Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Skip to content

Blewbury News

Blewbury Village Society

September 1, 2024

Thank you to the village for your support for our spring and summer events!

It seems like such a long time ago now, but the BVS would like to say a huge thank you to our generous hosts the Barrett family; the fantastic band, McFunky; and all the helpers at the Summer Dance. A great time was had by all!

Fireworks Night, Saturday 2nd November – Following our summer break, we are now preparing for our autumn events, the first of which is the BVS Fireworks Night, to be held on Saturday 2nd November in Tickers Folly Field: put the date in your diary! The bar will be selling beer and mulled wine again, and we hope lots of you can attend.

We will have the usual wood collection beforehand and will be charging a small fee for this. More details on how to get your address on the list for pickup will follow in the October Bulletin.

We need lots of helpers for this event – in particular with wood collection and potato baking beforehand, and with setup and refreshment serving on the night. If you would be able to help out at all or have any queries, please get in touch at blewburybvs@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Blewbury Garden Market, Saturdays, 9:15–11:00 (until September) – The BGM’s 15th year is continuing to be a success, and we have been delighted to see several new faces this year, as well as a great range of crops and home-baked goodies. This community venture on Saturday mornings on the garage forecourt gives local people an opportunity to sell excess home-grown or home-made produce and plants, to promote local food and reduce waste. We welcome all types of produce for sale, including fresh fruit and vegetables, cut flowers, seedlings and plants, free-range eggs and home cooking – such as jams and chutneys, bread and cakes. Producers set their own prices for their sale items; the BGM takes a 10% levy to cover costs. See blewburygm.co.uk for more information.

BVS marquee for hire – The BVS marquee is available for hire by other groups, societies and individuals in the village for a small charge. It measures 12m × 6m and has sides if needed. If you were at the Beer Festival, or have supported the Fireworks or Summer Dance you may have seen it in action. To book it, contact lydia.wanstall@gmail.com.

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION – CALL FOR NEW MEMBERS

The Blewbury branch of the RBL held a special meeting in July, where it was decided that as we didn’t have enough members for a full committee, we would have to be designated as a CSB, which means we are now managed by the County team.

In order for us to be an independent branch again, we desperately need some new members. If you have served in the armed forces, or like me, have family currently serving or who have served in the past, please consider joining us so that we can support them as much as possible. To join, go to the RBL website, www.britishlegion.org.uk or contact Bill Gore billgore@hotmail.co.uk or me karencbrooks@gmail.com. Thank you

Sustainable Blewbury

Sustainable Blewbury upcoming events!

Apple-juicing – Do you have a glut of apples? How about juicing and preserving them? Bring washed apples (bad bits removed but not cores) and your own clean bottles or containers to the Manor, Berry Lane on: September 1, 29 and October 13, 27 between 2 and 4pm. Arrive by 3pm if you want to pasteurise your juice (which will need glass screw top bottles). There is also a session on Sept 15 from 10am to noon. Costs: £1.50 to press a large bucket or basket of apples plus 30p per bottle to pasteurize. You can also freeze unpasteurised juice (in plastic containers). We do not supply bottles or containers.

If you have a larger quantity of apples, you can hire our equipment for a charge of £15 per day if you live in the village or Upton, £20 if you live elsewhere. For further information email Andy:  andy3210123@gmail.com

Nature Reserve – I hope you have had an opportunity to visit the site since it reopened in August even though the paths are still a bit overgrown; several young yellowhammers have been spotted recently. We will be maintaining the site on the second Saturday morning of every month:  next dates 14 Sept, 12 Oct, 9 Nov. If you would like to help and are not already on our list of volunteers, please email the secretary below.

Repair Café, Sun 15 Sept, 2 to 4pm, Village Hall – Bring your household items including clothing, electrical, and gardening articles for mending, tools for sharpening and bikes for fixing for free. Refreshments available. Donations welcome to cover costs.

Quaker Wood – Great news at last! We can announce that the parcel of land called Quaker’s Croft is now owned by Sustainable Blewbury. It is an act of extraordinary generosity to the village by the previous owner. Contractors will plant a woodland for us on the site over the course of the next six months or so. The Millbrook which runs along the eastern boundary will be enhanced and there will be glades and walkways for us all to enjoy.

