It has been a quiet couple of months since Christmas for Tackley Parish
Council, other than the usual ongoing work in the background.
Flooding
We are still waiting for Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to appoint a
consultant to do a catchment study of the area to enable us to better plan
any flood mitigations. However, the recently deepened bund at the bottom of
Rousham Road has been holding back a lot of water over the last few
weeks.
Railway Crossing
We are still waiting for Network Rail to appoint a consultant to go over
all the previous options for the rail crossing. This should happen in the
next few months, but we have no further information at this time.
New panels are being put onto the temporary bridge to stop reflections back
to the houses along Nethercote Road, which have been a problem. Hopefully
this will be completed soon.
If you have any concerns regarding the station and crossing, please contact
our parish council clerk and she will forward these to your railway reps and
Network Rail. Alternatively, speak directly to your local councillors or
Tackley Railway Residents Action Committee (TRAC) representative.
Equestrians concerned about the bridleway closure should contact the OCC
Countryside Access team and the British Horse Society.
Shop and Village Hall Bins
The new bin store for the village hall and shop will be built soon,
approximately where the bins currently are by the playground. This seemed
like the best compromise for access by the shop, village hall and refuse
collectors. Thank you to the shop and village hall for all the work they
have done to bring this to fruition. Please do not use these bins for
general rubbish; they are for shop and village hall use only.
Heath
As mentioned in February’s newsletter, a subcommittee of the parish council
has been set up specifically for the care and maintenance of
Tackley Heath. This is such a wonderful place for
residents to access that it’s great we now have a dedicated group to make
sure it gets the care and attention it deserves. Do join us for our first
work party day on Sunday, 3 April.
Tree Work
We have had some tree work completed on the path between Chaundy and St
John’s roads. Hopefully this will improve light levels in some gardens
without having been too heavy-handed. This can be revisited in a year or two
if necessary.
New Lighting
The new solar lights now all seem to be working well in the Jubilee Garden
after a dodgy start with one of them! They are deliberately not very bright,
but provide enough light to see the path. The light by the school playground
is also working well, and reports from school staff through the winter were
very positive.
Platinum Jubilee
Plans for Tackley’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations on the weekend of 4, 5
and 6 June are ongoing. A committee has been formed to coordinate
events and hopes to publish more information soon. Richard has been a little
busy recently — we would like to congratulate him on the birth of his
daughter! If you have any suggestions or would like to volunteer to help
with the celebrations, please contact
richard.jackson@tackleyvillage.co.uk.
Supporting Ukrainian Refugees
Sarah Gibbons, Sally House & Gill Withers
Are you interested in hosting a Ukrainian refugee or family?
Do you have a house for rental? (We are looking into whether people can
club together to fund the rental.)
Would you like to join our refugee/host support network?
A meeting was held on 22 March to consider whether Tackley as a
community can welcome and support Ukrainian refugees. 34 people attended,
and a further 30 expressed interest but were unable to attend.
Gill Withers welcomed everyone before Sarah Gibbons talked about her
personal connection and interest in Ukraine.
Sally House shared experience of her own progress towards becoming a host;
she has linked with a family and the process is nearly complete. She is
happy to provide guidance to anyone wanting to do the same.
Sally stressed the importance of a good support network for any refugees,
but especially those coming to rural areas.
Lauren Murray, head of Tackley Primary School, is supportive of any
initiative, saying that the refugee children would be warmly welcomed and
would enrich the school.
Andy Graham from Oxfordshire County Council would have talked about the
wider support that will become available locally, but unfortunately he had
Covid, so Gill talked about initiatives in Woodstock and Charlbury. Councils
will receive funds to support the refugees, who will have access to state
benefits, health care, jobs and wraparound refugee services.
Within Tackley there are already some positive and practical responses. At
least four families have registered for the Homes for Ukraine scheme and are
going through the process.
There are tremendous offers of support coming in from individuals, and
community ideas developing. These include cooking clubs, transport,
financial support for rentals, teaching English as a foreign language,
friendship initiatives, and play dates for children. An initial network of
interested people is being developed with an email newsletter. If you would
like to join this network, please contact Gill Withers.
Clearly these are very early days, but please do get in touch if you would
like to be part of this.
In the last newsletter a call was put out for people to become part of a
parish council subcommittee dedicated to the care of Tackley Heath, which is
a County Wildlife Site. Since then a small group consisting of Rachel
Strachan (chair), Jon Chaplin, John Reynolds and Malcolm Ridout, along with
Liz Marshall from the parish council, have met a couple of times to consider
the overall work that needs doing and what will be prioritised for this
year. If anyone else is interested in joining, please get in touch. We don’t
need too big a group, but sharing out any organising is always helpful, and
anyone with experience in applying for grants would be particularly
welcome.
The priority this year, initially, will be access. There have been numerous
complaints over the last couple of years about bracken and brambles blocking
paths during summer.
