All posts by Elaine de Ridder

Having a Bard day?

31/01/2024
Bard

 

So you’re interested in Shakespeare? (Well, the picture obviously caught your attention…) Or maybe, ever since school, you hate him and all his works? Fair enough. What I want to know is: if you love him, would you welcome an opportunity to get to know him better? And if you hate him, would you be willing to give him one more try? I only ask because I’m kind of astonished at the number of people who turn up for my talks on the various Shakespeare plays that the Players have put on over the years, and I’m wondering whether there’s an appetite for some kind of local Shakespeare group that might take things to the next level.

What is the next level? You tell me. It could be:

  • Talks on Shakespeare – any aspect you like. (That would probably mean more of me to start with, but if we can get some momentum going it might also mean actual professional scholars/actors/directors who can be persuaded to do something not-too-academic for the price of a nice meal.)
  • Group trips to Stratford to see shows or visit the houses where Shakespeare and his family lived
  • Similar trips to London for theatres and historic Shakespearean locations
  • Events focusing on current GCSE/A level set texts
  • Shakespeare-themed, sack-fuelled annual dinners
  • All or none of the above

If this sounds in any way your cup of tea, please call me on 851055 or email me at editor@blewbury.co.uk with (preferably) some specific thing you’d like to see or hear or do, or just a general ‘might be interested’. Shakespeare, to me, is an inexhaustible mine of miracles and wonder, so it would be good to find people who might want to do some more digging!  Thanks for reading.  Chris Whatmore

Dedication of Methodist War Memorial

24/12/2023

The picture shows that the War Memorial is already in place in the Lychgate of Blewbury’s New Cemetery. We are grateful to Blewbury Parish Council for permission to put it there and to members of BlewShed for installing it.

There will be a short Dedication Service (blessing) of the War Memorial at 2.30 on Sunday 21st January at the Lychgate led by Didcot Methodist Church’s minister, Rev. Bruce Thompson. We would be pleased if you join us for this short service.

Blewbury and Upton Methodist Churches both closed at Easter in 2013, and the members all moved on to other local Methodist churches. We wanted the war memorial to stay here in Blewbury because we were aware that the families of some of the men commemorated still live in Blewbury but we thought it would have to be housed in some sort of expensive protective cabinet, which is why it has taken so long to install.   Jo Lakeland

Outdoor Table Tennis

29/05/2023

The Vale of the White Horse Active Communities team will be at Ticker’s Folly Field on Wednesday 31st May from 2-4 pm to run a multi-sports activities event at our new Outdoor Table Tennis Table.

This Active Communities team, who helped us acquire the new outdoor table tennis table, are keen to promote its use. They will organise a range of fun activities suitable for all ages  and abilities. There will free bats and balls to be won and all sorts of other surprises in the half-term sunshine. Do come along in comfortable shoes ready to have fun, be active and win prizes.

In the meantime the Blewbury Table Tennis Club welcomes new participants of all ages and abilities at our weekly Blewbury Village Hall sessions every Tuesday from 5:00 – 6:30pm.  Roger Murphy, Chair of the Blewbury Table Tennis Club

 

Oxfordshire Electric Vehicle car club

26/04/2023

Oxfordshire Electric Vehicle car club pilot launches

Fourteen new car club EVs have launched across Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Eynsham, Henley, Kidlington, Oxford, Thame, Witney, Wallingford and Wantage.

These shared vehicles – operated by CoWheels, Enterprise CarClub and Thame EV Hire Club – are available for people to use on a pay-per-use basis that provides a convenient and affordable alternative to individual car ownership, as well as providing an opportunity for petrol and diesel drivers to try an EV without any long-term commitment.  https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/electric-vehicle-pilot

Modern-day Almshouse

01/04/2023

Find out how you can invest in a modern-day alms house for our community – 7–8 pm on Wednesday, 19 April at the Vale Room in Blewbury Village Hall

If you are looking for a genuinely good investment opportunity that will also help a family in need, don’t miss this event hosted by Blewbury Resettlement Support Team (ReST). Your support has helped ReST achieve our initial funding target to help a refugee family start a new life as part of our community. However, we have yet to find a suitable house to rent that would allow us to welcome a family in need.

