Litchborough Church and Village Newsletter August 2020 · 31st July - Children’s Play Area Now...
Transcript of Litchborough Church and Village Newsletter August 2020 · 31st July - Children’s Play Area Now...
Any articles, information,
notices, personal messages
etc you would like in the
newsletter, please send to
me by email by the 20th of
the month to:-
telephone 830077 to have
hard copy collected
Thank You
Sandy Aked-Walker
LOTS BEGINNING TO HAPPEN
31st July - Children’s Play Area Now Open
1st August & 2nd August Table Top Sale –
Towcester Road
1st August – Village Planter Party
15th & 29th August Church Services
St Martins Church
YOUTH CLUB meet at the Playing Field
If anyone wants to get in touch for more information as to
the programme etc. Contact Sarah at [email protected] or on
07422 573625
Tuesday 18thAug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Wednesday 19thAug – 10.00am – 12noon
Friday 21st Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Monday 24th Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Thursday 27th Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Printed by David and Sandy in Litchborough
Litchborough Church and Village
Newsletter August 2020
November 2014
A READER WRITES
Well, things seemed to have eased a little since May when I last
contributed to this column. I have witnessed men shaking with anticipation
at that first pint, great excitement at going to the garden centre and
colleagues almost in tears of joy at having managed to get a hair
appointment. Whilst my wife has suggested that haircut is long overdue
for me, I felt obliged to support the licensed trade and have paid a visit or
two to my local pub!
Something else has happened that has not caused quite as much
widespread excitement is the opening of our churches. Indeed, we have
very recently been able to hold services.
Whilst these services were “services, but not as we know it”, they have
been well received and certainly I have found it an immense comfort to
enter into a place which for centuries has been a haven of peace and
safety.
As I said, the services are a bit different; no singing, social distancing and
no coffee and I was reflecting on this when I was reminded of the
difficulties faced by some individuals and groups of people around the
world in following their faith openly and safely. There are still many faiths
that are subjected to oppression and worse throughout the world. Where
even the limited acts of worship that we can now enjoy can bring about
terrible repercussions. Of course, it is not just through faith that people
are suffering; we hear constantly of people who lack the very basics by
which to live or face the ever present threat to life from war and
oppression
Before Covid-19 hit, it would have been unthinkable for us not to be able
to walk into our church, pop around the corner to see friends, meet the
locals in the pub, jetting off to foreign lands and a whole host of things
were suddenly taken away from us. Perhaps we will have learned how
valuable these are and will take more care over them in future.
I do hope that your holiday plans have come together as the children
break up for summer and I wish you all enjoyable summer with all your
family.
All the best
Reader Paul
Contact Sonia for Yoga Class information. Dance currently
cancelled until further notice but lessons are available on line
so please contact me for details
To All Litchborough Ladies As the lockdown and government guidelines are amended I hope it will not
be too long before we can get together – maybe in a garden –weather
permitting. Take care and keep safe
Jan – 01327-830877
From St Martins Church The church is open for private prayer on a Sunday between 10am and 4pm,
and at any other time by arrangement. The use of sanitisers is required as
is social distancing if there is anyone else in the church. An explanatory
note is on the door while the church is open.
Stop press - Sunday Service at St Martin’s Church The PCC have resolved to hold two church services in August, on Sundays
15th and 29th August at 9.30am. Both services will be led by Paul, on of
the Benefice readers.
The services will be of around 20 minutes in length, relaxed and relatively
informal. We will be abiding by all of the relevant guidance issued by both
Church of England and the Government. There will be details on the door
of the church on the day, please do read them. We do not require face
coverings to be worn, it is up to you! However, the guidance does strongly
advise that they are. The guidelines also suggest those categorised as
vulnerable should not attend. Again, we leave this to your discretion.
We look forward to our first services in a long time and hope that you will
come and join us if you feel safe to.
