The independent consultation has been completed. Network Rail currently
favours a new footbridge with a lift, and rerouting the bridleway. The
parish council and Tackley Railway Residents Action Committee (TRAC) are
still in discussion with Network Rail, who will hopefully give an update at
the September council meeting. Please check the agenda for September if you
would like to come along.
Flooding
As far as we are aware, the catchment study still has not been done,
although Councillor Andy Graham is pushing for it on our behalf.
Heath
We are still trying to keep on top of the bracken along the paths, to keep
open a circular route through the woods and open heathland. It is time
consuming, but with a lot of people it doesn’t need to be. If you are able
to come to any work parties, please do, even if only
for an hour or so — it all helps.
It is so dry at the moment, please do not light any fires on the heath or
in the woods. It would be devastating if a fire was to spread.
Dog Waste Bins
We are aware that the dog waste bin in the Jubilee Garden was removed, but
have no idea why or by whom. Councillor Nathalie Chapple is doing her best
to get it replaced, but is finding it hard to get hold of the right person
at the district council. Please bear with us, and use the other bins
provided — or take your poo bags home to put in your grey wheelie bin.
Footpath Walks
All of Tackley’s footpaths and bridleways will be walked over the next
month or so by your parish councillors. If you know of any problems, please
do get in touch.
Parish Council Surgeries
The council has decided unanimously to no longer hold in-person surgeries.
Most people now email or phone if they have a problem or question, and we
have not had any residents turn up to surgeries for quite some time. If you
would like to discuss anything with the whole council, you can arrange to do
so at a main meeting by contacting the clerk beforehand.
Fete
Thank you to the PTA, school and St Nicholas’ church for organising the
village fete. Despite the weather, there was a
good turnout and fun was had.
Miscellaneous
We have received a few complaints over the last month or so, so here are
some relevant reminders.
Please remember that dogs are not allowed on the playing field. This rule
is in place so that the field can be used for sport by all without the risk
of falling in something unpleasant.
There is still a lot of dog mess on our footpaths. Many owners act
responsibly and clear up; it is a shame that a few spoil their reputation
and also the enjoyment of walks for others, not to mention farmers having it
mixed in with their crops.
If you need to have a garden fire – which we would suggest is not sensible
in this really dry spell – please be considerate of neighbours and think
about timings and wind direction. A particularly smoky fire up Rousham Road
badly affected many residents one afternoon in July.
Trimming garden hedges is not advised between the beginning of March and
end of August. If it absolutely needs doing, please check for active birds’
nests beforehand. Under section one of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
it is an offence to intentionally take, destroy or damage the nest of any
wild bird, or to intentionally injure, kill or take adults or chicks.
Memorial Trophy
Finally, on a positive note, the Tackley Memorial Trophy football match
will take place on Sunday, 28 August on the playing field. There will
be children’s matches, penalty shootout, inflatable bar, food truck,
inflatables, games, fairground with dodgems, raffle, and live music from
local artists.
As of 22 July, the amount raised for the Tackley Ukrainian Refugee
Fund had reached £1,410. An additional donation of £250 from Tackley Horse
Show brought the total to £1,660 — minus the JustGiving fee.
We will close the JustGiving page at the end of August to allow for summer
holidays.
A lot has happened to our guests since they arrived in Tackley. Perhaps
with the terrible realisation that this will not be a short war, some have
gone to live with friends to have their support; one has returned to Kyiv;
and one is starting at university. More applications are being processed for
women who would like to stay in Tackley, and we await the outcome of
that.
Tackley Ukrainian Refugee Fund will give out the funds as they are
requested, and there are three members of the group who will oversee this.
All of the money will go to the Tackley refugees.
Thank you for your great generosity.
Macmillan Fundraiser
Dawn Chambers
Thank you to everyone who supported the open gardens and craft fair in aid
of Macmillan Cancer Support in June. I think you will all agree it was a
lovely sunny afternoon in a beautiful setting.
The total raised has risen since the event thanks to some late donations
and the results of text and QR code scanning on the day. It now stands at
£1,316.
Thank you to the crafters, bakers, donators of goods, and of course
everyone who attended the event.
Special thanks to Gill and Paul Withers for the loan of their fabulous
gardens, Jane Collier for the loan of her paddock for car parking and the
car park attendants, J&L Marquees for leaving the marquee up an extra day to
provide much-needed shade, the lovely Tackley bellringers for serving teas
and cake, and Laughton’s Luxury Toilet Hire for the urn and tables. Please
accept my apologies if I have missed anyone.
