Month: December 2020

 There will be no newsletter next weekend so on behalf of the Parish Council, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas albeit one with a difference.

COVID cases in Oxfordshire
Last week saw a total of 568 confirmed cases in Oxfordshire, which is equivalent to a weekly rate of 82 per 100,000 residents. Whilst the weekly rate in the County remains lower than the South-East average, there has been a substantial increase in cases among the over 60s.

The good news is that Oxfordshire remains in tier 2 when others near us like Buckinghamshire have been placed into tier 3. But the bad news is that rates are continuing to rise in our county over the last few days, and were this trend to continue over the Christmas period, then come January we may find ourselves in tier 3 or perhaps more likely part of another national lockdown.

For full details on the rules and regulations visit:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know#high-alert

Covid-19 Vaccination Centre to be sited at Bicester Heritage

An agreement has been reached for the Bicester Covid-19 Vaccination Centre to operate from premises at Bicester Heritage. Patients from all three of Bicester’s GP practices (Alchester Medical Group, Bicester Health Centre and Montgomery House Surgery) will be invited to receive their vaccinations at this location and these will be carried out by nurses and clinicians from the Bicester practices.

The NHS has set up a system to invite people who are at greatest risk from Covid-19 to attend for a vaccination first. Patients in our area are asked to wait until they are contacted and they will then be required to attend the Vaccination Centre twice.

The Vaccination Centre is located in a specially adapted building within Bicester Heritage which has the capacity for many people to be vaccinated at the same time and is well suited to meeting the various demands of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Immunisation at this location will begin in the early part of January.

Christmas Services in the Church

This coming Sunday there will be two services that you can attend in person; a service of Holy Communion (CW) at 10 am in Stoke Lyne Church  and the new ‘Muddy Church’ at 3pm in the Churchyard at Stoke Lyne. To enable social distancing, space is limited so you need to book your place at whichever service you would like to attend. For full guidelines, together with details of Christmas church services in our area, go to the website: www.shelswellparishes.info . Alternatively, you can join the online service which will be livestreamed at 10am on Monday 21st on Facebook (Shelswell News). You can also join the Benefice Carol Service which was recorded by the choir in Stratton Audley Church last week and will be broadcast on both Facebook (Shelswell News Group) and YouTube (Shelswell Parishes Channel) at 6pm this Sunday.

Elf Trail this Sunday 20 December 2-3.30pm

Please join in with your children on the village Elf trail which is being expertly laid out by Sandra Edwards. Look out for the Elves which in the main will be attached to gates and trees. Children can tick off what they see as they go round and goody bags will be packaged and waiting for them in the Pound.

The Elf images will be left up for a few days so any children who are away can do the trail when they come back.

Children may wish to dress up in their Christmas jumpers and hats or anything else they think suitable for a walk around the village. This is just a bit of festive fun for young and old to kick off the holiday season in these challenging times.

‘Ringing a bell’ on Christmas Eve at 6pm

The idea is for everyone to go out on their doorsteps and ring a bell, use something else to make a noise or just greet your neighbours from a distance, all to spread the Christmas spirit and help Santa on his way.

Jeremy Adams will also ring a single bell in the church to begin the process, so please join in if you can. Thursday 24^th December at 6pm.

Church Clock Tower Repair

As many people have already noticed, the church clock has now been repaired and is once again operating with both hands. Great news and a great job which included some renovation touch-ups to the clock face. Once again thanks must go to our County Councillor Ian Corkin for his financial support through his Priority Fund.

The Red Lion

For details on when the pub is open and what is happening look on Facebook, visit www.redlionstrattonaudley.co.uk or call Verity on 07713 891619.

Please remember that socialising with people outside your family or your bubble is not permitted inside the pub and in order to be served alcohol you need to order a ‘substantial’ meal and stick within your group.

Momo Man not here next week

George will not be outside the pub on Tuesday, but will be returning with his Nepalese food mid-January.

