Elevensies - Real Coffee, specialist teas and home made cakes by Chearsley Bakers will be on sale in Chearsley village hall on Saturday November 15 from 10.00am until 1.00pm where there will also be a Mini Food Fair with seasonal gifts and goodies for sale. All proceeds will go to the 3 New Bells fund. If anyone has any gifts or cakes they can donate, please bring them along, or contact Alicia Howard.

Toy Service – Sunday November 23 at 10.00am at St Nicholas Church . Children are invited to bring along a new toy, unwrapped as a Christmas present for a child who may not be as lucky as they are. These will be distributed to homes and hospitals in the Aylesbury vale area via the Mix’96 local radio station appeal.

Diary Dates:
  • Friday November 7 The Bell is open every Friday for Tea, Coffee and homemade cake. 10.00am to 12.00pm
  • Friday November 7 Unlock The Box at 8.30pm at The Bell. You have to be there to take part in the pub’s new weekly game. Tickets available to purchase throughout the week.
  • Sunday November 9 Morning Celebration at 10.00pm
  • Sunday November 9 Remembrance Service at The War Memorial at 10.45am
  • Sunday November 9 Evensong at 6.00pm
  • Sunday November 9 Meat Raffle at 3.00pm
  • Sunday November 9 Monthly Quiz at The Bell starts at 8.00pm. Come in a group or on your own.
  • Saturday November 15 Elevensies for coffee, tea and homemade cakes in Chearsley Village Hall 10.00am-1.00pm in aid of the 3 New Bells

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Don't be spooked this Halloween

With Halloween fast approaching, police are reminding people make sure they spend their time trick-or-treating responsibly.

Many residents enjoy Halloween and view it as harmless fun, but for others it can be distressing receiving visits from unexpected callers, particularly the elderly and those that live alone.

Please see the full message on the Chearsley Community Message pages here.

This is a message sent via Thames Valley Alert and has been sent on behalf of Thames Valley Police
Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Thursday 23 October 2014

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Proud Grandparents - I am delighted and proud to announce that Poppy Ariana was born in Barcelona on Thursday morning October 22 to our daughter, Jenny Morbey and her husband , Joe Garrity, a sister for Jamie who is now 3. Mother and daughter are doing well.

Parish Council Meeting - this was held in the village hall on Monday October 20 with 2 members of the public present. Nic Brown was chairman. During the Public Session, the recent planning application at The Boot, Watts Green was brought to the council’s attention by a neighbour who will be severely overshadowed by the new extension. It was confirmed that the Council will view the proposed development from the neighbouring house when they make their site visit and asked for a copy of his objections.
  • Matters Arising from the Minutes of the last meeting – the salt bins still needed to be refilled. The footpath in Chilton Road had now been cleared.
  • Grove Farm, Long Crendon Road. It is planned for a letter to be sent to the Highways Dept of AVDC concerning the necessity for signage at Grove Farm warning of heavy vehicles turning into the farm and blocking the road. Access arrangements into the farm should be checked to see if this could be made safer.
  • Vehicular Activated Sign - Claire Lazaruk reported that difficulty has been experienced in downloading the data of car speeds received from the sign, which will be resolved with new software. There is also difficulty in locating the holes made by AVDC in the verges on the main roads to receive the sign, preventing the sign from being moved to a new location at present. It is hoped that a metal detector or copy of a plan will resolve the problem. An application for a grant of £2750 for funding to purchase another VAS had been agreed from the Local Area Forum.
  • Kerbing - Julia Witcher has received quotes ranging from £3780 to £4920 from AVDC approved contractors to carry out work on the next proposed area of 40 metres of kerbing on one side of Dark Lane near The Rosary. The work could also include mending of kerbing outside The Plough, Aylesbury Road.
  • Village Hall - Claire Lazaruk reported that the Public Meeting was fairly well attended with positive comments concerning the proposed building of a new hall when 2 possible layouts were discussed. The cost of the Feasibility study had been covered by a grant from the Local Area Forum.
  • Risk Assessment - items covered by the Council’s insurance was discussed and approved and considered that all necessary things were covered.
  • Remembrance Service November 9 - Clare Clark would order the wreath and was asked to apply for the road to be closed or for barriers to be put up for the duration of the service and 2 minutes silence.
  • Balance Sheets – John Lewis was thanked for re-organising the balance sheets, reducing the number of headings and making it more readable. The Auditors had approved the accounts.
  • Heating Oil Club - leaflets concerning this bulk buying group had been received. Chearsley no longer has an organiser for this, since Ann Hooton left the village. Cuddington has an organiser and should be contacted if anyone is interested in joining.
  • Broadband – work towards a faster broadband in the village had been carried out and would be available soon.
  • Any Other Business - Mike Heybrook had attended an event recently and reported that the Walking and Cycling Group of Haddenham is hoping to establish a new footpath which will link up with the Chearsley footpath. This is with money available from new houses in Haddenham.
  • Painting of railings and village gates – although they were in need of refurbishment, it was felt this should wait until the Spring
  • The date of the next meeting is Monday November 17 at 7.30pm in the village hall.

