Ampney Crucis Times
Edition number 19 February 2003
Contents:
Have you thought about standing as a Parish Councillor?
Cotswold District Council Local Plan
Recycling – your questions answered
Maintenance of the Church & Medieval Wall Paintings
Ampney and District Royal British Legion Women’s Section
Wednesday 12th February 7.30 p.m.
The Importance of Being Earnest - Cert. U
(re-arranged from January) starring Colin Firth and Judi Dench
Refreshments available.
£2.50 at the door. - Village Hall
Enquiries: Fran Huckle
With Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman
Saturday 1st March, 7.30 p.m. – Village Hall
This event is supported by the AIR in G (Arts in Rural Gloucestershire) scheme, which brings subsidised performances to smaller venues in Gloucestershire. It is described as "a breathtaking blend of Irish and Scottish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, coupled with Maire's clear expressive voice and Chris' subversely witty introductions."
Tickets £4.00 available from Beryl Dunford or Fran Huckle
This popular annual event will take place on Friday March 28th at 7.30 p.m - Village Hall. Please register your team (up to 4 people at £1.00 per team member) with Anne Bridges, as soon as possible.
Thursday 3rd April, 7.30 p.m.
Please send nominations for the three elected committee members to Anne Bridges( 652471
Ampney and District Royal British Legion Women’s Section are organising a Whist drive on 21 February and Bingo on 19 March. Both events open to the public. In Village Hall at 7.30pm
Cake Sale
The next school cake sale will take place on Friday 21 February, at 3.15pm. These events occur every half term, on the last Friday and are open to members of the village. They last about 15 minutes and are very popular with the parents and the children
Our "Auction of Promises" will take place on Thursday 13 March. This will be a great fun evening to which all villagers are invited. Please think what you could contribute to this event, by way of offering a "Promise" (eg, a bag of manure, a home made cake, an hours weeding/gardening /ironing/ vacuuming/car washing etc) contact Rosanna Armitage. We will be having a licensed bar on the evening and look forward to welcoming you.
Many thanks for everyone's support over the past few years in helping raise funds for the adventure playground revamp. The equipment was installed over the summer holidays and is enjoyed by all the children. Ray Curtis, as usual, was very helpful and the Friends of the school are glad that this substantial project has been finished
This group for children in years 2 to 6 runs on the first Friday in the month during the school term. Any child who is resident in the Ampney District is welcome to join, membership is £2 for the year and it costs £1 each time you attend. On offer are a variety of activities including table tennis, snooker, chess, battleships, drawing and group games. The leaders are James and Rosanna Armitage, local parents whose three children attend the club.
These take place on Thursday 1 May. They are rarely the best attended events in the calendar but they do matter and everyone’s vote is important.
It is anticipated that there will be an increase in postal voting this year. If this would be more attractive to you, you must apply for a postal voting form before the end of March. You can do this by writing to CDC Electoral Services at Trinity Road, Cirencester or phoning them (623009). Alternatively, you can download a voting form from their website, www.cotswold.gov.uk.
Have you thought about standing as a Parish Councillor?
There are seven positions on the Council and it is important to get a good mix of representation from across the village and across the age groups. The coming months will be important for the village as the Local Plan will be going through its consultative phase and the Parish Council plays its part in representing the interests of the village. Any of the current councillors will be happy to give more information about what is involved.
Nomination papers are available from the Electoral Offices in Trinity Road after 24 March but must be sent in by 1 April.
Cotswold District Council Local Plan
This is now available for public consultation and can be viewed at the Council offices in Trinity Road and online at www.cotswold.gov.uk. Closing date for all representations is 20 February 2003. The Parish Council will be commenting on the plan.
The Parish Council has set the precept for 2003/4 at £5300. This is an increase of £300 on 2002/3 but has been caused by increased insurance premiums, annual fees and the need to increase the Clerk’s salary to the scales recommended by the National Association.
Recycling – your questions answered
Following the last edition of ACT
What do the target percentages refer to? Currently, 17% of all waste by weight is recycled; the short term target is 24% from April 2003 and 40% by 2005/2006. A target by weight is the reason why plastics get a low priority at the moment – plastics are high volume but low weight.
How are the targets monitored? Every refuse and recycling collection lorry is weighed at the end of each round and the figures are recorded. It may well be possible to provide regular information on how the campaign is going for Ampney Crucis and the neighbouring villages. Watch this space.
What is the difference between a brochure and a catalogue? Size is the answer. The system can handle anything except the really thick mail order catalogues as the glued spine has to be cut away and anything over 2 inches (5 cms) thick will cause problems. Argos catalogues, for example, are acceptable.
The Waste Resources Officer at CDC is Amelia Craighill (623618). Her message to ACT is to use the recycling black box collections for as much as you can. You may feel your couple of drinks cans won’t make a difference. They will. If you need another box, call 623613.
The Trust has existed since the days of George II as an educational funding source and countless generations of the village's young have benefited from Robert Pleydell's recognition of the value of education in giving people freedom of choice.
At its October meeting grants were awarded to seven students from the village studying a diverse range of subjects including, Architecture, Electrical Engineering Game keeping and Maths. The grants are to help with the buying of books and other essentials for their course of study.
