Plenty to report on and with some time sensitive matters, so please read as soon as you can.
New Councillors
We are delighted to have officially appointed three new Parish Councillors which takes our number to a full complement of seven for the first time.
New on the Council are:
Abbey Short from Manor Mews;
Elaine Jones in the Manor;
Martin Arroyo in the Bradbury’s;
Existing members are Anthony Flack, Kathryn Walker, Mike Gore and myself. Full details will be posted on the notice board and website.
Other Parish Council Matters
At the PC meeting on Wednesday we agreed to carry out some remedial work on the footpath that runs beside the pond next to the wall, to rotovate and re-seed the wild flower area in The Pound. The idea of installing a flag pole on the church tower was discussed and estimates would be sought. It was noted that the Launton Road has been improved in time for winter with many pot holes being filled, although the OCC plan to resurface the road in the Spring remains in place.
Speeding in the village and related safety issues occupied a sizeable part of the meeting and various options were discussed. It was agreed that a village survey will be carried out to get an up-to-date view of attitudes on these subjects.
Queens Platinum Jubilee – Save the Date.
It was agreed that a community wide street party will be held to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee. National celebrations will take place from 2-5th June 2022 and we have pencilled in Sunday 5th June as our day of celebration. It is likely to be a similar format to previous events held in the village with Church Street closed off but all this is still to be decided. Members of the Parish Council have all agreed to join the committee and members of the community will be welcome to join or form part of sub groups.
News from The Red Lion
The following information is from Dillie:
“News from the pub – Sunday lunches go from strength to strength, and Christine is cooking up a storm – lunches Wednesday/Thursday/Friday, and of course on Friday evening. And Sapphy is doing lunches on Saturdays.
This Friday evening, we actually have A Choice!!! Steak and Chips … or… Fish and Chips! Be still, my beating heart…!
And as if THAT wasn’t enough, we’re having a curry night this Saturday, 9th October. 6.30-8.30. Sapphy is selling it like hot cakes so it might be as well to book. Christine is doing her chicken curry and yours truly is doing her dal. Lordy!
Thursday 14th October is young Sapphy’s birthday and we want to celebrate it like it’s going out of style! Sapphy works incredibly hard to make the pub tick, she’s learning all the time and we’d love it if the village would show their appreciation and turn up to toast our girl. Chilli and Baked Potatoes will be on the menu that evening, cooked by my own fair hand.
Thursday 21st October is Quiz night. Richard Walsh does a fabulous quiz.
6th November – “Frank Night”. My lovely brother-in-common-law, the fabled Frank O’Neill, would have been 70 on 5th November. We miss him dreadfully, so we’re going to have a special night to celebrate him. The 5th is Christine’s Steak night, so we’re having it on 6th instead – it’s a Saturday which is better for a party. Music, bunting, Irish stew and black velvet. Please come along and cheer us up. Warm white wine will of course be on offer as a special memory…
9th November – Christmas Wine Tasting evening with Mike from North Oxfordshire Wines. £20 per head in the Red Room (which is actually no longer red…!). 20 wines to taste, including reds, whites, sparkling and a port or two, plus plenty of nibbles, mainly of the superior cheese variety. Yes, it’s quite a long way off but if like me you are a bit concerned about supplies, it’s just as well to be prepared. Booking in advance is a good plan.
More events will be announced in the next newsletter. Meanwhile, our function room is up and running and actually looks quite nice. Let us know if you’d like to have a party there, or use it for a function”.
Stratton Audley Barn
The following is from Richard and Sara:
“The Barn is now open and awash with Christmas Goodies in the shop. The Cafe has extended into a festive warm and cosy heated marquee with the new brunch & lunch menu proving popular. We are continuing our homemade Ice Cream through the winter season with a reduced offering of flavours so you can still treat the kiddies or order your favourite milkshake too! We are open Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 4pm, pop along to the Barn soon & try a little delicious something new from the menu…..”
News from Stratton Audley Church
The follow information is from Becky Adams on behalf of the Shelswell Benefice:
“The next service in Stratton Audley is 9.30am Holy Communion on Sunday 24th October and then on Sunday 31st October we are holding a special Benefice Service of Holy Communion for Climate Sunday. This will be at 11am and is very much open to anyone from across all the parishes of the benefice. Full details of all our services can be found on the usual link http://www.shelswellparishes.info/services.php
‘Little Lambs’ continues in Stratton Audley Church on Wednesday mornings (10 – 11.30am). There is no need to book – just turn up with your under-5s. We have play, music and stories and can now serve refreshments for both adults and children.