Film Festival November 14 – 16
The local Rotary Club has announced the programme for its Haddenham & District Film Festival “Cinema through the Decades” taking place in local villages over the weekend of 14-16 November. The films will be hosted by partner film clubs in Cuddington, Long Crendon, Haddenham and Bishopstone. One film represents each decade. The films to be shown are
  • 1940s: Brighton Rock in Long Crendon on Saturday 15 at 7.30pm.
  • 1950s: Stranger on a Train in Haddenham on Sunday November 16 at 8.00pm.
  • 1960s: Charade in Haddenham on Saturday November 15 at 3.00pm.
  • 1970s: The Sting in Bishopstone on Saturday November 15 at 8.00pm.
  • 1980s: The Last Emperor in Cuddington on Friday November 14 at 7.30pm.
  • 1990s: Topsy-Turvy in Cuddington on Sunday November 16 at 7.30pm.
  • 2000s: Amelie in Bishopstone on Friday November 14 at 8.00pm.
  • 2010s: The Rocket in Long Crendon on Sunday November 16 at 3.00pm.
Tickets at £5 each for films in Cuddington can be bought from Cuddington Village Stores; films in Long Crendon from the Community Library; films in Haddenham from Little Italy and in Bishopstone from Martin Diver on 01296 749957. Discounted tickets for 3 or more different films can be obtained by ringing Roger Rickard on 01844 291613 or email RARickard@aol.com.

Diary Dates:
  • Wednesday October 29 Pumpkin carving competition in The Bell at 7.30pm
  • Friday October 31 The Bell is open every Friday for Tea, Coffee and homemade cake. 10.00am to 12.00pm
  • Friday October 31 Halloween celebrations for children in The Bell at 4.00pm.
  • Friday October 31 Unlock The Box at 8.30pm at The Bell. You have to be there to take part in the pub’s new weekly game. Tickets available to purchase throughout the week.
  • Sunday November 2 Family Communion at 10.00am with Junior Church and Rock Solid
  • Sunday November 2 Meat Raffle at 3.00pm
  • Monday November 3 Mobile Library from 10.00am until 10.25am.
  • Tuesday November 4 Bingo at The Bell at 8.30pm. Special rates for meals for Bingo players. Come early to get a table.
  • Wednesday November 5 Monthly Lunch Club at 12.30pm. Please contact me if you would like to come along.

Thursday 16 October 2014

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Village Hall AGM 
 The Village Hall Management Committee will be holding the AGM on Monday November 3 at 8.00pm in the village hall. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Village Hall Open Meeting - details of this meeting held on September 22 2014 together with outline plans for a new hall can be found on the notice board and on the website here.

Buses through Chearsley - From the beginning of November, Arriva will no longer be responsible for the 110 buses on the route from Thame to Aylesbury through Chearsley. Red Rose Travel of The Blinking Owl, Dinton will be running buses, presumably to the same 2 hourly timetable as before, so apart from different buses, there should be no change to the service. Time will tell if my information is correct.

