Congestion Charge Permits – The Oxford temporary congestion charge for cars comes into effect on 29th October.

Oxfordshire residents can apply for a free permit that gives you 25 day passes per car per calendar year. Households can apply for a maximum of two cars. Each pass is valid for one day’s travel for all six congestion charge locations.

Without a permit, car drivers can choose an alternative route or mode of transport or pay the daily charge.
Additional permits are available for certain groups including Blue Badge holders, unpaid carers, community health and care workers, mobile traders and patients required to attend frequent hospital appointments in Oxford.
You can apply here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/oxfords-temporary-congestion-chargecars/
congestion-charge-permits

The Trustees once again welcome applications from any Blewbury resident of any age for help with the current financial pressures.

Applications to other sources for help will not prevent you for being eligible for help from us. The application process is totally  confidential; forms will be available from 28th October inside the Church porch, just call in and pick one up! If you are stuck at home and unable to collect a form, please call one of our Trustees on
(01235) 851057 and a form will be delivered to you. Alternatively, please email us on MalthusTrust@gmail.com and a form can be emailed to you. The closing date for applications is 22nd November and the return addresses will be shown on the forms. We hope to distribute funds in late November/early December.

Sad to say but if pub closures continue at current rates, then within the lifetime of our children, pubs will no longer exist.

Even though one of the most important factors in determining the purchase of a new house is…. how far is the nearest pub? It’s not all about alcohol – we offer a selection of more than 10 alcohol free/LA beers and ciders.
Research by CBRE confirms that 29% of pub visits no longer involve the consumption of alcohol, and 37% of all restaurant meals are alcohol free. Pubs are now in the business of entertainment, and at the Red Lion we have something for everyone, no matter what is your taste, age or interests:
Monday Funday is a time for the younger cohorts to meet and play board and card games. Hear talks on travel and adventure. Learn how to be a Barista and how to pour the perfect pint. On the last Monday of the month it’s also Open Mic for any budding musician to practise their skills and take part in a little soiree.
Tuesday Darts night involves a competitive league of home and away fixtures. The Red Arrows are the team to follow on the darts circuit and the Red Lion offers the best team burger and chips.
Wednesday Quiz is a test your knowledge against c. 10 local teams slogging it out for the top spot, or join up for Ralph’s Pointless quiz.  There’s also an afternoon film club viewing and sometimes a Paddock classic car evening.
Thursday Combo is now well established as a Thursday evening regular for all kinds of live music with a rotating themed street food offering from as far afield as Mexico or Greece or even Nepal.
Friday Mum and Dads night usually gives way to their more energetic, agile and trendy offspring for enjoying their own piano recitals or playlists until late into the night.
Saturday Sports day includes rugby, tennis, golf and some national sports fixtures, or often special celebrations.
Sunday is of course not a Sunday without the traditional roast lunch. Only the best locally produced Charolais beef or rolled shoulder of pork will do. Then it’s chill out time to round off a typical week.
There’s much more to come at the Red Lion – follow our instagram @redlionblew for more information. Everyday our Ukrainian Lionsden kitchen team produce homemade authentic Ukrainian dishes for lunch or dinner, including deruny (potato rosti), Shuba (chopped herring), borscht with ribeye strips, chicken schnitzel with avocado salad and then to finish with Charlotka apple crumble and Medovik honey cake puddings. Hospitality is changing faster than you can say cheers!

Changes are afoot at the Blueberry Pub, so let us bring you up to date.