Stratton Audley Barn Xmas Trees

This is the last weekend that the Christmas Barn is open prior to Christmas. For details go to https://www.strattonaudleybarn.co.uk or visit their Facebook page.

Advent Window Trail 2020

10 windows have already been revealed. Have you seen them yet and worked out which Carol theme they each represent?

For those not getting out and about so much on these colder evenings, a photo of each window is being posted on the village Facebook page for all to view.

Free Baubles and Trees for Children to Decorate and Place in the Church Porch

Have you painted one of the free cardboard baubles/trees which are available in the church porch yet? There are still quite a few just waiting to be collected.

All completed baubles and trees should be returned to the porch where they can be hung on the string.

EWR Local Disruption

Just another reminder that the road that leads to Marsh Gibbon remains closed until 15^th January. On a separate matter, the Parish Council together with other members of the community in both Stratton and Godington, have voiced serious safety concerns over the new junction layout on the A4421 with Stratton Audley Park Road. In response EWR have now confirmed that they will bring forward the Safety Audit to Monday 11^th January, which is the earliest possible date that could be arranged. In the meantime they are reviewing the signage and hope to have some extra signage up in the next few days.

Village Bus Service

Thanks to those who have let me know their usage of the bus through the village. A decision on whether the service will be withdrawn is now likely in January.

Police

This week we all received a mailing with lots of information from Sergeant Gavin Staniland. In particular there was a ‘Have your say sheet’ which invites everyone to identify their chief concern, be it speeding, noise, large trucks or not enough police on the beat. Do fill it out and return in the pre-stamped envelope.

Collection Point for disposal of Ink Jet cartridges

Please continue to pop your ink jet cartridges into the basket in the Glen Close bus shelter.  Please don’t drop larger toner cartridges off as these are not recycled by the RSPB.

If you are not sure if your cartridges are suitable for recycling you can contact Rachel Dewhurst by email at reehouse0@sky.com

All the best and Happy Christmas.

Another packed newsletter covering local matters and several pieces on crime which are particularly relevant at this time of year.

Coronavirus Update

As you are probably aware, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), was selected to be amongst the first to administer the new Covid-19 vaccine and this is being carried out at the Churchill Hospital. People aged 80 and over who are in hospital already, as well as care home workers and residents, are amongst the first receiving the jab, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk. Those in the community who are over 80 or in an ‘at risk’ category will then be next and should receive a letter inviting them to take the jab.

Follow the link below to see what our local MP Victoria Prentis recently said about Oxfordshire being in tier 2:

https://www.victoriaprentis.com/news/new-localised-tier-system

For full details on the rules and regulations visit:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know#high-alert

Christmas Services in the Church

As you will see from the Shelswell magazine, the Christmas Service in Stratton will be Family Communion at 10am (and 11.15am in Godington) on Christmas Day.  There won’t be a ‘live’ Carol Service as people aren’t allowed to sing, but  an online Carol Service for the Benefice will be put out at 6pm on Sunday 20^th December (via Shelswell News Facebook Group and the Shelswell Parishes YouTube Channel) This will have been recorded in advance in Stratton Audley Church.

For full guidelines, together with details of when our churches are open for private prayer, can be found on the website: www.shelswellparishes.info

Bicester Heritage January Scramble Discount Code

The return of the Bicester Heritage Scramble takes place on the weekend of 9^th/10^thJanuary. Due to COVID guidelines, this will be a compliant event with limited capacities and regulations in place for all those attending.

As always they are offering local residents a discount. The new code is FlyingBrevets and when entered into the Eventbrite site will give a 50% discount on the purchase price of each ticket – £7 instead of £14.

In order to access these discounted passes, this code will need to be inputted at the top of the tickets page https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/whaton/januaryscramble/ which will unlock the promo code.

The general Scramble passes for Sunday are sold out. However there are a limited number of local residents passes still available for Saturday.