New Pilates Class in Cuddington
Debbie Corpe, who initiated a Pilates class in the village a few years ago, is now holding a Pilates Barre class in The Bernard Hall, Cuddington every Friday from 9.15am until 10.15am. The class consists of a warm-up, barre section, pilates mat work and stretching, all to music. All you need is a pilates mat and a desire to release your inner ballerina and have some fun! Please call Debbie on 01844 208420 for more information.

Unlock The Box 
This is the new game which has now started on Friday evenings at The Bell. The person who has the winning ticket that evening will win £50 and then has the opportunity to pick the correct key which will unlock the box to win the money. There are 20 keys to choose from. So the game could run and run as did the Joker game with the prize money accumulating each week. £10 will go the charity bottle of the winner’s choice. The draw takes place at 8.30pm and all participants have to be present. Tickets can be bought at The Bell throughout the week. It could be a nice little windfall for Christmas and is a time to meet up with friends at The Bell on Friday nights for a drink or a meal.

Friday Morning Coffee and Cake at The Bell - The Bell will be open from 10.00am until 12.00pm for coffee or tea with a selection of home made cakes.

Diary Dates:
  • Sunday 26: Clocks go back, followed by the Family Service at 10.00am at St Nicholas Church 
  • Monday 27th: School Half Term begins
  • Wednesday October 29: Pumpkin carving competition in The Bell at 7.30pm
  • Friday October 24: 10.00am to 12.00pm Coffee and cake at The Bell
  • Friday October 3:1 Halloween celebrations for children in The Bell at 4.00pm.

Thursday 9 October 2014

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Harvest Supper – this was held on Saturday September 27 in the village hall and was a resounding success. Around 50 villagers attended and enjoyed good food, ale, wine and entertainment. Most of the food (especially some wonderful salads and naughty desserts) was provided by villagers. There were also some excellent donations : XT Brewery donated the beer; Sherwins of Long Crendon provided the meat and Tia Richards and Marks and Spencer provided the wine with a very generous discount and Michael Heybrook provided some delicious apple juice from his orchard.
John Howard, as ever, did a great job as the evening’s MC and introduced the quality (and unique) entertainment, showcasing Chearsley’s fine array of raw talent. The evening’s raffle raised £189.15 towards this year’s charity. The committee are always looking for new talent, and they are asking that villagers give some early thought to providing some entertainment at next year’s event. No act has ever been turned away! From the proceeds of the Supper, enough money has been raised to buy 6 goats for families in Africa to provide them with milk, manure and eventually meat, as part of the charity “Send a Cow”.

Theatre in the Villages - Morgan & West
About 60 villagers, adults and lots of children and some out of town visitors were entertained by Morgan & West in the village hall as part of the Theatre in the Villages programme on Saturday October 4. There was a lot of audience participation. Cynthia had her ring turn up in a tea bag in a box. Another lady had her birthday correctly guessed just from her breath. Amazing tricks. How did Mr West get out of the black bag when it was tied up? Perhaps Tara and Anoushka, who were on stage as witnesses, know! How did the piece of diary torn out, turn up back in the book at the end of the show? If you missed the performance, Morgan & West are appearing at North Dean on Friday October 17. Go to www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/theatre for more information about how to book. They come with great recommendations.

Bingo at The Bell – The pub was busy on Tuesday October 7 for another session of Bingo when there were good cash prizes of £7 a line and £25 for the full house, with £56 for the full house on the last game. The new Snowball game was not won and will roll over to next month, making the full house for the third game now £73 in addition to the night’s cash prize, which depends on how many take part that night. Andy Camden, “Wibble Wobble” our regular caller was missing Paul Kingsman from the “dreamteam” duo but help was on hand from Adam Lazaruk, who made a good substitute and had researched the bingo lingo to come up with some new names for the numbers, a favourite being for number 87 - 1 Fat Andy with a Walking Stick. All good fun and good winnings for some.
The raffle which was made up of donations from customers raised £48 for The 3 New Bells fund. Next month’s bingo will be as usual the first Tuesday of the month, November 4. Eyes Down at 8.30pm.

