February 2016

ICKFORD INFORMER

Ickford Village website https://ickfordcommunity.wordpress.com

Report on Ickford Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 8th December.

Next Year's Finances: As previously reported, the Parish Council there is likely to be a shortfall of around £2,500 of income versus expenditure for this year and next. The Ickford precept has remained relatively unchanged for more than 5 years, it was therefore agreed that the Council would raise the precept by £2500, an average of £5-£8 per annum ( for a Band D ) household.

Four Year Plan: After the November Council meeting it was decide to call an Extraordinary meeting for Tuesday 24th November to specifically discuss the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) Issues and their housing proposals for the next 20 years. This was a well attended meeting with at least 29 residents present, the majority view was the the proposed plan put too great a burden on our current village infrastructure. The Council responded to AVDC consultation on the basis of:-

We would wish to contest the settlement hierarchy. Although we are recategorised as a large village we have concerns about this categorisation. We are not within 4 miles of the nearest town and we have very limited employment so, although we have the amenities it would be difficult to satisfy all 4 criteria that would make us a large village. Our facilities and services have not increased since we were a small village. It seems that the formula has changed to tip the balance. The first criteria that we would fail would be the village size. At 680 residents we would be smaller than the large village category. The 5th criteria was a qualitative assessment which we felt was wrongly assessed as only 1 of the previous 4 criteria would classify it as a large village

(Note under the current proposal reclassifying Ickford as a small village would reduce the 20 year housing requirement from 100 down to 20 properties)

The Council will wait until the outcome of the AVDC consultation before deciding on the next appropriate action.

Thames Water (Flooding): Following a technical meeting with Thames Water Authority Cllr Peter Jordain reported that currently TW do not have Ickford registered as a high priority as they have not received enough complaints. TW advised individual residents that they need to complain directly to them in order for them to prioritise the drainage & sewerage problems. Cllr Louise Arnold prepared a very professional looking leaflet and then managed the distribution to every household with background information, free-phone numbers and the website address for our community "Flood Watch” so that residents can report their sewerage issues.

For all other Parish Council items please refer to the meeting minutes, Community Notice board, Website, for more details

Ickford Community Website: The full range of meeting reports and supporting document can be found at on the community website at www.ickfordcommunity.wordpress.com .

February Meeting: Tuesday 9th February 7:30pm in Village Hall annex. Please come along and help to contribute to the Parish Council discussions.

AB – Ickford Parish Council

Calendar – January 2016 1 Mon Start of display in Ickford

Church until ThursdayIckford Church

Boxfit 9:30-10:30 am Village Hall

2 Tues Rendezvous 10:30 – 12:30 Ickford Church

Pub Quiz night 8:15 pm Rising Sun

3 Wed Mobile Library 9:40 -10 am Outside School

Yoga 7- 8 pm Village Hall

Concert 7:30 pm Ickford Church

4 Thurs Over 50’s Tai Chi 10 -11 am Village Hall

WI 7:30 pm Village Hall

5 Fri Little Stars 10-11:30 Ickford Church

6 Sat

7 Sun Morning prayer 10 am Ickford Church

World’s Biggest Quiz 7:30 pm Rising Sun

8 Mon BoxFit 9:30-10:30 am Village Hall

9 Tues Rendezvous 10:30-12:30 Ickford Church

Parish Council Meeting 7:30 pm Village Hall Annex

Pub quiz night 8:15 pm Rising Sun

10 Wed Yoga 7- 8 pm Village Hall

Darby and Joan Village Hall

11 Thurs Over 50’s Tai Chi 10-11 am Village Hall

12 Fri Little Stars 10-11:30 Ickford Church

13 Sat

14 Sun Valentine’s Day

Morning Worship 10 am Ickford Church

15 Mon Half Term School holiday All week

BoxFit 9:30–10:30 am Village Hall

16 Tues Rendezvous 10:30-12:30 Ickford Church

Pub quiz night 8:15 pm Rising Sun

17 Wed Yoga 7 – 8 pm Village Hall

18 Thurs Over 50’s Tai Chi 10-11am Village Hall

19 Fri

20 Sat20 Sat

21 Sun Quiet Communion Breakfast and Praise Be

9 am 10 am

Ickford Church

22 Mon BoxFit 9:30-10:30 Village Hall

23 Tues Rendezvous 10:30-12:30 Ickford Church

Pub quiz night 8:15 pm Rising Sun

24 Wed

25 Thurs

26 Fri

27 Sat

28 Sun Holy Communion 10 am Ickford Church

29 Mon Leap Year extra day

Progressive Supper

Saturday 23rd April

Make a note in your diary

Only £15 per head

We need hosts, volunteers to make desserts and bring raffle and tombola prizes.