Crime at Christmas

This time of year is a bumper one for criminals so we all need to be extra vigilant.  There have recently been a number of breaks-ins in various villages targeting caravans and motor homes, and one where a navy blue and silver horsebox was stolen from a livery stables in Launton Road on 6^th Dec from behind locked gates. On a more minor level, an attractively decorated door wreath was stolen which  was upsetting for the residents new to the village, so the message here is to make sure you secure your decorations as securely as you can.

As previously reported, the local police are increasing their village patrols and already making their presence felt. This is going to be a more regular feature and most welcome.

Police warn about ‘Royal Mail post’ and ‘DPD delivery’ scam

POLICE have warned about another ‘Royal Mail’ and ‘DPD’ delivery scam.

Fraudsters are sending emails and texts saying they tried to deliver a parcel, but nobody was home and there wasn’t a safe place to leave it.

Under no circumstances should you click on the link.

If you receive an unexpected email check the sender’s email address – they can look genuine so look for minor details like an extra letter, number or full stop.

Forward any emails you’re not quite sure about to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk

Police Contacts

To repeat from last week, for non-urgent matters phone 101 or visit the website https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/

The rural policing team can also be contacted via emailing at  bicesterruralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk .

For those wishing to remain anonymous, there is Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 and also the website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Obviously in the event of an emergency or where you believe a rapid response is necessary, you should phone 999 without hesitation.

Church Clock Tower Scaffolding

As most of you will know scaffolding has been put up on the church tower and this is just to ask you to keep a watchful eye out for anything that looks suspicious.  The ladder to the roof is being removed and placed inside the locked church each afternoon around 4pm so there is no easy access to the church tower. A chain and padlock has also been put on the gate for further security.

Village Bus Service

Stagecoach are making changes to the S5 service which  runs through Launton and this has a knock-on effect to the once-a-day (weekday) service that runs through Stratton Audley. We may lose this service, although in order to preserve some form of public connectivity, one option under consideration at OCC is to provide a Comet community transport service which is bookable in advance.

Would everyone who uses the bus to travel into Bicester please make themselves known directly to me so the requirement can be assessed. We know of a couple of people in Cherry Close who use it and are not on email, but if you know someone else please let us know.

EWR Local Disruption

Just another reminder that the road that leads to Marsh Gibbon is now closed for road improvements until 15^th January and this includes the Christmas period. See map below – Marsh Gibbon being in the right hand bottom corner. However it doesn’t stop there, because a few weeks later there is another closure notice for the same road that runs from 11/02/2021 to 08/04/2021 which is for the bridge works.

The Red Lion

The pub is currently open five nights a week and anyone wanting to have dinner should book as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Call Verity on 07713 891619 or for more information visit the website at www.redlionstrattonaudley.co.uk.

Please remember that socialising with people outside your family or your bubble is not permitted inside the pub and in order to be served alcohol you need to order a ‘substantial’ meal and stick within your group.

Take-away Fish & Chips on Friday

A big tick to Verity for her GOURMET homemade beer battered cod and chips (with homemade tartar sauce and mushy peas). Simply the best and long may it continue to be available on a take-away basis on Friday evenings.

To place your order call Verity on 07713 891619 and book your collection time. (from 6pm till 8.30pm on Friday’s).

George outside the Red Lion – again on Tuesday 

George with his Nepalese curry and Momo van, will be outside the Red Lion once again on Tuesday from 5pm – 8pm. Pre-orders can be made from 4-5.30pm by phoning 07976 455 654. The Red Lion extends an invitation to come into the pub, to those who want to enjoy their meal inside with a drink.

Stratton Audley Barn Xmas Trees

The Christmas Barn is open from 10am every day until 20th December.

To pre-order a Christmas tree:

https://www.strattonaudleybarn.co.uk/fresh-christmas-trees

Elf Trail Sunday 20 December 2-3.30

Slight change of plans for this trail as a few children have pointed out that Elves cannot be touched by humans as they lose their Elf magic. So instead Sandra Edwards will be producing some laminated pictures of elves to hang/stick around the village. It is possible that one or two Elves may escape outside by themselves, but otherwise most Elves will be attached to gates and trees. The children can tick off what they see as they go round and goody bags will still be packaged and waiting for them in the Pound.