There will be another craft sale in Tackley Village Hall on Saturday,
15 October. More details will follow nearer the time.
Tackley Primary School and St Nicholas’ Church would like to say a big
thank-you to all volunteers who helped set up or man a stall, artisans who
held their own stalls, children who took part in maypole dancing and the
fancy dress parade — and, of course, all those who attended to make this
year’s fete a successful fundraising event. Special thanks to those who
generously donated prizes. The total raised, to be split between school and
church, was £1,794. We are grateful for your support.
It has been a busy few months at Tackley Heath. Another work party,
comprising the committee and volunteers, continued clearing the paths. This
has made a huge difference to accessibility and, especially in the heat, it
is lovely to walk through the trees.
Jon Uren and John Reynolds conducted a bat survey in June and found three
different species: noctule, common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle. They
are planning another visit later in the season. To encourage bats, bat boxes
will be obtained and sited on the heath.
At the end of June, Oxfordshire Wildlife Sites Project Officer Kate Prudden
accompanied a Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre ecologist to carry
out the ten-yearly survey of the heath. Kate commented on the lovely and
wonderfully-shaped trees, including the large rowan tree. Her further
highlights were a black-and-yellow longhorn beetle, a stunning green crab
spider, and some frogs in the central woodland picnic area. The full report
from this survey is expected early in 2023.
How Can You Help?
A review of Oxfordshire’s Local Wildlife Sites takes place next year, and
Tackley Heath needs villagers to record any wildlife sightings on the
iRecord system — see irecord.org.uk.
The website and app help with identification, so you don’t have to be able
to name the species, and you can upload photos. Refer to the location as
Tackley Heath Local Wildlife Site 42Q01 (grid reference around
SP469211).
And join us on Friday, 19 August from 6:30 to 7:30 pm for the
next work party, continuing maintenance of at least one path circuit through
the bracken, followed by a drink at the Pop-Up Pub. Wear gloves, and bring
shears or loppers if you can. From the entrance to the heath from Fox Hill,
and footpath from Ball Lane, follow the markers to find where we are
working.
Black-and-yellow (or spotted) longhorn beetle
(Rutpela maculata) by Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0 on Wikimedia
CommonsGreen crab spider (Diaea dorsata) by Jeremy Bishop on
Unsplash
Messy Church resumes on Saturday, 17 September at 2 pm.
We will be holding a plant sale with tea, coffee and cakes in the church on
Saturday, 20 August from 2:30 pm. Do come and join us — we’d love
to see you. All proceeds will go to church funds.
Our harvest festival service will be held on Sunday, 25 September at
10:30 am.
Coffee mornings are held every Thursday from 10 am until noon. A very
warm welcome awaits you.
Thank you to all the village organisations who took part in the wonderful
flower festival in St Nicholas’ Church and the Methodist Church for the
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The churches looked beautiful and it was lovely to
have so many visitors.
Thank you to all who supported our summer fete
(in the rain!) which we held jointly with Tackley School PTA. We shared the
proceeds of almost £1,800.
At the end of the school year, St Nicholas’ congregation was pleased to
continue our tradition of giving a Youth Bible to all the Tackley
schoolchildren who are moving up to secondary school.
Our benefice said farewell to our rector the Rev Marcus Green in mid June
– with gifts of a new bicycle, a framed photo of the three churches, and a
cheque – as he left us after nine years to become chaplain of Worcester
College, Oxford.
We now begin the long Church of England process leading to the appointment
of a new rector, which will take us into next year. In the meantime, under
the leadership of Area Dean Rev Jeremy Auld of Woodstock and Bladon,
services continue every Sunday at St Nicholas’, with a united benefice
service on the third Sunday of each month. These are led by various local
clergy, some of whom are retired or have a role at diocesan level. You are
warmly welcome to join us.
This group is a friendly way to get to know the Oxfordshire countryside
better, on its leisurely walks. We meet at Tackley 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
themselves to the start. Face masks are advised for car sharing whilst Covid
infection rates are high. Distances are approximate and all walks are at
participants’ own risk.
Saturday, 13 August at 9:30 am: Abingdon. The loop starts from
the car park opposite the cricket ground, just over the bridge from the
town, and follows the river through parkland and fields down to Sutton
Courtenay, where Herbert Asquith and George Orwell are buried. The return
is through the equally charming village of Culham and back along The
Burycroft to rejoin the first part of the walk for the last mile back to
the car park. There are no stiles, and it is flat apart from one tractor
bridge across one of the many branches of the Thames. There is the option
for lunch at the The Nag’s Head, the pub on the bridge. 5 miles.
