Tuesday 31 March 2020

A Note from The Parish Council Chair, Nic Brown

Nic's note is on the Chearsley PC website here

Food sell off


Hi All,  For £5 in an envelope to Gary at PJ Produce (unit 9) you can have as many tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, pints of milk and pre cooked poached eggs as you can carry/fit in your car. 
Please please pass this on.  
If anyone  interested. Gary’s number is 07803 476 588   He’s shutting the warehouse at 4pm.
There is a huge amount of food that will be thrown away if it doesn’t go today. If you know anyone who needs milk, precooked eggs, as well as veg please pass this on.

Directions – you drive all the way down the main road through the industrial estate as far as you can go without turning round the bend to the left at the bottom. Unit 9 is straight in front of you at the end with lots of white vans parked outside – and probably a queue of cars!


Monday 30 March 2020

Covid Related Scams on the Increase

Chearsley Parish Council have passed on these two notices containing warnings and advice on current Covid related scams:

1. Bucks County Council have released this

2. National Trading Standards have released this

Friday 27 March 2020

Village Covid-19 Update 27/3/20 Unitary Health info

Latest information on Unity Health opening times, services and prescription handling by Chearsley Good Neighbour contained in the link here   - Please Read.

Food Bank Collection Point


Chearsley Good Neighbour Scheme


Wednesday 25 March 2020

Village Covid-19 updates et al

National NHS Volunteer Initiative
This is a new national official version ( https://www.goodsamapp.org/nhs ) of our own Chearsley Good Neighbour (CGN) scheme. The latter has been successfully up and running for a week now - report below. Susan Olding our CGN coordinator will join this national scheme to better integrate with our local one.
.
Chearsley Good Neighbour Update from Susan Olding
"This has been very active with over 50 volunteers. So far, I have had 10 requests for prescriptions and two shopping requests and requests for fresh vegetables. I have put a message on my answerphone suggesting that people email me if possible,at assistance@chearsley.com,  or leave a message - just so that I can manage this as best I can.

Can requestors please give as much notice as possible so as to reduce the number of trips to collect prescriptions, maybe to once a week. Of course, if folks are ill then we will collect medicines as soon as they are ready"


Chearsley Village Hall
The Chearsley Village Hall Management Committee have decided that, unfortunately, the playground should be off limits in line with current Government advice.  The hall will be closed to groups but open for now only to any approved individual who needs the space to film tutorials or exercise classes. Notices have been posted on the gate and the playground equipment.

Chearsley Cricket Club
All cricket matches and training are suspended for the time being. The pavilion, practice nets and other facilities are closed for recreational purposes until further notice.

Long Crendon Bakery
They are only running a pre-order and collection service now for bread, fresh vegetables and some pre-packed meat, smoked fish etc. Orders to be taken by phone only, 01844 396221, from 9:00am on the day of collection. Payment will be taken on the phone & a collection slot (car reg no.) & collection phone no. given.
"Please be patient as we will be packing & sorting as you are here."

(See previous posts on The Bell takeaway service and the Village Shop.)

Petty Theft
A theft of a sundial from a front garden has been reported. Please be keep an eye out and note down details or take pictures of any suspect activity in the village.

Chearsley.com Mail Accounts
For anyone who uses a chearsley.com mail account that is not just forwarding to another primary email address. Our mail and file hoster changed server addresses last week. If you use or know someone who uses a chearsley.com mail address that is not downloading mail, you should still be able to read and send email via the web interface. But for your local clients that download mail, you may need to update these settings per the advice below. If still having issues contact webmaster@chearsley.com

E-mail Setup  
If you were using the old server name in the settings for an email client, this will need to be updated. 
If you were using webmail, this will now be accessible on:  
Webmail:   http://chearsley.com/webmail once your domain is pointed
Username: The full e-mail address that you are trying to access
Password: The password you chose when adding the mailbox
 
The settings for your email client will now be:  
 
Incoming/outgoing server address: whirlpool.footholds.net
Username: The full e-mail address that you are trying to access
Password: The password you chose when adding the mailbox
SSL:          On - please note 'SPA' must be disabled
Outgoing server authentication: Enabled (same login details as above)

Tuesday 24 March 2020

Chearsley Allotments available

Spare village allotments on the Winchendon Road are available for a very modest rate. If interested please contact Maureen Gillis on maureen@mgillis.uk or 208 742. As Maureen says "We are going to have a lot of spare time on our hands. May as well grow something !".  

Currently as per the 23/3/20 Covid-19 Emergency Measures from The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd, this is within the current Government guidelines. However as the detail makes clear in the link below, all full and sensible precautions should be taken. Social distancing, no more than 2 people on a plot, no shared tools,  hand sanitiser, no one to go there who is ill or living with someone who is so etc.

https://www.nsalg.org.uk/news/covid19-information/

Monday 23 March 2020

The Bell Takeaway Menu - free delivery or collect

Beat the crowds elsewhere and support your local. Sharon and her fabulous team are providing a take away service for collection at side door (if not at risk) or delivery to: Chearsley, Ashendon, Winchendon (and can cover Long Crendon). Menus are below and there are printed versions you can collect outside the side door plus these are also being delivered today locally.  Phone or email in your order.
Monday: Closed,  Tues through Saturday: 12-2, 6-9pm, Sunday 12-3pm

(Click into the images to get a better resolution.)


