Month: September 2019

Heyford Gardening Club – September 2019

Heyford-Gardening-Cluband-allotments
After the summer break our annual programme will commence on the 9th September
with our autumn flower and produce show.

What a year-so far!

I commented on the weather earlier in the year, but since then we have had the
hottest July ever recorded, followed by monsoon like rain and now gale force winds. So how have our gardens fared in this year of extremes? Amazingly our own patch has hardly been affected at all. I have had to do no more watering than usual and there have been no losses to speak of. Our soft fruit crops have been good in quantity and quality, and we have a bumper crop of damsons on our trees. I have noticed that plum and pear trees around the village seem to have little fruit on though. The roses have been good and so were our lilies. Our beetroot were poor but the lettuces were prolific. Some greens plants withered away, but the kale grew better than usual. How difficult it is to predict what will happen from one year to the next.

Serendipity

When weeding our gardens it pays to keep an eye out for the unusual, as all sorts of plants can appear amongst the weeds. Garden compost is a fertile source of tomato plants, chard and even parsley. Poppies and nigella are notorious for self seeding, as are evening primroses. Birds can drop seeds such as cherry stones and elder pips, so maybe that’s where the sunflower came from on our vegetable plot. Rather more mysterious was the beautiful pink nicotiana and the orange coreopsis, neither of which are plants that I have ever grown and the angelica by our pond. A couple of years ago a salsify plant arrived from somewhere, and has spread around with it’s dandelion-like fluffy seeds; a beautiful and edible weed. These interlopers often seem to grow better than the plants that I have carefully planted and nurtured, presumably they have grown so well because the seeds have landed where the conditions are just right for them.

Some Things to do in September

1 Sow some salad plants in pots for the autumn and winter
2 Buy and plant narcissi and daffodils
3 Reduce watering of cacti, succulents and other houseplants

Mark Newstead

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www.heyfordgardenclub.com

For more information visit the Heyford Gardening Club & Allotments page

Heyford-Gardening-Cluband-allotments

 

Christian Aid – September 2019

Thank you to everyone in the village who contributed to this year’s Christian Aid Collection. We collected a total of £930.90. Of that £302.65 was gift aided, adding another £45.40 in reclaimed tax, so the final total to Christian Aid was £976.30. An excellent amount once again.

Flood Watch – September 2019

George Clarke’s recent Channel 4 documentary “Council House Scandal” celebrated 100 years since the Addison Act of 1919 kick started Council Estate building. Sadly since the Right to Buy was introduced properties have not been replaced, hence the current shortage of Council properties for rent. GC has launched a National campaign to encourage Government to build more Council homes and has secured land in Manchester to demonstrate how to build good standard homes at reasonable cost. The programme highlighted a problem with commercial properties being converted to rentable homes under “permitted development” which fail to meet minimum acceptable standards for room sizes. Unfortunately this type of development introduced by Government reduced the power of local Planning Offices to enforce standards and bypass the formal planning processes.

The growth in permitted development could potentially lead to problems during conveyancing on house sale/purchase when the status of each building on site is investigated whether these are new build or change of use. Ideally a Lawful Development Certificate should be produced. To avoid risk to the seller/purchaser the seller can purchase an Indemnity Policy in the name of the purchaser. Not until permitted development is scrapped and the planning process returned to conventional planning application/building control will standards return to normal.

June/July/ August weather has continued to be untypical for this time of the year with short periods of high temperature near 37 centigrade and prolonged periods of heavy rainfall. Surprisingly total annual rainfall to the end of August is only 82% of average resulting from the extremely low rainfall earlier in the year.

Anyone interested in participating in discussions with the E/A over future flood defence requirements and contributing with their own local knowledge of flooding are again invited to contact me directly.

J.Arnold

Letters: Village Hall – 60 Years in 2020 – Request for memories

Nether Heyford Village Hall celebrates its 60th Anniversary next year

“It is the 60th anniversary of our village hall in 2020 and we would like to commemorate it by publishing memories of its existence in our village, particularly if you have resided here for 60 years plus. ”    
The Prattler is helping the Village Hall compile personal accounts, list volunteers who have worked on the hall, gather some photographs, memories and stories; ahead of celebrating their 60th anniversary next year.
  • Do you have a story to tell about its history ?
  • Were you a volunteer who helped out with any of the work ? Perhaps you had a relative who did ?
  • What are your memories of events at the village hall ?
  • Do you have any old photographs of the village hall or events there ?

The Prattler would love to hear from you via email heyford_prattler@yahoo.co.uk or comment on this article below.

If you know any residents who would like to participate but are not online, please send us their contact details via email and once we have a list of participants we may visit for personal interviews during the Autumn.

The story so far…. 

