Wednesday 27 April 2016

Welcome


A big welcome to Chearsley's newest resident

Bertie Alexander William Eames 

who was born on Wednesday 20th April, weighing 7lb 14oz
Congratulations to proud parents Hannah and Andrew
and to Bertie's big sister and brother Elsie and Rory.

Sunday 24 April 2016

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

New Village Hall meeting Saturday April 23
The Village Hall committee were pleased to welcome over 100 villagers throughout Saturday morning interested to learn more about the proposed new village hall and who were able to get a good idea from drawings and an ongoing screening of a slide show of how the exterior and interior will look . Chairman, Antonia Stratford gave a brief but comprehensive report of the extensive work which had been undertaken with others of the committee and with the architect to achieve the plans now ready to be submitted for planning approval. She was very hopeful that a great deal of the probable cost of £450,000 could be raised from grants. Considerable donations have already been received from the Heybrook family and Rectory Homes. Once planning permission is obtained, there are many grants which can be applied for.
There will also be future fund raising events in the village including a Street Party in June to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, a Fun Run for children and adults in September, and a Murder Mystery evening with Thame players in October. There will be more details about these events in due course. Antonia has also signed up to Easy Fundraising and the Aylesbury Vale Lottery for villagers to help raise money for the hall. More details of how these work can be found on the Village Hall website.
The architect, Lynn Palmer, reported how she drew up a list of needs the committee told her the village hall must have. Several members of the committee had visited different new village halls in the area to get a good idea of how the hall could look. One of these halls was the one at Oving whose beamed interior and brick and wooden exterior was much admired. The new hall would have the possibility to have 2 halls which could accommodate two activities at the same time or be made into 1 large space with the facility for adding on an outside marquee. There would be a main entrance from the car park area as well as a side entrance which would enable the present main user of the hall, Chuf, to be kept separate and secure. There would be adequate storage space within the hall for tables and chairs and other day to day needs. Other large equipment, such as blocks for a stage would be kept in an outside container.
Jack Peeters, of Oving Village Hall, then gave the audience the benefit of his considerable and valuable experiences in funding and planning for the hall at Oving. It took many years of hard work from start to finish to achieve their aim of having a village hall, but despite many difficulties they now have a very attractive hall, award winning for its design and in constant use. A success story. A question and answer session finished off the morning and thanks from the floor was given to Antonia for the enthusiasm, time and hard work she has already given towards getting Chearsley a new village hall. The next stage is for planning permission to be sought and grants to be applied for.

John O’Groats to Lands End marathons.
Congratulations to Andy Persson, son of Paul and Ann of Dark Lane who successfully completed his aim to run 2 marathons each day for 17 days when he ran into Land’s End at 7pm on the evening of Sunday April 17 after leaving John O’Groats on April 1st. He had run a total of 874miles. Paul and Ann, his very proud parents were there to meet him and witness the event. Andy was running to raise awareness of and money for Frank Water, a Bristol based charity providing poor communities in India with sustainable sources of fresh water. Donations can be made at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jogle50. Andy’s target is to raise £10,000.

Annual Parish Meeting
This was held in the Cricket Club on Monday April 18. Only six members of the public were present to hear about the past year of Parish Council’s achievements, and also to be updated with reports from other village organisations. The Parish Council’s year had started with the election of officers, resulting in the election of two new councillors, Paul Bown and John Howard, who replaced Clare Lazaruk and Sandra Towell who had resigned and who were both thanked for all the hard work they had given to the Council over the years. There were no reports available from either the District Councillor or County Councillor who were not present. Nor from the Police due to illness.

