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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 dont 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details - these will not be published if you ask for them not to be.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.
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| Traffic Control by Horse-Drawn Caravan |
Horse-drawn
caravan passing Farthingdown on London Road recently which sorted
out the speeding traffic. We note that they had been to Tesco.
(Copyright Bernard Mattimore).
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April Snow |
A few days later on 6th April, the first real snow this year, if only for a few hours
(Pictures copyright Stephen Richards)
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| Web Site Tenth Birthday - A New Look |
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This
web site which is run by the Bulletin has looked much the same since
it was started ten years ago. It was set up to be fast to access
in the bad old days of slow (non-broadband) internet access, and
it has worked very well doing that - there have been almost 100,000
accesses to the home page in the past ten years. However its appearance
has become a bit dated, so we are changing the look of the website
as from 1st May. We are very grateful to Roy East for advice about
its appearance.
The
information on it is the same as before, and you get to it in much
the same way. The individual page names are not changing.
Please look at the new version,
and email editor@blewbury.co.uk
if you see anything you don't think is quite right, or
you know is plain wrong!
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| Easter Events |
Easter Duck Race
Thank
you to everyone who turned out on a very cold and windy day for
the annual Duck Race. It was good to see so much support for the
event despite the weather. The results of the race were as follows:
First:
Penny Brassell
Second: Pippa West
Third: Meirion James
The
winner of the 'Name the Penguin' (very apt for the weather!)
was Gary Thwaites who guessed the penguin's name was 'Ted'. The
event raised over £450 towards ongoing maintenance costs for the
tower
and bells in St Michael's. Thank you. Richard Loyd

The Egg Report
After
warm sunshine for the Duck Race we were greeted by a very cold breeze
at the head of the chalk pits. A very good turn out considering
the conditions, and those hardy soles came with a competitive spirit!
First
up was best dressed egg, A really tough day for our judge but it
was eventually won by a six year old boy with a Superhero Egg, a
great effort! The standard was so high that our judge asked for
a second prize to be awarded to a young lady for Artistic merit.
Sadly neither egg could be saved from the hill!
A
number of tactics were employed for the egg rolling from dodgy paint
to layers of tape but it seams that nothing can beat a well boiled
egg! Some eggs failed to even make it down the track, making the
conditions a little sticky for others!
We
had a couple of International entrants this year from Australia, but
they that failed to make to the final (no surprise there then).
The
winners were U5 Ruby & Conner, U8 Elisabeth & Tyler, U11
Mariella & George, U16 Holly & Todd and for the adults Kirsty
and Alex. No pensioners this year, but the pets prize was won by
Bitsey! Lets hope for better weather next year and thanks to all
the entrants. Cheers Lonsdale
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| Local History - Pubs |
We
are still looking into the history of the village pubs, so if you
have a tale about one of them, then do ring Bruce Brock (01235 850730)
or Audrey (01235 850427). We were, for example, told recently about
the stock pot that was always on the go on the fire at the old Barley
Mow, where passing carters or shepherds or farmworkers could dip
their hunk of bread in for an old penny. Thanks to Meg Prior for
that nice tale. Next meeting is at Robinsons, Tuesday May 13th at
8 pm, newcomers welcome.
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| Energy Advice |
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What Improvements Have You Made?
At the start of the Blewbury Energy Initiative (BEI), many villagers
kindly filled in Home Energy Questionnaires that allowed us to get
a snap-shot of the energy efficiency of Blewbury homes.
The key findings were
Whilst many homes had a degree
of loft insulation, the majority would benefit from a top up to
10-12 inches in depth
There was scope for a much
larger uptake of low energy light bulbs within Village homes
There were still homes with
cavity walls that had not had them insulated
A reasonable proportion of
homes would benefit from improved hot water tank lagging and the
installation of a hot water tank thermostat
Early
next year we will be re-surveying Blewbury homes to see how successful
(or otherwise) the BEI has been in encouraging change and improvement
in energy efficiency within the village. So, if like the author,
you have been a bit slow off the mark in undertaking improvements,
such as those listed above, the next few months would be a good
time to commence. See www.blewbury.org/energy
for assistance, or call Ian Bacon on 01635 817420.
