Over the past year, Blewbury School and the PTA have been fundraising for a new climbing frame. Alongside holding regular PTA events, they secured generous grants from local trusts and charities, including the Tony Loy Trust, the Tim Henman Foundation, the Sanghera Foundation, the Blewbury Music Quiz, and the Blewbury Players.

Thanks to these wonderful supporters, the dream became a reality during the February half-term when a fantastic new climbing frame was installed in the playground. The children have been overjoyed, eagerly climbing, swinging, and playing on their exciting new equipment—creating happy memories that will last for years to come!

Berry Lane Closure – week of 21-28 March

Berry Lane will be closed for a week from 21 – 28 March for the installation of a pipe across the road, between the Church End triangle and the Manor bank, close to the Manor gates. The Parish Council is still trying to extract more details about this work, but none is forthcoming. We believe there will still be pedestrian access (because that makes sense), but not vehicular. The work is being carried out by contractors employed by Oxfordshire County Council, and under the supervision of OCC. The Parish Council

Hi there. I’m Brian, your new webmaster. I’ve taken over from Peter, who’s stood down from looking after the Blewbury website for many years (thanks Peter!).

Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like added to the website, or if there’s something you don’t like or which doesn’t seem to be working properly. You can contact me at webmaster@blewbury.co.uk.

Dan Cooper Motorsport (DCM) has announced the signing of Zak Corderoy for the 2025 Quattro Group British Supersport Championship season.

Zak (above, pictured with Dan Cooper, the team manager) said: “Really pleased to share the 2025 season’s plans with Dan Cooper Motorsport, this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for my support around me. I’m really excited to get going with testing in March on the new Honda CBR600. I really enjoyed my time working with some of the team members on the final round last year after being injured all season. A massive thank you to the Tony Loy Trust who have been supporting me from the age of 14 through till now.”

Zak joins the team after winning the Aprilia Superteen Championship, following it up with success in the Aprilia RRV450 Championship a year later. He also finished third in the 2020 and 2021 Pirelli National Superstock Championships.

Improving the environmental footprint of historic buildings is not straightforward, as many Blewbury residents will be well aware! So, we’re delighted that St Michael’s Church Blewbury has received a Silver Award from A Rocha UK’s Eco Church scheme.

The scheme looks at many areas – how the building and lands are managed, and the impact the church’s activities have on the community and the environment through worship, teaching and encouraging sustainable lifestyle choices. Our picture shows Penny Brassell (with Rev John Clarke behind) proudly holding up the certificate.

Also, on toilet news: following a generous donation from a member of our congregation, we have twinned the Benefice Centre toilet with one in Malawi. This helps fund ‘a project in a community that helps families to build their own basic toilet, access clean water and learn about hygiene – a vital combination that saves lives.’ https://toilettwinning.org

Penny Brassell

Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer for Blewbury Parish Council

Blewbury Parish Council is looking for a clerk and RFO. This part-time position will take between 65 and 75 hours per calendar month, working from home apart from monthly council meetings on the second Wednesday of each month, the annual parish meeting and finance (& other) committee meetings. These are all generally held in the evening.

The clerk provides administrative and clerical support, as well as managing the council’s finances. Local government experience would be an advantage but is not essential – training and personal development is actively encouraged.

We’re looking for a proactive self-starter who can demonstrate a calm, organised approach to work, and show attention to detail. You should have good communication skills, and we’d expect you to be  used to working in Word and Excel. The council uses Scribe to process financial information – prior experience of this not essential.

Salary will be at the appropriate point on the scale LC2 SPC18–28 – between £15.84 and £19.66/hour – depending on experience. There is an allowance of £26/month for working from home, plus pension contributions.

Please contact the clerk at blewburypc@gmail.com for a full job description and application form. The deadline for applications is 31^st January 2025.

My warmest wishes for the new year. It was wonderful to join in local social and festive occasions such as the switching on of Christmas lights.

Before parliament ended, I was able to address ministers about important matters. These included: how local communities can benefit from clean energy schemes, the need for improvements in services provided by coroners following the sudden deaths of those with epilepsy, and the need to address electoral reform. Some responses were more helpful than others!

I was able to speak in debates about the problems faced by those with disabilities, shared concerns raised by poor estate management, and championed the BBC (which I am sure many of us watched and listened to over Christmas).

The Transport Select committee meet to hold the Department of Transport to account. Two key areas discussed have been rail services and infrastructure, and the backlog of driving tests, which so many constituents have aired concerns about.

Flooding remains a significant concern. I chaired a meeting with Thames Water and the local councils to facilitate working together. I will continue to provide updates about this vital piece of work as we need to see real improvements.

My team provides support for all our constituents. Please contact me if I can help, or if you would like me to attend a local event or meet with a local organisation. My parliamentary email address is olly.glover.mp@parliament.uk

If you use social media, you can follow me for more regular updates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OllyGloverLD/ and Bluesky – as I have moved away from X/Twitter: @ollyglover.bsky.social

I look forward to meeting as many as of you as possible in 2025.

Olly

The Blewbury Bulletin is grateful for the fantastic response to our November appeal for a new editor; we had a good number of great candidates.

As a result, we are  pleased to announce that Neville Hargreaves (left) will be taking over the hot seat from early 2025. Neville and his wife Sarah have  lived in Blewbury since 2015 and are part of the team running the Blewbury Garden Market. He works in the renewable fuels industry, on a project to make jet fuel from household waste; he will be going part-time in January which should allow him to spend more time walking – and to edit the Bulletin.

At the same time, Brian Mills (right) will be taking over as online content manager and webmaster. Brian has also lived here since 2015 and works part-time as an IT programme manager.

A Taste of Honey:  all about bees and bee keeping, including honey tasting

Monday 10^th March, 8.00pm Melland Room, tickets £6 including a drink of your choice

Yvonne Parkes, Trustee and Membership Secretary of the Oxfordshire Beekeeping Association, will be talking to us about different types of bees in the UK and why they are so important to our eco system. We’ll learn how we can help our pollinators and enjoy a taste test comparing shop-bought and bee-keeper honeys. Tickets on the door.