  • Village Car Pool: Peter Allen reported that the Car Pool had had no requests for lifts in the past months.
  • Village Hall Report: Michael Heybrook as the Parish Council’s representative on the Village Hall committee reported that they were very close to submitting plans for the new village hall for approval by AVDC. Villagers are invited to an Open Meeting to see the proposed plans and offer comments on April 23. A comprehensive Business Plan had been drawn up by Chairman, Antonia Stratford and a Management committee formed including Parish Councillors, Paul Bown, John Lewis and Julia Witcher. Subject to planning permission being granted, applications for fundraising grants would soon be made.
  • Village Trust: The running of this had lapsed over the past year or more in part due to the sad death of its Treasurer, Steve Vear and to the ill health of Claire Lazaruk, the chairman. Nic Brown would contact Claire to assist her in getting this important village facility started again.
  • Neighbourhood Watch: Since John Daishe, who gave a lot of his time as co-ordinator, had moved from the village, this had also lapsed over the past year or more.
  • Cricket Club Report: The Club is thriving with grants secured for the purchase of new nets and side screens. Junior coaching has had to be delayed due to a waterlogged pitch. New players are always welcome. It was emphasised that the ground is private property, with no dog walking allowed and visitors are asked to treat the ground and facilities with respect.
  • Chairman’s Report: Nic Brown looked back over the past year, starting with housing - Stoney Furlong looks attractive and will bring new residents into the village. All planning applications, are visited and considered by the Parish Council. There will soon be an application by Aylesbury Vale Housing Trust for a development in Winchendon Road, which would bring more much needed houses to the village.
    More kerbing is now in process; traffic calming is still an issue; the closure of the Cuddington bridge was a difficult time with the village having little warning. Nic commented that as a courtesy the Council should be given notifications in advance of any road closures affecting the village even if there is this information available online. The flood which occurred in heavy rain in the road by the bus stops had now been stopped; the Council supported signs advertising the Cricket Club, Chuf, the pub and the shop; a new notice board would very shortly be put up, and a new bus timetable to be moved to the bus shelter; a defibrillator would soon be installed; the exact siting of the new flagpole would be made in the War Memorial area where the hedge and trees had been cut.
    Horse Chestnut tree - further tests revealed that the tree is in decline and it would have to be replaced in 10 or 20 years. It would need careful management and pruning. A memorial tree to Steve Vear had been planted on the village green. Turning to the coming year, the question of devolution and what it will mean to Chearsley will have to be considered and understood. This is when more power and responsibility is given from the local authority to the Parish Council. Anticipating extra costs, the precept has been increased this year and will probably continue to rise to cover future improvements and maintenance in the village. Traffic management is another great concern and meetings will be arranged with local authorities and possibly other villages for discussions.
  • Finance: The Council’s budget had been exceeded this year and reserves were poor. The increase in the precept was therefore necessary and to cover anticipated extra costs to cover devolution matters and future works to protect The Green and other areas. The auditors of the Council’s accounts had commented “better than most in having a budget and monitoring it”. In conclusion, it was lamented that so few villagers were in attendance at the meeting and at all monthly meetings. The council welcome comments and support and feel that villagers have little right to complain at the work of the Council if they don’t come to the meetings to find out and comment on what is planned. Finally, to keep more villagers informed of the work of the council it was suggested that the Draft Minutes could be regularly put on the Chearsley blog.
Car Pool 
 Are Chearsley villagers aware of this facility? I could well be wrong, but I think it was Jock Scholefield who used to live in Chilton Road, who initiated this scheme over 20 years ago. He was in the very least its organiser for a number of years. The scheme offers lifts for villagers who for one reason or another do not have their own transport and need help to get to a doctor’s or other appointment. There is (or was) a pool of volunteer drivers who can be called on. For the past year or more the scheme has not been used. Perhaps this shows that neighbours and friends are fulfilling this need. The Parish Council would like to hear from anyone who would like to take advantage of this scheme.

Neighbourhood Watch
All police messages and alerts are now posted on the Chearsley website which has really made the Neighbourhood Watch scheme obsolete. Not everyone has access or uses computers and the Parish Council would like to hear from anyone who would be interested in getting a Neighbourhood Watch scheme going again in the village. The scheme is a partnership of the community with the police and others to make neighbourhoods better places to live, to help people protect themselves and their properties, to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, promoting greater vigilance and accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the police and fostering a community spirit. It would mean liaising with the Police with any information they have and distributing it around the village.

Appointment of New Vicar
Richard Phillips, who is currently curate at Holy Trinity Church, Walton, Aylesbury will officially take up his post in September and will be formally licensed by The Bishop of Buckingham in St Mary’s, Long Crendon. Richard is married with 3 children and will move to the vicarage in Long Crendon at the beginning of July when he will begin to get to know people and start to do some initial planning, whilst fulfilling his commitment to Holy Trinity in Aylesbury. In addition to the broad experience gained at the busy parish in Aylesbury, Richard will bring a wealth of life experience. After graduating from Cambridge, he qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in industry for 13 years, rising to directorship level in management. Richard is keen to get out and engage with all his parishioners, so look out for him and introduce him to Chearsley life. More details about our new vicar can be found on the St. Nicholas website.

Celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday - Sunday June 12
The Village Hall Committee would like to invite all the children in the village to a good old fashioned street party to celebrate the official birthday 90th birthday of our Queen. A barbecue at The Bell will be available from 12.30pm onwards and tables with a picnic lunch of sandwiches, crisps, nibbles and cakes for the children will be sent up in front of The Bell (complete with obligatory Union Jack bunting and decorations)
If you would like your child to have a place at the picnic table, please let the organising committee know by email how many children you would like to come to the party so they have an idea of how many to cater for. The cost is £2.50 per child. Please email chearsleyvillagehall@hotmail.co.uk.