The Elf images will be left up for a few days so any children who are away can do the trail when they come back.

Children may wish to dress up in their Christmas jumpers and hats or anything else they think suitable for a walk around the village. This is a bit of festive fun for young and old so please do join in on Sunday 20th.

Advent Window Trail 2020

7 windows have already been revealed. Have you seen them yet and worked out which Carol theme they each represent?

For those not getting out and about so much on these colder evenings, a photo of each window is being posted on the village Facebook page for all to view.

Free Baubles and Trees for Children to Decorate and Place in the Church Porch

Children in the village are being invited to collect a few cardboard baubles/trees from the church porch, and to decorate them using all their creative imagination.

All completed baubles and trees should be returned to the porch where they can be hung on the string. This will enable them to be seen at any time during the day, but particularly on Christmas Eve when people visit the church to see the last Advent window revealed, in the absence of a Crib Service.

If the baubles or trees are considered to be too small, then feel free to source/make and supply your own. If this proves popular and more are needed, the person who takes the last one should message Alex Smith on 07970 993099 who is organising Sandra’s fun idea.

DIY Church Xmas Tree

Have you gone inside the church yet to see the Christmas tree?

Children have been decorating it, so feel free to join in by using the decorations provided or making your own to place on the tree.

Ringing a bell on Christmas Eve at 6pm

The idea is for everyone to go out on their doorsteps and ring a bell for two minutes to spread the Christmas spirit and help Santa on his way.

Collection Point for disposal of Ink Jet cartridges

Please continue to pop your ink jet cartridges into the basket in the Glen Close bus shelter.  Please don’t drop larger toner cartridges off as these are not recycled by the RSPB.

If you are not sure if your cartridges are suitable for recycling you can contact Rachel Dewhurst by email at reehouse0@sky.com

Vineworks at Stratton House – Showroom Open for Viewing

To visit the Vineworks studio just call 278 000, drop by or email jhonsinger@btconnect.com  Additionally, at weekends it is open house between 1 & 4pm or when you see the gates are open. Check out the wwebsite at www.vineworks.co.uk

Also available are gift bags of freshly picked & dried local walnuts at £4 per half kilo bag.

Another fairly full news update due to changes in restrictions affecting local services, plus an update on local policing and upcoming development plans at Bicester Motion.

 Covid-19 Tier 2 for Oxfordshire

The good news is that Cherwell cases are now down to 77 per 100k which is considerably lower than in previous weeks.  There were a total of 116 cases in the week to 29 Nov – down 35 on the previous week.

For full details on the rules and regulations visit:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know#high-alert

EWR Local Disruption

Work on the Stratton Audley Park Road has now been completed and the road is open. There’s a lot of mud on the road and the verges will need to be restored so do take care.

However, here is a further reminder that the road that leads to Marsh Gibbon will be closed from this coming Monday 7^th December.  To clarify, driving out of the village on the Launton Road, when you reach the crossroads where you turn right for Launton, the road ahead to Marsh Gibbon will be closed.  The closure is for 24 hours a day and lasts throughout the Christmas period until 15 January 2021.

Local Policing

Following several conversations recently with Thames Valley Police, this is to clarify procedures for contacting them. The best way when the concern is of a non-urgent matter is by phone to 101 or via the website https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/ .This is particularly the case if reporting something where you require a crime number for insurance purposes. However the rural policing team can also be contacted via emailing bicesterruralnhpt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk .

For Stratton Audley the Neighbourhood team consists of a supervisor who is PC (3203) Vicky Lees and two PCSO’s who are PCSO (9446) Thomas Bailey and PCSO (6333) Louise Beaumont.

They report to Gavin Staniland who was recently appointed Geographical Neighbourhood Sergeant for the Bicester and Kidlington Police area. He has taken over the role from Sergeant Kerry O’Leary who many of us know and she has moved on to problem solving duties.

