U From the editor

I hope you’ve all had good holidays. We won’t mention the weather!

Although I unavoidably missed all the fun of the August Bank Holiday, it seems everyone had a good time at the fun day and all were generous as usual in their support.

Forthcoming activities show the march of the seasons. The Cricket Club is having a Fireworks Night on 6 November (see page 8) and the annual Church Christmas Bazaar will be held on 13 November (see page 3).

Zena Knight

The Lady Mary Bertie Trust

This Trust was founded in 1737 and was intended for the education of children residing in the Parish of Tiddington with Albury.

There is now very little money in the Trust as the income comes purely from a £10.00 rent charge. However, before any application can be considered, the Trust must fill any trustee vacancies that exist. Therefore, if anyone within the Parish wishes to be considered for a vacancy, would they kindly contact Anne Edwards on Tel: 339794.

Anne Edwards

Historic Churches Stride or Ride

Anne and Harold would like to thank all those who kindly sponsored them on 11 September.

The amount to be forwarded to the Trust will be £306.00 of which £153.00 will be returned to St Helen’s Church, Albury.

Anne Edwards

Neighbours Club, Great Milton

An afternoon outing has been arranged to

The Living Rainforest followed by a

WI Tea at Hampstead Norreys

on 20 October

An outing for lunch and skittles has been arranged at

Bablockhythe

on 17 November

For further details and booking contact

Mrs Cope on

Tel: 01844 279459

Parish Council News

Statement of Receipts and Payments 2003/04 – receipts amounted to £11,462.11 and payments to £8,484.43. A balance of £7,419.22 was carried forward to 2004/05.

Closure of A329 – the diversion through Tiddington is inevitably making life difficult for residents, but we can only hope that there will be good weather to enable the contractors to complete the necessary work on time or early. The Council made a plea to OCC for extra signs to discourage the use of Sandy Lane, as closure was not an option.

Pelican crossing – further efforts are to be made to bring our need for a crossing on the A418 higher up the County Council’s priority list. On Tuesday, 5 October the Council will be taking a census of pedestrians crossing between Tudor Cottage and Centre Caravans between 7.30am and 7.30pm.

Maintenance of churchyard – all residents of the parish have the right to be buried in the churchyard at Albury, and for many years the Parish Council has provided a sum towards the upkeep of the churchyard. This has been a fixed sum, rising each year in line with

Tiddington with Albury Parish Council Members

Chairman John Nowell-Smith 339650

Econ.development, businesses

Vice Chairman William Tremayne 279797

Public transport, planning, highways,

footpaths, street furniture

Councillor Roy Boughton 339497

Health and safety

Councillor Ken Field 339671

Housing, planning, building & controls

Councillor Alan Stratton 339430

Sport, recreation, arts, tourism, grants,

awards, lottery

Councillor Janet Willis 339415

Environment, conservation, recycling,

waste

Clerk Zena Knight 339340

24 Albury View, Tiddington

inflation. It is now proposed that the Parish Council takes over entirely the mowing and strimming of the churchyard, paying a contractor to do the work on a regular basis. Views of residents are sought on this proposed change of policy.

Overhanging trees and hedges – residents are reminded to make sure that their hedges do not overhang footpaths and pavements. The fast growth of foliage during this wet summer has caused a problem in some areas.

Thame Area Forum – the next meeting will be held on Monday, 11 October at 7.00pm in Chinnor Village Centre. This is an opportunity to learn more about local issues and to have your say on matters of concern. Representatives of the County and District Councils will be present.

Member of Parliament

Surgery dates

Boris Johnson, MP will be available to provide help and advice at

Thame Town Hall

Friday, 22 October 2004, 4.00-6.00pm

Freedom of Information Act

Publication Scheme

Residents of the Parish can see the records of the Council held by the Parish Clerk or learn where they may be accessed. Records include minutes, financial information and responses to planning consultations.

Application can be made to the Clerk (Tel: 339340) and documents viewed by appointment. Any copies required will be charged at 10p per page.

From your District Councillor

There have been no developments at SODC to report, which significantly affect this Parish. Debate continues on the provision of waste disposal skips and the recycling of waste generally. Procedures relating to Planning Applications are also under review.

There are, however, three items to bring to your attention, which fall within County Council control.

You will have noticed a marked increase in traffic on the A418. This results from the closure of the A329 between the Thame roundabout and the Three Pigeons for essential repairs. These are scheduled to take three months, but I am hopeful that the work will be completed sooner. The effect on traffic is being monitored and further traffic management measures are being kept under review. If any parishioners have experienced particular problems they should contact Brian Purcell-Smith at OCC (Tel: 01235 531331) or Thames Valley Police.

You may have seen a reference on the front page of the Oxford Times of 17 September to a Tiddington bypass. It is news to me that this bypass is still under consideration. If you have any views on this, I suggest you contact OCC (Tel: 01865 815700).