The Bell Bingo
It is very nearly the first Tuesday in the month when the monthly Bingo for good cash prizes will be held at The Bell on May 5. Eyes Down at around 8.30pm. Bingo players can take advantage of having a meal at The Bell for a special Bingo player price.

St Nicholas Church Services:
  • Sunday April 24 Family Service at 10am
Diary Dates:
  • Tuesday May 3 Bingo at The Bell at 8.30pm Good Cash prizes
  • Sunday May 8 Monthly Quiz at The Bell

Tuesday 19 April 2016

New Vicar


St Nicholas church are delighted to announce the appointment of our new vicar Richard Phillips.  For more information, click on his photo.

Monday 18 April 2016

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Annual Parish Meeting Monday April 18
-  in the Cricket Club pavilion at 7.15 for 7.30pm This is an annual village update by the Parish Council of events and occurrences in the village over the last year including reports from our District and County Councillors and police. Everyone is invited to come.
Please note that due to the very wet weather, the car park at the cricket club cannot be used.

St George’s Evening Meal at The Bell
Saturday April 23 St George’s Day is always celebrated in fine style at The Bell. Come and join in the flag waving and sing song of traditional English songs. Bookings are now being taken at The Bell for a choice of either a meal of 2 courses for £16.95 or 3 for £19.95. There is a choice of menu. Starters are Roasted parsnip soup, melon and Serrano ham or salmon fish-cake. Mains are Roast beef, beer battered fish and chips, wild boar and Stilton sausages or quorn shepherd’s pie. Desserts are Rich chocolate mousse, Eton mess or cheese and biscuits. The meal will be served at 7.30pm. Book as soon as possible by calling in at The Bell to give your choice of menu or phone 01844 208077. You are assured of a grand evening.

Sunshine Club Bazaar
I am pleased to learn that there are two Chearsley villagers who regularly attend The Sunshine Club in Cuddington. Over the years, I have known many who have enjoyed going every fortnight, including my mother who loved the teas and chat; I am not so sure what she thought of the Bingo. If anyone would like to know about the Sunshine Club, please contact Sherry Scott, the leader on 01844 291526 or email her at admin@tcap.co.uk. The club invites over 60s living in Chearsley, Cuddington and Nether Winchendon and meets every fortnight in the Cuddington Playing Fields Clubhouse. Transport can be provided if needed.
As well as tea, cards and bingo, coach trips, garden parties and Christmas entertainment are also arranged. Volunteers are always welcome to help join the tea rota and should contact Sherry. The Club is holding their Spring Bazaar on Saturday April 23 at 2pm in the Bernard Hall “The best recycling event ever” with stalls including white elephant, bric-a-brac, good second hand clothes, books etc.

Village Hall Meeting on Saturday April 23
A final reminder of this invitation by the Village Hall Committee, headed by Antonia Stratford, to view the final plans and see projected images of our proposed new village hall. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with home made cake, and have a look at the plans and talk them over with members of the committee. Doors will open at 10.30am. At 11.15am there will be some short presentations from Antonia, Lynn Palmer, the architect, Jack Peeters who was involved with the new hall at Oving and Amy Hollis from Community Impact Bucks. There will then be a question and answer session. It is hoped that many villagers will come up to show their interest and support for this very exciting project in Chearsley’s life.

The Queen’s Birthday Celebrations
Chearsley will be celebrating our Queen’s 90th birthday and details of a street party and bbq and other events in June for her official birthday will be made known in due course. I have no details of whether our church bells will be rung tomorrow Thursday, April 21, the Queen’s real birthday, but listen out for them as I think they will. Cuddington will ring a full peal at 2.30pm and Dinton church’s bells will be rung at 8pm.

Queen’s Birthday Competition
Children from Cuddington and Dinton school as well as all children and grandchildren of villagers in Dinton, Stone, Ford, Upton, Gibraltar, Coldharbour, Bishopstone and Hartwell are being invited to take part in a planted pot competition in celebration of the Queen’s birthday. This is the idea of Chloe Lambert who writes 3 columns for these villages in the Bucks Herald. Chloe is an old friend of Chearsley having been Chearsley’s District Councillor in the past and has been welcomed to present trophies at our annual village show on many occasions. Hopefully, Chloe will get a good response to her original idea.
Children are invited to plant a pot or tub of any size with plants or flowers to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Prizes have been donated by The Seven Stars, The Crown, The Bugle Horn, Hartwell Nurseries, and Greens Furnishings. Chloe will then come round to judge them and the winning pots will be displayed at the Parish Tea Party on The Green, Westlingon on Sunday June 12. Great idea Chloe. Well done.

