Lost!

 

Where’s  woolly  & friends?

 

Can you help? Woolly and 23 of his colourful sheep friends have been isolating around Chearsley. Can you unite them in time for Christmas? If you spot one, write down its name next to its number. Then pop your answers in the letterbox at The Stables, School Lane, Chearsley by 23^rd December to win a small prize. Just make sure you give your name and address so that we can get the prize to you. Entry forms can be found on Chearsley blog and Facebook page and in the bus stop.

 

A star has risen ....

Many thanks to Toby, our amazing village craftsman for making our beautiful new star, and thanks to Roy, Darren and Oliver for helping to install it in the cold foggy weather.  As the next few weeks of advent lead us to Christmas, do take an evening walk down Church Lane to see the star and think of the Magi, who followed the star to Bethlehem, to find a little baby, born to save the world.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold,  wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

Food and Toy Bank Donations Please

 

Village News 24/11/20

o Crendon Surgery Update
o A message from Peter Martin
o Commentary on the introduction of CCTV in Long Crendon by their PC

Crendon Surgery Update

Many of you will have seen the leaflet on the good news re the Crendon Surgery's future but here it is in soft copy form here

A message from Peter Martin

Dear Friends,

 

Peter Martin has asked us to pass on his heartfelt thanks to all of you who sent kind and supportive messages to him in the days following the passing of his beloved wife, Alva - a powerful reminder of the wonderful community they’ve been privileged to live in during the last 40 years.

 

He was also extremely touched by seeing all of you who lined the road down to the church last Wednesday, to bid their final farewell to Alva on the day of her funeral.

 

Finally, he’d also like to say a big thank you for all the love, support and practical help which he and Alva received from the village during the last three years, which was so important in helping them through difficult times.

 

Peter will be writing a message of thanks to the village himself in the coming days.

Commentary on introduction of CCTV in Long Crendon 

There was a very interesting update on the introduction of CCTV and its benefits in the November PC meeting from the Chairman of Long Crendon, Paul Davies. The YouTube recording is here and this section starts about 34 mins in. This is a topic that your PC are looking into and researching.

Village News 23/11/20

o Eco Chearsley
o New Speed Indicator Device and Results
o Keeping on top of the Leaf Miner Moth

Eco Chearsley

The Parish Council welcomes new ideas and thoughts on how we as a village, householders and individuals can play our part to help reduce climate change. As a starting point, Bella Wall Morris , our very own eco warrior, has produced an excellent presentation with some great suggestions which is here. Following up on this, Derek Allen of the Old Bakery is putting together some further practical suggestions in the coming weeks. For example, there are a number of government grants and subsidies for heat pumps and house insulation that are currently available. Any suggestions and comments please email chearsleypc@chearsley.com

New Speed Indicator Device and Results

You may have seen the new SID (Speed indicator Device) the Parish Council has purchased and had installed. This is currently in place at the Aylesbury Road entry from Cuddington, As well as giving a dynamic speed display to drivers, this device also records speeds and we download this data, produce reports and pass onto the police.

The latest speed report is published here. The average speed at the initial measurement point entering the village (measured approximately at the public footpath, well inside the gates and the 30mph limit) is currently 39mph which is still high. The device also measures speed at the device itself to give  a measure of slow down. After being up for several weeks, the most recent average speed going past the device is down to 31 mph which is very good and a great help to maintaining safety in the village. This slowdown confirms the positive results seen by many villagers subjectively since the SID was put up. So thank you to all who have set a good example to other through traffic !

We will be moving the SID to other locations in the village in the coming weeks.

Keeping on top of the Leaf Miner Moth

A group of your hard working Parish Councillors and Officers cleared up the horse chestnut leaves at the junction last weekend. The purpose was to help drive infestation down of the leaf miner moth for next year. The leaves were removed to the allotment for disposal courtesy of Alan Bennett.

Disposing of fallen horse chestnut leaves in Autumn and putting up pheromone traps in Spring (available on the web) helps control the infestation of these moths that damage horse chestnut trees and the leaves, turning them prematurely brown.

In Memoriam- Alva Martin (née Millers)

 In Memoriam- Alva Martin (née Millers)  

March 1932 – November 2020

We are deeply saddened to report the recent passing of Alva Martin, a long time resident and teacher in Chearsley, on November 3rd.

Alva was born in Cuddington where she grew up on Holymans Farm with five siblings. She had a great love of the countryside, the wild birds, and animals. Alva was very fond of her nephews and nieces, taking them for long walks through the fields. They found her great fun, and this led onto teacher training.

Alva taught at a nursery in Aylesbury before taking a teaching job at Chearsley Village School, which she loved, and remained there until she retired. She was very popular with the children and parents alike, and eventually taught some of the children of her early pupils. Great at craft work and making costumes with the children, Chearsley Village School was a happy place. Alva is fondly remembered by many former pupils for bringing fun and imagination to their learning experiences.

