The Council meeting held on Wednesday 13th January was attended by four Councillors, the Clerk and no members of the public. The following are extracts from the minutes that the Council need to approve at the February meeting.

The Clerk informed the meeting that the Christmas and subsequent refuse collections had been severely disrupted by the weather and that he had received a number of calls from residents seeking information. Although the situation was unusual he requested from SODC that if the designated collection day was going to be missed that a note should be sent to Parish Clerks with the relevant information. The Clerk stated that he had used an existing email distribution list to inform local residents of the situation and that this had been well received. He stated that he intended to invite residents to supply their email address if they wanted the up to date information on the refuse collection. He also informed the meeting that a link had been put on the Council website for the latest information on refuse collection.

The Chairman invited Cllr. Barry Coward to up date the Council. He reported that Carroll and Partners had done further work with Southern Construction on an alternative solution to the £10,000 option that they considered would be a more suitable and better wearing surface for the car park. Cllr Alison Shelton suggested that a local resident who had expertise in this matter should be approached and invited to a Council meeting to clarify the various options that the Council need to consider. The other matter of concern that the Council discussed related to the management of the project. The existing offer by Carroll and Partners was considered to be rather expensive Therefore the Council wished to seek an opinion elsewhere as to whether or not Carroll's fees are reasonable in the circumstances. The Council RESOLVED that it would seek a meeting with the local resident to review both the project options and the project management issues before finalising its decision. Cllr Barry Coward stated that he would speak to Carroll and Partners to seek further information on the specification that they had recommended.

The Chairman referred the Council to the papers issued by the Clerk that detailed the latest outcome for 2009-10 and a forecast for the next three years. The Council RESOLVED to maintain the precept for 2010-11 at £10,500. This was considered necessary until the Council has completed the work on the car park and discharged its responsibilities in respect of the "old" Post Office.

Cllr David Wakeling highlighted the problem of sheet ice caused by the freezing of the spring water that has been discharged on to Gold Street. This has been recognised as a problem but the recent severe weather has raised its profile. It was a safety factor that the school had to consider in determining whether it should open. The Clerk was asked to inform OCC Highways of the concerns and to seek a resolution to the water issue on Gold Street. He was also asked to raise the issue of strategically placed salt bins as a result of the recent extreme weather.

The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday 10th February 2010 at 8.00 p.m. in The Pine Lodge Little Milton unless there is a need to convene any planning or other meetings.

Residents can see the records of the policies and practices of the Parish Council

including minutes, financial information and responses to planning consultations, on request from the Parish Clerk.

Current Council members

We apologise for any inconvenience over the past few weeks and would like to thank residents for their continued patience and understanding.

I would like to set up a "Rubbish alert" if the collections are going to miss their designated day. SODC do have information on their website but I think it would benefit residents if they received an email. If you are interested please contact me by email giving me permission to send you information. This is a sure way to ensure that the collections never go wrong again!!

OXFORDSHIRE ROAD CASULTIES CONTINUE TO FALL
The annual total number of road casualties in Oxfordshire has fallen by more than 1,000 over the last 10 years according to the latest figures released by Oxfordshire County Council's Road Safety Team.

Provisional road traffic casualty figures for all reported injury accidents during 2009 show that over all, the county is continuing to see an improving picture, with the number of people killed reaching an all time record low and the number slightly hurt continuing to see a steady decline.

However, the county’s Road Safety Team is disappointed to note that the number of people who sustained serious injury has not shown the same pattern of reduction.

Oxfordshire road casualties over last 10 years

                                                                                                                Fatal       63       49         37         64         33        40         68         34  42 30 460     

                                                                                                              Serious   453     473       466       418      348        306       304   340 301 312 3721

                                                                                                                Slight   2923    2876    2830    2480    2252    2513     2563     2278   2076 1907 24698 

                                                                                                                Total:  3439    3398    3333     2962    2633    2859      2935    2652    2419   2249   28879 

                                                                                                                            Source: OCC

W/E 6th February - Mrs A Jones/ Mrs S Brough

W/E 13th February - Mrs. G. Taylor/Mrs H Ridley

W/E 20th February - Mrs A. Hawkins/Mrs E Summers

W/E 27th February - Mrs. M. Davies/Mrs S A Dennis

W/E 6th March - Mrs L. Lovegrove/ Mrs C Coward

Tuesday 2nd February - 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Tuesday 9th February - 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Sunday 13th February - 10.30 p.m. – 11.00 a.m.

