The Death of the Duke of Edinburgh
It is with great sadness that we all received the news today of the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The country has now entered a period of mourning which will continue until the day after the funeral which is set to be next Saturday 17th April.
Alice had prepared a book of condolence to be placed in the church but the Diocese has been informed by the Government that in order to observe current Covid-19 precautions, physical condolence books should not be offered at this time. The Church of England has opened an online condolence book, which is open to any individual or church communities who wish to sign and record a message.
A framed photo of the Duke of Edinburgh and a prayer card has been placed in the church for those who wish to pay their respects.
A virtual book of condolence will also shortly be accessible via Cherwell Council’s website: council’s website
Church Yard Spring Clean Tomorrow
There is a spring clean of the church graveyard tomorrow morning, Saturday 10th April 2021 (10.00 to 12 noon) and volunteers are needed. Please just turn up with or without tools. It involves raking up winter debris, cutting back base runners around the trees, along with brambles, ivy and some overhanging branches.
If you can’t make it, there is another opportunity to help on Saturday 17th April at the same time. Your help is much appreciated.
Church Services
The church is once again open during the day for private prayer and reflection.
The next service in Stratton Audley will be 9.30am Holy Communion on Sunday 25th April, by which time it will no longer be necessary to book for services, though masks and hand sanitising will still be required and social distancing will be strictly observed.
Mitra Monday with Persian Food
Mitra will be in the village again on Monday to serve up her delicious Persian food, at the junction in the centre of the village. She’ll be serving from about 4pm until dusk.
Just turn up or text her in advance if you have a large order on 07444 364789.
If you want to bring your own container or pot to save on plastic waste, please do so.
Stratton Audley Barn
Now serving take-away home-made ice cream, Friday to Sunday 10am-4pm. Grab a cuppa and cake to enjoy while out for a walk.
The Red Lion
As previously reported the Red Lion will not be opening until sometime in May.
Meanwhile, there has been a great response to the questionnaire with a lot of good positive ideas. Dillie has responded individually but wishes to thank everyone for their continued interest and willingness to help.
East West Rail Local Update
The damaged verges on the Stratton Audley Park Road are to be repaired by EWR and new instructions have been issued to all contractors to use the passing bays and keep their speed down. EWR are placing a number of mobile LED information signs in the area, one of which will be located on the Park Road.
EWR have also noted concerns raised by residents and the livery stables, with regard to the amount of traffic on the Launton Road and a number of temporary static horse warning signs are to be put in place. They tell us that the actual number of large vehicles using the road is quite small as most are using the special haul road built adjacent to the new track.
Finally another reminder that Station Road (from the crossroads with Launton Road) that leads to Launton will be closed from this coming Monday 12th April for nearly a year for bridge replacement work.
East West Rail 2nd Non Statutory Consultation
EWR have just launched the next stage of public consultation. They are inviting
comments from all interested parties including the public.
Two of the key areas of focus for the consultation in our area are:
- How to improve Oxford Station and its supporting infrastructure - including Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village stations
- Options for avoiding lengthy periods of delays at the London Road level crossing, Bicester (there are six options for this crossing all of which propose tunnels or bridges).
You can share your views using the online feedback form available on their website at www.eastwestrail.co.uk, by emailing your comments to them at consultation@eastwestrail.co.uk or writing via FREEPOST East West Rail.
Alternatively, you can request a paper copy of the feedback form to be sent to you online at www.eastwestrail.co.uk, by emailing them at contact@eastwestrail.co.uk or by calling on 0330 134 0067.
The closing date for the consultation is 9 June 2021.
Comet Bus Services
No further news.
But for the time being please remember that Comet operate a dial-a-ride service for those that require transport for medical or essential shopping reasons. There is a cost of 75p per mile which works out at under £5 for a round trip into Bicester. The service operates Monday to Friday between the hours of 10am and 2pm. Should anyone wish to make a booking please contact the Comet team on 01865 323201.
Scramble at Bicester Heritage – Discount Resident Vouchers
The next Scramble is to be held on 5th/6th of June and neighbourhood discounted tickets are still available for Sunday 6th June. When purchasing you will need to put FlyingBrevets into the promo code box which will immediately allocate a 50% discount. You will be required to input your OX27 or OX26 postcode and this will be checked.
https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/tickets/october-scramble-tickets/
Passes previously purchased for the January and April scrambles are still valid.
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 treehouse0@sky.com
Covid-19 Update
The governments ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’, setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England can be found via this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary
For those who are interested in more precise information on infections, area by area, the link below is useful:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map
Did you know that the Cherry Street postbox is a priority box for returning a) Covid tests & b) virus watch test for NHS? It has been mentioned before but really is a handy facility.