Thanks to everyone who moved their cars when Cherwell district council swept the streets of the village on Tuesday. A road crew accompanied the lorry to get leaves blown off the pavement and the work was completed in four hours with the lorry removing to full loads of mainly leaves.
Saturday 2nd November can be remembered on two accounts. England unfortunately NOT winning the rugby world cup and Stratton Audley Fayre being a very happy occasion – by contrast.
There was a great mix of excellent quality local stalls and, after shopping, what better way to revive oneself than with a cup of coffee and a slice of delicious cake! Thank you to everyone who made the fantastic cakes!
This week has seen raffle prizes delivered, and believe it or not a couple of enquiries from potential stall holders wanting to have a stall for next year!!
Needless to say lots of great big thank you’s; to Becky and the great team of ladies who worked tirelessly serving the teas and cakes and the men who helped the stall holders carry their goods to and from their cars. Also a big thank you to Stephanie and Yvonne who ably helped man the tombola stall (always a great draw!) which – like the raffle – had some fantastic donations from villagers. A total of just over £1000 was made which was great.
Shall we do it again next year? Maybe we could think about it in 2020?
The top raffle prize winners (of 22) are shown below.
Ticket No. Prize Winner
89 Bottle of Glenrothes Whiskey Penny House
393 Nyetimber English sparkling wine Yvonne Mullins
843 Nicolas Feuillate Champagne Dorothy Howarth
590 DKNY Tote bag Anne Flack
223 Gibson Organic Liqueur Alison Bromley
After concerns raised by a number of people, the Parish Council took the decision some months ago to seek approval for white lines to be drawn on the corners of the road at each end of Church Street. The road markings have now been painted and there will be no further need to place traffic cones in the road, which some motorists have found difficult to navigate.
They are intended as a deterrent to those who may wish to park their vehicle on the corners of the road and who are not aware that they may obstruct other users in the process. They are less obtrusive but hopefully still as effective as the cones.
This is not the beginning of lines elsewhere in the village!
The rain held off and those attending enjoyed a glass of bubbly followed by ice cream for all.
During a brief address, Chairman of the Parish Council John Honsinger thanked everyone for attending and particularly Stewart Hopkins, whose idea it had been to clear this disused piece of land exactly one year ago. Thanks to a grant, what had been thought to be a long-term project has become a reality and the village now has a delightful, safe green outdoor ‘Pocket Park’ located in an historic part of the community.
County & District Councillor Ian Corkin helped long-time resident Alison Howson unveil the new information board featuring a castle drawing by her late husband and plant the fruit trees, ably assisted by local children Amia & Zachary . A number of new benches and a picnic table have been installed, over 1000 daffodil bulbs planted and part of the area sown to create a wild flower meadow by the spring. The addition of the stocks which were a historic feature of the Pound is still a work-in-progress.
Specific thanks went to all the volunteers and contributors who had helped, including Stewart Hopkins, Paul Roberts, Alex Smith, Ian Brent-Smith, Jon Hill, Mike Hedgecox, Henri Pappenfus, Simon Goss, Rob & Pam Spencelayh, John Edwards, Jo Stalder, Dikon Leigh-Wood, Becky Adams and Dorothy Howarth.
Residents were invited to leave their comments and all were positive and very complimentary about the new village asset.
Another great occasion. Around 80 guests were treated to a bubbly start, had an excellent meal (with lots of booze), and concluded – as always – with enthusiastic singing and flag-waving. A representative from each table was startled to be summoned forward, don a chef’s hat, and then carve an excellent roast for their party. The wonderful ice-cream cake with mango coulis was a huge success with many people seeking the recipe.
There so many people to thank but foremost are Jackie and Tony Fox and Roger Cross who, between them, sourced lots of new party decorations and drinking and other paraphenalia, together with a new screen and new recording/projection equipment – and then sorted out the Church itself before the event. Also Anthony Flack who organised the publicity, arranged the drinks, organised the auction for Alice’s charity in South Sudan and who, with Pippa, hosted the bubbly in the grounds, under the setting sun. Jackie and Dorothy perused many recipe books and then created a menu (ably assisted by Annie) which was enjoyed by all the guests. But there are so many more who helped to get the food to the tables efficiently, cleared away the dishes, washed up and generally helped to get the Church in order that evening and the following morning – and supplied raffle prizes.