Finally I am sorry to have to report that plans for building affordable housing in the Station Yard have suffered a set back as the County Council has indicated that it will not release the land.

John Nowell-Smith

Tel: 01844 339650

Yoga classes

Classes are held in

Tiddington Village Hall

Thursdays at 10.30am

Refuse skips

Skips are available every Saturday at:

Wheatley Primary School, Littleworth Rd

8.00 – 12.00

1^st & 3^rd Saturday for garden waste

2^nd & 4^th Saturday for non-recyclables

There is no skip on 5^th Saturday or the Saturday after Bank Holidays

Thame Cattlemarket

8.00 – 12.00 or until full

IS YOUR

ELECTRIC BLANKET

SAFE?

We are offering

FREE SAFETY CHECKS

THAME

Wednesday, 13 October 2004

To book your appointment

Phone now

Tel: 01865 815400

Minicom: 01865 815350

(Pre-booked appointment only on a first come/first served basis)

ST HELEN’S CHURCH

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

Saturday, 13 November, 2.30pm

Cakes and Provisions White elephant

Christmas decorations

Raffle Tombola

From the Vicar

As I write this I am very aware that autumn is approaching very fast, the nights are drawing in and the shops are starting to stock up on autumnal and winter items. I couldn’t help noticing in Asda the other day they had a vast stock of Halloween items on the shelf. I think Halloween is very much more observed than used to be the case. Trick or treating has become more popular over here because it has always been more widely celebrated in the USA. There is an element of warding off ghosts, and a focusing on the dark side of life, and perhaps we are right to be a little concerned about this. But as Christians we do well to remember that the light of Christ extinguishes all darkness.

The roots of Halloween are very ancient and date back to the pre-Christian Celtic communities. Celts celebrated “Summers End” on the last night of October. When Christianity arrived on these shores it began to replace the ancient druid festivals with its own. November 1^st All Saints Day was dedicated to all Christian Martyrs and Saints who had died. It became known as “All Hallows Day”. The evening before was set aside as an evening of prayer and preparation and was called “All Hallows Eve” or Holy Evening later shortened to Halloween.

I don’t want to be a spoil sport because Halloween is an enjoyable occasion for lots of people, although the throwing of eggs and flour can be a little tiring for some. But please bear in mind that its roots are firmly in the Christian faith, and prayer and faith in Jesus Christ is all we need to eliminate the darkness.

We will be having a special service to celebrate All Saints Day in St Bartholomew’s, Holton on Monday, 1 November at 7.30pm. This will be a team wide service and there will be contributions from young people from all twelve of our parishes. Please do try and come; it provides an opportunity for us to draw together as Christians and give thanks for our loved ones and for all who have gone before us in the Christian faith. All Hallows tide is All Saints tide and we give thanks to God for all those Christian men and women who have reflected the light that is Christ.

With best wishes

Caroline King

Great Milton CE Primary School

After such a wet summer the start of term began with glorious sunshine, with lots of opportunity for the children to enjoy the school grounds, which are looking in good condition, thanks mainly to help from Countax who have supplied regular maintenance over the year.

Over the summer the school has been fitted out with the latest in classroom learning aids, three interactive white boards. The technology allows teachers to project lessons from computer screens on to the white board and, using special pens, these can be annotated, then saved or printed out. As a result, lessons can be prepared well in advance in a fashion similar to PowerPoint presentations. Teachers will also be able to bring resources from the Internet directly into the lesson. The lesson can also be used again and again. The boards also allow teachers to use video clips and take pupils on "virtual visits" using different web sites.

Welcome - The new term saw some new faces at school including Di Rooks who is joining the staff to work with Class 4, 17 children in Class 1, 6 in Class 5 and 1 in Class 6.

The school web site will be kept updated throughout the year with articles and pictures of activities taking place at the school. The

web site can be viewed at www.great-milton.oxon.sch.uk.

Mark Stoker (Governor)

United Neighbours In Tiddington

Our annual UNIT Bingo replaced the normal July meeting and we made a profit of £153.91, raising more funds for our charities. Thanks to all who donated the prizes and to those who attended on the night.

The barbecue on 24 August for members and partners was a pleasant social evening, the food was delicious and thanks again to those who prepared it and to our chef for the night, Ian.

UNIT ran the Tombola at the Fete/Fun Day and again donations were very generous.

Our October meeting is on the 19th with a talk on “a light-hearted look at family history” by Peter Seldon. Our November meeting is on the 16^th.

A trip to the dogs in October, a Casino evening and a Christmas shopping trip to Cheltenham in November and our usual Dinner Dance on 4 December are all planned, so if you are interested in joining us for any of these, or would like any other information about our club, please contact Josie Adams, Julie Smith or any committee member.