Wednesday, 24 August at 2 pm: Witney. Parking by Woolgate
shopping centre — currently free. Walk through some of Witney’s
picturesque streets, past Wychwood Brewery, and under the A40 to reach
Witney Lake, the River Windrush and surrounding meadows.
3½ miles.
Saturday, 10 September at 9:30 am: Banbury fringe. The route
runs along the Oxford canal, Salt Way, past Giant’s Cave and Drayton
School and back to the canal towpath. 10 miles; bring a picnic.
Wednesday, 28 September at 2 pm: Salford, Rollright Stones and
Little Rollright. Via tracks and field paths, with a steep ascent to the
Whispering Knights and the Stones, then back to Salford via Little
Rollright. 4½ miles; stiles.
Well, what a scorcher we’re having! Our garden party in July was well
attended, and the weather was a little cooler — cloudy and even a little
rain. Gill Laurence did us proud with fabulous homemade food and plenty of
cold drinks.
On Tuesday, 20 September we will have Chris Day from Buckingham Garden
Centre talking to us about bulbs for all seasons. Chris is very
knowledgeable, and always entertains with slides and items of interest.
Please do come along and join us.
Sunday, 14 August: Exhibition of objects from Simon Somerscales’
personal local history collection. As many of you will know, Simon has an
extensive collection of old photographs, many of which he has shared on
the Tackley Local History Group’s Facebook page, often alongside and in
interesting contrast to contemporary photos of the same scene. Come along
to 2 The Ridge on 14 August between 10 am and 1 pm to
see objects he has collected over the years with a direct link to Tackley
and Oxfordshire.
Saturday, 20 and Sunday, 21 August: North Leigh Roman Villa open
weekend. This is one of the most important archaeological sites in
Oxfordshire, and was one of the most palatial villas in Roman Britain. The
mosaic house will be open, allowing visitors to see the stunning mosaic
close up. Tackley Local History Group will be there, and there will be
displays of Roman artefacts – including pottery, coins, and jewellery –
many of which were found in Tackley. Hours of opening are from 11 am
to 5 pm.
Sunday, 4 September: Tackley history afternoon. Building on the
success of last year and earlier occasions, once again we are having an
afternoon dedicated to Tackley’s history and archaeology in the village
hall and on the playing field between 2 and 4 pm. There will be a
chance to make Roman pots with Jane Bowen, and to learn how to
metal-detect, as well as a Roman pop-up zone for younger children,
displays on the history of Tackley’s houses and the Cataraqui tragedy,
old photographs and documents, and local archaeological finds. Experts
from the Ashmolean Museum will be there to identify objects you may have
found.
Programme of Talks
These take place from September to April on the fourth Monday of the month
at 8 pm in the village hall. The first two are:
Monday, 26 September: John Perkins: A Village Disrupted: When
the Railway Came Through Tackley, 1845 to 1850.
Monday, 24 October: Tim Healey: Apples! The Myth and Mystery
of England’s Favourite Fruit.
Tim gave an excellent and entertaining talk last year on Sex, Drink
and Death in the 17th Century; and this year his talk on the history
of apples will be preceded on Sunday, 23 October by Tackley Apple Day
— when you can come along to the village hall and press your apples using
the equipment purchased by the community.
We are still finalising details of our remaining four or five talks.
Oxfordshire WI awarded Platinum Jubilee bursaries to some of their groups,
and Tackley WI was delighted to be the first chosen. As a result, our
members are looking forward to a guided tour of Rousham House in August.
With Calendar Girls showing at Oxford Playhouse in July, the
WI is centre stage! Another comedy about the WI, Raising Agents
by Mikron Theatre Company – who tour on their narrowboat – is coming to The
Boat Inn, Thrupp on Friday, 5 August at 7 pm. We have heard that
they always put on an excellent outdoor performance. There is no need to
book; donations will be taken on the night. They are also at Eynsham and
Banbury the same week, and you can find details on their website.
Tackley WI is a small friendly group of women of all ages, and would love
to welcome new members. Visitors pay £5 per meeting, which includes a cuppa
and a raffle ticket. We meet on the first Tuesday of each month in the
village hall, 7:45 for 8 pm. Our next meetings are:
Tuesday, 2 August: informal craft evening.
Tuesday, 6 September: cookery demonstration with Mariella
Bliss.
Tuesday, 4 October: harvest supper. Please email for the start
time.
