The next formal meeting of the council is on 9 December. There are no surgeries in December and the next meeting thereafter will be on 13 January with a surgery on 27 January. Should there be matters of urgency during that time, please contact the parish clerk or councillors.
Draft minutes of all meetings appear on the village website. See there, also, some personal details of your councillors.
Copies of this report are also circulated via Tackley Notices.
Parish Clerk
We are pleased to announce that Ms Cherie Carruthers has accepted an offer of appointment as clerk to Tackley Parish Council and will shortly take up her duties.
Budget
The council is now considering its budget for 2020–21, and invites residents to suggest large scale non-regular projects that it might be possible to include. Please contact Liz Marshall.
Remembrance Service
The Remembrance service held at the village hall on 10 November was very well attended. Thanks to the Scouts for the organisation, and also to those who took part or stood in the congregation.
Railways
Following the meeting on 7 October and further consultation, your council has written to Network Rail confirming that the local preference was for a subway beneath the railway line. There are certain formalities to be carried out, including a formal application for planning consent, and it is therefore unlikely that there will be any change, on site, for several months. In the meantime residents are requested to observe maximum caution in using the crossing. Please ensure that your children observe sensible safety precautions.
Barwood Homes
There have been some positive developments in respect of the ongoing problems caused by this development. It has now been accepted by both local authorities that we were right to raise questions about the conduct of the developer and that efforts would now be made to ensure that nothing like it happens again. Some of the complaints made by residents in Balliol Close and Nethercote Road have now been addressed. On the issue of the attenuation basins and flooding, discussion is ongoing. What is clear is that if Barwood wish to continue with their current scheme, they will have to submit a new planning application. All three local authorities are agreed that some of the current work has not been sanctioned.
Road Warden Scheme
It has been suggested that the council should support volunteers deployed to fill in cracks and small potholes (not the big tyre-busting holes, of which there are far too many) within the 30 mph area of the village. This scheme will be funded by Oxfordshire County Council and coordinated by an OCC officer with a village leader. There are a few formalities to be finalised before the scheme can start, but when that will be depends on volunteers coming forward. All equipment and materials will be supplied. If you would be interested in joining this group please contact Robin Gregory on [removed].
Welcome Pack
A copy of this publication has been circulated around the village, and will be put through the doors when new residents move in. However, if you missed out, or know a newcomer who has not received one, copies will be placed in the shop in due course.
Hello
Nathalie Chapple
I just wanted to reach out to all the villagers and introduce myself. My name is Nathalie Chapple and this is my new regular slot in the Tackley Newsletter. Following the local elections in May, when I was elected as a councillor to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC), I have had a very busy time learning the ropes, attending various training courses and council meetings. I was very pleased to be appointed to the Uplands Planning Committee which adjudicates on our ward. Issues around planning, developments and home improvements are close to my heart and I am pleased that I am able to vote on key issues.
I was also recently elected to join the newly-formed cross-party Climate Change Group. The district council has formally recognised the climate emergency we all face and the working group will endeavour to identify areas across our responsibilities and propose actionable solutions where we can. WODC intends to lead by example and support local and national efforts to tackle the climate emergency. This is also another area which interests me greatly and I believe that although we face challenges there will also be opportunities to strengthen our community as we work together to solve them.
I will provide more details on issues and decisions in the next newsletter as I continue to represent you as your local district councillor.
Remembrance
June Collier, Parish Council Chair
It was so good to see so many people again this year at Tackley Village Memorial Hall to commemorate Remembrance Day.
Led once again by our Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, the procession along Medcroft Road from The Green to the service has become something special and most definitely an annual event.
It is so important that our young people continue this tradition with family, friends and neighbours. To remember and pay their respects to those who gave their lives for us to live peacefully in our wonderful village. Especially as, in the years to come, there will be a time when there are no longer people alive to tell the stories and explain about the first and second world wars. Childhood memories even at such a solemn occasion stay with us all our lives.
We are mindful that not all our residents have the same religious beliefs, and some none at all, but regardless still wish to have an opportunity to remember and gather together on this important occasion. Of course for those who prefer to remember in a more religious setting there will always be a service at St Nicholas’ in the evening.
Thanks to Keith and Poppy for laying the wreaths, and to our Beavers for painting the pebbles — we will leave them there as long as is practical. And thank you to everyone who gave their time to help.
Poppy Appeal
Sue Pitts
A total of £1,497 was raised in the village for this year’s Poppy Appeal.
This included the church collection from the Remembrance Day service, the collection from the village hall memorial service and a generous donation from the parish council for their wreaths.
For a few years now, an activity box with items for children has been put in the school. The children on the school council give their time to sell these items and this year raised an amazing £93. Thank you to all who helped, boosting the village total.
