News Update no 96, July 28th 2022

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Another scorching day

Lost Key
The key shown in the photograph was found in Cherry Street outside Lime Cottage and handed to me  on Friday 22nd July. On the key is NWKS and on the fob is Travel Safely. Would anyone like to claim it? Call 278 000.

News on recent meetings

The Red Lion. A meeting was held on Monday organised by Dillie and John to outline the current situation and seek community interest in the  possibility of local people investing in the Red Lion, which is likely to be offered for sale.  A separate update has been circulated and you will be kept informed going forward.
Parish Council Meeting. This took place in the Red Lion last night (27th July) and 15 people turned up to  air their views on the proposed Padbury Brook Farm Solar Farm.
Padbury Brook Solar Farm Community Engagement Exhibition. This was held on Thursday 28th and received a good turnout from the community. Whilst in principle most people seem to be in favour of solar energy, most attending had concerns on many different subjects and in particular with regard to the size and location. It is early days and at this stage it would be helpful if everyone with a view, sends their thoughts to me at jhonsinger@btconnect.com

News from The Red Lion
The following is from Dillie:
“I am sorry to say that we’re discontinuing lunches from next week with the exception of Wednesday Coffee Mornings.  We’d ask that there be a minimum of 8 people to make it worthwhile.  However, I’m sure if you’re starving, Sapphy will be able to make you a baguette!
Sunday lunch is also discontinued for the summer, but we will be offering food on Saturday night. 
And do come along for our Indian Night – curry and all sorts of delicacies on 30th July”. 

Stratton Audley Church
The following is from Becky Adams:
“The next service in Stratton Audley Church will be a service of Compline (a short, reflective form of evening service)  on Sunday 7th August at 6pm – all are welcome, as ever. Please check the Shelswell website for details of services elsewhere in the benefice http://www.shelswellparishes.info/services.php

‘Little Lambs’ baby and toddler group may be meeting on some Wednesdays mornings through the summer in Stratton Audley Church. If you would be interested in this do email Alice for details at rector@shelswellparishes.info “.

Stratton Audley Barn
“We are delighted to be able to resume our hot food offering at lunch times in the form of PANINI’S  Tuesday- Saturday 12-2pm ,together with PASTRIES,HOME BAKED CAKES,TRAY BAKES and last but not least our great selection of HOME MADE ICE CREAMS.!
Thank you for your continued support .
Looking forward to seeing you over the summer”
Richard, Sara and the team

Stratton Audley 2022 Boules Cup Competition
There is still time to book for this event. It takes  place on Friday 5th August, starting at 6.30pm and is being held at Stratton Audley Park, the home of Mark and Emma ter Haar.
Tickets are on sale now and cost £15 for adults, £10 for under 16’s and £5 for children under five. This includes a good supper and wine, beer and soft drinks, all generously sponsored by Mark and Emma. For tickets please contact Emma at emmaterhaar@yahoo.co.uk or 07867 783938. All proceeds will go to the Stratton Audley Church.
·       Please bring a Boules set with you (if you have one)
·       Don’t worry if you’re on your own, a partner will be found for you to pair up with
·       Play with your partner or child(ren) or mix up with friends!
·       Play to win the prestigious “Stratton Audley Boules Cup” and “the Plate” competition for those knocked out in the first round!
Non-participants are very welcome to come along for the fun of it and the same prices apply to cover food and drink.

Keeping Dogs under control in open fields
There is currently a foal in the field immediately adjacent to The Pound at the start of the Cross Bucks Way and this week a dog was seen off the lead, harassing the animal and its mother. Signs have been placed in the field by the owner, to ask those with dogs to keep them on their lead when walking through on the footpath for the time being. Whilst most people know it is not illegal to have a dog off the lead providing you have it under control, it can present a danger so to be on the safe side your co-operation is appreciated.

Village Drains
Parish Councillor Kathryn Walker and husband Tony, who live at no 10 The Manor experienced a very bad drain smell in their home on Monday this week. They traced the smell to a main sewage drain on Mill Road and called Thames Water, who attended within the hour. They spent the next couple of hours clearing what can best be described as a tsunami of waste caused by a huge blockage that they estimate must have affected about half of the village. They could not understand how no one else had noticed the smell.
Amongst the waste that one would expect, there was a huge amount of fat and grease which indicates that fatty kitchen substances are being put into the system as well as other items that really should be binned.
We in SA, as most people in the UK, are living with a Victorian drainage/sewerage system so such problems are perhaps to be expected. However, Thames Water point out that it would really benefit all of us to be careful of what goes down our drains in the form of wipes, nappies, sanitary products etc. that could be disposed of elsewhere and apparently the thick, cushioned loo roles are a major blocker.
Moving forward, if you notice foul smells coming from your drains that you don’t think you are responsible for, their advice is to report it on the Thames Water Emergency Number for Drains by calling 0800 316 9800.