Finally,
if you have old bills with meter readings on them for your property
going back for any period over 12 months, we would find this information
very useful and would treat it in strict confidence. We can accept
information via the e-mail address on the website www.blewbury.co.uk/energy
, or in hard copy, posted through the letterbox of 4,
Bridus Mead.
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| Players' News |
News April 2008
Auditions
have been held and we are on our way to what we hope will be a fantastic
performance of Chaucers The Canterbury Tales directed
by Tim Welton. Performances in the week ending Saturday 19th July;
for details see the advert elsewhere in the Bulletin. We were very
heartened by the numbers coming forward for auditions, old and new,
lots of youngsters too, which bodes well for the future. We would
still like to hear from anybody who would like to help off stage,
its great fun honestly. The box office will again be at the Vale
Room of the Village Hall on Saturday14th June for both the Summer
Play and the Garden Opera Companys production of Donizettis
Don Pasquale, details elsewhere in the bulletin. As the
tickets for the play and the opera are sold on a first come first
served basis, it pays to come along on the Box Office day. The Opera
only runs for one night and is always fully subscribed. After box
office day, Savages Greengrocers and Nurserymen have agreed again
to run the Box Office , Monday to Friday 9.00 6.00, from their
premises on London Road for which we are very grateful. Apparently,
they also do a good line in fruit and veg. Later in the year we
have a couple of things planned, more in the next bulletin. If you
have any queries about the Players or would like to join us, contact
our secretary chrislakeland@hotmail.com
or evenings and weekends on 0775 3880607 , or via our
website
www.blewburyplayers.co.uk
The
Friends of Blewbury Players
go from strength to strength but there is still time to join us.
Fill in the form residing on our website or contact our Friends
secretary Julie, address on form.
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| Breast Cancer Walk |
UNITE WITH US AGAINST BREAST CANCER
At
MIDNIGHT on Sat 17th May 2008 Sam Jones (neacute;e Fairhurst) previously
of Blewbury and friend Emma Lawson from Chilton will once again
be taking part in the Playtex Moonwalk, donning our all new pink
flashing bras!! The 26.2 mile power walk through the streets of
London is to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research
and cancer care.
Any
donation WILL make a BIG difference to this fantastic cause, and
knowing you are behind us, will make our combined 560 training-miles
worth every step! If you would like to
support us, you can safely sponsor us online at
www.justgiving.co.uk/lovelylunatics
alternatively Doreen Fairhurst (Sam's mum) will have
a sponsor form available at 3 London Road, Blewbury if you would
prefer to sponsor in that way. To find out more about Walk the Walk
fundraising events and how the money raised is used, please visit
www.walkthewalk.org
. Sam Jones
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| Blewbury Village Society |
Egg Rolling see Easter Events.
Christmas Cards Project 2008
after the recent snow in April we would like to give one last
call to submit any Wintery/snowy images that you may have captured
by May 6th. Please
submit these in jpeg (as high res as possible) to
bvs_mail@tiscali.co.uk,
or normal photos which we could scan, to Ian Bacon at 4 Bridus Mead.
BVS
Annual General Meeting 27 April, 7.30 pm at The Load of Mischief all welcome
The
BVS is for everyone in the village and by living in Blewbury you
are automatically a member. The BVS committee work hard throughout
the year to bring you some of the events that make this village
special, such as the Summer Dance, the Fireworks, Santas Sleigh
and the Boxing Day Walk. From time to time the committee needs new
members and this is currently the case; so if you can spare some
time, are keen to be more involved in
village life and would like to have some fun along the way, please
contact Ian Bacon on 01235 850321 or bvs_mail@tiscali.co.uk
for more details.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Village Green Day, Saturday 17 May
includes Village Litter Pick, Gravelling Paths & Refreshments
for those taking part. This will be a bi-annual event and will hopefully
keep the village looking clean and pleasant. Many hands make light
work!! Meet 10am at the Vale Room
- please bring gloves, spades & wheelbarrow.