Pictures from Light a Candle

Here are a selection of pictures from yesterdays Light a Candle from Chearsley folk here and a few living away:













Sunday 22 March 2020

Chiltern Railways Amended Timetable


Chiltern Railways is operating a heavily amended timetable from tomorrow 23/3/20 please check if you are travelling next week.

https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/

Friday 20 March 2020

Thursday 19 March 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update from Chearsley Parish Council


We have all been devastated by news of the impacts of the increasing spread of COVID-19. The succession of government announcements in recent days will place major restrictions on our ‘normal’ lives for weeks and possibly months ahead.

In particular, the government has announced a wide range of so called ‘social distancing’ measures, details of which can be found on various government information publications including this link:


The Parish Council has put in place a number of measures to help the community of Chearsley, as we tackle the challenges posed by the spread of the COVID19 virus.

Chearsley ‘Good Neighbour’ Scheme 

To help support our individual efforts where this is needed, we are announcing the launch of the Chearsley ‘Good Neighbour’ Volunteer Assistance Scheme. 

Susan Olding has kindly agreed to co-ordinate the work of a team of volunteers and the remit of the scheme will include providing any help or support needed in the wake of the new COVID-19 measures.

For example, this might include collection of shopping, picking up prescription medicines from the local surgery or chemists, dog-walking and so on – routine tasks which will suddenly become impossible for those unable to leave their homes for a prolonged or even a short period of time…..or maybe it’s just a friendly chat from time to time – either on the telephone or at home.

Susan has already recruited a team of volunteers and if you are able to offer your own services, please get in touch with her:

Home: 01844 201134
Mobile: 07960 275920

Anyone requiring any help or support, please contact Susan. 

It would help us if you could either submit one of our assistance request forms:
‘Good Neighbour Chearsley’s COVID-19 Volunteer Assistance Scheme’

A copy is available on this link

Alternatively, make sure you have the information available when you telephone.

Village organisations

We also need to do all we can to support our local businesses in the village during these difficult times and the Parish Council will assist wherever possible, including with communication.

The Bell

Despite the inevitable decline in visitors to The Bell, Sharon and her team will be developing a new ‘take-away’ and ‘home delivery’ meal service and and have made arrangements for us to continue buying beer and our favourite drinks from the pub. 

Sharon can be contacted at:
Home: 01844 208077

The Village Shop

Jeyan and Sugi will be doing their utmost to ensure that the shelves at Chearsley Village Stores remain as full as possible of all the key grocery items in the weeks ahead. They’d also be very happy to discuss any individual needs you might have. So, before you spend countless hours trying to put together an order for an online grocery delivery, pop in and see whether Jeyan and Sugi can help.

St Nicholas Church

The Vicar, Richard Phillips, has offered his own services and those of the St Nicholas Church community to provide pastoral care within our village. As ever, this commitment to listen and offer reassurance extends to the whole village whether or not you go to church. He has promised his full support and prayers for all the initiatives undertaken by the Parish Council.

Richard can be contacted at:
Home: 01844 208987

The Village Hall

The Chearsley Village Hall Committee has noted the current COVID-19 advice issued by the Government and will ensure that supplies of soap and/or hand-wash are in place at the hall along with paper towels and fully working hand driers. The hall is cleaned thoroughly twice a week and extra care will be taken going forward to ensure all surfaces are disinfected regularly.

The committee plans to keep the hall open and available to all those who want to use it but the responsibility lies with users to ensure that Government advice to stop the spread of COVID-19 is being followed where needed and appropriate.


NHS First Responder

The NHS Community First Responder for Chearsley Village is Kevin Dennington.

Kevin supports the work of the South Central Ambulance Service, supporting medical emergencies and sometimes providing life-saving first aid to a patient in the crucial minutes before an ambulance arrives.  While Kevin is not permitted to carry out any specific medical interventions, he is more than happy to share his expertise and understanding with any in our community.

Kevin can be contacted at:
Mobile: 07748 596642

Parish Council business

We will not be holding our regular monthly meetings in the Village Hall for the time being but instead will use video conferencing. It is likely that will continue for the foreseeable future, subject to any formal guidance we may receive. 
We will advise any change to that arrangement. Regrettably we are unable to invite public attendance on the video conference but will provide every opportunity for questions and comments to be submitted by other means. Advance agendas and minutes are published on the PC website as well as being displayed on the bus stop noticeboard.

Communications

Most Parish Council communication will be via email distribution, Chearsley BlogSpot, Village WhatsApp group and the PC website. Additionally the Chearsley Village and Chearsley PC Facebook sites may be used for major notices.

If you know of anybody who does not receive messages by one of these methods, please encourage them to sign up.   We can provide guidance on how to do that if required. 
We will also display messages on the village notice board and do occasional door to door mail drops.