Villagers aged between 18 and 25 undertaking a recognised tertiary education course can apply for a grant in August.
Two OBEs in Ampney Crucis
The New Year honours list has seen two of our villagers awarded the OBE; Beverley Hodson, who has lived in Ampney Crucis for five years and Barry Dent, who moved into the village last Autumn on his retirement as Principal of the Royal Agricultural College.
Beverley is Managing Director of W H Smith UK Retail and receives her OBE for her services to the retail sector, while Barry receives his for services to farming and higher education.
Both were delighted with the news but were quick to point out the importance of their colleagues.
Beverley said “I was really surprised and pleased but also thought “why me? I have a huge team here at W H Smith and over my career I have worked with a lot of hard working and committed people and I feel the award isn’t just to me but for all of them as well.”
Barry was responsible for overseeing the transfer of the college from the private to public sector so that it now has normal university status. But as Barry explained “I’m delighted, but I don’t just feel it is for me, it is also for my colleagues at the college who put a lot of effort into the last few years.”
Congratulations to them both and watch this space, as we are hoping to hear all about their trips to the Palace in due course.
Broadband is the permanent, high speed connection to the internet. Currently 48% of homes in SW Region are connected, including Cirencester. BT have a pre-registration scheme to establish interest which will affect how quickly each exchange is connected. As of 18 January, 44 people have registered for our exchange (Poulton) although 200+ are likely to be needed. It may take a while for it to be “our turn” but to improve the chance everyone who ever uses the internet or email should register. To do this, access www.bt.com/broadband and follow the instructions – it’s quite easy!
Maintenance of the Church & Medieval Wall Paintings
It will be recalled from earlier reports that the PCC has decided go ahead with the re-roofing of the North Transept of the church. Partly as a maintenance task and partly to facilitate conservation of the medieval wall paintings, which English Heritage have concluded justify their financial support. In addition the surface drainage will be improved to reduce rising damp and the paintings themselves will receive additional treatment to conserve them.
English Heritage has provided a grant for 50% of the work, and a number of other trusts have provided a total of £8440. This leaves the PCC with the responsibility of finding £10,000, of which half is already available. Work will commence in the Spring and be completed before the end of the summer.
The PCC has also received a legacy which it intends to use to install a hearing loop, and an offer of financing to replace opaque glass in the windows of the South Transept with clear glass.
Ampney Football Club have had a difficult season so far!
The adverse weather conditions have made our pitch unplayable since October and we have suffered two abandoned matches on our travels. A late start to the game against Smiths meant it was abandoned because it was too dark to carry on!! The next game saw an Ampney player, Dave Soons, break his leg - and the Referee was left with no alternative than to call the game to an early conclusion. Mark Jones has also suffered a knee injury and has had to quit playing.
However the lads did earn a draw against Shipton Oliffe with a battling display on a very dark and dismal December afternoon, although the game at Staverton saw a heavy defeat for our depleted squad.
The club has plenty of fixtures left to play and we are hoping for better weather so we can resume play at home!!
Ampney and District Royal British Legion Women’s Section
Meets monthly Tuesdays Village Hall 2:00pm unless otherwise noted
18 February Meeting
21 February WHIST DRIVE – open to the public, Village Hall, 7:30pm
18 March “Winston’s wish”
19 March BINGO – open to the public, Village Hall, doors open 7:00pm, eyes down 7:30pm
25 March Lent lunch day, with coffee, lunch and “bring and buy” - in aid of the benefice churches, at the home of Mr and Mrs Denham-Davis, 10:00am to 4:00pm
Contact Janet Gibbs
Meets monthly Thursdays Village Hall 7:00pm to 9:00pm unless otherwise noted
20 February “The history and culture of pelargoniums”, a talk by Mr S G Reed
20 March Annual general meeting
Contact Joyce Cutts
Meets Mondays Village Hall 2:00pm unless otherwise noted
10 February Sixties Club’s 27th birthday party, entertainment by Keith Sandell
24 February Annual general meeting
10 March “Gardens”, a talk by Mr Peter Webb
22 March Annual sale – doors open 2:00pm; please contact Paddy Thompson if you have any items for sale.
24 March Entertainment by Carousels
Contact Paddy or Peggy Thompson
Meets monthly Thursdays Village Hall 7:30pm
27 February “Cement and concrete in perspective”, a talk by Mr Stevenson
27 March Members’ meeting
Contact Sonja Payne
Bookings for the Village Hall can be made through Paddy or Peggy Thompson
Personal ads in this column cost £1 per advert per issue. Local businesses may place an ad (£5) or sponsor an issue (£10). Please contact the editors for details.
for next issue (April): Wednesday 12 March 2003
Send to: Elisabeth Gerver, Cider Orchard, Ampney Crucis, Gloucestershire GL7 5RY.
Editors: Christine Cridford, Elisabeth Gerver and David Vessey
Produced by Ampney Crucis Parish Council for the information of residents. No liability can be accepted by the Council or Councillors for any losses, however caused, arising from this publication.