Village News

Having a Bard day?

31/01/2024

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 21^st 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

MBE for Elliot Vaughn

22/06/2023

Blewbury’s Elliot Vaughn has been honoured with an MBE in The King’s Birthday Honours list 2023 for outstanding achievement and service to the global LGBTQI community through founding the charity GiveOut.

Elliot, who grew up in the village, founded GiveOut at the end of 2017, to enable individuals and business allies to give in one place to support LGBTQI human rights activism worldwide. Since then, the organisation has granted £1.75 million in new funding to over 40 impactful LGBTQI grass-roots organisations across six continents, ensuring they have more of the resources they need to defend their communities, tackle inequality and campaign for lasting positive change. Congratulations Elliot!

New deputy head for Blewbury School

18/05/2023

Blewbury Primary School are thrilled to announce the appointment of Sam Coleman as the new Assistant Head Teacher and SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) due to start in September 2023.

Mr Coleman will bring his expertise and passion for education to our school community, working closely with staff and pupils to provide the best possible educational experience.

In his role as the most senior member of staff after the Head Teacher. Mr Coleman will be responsible for curriculum development and will work with Miss Reeder to support teaching and learning across the school. As SENCO, he will have dedicated time to help identify and support pupils who may need additional support and facilitate the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle that takes place with teachers throughout the year. He will also be the main contact to liaise with a range of professionals. We are confident that with his wealth of experience in the education sector, having previously worked as a teacher and English Lead in two primary schools and currently as a SENCO at a secondary school in Oxford, Mr Coleman’s fresh ideas and perspectives will benefit our school community and enable us to provide an even richer and more exciting curriculum to our pupils.

Outside of school, he enjoys spending time in nature, visiting bookshops and the theatre. He currently lives in Abingdon with his wife, daughter, and two very boisterous kittens.

We look forward to welcoming Mr Coleman to Blewbury Primary School, and we invite you to join us in congratulating him on his appointment. He will be a fantastic addition to our team and contribute to our shared vision of providing high-quality education and support to all our pupils.

Outdoor Table Tennis

29/05/2023

The Vale of the White Horse Active Communities team will be at Ticker’s Folly Field on Wednesday 31^st 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

Zak’s back!

15/02/2023

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for the well wishes after my accident last year. I would also like to thank The Tony Loy trust for their amazing support over the years.

I have now made a full recovery, and in 2023 have re-signed with Gearlink Kawasaki in the British Supersport for another season. Following that I had a successful four days’ testing in Spain which was my first time back out since the injury.

Join the Journey With the race season approaching I still have some amazing opportunities for businesses/partners to get involved with the British Superbike Championship. Sponsorship packages can be tailored to suit your business. Tickets to rounds of your choice, branding across the bike, suits and helmets, social media posts and interactions. Much more can be discussed further. Any questions feel free to contact me on Zak.corderoy@hotmail.co.uk or Instagram – Corderoy55 Zak Corderoy

“Highly successful at making children feel valued”

23/01/2023

Blewbury Pre-School recently had an Ofsted inspection and we are pleased to have had our overall effectiveness rated as Good. We pride ourselves in what we deliver and we are really happy with the results.

The report has lots of positive comments which should inspire confidence that we are delivering quality early years education. The full report can be found at www.reports.ofsted.gov.uk.

Winning numbers for the January Blewbury Pre-School Lottery were as follows: 1st – 016; 2nd – 004; 3rd – 031. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all our members. If you’d like to support the Blewbury Pre-School Lottery visit www.blewburypreschool.co.uk, or email us at lottery@blewburypreschool.co.uk.

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 1^st and 8^th 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