Summer Dance, Saturday 21 June
the BVS are delighted to announce the details of this years 'Mid-Summer
Dance'. The beautiful gardens of Ashbrook House (or if wet, the
Village Hall) will provide the fabulous backdrop for an evening
of entertainment headed up our band for the night 'The Xenons'.
There will be a raffle with some great prizes and a prize for the
group with the 'best picnic'. We are also very grateful to the Cricket
Club who will be running a bar. Put the date in your diary and buy
your tickets ASAP - available from 1st May from the Post Office
or Garage.
BVS website
www.blewburyvillagesociety.org
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| Croquet Club |
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Croquet Coaching for Beginners
On
10th May Blewbury Croquet Club is running a beginners coaching course
suitable for all ages of people who want to learn the game of Association
Croquet. It will be led by nationally qualified coaches and held
at our lawns on Tickers Folly Field. It is free for members and
costs just £10 for non-members which will be refunded if you subsequently
join the club this year. For more information or to book a place
on the course please contact Nick Butler 01235 851581 or Jim Bartlett
01491 873307.
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| Bridge Club |
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Blewbury
players were very successful at the recent final of the Waller Bowl,
held at Windsor Leisure Centre - all 4 pairs finished in the top
30, out of a total entry of 93, with Alan Prior and Nigel Carter
finishing in a very good 6th. place, and another pair winning the
prize for best 2nd. half performance (outside the top 8 main prizewinners).
A good advertisement for Blewbury bridge!
Matters
affecting the future of Duplicate Bridge in England , and therefore
how it may affect our club, are beginning to reach a climax, with
the English Bridge Union recently publishing its final proposals
for the future strategy of the game. There are certain issues with
which the committee are not entirely happy and, by the time
you read this, we will have held an Extraordinary General Meeting
in order to determine our response to the Strategy as published,
and to determine whether to support it or not at the consultative
meeting to be held on May 1st. by our County Association, representatives
of whom will be among the 'shareholders' of the EBU who will vote
on whether to accept the Strategy at the EBU early in June. Depending
on the result of this, the club will then have to decide at our
AGM on how we will fit in to any new arrangements and what
the future of our club should be.
There
will be a 'Novices' evening on May 15th. - subsequent evenings will,
unfortunately, have to be temporarily cancelled for a few months.
Michael Allen 01235 851870
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| Village Produce Association |
I
missed the last bulletin because I hadnt got my brain around the
fact that bank holidays late in the month brings the deadline forward
by a week, I am now hopefully up to speed on this phenomenon!
Our
next talk is on Wednesday 7th May, at UPTON Methodist hall, 7.30pm,
when David Day will give us a talk on Small Gardens The Pendon
Museum, now I dont know about you, but there are times when I
wish my lawn was as easy to cut as the miniature gardens would be,
astro turf all the way! However, if anyone needs a lift, then let
me know and I will arrange one for you (01235 850219).
Our
next treat is on Saturday 7th June, when a small group of us will
be going to RHS Wisley, coach cost will be £15, entrance free, as
we are an affiliated group. Names to Maggie or Austin on 01235 850364
please, spaces are limited, and names on the board at the next talk
will be taken first! Members only though, join now! Available at
the post offices or a committee member, or ring any number mentioned
here!
So
my fellow gardeners are complaining about the weather, the ground
is too wet to prepare in the vegetable patch, too windy to prune
things, too cold in the greenhouse, last year we were complaining
about too little rain! We cant win! My garden is also slow to start
off, when the weather warms up, so will I!
Dont
forget that as members you can hire tools etc, ring Joyce on 01235
850388.