Quarter Peal 12.15 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.

Tuesday 16th February - 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Tuesday 23rd February - 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Tuesday 2nd March - 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

A friend of mine was telling me the other day how her daughters had finally persuaded her to get her mobile phone upgraded. She wasn’t sure she said whether it made her more or less of an embarrassment to them now. But she was assured she could take pictures, send people videos, make sound recordings and receive Emails under certain circumstances. She could download pictures onto its little screen if she liked but she found that when she did she couldn’t read any of the instructions on it. So she trawled through the settings and then it was much better. ---blank.

She said she still found it hard to answer calls, not because she wasn’t au fait with the technology, but because when it rung she couldn’t find it in her handbag quickly enough.

She went on to tell me that there was one interesting side effect of the new technology in her household; like the old valve sets our digital system takes just a little while to find a signal, and for that time, the screen stays blank.

All of that made me think. Instant response is what we want, only unless we’re very spoilt children, wisdom teaches us that that rarely happens. However when we ask things of God we might expect heavenly technology to be more instant.

When heaven connects with earth there should be extraordinary events-and sometimes there are, but at times God seems absent: in suffering, cruelty, greed, bullying, neglect.

But silence is one place to hear God’s sometimes wordless response- an absence of words and activity for a moment-an opportunity for new vision, and a space for a new empowerment given through his Holy Spirit to make that vision a reality.

May Lent with its quiet moments, be such an opportunity for us.

So a prayer

LENT 2010.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday which this year is 17th February. Lent is the time when we commemorate Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness to explore his destiny. Who was he, what was he to do? His way was to love and obey God, not to dominate people, nor glorify himself. In Lent every Christian may make a space to ask themselves, ‘Who am I becoming?’ How can I get in touch with my soul, stifled by the relentless preoccupation with the material world, with all its business and dizziness? Who am I becoming in God’s eyes? What’s happening to my integrity, my lifestyle, my values, my relationships, my prayers? In a way we are all pilgrims in this world moving towards our destiny, exploring who we are becoming and who we could be. For Jesus the wilderness became a fruitful field. May Lent be a fruitful period for us all.

On Ash Wednesday we shall have a Service of Holy Communion in St. Mary’s, Great Milton at 7.30 p.m. On Wednesday February 24th we shall hold the first of the Wednesday evening Compline Services in Great Milton and will begin at 7.30 p.m. On the Friday morning, the 26^th at 9.00 a.m., there will be a Service of Holy Communion in Great Milton.

The following week, the Wednesday (3rd March) Compline and the Friday (5^th March) Communion will be in St. James’, Little Milton, and similarly on the 10th and 12th, in St. Peter’s Great Haseley.

LENT LUNCHES.

We are holding our usual Lent Lunches around the benefice this year and the first will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Maloney, the old School House, Back Way, Great Haseley on Monday 22nd ^February between 12.00 and 1.30 p.m. Over the years these have been wonderful occasions when we meet around the Benefice at different venues on a Monday for a simple Lunch. There’s no need to book, simply arrive. We meet old friends and we make new friends. The dates and venues of the succeeding Lent Lunches will be in the March edition of The Newsletter. Donations on these occasions may be placed in a ‘decent basin’ as the Book of Common Prayer would put it, to be given to Christian Aid.

We look forward to seeing you all.

It is with sadness that I have to record the passing of Mrs Eva Hart. Maurice and Eva Hart ran Greystone Stores at the top of the Haseley Road and moved away from the village in the late eighties. The passing of Eva ends a long connection with the village but I keep in touch with her daughter Janet Carpenter. I am sure that those of you who remember Greystone Stores will share this sense of loss. Our thoughts are with Janet and her family at this time.

ED

What a difficult return to school we had after the Christmas holidays! We were in school for two days, and then home again for three because of the snow – grateful thanks to all those parents who turned out on a wintry Sunday afternoon to clear the snow from the playground, and attack what resembled a glacier in Gold Street!