Find The Joker - this game which has been running every Friday evening at The Bell since October last year has now been won and a new game will replace it. Details of this will be announced in The Bell on Friday evening. The Bell also has a new Menu. The offer of 2 fish and chips for £15 Tuesday to Thursday evenings continues. There will be Halloween celebrations for children with games and food on Friday 31 from 4.00pm until 6.00pm; tickets are available to purchase from the bar, and pumpkin carving on Wednesday October 29 with judging of the best carved pumpkin at 7.30pm. For more information, please see the blackboard in The Bell and notices on the village noticeboard.

Family Quiz This has now been re-arranged to be held on Saturday January 31 2015 in the village hall. A quiz for all the family starting at 5.00pm until 8.00pm. Tickets will cost £10 each to include a fish and chips supper and pudding. A family ticket of 4 is available for £30 with further tickets costing £7.50 per person. Please contact Angela on 01844 202105 or email angela@grayemail.co.uk or Alex on alex@willowcorner.net for more information and tickets.

Parish Council – there will be Parish Council meeting in the village hall on Monday October 20 at 7.30pm. Details of the agenda and last month’s minutes will be available on the noticeboard. Everyone is welcome to attend. There is time at the beginning and end of the meeting for a public session when comments are welcome.

W.I. – There will be a W. I. Meeting in the village hall on Tuesday October 21 at 2.00pm. The subject with Terry Penney is “The Secret History of Nursery Rhymes.”. Non-members are very welcome to come for £4.00.

New Pilates Class in Cuddington - Debbie Corpe, who initiated a Pilates class in the village a few years ago, is now holding a Pilates Barre class in The Bernard Hall, Cuddington every Friday from 9.15am until 10.15am. The class consists of a warm-up, barre section, pilates mat work and stretching, all to music. All you need is a pilates mat and a desire to release your inner ballerina and have some fun! Please call Debbie on 01844 208420 for more information.

Diary Dates:
  • Sunday October 19 Said Communion at St Nicholas church
  • Monday October 20 Parish Council Meeting at 7.30pm in the village hall
  • Tuesday October 21 W.I. Meeting 2.00pm in the village hall
  • Wednesday October 22 Pub lunch. Let me know if you would like to come on 208913
  • Wednesday October 29 Pumpkin carving competition in The Bell at 7.30pm
  • Friday October 31 Halloween for children in The Bell at 4.00pm.

Village Hall Meeting

Click to download proposal

The Public Meeting concerning the future of the village hall was held on Monday September 22, 2014 when about 40 villagers attended.
Chairman of the Management Committee of the Village Hall, Tony Fleetwood opened the meeting by emphasising that there were no plans to move the village hall from its present site and any future plans for the hall were unconnected with any house building applications in the village. Any major works concerning the hall could not go ahead without the consent of the village through a public vote open to every adult in Chearsley.
Results of the Village Plan in which 72% of residents who responded agreed that the hall needs improvement, had prompted the Village Hall committee overseen by Antonia Stratford to investigate improving facilities. It is appreciated that many in the village have a special attachment to the present hall, having been involved in raising funds for its building after Lady Floyd had given the land to the village, and it is hoped that when proposals for a new hall had been heard and discussed, the idea of building of a new village hall on this site would be accepted.
Antonia Stratford addressed the meeting saying that the purpose of this meeting was to seek approval from the village for the basic concept design for a new village hall in order that AVDC could be approached for pre-planning advice. This will not commit the village to actually going ahead with the rebuild at this stage. Chearsley would benefit from a new hall offering flexible space to cater for everyone rather than a few user groups. It is recognised that while Chuf is a vital source of income, their use of the hall restricts use by other groups. Teenagers (more than 50 are expected to live in Chearsley in the next few years) and those of retirement age are not currently well catered for by the hall. Insulation, heating, electrics are inadequate and expensive to run.
Work done so far included research into funding available, which could possibly be up to 50% of the total cost of a new build and contact with Local Area Forum, AVDC, BCC and Community Impact Bucks, all of which had been helpful and encouraging. Other villages with a recently renovated or new village hall had been contacted and visited and their experience was that bookings for the hall had doubled and many new user groups were now using the hall.
PCMS, a project management and architectural design firm of Haddenham, had been instructed to produce a Feasibility Study. Their initial advice was that it would not be economic to renovate the existing hall, but to knock it down and start again. To this end, they had produced 2 Concept designs, both offering 1 community area, which could be subdivided by partitions into up to 3 separate rooms, including kitchen, storage and toilet facilities. Layout 1 was much bigger than Layout 2 as it also included a second large community space, but had the disadvantages that the electric substation would have to be moved and the outside space would be smaller. Useful discussion, comments and questions took place including concerns that the flexible walls would not be sound proof (they would); would it be big enough for short mat bowls (probably), but not a high enough ceiling for badminton; should there be separate toilets, kitchen and storage area for Chuf; could there be a stage (possibly a pull out one); could photovoltaic panels be included to be rented out to generate revenue; was the provision of car parking spaces sufficient; the outside play area and equipment for children in the village was essential to be kept; what would be the cost (in the region of £1350 to £1450 per sq. metre).
 The plans on view are not detailed and AVDC would be approached with a broad plan before detailed plans were formed. Another public meeting would be held to approve the plans and agree to the rebuild before submission to AVDC.
A show of hands revealed that there was a majority in favour of the smaller layout 2 of approximately 275 sq. Metres.
A copy of both Layout 1 and 2 can be found on the noticeboard or downloaded, and comments and suggestions are welcome and should be sent to antoniacarrlocke@hotmail.com or addressed to Antonia Stratford at The Old Granary, Chilton Road, Chearsley.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Harvest Supper