St Nicholas Church Services:
  • Sunday April 24 Family Service at 10am
Diary Dates:
  • Saturday April 23 Village Meeting for Plans for the New Village Hall 10.30am with presentations at 11.15. Refreshments available.
  • Saturday April 23 2pm Sunshine Club bazaar at The Bernard Hall, Cuddington

Thursday 14 April 2016

St Nicholas Church - AGM


Everyone is invited for tea and cakes at Chearsley Village Hall this Sunday afternoon at 3.30.

This is your opportunity to come and hear what has been happening in our church community during the past year, to vote for your churchwardens and members of the PCC, to say goodbye to those who are retiring from office and to welcome new people who wish to get involved.

Find out where we are in the process of securing a new vicar.

It's a social occasion and everyone is welcome. There will be an infants' play are at the back of the hall, supervised by teenagers, and if it's fine, older children can play outside.

Or just come for the cake!

Chearsley Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting

The
Chearsley Parish Council
Annual Parish Meeting
will be held at
Chearsley Cricket Club
on Monday 18th April at 7.30pm. 

Parish Councillors will be at the Club from 7.15 for anything you would like to discuss in person.

Please note that this is not an AGM. 
It is a report on what the Parish Council has been doing over the last 12 months and plans for the coming year, plus an opportunity for you to let us know of your wishes and concerns for the village.

It’s your Parish Council seeking your views on what you want for your village.
Please try to attend

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

The Bell continues to be a very important part of village life and Sharon is constantly offering different monthly deals and special occasions. For April there is a new Spring Menu and the Sunday Roast beef lunches continue for £9.95. Tuesdays have 2 courses for £11 available all day. Thursdays is Gourmet burger evenings for £9.95 with a choice of different burgers. The Friday evening game is now the Higher Lower Game where the prize currently stands at £250 and there is the weekly Sunday lunchtime meat draw.
Customers are always assured of a very good pint of beer, with a choice of real ales. The Bell cellar is considered by many to have the best kept cellar in the area. Monthly bingo sessions take place on the first Tuesday evening of the month and the monthly quiz on the Sunday evening of that week. The Bell is also a great place to call on Friday mornings from 10 until 12pm for unlimited coffee and delicious home made cakes for £3.50. Come in and meet up with fellow villagers and friends and catch up with village news.

St George’s Day celebrations at The Bell
A celebratory traditional English meal will be held in The Bell on St George’s Day, Saturday April 23. Details of the menu and price of the meal for bookings only will be available in due course.

Lindengate Spring Fair
Joy Payne, well known in the village for her flower arranging (and other) skills, has been involved with this Buckinghamshire based charity since it opened in 2014. They are holding their Spring Fair on Saturday April 16 from 2 to 5pm and welcome the local community to join them in their therapeutic garden in Wendover. There will be activities for children of all ages, conservation groups, art and craft stalls, bring and buy gardening books for sale, home made cake, hotdogs, teas and coffees. Entry is £1 with no charge for under 12s.
Lindengate can be found on The Old Allotment Site next to World’s End Garden Centre, Wendover. The charity offers gardening and horticultural activities for people with mental health needs which enables users to spend time in a managed, calm and safe environment either singly or in small groups.

Sunshine Club Spring Bazaar
I am not sure if there is anyone from Chearsley who now attends this fortnightly social meeting in Cuddington for older people of Cuddington, Nether Winchendon and Chearsley, but there are Chearsley people who volunteer to help run it. My mother used to love the teas and chat when she used to go over 10 years ago. I’m not so sure if she enjoyed the Bingo. They are holding their Spring Bazaar on Saturday April 23 at 2pm in the Bernard Hall. “The best recycling event ever” and a great afternoon for bargain hunters on the varied stalls, including, white elephant, bric-a-brac, good second hand clothes, books, home-made cakes and produce. There will also be a raffle, tombola and refreshments.
Admission is 20p and no charge for children. Contributions can be taken to the hall in the morning of the bazaar, or please phone 01844 299 150 if you would like your items collected.

Recycling Appeal 
The Sunshine club continue to collect used ink cartridges and old mobile phones for recycling in aid of their funds. These can be dropped off at Cuddington Post Office with thanks to Jeyan and Sugi and girls.