A woodland is a long-term project, not much more than a sea of canes and protective spirals in the short term. We will be looking for volunteers to join us in the initial work and the ongoing maintenance. To that end we are planning an exhibition to show how the woodland will look when complete and to ask all of those who have volunteered in the past to confirm their commitment to helping with this exciting new project. More details in the next Bulletin.

BLEWBURY FREECYCLE   FREE ITEMS TO A GOOD HOMEE-MAILTEL NO.
·    Stand alone garden trug 104cmx77cm. Needs new liner. ·    Adjustable dressmaker’s form (body).Lyn Blackie blackies10@btinternet.com850795
SISIS lawn aerator, which you need to push by hand. 42 cm wide. Width between wheels 57 cm. Over 40 years old and not used in that time but still very sharp. Feels quite heavy to me!Jane Kinniburgh Janehkinniburgh@yahoo.co.uk850341
Ryobi 18V cordless STP-1801 drill. Two Ni-Cd batteries. Old tech but works well.Roger Colebrook rogercolebrook@gmail.com851495
Large (12.5kg) bag of Peter & Paul wild bird food.Chris Whatmore editor@blewbury.co.uk851055
To freecycle your item please send a short description, email & phone number to Lydia Inglis (lydandmuz@gmail.com)

If you want to know more about Sustainable Blewbury and become a supporter who receive occasional newsletters, email secretary@sustainable-blewbury.org.uk

 

Pre-Show Talk on Pericles

The Motley Crew has organised a coach trip to Stratford to see Pericles on September 11th.

The trip itself is sadly sold out, but there’s also an introductory talk on the play a couple of days earlier, given by Chris Whatmore, to which everyone is welcome. This will take place in the Vale Room at 7.30 pm on Monday September 9th. Tickets for this event are £2.50, also available at the Post Office or via email at the above address.

 

Blewbury Badminton Club

New season starting Thursday 5th September

Come and join our friendly, social club – we welcome new members of all abilities.

We play every Thursday evening in Blewbury Village Hall from 8pm and our season runs from 5 September through to the end of April.

Membership is £60 for the whole season (£30 if you are 18-29 years old). Free taster session: come and give it a go!

For further information please contact Penny – 850082

 

BlewSing – Blewbury Choir

September 6, 2024

BlewSing meet weekly in term times on Thursday evenings at the Melland Room on the Recreation Ground on Blewbury 7.30 – 9.15 p.m. with Mark Stanley as their esteemed teacher and conductor.

The choir always sings for pleasure. There are no auditions and no requirement to read music; the only requirement is simply a love of singing. We need to know who is coming along so, if you would like to join us and/or would like further information re dates, fees, repertoire etc, please contact Sheila Loy on sloy24@gmail.com or have a look at our website: http://www.blewsing.org/

Blewshed News

September 1, 2024

New Projects – The summer months, usually quiet for BlewShed, are busier than ever this year. The area of the scout hut used until recently for storage of the Lengthman’s machines is to be turned into a workshop. This will allow more members to work at benches at one time and more activity, e.g. beginners’ DIY projects, to take place. However, much work is to be done before BlewShed’s workspace expansion can happen. For instance, installation of a new LED lighting system in the main machines storage shed, which BlewShed chair Mike Magnay has just completed.  Complete refurbishment of the old and tired building is needed as well as repairs to the leaky roof.

Blewbury Village Society Project – BlewShed has been tasked with the design and construction of a replacement ‘vehicle’ for BVS. We aren’t allowed to reveal what it is yet but Mike Magnay, leading the project, and his elves have a deadline of Christmas Eve.

National Competition BlewShed Success – At ‘ShedFest 2024’ the annual national congress of UKMSA (UK Men’s Sheds Association) held in Worcester this year, BlewShed’s woodturning section entry of a whippy ice cream cone with flake and a ‘smoking snowman’ won first prize. The standard was very high with entries from all over the UK.

Meetings – With so much activity at the Shed it’s essential to have time out occasionally, so the last two club nights have been spent in discussion at the Blueberry, planning the considerable amount of work ahead. The next meeting will focus on much needed relaxation, when new member Evi Holroyd will give a talk and demonstration of yoga exercises to help those at the workbench remain calm and free of aches and pains. All are welcome. Date: Tuesday 10th September, 7.30pm.

BlewShed opening times and membership – Tuesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons 1.30-4.00 pm and Thursday afternoons 2.00-4pm for electronics, non-dusty work and a chat. BlewShed annual membership subs are £25 for individuals, or £37.50 for a family. This includes expert advice from members and use of a very well-equipped metal-working, woodworking and electronics workshop.

