Tackley Newsletter
December & January 2021–22

Parish Council

Flooding

The thorny issues of flooding and drainage are ongoing, but we are working with local landowners, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) and Thames Water to put in place measures to slow the water that comes into the village and get it away as quickly as possible. OCC has cleared the retention basin, increasing its capacity, and we have cleared the playing field ditch which is the artery from the village to the river.

There will be a supply of sandbags in the village hall car park, but you may have to re-bag some of those from last year as they have split. Hopefully we won’t need them!

I often hear or even overhear ‘advice’ and ‘solutions’ to the problem of flooding in Tackley. If you have the knowledge, please come forward and share it with me, or attend the next parish council meeting.

Railway Bridge

It looks like the architectural masterpiece that is our temporary railway bridge will be staying for now, as the plans we agreed on for the underpass have been sidelined. Having worked for the last two years on this project, this is, to say the least, frustrating. We are requesting another meeting with Network Rail to find answers to this latest betrayal.

Fireworks

Thank you to our Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, and their fantastic leaders and parents for a wonderful bonfire and firework display, bar and barbecue. It was just what we needed after a long spell of staying at home — a proper Tackley event.

Remembrance

It was great to see so many people attending the Remembrance Day service. Thank you to our Scouts, Cubs and Beavers who led us through the village; all those who carefully chose and did readings for us; Keith McDonagh and Freya Ollman for laying the wreaths; Richard Holland-Oates for donating and polishing the memorial plaque; and new resident Chris Johnson for putting together information about Tackley’s fallen.

Chris would like to meet some of you who may be related to these men, in order to learn more about them. If you are a relative, or know of someone who is connected, please contact me and I’ll put you in touch.

Finally, a big thank-you to our new parish council chair and Cub Scout leader Liz Marshall who pulled it all together. Well done.

New Lighting

We will be installing a new solar powered light on the corner of the playing field between the school and village hall to alleviate the dark patch around the entrance to Roman Place. It will be on low power from dusk until dawn, with a higher power activated by movement. Similar bollards will light up the path in the Jubilee Garden.

Trees

The dead cherry tree in the village hall car park will be removed, the George VI oak in Rousham Road will be trimmed around the power lines, and some trees along the school path will be trimmed too. More remedial work will be carried out along the path between St John’s and Chaundy roads, and two new rowans are to be planted in Chaundy to replace those cut down after outgrowing their home — the new trees being more suitable for this area. We do an annual inspection, but if you see a tree in need of attention please email our clerk or contact a councillor.

Jubilee Celebrations

We would love to hear your ideas on how to celebrate this special occasion, be they long-term – like permanent memorials or tree-planting – or parties, a village photo etc.

Play Area

It’s been a long time coming, but the zip wire should be operational again any day now. All the other little faults are scheduled to be repaired too.

Meetings

Your parish council meets on the third Monday each month, followed by a surgery two weeks later. Please come and see us. Check the Tackley website for dates and contact details.

Twenty is Plenty

In 2017 the parish council looked into having a 20 mph speed limit within the village. I know a lot of people put a lot of time into this project, and although it did not go any further at the time, it was not a waste. I would like to thank those who started the ball rolling!

The parish council has now brought this project back to the table. We have been liaising with a few villagers to move it forward, and at our meeting in November we all agreed that funds will be put aside for solar panel matrix speed signs to be installed on the three main entrance roads into Tackley.

As everyone is aware, we have had around a hundred new houses built in the village over the last three years, which in turn means approximately two hundred more vehicles, and a lot more children walking to and from school along with parents driving them to school and so on.

Coupled with the pandemic, we are seeing more activity in cycling, dog walking, and generally more walking around the village than previously, so we feel that for the safety of residents, this is a natural step.

Finally, the government and county councils are already backing such projects in built-up areas.

Electric Vehicle Charging

Demand for electric vehicles among people intending to purchase a vehicle in the UK stands at 40% and rising. By 2030, new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned.