Happy gardening, Karen Brooks
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| Blewbury Football Club |
Recent Results
| 16th February | div 1 | Harwell village | 1 - 2 | Blewbury | |
| | div 3 | Blewbury Reserves | v | Marcham Reserves | - match postponed |
| 23rd February | div 1 | Saxton Rovers | 1 - 1 | Blewbury | |
| 3rd March | div 1 | Lambourn | 3 - 1 | Blewbury | |
| | div 3 | Blewbury Reserves | 1 - 4 | Botley | |
| 8th March | div 1 | Blewbury | 3 - 2 | Harwell Village | |
| | div 3 | Drayton Reserves | 2 - 1 | Blewbury Reserves | |
| 15th March | div 1 | Blewbury | 2 - 0 | Saxton Rovers | |
| | div 3 | Grove Reserves | 5 - 3 | Blewbury Reserves | |
| 22nd March | div 1 | Wooton | 1 - 2 | Blewbury | |
| | div 3 | Blewbury Reserves | 2 - 3 | Faringdon Reserves | |
| 29th March | div 1 | Harwell International | 2 - 3 | Blewbury | |
| | div 3 | Blewbury Reserves | 2 - 1 | Benson Lions | |
| 5th April | div 1 | Blewbury | 4 - 2 | Drayton | |
| | div 3 | Marcham | 2 - 0 | Blewbury Reserves | |
| 7th April | div 1 | Blewbury | 4 - 2 | Harwell International | |
| 12th April | div 3 | Blewbury Reserves | 3 - 4 | Grove Reserves | |
The Reserves need to one more win to guarantee div 3 football next season.
The 1st team need a win and a draw to guarantee runner#146;s up spot - their highest ever finish
Paul Woods (07725 469330)
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| Blewbury Tennis Club |
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There
is lots going on with Blewbury Tennis Club now we are coming into
the Spring and Summer months and the better weather is here (were
also optimists at the Tennis Club!).
The
new membership year is almost upon us, the rates this year are £18
for Juniors, £25 for Young Persons, £48 for Adults and £78 for a
Family. If you enjoy tennis at any level but are not already a member,
please consider joining us, we are always delighted to welcome new
members. (contact Sarah Sayers (851450 or sarahpsayers@btinternet.com
) Come and meet us on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May from
2.30 when the courts will be open to all. We are a friendly club
with four courts (two are newly resurfaced), with players of all
standards, lots of competitive, social and Junior tennis and varied
non tennis related social events. More details of these are below.
Club
sessions are, all year round, on Sunday mornings (mixed) at 10.30am,
Wednesdays at 9.15am (ladies) and during the summer on Wednesdays
at 6.30pm (mixed). No need for a partner, just turn up and play.
The Clubs doubles tournaments (one each for mixed, ladies and men)
will once again run over the summer months with Finals day on Sunday
14 th September. Please use the membership form to enter or contact
fiona.betts@btopenworld.com .
For
Juniors, there will be a summer camp, starting on 21st July run
by Jason Harrison. More details can be obtained from
jasonharrison@supanet.com .
The
Bucks Fizz Womens Doubles Charity Tournament is taking place on
Wednesday 14 May. This is a very enjoyable day with tennis and lunch
being offered. It is open to non members and has become a must do
event on the Oxfordshire tennis calendar. There are currently a
few spaces remaining, please contact Lindy Farrell on 850275 if
you are interested.
The
first ever Inter-Village tournament is planned for Sunday 15 th
June. Blewbury is inviting the Astons, the Moretons / Brightwell
and Upton / Chilton to put forward teams and the objective is to
have a day of good competitive tennis with a BBQ and a few drinks.
Supporters are very welcome and the start is likely to be around
2pm. If you are keen to play for your village, it is open to non
members too, or would like more information please contact Tom Coates
on 850238.
Due to popular demand, we are holding another Progressive Supper on
Saturday 7 th June. Please contact Jenny Craig, 851055,
jcraig.tst@btinternet.com for details.
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