The Rural Policing team are responsible for 38 Villages outside of the Bicester ring road and are kept pretty busy. However, they have confirmed that all emails are reviewed frequently by one of the neighbourhood team and enquiries then allocated to an available officer. They are stepping up village patrols, sometimes in unmarked vehicles and are also very happy to visit individuals to discuss crime prevention matters and preventative measures for the home.

For anyone who does not feel comfortable reporting directly to the police and wishes to remain anonymous, there is Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 and also the website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Obviously in the event of an emergency or where you believe a rapid response is necessary, you should phone 999 without hesitation.

The Red Lion

Please remember the following when planning your next visit. When inside the pub you cannot socialise with people outside your family or your bubble. You can only eat in the pub with people from your household or with the person in your bubble. If you want to meet friends you must eat outside on a table (maximum 6) but wrap up warm. Non-alcoholic drinks can be served without a meal. In order to be served alcohol you need to order a ‘substantial’ meal – a scotch egg with salad qualifies! And Verity has them J

The Red Lion now has a fortnightly food menu (see below) and this may change depending on how successful the evenings are.

For the next couple of weeks, the pub will only be open on five nights and anyone wanting to have dinner should book as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Call Verity on 07713 891619 or for more information visit the website at www.redlionstrattonaudley.co.uk.

Take-away Fish & Chips on Friday

A big tick to Verity for her GOURMET homemade beer battered cod and chips (with homemade tartar sauce and mushy peas). Simply the best and long may it continue to be available on a take-a-way basis on Friday evenings.

You have to place an order in advance by calling Verity on 07713 891619 and booking your collection time. All collections are from 6pm till 8.30pm on Friday’s.

George outside the Red Lion – Again on Tuesday 

George with his Nepalese curry and Momo van, will be outside the Red Lion once again on Tuesday from 5pm – 8pm. Pre-orders can be made from 4-5.30pm by phoning 07976 455 654. The Red Lion extends an invitation to come into the pub, to those who want to enjoy their meal inside with a drink.

Stratton Audley Barn Xmas Trees

The Christmas Barn is open from 10am every day until 20th December. Selling fresh British Christmas Trees outdoors & a range of festive decorations & gifts in their shop. Why not grab yourself a hot chocolate, Panini or cake from their takeaway cafe whilst you choose your tree! To pre order, follow the link below

https://www.strattonaudleybarn.co.uk/fresh-christmas-trees

Church Service on Sunday

Following the end of lockdown, there will be two services this Sunday; a service of Holy Communion at 10 am in Stratton Audley Church and a service of Evensong at 4pm in Hardwick Church. To enable social distancing, space is limited so you need to book your place at whichever service you would like to attend – see details in Guidelines below. Alternatively you can join the livestream of our morning service at 10am on Facebook (Shelswell News).

Guidelines – a summary

1. Reserve your seat – phone 01280 848192 or email admin@shelswellparishes.info
2. Wear a mask
3. Observe social distancing of 2 metres
4. Use the hand sanitiser when you arrive and before receiving communion
5. Listen to hymns, hum along, but don’t sing
6. Follow directions given about where to sit, receiving communion, and how to leave
7. There will be no socialising from one household bubble to another.

Full guidelines, together with details of when our churches are open for private prayer can be found on the website: www.shelswellparishes.info

Inaugural Elf Trail Sunday 20 December 2-3.30 – save the date

As Stratton Audley’s children enjoyed the Halloween trail so much, another trail is being planned for December.  Elves visit from the North Pole in early December, typically they live on shelves indoors and keep an eye on children to make sure they are deserving of a visit from Santa.  Families are invited to join in on December 20^th from 2pm, in allowing their Elves outside for a couple of hours. They might like to climb trees, parachute from windows, or camp out and eat biscuits on the lawn!  Children may wish to dress up in their Christmas jumpers and hats or anything else they think suitable for a walk around the village. In the Pound Pocket Park, they’ll find a small gift of sweets waiting for them. This is a bit of festive fun for young and old so please feel free to join in and dress YOURELVES up.