Contact the PC at:

Village sites: 
Chearsley Blogspot (has an email subscription service also) : 
Chearsley Village Group Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1096303420498222/
Chearsley PC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHEARSLEYPC/


We face some difficult months ahead, but the Parish Council is confident that the community of Chearsley will do its utmost to work together to minimise the hardships which will inevitably be experienced by some of our families, friends and neighbours.

Our Parish Councillors are very happy to speak to you about any concerns or if you would like further information:


Nic Brown (Chairman): 07776 161644

John Lewis (Vice-Chairman): 07780 600640

Paul Bown: 07836 270067

Martin Hearmon: 07831 522731

John Howard:  07970 651326

Keith Turnbull: 07785 725177

Julia Witcher: 07905 755995


19th March 2020



Wednesday 18 March 2020

Tuesday 17 March 2020

Chearsley Parish Council – 16/3/2020 Meeting Cancellation

Chearsley Parish Council – 16/3/2020 Meeting Cancellation

As a result of advice from the Government yesterday afternoon, the PC made a late and regrettable decision to cancel its planned meeting yesterday evening.
We apologise to anyone who arrived for the meeting to find it not being held.
We are planning to meet this evening (17/3)  at 7.30 by video conference, with the main items on the agenda being:
  • Coordination of village activity to assist those in our community requiring help
  • Decision on how to conduct our work over the coming months

If you have any input you wish to make to the meeting, please email Chearsleypc@chearsley.com 
We will monitor that email address up to and during the meeting.

Tuesday 10 March 2020

Chearsley Parish Elections

For more information on standing as a councillor, including a nomination pack, follow this link http://www.chearsleypc.org.uk/community/chearsley-parish-council-13750/pc-elections-2020/


Chearsley Litter Pick Report

On behalf our community, many thanks to the 15 volunteers who took part in the Annual Litter-Pick on March 5th and which was organised by Alicia Howard.

They collected 25 bags of rubbish from the village lanes and the approach roads to the village as well as car tyres, assorted car bits and smashed up council road signs.

The team were rewarded with a hot drink and delicious cakes in The Bell following their endeavours.

Many thanks to all the volunteers – and no thanks whatsoever to the selfish oafs who continue to litter our roads with drink cans, plastic bottles and food containers year after year.



Chearsley Volunteer Driver Scheme


Madrigals at The Bell Friday 8th May 11.30 am


Chearsley WI 17th March 2-4 pm


Thursday 5 March 2020

Upcoming Local Choral Production

Six of Chearsley’s finest are singing in this highly acclaimed local production. Tickets available from Susan Olding or EventBrite or on the door.


Monday 2 March 2020

Oxford-Cambridge Expressway Update

The Parish Council has maintained its close contact with the No Expressway Group (NEG) in recent months, following the overwhelming opposition within our village to the building of the road and the accompanying plans for massive new housing development within its corridor.

As previously reported, the NEG organised a ‘Westminster Event’ on Wednesday 26th February, involving a briefing session for MPs at the Houses of Parliament, followed by the presentation of a petition to ‘Scrap the Expressway’ to No. 10 Downing St.

Chearsley were represented by villagers Alex Wall Morris and her ten year old daughter, Bella, on the day. Alex and ‘Eco-Bella’ were part of the delegation which presented the petition to PM, Boris Johnson, at No. 10, together with MPs Greg Smith (Buckingham) & Layla Moran (Oxford West & Abingdon) and other NEG representatives.

Many will remember a feisty presentation from ‘Eco-Bella’ to the 2,000 or so visitors to our Classic Car Show last September, encouraging us all to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
See further information on the event and some of the media coverage achieved on these links:




A number of sources have recently suggested that the building of the Expressway will indeed be scrapped and a formal announcement will be made in the Chancellor’s Budget Speech on Wednesday 11th March. However, the NEG will not relax its campaigning efforts until formal assurances are received that the project will not go ahead and will continue to challenge the government on the detail of any plans for further housing development in our local area.



Messy Church - 8th March


Chearsley Pub Revival Day - Saturday 13th June

In recent years, a programme of ‘Historic Chearsley’ events has been organised under the aegis of the Parish Council, to reconnect our village with its proud heritage.

It is planned to hold ‘The Chearsley Pub Revival Day’ on Saturday 13th June 2020

Today just one public house (‘The Bell’) does a wonderful job in serving our local community and providing a valuable social hub.

Historical records show that as many as five other houses in village have sold beer and refreshments to local residents at various times during the last three or four hundred years (‘The Boot’ ‘The Old Plough’ ‘The Pig & Whistle’ ‘The Red Lion’ ‘The White Horse’), each with a fascinating story to tell.

The format of the day will be as follows:

12.30 – 14.00
Reception, exhibition and launch at Chearsley Village Hall

14.00 – 17.30
Walk round the houses in the village, which previously sold beer to the local community, with a presentation and refreshments provided by the current owners

18.00 – 22.30 BBQ and party at The Bell

Put the date in your diaries – more details to follow

If any residents have any photographs or other information/anecdotes relating to ‘pub life’ in the village in days gone by, please contact John Howard – 07970 651326 or jnh@dbmc.co.uk