ABOUT THIS PAGE  News items likely to be of short term general interest both inside and outside Blewbury are reproduced here from the latest issue of the Blewbury Bulletin. Articles of longer term general interest fom current and recent issues are reproduced on the articles page. Items of specialist interest are included Ladycroft News. A wide variety of other pages, not in the printed Bulletin, can be accessed from the Home Page.

GETTING STOP PRESS NEWS  The Bulletin quite often hears of information that is of importance to Blewbury and needs to be circulated before the next Bulletin publication date. We put short term news on this page, but not everyone has access to the internet, and many who do don’t make a regular habit of looking here. The Bulletin therefore maintains a list of email addresses, called the ‘Stop Press list’, which it uses to broadcast items of short term interest. Residents in the village and nearby are welcome to join this service

If you want to receive Stop Press news by email , please email the Editor (editor@blewbury.co.uk ). with the word INCLUDE as the subject of the e-mail - nothing else is needed. Messages sent out to email addresses on the Stop Press list will be sent as blind copies – ones where no one can read your name or email address. If you later on decide you no longer wish to receive Stop Press emails, you should email the Editor with the word UNSUBSCRIBE as the email subject.

If you have news you think should be circulated using this mechanism please contact the editor by phone (01235 850427) or email editor@blewbury.co.uk. Please note that anyone supplying information for publication is responsible for the accuracy of their report. They must also supply their name and contact details - these will not be published if you ask for them not to be. The editor reserves the right not to send out submissions as Stop Press email.

The Blewbury and District Brass Band (to give it its full name) was started 100 years ago in 1910, and apart from breaks during the two world wars it has been playing ever since. That is quite an achievement for a village band. To celebrate this there will be a Centenary Celebration on the Play Close from midday onwards on SUNDAY 11 th JULY . It will include a pig roast (for your lunch), a singalong in the afternoon with the Band playing and the rest of you singing all sorts of well-known pieces, a cream tea, and various other musical groups entertaining us while the Band gets its breath back.

So please put it in your diaries.

After much difficulty, delay and uncertainty, we are finally moving to a position where we can give some meaningful indication of progress and future scheduling of the Recreation Ground improvement project. Firstly, we have decided for the sake of practicality to split the project into its two natural geographical components - i.e. the Recreation Ground and Tickers Folly Field. The tendering documents for first of these, covering the bulk of the work, were sent out in January. Tenders will be returned by Friday March 5 and - assuming at least one of them is acceptable - we aim to appoint a contractor as soon as possible thereafter with a view to starting construction sometime in April. For the croquet hut extension on Tickers Folly Field - a smaller, self-contained job - we will be going out to tender to local builders in mid March (see advertisement in this Bulletin). We aim to appoint a contractor for this work by early April , with construction to commence as soon after that as budget allows .

Until the tenders are returned and assessed, we will of course have no definitive picture of budget or onward programming. However, as reported in the Bulletin in November last year, it is clear that the cost of doing everything in one go is likely to exceed the total of the amount we had originally earmarked for the project and the grant funding obtained from WREN. In anticipation of this, applications for additional grant funding are already in hand. However, once all the tender figures are known, we may need to reconsider the level of our contribution and/or introduce some measure of phasing for the various works. If phasing should prove necessary, then in very rough terms our top priorities would be infrastructure works, the main pavilion/community building and pitch and playing surfaces including the tennis court extension - the latter having already been delayed from last year. (The first physical work on improving the pitches has in fact already been carried out.) Items such as the tennis hut, croquet hut, landscaping and car park would follow as soon as time and funding allowed.

With regard to the WREN grant, we were due to have signed a contract with them by this point, and very much regret that we have not been able to do so. However, they have consistently shown great flexibility and understanding, and have assured us that the delays and difficulties we have been experiencing are far from unique.

COULD YOU HELP MAKE THE NEW FACILITIES WORK FOR EVERYBODY?

Plans are also moving forward on the management of the new facilities, and we now only need one more person to volunteer to help with this aspect of the project. As announced last year, the idea is to establish two distinct groups: firstly, a Community Interest Company (CIC), not affiliated to any individual club or user group, which would be ultimately responsible for the management of the pitches and the main building; and secondly, a stakeholder group consisting of club representatives and others with a direct interest in using the facilities, who would then represent those interests to the CIC. This arrangement would be similar to the one used in the early days of the Village Hall.

We would therefore like to hear from anyone else who might be interested in being part of the CIC. As with most village activities, the primary qualifications are common sense and community spirit rather than specific experience in similar organisations. If you think you might be interested, please contact the Parish Clerk on 07968 772935 or at blewburypc@googlemail.com. Or, if you would like more information on what the role would involve, please call Sheila Loy on 01235 850537. Thanks.