The autumn term finished with our traditional Christingle Service – it was lovely to welcome so many of you from the village. The children enjoyed a visit to The Oxford Playhouse to see the pantomime – and a Christmas Party in the Pine Lodge kindly organised by the Friends of the School.

By the time you read this, we will be word perfect for our rendition of Frosty the Snowman at the Schools Concert at the Sheldonian Theatre. This will be a wonderful experience for the children – not only to be inside Christopher Wren’s beautiful building, but to hear musicians perform The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, and to learn about the various sections of the orchestra..

Various extra curricular activities continue – including piano and recorder lessons, lunch time Recorder Club and after school sports sessions with Oxford Active and Jason Carbon’s football club – all in all keeping our children fit and healthy!

With the cold, snowy weather in January, BBOWT’s stock watchers were kept busy across the reserves, trying to keep the animals well fed with hay and a good supply of water. For Wells Farm, conditions were at times too difficult for BBOWT staff to travel to us, and our resident stock watchers (The Jones Family) did an excellent job looking after the sheep, cattle and ponies here. Carting bales of hay around is no easy matter in the snow!!

February will bring the occasional warm spell, and the birds have already started thinking about nesting. Now is the time to help them boost their energy, by providing plenty of bird food so they are ready for the busy spring that lay ahead.

At the time of writing, our hedge planting work party on the 31^st January has not taken place yet. If we do not manage to complete the work, we will aim to continue on 7^th February from 10.30am. Please join us if you can as many hands make light work!

BBOWT have started issuing out the contracts to the existing and new tenants for 2010. Three plots are yet to be market up, which will happen in the next couple of weeks. Now is the time to finish preparing the ground ready for planting.

Next Meeting: Our next meeting is on Thursday 11th February at 7.45 pm at the Pine Lodge, Little Milton. We shall welcome Christina Dore who will talk about and demonstrate the art of Scrapbooking.

Unfortunately our New Year Dinner, scheduled for Thursday 14^th January, had to be cancelled because of the recent bad weather. We are hoping to arrange another date for this enjoyable event in the near future.

Calling all young ladies! Don’t think of WI members as just ‘older ladies!’ We love to welcome young ladies too! We are pleased to say that, currently, quite a few new young members have joined us, which is great. Come on, young ladies, we have a lot of entertaining and fun evenings in store for 2010! For information please ring Anne Hawkins, our President.

President: Anne Hawkins 279526 Secretary: Heather Peers 279627

Press Reports: Val Watkins 279544

The snow in December and early January made life interesting for all of us, and I am delighted to say that the Shop lived up to the challenge! With daily supplies of milk and bread, free range eggs from Lacey’s and Views Farm, and intrepid expeditions through the snow to the wholesalers and butchers, we kept many villagers fed and watered!

After a very busy Christmas, we expected a quiet January, but the snow gave us some of our best trading days since launch!

There are many very special items in the shop, and we would like to share some of our best kept secrets with you. For example: LACEY’S MILK

Lacey’s milk comes exclusively from Guernsey cows, one of only two dairy herds in the South East of England. 98% of milk sold in this country comes from Friesian cows, which are renowned for their high yield, but relatively low quality. Guernsey cows are low yield, high quality. Milk from Guernsey cows contains:

Omega 3- 3 times the quantity of ordinary milk- proven to reduce heart disease

Beta Carotene- high levels-which promotes immunity from infection, better eyesight, and skin

Protein-12% more than ordinary milk

Vitamin D- 33% more than ordinary milk

Calcium-15% more than ordinary milk

And it tastes great!

We have skimmed, semi skimmed, and whole milk, plus single and double cream. If you have never tasted Guernsey cream you are in for a treat! The yellow colour comes from the Beta Carotene-after Guernsey cream, nothing else comes close!

We are still in need of more volunteers, and it is a very enjoyable (and sociable) experience, so if you can spare a couple of hours in the week or on a Saturday, please come in and have a chat.

Dear All

I called into the Post Office in mid –January and was overwhelmed to receive your ‘good wishes’.  Thank you. 

I must apologise for my sudden departure from Little Milton.  I have enjoyed 15 memorable years as ‘Postie’ in what I consider to be a lovely area and leaving has been very hard.