My thanks to everyone who gave so generously to this worthwhile cause, and special thanks to my willing group of collectors who give their time so freely every year.
Road Wardens
Robin Gregory
A scheme to allow volunteers to fill small holes in the the road to prevent them becoming dangerous potholes is being piloted in Tackley in a unique partnership between the parish and county councils.
Two villagers, Mike Bartleman and Deb Ollman, attended an all-day course at Kidlington Fire Station to equip them with the skills necessary to make road repairs in a safe and effective manner.
The scheme will also allow volunteers to fast-track reporting of potholes to the Oxfordshire County Council road repair contractors, and carry out other tasks such as sign cleaning.
We hope to start these road repairs in December and in the new year will be looking for additional volunteers to assist Deb and Mike identify, record, and repair our village roads and paths.
PALs
Judy Robson
Tackley PALs met for their last litter pick of 2019 and again picked up a large amount of litter from the main roads into the village. It is most unfortunate that people seem to be unwilling to keep their rubbish in their cars and vans until they get home and dispose of it properly, and instead feel they can freely throw anything anywhere. It doesn’t take much effort to take your rubbish home to dispose of and we are sending out a plea for people to do just that.
We would like to thank all the people who have helped with the litter picks over the year, and in particularly Anne and Tony Martin for putting out the litter pick warning signs and Will Machin and Lawrence Clack for helping to bring the rubbish and signs in after we finish — it makes such a difference. We also welcomed a new resident from the Deanfield estate and were very pleased to have him with us; we hope that many more will join us in the future.
It was very much appreciated that a resident took the opportunity to thank us for our efforts on behalf of the village and said what a difference we were making to keeping Tackley looking tidy. It is amazing how such a small gesture can help maintain our enthusiasm.
We would like to wish everyone a very happy and litter-free Christmas and New Year, and hope that more people will join us in 2020. We will resume in February and will send out further information nearer the time via Tackley Notices emails as usual.
Primary School
Mrs L. J. Murrey, Headteacher
It has already been a very busy term at Tackley and we are delighted in particular to see our Nursery provision growing. We held our first Early Years open morning and we were delighted with how many prospective and current parents attended. It was a great opportunity for parents to see on a normal day how our Nursery and Reception classes run. Parents enjoyed seeing the children learning their new phonic sounds, as well as how they use the outdoor areas. Our next open afternoon is on Tuesday, 3 December at 1 pm and we look forward to seeing many new and prospective parents for Christmas crafts.
Children have enjoyed longer writing sessions this term where they get to plan, write and edit using films and stories as an inspiration to their writing. We have been very proud to share these with parents as part of our Friday celebration assembly.
The children are busy shining their sequins, and practising their best tenor and alto voices ready for our Christmas productions. They will also be taking part in the Christingle Service at St Nicholas’ Church on Thursday, 5 December at 3:30 pm.
PTA
Roz Hicks
Following our AGM we are delighted to welcome Carrie Southall and Helen Spencer as our new co-chairs.
The Christmas concert performances by the children will be held in the week of 9 December. We will be fundraising by selling mince pies, hot drinks and at the evening show on Thursday 12th there will also be a barbecue. Christmas hampers will also be raffled off at each show.
Our Oktoberfest was hugely entertaining and raised £350, and we are grateful to those who attended.
The recent Bag2School collection raised £92. Again, many thanks to everyone who helped construct the enormous pile of bags!
Finally, can we remind you about our Easyfundraising account. They have agreements with thousands of popular retailers, and donate a percentage of your purchases to your chosen cause. Please register, and help us raise much-needed funds! Visit easyfundraising.org.uk.
On the Ninth Year of Christmas…
John Newton
…Features screened to me A film for a foodbank charity.
In 2010, Toy Story 3 was the first Features Christmas screening. Back then it was screened at the function room of the Gardiner Arms and if my memory serves me right, the snow lay very deep and crisp and even.
I little expected that nine years on Toy Story 4 would have just been released on DVD and Features would still be bringing a wide variety of films to Tackley.
Last month’s screening of Fisherman’s Friends in front of a bumper crowd helped raise over £150 for the RNLI. So, fingers crossed that our December offering, which brings another unashamedly feel-good movie based on a true story, is well attended. It tells of a British teen of Pakistani descent, growing up in Luton in 1987, and features the music of Bruce Springsteen. To hopefully avoid any Christmas event clashes, please note our date change from our normal day: on 16 December at 7 pm, Features will run on Monday.
We are supporting North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank (NOCF), providing food parcels to people within the Kidlington, Woodstock, Chipping Norton and Charlbury area. This means we are happy to accept either cash or food donations that evening. Furthermore, even if you are not planning to see the film, you can always bring down your donations from 3–7 pm.