Not everyone in the village will find it easy to charge a vehicle in a driveway or outside their house. We already have some instances where this is proving difficult, and there have been several enquiries about whether we intend on making provision for vehicle charging.

In order to play our part in protecting the environment and limiting climate change, the parish council is now investigating options for bringing public EV charging points to the village. We are hoping residents might have input into the location and nature of these points, and we will be reaching out in future newsletters when we know more about the options. For now, if you are interested or wish to air your views, please email me.

Sharing Our World

The other day I needed some time out, and decided to visit our wonderful woodland at Tackley Heath. It wasn’t sunny, but the copper and gold autumn leaves made up for that.

Sometimes it is important to focus on the small things: the amazing fungi — the toadstools coming up between the fallen leaves and the bracket fungi, both large and small; the glistening dewdrops on spider webs; the ‘pink pink!’ of a startled blackbird; the rooks crawing in the tops of the trees; watching a red kite glide on the wind.

It really is meditative to focus the mind on the natural world getting on with doing its thing, cutting out all thoughts of the human world. My favourite is to lie on a particular fallen tree looking up at the sky.

When the trees have some leaves, it is much easier to focus on the small birds. There is often a treecreeper to watch, creeping all the way up a trunk to then fly down to the bottom of the next, looking for insects in the cracks of the bark as it ascends again. But in autumn, the mostly bare branches create fractal patterns against the bright sky — calming for the mind.

I wandered into the middle and was saddened to see that someone has continued to go up there and have a fire without hiding the burn scar afterwards and, even worse, leaving litter behind. I collected it up and bundled it into a torn bag I found a bit further on.

Walking down a path that, oddly, I’d never been on before there were more toadstools, an old rotting oak log covered in bracket fungus, and a russet red bramble vine with both bright green and startlingly red leaves shining out in front of the dull bracken behind.

Back on a path I know well, I went past my favourite oak. A youngster in the oak world, probably not even 100 years old. But what changes that oak has seen in the world in that time! While humans have been taking up more and more land, damaging the environment as we do, this oak has grown, sequestering carbon dioxide from the air and pumping out oxygen for us to breathe. As it has grown, the crevices in its bark have formed and created shelter for a multitude of lives, from tiny invertebrates to birds and small mammals. The soft, green moss growing on the damp north side provides yet more habitat. I hope this tree can grow and grow to a ripe old age, even for an oak.

I was sad to leave, but life and all its busyness called: things to do, people to see.

I was even sadder to see a few days later that someone had dumped their rubbish, probably from a car — sweet wrappers, crisp packets, drinks bottles. I will never understand this behaviour. That we have access to such beautiful woodland is a precious gift; not just for us to enjoy, but for wildlife to live in, with humans having only visitation rights.

Natural environments are our life support system. If we trash them, we are harming ourselves as well as the lives of the myriad other creatures we share the planet with. Please visit the wonderful wild spaces we have access to; but treasure them, nurture them and love them. Please take your litter home, and leave no trace.

Primary School

Life in school is busy and purposeful as we approach Christmas, and the children have had many rich opportunities to extend their learning and experience the broader curriculum.

They particularly enjoyed the trip to Science Oxford and the different experiences they had there: they were scientists for the day, and used their investigation skills and showed real curiosity in understanding how things worked.

We were able to continue our journey as scientists when we held our whole-school STEAM day (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). Classes built rollercoasters, made rockets, and made board games. The children reflected on the skills of perseverance and resilience needed to be scientists.

We enjoyed welcoming families for our open sessions in November, and it was great to see so many new families and children. The closing date for applications for Reception in September 2022 is Saturday, 15 January.

Christmas will soon be upon us, and already the classes are practising their singing and fine-tuning their best performing voices ready for our productions. I’m sure they will all be showstoppers!

Poppy Appeal

Thank you to everyone who gave so generously to this year’s Poppy Appeal — with special thanks to the people who helped me on the Saturdays at the village hall. I have not yet received the final figures for the money raised, so these will be published in the February newsletter.

Tree on The Green

This year we will be lighting up the tree on The Green on Sunday, 5 December at 4:30 pm. This will be followed by carols, mince pies and mulled wine. The church bells will ring at 5 pm.

Because of the pandemic we were unable to celebrate this longstanding village tradition together last year, so we look forward to seeing you all this time around.

Following the tree lighting, a collection is made to cover the costs of the tree and refreshments. Please dig deep as we fund this event entirely from donations or our own pockets.

Margaret’s Surprise Party

We would like to thank everyone who helped us organise Margaret Lindley’s surprise 90th birthday party. We are grateful to those who contributed by providing food and making donations towards the costs of the party and the presents for Margaret. Special thanks to Tackley Village Shop for providing the tea, coffee, milk and sugar. We are also grateful to Neil Harrison, Dave and Gill Hill, Jim and Sue Pitts, and Beverley and Mel Kirtley who helped set up the hall on the day and pack away afterwards. Finally, thank you to Jane and Zoe Rolfe who served the refreshments. We couldn’t have organised this party without you all. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate with this wonderful lady who has been a valued member of our village for many years.

Margaret writes:

Thank you to all who gave refreshments and presents and donated anonymously to a very generous garden gift voucher, but most importantly to all who came and contributed to a wonderful occasion — and kept it secret, which added to the enjoyment. I am deeply moved and humbled by your generosity, care and thoughtfulness. There were lots of things on the pin board I had forgotten all about.

It is good to have contributed to the village, however small and long ago. So thank you — you have given me an occasion I will always cherish.

Methodist Church

I was recently catching up on a television documentary series about the Blair–Brown years. Whatever you think of their politics, I found it interesting to consider these two men who had shared a lot and been very close both personally and politically, even though they came from different backgrounds. But over time, perhaps, what differences they had were amplified and the relationship, both political and personal, became strained.

If you’ve ever been part of two families coming together at Christmas you might have had to learn the lesson that not everyone does things your way. Your way, of course, is right — it wouldn’t be your way if it wasn’t. But here is someone else who does it differently.

In the Methodist Church at a national level we’ve been trying to learn how to live better with what we’ve called ‘contradictory convictions’. Sometimes we differ because of our personalities, sometimes because of our culture, and sometimes because of what we could call ‘political differences’ — the kind of thing where we have differing opinions on what is the right thing to do. We’ve always lived with disagreements on one topic or another, but learning to live well with them is not easy, especially when my way is so obviously the right way.

A recently controversial topic is how we respond as a church to the relatively new legal possibility of marriage between two people of the same gender. To cut a long story short, we have agreed that within the Methodist Church there are two differing views, both of which we see as acceptable in Christian tradition. Firstly, as previously, that marriage is only between a man and a woman; and secondly that marriage can be between two people of whatever gender. And so as a denomination we have now opted into the new(ish) law so each local church and each minister can decide whether they wish to register to host or oversee same-sex weddings. At Tackley we have just decided that we will apply to register our building for that purpose, and I will also be registering to be authorised for same-sex weddings. We’re now sorting out the paperwork to legally allow that.

This isn’t the only new thing at the Methodist Church. We have a new student minister joining us part-time while she trains at college, so if you come across her, please do give Rachael a welcome. We’re thrilled that she has come to work with us at this point in her journey.

Meanwhile I wish you a happy and blessed Christmas.

St Nicholas’ Church

The weeks leading up to Christmas are always special. Whether it’s the anticipation of opening windows in Advent calendars, the promise of parties and gifts and joys to come, or the memories of times past and the sadness at knowing that the days ahead may not be celebrated with those especially dear to us — there is a special power in these weeks.

Many of us feel an urge to turn that ‘special’ into something idealised — a fantasy version of life. The perfect Christmas dinner; the perfect party; the perfect trip somewhere. We want to harness the emotions of these darkening days and infuse them with light and warmth.

Life refuses to take any notice of such sentiment. Work still has to be done; bins emptied; Covid tests taken. Fairy lights and tinsel add a little chintz, but for most of us the ‘special’ – the ‘idealised’ Christmas world of the television ads and the movies – remains stubbornly out of reach.

But you know, Jesus wasn’t born in a John Lewis commercial or a school Nativity play. Christmas card scenes of stables don’t carry the scent of a stable, which is probably a good thing; but if they did, they’d remind us that the real excitement of this time of year isn’t about decorated trees and roasting turkeys and twinkling lights and familiar songs on the radio and mulled wine and last-minute shopping.

God didn’t buy presents at Christmas — he came to be present. God didn’t find a bit of the world that looked nice in which to be born; he chose the most ordinary of places, and simply by being there with us he transformed that overlooked space and made it unforgettable. And God still does that today.

It’s the point of Christmas. Whether we are filled with joy and anticipation or whether sadness is what storms our hearts, God doesn’t look at our lives and choose to pass by and fob us off once a year by buying us presents. In Jesus, God chooses to be present with us, every day, in joy and in sorrow. Never far away. Always ready to hear, to listen, to love us, and to make the most humdrum moment magnificent:

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.

Details of our Christmas services are in this newsletter. Everyone is welcome to any service in the benefice. Please wear a face mask if possible; we will try to keep services short to help keep people safe. We look forward to welcoming you.

Gardening Club

November’s gardening club meeting, the last for this year, went very well with cheese and wine and three varied quizzes.

Our AGM is on Tuesday, 18 January, and we hope to have a full programme of events for next year. Members also receive a membership card that entitles them to 10% discount at the garden centre in Yarnton.

The weather is still fair, so there are still a few things to do in the garden and greenhouse, but don’t tidy up too much — leave leaves, and don’t worry if the lawn is a little long, because all these things create shelter and homes for wildlife.

Sustainable Tackley and the Ju-bee-lee Garden

In 2020, with a small pot of funding from The National Lottery, Sustainable Tackley got together to think about ways of making the village more wildlife friendly. We all know the pressures that planet Earth is under, and there is no doubt that increasing the biodiversity of local communities can be a big step towards making a difference.

Insects are crucial to the number of other creatures that inhabit any area. Without them, there is no food chain. Although we live in a village surrounded by fields, we wanted to support pollinating insects that are crucial in the growth and development of plants. So we considered what we could do and, with support from the parish council, decided to focus our efforts on the Jubilee Garden.

At the time, the Jubilee Garden – between St John’s and Harborne roads – was a plot of land with mown grass and a stream. The trees that follow the stream cast shade on the grass for much of the day; but we noticed that there is a small part of the plot, over to one side, that enjoys the most sunshine. This quickly became our focus, and the project began to take shape.

We knew that we wanted to create a ‘pollinator patch’ — a border full of plants that attract and support pollinating insects like bees, hoverflies and butterflies. We were lucky enough to engage the support and incredible botanic knowledge of Rachel Strachan, who sought advice and developed a wonderful planting scheme using species including rosemary, sedums, hyssops and aquilegias as well as a new climbing honeysuckle.

To create the pollinator patch we needed to remove grass from the bed, dig (a lot!) and enrich the soil with peat-free compost. The Tackley community were incredible in their support: donating plants, helping to dig and plant, and then watering throughout the spring and summer once the plants were in the bed. It was a joy to get together and garden together, while our children played together enjoying nature.

Planting, digging, watering and weeding have been ongoing over the past few months, involving lots of local people in tasks big and small. Most recently we had support from our local Scouts who planted bulbs that we’ll all get to enjoy in the new year.

If you haven’t been to the Jubilee Garden for a while, do go and take a look. It’s late in the year, but there should still be a few hyssop, catmint and salvia flowers; and the dark pink sedum seed-heads look lovely with the autumn liquidambar tree leaves.

Plants aside, we wanted to provide habitats for creepy crawlies. With help from some excellent volunteers, we built two gabion benches filled with reused Cotswold stone. The small crevices allow a wide variety of creatures to live in safety. The benches also provide somewhere for people to sit and reflect or rest before continuing their journey. The space is for everyone — people and creatures of all descriptions.

Finally, we added more aquatic and water-loving plants to the banks of the stream to try to encourage them to return to their former glory.

Next year, the plan is to cut the grass monthly to 3–6 cm, the idea being to have a lovely useable space that is also good for wildlife.

In the future we hope to add a bee post, which will be a habitat for a variety of bees, and a plaque to commemorate the hard work of the village. It will also acknowledge that this project was started at a time that people had really learnt to love nature again and to connect with the outside.

The benefits of outdoor space are numerous. Being in nature helps to reduce our stress, cortisol levels, muscle tension and heart rates. Throughout the pandemic, nature has been crucial in the support and maintenance of our mental health and wellbeing; and the need for more outside space to sit and ‘just be’ is part of what galvanised Sustainable Tackley to want to develop the Jubilee Garden. We hope everyone enjoys it.

We would like to say a huge thank-you to the fantastic volunteers who gave up their plants and time; to Rachel for her dedication and knowledge; and to The National Lottery and Tackley Parish Council for their support.

The pollinator patch will now be left until early spring to give shelter for overwintering wildlife; the perennials will be cut back then. Volunteers will be needed for this and other seasonal maintenance, so if you’re interested in getting involved, please email us.

Local History Group

Following on from our open day in September and visits to North Leigh Roman Villa, we again teamed up with some of the volunteers from North Leigh to take part in a fieldwalking training day in October. After an initial introduction, 32 people went searching in an organised way for any signs that people had been there before us. We did not find any treasure, but it was an enjoyable day; and we are now more knowledgeable about Roman pottery compared to a modern drainpipe or flowerpot and flints — to name a few things. We hope to run another similar day in the future.

Also in October our chair John Perkins gave a brilliant talk to update us on Roman Tackley: The Latest Discoveries with regard to villas, farms, temples and cemeteries. More than 60 people attended.

Our programme for 2022 is as follows. Meetings are on the fourth Monday in Tackley Village Memorial Hall at 8 pm. Visitors are welcome.

• Monday, 24 January: Les Summers: The Story of the Lady of Legend: The Building of a Replica 100-Year-Old Steam Locomotive.
• Monday, 28 February: Rachel Strachan and Neil Wilson: Shipwreck off Tasmania: The Loss of 42 Impoverished Migrants From Tackley.
• Monday, 28 March: Tim Healey: Sex, Drink and Death in the 17th Century.
• Monday, 25 April: Julie Ann Godson: Our Boys 1914–1918: The Fallen of One Oxfordshire Valley and How Villages Coped During WWI.

Walking Group

Tackley Walking Group is a friendly way to get to know the Oxfordshire countryside better, on its leisurely walks. We meet at the village hall at the times given to arrange transport to the walk start, unless otherwise specified. There is no need to book, but walkers must give their contact details to the walk leader for test and trace. There’s no obligation to car share, but there is rarely enough parking for each person to drive individually to the start. Distances are approximate, and all walks are at participants’ own risk.

• Saturday, 11 December at 9:30 am: Blenheim Great Park. A walk through the north of Blenheim Park taking us on Akeman Street and parts of the Oxfordshire, Shakespeare and Wychwood Ways (3.6 or 4.7 miles).
• Saturday, 8 January at 9:20 am: Oxford Parks. Meet to catch the 09:25 bus to Oxford for a walk taking in parks, playing fields and riverside. All on surfaced paths, some street sections; no stiles. Option to stay in Oxford for lunch and the afternoon, with hourly buses back. 4.5 miles.
• Wednesday, 26 January at 2 pm: Thrupp. Paths through woodland and pastures to Hampton Gay. Pick up the canal at Shipton-on-Cherwell, then back along the towpath to Thrupp’s colourful canal basin. Tea room option at the end. 3.7 miles.
• Saturday, 12 February at 9:30 am: Yarnton. Circuit from Stratfield Brake nature reserve to Yarnton via the towpath, tracks and field paths. 5 miles.
• Wednesday, 23 February at 2 pm: Snowdrop walk. Footpaths around Great Tew, one of the most picturesque villages in Oxfordshire; including the churchyard with its drifts of snowdrops. 4 miles.
• Saturday, 12 March at 9:30 am: Leafield. Ancient woodlands, green lanes and views to distant hills; taking in part of the Wychwood Way. 5.5 miles; no stiles.
• Wednesday, 23 March: Heyford to Tackley. Meet at the station to catch the 14:44 train to Heyford. Along the canal to Northbrook, then pick up the bridleway via Crecy Hill back to Tackley. 3.2 miles.