Unfortunately over the last 6 months, changes at Royal Mail have left me despondent and demoralised.  It seems Royal Mails priorities are totally different to mine.

So after months of deliberation, I made the very difficult decision to leave the job.   Unfortunately, this meant leaving the part of the job I enjoyed – being a Postie in Little Milton, Little Haseley, and Rofford!

I have made many good friends in the villages over the years and can only thank you for your help, friendliness, generosity and most of all to me your trust, making my job pleasant and enjoyable.

A special thanks to Annie in the Post Office, a special lady.  (I hope the Mars Bar sales don’t go down too much!).  Annie and all the staff in the shop need your support, which I am sure you will all continue to give.

The band ‘plays on’, so I am sure I will see you all from time to time. 

Once again, thank you from myself, Sarah, Edie and Thomas who were also made to feel part of the village. 

Best wishes to you all.

Many different tables selling; eggs, fruit, vegetables, meat, cakes, wine, cheese, bread, flowers, plants etc

Why not have a bacon butty with a cup of tea or coffee whilst reading a Sunday newspaper!

Deirdre Mann 279334; Will Meadon 0771621

.WHEATLEY LIBRARY

Tuesday 2.00 – 7.00 p.m: Wednesday 9.30 am. - 1.00 pm.: 2.00 5.00 p.m.

Thursday 2.00 – 5.00 p.m.: Friday 9.30 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.: 2.00p.m. - 6.00 p.m.

Saturday 9.30 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.

The next meeting of the sewing group will be on Wednesday 24^th February at the home of Anne Hawkins, Willowbrook Cottage, Haseley Road. Please inform Anne on 279526 if you wish to come and join in the lunch. Everyone welcome especially if you would like help with any sewing queries. Time 11, 00 a.m. until 3.00 p.m.

Enjoy a positive and fun approach to this amazing time in a woman’s life. By looking at the psychology of positive change, helpful physical exercises and how to release blocks, you’ll learn how to throw off your anxiety, restore the twinkle in your eye and the smile on your face.

The speakers at this upbeat and informative evening are:

Lynda Shaw PhD of Shaw Psychology; Laurelle Rond BA (Hons), PGCE, Dip ST (BAST), MBRCP of Your Sound and Natasha Rond-Alliston BSc (Hons), MSST, REPs of Your Sports Therapy.

Peach Boy:

The Adventures of Momotaro

(www.oxfordshiretheatrecompany.co.uk)

Activities are free and suitable for 0-5 year olds

Sarah Lowman 07988159041

If you need to visit a GP or health professional outside of normal working hours you can call our service on 0845 345 8995. We will then arrange for you to see the right health professional in the right place. This service runs from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours over weekends and bank holidays. In an emergency please call 999 to talk to the ambulance service.

If you haven’t heard Georgia, Ruth and Sue are holding a fabulous ladies nearly new and vintage clothes & home-wares sale

So girls make sure you pop this date in your diary to join us

It’s great chance to shop, shop, shop and then shop some more…. whatever the budget!

Plus treat yourself to a visit to our manicurist on the day!

In the meantime, please don’t throw away or eBay any good quality ladies clothing. We will sell it for you and you will receive 85% of the profit

Please tell as many of your friends and family as you can, as this event is open to anyone who loves clothes, shopping and a bargain or two! Whether 16 or 60 come along! 

Northmoor Trust Hurdle Weaving Workshop. A one day practical workshop making traditional hazel hurdles to take home. Whether you want to camouflage a compost heap, disguise a dustbin or make an interesting trellis, this is the course for you. Adults £75, Friends £60

Northmoor Trust Introduction to Landscape Photography. Join professional photographer David Hall for an enjoyable day to improve your landscape photography. Adults £45. Friends £36

Northmoor Trust Advanced Hedge Laying Workshops. A two day hands on course suitable for anyone who has previously been on a hedge laying course. Adults £75, Friends £60

Telephone: 01865 872448The Surgery and Dispensary is open

Surgery appointments times:

Monday to Friday: 8.30am – 11.00am and 3.30pm – 5.50pm

Saturday: 8.30am – 11.20am

The surgery is situated on London Road (just off the roundabout at the top of Holloway Road). Car parking available.

The surgery is currently accepting new patients from the local area.