On Sunday, 3 April our first work party will concentrate on brambles
along a specific pathway. Overgrowing vegetation will be cut back from the
public footpath along the east edge of the heath, and there may be tree work
needed in places.
Calling all helpers: we will be there from 10 am to 3 pm, and you
are welcome to come along all day (bring a packed lunch) or just for a short
time. We will meet in the centre, where Breakfast on the Heath is held;
there will be waymarkers from the road. You will need thick trousers and
gloves; and please bring secateurs, loppers or shears and a border/hand fork
if you can. We will have some spare tools and gloves available; so if you
don’t have any, your help will still be welcome.
Into late spring and through the summer, different paths will be targeted
to keep the bracken at bay and maintain access. In other small areas we will
trial controlling bracken growth, to hopefully restore areas of what should
be acid heathland, and discover what seed banks are present in the soil. As
well as this there will be a bird survey, to find out what species are
living there, and also a bat survey.
Because the heath is such a wonderful place to visit, it is important that
most residents – even those who can’t walk far – have access to it, so we
will be looking into how we can improve the verge parking, and finding
funding to do this.
Into autumn and winter we are hoping to bulk out and improve the very gappy
hedge along the Fox Hill road, providing much-needed food and habitat for
wildlife. We hope to be joined by plenty of volunteers who love the heath
and are keen to help!
Memorial Trees
We have noticed that over the last few years there have been several
memorial trees planted. This is such a lovely thing to do, and the woodland
areas certainly will benefit from some young trees ready to take over when
older trees die or fall in storms. However, not all have been British native
trees suitable for the site. If you would like to plant a memorial tree,
please first contact the parish council who will be happy to discuss the
type of tree, the best location and, importantly, where to source the tree
from. With so many tree diseases imported from abroad, including Dutch elm
disease and ash dieback, it is important that trees are sourced from
certified UK growers. Even better would be if you have grown the tree from a
seed sourced on the heath itself, as these will be uniquely suited to the
growing conditions there.
On Wednesday, 13 April prayer stations will be open from 10 am to
12 noon and then from 1 pm to 3 pm. You are welcome to drop
in for a time of reflection with Rachael. On Maundy Thursday, 14 April
we will have a service at 7:30 pm led by Rev Paul Carter.
Other Events
Our weekly coffee morning will restart on Thursday, 7 April at its
normal time of 10 am to 12 noon. Whether you’re new to the village
or one of our regulars, a warm welcome awaits you, so do pop in for a chat
over a cuppa. Messy Church will return after Easter; details will be made
available in due course.
St Nicholas’ Church
Rev Marcus Green
As a kid, I hated being lined up on games day so teams could be chosen. You
know the experience: captains pick their mates, then the best players, and
then it’s a shame parade. I wasn’t especially sporty and would often find
myself near the end of the process.
One of the amazing things about the Easter Story is that none of this goes
on. Sure, Jesus has friends in his disciples; and sure, there are folk who
don’t like Jesus; but as Holy Week leads up to the Crucifixion and then
Easter Sunday, Jesus shows his friends no favours — and never shames even
those who would stop at nothing to take his life. Everyone is on a level
playing field, and I love it.
We get to see Pilate’s indecision and weakness, for sure. But so too we see
Peter’s betrayal. We see Judas’s handing Jesus over to the soldiers, but we
also see a soldier confessing Jesus as the son of God, and two pharisees –
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus – caring for his crucified body after all
the disciples have fled. We see crowds praising and cursing, men’s bravado,
and women’s bravery. There’s no sense of hierarchy or an ‘in crowd’. We are
simply presented with the holy chaos of people, all as human as each other
and as loved by God.
One of the reasons I hated those school games afternoons, or those
playground sports as a kid, was that I never felt I fitted in. There were
people who were better than me who belonged on the football team. Much as I
hated it, I pretty much deserved to be picked last!
And I know that some folk don’t come to church much now because they feel
just that way — they feel they don’t fit in. Others seem to belong there,
but not them. I apologise for this, if that rings anywhere near true for
you. Easter tells a different story, and it’s a much better one. Everyone
around Jesus is on a level playing field.
When it comes to faith, there are no experts, no team captains — except
one. And that Lord Jesus walked through the first Holy Week leading up to
Easter talking to absolutely everyone; including absolutely everyone;
ignoring absolutely no one — because at the end he died and rose so the love
and hope he brings might be for absolutely everyone. He chooses us all.
I very much hope you might come to one of our Easter services this April as
we celebrate God’s love, which is for you and for me, and which through
these difficult days brings hope that changes life. But if you can’t, I pray
you’ll find on television, on the radio or on the web some touch of Jesus
that brings this much better story of love home for you.
Anyone is welcome at Tackley Gardening Club, and it was nice to see some
new faces in March when Emma Rogers gave a very interesting and informative
demonstration on pruning, with lots of examples and great tips. Emma kindly
asked us to donate her fee to the Red Cross for Ukraine, and with extra
donations from members we raised £54.60.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 19 April when our very own John Cooper
will talk all about herbs. We hope to see you there.