At the recent Harvest Supper at the village hall, we aimed to raise enough money to buy a goat for a family in Africa, to provide them with milk, manure and eventually meat.  The charity "Send a Cow" help by providing the goat and the family who receive it promise to pass their first female kid on to another family, so it is a gift that keeps on giving.  We are very pleased to announce that we raised enough money for not just one goat, but 6!  A big thank you to everyone who supported the evening and especially to Paula and her team for organising it. 

Neighbourhood Police Newsletter

The Neighbourhood Police Update for this month is now available here.

Click for the Thames Valley Police website

Friday 3 October 2014

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

The Three New Bells
Fundraising for 3 new bells has been taking place over 2 years and the time when they will be hung in St Nicholas Church is getting closer. They will be named Oliver, in memory of Oliver Babington, landlord of The Bell who died 2 years ago, Nicholas and Elizabeth R. The Nicholas Bell takes its name from the patron of our church and as patron saint of children and will bear the inscription “The Children of Chearsley Past Present and Future”. Families are invited to contribute £100 towards the cost of the Nicholas Bell. For this donation they will receive a personalized certificate as a reminder of their part in the history of the bells in Chearsley. Donation forms are available in the church, The Bell and the village stores.

Henry George
“I thought going to university was an impossible dream – but look at me now”
Published in The Bucks Herald on September 24 was an article written by Henry George who has lived in Chearsley for most of his life with his parents and sister. Henry describes the pain, exhaustion and difficulties he has endured throughout his life, having been born with Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. Despite numerous operations and time off school because of his disability, Henry achieved good GSCE and A level results and has now started his second year at Royal Holloway University studying history. His moving story of his life can be read on The Bucks Herald website. Henry finishes his message by saying “If you are disabled or even if you aren’t and think that is impossible to do something like going to university or achieving something you have always wanted to, don’t think you can’t. I thought I could never go to university, that it was some kind of impossible dream, the kind that promises so much but never materialises. Here I am however, having completed my first year. However I could not have done this without the support of Debra, the charity that supports those with EB”. More information on EB can be found on the website www.debra.org.uk. Henry’s courage and determination to overcome his discomfort and difficulties throughout his life is very thought provoking and humbling and I wish him good luck in his aim to achieve his degree and then have a career in journalism.

Cricket Club Dinner and Dance - this will be held on Saturday November 29 at a new venue of The King’s Hotel, Stokenchurch. Tickets cost £35 per person and can be obtained from Angela Gray on 202105 or email her angela@grayemail.co.uk. There will be coach transport available from the village. Reception Drinks are at 7.00pm ready for dinner at 7.30pm. Dancing till 1.00am.

Diary Dates:
  • Sunday October 12 - 10am Morning celebration at St Nicholas Church
  • Sunday October 12 - 6pm Evensong