Nether Heyford Village Hall was built with the help of volunteer labour and completed in May 1960 as a prefabricated cedar-wood building.

1991 – Brick extensions were added to provide new toilets and kitchen at one end, a storage room and committee room with toilet and kitchenette at the other and an access ramp to the front door.

2003 – New UPVC double glazed windows, new insulation and cladding to the front and rear of the wooden section was fitted together with new front and kitchen doors. Again all the work was done by villagers giving their time and expertise voluntarily.

2006 – A new insulated roof was added.

2008 – Nether Heyford Pre-School transformed the area at the rear of the hall with an outdoor play surface to make a secure outdoor area for the young children.

Since then the remaining doors and windows have been replaced, new gas boilers fitted and decoration carried out annually whilst maintenance continues by our volunteer team. Other improvement projects have included:

  • Sound System & Induction Loop (hearing) system (2002)

  • Replacement Fire Doors (2008)

  • New energy efficient boilers for heat and hot water.

  • Replacement of rest of external doors & windows (2009)

  • Finger guards on doors (2010)

  • In the summer of 2011 the kitchen was completely refurbished

  • Ceiling fans were installed in April 2013

  • In 2014 the ladies toilets were completely refurbished

  • Also in 2014 new chairs were purchased for the main hall and lockable storage cupboards for all the regular users

  • 2 thermostats were installed in the main hall in 2014

  • Lighting in main areas of the hall upgraded to LED during 2016-17

Over the years, it has been used for all manner of events, from pre-school to pantomimes and dances to dinner parties. It is conservatively decorated and can offer seating for up to 120 people. 

Village Hall Committee 2019

(Last update 12/9/2019)

Nether Heyford W.I. – September 2019

WI-Logo

At our July Meeting (which seems a long time ago!) we had an interesting and informative evening with Denise Cowling. She brought a large number of antique items and proceeded to test our knowledge with quiz questions as diverse as which gems were real diamonds to picking the oldest of three plates. I have to say that there were some ladies who would do quite well on a certain TV show.

In August we were very lucky that our outing down the canal with Crusader’s Community Boating took place on a sunny day! It was a very peaceful and happy trip with a stop for lunch at The Wharf in Bugbrooke. We all enjoyed ourselves and, which made it even better, we were supporting a charity which means that disabled people and those in care can take the same trips.

In September the speaker for the evening will be Debby Horsman. She is a Friend of the Scott Polar Institute in Cambridge and a distant relative of a member of the ill-fated support team to the Antarctic expedition. In her talk, “Shackleton’s Forgotten Men”, she gives an intimate account of this little known aspect of an otherwise heroic British story. We thought this might appeal to the Gentlemen as well so are opening the evening to anyone who would like to come. The meeting is in the Village Hall on Thursday September 5th at 7.30, the cost will be £5 to non-members and refreshments are included.

A reminder to all our WI Ladies that our October 3rd meeting is the AGM – usual
time, usual place!

On Saturday October 5th we will be holding a Quiz in the Village Hall. The tables will be for 6 people, the cost is £7.50 per person and will include a hot supper – but please bring your own drinks. The WI quizzes are a fun evening so please come along and join us – we look forward to seeing you!

Mary Rice – Heyford Lodge – 01327 340101

 

Heyford Singers – September 2019

NetherHeyford_HeyfordSingers_Sept2019.jpg

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If you would like to find out more, visit the Heyford Singers page or our website:

www.heyfordsingers.org

 alternatively come along to one of our rehearsals in Nether Heyford Village Hall.

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Village Hall – News – September 2019

Since our fete in June, we have been asked several times: ‘how did you do?’ In view of the awful weather, especially in the morning, we were resigned to raising less than previous years. However, we are pleased to report that we actually raised a net £3,148.69 – an amazing result, due mainly to the generosity and hard work of so many people: individuals, groups, organisations and businesses, including a recent donation from Starbucks. We repeat our heartfelt thanks to them all – what a great village we live in.

Now, we’re beginning to look forward to next year, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the building of our village hall – entirely by volunteers. We want to celebrate this event in great style and are already considering ways of doing this. But we would welcome your ideas too – any suggestions? If so, please contact Alwyne on 07814 898 336 or email: alwyne76@gmail.com

Finally, on a sadder note, our Secretary, Laura Sullivan, is having to stand down due to the pressures of other commitments, so we are currently seeking a volunteer to join our friendly team to help manage the hall. The Management Committee meets 11 times year, with meetings rarely lasting more than 1 ½ hours. The post mainly involves taking minutes, keeping records, being the contact with outside agencies and, if possible, helping with our fundraising events. A handover and continued support will be available. If you think you may be interested and would like to know more, please ring Alwyne on: 07814 898 336.

Alwyne Wilson