Tackley Wheelers is social cycling during spring and summer.
It’s more to do with the socialising than the cycling: we aren’t ‘heads
down, bums up’ cyclists, but take our time when riding, with lots of stops
for regrouping. We are inclusive to all-comers; no one will be left behind
because there will always be a back marker to accompany slower riders.
Riders with electric bikes are welcome.
We meet every Wednesday evening until mid September, cycling to nearby
villages and chatting in the pubs we visit — and then all back to the
Gardiner Arms. Rides early and later in the season visit pubs in Woodstock,
Kirtlington and Upper Heyford for example; with greater distances such as
Wootton and Weston-on-the-Green in the longer summer evenings.
We look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces, young or not so
young. If you’d like to join us, simply turn up on a Wednesday evening by
the village hall ready to leave at 6:45 pm.
For more information, just get in touch with Rachel and Neil via the email
above.
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. There’s no
obligation to car share, but there isn’t always enough parking for each
person to drive individually to the start. Face masks are advised for car
sharing while Covid infection rates are high. Distances are approximate, and
all walks are at participants’ own risk.
Saturday, 9 April at 9:30 am: Bloxham. Through the village,
noting traces of history including the railway, coffin road and workhouse.
Visit the Slade nature reserve, then across fields. 5½ miles led by
Rachel Strachan.
Wednesday, 27 April at 2 pm: Minster Lovell to Crawley. Along
the Windrush Valley, past mills used in making Witney blankets, and
returning via the ruins of 15C Minster Lovell Hall. 3½ miles led by
Linda Birch.
Saturday, 14 May at 9:30 am: Old Boars Hill. Start at Wootton
by Abingdon. Fine views of the ‘city of dreaming spires’, the Berkshire
Downs and Chilterns. Passing through the Oxford Preservation Trust’s Jarn
Mound & Wild Garden and Elizabeth Daryush Memorial Gardens. 5 miles
led by Robert Maybank.
Wednesday, 25 May at 2 pm: Chipping Norton to Glyme Farm and
Over Norton, with a chance to see the rare meadow clary in flower.
4½ miles led by Linda Birch.
Looking further ahead, our first outing in July will be Sunday,
10 July at 9:30 am (instead of Saturday 9th). In the morning
there’s a walk around Swalcliffe, with its splendid borage fields, then the
option to have lunch at The Stag — or bring a picnic. In the afternoon,
Swalcliffe Tithe Barn, one of the finest 15C half-cruck barns in England, is
open free from 2 to 5 pm.
Tackley WI formed in September 2019, little knowing what the next two years
would bring! After six meetings in person we had to move online, until
September 2021 when we tentatively returned to the village hall.
Throughout this time we have enjoyed speakers on various interesting
topics; as well as health, cookery and craft evenings. Recently, for
Christmas, we made topiary tree table decorations. In February we had a talk
from the Salvation Army about anti-trafficking and modern slavery, one of
the WI’s national campaigns, and in March we had a bread-making
demonstration from Tackley’s own Fiona Colonnese.
We are a small and friendly group of women of all ages, and would love to
welcome new members. Visitors pay £5 per meeting, which includes tea and a
raffle ticket. We meet on the first Tuesday evening of each month in the
village hall, 7:45 for 8 pm. Our next meetings are:
Tuesday, 5 April: Climate workshop with a WI climate
ambassador.
Tuesday, 3 May: Evening visit to a private garden in Kirtlington
that was designed during lockdown. Please email us for the time and
place.
Tuesday, 7 June: Craft evening making hanging baskets from pants,
highlighting the WI’s ovarian cancer project.
We are thrilled that Tackley Horse Show is back this year on Sunday,
24 April. For those of you who are new to the village: the show is held
in the big field just behind the church; you won’t be able to miss it!
Please do come along and see what’s going on. Aside from the horses we have
a fun dog show which is open to all – the schedule is on our website – along
with catering and the Gardiner Arms running the bar. There may even be a few
weather-dependant surprises on the day, so please do pop up and support us.
All money raised is split between a variety of groups and charities.
We are still looking for a couple of helpers in the catering tent. If you
may be able to offer an hour or two, please do get in touch via email.
Bridewell Gardens provides a mental health recovery service for West
Oxfordshire, supporting people who have experienced severe and enduring
mental illness.
On Saturday, 30 April at our plant sale you can browse a wide variety
of perennial plants. The walled garden will not be open on this day.
The entire site will be open to the public from 11 am to 4 pm on
our open days on Sunday 15 May, Saturday 18 June,
Sunday 19 June and Sunday 11 September.
There will be a pop-up cafe for tea and cake, as well as plants, juice,
home-produced jams and chutneys and our organic sparkling wine for sale.
Make a day of it — bring a picnic blanket and relax with friends and family.
Dogs on leads are welcome.
No booking is required. There is a suggested donation of £5 per person.
Find us at Wilcote, OX7 3DT.