Christine Rodhouse
Dog Walking Service Dear Litchborough Neighbours
I am a volunteer dog walker for the Cinnamon Trust, a charity which
offers a free walking and fostering service to the elderly and terminally
ill. I would be happy to assist in walking your dog, taking your pets to the
vets and collecting their medication if you are ill or unable to go out during
these difficult weeks. I can sort out the details of actually handing a dog
over (2 metres or 3 paces apart etc etc) with whoever contacts me .Please
ring me on 01327 830191 if you think I can help you. ID provided.
Jan, Farthingstone Road
WE ARE NOW OPEN
Litchborough Gardening Club
Hello all, the gardening club have agreed, for the most part, to move our
2020 garden visits to 2021 as so many have had to be cancelled. We were
due to go to Waterperry Gardens on Sunday July 26th but there is little
interest at the moment given reduced facilities due to the virus. We were
due to visit the Wisley flower show on Sunday 13th September but this
event has been cancelled. Our next, and final outing, is to Westonbirt, The
National Arboretum, on Sunday 25th October which we hope can go
ahead.
Next year we will be looking to reschedule our visit to Kathy Brown’s
Garden on one of her open days in May, the the Broughton Grange NGS
open day in June and to Thenford Arboretum on Saturday 3rd July. I have
contacted Thenford to move our pre-paid tickets to that date and to
provide a refund for those that have requested one. We’ll no doubt
consider Waterperry and Wisley in our schedule for next year and
hopefully join in the events that 'Maidford in the Garden’ schedule too.
In other news, we are keen to establish the planters around the village.
Marcus Buck, our wonderful postman, built these for us. Chris Watts is
leading the charge on this and would be grateful for plant donations. If
you have any plants that you would like to donate, please contact Chris via
email, [email protected]. We are meeting by the post box at 10:00am on
Saturday August 1st to plant, all helpers very welcome.
Teresa is also organising a table top sale for 1st and 2nd August, the
proceeds for which will be shared with village groups such as the gardening
club, Church and Play Area.
If you’re short of jobs to do in the garden here is the RHS guidance for
August https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/august.
Keep gardening! Sue (01327 831545, [email protected]) and
Teresa (07962 925709, [email protected])
*********
Village Lottery
A run of low teen bonus ball numbers by the National Lottery,13,12,13
meant that Melvina Rogers is a winner again. Sarah Skinner is our next
winner drawn on the 18th.Each receives a £25 cheque.
As always if you would like to join the village lottery contact Ian Lowery on
01327 830823 to purchase your number - only £1 per week.
Village Planters Hi Everyone - As some of the residents of Litchborough may know, a small
group of us in the village have been in the process of adding some new
planters to our village entrances to help add a bit of seasonal colour. Now
that the lockdown is nearly over I arrange d a weekend where we could
organised a few hours on Saturday 27th July to continue installing the
village planters. Once in place we are looking for plant donations from
residents to include within the planters. If anyone is able to spare a few
hours or have any plants in their gardens they would be willing to donate
please let us know on the village facebook page, or drop off any plant
donations to 4 Farthingstone Road. You can also email me on
********
Your Village Defibrillator – Need it and you are on your own –
help is at hand Several people have kindly offered their phone numbers to be contacted
to go and get the defib and bring it to you. Sonia -07929-963976 or Anna
07940379650. Sandy and David 01327-830077/07759-326675 are sorry
but are still Shielding and can only help if no-one else can. -Thank you to
the volunteers.
We deliver daily newspapers and
magazines to the village.
Any combination of days per week catered for.
Ring us on 01295 268499
or e-mail
Litchborough Website - litchborough.org.uk
Our new village website went live in December 2018. The site provides
information on village groups and events such as the Walking Group dates,
Gardening Club outings, Youth Club evenings, Village Hall social gatherings,
Children’s Play Group/Area events, yoga and dance classes, Parish Council
meeting agendas and minutes, a section for latest news and much more.
The site is for people who live in the village but is also for those wishing to
visit, so has a section on village history, local services and points of
interest. If you haven’t had a look at the site, please do. We’d love to hear
your thoughts and any ideas for improvement, additional information, etc.
Please send any thoughts you have to Sue Brunning
([email protected]) who keeps the site up to date.