Pat Wise

Thames Valley

Crimestoppers

0800 555 111

Waterstock & Tiddington W.I.

The visit to Godwin’s Ice Cream Farm in August was enjoyed by all those members who attended. Several were tempted and brought home tubs of ice cream to enjoy later.

Many thanks to all those who provided cakes and other produce for the stall at the Fete.

Sylvia Brown’s talk in September was a nostalgic look at her 36 years on a milk round in the west of Oxfordshire. She experienced many changes from the early days of farmers’ deliveries to the takeovers and mergers of later years.

On 14 October we celebrate the Institute’s 80^th anniversary, by coincidence exactly to the day the inaugural meeting was held. Everyone is asked to wear a hat – reminiscent of those early days! Our guest from the County Federation will be Barbara Gray, an old friend of the Institute, and the committee will be entertaining members and providing refreshments. The competition is for a greetings card with a floral theme, in any medium, the size to be 4” wide and 6” high. The winning entry will go forward to the Group meeting competition. A display of old photographs and other memorabilia will also be in the Hall at our celebratory dinner on 16 October.

On 11 November, we look forward to the welcome return of Runnalls Davis to talk about “Idle Women”, those who worked on the narrowboats in early days.

We shall host the Group Meeting on 20 October, welcoming members from five other institutes in the area. Anna Steven will give a demonstration of flower arranging “in the festive mood”.

Our monthly meetings are held in Tiddington Village Hall on the second Thursday in the month at 7.30pm.

Zena Knight

Weather Statistics

We may moan about the weather this summer, until we realise how lucky we are not to experience the havoc caused by hurricane Ivan.

July

We had 21 rain free days.

The rainfall was 0.6in.

The warmest day was 30 July 87degF 31degC

The coldest day was 9 July with a day temperature of 54degF 13degC

August

Number of wet days 10, but with heavy rainfall of 2.6in

On the 3^rd there were thunderstorms over most of the country, with flooding in Oxford, Bicester and London. One boy was killed by lightning in the Midlands.

16^th floods devastated Boscastle in Cornwall.

18^th flooding and destruction of road in Lochernhead in Scotland. There were casualties.

We had 9 days with temperatures of over 80degF 27degC.

August was on record as being the twelfth warmest since records began in 1659.

1912 has the honour of being the most miserable August ever. It was the coldest since 1697, the wettest since 1876 and the gloomiest. So on the whole we did not do too badly!

September to the 16th

September has been relatively quiet, especially when you consider the devastation caused by the hurricane in the West Indies and Eastern USA.

So far out of 16 days, we have had 4 wet ones giving us 0.5in.

Glen Evans

Tiddington Cricket Club

As yet another playing season has ended, we have time to reflect on a year of mixed fortunes.

It was a huge disappointment not to be able to run a third XI this year, as this is where the younger players get their first experience of senior cricket.

This hopefully will be remedied next year, as we now have a ground available to us. The first eleven benefited from having Aussie Paul Gasmier playing for most of the season. Paul plays in grade cricket in Australia, one team-mate being Brad Hogg who has played test cricket. The Firsts finished second in their league this year and will be promoted to Cherwell’s Division 2. There have been outstanding contributions from all of the players throughout the year and they should be congratulated for that.

The Seconds finished 9^th out of 10 in Division 5 but will remain in this division next year.

On paper it represents a mediocre season but many games were very close and there has been a marked improvement in the standard of play this year. We hope that this improvement continues.

The Sunday league side finished mid-table, which is highly creditable. Individually, special congratulations go to Jack Brooks on being selected to play for Oxfordshire against Wales in August. Both Jack and Hannah Burr are currently in Australia (being hosted by one Paul Gasmier) to play cricket throughout the winter.

Congratulations too, to Nick Pykett who captained Oxfordshire’s under 15’s this year.

Preparations for next season are already under way as the square was completely refurbished the day after the last match.

On the Aunt Sally front the Wednesday team just missed promotion from Division 5 of the Oxford and District league, finishing in a highly creditable third place.

Both Friday teams finished mid-table in their respective leagues.

Winter sports, namely cribbage, darts and indoor Aunt Sally, will all begin shortly.

Dates for the diary

The Players’ meeting on Sunday, 3 October at 6.30pm in the Clubhouse

The Annual Dinner Dance at the Village Hall on Saturday, 9 October at 7.30pm

A Fireworks Evening at the Village Hall on Saturday, 6 November. See full page advertisement over the page for details.

Ray Manning

Tiddington Village Hall

Tiddington Fete and Social

A great time was had by all at the Village Fete on Bank Holiday Sunday. A big thank you from the Village Hall Committee to all the people who helped make it such a success. As well as your attendance, the day simply would not be possible without all the voluntary help from the members of the Committee, other villagers and friends. Despite the weather, we raised just over £670.00, which will go towards the upkeep and further development of our Hall’s facilities.