Shelswell Youth Group has started meeting on alternate Friday evenings (7-9pm) in Fringford. The next meeting is on Friday 22nd October – For more details, including the venue, contact Yvonne curate@shelswellparishes.info
For adults who may be looking for an opportunity to get out of the house, we have ‘Shelswell-by-the-Sea’ Holiday at Home. This will run from Monday 18th– Wednesday 20th October in Hethe Village Hall (10am – 3.30pm) Fun, food and companionship plus an outing.”
EWR Closure of Charbridge Lane
This is to confirm that Charbridge Lane (the road that leads from Bicester to Launton) will be closed for two months from Sunday evening 17 October until Friday 17 December. The work is to construct the new tie-in to the roundabout, complete part of the bridge slip road and enable the diversion of the road onto the new bridge. The closure will be from Charbridge Way up to Launton roundabout. Access to the distribution centre will be maintained as will access to Langford Village.
EWR Road Closure of Stratton Audley Park Road to Poundon
Just another reminder of the weekend closure of the road that runs from the crossroad with Mill Road up to the turning with Godington. The temporary closure and will operate from Saturday morning on 23 October 2021 at 07:00 The estimated completion of the works programme is Sunday 24 October 2021 at 17:00.
Thames Water
Many of you will have noticed contractors carrying out work in the village to manhole covers over the last couple of weeks and this work has been done on behalf of Thames Water.
To clarify: this work was to replace covers and not to install new access points. The new covers are low leak ones designed to prevent surface water entering the foul water drains. As you know they have also relined some pipes and will continue to monitor the village.
Listed below are the covers replaced:
2 manholes covers in Mill Road
1 manhole in Cherry Street
3 manholes in Stoke Lyne Road
1 manhole in Glen Close
1 manhole in Bicester Road
1 manhole in Launton Road
Shelswell History Festival advance notice Save-the-date
The Shelswell Benefice has decided to once again run the Shelswell History Festival and this is due to take place on Saturday 16th July 2022. They are looking for volunteers to help organise it and especially anyone with marketing expertise. Contact Alice Goodall by email alicegoodall313@gmail.com
Bicester Heritage Scramble- local offer code- Sunday 10th October 2021
The Event is this Sunday at Bicester Heritage and the local discount code is still operation for local residents to take advantage of – Local Promo code is: FlyingBrevets
Please see below the link to the ticket page:
https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/whaton/octoberscramble-2/
https://bicesterheritage.co.uk/?ticket=october-scramble-tickets
Children with Cancer UK Appeal
Resident Martin Chick completed the London Marathon in just over 4 hours. His target was to beat Chris Evan and he did! This was his eighth Marathon and he raised some £2860 for the Children with Cancer Appeal. Many congratulations to him and thanks to those who supported him.
If you planned to donate but didn’t get around to it here is the link:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinChick4
Church Tidy-up
This was a great success with much clearing of debris and cutting down of branches in the churchyard particularly to the south end. Thanks go to Anthony Flack for organising it and those who helped – Stewart Hopkins, Paul Roberts, Charles Penny and Sarah Noujaim.
Dillie on Tour with Fascinating Aida
As many of you will know over very own Dillie is back on tour with her long term partners in crime, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman.
With a selection of old favourites, songs you haven’t heard before and some you wish you’d never heard in the first place. The songs are hilarious and topical – the glamour is unstoppable. With three Olivier Award nominations and over 25 million YouTube and Facebook hits for Cheap Flights and their incredibly rude Christmas song how can you possibly miss them?
The nearest gig to us is Oxford, on 23rd October at the Oxford Playhouse.
And some reminders from the previous newsletters…..
Order a bottle of Nocino – all funds go to the Church building
David Young has started taking pre-orders for people who want their very own bottle of Nocino walnut liqueur in time for a relaxing autumn and Christmas.
To order a bottle, please rsvp to david@betteroutliers.com . All donations go directly to maintaining the church building and anyone pre-ordering is invited to go into the church and see their liqueur develop – the process to make Nocino takes 40 – 60 days and needs someone to gently shake the Nocino kilners/vat jars every 2-3 days.
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
For the latest details on Covid data and other Government’s advice on Coronavirus can be found via these link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do