We’re also very aware that many people are also struggling to find a home in these challenging times. With this in mind, we are exploring an investment opportunity that would allow us to buy a house in Blewbury. For the first 2-3 years this would house a refugee family, but thereafter it could be offered at an affordable rent to any local family in need. A modern-day alms house, funded by the local community…

At the meeting, we will hear from Homes With Purpose (www.homeswithpurpose.org), an Oxford charity which has bought and rented out six homes in the city using the same model that ReST proposes to use. There will also be ample opportunity to ask questions over drinks and nibbles.

To find out more ahead of the event, or to register your interest, please email lydandmuz@gmail.com.

Outdoor Table Tennis

Just in the last few days our brand new top quality outdoor table tennis table has been delivered, constructed and installed on Tickers Folly Field. Huge thanks to the District Council, who gave it to us, to the Parish Council, who brokered the deal, and to all who helped in different ways with this exciting venture – especially Mark Shayler, who did the groundwork and put in the concrete base and playing area.

The table is there now 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone to go to play on it (although we don’t yet have floodlights installed!). Some tips for first time users are to take a cloth or old towel with you to wipe down the surface as it often gets wet or slightly muddy overnight. Also take your own bats and balls, as there is nowhere there where we can store them. And finally try to choose a time when the wind isn’t too strong! Table tennis is fine as an outdoor game if the conditions are still, but if the wind is strong it can be very difficult to have a good game.

On Saturday April 1st and 8th from 2-3pm members of the Blewbury Table Tennis Club will be up there with bats, balls, and coaching advice (if needed), so why not come up and have a go on Blewbury’s new play area? Also if you want to play on our four fabulous indoor tables do join us for our regular Blewbury Table Tennis Club sessions in Blewbury Village Hall every Tuesday from 5-6pm. All standards and ages welcome.

Roger Murphy, Chair, Blewbury Table Tennis Club

New nature reserve and woodland

25/08/2022

Nature reserve – Sustainable Blewbury’s negotiations with Thames Water to convert the old sewage works site, at the end of the concrete path going north from the Village Hall, to a nature reserve have progressed well and we are now expecting work to commence in autumn. This first stage will be carried out by Thames Water contractors and when the work is complete, hopefully in early spring, we will be calling for volunteers to help manage the site. Before then we plan a full project launch with a presentation of what to expect on completion.

Woodland – On the way to that site is the field that was once the Quaker burial ground. The owner, in an act of very great generosity, is planning that SB should take it over to create a woodland for the benefit of the village and to assist the national campaign to increase tree cover in the fight against climate change. This project will need a lot of input from the village in terms of both hard physical labour and financial support. Planning is well underway and we hope to present our ideas in September.   John Ogden, Chair, Sustainable Blewbury

 

Blewbury Art Project

Calling all local artists… An exciting new art project for Blewbury!

We have a grant from the Vale of White Horse District Council for a village art project. Initially linked to the village hall refurbishment, this one-off commission now has a wider remit – to celebrate our village and all that makes it a special place to live. It will be sited on a public open space in Blewbury.

We are seeking a local artist to lead on this opportunity, and will favour applicants who can demonstrate how they will involve the community in their design. The artwork could be in any medium or material – as long as it is durable and reasonably easy to maintain – and could celebrate any feature or aspect of the village, from historic architecture to chalk streams, downland views to atomic energy!

Interested artists should contact lisashayler@aol.com for an email copy of the brief. A paper copy can be provided if required. The brief details the application process, including how to submit your ‘expression of interest’ in time for the deadline of 17th October. The Blewbury Art Project steering group – made up of artists, villagers and PC reps – will then shortlist applicants to discuss their ideas, before appointing the winning artist. We hope to install the new artwork during next spring/summer, and can’t wait to see your ideas…

  • Blewbury Art Project Steering Group
  • (photo is to show we have talent in the village!)