Peter Martin came to the school as headteacher in 1959. A photo of the school children, together with Peter and Alva, in that same year is shown below. Peter and Alva had similar views on teaching, enjoying outdoor activities, not just sitting behind desks, and having fun with the children while they learnt. Alva and Peter married in 1965 and made their home in Chearsley in 1979. They remained in Bernards Close, Chearsley until Alva needed nursing care two years ago, and they both retired to Hulcott Nursing Home.

The beautiful portrait of Alva shown above was created by Peter in 1960.

As many in our community will testify, despite many health difficulties in recent years, Alva never lost her wit and sparkle and our sincere condolences go to Peter and all of the family at this very sad time.

The ‘Service of Thanksgiving’ for Alva’s life will take place next Wednesday (18th November) but, in the line with current restrictions, it will be a private occasion and just include a small number in the congregation, comprising family members and a few close friends.

The service will commence at St Nicholas Church at 2pm on the 18th. However, at around 1.30, the hearse bearing her coffin will make its way to the service and, within the guidelines for ‘social distancing’, you are very welcome to bid farewell to Alva on her final journey through the village.

Chearsley Village School 1959

Alva Martin (1932-2020)

Remembrance Sunday Service

In line with current government and Church of England guidelines, a shortened Remembrance Sunday service took place at Chearsley War Memorial this year. It was, nevertheless, a memorable service which did full justice to both the poignancy and strength of community feeling within our village.

 A number of villagers chose to view the service from a distance but many paid their individual respects to our fallen heroes, either in their own homes or on their doorsteps.

A big thank you to all those contributed to such a memorable and worthy occasion, including:

• Our Lay Minister, John Scholefield
• Air Marshall Susan Gray, representing the serving members of the armed forces, who laid a wreath.
• Both Parish Council Chairman, Nic Brown and, pupils of Cuddington & Dinton Church of England School,  Kit Chantrey and Sam Gibson, who also laid wreaths of honour
• Our bugler, James Sansome, who delivered a superb rendition of The Last Post and The Reveille
• Anne and Jeremy Pratt for arranging the bell ringing.

Bucks Council Covid Update

 For those of you who have not received this directly

This update has been received by the Parish Council from Buckinghamshire Council.    

Other information is available on the Bucks Council Website

Support hub services for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) residents​

We have almost 20,000 Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) residents in Buckinghamshire. All CEV residents will be receiving a letter from Government in the next couple of days explaining the extra steps that they should take to protect themselves, with the main message being stay at home as much as possible. As with the lockdown back in March, the Council is mobilising and redeploying some staff to provide essential support for residents, including:

• The support hub service will support those who are clinically extremely vulnerable with access to food and essential goods. The service will start to contact residents from Monday. There is a list of key contact details to be shared with anyone who may need support, in the table below.
• CEV residents can request priority supermarket delivery slots and request support from the Council via gov.uk
• All residents can find support on our online directory directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk by entering their postcode
• Vulnerable adult social care clients are being contacted regularly throughout the lockdown period

Contact details for residents who need support

Customer Service Centre - 01296 395000 (Monday – Thursday 9-5.30pm and Friday 9-5pm)

Online contact form to request support directly with the support hub - www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/contact-us/

Bucks Online Directory   directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/       (Enter a postcode to see ALL local community support organisations.  If a group or organisation is missing from the directory, please email the support hub team) 

Safeguarding adults team  01296 383204 or 0800 137915  (Emergency Out of Hours - 0800 999 7677)

Safeguarding children team  0845 460 0001  (Emergency Out of Hours - 0800 999 7677)

Local Emergency Support  01296 382414  (Emergency Out of Hours - 0800 999 7677)

Head of Support Hub Service, Emma Denley, is happy to attend meetings to give more information on the service, contact her at Emma.Denley@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk to enquire.  If anyone in Chearsley would like this, please contact the Parish Council first.

Impact on our services

We will provide further service information as soon as it is available and will be updating you – and our website - with service changes as they are announced. More detail will be available on our website, but the top line on key services is as follows:

• Leisure centres in Buckinghamshire will be closed. Country parks remain open with some restrictions in place. Parks and playgrounds will also remain open; however other facilities including outdoor gyms, sports courts, and museums will be closed.
• Household Recycling Centres will remain open and operate as usual.
• Crematoria are operating, with funerals of no more than 30 people in attendance. Registry offices are not conducting any wedding ceremonies, but births can still be registered.
• Libraries will be closed. All current loans will be extended until we are open again and no fines will be charged. However, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham and High Wycombe libraries will re-open on Tuesday 10 November. Opening hours and access arrangements at these five libraries can be viewed on the library pages on the council website.
• Family centres will continue to offer support, advice and guidance on an appointment-only basis. This may be by telephone or online. Appointment-only health clinics will continue to run from the family centres. If anyone needs urgent support and has a family worker, they should call them directly. If any family needs help or advice and they don’t currently have a family worker, they can contact the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service on 01296 383 293, or make an online request for support.

