Chocs the way...

On Christmas Eve, vicar John told the Nativity story using chocolate bars. It went something like this...

It all began with a girl called Mary who heard a WISPA, from an angel. ........ Joseph tried to find lodgings, but CLUB after CLUB turned them away. “No room”, they all said. ........That night, some shepherds, heard TUNES in the sky.

Angels or MINSTRELS, joined in. The shepherds decided to “take a break” (KIT- KAT) from looking after the sheep and said to one another, “let's take some TIME-OUT and go and see what's happening in Bethlehem”.

..........Meanwhile in a far country, there were some Wise men – many people called them SMARTIES - who were busily scanning the GALAXY and observing the PLANETS, when they saw a new light in the MILKY WAY. Could it be MARS? No, it was a special STAR (BAR) - signalling the birth of a King. .....

......... Jesus was born so that ALLSORTS of people might come know God's love for them. Like the shepherds and the Wise men, many people are looking for meaning and purpose - some kind of BOOST in life - a REFRESHER in difficult times.

But the Jesus of the Nativity is no MINATURE HERO and if He is who He said He was, and not just some MAVERICK looking for some SPORT, then the Christmas Story really is a cause for CELEBRATION’S!

(Thanks to Sharon Sampson for pictures and story.)

Met Office: Weather update...

Some slight but significant changes in the snow areas for the coming 24-36 hours.

Our latest computer model run now takes the area of heaviest snow a little further north and east so that more of Oxfordshire, Berkshire (and unitaries) and Buckinghamshire come into the are at risk of seeing 15-20cm with locally 30-40cm. Almost all of Hampshire - especially the north - comes into this area now and possibly parts of West Sussex. Slightly higher amounts than earlier expected might also reach into the east of East Sussex. (10-15cm locally 20cm). I hope to send out a revised map before 1700. Timings are much as the emergency flash with the heaviest snow expected between 2000 tonight and 1100 tomorrow morning.

One other issue for the the coastal counties is that some of the precipitation could fall as rain near the coast, falling on to frozen surfaces and forming widespread ice which may then get some snow on it later in the night or on Wednesday morning.

Issued at 16:06

Christmas Debt Hangover?

If so, Citizens Advice may ease the pain.

There's now a code of conduct agreed by all credit card companies. If you've got problems paying back money and you seek advice from an independent debt advice agency such as a Citizens Advice Bureau, they will hold off collecting the debt for 30 days. They'll accept a further 30-day period if a repayment plan has not yet been agreed, but you're still taking advice from the agency and a repayment plan is expected to be agreed.

They will also give customers at least 30 days' notice of any increase in interest rates and allow customers who then cancel their cards a reasonable period to repay the balance that they owe.

Finally, they will not raise their main interest rate for 12 months after you have signed up for a card. After that, they will raise rates only once in every six months.

If they fail to keep to the code you should complain to the company involved. If they can’t or won’t address the problem you should seek advice. For more information about tackling debt problems, contact Thame and District CAB on 01844 217186 or e mail thamecab@cabnet.org.uk.

Weather Warning

Heavy snowfall is expected across parts of central and southern England and south-east Wales late Tuesday and on Wednesday. Accumulations of 5 to 10 cm are expected widely, with locally 10 to 15cm in central parts where there is a moderate risk of over 25cm. This is expected to cause disruption to transport networks and could lead to problems with power supplies. Outdoor events and activities could also be affected by the snow.

This early warning is expected to be superseded by Flash messages.

National Severe Weather Warning - issued by the Met Office at 05:51 on Tuesday, 05th January 2010

Chearsley at Play

Christmas Eve at The Bell









New Years Eve at The Plough and Anchor

(Photo's courtesy of John Fowler.)

Keep it green - recycle your real Christmas tree

Aylesbury Vale District Council is calling on all householders with a real Christmas tree to use its tree recycling service on 9 January 2010.

A tree shredding machine will be available at the Wyevale Garden Centre at Worlds End, Wendover, from 9am until 2.30pm. The wood chippings collected will be recycled and made into compost.

Anyone taking in their tree to the garden centre can, if they provide their own bag, take some of the chippings to use as mulch.

Real Christmas trees can also be taken to the household waste recycling centres at Rabans Lane in Aylesbury, Yonder Slade in Buckingham and College Road North in Aston Clinton (see www.buckscc.gov.uk for details). They are open every day except 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

New News for the New Year!

Chearsley Shop will start putting out a monthly newsletter from this January and, to make it as interesting as possible and encourage the community spirit, they would like to include news and articles from as many sources as possible.

The deadline for each issue will be the 20th of the preceding month, with copies expected to go out around the 1st of the month. There will be no cost for village events and announcements, with a small fee for commercial advertising and notices.

Further information from and submissions to Janine (Jay) Rees at the shop:
Telephone: 208486
Email: celt3@sky.com