 

THE BIG JUBILEE AFTERNOON IN BLEWBURY

27/02/2022

SUNDAY 5TH JUNE – NOON – 5PM

This event will be run by Blewbury School PTA in conjunction with a small team from the village and will be held in the School grounds and the Village Hall. This report is written prior to our big open meeting (on 17th March) at which a lot more ideas will be discussed.  The main framework is much the same as the report on the front page of the March Bulletin – the emphasis of the event is for the whole village to get together and have an afternoon of fun and enjoyment. We start with a Pig Roast prepared by Sheila Austin and a vegetarian/vegan option. You are welcome to bring your own picnics and there will be a Bar and soft drinks at attractive prices so don’t bother to carry heavy bottles. The Brass Band will play while we have our lunch and then the activities will begin.

There will be something for everybody. Games, stories, face painting. Cream Teas, a variety of stalls selling plants, cakes, bread, honey and local produce. Bingo for young and old, children’s races, have a go at short tennis, a boules competition, make a Crown craft stall. A demonstration of wood turning. A display of the Queen’s previous Jubilees by the History Society. A scarecrow competition. A flower festival. A display and demonstration about the Chalk Streams and a host of other things to do OR just find nice seat in the shade and chat to your friends and family.

The afternoon will end with the traditional Tug of War which always gets everybody on their feet cheering on their teams.  There will be full details and a timetable in the May Bulletin and we look forward to seeing you there. This is an event not to be missed!

At 6pm in St Michael’s Church. Our Jubilee Celebrations will come to a conclusion with a Special Choral Evensong  Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s long and devoted reign to which everybody is warmly welcome.

Any comments, ideas or queries, please contact Pat Mattimore on 01235 851088 or at bernardmat@btinternet.com

 

Blewbury’s Green Lungs

31/01/2022

The last in our series on the green spaces that help shape the special character of our village covers privately-owned land at Parsonage Farm and Orchard Dene.

In the heart of the village, Parsonage Farm is bounded by South Street and two small streams that run down to Watt’s Lane. The western stream provides a natural boundary between Orchard Dene and the garden of Parsonage Farm. Both properties were once part of the ancient prebendal (church) manor of Blewbury. Parsonage Farm was probably the main holding of this manor, and would have had a fine house (long gone) to serve the canons of Salisbury Cathedral when in residence. (Bishop Osmund, a nephew of William the Conqueror, was given church lands in Blewbury, and these were among many properties mined to endow the new cathedral in 1091.) Parsonage Farm was a thriving dairy farm, including a small retail unit called Robinson’s Dairy, until the post-war compulsory purchase of its fields to the east (for ‘Eastfields’) rendered it uneconomical, although rural links remained – there was a blacksmith’s forge here until the 1970s.

The 1805 Enclosure Award refers to Orchard Dene – the field that shelters the Blewbury Wagon – rather obviously as ‘part of an orchard’. At the end of the 18th century, land in this area was farmed by Thomas Watt, whose name lives on in the public footpath leading from South Street to the north side of the churchyard. It is from Watt’s Lane that walkers can gain the best view of both green spaces – these views provide us with a 21st century sense of Blewbury’s very rural origins. Both Orchard Dene and Parsonage Farm are home to a number of mature trees including chestnut, ash and blackthorn. At Parsonage, much of the ground is deliberately left to itself, providing an abundant home for insects and birds including green woodpeckers, little owls, tawny owls and red kites. There are also plenty of squirrels, muntjac and foxes. Orchard Dene and the land at Parsonage Farm help to form ‘the core of paddocks, orchards and streams’ referenced in the 1985 village plan – special places ‘for us, and for those who come after us’. Blewbury is lucky that the owners of both places are custodians who wish to keep nature right at the heart of our village.  Sustainable Blewbury