Blewbury’s rector, the Revd Jason St John Nicolle, has been made an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral. The award, in recognition of distinguished service to the church, was presented during a service in Oxford and “comes with a great sense of responsibility”.
Blewbury is home to Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue, an award-winning charity that rescues, cares for and rehabilitates sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals. Here, founder Luke Waclawek highlights just one example of the great work being done in the heart of our village.
Eight local uniformed Home Guard enthusiasts, complete with full kit and dummy rifles, came to remember the volunteers who were positioned on St Michael’s church tower to watch for enemy aircraft or fires during the war.
Blewburton Hill has long stood muse to painters, players, authors and artisans, and now the natural beauty and distinct heritage of our local environment has inspired a gin! In return, a share of profits from each bottle sold will contribute to the Blewbury Chalk Stream Community.
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:
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
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
Elliot Vaughn, who grew up in Blewbury and still has a family home here, 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. Congratulations Elliot!
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.
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
I have now made a full recovery after my accident last year, and have re-signed with Gearlink Kawasaki in the British Supersport for another season. I still have some amazing opportunities for businesses/partners to get involved with the British Superbike Championship.