Badby & Farthingstone Cricket Club News Play at Last The season finally got underway for Badby and Farthingstone CC on
Sunday July 12 with restrictions for recreational cricket having been
lifted.The club enjoyed a thrilling and competitive inter-club match which
was decided on the final ball of the final over, Mick Coulson hitting the
winning runs. The following Thursday saw another gripping T20 game, the
home team playing Harry’s Heroes a team largely composed of Badby
players and friends. The home side made a competitive 133 off their
allotted overs, which looked to be enough to win them the game until a
late, brutal onslaught saw Harry’s team home with an over spare – an
exciting contest played in great spirit and sportsmanship.
Sunday saw a return to more serious cricket with a visit to Stoke Bruerne
and a match against Spencer Bruerne. On a beautiful, sunny afternoon the
home side were reduced to 113 in their allotted 30 overs thanks to some
fine bowling and fielding from the visitors, including a fine debut from
Ollie Webb.
A solid opening partnership by Andy Nightingale and Chris Pratska gave
B&F grounds for optimism, realised by the later batsmen who saw the team
home by five wickets with over five overs to spare. That makes it three
trips to Stoke Bruerne now and three victories. A happy hunting ground
indeed. Thanks to our hosts for their hospitality.
Upcoming matches are against Abington and Braunston with the club also
trying to re-arrange matches previously cancelled by Covid 19.
Club news and fixtures are on the new noticeboard at the Badby ground as
well as on the club’s Facebook page.
Whittlebury Bakery Bread Delivery to the Village.
The bakery orders are still proving very popular so I’m happy to carry on
ordering for villagers for the foreseeable. The bread is delicious and it’s
so nice to be able to support a local, independent business.
There have been a few yummy additions to the list, please see below:
Prices: Large loaf (white, brown or multiseed) £1.85
Small loaf (white brown or multiseed) £1.40
Sourdough large £2.50
Sourdough small £2.00
Rolls (pack of 8.) white £1.80
Rolls (pack of 8.) brown or granary £2.00
Baguette £1.10
Large Sausage roll £1.50
Jam doughnut 90p
Apple turnover £1.05
The bread will be delivered keeping social distance to your doorstep
by Village volunteers who will knock on your door to let you know. We have
two deliveries per week- on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please text or email me
your order (and payment- I’ll email you my bank details) by 2pm on
Mondays for Tuesday delivery and 2pm on Thursdays for Friday delivery.
Any questions, please get in touch.
Val Mahoney - 07815 059826
War Memorial Flowers
100th anniversary of the War Memorial, it was in 1920 that Litchborough
WI began the tradition of placing fresh cut flower's there weekly
between Easter and Remembrance Sunday. How wonderful that we are
carrying on the tradition. Thank You
1stAugust -Vanessa Lowery, 8thAugust- Anna Prior,15th August-Sandy A-W
22nd August- Val Hartley, 29th August- Lucy Cavell-Northam
************
To All Dog Owners Please don’t forget to use the bins We still seem to have a problem on the footpath leading from the playing
field where there is a bin!
**********
Friday Afternoon Community Cuppa
Hi All and here we, are, still drinking cups of tea (and other beverages) but
not yet able to meet as a gang in our lovely Village Hall.
No fun drinking tea with a mask on!
So let's carry on carrying on, keeping everybody safe and meeting up in our
gardens ... how lucky we are to be able to do that.
In my cupboard is a packet of chocolate chip bikkies ... originally meant for
our cuppa afternoon. The date on them says to eat right now. My gate is
open ... please somebody rescue me from the fate of the chocolate chips ...
The very best of wishes –Carol x -830517- 07923985637
**********
We hoped the small number of children in the village who
are spoiling life for others would have taken the hint after the article in
last months’ newsletter – but sadly not. In fact some behaviour has got
even worse judging by the reports of incidents increasing. Ringing
doorbells,late in the evening, kicking peoples front door, riding bikes,
scateboards and scooters in the middle of the road ignoring cars behind
them and coming towards them and sticking fingers up when asked to get
out the middle of the road. This is dangerous, stupid, and rude.