If you access the NOCF website you can see their usual requirements. However, at this time of year, the following are welcome: seasonal or ordinary biscuits and savouries in packets; orange and blackcurrant squash; tinned ham and salmon; and shampoos and shower gels for adults or children.
For January, please keep your eye on the noticeboard.
Happy Christmas, and thank you Tackley for your continued support.
Methodist Church
Jan Grimwood
Messy Church
The next Messy Church will be on 14 December from 2:30–4:30 pm when we’ll be preparing for Christmas with different craft activities. Think of stars, animals, angels and a Nativity scene. Just come along, join in and also help decorate the tree. And of course we’ll have the ever popular cooking table. Following a Bible story and some prayers we’ll share tea together, which this time will be provided. And no Christmas tea would be complete without some crackers to pull! We look forward to welcoming you, whether you’re new to Messy or have been before.
Coffee Mornings
Coffee mornings are held every Thursday from 10 am until noon, and everyone is welcome to come and join us. We’re a friendly lot and it would be great to see some new faces in addition to our regulars. Do come along and enjoy a cuppa, a chat and some laughter. Toys and books are available for any young visitors.
St Nicholas’ Church
Rev Marcus Green
Were you born in a barn? My childhood was full of such rhetorical questions, as I’d do something stupid or get something wrong, and then be corrected and find myself on the wrong end of yet another traditional saying. I was always very good at leaving doors open, though, so this one – the ‘born in the barn’ saying – was one that got seared on my soul.
Mind you, these days I tend to feel we could all do with a few more open doors in our lives. We listen to those we agree with very easily, but as soon as we work out that someone is saying something we don’t like – whether they’re on the TV, or Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or even (shock) in person – we just close off. People who disagree with us are wrong. We withdraw from engaging, from listening, from experiencing the world seen differently.
Speaking of which — with an election happening during Advent there’s a fair bit of disagreement to be expected right now, and a fair bit of withdrawing too! I think I might not be the only one who’d prefer just a chocolate a day to the inevitable news stories that come each morning both before and after polling day.
On an Advent calendar we open something new every morning, but still even in December the doors on our hearts and minds seem to close very easily. And it’s a small step from closing them to locking them and throwing away the key. And it’s ironic, because if only we can get to Christmas we find that there’s a reason we’re supposed to open doors and windows and attitudes and hearts and our very selves during this season:
He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all, And His shelter was a stable, And His cradle was a stall; With the poor, and mean, and lowly, Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
It turns out Jesus was born in a barn. And at Christmas we celebrate the fact that God throws open all the gates to heaven through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. All we have to do is open our hearts to receive this love — and then keep them open and try to love each other too. The election will be what it will be, but maybe all of us might live with each other a bit better if we followed the example of the Lord who was born in a barn, who keeps his door aways open for us.
Christmas Services
Everyone is welcome to any or all of our Christmas services at St Nicholas’:
Christingle with Tackley CE Primary School, thinking about God’s great gift of love and celebrating with songs, candles and oranges! Thursday, 5 December, 3:30 pm.
Carol service: the essential Christmas service, with carols, choir and candles. Sunday, 22 December, 5:30 pm.
Crib service: a service for children of all ages, following the family of Jesus on their journey to Christmas. Christmas Eve, 3 pm.
Midnight communion: welcoming Christmas in with communion, carols and candles. The perfect start to Christmas. Christmas Eve, 11 pm.
Walking Group
Linda Birch
Meet at Tackley Village Hall at 10 am on the second Saturday of the month to arrange car sharing. Please contact the walk leader if you would rather meet at the start of the walk.
Some walks conclude with lunch at a local pub or café. Please contact the walk leader if you will be joining the group for lunch.
Most walks are circular. All walking is at your own risk.
14 December: Leisurely walk round Steeple and Middle Aston, led by John, with optional lunch at Nicholson’s. 3 miles.
11 January: Meet 10:20 at the village hall to take the 10:30 bus to Oxford for a walk round Oxford Parks, led by Rachel, with optional lunch at the Natural History Museum cafe. 3 miles.
Craft Club
Vicky Hibberd & Julie Farren
Tackley Craft Club meets every other Monday evening in the village hall from 7 to 9 pm.
We are a small but perfectly-formed group of mainly women who love to knit, crochet, sew and create.
Whilst some of us make for our families, others have run out of people to gift to and are knitting mainly for charity appeals. We began by knitting sweaters for ‘fish and chip babies’ in the poorest areas of Africa — where mothers were having to wrap their newborns in newspaper because they had no clothing. Then we moved onto ‘trauma teddies’ for firefighters to give to children who have been involved in domestic fires.