Support for businesses and employees

We have had confirmation from the Chancellor that the national furlough scheme will be extended to March. In addition, anyone on a low income who can’t work from home and who has been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate may qualify for a £500 Support Payment. Details of the Test and Trace Support Payment, including eligibility criteria and how to apply are available on the council website. The government has also announced further financial support for eligible businesses and we will be making payments soon, once we have the full details about the eligibility criteria. We will outline the criteria and how to apply for this support as soon as possible.

Testing for coronavirus in Buckinghamshire

It’s essential that everyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus, no matter how mild, books a coronavirus test. Everyone in the household should self-isolate until the result is received. There a several ways to get tested, including now two walk-through testing sites at High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire New University, Queen Alexandra Road) and Aylesbury (the Gateway office car park, Gatehouse Road). There is some misunderstanding around testing at the moment, but the most up-to-date information about testing is as follows:

• Everyone is eligible to get a test if they have symptoms however mild
• Children can, and should, get tested
• There is capacity for testing, with up to half a million tests being done every day
• Test sites are open 7 days a week
• You can (and should) leave home to get a test even during lockdown

Visiting loved ones in care homes

The Government has now published its advice on this and I’m sure it will be a comfort to many families that care homes are able to provide safe visits during this lockdown period. This gives our local care homes the go-ahead to permit visits in a safe way but please make sure you liaise directly with the care home you will be visiting to check what arrangements they have in place first; each care home will need to undertake a risk assessment and determine if it is able to accommodate safe visits.  It might therefore take a little while for the necessary measures to be put in place at some settings to allow safe visits to go ahead.

Support continues for domestic abuse under COVID restrictions

Someone living with an abusive person during the new national restrictions, may find it more difficult to protect themselves. If you've seen or heard something relating to a neighbour, family member or friend, please report your concerns – someone’s life may depend on it. It’s really important to let people know that advice and support continues to be available despite the challenging times. If you, or someone you know, are suffering from domestic abuse please get help by reporting to Thames Valley Police or call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 or visit https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/. Further information about November’s White Ribbon campaign about domestic abuse can be found at: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/.

Mental health resources in Buckinghamshire 

There will be people everywhere who are feeling the strain of the current situation, but no one should suffer in silence. There is an extensive list of websites, apps, and phone lines below which can offer support to anyone – young or old – during this difficult time.
  
Telephone help lines: 

• The local NHS has launched support telephone lines for adults, and children and young people earlier this year. This service is available 24/7, and aims to take the pressure off the 111 service. There are 2 dedicated lines: 
• Adults: 01865 904 997 
• Children and young people: 01865 904 998  
• Silver Line is a helpline for older residents: 0800 470 8090 
• Samaritans – Freephone 116 123 – open 24 hours 
• Saneline – 0300 304 7000 – 4.30 pm to 10.30 pm daily 
• Rethink – 0845 456 0455 – 10 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday 
• FRANK – 0800 77 6600 – open 24 hours 
• No Panic – 0844 967 4848 – 10 am to 10 pm 
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Buckinghamshire 01865 901 951 

Apps, web, or text services  

• Healthy Minds is the self-referral site for NHS mental health support in Buckinghamshire 
• Young Minds – a service for young people, with dedicated coronavirus pages  
• Stay Alive is a suicide Prevention mobile phone app, search ‘stay alive’ on your app store 
• Mind UK, a national mental health charity, has resources online 
• Elefriends safe online space to listen, share and be heard 
• The Mental Health Foundation offers some useful tips on how to look after your mental health 
• Shout is a 24/7 crisis text line. Text SHOUT to 85258 
• Prevention Matters can support people to stay independent and help to support residents with telephone contact; they will also know where to refer to if more intense support is needed. 

Lest We Forget

 For those of you who couldn't be there.

Lest We Forget

 

A Restricted Remembrance Sunday Service on 8th Nov at 11am

Please note that only invited representatives of Chearsley Parish Council, veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces and their families residing in Chearsley, may attend the ceremony at the memorial, and must submit their contact details as requested. The Royal British Legion has asked that people observe the two-minute silence from the safety of outside their own homes. If you choose to visit The Green or any other public space, keep each other safe by respecting the 2 metre social distance rule, and do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19, are isolating, or in quarantine.

Chearsley Good Neighbours.

Please be assured that help and support are available if you would like it. Please email, giving a few days notice if possible, to assistance@chearsley.com or telephone and leave a message on my home number 201134. Volunteers are willing and able to help out with prescription collection and shopping if needed during the lockdown as well as a friendly chat. 

Best wishes to you all

Susan Olding

Orchard Close

A Thank You for The Village Collection for Phil, Steve and Maria