Aims: BlewShed is here to help members and DIY beginners learn various woodwork, metal-work and other practical techniques, so come along and acquire some new skills, or just have a cuppa and chat.

Everyone is welcome to club night meetings on the second Tuesday of the month. We look forward to seeing you.

Mike Wrottesley, BlewShed secretary https://blewshed.home.blog/news/

 

Bridge Club

Advance Notice that the Annual General Meeting will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 8th October, ahead of a shortened session of bridge.

Menagerie Bridge Club will be hosting a Play with an Expert event on Friday 4th October on the Realbridge site for Blewbury and Wantage Bridge Club members. Anyone who would like to take part should contact the Chairman by email.

We hope to restart the Friday evening Social Bridge sessions from Friday 13th September. Anyone who would like to play and has not done so in the past, please also email the Chairman in order that your name can be included on the circulation list. Other dates in September will be the 20th and 27th.

Dates for the Blewbury Thursday evening Realbridge sessions will be August 29th, September 12th and 26th. Wantage will be hosting our combined sessions on September 5th and 19th.  Michael Allen 851870

Blewbury WI News

Blewbury WI generally meet on the 4th Wednesday of the month in the Vale room.

Lots of interesting speakers and a chance to catch up with friends over a glass of wine or two.  Loads of other things to do over the month – see diary below – Just join in as much or as little as suits you.

September main meeting  Wednesday 25 September.  Jane Fletcher will be inspiring us with “Making the most of your possessions in the home for you and others”.  Inspiration to preserve our memories and perhaps re-purpose those treasured family possessions that we all have tucked away out of sight.

She will suggest how we might make the most of our ‘stuff’, all those personal belongings.  Maybe family items? Maybe something precious of your own?  Following the talks with other groups, she has received some lovely examples of what people have gone on to find, dust down, display and share.

If you’d like to come along to Blewbury WI with someone else or find out more, ring our Secretary, Joy, on 850543 or email blewburywi@gmail.com.  New members can join at any time and pay a ‘pro-rata’ rate for the rest of the year.

Calendar of events

Monday afternoons2.30pmMah JongSharon
Thursday 5 September7pmCraft eveningKaren
Tuesday 10 September2.30pmRummikubJudy
Wednesday 11 September7pmEvening ScrabbleLyn
Wednesday 11 September9.30amWalkJill
Thursday 12 September10.30amCoffee morningTrish
Tuesday 17 September2.30pmAfternoon ScrabbleJane
Wednesday 25 September7.30pmMain meetingJoy

 

Bell Ringing News from Blewbury Tower

Congratulations go to Lindsay Lott on successfully ringing her first quarter peal on 13th July, which was also Andrew Forman’s first quarter peal away from the tenor. Details of this quarter peal including a photo can be found here: https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/view.php?id=1754427

We supported Friends of St Michael’s on 27th July by hosting an ‘open tower’ event for invited guests. During this, visitors learned everything about St Michael’s church tower from bottom to top. The tour started with a brief talk about the bell themed west window, before climbing the tower steps to the ringing chamber where the clock was open to view how this ancient timepiece continues to serve the village. At this point visitors saw a demonstration of how a bell is rung before climbing further up to the bell chamber to see the bells at close quarters and see a bell rung from below. Finally, visitors were allowed to climb the remaining steps up to the tower roof to enjoy magnificent views over the village and beyond. Throughout the tour, the Friends of St Michael’s group provided a running buffet of tea, coffee and delicious cakes. Many thanks go to all of the volunteers who made this such a successful and enjoyable event.

St Michael’s hosted a training course for more advanced ringing techniques on 16th August, and we heard some good ringing from these students from all over the country. They obviously enjoyed our village bells. But it’s not all about bells, as we also enjoy fun times outside of the tower, including recently one of our occasional ‘ringers breakfasts’ held in the sunshine after Sunday morning ringing!

We always welcome anyone who has an interest in learning this ancient and traditional skill, and have just begun teaching some new recruits to continue the next generation of Blewbury bellringers. You might occasionally hear a single bell ringing for short periods, and this is when we are teaching the basic bell handling skills for brand new beginners. Please be patient with us during these occasional times. If you would like to get involved, please see one of the bellringers or come up the tower one Friday night at 8.00pm.