Protect Wildlife From Bad Lighting

Now that the nights are longer again, it’s a great time to check that your external lighting is set up correctly. Blue-rich white LED lights are extremely detrimental to wildlife.

Sixty per cent of insects are nocturnal, and they play a crucial role in global ecosystems. Nocturnal insects are attracted to white light, and about a third die as a result — an effect being termed ‘insectogeddon’. This in turn reduces the food source for other nocturnal wildlife such as bats, which feed on insects.

Furthermore, several million migratory birds are killed every year as a result of bad lighting.

Finally, the behaviour of many species of diurnal mammals, birds and insects in artificially-lit areas leads to their becoming stressed to the extent that their breeding success is compromised.

Blue-rich lighting also has harmful effects on human physiology because it suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone vital for healthy sleep patterns. Melatonin also protects us again various forms of cancer.

Many security lights are extremely bright, and if they are not angled downwards properly they create a huge amount of light intrusion. There is still a large number of lights in Tackley that are far too sensitive and click on constantly throughout the night. A huge amount of money has been spent on the Jubilee Garden to make it attractive to wildlife, and there have been many rewilding projects in the local area. All of that hard work will be for nothing if we continue to kill the insects that we are enticing to these places.

And of course, it’s also a waste of electricity and money.

Please take a few minutes to check that your lights are set up correctly. They should only illuminate your own property and nowhere else. They should be shielded so that the light isn’t pointing upwards towards the sky. If they are motion-triggered, the sensitivity should be turned down so that they only come on if a human steps onto your property; not a badger, hedgehog, fox or other nocturnal animal, which will become stressed by the bright lights illuminating them.

Nobody is suggesting outside lights should be removed, but it’s important that you only use the right amount of light in the right place and at the right time.

For more, see the Commission for Dark Skies at britastro.org/dark-skies.

Mavis Pitman (1934–2021)

Gordon, Pat, Maureen and families would like to thank all for attending the church service and coming to the village hall; and for the many beautiful cards, messages of sympathy, and support received following the death of Mavis Pitman. Thank you to Marcus Green for conducting the lovely service, Eloise for the lovely food, and finally thank you all very much for your donations in Mavis’s memory for Dementia UK and Cancer Research UK. Please accept this as a personal acknowledgment.

Pat Ward

Derek, Maria, Stephen and families would like to thank everyone who helped raise a total of £701 for Sobell House Hospice from the collections at Pat Ward’s funeral and online. Sobell House is a hospice based on the Churchill Hospital site, and is part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Jointly funded by the NHS and the Sobell House Hospice Charity, it offers specialist palliative care to those facing life-threatening illness, death and bereavement in Oxfordshire.

Memories

Percy was a lovely man and liked by so many people,
and lived in Tackley all his life and went to school in Steeple.

Here he excelled in the long jump, a talent that he’d found,
and go flying through the air with both feet off the ground.

He was trained to be a plumber and this he really liked,
getting out his soldering gear and mending lots of pipes.

Then he took up painting and was excellent with a brush,
and everybody wanted him so life was such a rush.

He also loved his sports and enjoyed a game of cricket,
so you’d often see him bowling going for the middle wicket.

He also loved his football and couldn’t be much fitter,
and would join the lads after the game for a pint of bitter.

In fact we’re going to miss him lots and enjoyed him being around,
he was always there to help you out and all his advice was sound.

This village will miss him dearly and so will the village pub,
coz we’ve lost the perfect gentleman whose heart was filled with love.

N. J. H.