The Thai Gastro will be leaving at the end of November to a new venue in the Didcot area. We thank Viktor, Sea and their team for a fantastic three years of bringing amazing food to Blewbury. I think you will all agree you would be hard pushed to find better Thai cuisine anywhere and we wish them every success in the future.
Change is good and for our customers especially so. We embrace it and are excited for the future. Here at The Blueberry our fantastic team always aims to bring a great customer experience; we want to bring something equally exciting with fresh food daily and a diverse menu, including real food for the children (little people deserve proper food, not frozen processed and fried). With that in mind, what better food than that of Mediterranean cuisines? And so La Parilla Fantastico (The Fantastic Grill) is born: Mediterranean fusion with a strong leaning to Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish dishes.
We will be refitting and decorating the restaurant and kitchen for a new look, comfortable and rustic and with all the equipment needed for our new team to bring you amazing fresh cuisine. Ice cream, chips and peas will be frozen, that’s it – and in time, in house cut chips and homemade Gelato from our Italian Chef Danele will also be on the menu. Breakfast will be available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and Sunday Roasts every week.
The changeover is going to be intense and to be honest it’s not the best time of the year to do it, but we are up for the challenge and hope to be up and running in under two weeks; oh and the pizzas will be staying.
We will update news on the BVS site and look out for our traditional advert methods. Advance bookings can be made on 01235 850296 – including Christmas and Boxing Day lunches, yes that’s correct, Christmas Day lunch at the Blueberry Pub. See BVS for details or call in and ask. We look forward to serving you and making your dining experience second to none.

From 10th November to 19th December

Blewbury and Upton bellringers’ Christmas post is nearly with us. For those who don’t know, we provide local deliveries of Christmas cards, in aid of tower funds. This year we are very pleased to say that North Moreton village is now joining our Christmas postal service. Post boxes will be in the Red Lion, the Blueberry, the Post Office and the Shell petrol station from Monday, 10th November. Last posting will be on 19th December at 3.00pm. The cost has not been increased and is still great value at 30p per card! Richard Loyd

Extra Bin Collection: 27th October to 7th November

Residents who have purchased a permit for the district council brown bin garden waste collection service in South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse can have extra garden waste collected for free, on their normal scheduled collection day only, between 27th October and 7th November. Permit holders can put out a maximum of four additional sacks of garden waste, per brown bin subscription, next to their brown bin.

27th October  – 7th November

Residents who have purchased a permit for the district council brown bin garden waste collection service in South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse can have extra garden waste collected for free, on their normal scheduled collection day only, between 27th October and 7th November. Permit holders can put out a maximum of four additional sacks of garden waste, per brown bin subscription, next to their brown bin.

Monday 3rd November, 8pm – Melland Room

Tales of a 666-mile walk from Blewbury to Islay

What’s it like to walk 15+ miles a day for seven weeks? Which bits hurt the most? Neville Hargreaves will share stories and pictures from his epic walk in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (and perhaps a dram of Islay whisky if you’re lucky). Fear not – no pictures of his feet will be shared. Tickets £8 (includes a drink) on the door (opens 7.45pm)

Saturday 8th November

The BVS Fireworks Night is back this year on Saturday 8th November in Tickers Folly Field.
We have a spectacular firework display planned, and the bar and baked potato stalls will be back, under our marquee. Gates will open at 6:00 pm, the bonfire will be lit at 6:30 pm and the fireworks will start at 7:00 pm.
Entry is £6 for adults and £3 for children – cash or card accepted (card preferred). The entry fee includes a baked potato, so it’s a great value family night out!
We will have the usual wood collection for the bonfire with a small collection fee. We are working on transport, but spaces may be limited, so please email blewburybvs@gmail.com or phone Caroline on 07790 566754 if you would like your address to be included on the rounds. The deadline for a request for wood collection was Friday 31st October (sorry if you missed that!) so that we can plan the route. We politely request that you only put out reasonably clean firewood and remove as much metal and plastic as possible. Unfortunately, if you do not adhere to this, we may need to refuse to pick the wood up, so thanks in advance for your cooperation.
As always, we need lots of volunteers for this event – in particular with wood collection and potato baking beforehand, and with setup and refreshment serving on the night. If you can help, please email us at the BVS email address above. We’d love to hear from you!

11th November

Remembrance Service in Church, 10.45am – All welcome