This year we are supporting the John Radcliffe Hospital’s SSNAP unit — Support for the Sick Newborn and their Parents. Their gift shop sells all manner of handmade items. We were recently featured on Radio Oxford where Vicky Hibberd spoke to Kat Orman about our group and the reasons we decided to contribute to the SSNAP appeal. Almost all of us have children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. Many of us have experienced first-hand the anxiety of a poorly baby, so this appeal touched us deeply.
Anyone is welcome to join us, and even if you can’t come to our fortnightly meetings you are welcome to knit, crochet or craft at home and hand over your work for us to forward to SSNAP.
We even have money to buy yarn, so if you have the equipment we can get you the materials! If you’d like to learn, come along and we’ll teach you. We love to share skills. Do you have a skill you’d like to show us? Come along — we love to learn new things too.
The fee to join us at our Monday evening meetings is £3 which covers the cost of hiring the village hall and refreshments.
We look forward to seeing you or receiving your donations soon.
Woodstock U3A
Chris Sladen
James Mitchell, the speaker for our October meeting, turned out to be one of our more vocally accomplished guests, treating us to a quick-fire repertoire of magic hits from 20th century musicals, successfully enticing us to join in at least a few of the well-remembered melodies and filling in detail about the composers and their work. It was good to see a number of new faces in the audience, Yarnton’s tea party in September having spread word of our activities around the area (I reckon the home-baked cakes did the trick).
Our speaker on Tuesday, 3 December will be Dr David Grylls on Victorian Novels. Join us at 2 pm in the Community Centre, New Road, Woodstock.
Meanwhile, the branch’s interest groups continue in full swing. Our versatile play-readers each month tackle the best of drama in English; recently we’ve read our way through such tricky texts as J. M. Synge’s Playboy of the Western World and Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular.
Details of our monthly speaker meetings and a list of all interest groups can be found on our website.
Gardening Club
Mary Lee
Christmas is nearly here and the gardens are pretty much done for the winter. There is still time to plant bulbs – especially tulips – and to take cuttings, and leave some wildness out there for wildlife. Feed the birds and leave water out for them, and maybe cat food or biscuits for visiting hedgehogs.
Our next meeting is our AGM on 19 February. Please come along — there will be cheese and biscuits too!
Tackley Field Names: 1844 Map
John Perkins
Jobs Baulk, Upper Lizard Ground and Puppy’s Parlour are names of Tackley fields from the 1844 tithe map of the parish. Copies of the map are now on sale in the village shop, where a copy is also on display. They measure approximately 60 by 48 cm (24 by 18 inches) and are available on two types of paper: plain white for £12 and heavier, watercolour paper for £20. The ideal Christmas present from Tackley.
Local History Group
Sue Ashton, Secretary
There is no meeting in December. Our revised programme for the first half of 2020 is given here.
All meetings are held in Tackley Village Memorial Hall at 8 pm on the fourth Monday of the month.
Visitors are welcome (£5) or annual membership is £10. Join us for tea or coffee before and/or wine afterwards.
27 January: Mary McIntyre, Tackley: Women in Astronomy.
24 February: Mark Davies, Oxford local historian: Oxford Castle: 17th and 18th Century Crimes, Escapes and Punishments.
23 March: Liz Woolley, Oxford local historian: 66 Men of Grandpont, 1914–18.
27 April: Paul Booth, Director of the Excavations at Roman Dorchester: Roman Oxfordshire.
Veterans’ Portraits on Display
Duncan Parsons
A new exhibition of photographic portraits of World War II veterans is on display at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum until 5 January.
The exhibition, titled 3945 Portraits, is the work of award-winning photographer Glyn Dewis. He is leading an ongoing project to photograph WWII veterans from all branches of the armed forces, and from a wide range of different regiments and corps, including the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
The portraits appear alongside recorded interviews with the featured veterans, recounting their wartime experiences, as well as a number of drawings produced by children as a ‘thank you’ to them.
The museum is located in the grounds of The Oxfordshire Museum, Park Street, Woodstock and is open Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 2 to 5 pm.
Graham’s 70th
Graham Agutter & Julie Farren
We just wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who helped us celebrate the big birthday. It was a brilliant party, and great to spend it with so many lovely friends. Special thanks go to Graham’s brother Paul for arranging the band, Matt and Debs for organising the bar and June for organising the collection. We are going to use the money to buy a VIP ticket to Goodwood Revival in September, plus camping fees for the weekend.
Carriage Driving
June Collier
As most people in Tackley will be aware, Dazzle, George and I carriage drive through the village and around the surrounding area.
Recently we have been training Cello, our other horse, to be driven and we need a helper (the correct term is ‘groom’).
The person needs to be confident with horses and agile enough to jump on and off the carriage to open gates, see us across road junctions, hold the horse head etc. If the person is really keen I can teach them to drive too. Riding is not essential but you may get to ride one of the horses if you are able.
If you would like to find out more, please call me.