Vineworks at Stratton House – Showroom Open for Viewing

Vineworks is a range of items made in Stratton Audley from grape vine wood. At this time of year, small decorative candle holders are popular, so the studio is open to visitors. Just call 278 000, drop by or email jhonsinger@btconnect.com  Additionally, at weekends it is open house between 1-4pm or when you see the gates are open. www.vineworks.co.uk

Also available are gift bags of freshly picked & dried local walnuts at £4 per half kilo decorative bag.

Bicester Motion Community Engagement & Planning application

Recently, Cllr. Flack and I had a video meeting with Bicester Motion who are engaging with the local community and other interested parties to share their ideas regarding proposed developments at the Bicester Heritage site which now also incorporates the adjacent quarry. They will be submitting an outline planning application in January which relates to the Visitor Experience Quarter.

Their plans aim to create a sensitive development with significant local infrastructure improvements and promote sustainable modes of transport. They are committed to supporting public access to the former RAF site whilst creating new commercial recreational and cultural activities. Their goal is to become the foremost destination for the latest wind and wheels technology in the UK.

Some key issues for the local community are likely to include: road access to the site, increased traffic congestion, noise considerations, the type and volume of aviation and automotive businesses that will be permitted, and further down the line, how the quarry will be developed whilst protecting the flora and fauna on the site, which they are committed to do.

The best way to get a sense of what is being proposed is to visit their website: www.bicestermotion.com where under the Planning headline you will find a short video.

The Parish Council will continue to be fully engaged with the development of their plans, and in the meantime Bicester Motion invite residents to contact them directly with any questions. Just email eq@bicestermotion.com  and feel free to cc me at  jhonsinger@btconnect.com in my capacity as Chair of the PC.

Advent Window Trail 2020

Four windows have already been revealed. Have you seen them yet and worked out which Carol theme they represent?

For those not getting out and about so much on these colder evenings, a photo of each window is being posted on the village Facebook page for all to view.

DIY Church Xmas Tree

Have you visited the church yet to see the Christmas tree?

Children are invited to decorate it however they like, by using the decorations provided or making their own to place on the tree. For those feeling particularly creative, there is nothing to stop you from making something to be placed on the floor next to the tree.

Additionally next to tea area, is a large table which can be used to display Christmas themed scenes or decorations. The Rector is behind the idea and anything goes within reason.

Road Sweep

A successful sweep of the roads was carried out on Monday. The sweeper lorry had to empty the vehicle twice due to the amount of leaves collected. Thanks to all that moved their cars and swept the pavement outside their property.

Advent Candles

Pleased to report that all 80 candles that were purchased have been sold, and thanks go to David Young for developing the idea and carrying it through.

Lighting up the Oak in the Pound

The Christmas Lights in the Pound are now switched on every evening courtesy of the Hill family who supply the electricity, and it’s a great place to take a break when out for a walk in the early evening.

Ringing a bell on Christmas Eve at 6pm

The idea is for everyone to go out on their doorsteps and ring a bell for two minutes to spread the Christmas spirit and help Santa on his way. A reminder will be given closer to the time.

Church Clock Tower to be repaired in Chime for Christmas

Work is due to start this coming Monday 7th December 2020 and take approximately two weeks to complete.

Collection Point for disposal of Ink Jet cartridges

Thank you all for donating used inkjet cartridges for recycling.  A large batch is being posted to the RSPB, but please continue to pop them in the basket in the Glen Close bus shelter.  Please don’t drop larger toner cartridges off as these are not recycled by the RSPB. If you have a named manufacturer – HP or Canon, you can download freepost recycling labels from the company and send them back (even if not purchased directly).

Cheaper brands can’t be recycled in this way but Rachel Dewhurst has found a couple of companies who will take toner cartridges for a small fee such as Zerowaste or they can be recycled at PC World. For more information you can contact her by email at reehouse0@sky.com