Contact Peter or Liz Jordain 01844 338518 or peter.jordain@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHIC CLUBThanks to everybody that managed to come to the first meeting which I for one thoroughly enjoyed. After not a lot of discussion we decided to keep the club on a very informal basis and try to set a monthly topic/ theme to shoot , the rest of the evening was spent chatting about taking photos and printing our own photo books as a way to show off our efforts.At the next meeting ( 7.30 on Tuesday 23rd February  at 31 Golders Close 338851 peter@kolbert.net ) we will be talking about depth of field and how to achieve different results, so bring your camera along. The topic for your March photos will be surprise , surprise depth of field.

Hopefully will see you all then.Peter

Ickford Pre-School

I have returned from 9 months of maternity leave to children learning about Space, following Tim Peake’s progress on the ISS, making Moon Rock Cakes and creating weird and wonderful alien

pictures! Numbers continue to grow and we are full in many sessions. Many thanks to Suzanne Rogers and Ellen Chapman for their hard-work managing Pre-School whilst I was ‘off’ and to the other staff members and committee for ensuring the smooth running of the setting and a continued stimulating environment for the children. Since I last wrote for the Informer we have welcomed Frankie, Max,

Orpheus, Iris, Jack, Edward, Jasper, Hayden, Thomas, Dougal, Orla, Alice, Faye, Kit, Florence, George, Genevieve, Zak, Neve and Isabelle, with more new children due in the coming weeks. The new children have all settled very well and we are enjoying getting to know them and seeing them

develop.

Fundraising remains an essential part of the role of the committee (to which new members are always welcome, whether you are

parents/carers of children in the setting or not!) and our November Race Night raised an amazing £1200 for our outside area.

Combined with a hugely generous grant of £1250 from Haddenham Beer Festival, we will soon be constructing a new wooden play

structure in the outside area. Many thanks to all who helped and donated raffle prizes, especially Paul Farrell for organising the

whole race night and overseeing the event, Paul Rogers of Infinity Building Developments, Louise and David Arnold, The Thatch and

The Fisherman for their raffle donations. We had an excellent Hallowe’en party in October, organised by Louise Arnold, Crystal Betteley and Lisa Wehbe which also raised £350 for the outside area. Many thanks to all who attended and helped. We have,

today, ordered a new wooden climbing frame and Wendy House for the outside space and we are sure the children (and staff) will

have great fun using them!

The children performed a lovely, traditional Nativity Play in December at the village hall – well attended by friends and families. It is hard work when so many

children are 2 and 3 year olds to find children confident and mature enough to ‘perform’ in front of strangers, so a big thank you to the staff for inspiring the children to sing so beautifully and to the children for their amazing efforts!

Finally, we are always on the hunt for items that others want to be rid of…. If you have any spare tyres (even tractor-

sized), guttering, pipe, logs/planks of wood, blankets, old clothes airers etc we would be delighted to rehome them for

you!

We welcome visits to the Pre-School, so you can see what we do, and still have a few places available in some sessions.

Don’t forget we are open from 7.45am for Breakfast Club and 3.30pm-6pm for After School Club too (ages 2-11 years)!

Helen Harris (PGCE Primary)

Manager

www.ickfordpreschool.com ickfordpreschool.manager@gmail.com 01844 338785

CHRISTMAS AT ST. NICHOLAS Our Christmas celebrations began with the Carol Service on December 20th in the afternoon, the choir having sung in Shabbington Church in the morning. The congregation joined in with the singing and readings were given by members representing all the organisations in the village. Afterwards we enjoyed mincepies and sherry and a sociable gathering.On Christmas Eve Gary Munson led our traditional Crib Service with children taking up the figures for the crib as Gary told the story of the Nativity. And on Christmas morning there was a Family Communion Service with carols led by Rev’d David Kaboleh. Finally, the last of our special ‘services’ for Christmas was held on Sunday, 3rd January when Anita had devised The Chronicles of Bethlehem, a collection of readings and poems with traditional carols, including solos from father and son, David and Joshua Greig. Members from Ickford, Shabbington and Worminghall took part, as well as all the congregation singing carols. With mulled wine and canapes afterwards this proved a friendly ending to our festivities THE ELEMENT OF FIRE – 1st – 4th February

A celebration of Earth, Air, Fire and Water as used in the Bible portrayed in symbolic displays and images. As part of the celebration, PAULA TAIT will be returning to give A CONCERT on Wednesday, 3rd February at 7.30pm on the theme of FIRE, featuring the harp, Arabic flute, other instruments, verse and songs. Paula’s concert last year was a great success and we are delighted to have her back. Entry by ticket £8, available from Ickford Village Store, including wine and canapes.

Toddler and Carer Group

Ickford Little Stars

St Nicholas Church

Welcome you to Little Stars.

A friendly, informal setup

will run every Friday

morning, starting Friday

10th January.

10am - 11.30am All under 5s together with parents and

carers are welcome to join us for craft,

singing and activities.

Refreshments will be provided.