Congratulations again to all the winners and we must thank everyone who donated items for prizes, the various stalls and the biggest tombola we’ve had for many years.

It was nice to see so many of you come back in the evening for the pig roast. We hope you all enjoyed it and we plan to make this a regular thing in years to come. If you have any comments or suggestions, which might help us to make it even better then please do not hesitate to pass them on to a committee member.

Thanks again.

Alan Stratton

Chairman

Tiddington Village Hall Committee

Operation Christmas Child

Appeal for 2004

Thank you so much for the great response I had from my appeal a few months ago for people to help with this project. I have had many volunteers to fill boxes and also knit extra hats and scarves, but we could always do with more! Operation Christmas Child is run by the Samaritan’s Purse International Organisation, a Christian charity. This year our aim is to send even more Christmas shoeboxes filled with gifts to children in need in Eastern European countries.

Each shoebox should be covered in Christmas wrapping paper and filled with items suitable for a boy or girl aged 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14 years from the following list:-

§ A cuddly toy

§ A toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap, flannel

§ A notepad, colouring book, picture books

§ Pencils and pens

§ A set of crayons or felt pens

§ A hat, cap, gloves, scarf

§ A small ball or tennis ball

§ A puzzle, e.g. small jigsaw

§ A toy car/plane (for boys)

§ Jewellery (e.g. bead necklace or hair accessories

§ A greetings card or photo of yourself

§ Sweets (no chocolate allowed due to customs regulations)

We also ask for a £2 donation to help with transport costs. We always need extra hats and scarves and empty shoeboxes.

I need to receive the shoeboxes by 21 November 2004 so that they can be checked for customs purposes and then transported abroad in time for Christmas.

Please contact Lucy Betts, 5 Tyndale Place, Wheatley, Oxon, OX33 1YY, Tel: 01865 875436 if you are interested.

Something Unusual from

Newington Nurseries

Autumn with a difference

Autumn has to be one of the most beautiful times in the gardening calendar when the plants seem to physically glow in the year’s late sunshine. Clever gardeners always make the most of this fact with plants which capture the season’s vibrant highlights. And this year, as always, there is a widening choice of new and different specimens to plant beside the usual star performers.

The fiery leaf colour of Boston ivy contrasts beautifully with dark evergreens and always makes a stunning display scrambling over walls and trees. For something a little more delicate on a trellis or pergola, why not try a flowering climber like the Passiflora aurantia with its fluffy coral coloured blooms and feathery seed heads.

For specimen tree colour, we all know that acers are hard to beat. The Cercidiphylium japonicum, though, is just a little bit different. The young bronze leaves of this deciduous tree transform into shades of pale yellow, smoky pink and rust in autumn and, as an added bonus, smell deliciously of toffee. Plant it in moist, well-drained soil and it will grow up to 20 metres.

For structure, cordylines, like Australis Purpurea, and phormiums like Rainbow Queen, with its bronzy green upright stems edged with pink and red are good choices – and large, mature ones will be frost hardy. There are some grasses too which will glow in the autumn sunshine. Look out for the Japanese Bloodgrass, which turns fiery red in summer and looks good in the garden or in pots on the patio. Or you could try the beetroot coloured Pennisetum glaucum Purple Majesty or Pennisetum setaceum rubrum which in early Autumn will bear deep pink flower spikes looking remarkably like cats’ tails. Keep this in a pot, though, because it is not winter hardy.

Finally, for the borders, we all trust the upright stems and delicate pink or white flowers of the Japanese anemone. For something a little more dramatic, plant lobelia Queen Victoria in a sheltered spot in sun or partial shade. With its upright spikes of brilliant red flowers and its deep beetroot coloured leaves, this tall perennial adds warmth and vibrancy to any autumn border.

For more inspiration and advice visit us at Newington Nurseries on the A329 near Stadhampton.

Tel: 01865 400533

www.newington-nurseries.co.uk

CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Autumn Programme of free lectures

Friday 8 October, 7.00pm Age 8+

Let’s look at light – Bryson Gore

Friday 12 November, 7.00pm Age 11+

Physics v Sport – David James

Contact Lisa Faircloth on 01235 445789

10 October	9.30am Morning Prayer with John Nowell-Smith
17 October	9.30am Morning Prayer with Richard Bainbridge
24 October	8.00am Holy Communion with James Watson
31 October	11.00am Cluster Service at Waterstock with Caroline King and Mike Collyer
7 November	9.30am Holy Communion
14 November	9.30am Morning Prayer with John Nowell-Smith
21 November	9.30am Morning Prayer
28 November	8.00am Holy Communion

NEWSLETTER

www.tiddingtonoxon.co.uk OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2004

Great Milton CE Primary School

August

September to the 16th