John O’Groats to Lands End Marathons

Ann and Paul Perssons of Dark Lane are planning a visit to Land’s End to watch their son, Andy complete his last marathon on April 17. His “ordeal” (my words, not theirs) began on April 1 when Andy started in John O’Groats the first of 2 marathons each day for 17 days, averaging 50 miles a day and running a total of 860miles finishing in Land’s End. His two running companions have had to withdraw, so hopefully, barring ill-health and injury, he will be able to complete his amazing adventure.
He is running to raise money for a Bristol based charity, FrankWater, which helps provide poor communities in India with sustainable sources of fresh water. His progress can be followed at www.jogle50.co.uk and donations can be made at http://virginmoneygiving.com/joble50. Andy has a target of £10,000 and at the time of writing, he has already raised over half of this.

St Nicholas Church Services:
  • Sunday April 17 Holy communion at 9am
  • Parochial Church Council AGM in the village hall at 3.30pm with Afternoon tea. This is a social occasion to which everyone is invited.
Diary Dates:
  • Saturday April 16 Cricket Club Quiz at the village hall. 7pm for 7.30pm start.
  • Sunday April 17 Parochial Church Council AGM and tea for the village in the hall at 3.30pm
  • Monday April 18 Mobile library by The Green 10 to 10.25am.
  • Monday April 18 Parish Council meeting The Annual Parish Meeting in the Cricket Club pavilion at 7.15 for 7.30pm Saturday April 23 Village Meeting for Plans for the New Village Hall 10.30am with presentations at 11.15. Refreshments available.

Friday 8 April 2016

Village News

with Margaret Morbey

Chearsley Village Hall
A reminder that plans for the proposed new village hall and how it would look on the plot and other details concerning the village hall are available to view online here. Antonia Stratford, the chair of the Village Hall committee would welcome any comments and criticisms you may have and can be contacted on 01844 208469 or email antoniacarrlocke@hotmail.com. The meeting in the village hall on Saturday April 23 will also give everyone the chance to see the plans and to hear presentations from Lynn Palmer, the architect, Amy Hollis of Community Impact Bucks who have been very supportive of the Village Hall committee in their endeavours to plan a new hall and who have set up the village hall website, and from Jack Peeters with his experiences chairing the committee responsible for the new village hall at Oving. The hall will be open at 10.30am with the presentations beginning at 11.15am. Please come as this is your chance to influence what is a very big project for the village.

Fundraising with Vale Lottery for the new Village Hall
There will be funds and grants available to help the village raise the necessary money for the new hall as well as future fundraising events organised by the Committee. There is now the opportunity to support the hall by joining the Vale Lottery, which supports local good causes and which now has Chearsley Village hall as one of the beneficiaries. A ticket for the weekly lottery costs £1 and offers the opportunity to win a top prize of £20,000. Join online at www.valelottery.co.uk or phone 01296 821212.

Fiddler on The Roof
Performances of this special abridged version of the award winning 1964 musical are being presented by Cuddington Youth Drama in The Bernard Hall Cuddington this week until Saturday April 9 when there is also a matinee performance at 2.30pm. Refreshments will be available. Tickets can be bought online at www.cuddingtonvillage.com/cyd.

St Nicholas Church – new vicar
After a further interview process, the Parish representatives, Patron and Bishop Alan have agreed unanimously to offer the post of vicar to a candidate and he has accepted. Bishop Alan’s office is now making the necessary arrangements for this to be formally endorsed by the relevant authorities (a more drawn out process than usual as there is currently no Bishop of Oxford). Once this has been completed, a public announcement of the name of the new incumbent will be co-ordinated with his current parish as quickly as possible.

Cricket Club Quiz - Saturday April 16
7:00pm for 7:30pm start at Chearsley Village Hall
A Quiz evening for everyone, to raise funds for the Cricket Club with Quiz master Larry Warr. Come in teams of 8 or 10. Tickets are £10 per person which includes a fish and chip supper. Bring your own drinks. There will also be a raffle and auction. Please contact John Howard for tickets or for more information on jnh@dbmc.co.uk

St Nicholas Church Services:
  • Sunday April 10 Morning Celebration at 10am Evensong at 6pm
Diary Dates:
  • Sunday April 10 Pub quiz in The Bell at 8pm
  • Saturday April 16 Cricket Club Quiz at the village hall. 7pm for 7.30pm start.
  • Sunday April 17 Parochial Church Council AGM and tea for the village in the hall at 3.30pm
  • Saturday April 23 Village Meeting for Plans for the New Village Hall 10.30am with presentations at 11.15. Refreshments available.

Monday 4 April 2016