Shelswell Art & History Festival Review
The Art and History Festival took place on Saturday 16th July and was generally considered to have been a great success, though it did get rather warm in the afternoon!  Huge thanks from Alice Goodall, Event Manager, for everyone who helped in whatever way – without everyone’s help, the Festival would just not have been possible.  There is still some money to come in and some bills to be paid, but at the present time it looks as if the festival may have made a profit of about £1800, which will be divided between the next Festival, Oxfordshire Mind, the Woodland Trust and the Shelswell Group of Churches  – about £450 each.  There are some fantastic photos on the website taken by Graham Perryman of Dragonfly Framing – check them out on https://shelswellhistoryfestival.org.uk/  .  And you can also pop into the church to see the Stratton Audley display – on the table opposite you as you enter the church – thanks to Dorothy Howarth and the Stratton Audley Local History Society for putting it together

Bicester Heritage October Scramble
Tickets for the next Scramble meeting, set to be held on the 9th of October are on sale now. Once again, local residents have discounted tickets allocated to them at 50% off, accessible via the sales agents – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
Promocode: BristolBoxkite

Defibrillator Training – View this short video
As you know we have been planning to run some defibrillator training in the church for some time and this has not happened for a variety of reasons. Over a dozen people put their names down for it and it is not being abandoned.
However a new Parish councillor, John Edwards came across an excellent short St John’s Ambulance video on YouTube which is  authoritative, short, and clear and really worth viewing for everyone. This is the link:
https://youtu.be/

And a few previous pieces that are still relevant:

Access to The Manor Grounds in Church Street
From time-to-time residents of the Manor have legitimate cause to remind everyone, especially visitors to the village and those who are new in the village, that the grounds of the Manor are private. This is not necessarily obvious as the gates are kept permanently open for ease of access by residents. Situated next to the pub, it means vehicles of people visiting the pub are frequently identified as parking in the Manor grounds. Likewise a few Manor residents have recently seen an increase in dog walking, pushing prams and generally using the grounds as either a recreational area or as a cut through to Mill Road.
The Management Committee of the Manor are looking at new signage to install at the entrance, but have asked for it to be pointed out that the grounds are private for the use of the residents and invited visitors.

Don’t Forget – Fresh Fish every Thursday 
Jack from Grimsby continues to come to the village on Thursday’s between 6.30-7pm and parks his van outside the Red Lion. He has a wide selection of fresh fish and shellfish. You can just turn up or place orders in advance by text and his mobile number is 07535 935119.Fish & Chips Van in the village on Saturdays
For those new in the community, a Howe’s Fish and Chip van comes to the village every Saturday lunchtime from 1.30pm to 2pm. You will hear a bell (like a school bell) and his first stop is in Cherry Street. He then drives along Cavendish Place and stops again at the junction with Mill Road.
Howe & Co was established in 1930 and now has over 100 vans serving villages. You can track each van by going to their website and you need to look for van no 4:
https://howeandcofishandchips.co.uk/#findvan
They also have a general number you can call 07809 901761.

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

Village Questionnaire Top Line Results
A PowerPoint presentation of the findings has been created and will be circulated via email and placed on the website. 106 questionnaires were received which is a very good response taking everything into account. It represents a 55% return rate, which coincidentally, is similar to the last survey carried out in 2015.
A significant majority of residents are concerned about speeding and large vehicle numbers in the village and there is overwhelming support for progressing the idea of introducing a 20mph zone within the village. A majority are in favour of electronic speed signs at the entrances to both the Launton and Mill Road. Most people are against any other forms of physical traffic calming solutions although chicanes are approved of by some 40% of respondents. Finally, a massive 84% indicated they would be in favour of reducing the speed limit on the roads in and out of the village to 50mph.

Local Police Bicester and Kidlington Rural Team News
To report a crime or contact the police there are now three options:
·       Call 999 if you see a crime being committed or in an emergency
·       Call 101 to report anything else to the police – or go online to do so
·       And now police are partnering with CrimeStoppers to remind everyone of ‘The 3rd Number – 0800 555 111’ that enables you to report your information totally anonymously if you prefer.
Finally for the latest crime statistics there is a useful national site into which you can put your post code. Click on this link  Bicester Rural | Police.uk (www.police.uk)