To say nothing of those in the fenced off play area who left all their
rubbish including pizza boxes and a broken bottle for others to pick up.
We hope these children will take the hint before they end up being named
and shamed or upset residents look at a more formal line of action. We are
sure their parents do not know how they are behaving and would be
embarrassed by it.
SOFEA Food Boxes - delivery These will be coming to an end at the end of August under the present
arrangements. Please contact Gareth Lugar- Mawson (830219) for details
if you wish to continue to receive them.
Welcome to Litchborough with the right names! My apologies to the new arrivals of Bev and Graeme Wales to Northampton
Road. I managed to get Bev’s name wrong and spelt Graeme wrong as well
last month. At least I have also managed to apologise in person.
Playing Field and Children’s Play Area
It is very disappointing when a lot of hard work is going on to get the Play
Area open again when there are those who pull down the signs we are
legally required to put up and remove the tape sectioning off the play
equipment. Should we even try?
Well the thoughtlessness of the minority will not spoil things for the
majority.
The new play surface and other requirements under Government
Guidelines, Health & Safety, Insurance Company, Play Association and local
Council requirements should all be in place by Friday 31st July The notices
on the gates are the Government Requirements for the Play Area to be
open so please do NOT remove them These notices also state the actions
required by ALL the users of the Play Area. These are:-
1. This play area is unsupervised
2. Please observe social distancing
3. You use the area at your own risk
4. You are responsible for sanitising equipment before and after use
5. Removing ALL your own rubbish
David Aked-Walker
Chairman Village Hall Management Committee ***********
FREE RANGE EGGS As we have many more eggs than we need, we would like to make them
available to the lovely people in the village. We kindly suggest a donation of
£2,00 per dozen, which will go back to the upkeep and welfare of the hens
The honesty box is located at 36 Banbury Road
We really hope you enjoy the eggs as much as we do.
*******
Table Top Sale – Towcester Road On Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August (weather permitting) household
items, bric ‘n’ brac, books, toys, clothes and plants. All proceeds to
Litchborough Village –Church, Play Area, Garden Club etc. Please feel free
to join in and come along and bring things to sell – Teresa Cox
********
The Old Red Lion WE ARE OPEN
Our usual opening hours
We hope you will come and enjoy being in our spacious garden but if
the weather is unkind to us, inside we have made changes to allow
social distancing – but sorry no skittles and NO FOOD
Any Special Events will be on the Notice Board outside
*********
SPONSORED RIDE AND STRIDE – SATURDAY 12TH
SEPTEMBER 2020 The Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Ride and
Stride is going ahead on 12th September and St Martin’s Church is once
again taking part between 10am and 6pm. This year, because of Covid 19
restrictions, the church will not be open but a register will be available to
sign in the porch.
Individuals and groups of friends plan their own route where and when
they please during the day, walking, cycling, horse riding etc visiting
whichever churches they choose. Sponsor money collected is split 50: 50
between the NHCT and the church chosen by the participant.
Money raised for St Martin’s will be used by the Fabric Trust on the
church building. If you would like to take part but do not like asking for
sponsorship then sponsor yourself! The Ride and Stride will be conducted
taking account Covid 19 regulations which apply on the date. For more
information and details of how to obtain sponsor forms and a list of
churches taking part, please contact Val Hartley, Bay Tree, 12 Towcester
Road. (01327 831162) [email protected] Information is also
available on the NHCT website, www.nhct.org.uk
The latest Parish Council meeting was held on Tuesday 14th
July, it was a Zoom call which followed the latest fashion by opening to a
chorus of “we can see you…can you hear me?” The Council discussed:
a Hedgehog Highway initiative aimed at facilitating the animal’s
nightly foraging routes – you can find out more about this initiative
elsewhere in this Newsletter.
the appointment of a new clerk to the Council, this search had been
delayed due to ‘lock down’ but is now starting up again, it is a part-
time, paid position, please see the advert in this newsletter, if you
are interested please contact John Robinson the acting clerk.
checking the state of the Footpaths and Rights of Way which has
started up again after lockdown – so far most paths are OK
although an unstable stile tread board has been replaced and there
are a couple of instances of paths being obstructed by crops.
re-starting Youth Club activities is under discussion
undertaking a review of its assets and corresponding insurance
cover
the lack of consultation from Gigaclear over the siting of the new
broadband cabinet and to alert the local government association
that the expected consultation did not take place in Litchborough
the maintenance and refurbishment of the Children’s Play Area
some grouting is needed on the War Memorial
the accounts, the forecast, recent planning applications and
invoices due for payment
The Agenda and Minutes of this meeting are posted on the Parish Website
and on the Notice Board. The next meeting is to be held on Tuesday 8th
September 7:00pm, all are welcome to attend. ***********
Air Ambulance Fund Raiser
From the car park of The Old Red Lion With the cancellation of the Annual 24 hour Skittle marathon it became a
12 hour marathon run round the village. Many took part at different paces
and number of round trips but all in all a very successful event along with a
huge Raffle we now await the total figure raised which is at least over
£4000. Congratulaions to one and all.
Helping our Hedgehogs
We are very lucky in Litchborough to have resident hedgehogs, some of
you may have heard that familiar snuffling sound at night as they forage
for food. I am fascinated by these creatures and like many I am keen to
help them all I can. Here are some tips on how to help our prickly
friends...
Avoid using slug pellets or other poisons in the garden
Take care to check before lighting a bonfire or forking over a
compost heap
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant - do not feed milk. Bread is low
in energy so fairly worthless to them as a food source
Provide a shallow dish of water
Feed meat-based wet chicken cat or dog food (try and avoid fish
varieties)
Hedgehogs are nocturnal and only come out at night. Generally, any
hedgehog out during the day is probably poorly and in need of help. Pick
them up using gardening gloves, put them in a cardboard box and
contact http://www.helpwildlife.co.uk we are lucky to have a hedgehog
rescue person in Bugbrook and happy to share her number if needed.
There is the possibility that during the summer months the female
hedgehogs may appear in the afternoon to forage, if you are unsure
contact 01844 292292.
I have been lucky to work with the rescue lady in Bugbrook and provide a
release site for rescued hedgehogs, so hopefully our numbers in
Litchborough will continue to grow.
Hedgehog require a large area in which to forage during the night and one
of the reasons for this decline is that their foraging routes are being
blocked more and more by fences and other objects blocking holes that
they could go through for their hunting.
One of the ways we can try to stop this decline is by the creation of
'hedgehog highways' where holes are deliberately left in places so that
they have access to wider ranges for foraging. To help with this we can put
up signs by such holes asking that they do not get blocked.
A 13cm x 13cm is sufficient for any hedgehog to pass through. To find out
more visit: https:https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-
your-garden/
It would be wonderful if Litchborough could declare itself a 'Hedgehog
Highway' and for everyone to install a 'Hedgehog Highway' sign - installing
the signs help prevent the hole from being accidentally blocked in the
future. The Hedgehog preservation society are able to offer the signs at
a reduced price of £2 each if we purchase 50+ signs. Towcester Wildlife
Group are in full support of the project and Jenny Lunn from the group
has kindly offered to donate 20 signs to the Village.
Link your garden with a hedgehog highway
Hedgehogs travel between one and two kilometres a night, so linking your
garden to its neighbours is the most important.
If you would be interested in purchasing the signs please could you email
me at: [email protected]
Teresa Cox
************
LITCHBOROUGH PARISH COUNCIL
Litchborough Parish CounciI has a vacancy for a
parish clerk
(responsible finance officer.)
Applications are invited from suitably qualified and
experienced persons, The post of Clerk involves working from home plus some evening work and occasional attendance at civic functions. Good communication skills plus ability to use
Microsoft Word and Excel are required. Friendly and positive outlooks are essential.
The post is paid and the expected requirement is 16 hours a month.
Travel is paid plus a small allowance for working from home. The successful applicant would be expected to have, CiLCA
{Certificate in Local Council Administration). The closing date for applications is 4th September 2020.
If you are interested in the position please contact the Acting Clerk for an Application Form at [email protected]
or contact one of the current Parish Councillors.