The main purpose of the evening was to have a good time – and that was achieved – but the bonus was that £1620 profit was made which will help to keep the Church viable for use as a place of worship and in its capacity as the social heart of the village.
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED TO ACHIEVE THIS.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed the junction sign is back and in situ in Church Street. One of the fingers of the sign was broken sometime ago by an HGV picking up rubble from the Mallories. Mick Long very kindly agreed to cover the cost of repairing the sign and can be seen here putting it back in its rightful position.
Thanks Mick and by the way, the general feed-back on the cottages is that they look really good, so well done to you and your builders.
In the process of carrying out the works in the Pound a number of residents expressed delight at being able to access the path at the start of the Cross Bucks Way via a kissing gate but pointed out that there was still a stile between the first and second field on the path and asked whether it would be possible to replace it, in order to allow less able people to use the path for a short circular walk.
Whilst maintenance of footpaths is not really the responsibility of the Parish Council, this was seen as an excellent idea and a discussion took place with the land owner who was happy for the stile to be replaced. The new self closing metal gate was paid for and installed by the Parish Council.
Additionally it was decided to make the same agreement with the landowner of the field behind the church in order to allow easy access to the public footpath and an alternative route to access the entrance to the back of the church yard.
The installation of these gates was carried out by Stewart Hopkins ably supported by other village volunteers in particular Paul Roberts and Adam Willmore.
Gate between first two fields on the Cross Bucks Way
New Gate at back of church yard
And now a picnic table has been added….
We have completed the dry stone walling and have received nothing but praise for the excellent craftsmanship. The area is now secure with gates added to the front and furniture is in the process of being ordered and fitted. The information panel is in production and an additional notice board has been ordered which will be specifically for displaying the public footpaths in and around the village and the village walk leaflet.
It is too dry to sow seed at this stage so this will be carried out in September. Grass seed and wild flower seed will be laid together with more daffodils and snow drops and a couple of fruit trees.
The project will be completed on time, enabling the full grants from both the ministry of Housing and Cherwell District Council to be claimed.
£4000 raised for local funds
Building on the successful Ferret Racing evening held nearly 2 years ago, the Village Fund Raising Committee decided to repeat the event making it bigger and better. The event held in the Hunt Paddock, was attended by over 300 people including some 37 children, all eager to join in the fun on what turned out to be a gloriously warm and sunny evening.
The Feisty Ferret Bar was the first port of call for many, serving beer, wine and soft drinks and a separate Gin Bar proved to be very popular. For the children there was an old fashioned sweet counter and also delicious locally made ice cream courtesy of Stratton Barn. With music and a master of ceremonies making regular announcements, everyone was kept informed of proceedings which helped move the race programme along at a steady pace.
The first of 8 sponsored races got underway at 6.30pm with 4 ferrets taking part in each race (from a pool of 16). Everyone joined in with brisk betting on the Tote. At the interval tasty hot Fish and Chips were served courtesy of Barberry’s of Bure Park and a Heads & Tails game plus a draw for the Grand Raffle took place. Between races children and adults got up close to hold these cute little animals who seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as everyone else.
The event proved highly successful in doubling the amount achieved over the previous occasion and raising just over £4,000 which will all be distributed between The Church Fund, The Village Improvement Fund and Sobell House.
Our thanks once again to all the volunteers and sponsors of each race plus the overall co-sponsors Glebe Leisure Caravan Park and Finders Keepers for their support.
Anthony Flack & John Honsinger (On behalf of the Stratton Audley-CLP -Village Fund Raising Committee)
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Enjoy a special event supper and drinks in Stratton Audley Church whilst watching live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall, on Saturday 14th September, 2019 at 7.30pm
After last year’s successful event, we are again hosting “ Last Night of the Proms” in the unique atmosphere and surrounding of St Mary & St Edburga Church, whilst enjoying a delightful 2 course meal with wine and soft drinks for just £25.00 per person (dietary options available on request). On arrival you will be given a glass of sparkling wine or a soft drink prior to dinner. Individual ticket sales are welcomed but why not book a table for 10 by inviting friends and neighbours to join your party?
This event has limited places and is already selling out quickly so you need to buy your tickets now. To make a booking for this popular fun event please called Anthony Flack directly on 01869 277 511 or email strattonaudleyclp@gmail.com
All money raised will go towards the Church Fund to improve community facilities.
Bright clothes to be worn to celebrate the end of summer!