Parish Council

I have had a letter from Richard and Tracey Pashby who have just returned from Dayabari. As a result of the support they have received they were able to purchase a lot of new equipment and items for the boys and their home. If you go to their website www.steppingstonesministries.co.uk and choose GALLERY you can see pictures of the home. The January 2010 update shows many of the items purchased from the Stepping Stones 2009 Christmas catalogue. This includes pictures of the boys with their new school bags purchased with donations from the children at the St Michaels Crib Service. The kitchen is nearing completion and they have their new computer. These were bought with money from the Concert in January.

Coral Richards, Brookside , Westbrook Street , 01235 850218

Sustainable Blewbury

from the BVS Environment Group

This month’s film will be “In Transition 1.0”   on 5th March at 7.30 pm
in the Methodist Church . What communities elsewhere are doing –
“from oil dependence to local resilience.”    Entry free.

Followed by discussion and refreshments (donations please).

There is more information about Sustainable Blewbury on our website at www.sustainable-blewbury.org.uk

Please pay it a visit. It has been recently updated to cover all our main activities.

Please contact us if you would like to be involved in of any of the five main activities:
natural environment & heritage; food & farming, waste & recycling, travel & transport; and energy initiatives.

Batteries: recycling and recharging

Disposable batteries should not be thrown away with the rubbish because they contain toxic chemicals that may be harmful, and which should be recycled. However, at present 97% of disposable batteries end up in landfill. Under a new rule, all shops that sell batteries in reasonable quantities (at least one pack per day) must now provide a bin for recycling used ones. You can also put them out with your green box (in a clear plastic bag), or take them to the local waste disposal site in Drayton.

But why not switch to rechargeables? Standard-size rechargeable batteries (AAA, AA, C or D) cost a couple of times more than disposables, but recharging them costs a small fraction of a penny, so once you have bought the batteries and a suitable charger the running costs are negligible. Newer types of rechargeable batteries such as NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) are much improved over the earlier NiCd (nickel-cadmium) ones.

One caution: there are a few applications where you should not use rechargeables. There is more information on the Sustainable Blewbury website, at: www.sustainable-blewbury.org.uk/batteries.htm

Contacts: Mike Edmunds on 01235 850337, Mike Marshall on 850360

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

The Red Lion hostelry is to be the scene of merriment and singing on March 11th from 8 pm onwards when it hosts a folk music session.

All those who can play an instrument or hold a tune are welcome to attend and join in as we work our way around the bar. Participation is encouraged from all quarters, dancing a hornpipe shall be applauded loudly.

It is hoped that this will be a regular monthly event, if patronised well, on the second Thursday of each month.

All singers, musicians, tale-tellers and participants will be provided with sustenance by the landlord.

Huzzah for the Landlord !!!

Any questions phone Mark Palethorpe 01235 851609

THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY

What does ‘community’ mean for the children of Blewbury School ?

One of the new areas of study in school is citizenship, and in order to develop an understanding of this subject, the children need to consider their place within various communities.

During February the pupils made two significant links with our church community. The first was when the children from JIGSAW (Jesus in Games, Songs and Worship) Club ran our termly church service, and the second came with the pupils’ contribution to the Christingle church service. It was good to see the link between the two groups during early rehearsals as well as at the events themselves.

February also brought the now well-established Partnership International Day. Each local school represents a country and groups of pupils from all schools combine to visit and learn about four ‘countries’. This year Blewbury School represented Egypt and 32 of our children took part.

Moving out from the Didcot area to all of Oxfordshire, a Blewbury School team is proudly representing the county in the English Schools Football Association South West Final; a 7-a-side competition. This takes place in Bristol in March.

Further afield, the children have also been keen to consider the wider world community and responded to the earthquake in Haiti by donating the proceeds from three different events. A Bring and Buy sale was organised by the ‘Culture Club’ (this group meets one afternoon a week to explore games, songs and food from different cultures around the world); Class 4 asked that the money from their cake sale go to the relief fund; and a coffee morning was held for the parents from Class 5 following the children’s assembly about UNICEF and the Day of Change, in which they presented the basic rights of all children (such as the right to education, shelter and food).

Continuing our endeavour to view the world as our community, one of our teachers is working in a school in Germany for a week in February, and I have just been in the Czech Republic developing a new Comenius project with seven European schools to start next September. By the end of February I will have exchanged work with pupils and shared training with teachers in Uganda . All these activities are supported through the British Council.

On March 20th and 21st we will be holding a Festival of Art at the school. Why not come along and see a selection of the pupils’ art alongside work from a wide selection of local artists which will, of course, be for sale.

Marion Mills