For more details please contact Meryl (339608) or Gill (338807)

Little Stars will be closed for half term on

19th February

PARISH COUNCIL OPEN SURGERY

Following our 2 previous successful parish council surgeries there will be another opportunity for you to come and express your opinions to parish council representatives at the Village Hall annexe on Saturday 27th February. It is another chance to contribute to your village and, if necessary we will be able to add it to the agenda for discussion at the March meeting

DARBY AND JOAN

The regular Darby and Joan meetings are held in Ickford Village Hall on the second Wednesday of each month

THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY Ickford Village Hall

7:45 pm

Interested in producing wine? Join us for an evening with Brightwell Vineyard to learn about producing English

Wine and to sample their produce.

Everyone, and we mean everyone over 18 welcome. Men, take this rare opportunity to join the WI for the evening!

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I know that my bus pass needs renewing and I suspect I’m not the only one. Check yours and follow these instructions to get your replacement.The bus timetable from Ickford is now in the yearly handbook which is coming out with this edition of the Informer.

CHURCH SERVICES

The times and dates of all services in St. Nicholas Church are published every month and placed on the noticeboard outside the church and in the noticeboard on the wall outside the village shop.

LUCIANA LAWLOR & LAWRENCE JAMISON

The wedding took place in St. Nicholas Church of Luciana and Lawrence on Saturday, 19th December. It had been a damp and blustery few days beforehand but the weather stayed fine, if breezy, for Luciana to walk up the church drive on the arm of her brother. She wore a dress of white silk and lace with a very long veil and her three bridesmaids were dressed in scarlet. They all carried posies of white and cream roses. Luciana had asked that the flowers in the church (beautifully arranged by Meryl) should have a Christmas theme so the white lanterns surrounded by holly and roses on the sills were appropriate for our following Christmas services. We just had a rush to put up and decorate our Christmas tree in the chancel before the Carol Service next day. We wish Luciana and Lawrence much happiness in their marriage.

COL. (retd) TIMOTHY MAY CBE TD DL. 22nd October 1930 – 10th December 2015

Tim died on 10th December at his home in Ickford after months of deteriorating health. He had continued to collect his newspaper from the village shop until very shortly before he died. Tim was a dedicated serviceman and a lifelong member of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry. He was described as one of the most outstanding Army Reserve officers of his generation. He served with Banbury Battery of 289 Field Regiment from 1961 to 1967. Churchill had served with the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars and requested that a detachment should lead the gun carriage at his funeral. Tim commanded and led that detachment at the State Funeral in January 1965. He became chairman of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Trust in 1997 and his great passion was that there should be a permanent home for the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Collection and, with help, he conceived the Soldiers of the Oxfordshire Trust (SOFO) and its own new museum. The Princess Royal opened the new museum in the grounds of the county museum at Woodstock in 2014. Tim was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and then Magdalen College School. He excelled in the military, doing National Service with the Royal Artillery in Egypt. Following this he took a career in insurance but his real passion was a military life. For 14 years he was deputy commander and Colonel TA in the South East district. Tim enjoyed gardening and, with Ella, had created a perfect country garden at their house in Ickford. They generously lent their grounds every summer for many years to the parish church for its annual garden fete and many of us have fond memories of sitting on the lawn with cream teas, looking out across the fields towards Worminghall. A great favourite of the children was a ride in Tim’s trailer which he drove round the paddock. Tim always attended our Service of Remembrance in St. Nicholas Church in November, reading out the names of the men of Ickford who served in the First and Second World Wars, some of whom did not return. It was a sad day for us when he felt no longer able to do this. He was a real gentleman, much respected in this village, and we offer Ella and her family our sincere condolences at his passing.

Friends of St Nicholas

Report for January 2016

The annual ‘Christmas at St Nicholas’ took place on 23rd December in the church.

As usual it was very well attended and about sixty people enjoyed canapes wine and singing carols with Kate Billimore at the organ.

Many thanks to the committee for supplying the canapes and the two anonymous people for providing the wine.

Our programme for 2016 has not yet been finalised but we will be organising an event to celebrate the Queen’s ninetieth birthday.

Keith Tattersfield [Chairman]

The World's Biggest QuizBringing the UK pub industry together to raise money

for good causes

At 7.30pm on Sunday 7 February 2016, thousands of quizzers will simultaneously answer the first in a

series of questions in the World’s Biggest Quiz.

Organised by Pubaid, supported by JustGiving, the aim of the evening is to raise money for local causes

and charities. Over 550 have already been nominated.

We’re also trying to break the Guinness World Record for the largest multi-venue quiz.

The Rising Sun will be taking part in this quiz to raise money for Ickford & District Darby & Joan. If you are interested

in taking part please come along, teams of 4.

Staff Wanted

The Rising Sun are looking for full or part time front of house bar staff. There are lots of options available: