The NEWSLETTER BRlZE NORTON PARISH COUNCIL

BRIZE NORTON

December 2017

Issue no. 155

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

With the nights drawing in, temperatures falling and the run up to Christmas underway I have reflected on what has happened in the village during 2017.

* The number and size of village events has increased (see this newsletter for the reports of the last quarter and plans for 2018). Thank you all for joining in and helping to build our village community. More importantly, thank you to the many volunteers who make these events happen; please do come forward and help them in the future.

* The number of activities in the village is healthy, although we have not been able to rejuvenate the “Badminton Club” on Monday nights and the Brownies need more support. Please continue to support village activities, particularly those involving young people. They are the lifeblood for the future of our community.

* The Neighbourhood Plan is progressing extremely well. Exactly a year ago we made the decision to proceed with developing a formal Neighbourhood Plan. Les, Wendy and the Steering Group have taken the bull by the horns and we are progressing at pace (see the next article). Thank you to everyone who has participated so far, and we look forward to seeing you all at the Elderbank Hall on 9th December for the next stage.

* When we finally got the supporting documents that underpin the S106 Agreement for the West Brize Norton Development there were a number of clauses that the Parish Council was uncomfortable with. These have been challenged and hopefully a way forward agreed. We may still get these agreed by Christmas!!!

* In April Lagan Homes submitted a speculative planning application for 44 houses at the south end of the village. The Parish Council, WODC and OCC raised a number of objections. Lagan homes have considered these objections and re-submitted a revised plan for 41 houses on 6/11/2017. The Parish Council are in the process of objecting to this new submission based on the location, noise, flood risk and lack of integration into the village and local transport systems.

Later in the newsletter you will see articles on how you can leave messages in the home (Message in a Bottle) and on yourself (Message in a Wallet) to help the Emergency Services should you need them. There is also an article on how to spot a “scam” and what to do if you identify one. I would urge you to read these.

In addition to the above I have had three things brought to my attention that may be of interest to parishioners:

* WODC is progressing with phase 2 of the Carterton Leisure Centre. The plans for this expansion will be exhibited at the Leisure Centre on Thursday 30/11/2017 2pm to 8pm, or on line at www.westoxon.gov.uk from Monday 27/11/2017.

* If you are a grandparent with three or more grandchildren over the age of 18, who would like to spend more quality time with them AND would like to take part in a TV documentary, please contact Shiver TV (part of ITV) by e-mail shivercasting@shiver.tv or call them on 0207 157 4588.

* Do support our local museums over the Christmas period, in particular Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshiremuseum and Cogges Farm, Witney www.cogges.org.uk

Finally, on behalf of Brize Norton Parish Council’ I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to working with you all to make 2018 a memorable year for the village, when we will be celebrating the centenary of the end of the Great War.

BRIZE NORTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that took the time to complete and return our survey document and the younger members of our Community that completed the on-line ‘young peoples’ survey’. Your replies are important to us as they contribute to the formulation of our Neighbourhood Plan. As you will read on the front cover, we are holding an ‘open afternoon’ in the Elderbank Hall on the 9 December where we will show you the results of the survey.

On another note, as part of the research which is required to enable us to write our plan, we must go back in time to understand the history of our village and how it has evolved over time. Although we have collated a large amount of data, there is still more to uncover! With this in mind, we would like to meet up with any members of the Community that have any old pictures or recollections of our village, especially the period between 1947 and 1966.

If you are able to help, could you please contact me at l.goble@brizenortonplan.org.uk or by phone at 01993 841016, as any information would be gratefully received.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group look forward to meeting you on the 9 Dec.

Kind Regards
Les Goble (Chairman, Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group)

BROWNIES

Wanted - girls aged 7-10 to join our friendly group. We meet Mondays in term time at the Elderbank Hall, 6.00pm until 7.30pm. If you enjoy crafts, games, cooking, chatting, laughing and having fun, then come and join us.

This term we have been having a go at circus skills, we are now into Christmas crafts while fitting in lots of games. In February, some of us will be joining the District to sleep in the ocean tunnel at the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham. I am not sure how much sleep will be had with 60 Brownies all together, but it is sure to be great fun.

If you wish to see what we do please call me on 01993 842013 or drop in on a Monday evening.

Barbie Thorne

ST BRITIUS CHURCH

We have some sad news about our Vicar, Rev James Maddern who has gone on extended sick leave pending a full medical assessment with a view to taking early retirement on medical grounds. He has been advised to withdraw from public ministry. We thank James for his work here and pray for him and his family at this difficult time. Bishop Colin and his Diocesan Team are taking care of the details and we await further developments.

We have a full programme of services for the coming months, being looked after by the clergy team: Rev Bill Blakey, our curate Rev Ian Howard, our lay preacher Lyndsey Baker and retired clergyman Rev Stephen Bessent. Enquiries concerning baptisms, weddings and funerals should be directed to the Rector, Rev Bill Blakey (846996). Other matters can be directed to our Churchwarden, Dr Phil Holmes (843856).

Thank you to all those attending the village bonfire evening when we raised £122 selling hotdogs and soup. Thank you also for all those making donations at the church and school for the T4U Christmas shoe box appeal – we were able to send 32 completed boxes and donations to the collection point.

On Monday 18 December (from 6.30pm) we welcome you to join us as we carol sing in the village to raise funds for the Church. If you would like to support us please contact Carolyn for timings and route (844102). We also have a fundraiser family quiz to purchase - have a go for a chance to win a prize. These will be available from the church.

Our Pilgrim Lunches continue on Mondays at 12.30pm, when refreshments are provided. All are welcome to attend.

We now look forward to Advent and our Christmas services. On Monday 18th December the school will be holding their carol service at 2pm. Other services to which we welcome you are: - All Age Family Communion Service on 1st Sunday in Advent communion service Sunday 3rd December at 10.00am. Activities are organised for the children attending and refreshments served after the service. - Candlelit Carol Service on Sunday 17th December at 6.00pm; a service of nine lessons and carols and the children’s Nativity Tableau – we would invite all children attending to come dressed as shepherds, angels, wise men and people of Bethlehem (we also have some costumes). Please contact Carolyn (844102) for more details. Hot mince pies and refreshments are served after the service. - Holy Communion on Sunday 24th December, at 9.15am - Midnight Mass on Sunday 24th December, Christmas Eve at 11.30pm - Family Service and Holy Communion on Christmas Day at 9.15am

In the New Year celebrate Christingle on Sunday 4th February 2018 - we invite you all to our family worship at 10am the first Sunday of the month.
For all our services refer to the notices on the church door or log onto the community website www.bncommunity.org

We wish you all a Happy Christmas and Peaceful New Year.

BRIZE NORTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

As always, our little school has been very busy since I last wrote in the summer. We have welcomed eighteen new Reception children who have settled in very well. What I always love to see is how well the older children like to help the younger ones find their feet, and by now, just over two months into their time at school, it is as though they were always here. We have also welcomed a new Year 3 teacher, Miss Harris, who has made a fantastic start, planning great lessons for her children and already organising a school trip and our Children in Need appeal, and a new teaching assistant, Mrs Williams, who is well liked by all the children she works with.

As well as doing all the learning you would expect (and making great progress according to our first set of assessment results), we have topics across different classes. All our older children have been looking at changes in the country’s government over time, building up to their trip to Hampton Court together. The younger ones have started by looking at changes in themselves (with a lovely visit from two VIPs, a baby sister and baby brother) before going on to comparing toys over time. They will be going in a few weeks to Woodstock Museum to see old toys and make some for themselves.

We have been very busy outside regular lessons as well. Our children who took their cycling proficiency test all achieved Level 2 (by no means a given), and teams have represented the school in dance, cross country and hockey. Children continue to learn various musical instruments, with several of them forming a little orchestra. There have been two “wow” events at school: the Punctuation Show (basically a stand-up and pop show about punctuation…) and the Science Show (help an inventor and watch a scientist play with fire in our school hall). The house captains have organised the ever-popular Brize Norton talent show and we have had trips galore, it seems. As well as the ones I have mentioned, the Year 6 children learned how to keep themselves safe at Junior Good Citizen, Years 5 and 6 went to Primary Mathematics Challenge in Oxford, Years 2 and 3 have learned about Christmas traditions at Cogges Farm and we are busy preparing to take the whole school to Oxford to the pantomime. Just before Christmas, all our children will take part in a production, a musical nativity for the younger ones, and Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! – Jack and the Beanstalk for the older ones. Then, immediately after Christmas all our Year 3 to 6 children will form part of a choir of 6000 in the Young Voices concert in Birmingham.

One of the loveliest aspects of our school is the community spirit, so we really like it when we link with the wider community. We have had our harvest festival and remembrance service in the church, and we will have the carol service later this term. We are also working with the team drawing up the Neighbourhood Plan, with a whole-school topic in January on how we would improve the village. It will be interesting to see what ideas the children come up with, and it is lovely that we have been invited to be involved.

Best wishes
Anna Fairhurst (Headteacher)
 

BRIZE NORTON SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

By the time you read this, we will be half way through our busiest half term of the school year!

We kicked off the fun with our Halloween disco. There were some amazing costumes and some incredible disco moves. It was exhausting watching them! This is one of the children's favourite events and is always a packed house.

Next up is our Autumn Ball. As I write this, we have a week to go. Fingers crossed for a good night; I'll let you know how it went next time!

Then we get Christmassy! Our Christmas Bake-Off and Fayre take place on Friday 1st December, from 3:30pm until 5:00pm. Please come along and join in the fun: we have a traditional Christmas Fayre with raffle, tombola, stalls, games and refreshments, with a school baking competition on the side! The following day many of the children will be back in school for a morning of Christmas crafts while their parents do some Christmas shopping.

In amongst the fun and the glitter we are, of course, raising money. We need to make around £5000 to pay for much needed ICT equipment. We have already paid for new interactive whiteboards; next on the shopping list are new iPads. In addition to this, we pay for the coaches to take all the children to the Pantomime at the end of term, and we will be paying for coaches to take the older children to Birmingham in January to sing at this year's Young Voices.

The school budget is always under pressure. Thanks to the amazing support of the parents and you, the Brize Norton residents, we are able to pay for resources and experiences that would otherwise be out of reach of school funds. It really does make a difference.

Please keep a look out for dates and details of next year's events. We plan to run a quiz night in March and maybe a bingo night....

In the meantime, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

BRIZE NORTON PRESCHOOL

The staff and committee firstly would like to welcome all our new starters this term and a warm welcome back to our regular children.

We have another exciting term ahead of us, including lots of practice for our Christmas Nativity. This will be held on Friday 15th Dec at 10am, this is open to the village and tickets will be available on the door. Please come along to support the children and the preschool and enjoy a cup of tea and mince pie.
The children at preschool enjoy a range of activities both inside and outside, we also take the opportunity of having a preschool allotment where the children go and help the staff grow their own vegetables to try at snack time.

If you didn’t know, the preschool is a charity run organisation. We have a number of events planned throughout the next school year and we would love to see you there. We have a table top sale coming up; please look out for the poster in the village for more information on this. To help you all get over the Christmas blues we are hosting a handbag auction on the 2nd Feb at The Chequers Pub, tickets for this will go on sale in the New Year. If you have any handbags you would like to donate they would be greatly received.

If you would like to arrange a look around the preschool please contact the staff and this will be arranged for you. We have places available and do offer funded places as well.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events or at the preschool during the children’s session.

Thank you again, the staff and committee at Brize Norton Pre-School.

BRIZE NORTON SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB

Many thanks for your support on bonfire night - especially those who supported the S&SC’s bar.

We have been able to update a few things in the pavilion (with the help from the Parish Council), with a new heating system and working showers, roof insulation and fixing the fire door and window. So it is now safe and secure and warm!

We are edging slowly to where we can plan for a new pavilion but it the meantime we shall endeavour to keep the place as comfortable as possible.

Can I, on behalf of everyone involved in the S&SC, wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Tim Gush
Chairman BNS&SC

BRIZE NORTON DANCE CLUB

We meet in the Elderbank Hall every Thursday evening 7.30pm-9.30pm. We dance ballroom, Latin and sequence dances to CDs. We have tea and biscuits in the interval. Any information - please ring Joy on 01993 842373.

WIDOWS FUEL ALLOTMENT CHARITY

We are a charity which pays out small monetary gifts to Widows/Widowers and pensioners at Christmas time. If you are one of the above and a resident of the village and would like some extra money at Christmas please let me know by the 16th Dec.

Fred Bellenger 841189 f.bellenger@sky.com

BRIZE NORTON – NGS GARDEN OPEN DAY

All of our Open Day Gardeners are having a well-deserved rest for the coming winter months and preparing themselves for next year’s NGS Open Gardens Day. It will be later than normal next year, to be held on the 24th June 2018. By making the event later we hope to attract more local residents and visitors who have been unable to attend in previous years due to its being held on Father’s Day.

This year’s NGS Garden Open Day turned out to be one of the hottest days for many years, not that we are complaining at all.

Next year, we shall have 2 completely new Open Gardens to delight you. Also 3 more gardens that were previously open, making a total of 11 beautiful gardens that will open next year, along with the Flower Festival held in St Britius Church.

So please do come along and visit these gardens and the church. In doing so, you will not only be supporting the NGS Cancer & Macmillan Nurses Charity, but also some of our own local village charities that benefit from the funds that we raise on the day.

Now we would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the Open Day Event, from the car parking arrangements to the teas and refreshments, for without your continued support it would not be such a successful village event.

So we look forward to seeing you all in the coming year, on Sunday, 24th June 2018, a date to enter into your New Year diaries.

One last request, that if there are any gardeners in the Village who would like to join us and take part in this annual Event, then please let Jean know, by telephone on; 841347 or by e-mail on; prbutcher1@btinternet.com.

All gardeners are most welcome; if you are a novice gardener, then you can learn more from the expertise of the gardeners in the group. If you are a professional gardener then as a group, we can all learn more from your expertise in gardening.

Finally, may we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

From,
The NGS Open Gardens Group

CARTERTON NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM

The Thames Valley Police Non-Emergency number is 101 but always call 999 in an Emergency. E-mail the team at cartertonbamptonburford@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

VILLAGE BONFIRE AND IDEAS TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS SINCE THE END OF WW1

I would like to thank everyone who attended the village bonfire on November 3rd. Every year the bonfire is organised and run by a small group of Brize Norton resident volunteers who put the event together, build the bonfire and do their best to ensure everyone has a good time in a fun and safe environment. They are ably assisted by volunteers from the church and sports and social club who run the bar and supply other refreshments. Special thanks are due to the children at our local primary school who build such an enormous guy every year.

The attendance was really high again this year and this level of support for our activities is greatly appreciated.

We are looking forward to 2018 and the 100th Anniversary of the end of The Great War, therefore next year we will be doing something slightly different as we will be lighting a beacon to commemorate the end of the First World War. We are hoping for ideas from our residents or organisations in the village to organise events to run alongside the beacon. One idea might be a candlelit procession; another could be some forces’ involvement, ideally from our neighbours at RAF Brize Norton. Please come forward with suitable ideas and offers of help or let us know if you have contacts that might be able to help. The proposed New Year’s Eve party will not be going ahead this year, but may be revisited next year. Tony Shillingford

POPPY APPEAL

I would like to thank everyone for their support of this year’s Poppy Appeal. The total collected so far is £851.06. Last year’s final total after the church collection was £1,086.27.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who had collection boxes on their premises, those who donated and especially those who once again went door to door collecting. You may have noticed some new faces at your door this year, thank you to those people who came forward to help. Also, thank you to The Masons Arms who ran the Poppy Appeal quiz, great fun.

I would like to especially thank those people who have retired, Rene Gallop after at least 26 years of Poppy selling, Sue Forty after 18 years and Sara Batts after 15 years. I also hope Rose’s back gets better and we look forward to seeing her return to her patch.

Thank you, Barbie Thorne

BRIZE NORTON WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

First of all I would like to thank everybody who turned out on a sunny Sunday afternoon in October to help us plant 800 daffodils. We had 21 volunteers which was excellent and much appreciated. Hopefully we will have a good show in the Spring to commemorate our 90th Birthday in April. Our September speaker, Alexandra Stanbrook was, indeed, hilarious as the title of her talk stated. She progressed to reminisce about funny items in her life while all the time putting on a different hat. She must have had about 50 hats which were all made by her as she was a milliner before she retired. October gave us Julia Miles who was a diplomat's wife and she proceeded to tell us about events that happened to her and her husband during their time in the Diplomatic Service. She has also written a book which she brought along. Our next meeting is Lottie Baxter who is going to show us how to make Christmas Crafts. This is on Tuesday 14th November at 7.30pm. We will then have our Christmas lunch on 12th December which this year is at The Plough in Alvescot. January 9th we will hopefully enjoy "The Organ Grinder Entertains" with John Hunt. We meet in the Elderbank Hall at 7.30pm on the second Tuesday of the month and all are welcome. Sue Calcutt

BRIZE NORTON OVER 60’s CLUB

During this year we have lost two of our members but we have recently co-opted 2 new members. The two new members have supported us for several years by attending our coach trips etc.

During the past year we have enjoyed an afternoon of fun led by Susan Lovejoy and her beautiful voice and we enjoyed a coach trip to Cirencester and Dobby’s garden centre. The weather was beautiful.

Our future programme is:

November 21st: Coffee morning 10.30am at Joy’s, everyone welcome
December 5th: Christmas table decorations
December 19th: Christmas meal at The Trout, Lechlade.

Our programme for 2018 is:

January 2nd: Sing-a-long with Cliff on the organ
January 16th: Meal at The Chequers
February 6th: Martin Way on “The Home Fronts”
February 20th: Yarnton Garden Centre
March 6th: Gordon on photography
March 20th: Coach trip to Bath
April 3rd: Coffee morning 10.30am at Joy’s, everyone welcome

We are a village group of 27 members. We meet twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays with either a meeting or an outing. We meet at 4 Squires Close at 2pm and enjoy sandwiches, homemade cakes and tea, thanks to June, Connie and Benita. For more details of the programme look on the notice board or ring Joy on 842373

CHRISTMAS WASTE AND RECYCLING INFORMATION

Once the gifts have been opened, the mince pies eaten and the needles are dropping from your tree, don’t forget that most of your Christmas waste can be recycled!

Extra recycling
Excess recycling can be put out in your black boxes, open cardboard boxes or clear bags. Glass must be separated and put in a recycling box.
Don’t forget you can recycle small electrical items in your black boxes and textiles in a clear bag.

Extra food waste
Leave out your kitchen caddy for weekly collections too.

Garden waste and Christmas trees
From 9 January, garden waste customers can recycle their real Christmas trees, holly, ivy and mistletoe. Please cut up and place inside your licensed garden bin, remembering to remove decorations, pots, wire etc.

Collection dates:

                         
Garden waste collections suspended 25 December - 8 January.

Normal collection dates resume Monday 15 January 2018.

For more information, visit www.westoxon.gov.uk or call 01993 861025.

ALLOTMENT NEWS

Overall it’s not been too bad a year with early spring more or less as it should be although the "heatwave" of May & June meant a lot of watering to help the early crops. Most vegetable crops did alright & were worth the effort. All the flowers looked a treat so well done everyone especially those who entered the horticultural show. Most of the plots were well kept although a couple were a bit disappointing & require some TLC urgently.

I don't think people realise the time & effort required to keep an allotment, especially at the start & then at least 2 hours a week to keep on top of it. The best kept allotment trophy was won by Brian Savage with Wendy Way in 2nd Place & 10 people in 3rd place with only 2 points separating them all. Can I remind people of the recommended sizes for greenhouses/sheds etc as per our allotment rules as some of the latest contraptions are a bit OTT. Anyone wishing to have an allotment should contact the village clerk or myself: Fred Bellenger 01993841189 f.bellenger@sky.com

YOUR VILLAGE POST OFFICE - AT YOUR SERVICE

Michael your postmaster attends the Sports Pavilion on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9.30am and 12.30pm. Your village Post Office provides all of the traditional post office services and more. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POST OFFICE

BRIZE NORTON FOOTBALL CLUB

It has been a much more positive first half of the season than in recent seasons. The Club has had a number of new signings including many younger players and improvements have been made both on and off the field.

The First team currently sit in 7th place in Division 2 after 9 games with 4 wins and a draw. Unfortunately they have been knocked out of the Junior Shield and Fred Ford Cup. Rob Hook has been impressed by the younger players and the players that have stepped up from the Reserves when called upon.

The Reserves are doing fantastically well currently sitting in 2nd place, after 8 games 6 wins and a draw put them just 2pts behind the leaders. This is a great start for the new managers Kev Ridgway and Ryan Chapman. 

A big thank you to all those that help out and we hope these improvements continue. The Club wishes everyone A Happy Christmas.

LIONS CLUBS MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE SCHEME
EMERGENCY INFORMATION PACK

What is the Message in a Bottle scheme?

The Message in a Bottle Scheme is a voluntary scheme for anyone to keep at home who would be reassured to know that essential information would be readily available to the Emergency Services should they suffer an accident or sudden illness.

How does the scheme work?

Your details are stored in a clearly labelled plastic container which is kept in your fridge. Two matching labels, known to the Emergency Services and other care agencies, are displayed in your house: one on the outside of your fridge door and the other one on the inside of your front door, but placed so it is not visible from the outside.

What do I have to do?

On the form (available through any of the Oxfordshire Lions Clubs and in Doctor’s surgeries), you may complete as many boxes as you wish. However, the more information you can give the Emergency Services, the better. Make sure that you sign and date the form before placing in the container.

Fold it lengthways in half then roll into a cylinder shape and place in the container with a copy of your repeat prescription if you have one.

Stick one label to the inside of your front door at eye level and in line with the door lock if possible. Stick the other label to the outside of the fridge door.

Place the container in your fridge in a door compartment where it will be safe and quickly found.

A separate bottle must be used for each person in the household who suffers from an illness or allergy. Please ask for extra forms from where you obtained your pack.

Please remember to amend your form if your medical condition or medication changes. Extra forms are available from where you obtained your pack, or the Lions contact number below.
The Lions Clubs of Oxfordshire
01993 772241

MESSAGE IN A WALLET

Many of you will be familiar with ‘Message in a bottle’, which helped many people since it was introduced. Now there is ‘Message in a wallet.
A ‘Message in a wallet’, is a concertina-folding card, the size of a credit card. You need to keep it inside your wallet or purse, to provide the Emergency Services with the details of any illness or allergy you may have, together with the names of people to contact. It is a handy way to keep all your medical information on your person while you are out and about.

Good reason to have one?

It gives all the information needed if you are taken ill or have an accident
A minimal amount of personal information is contained so that it is secure
It is easy to replace if your medication or circumstances change
It’s easily carried in your wallet or purse

Yours are available through any of the Oxfordshire Lions clubs, in Doctor’s surgeries and through your Age UK Oxfordshire contacts too. Otherwise ring 01993 772241 or e-mail miaw@cartertonlions.org.uk

AGE UK’S TOP TIPS FOR AVOIDING SCAMS

1 Don’t rush into anything

If you think you’ve been offered a great deal, don’t agree to it immediately. A genuine offer is unlikely to require an instant decision. Ask your family and friends what they think or call an advice agency such as Citizens Advise Consumer Service on 03454 040506. For suspected pensions scams call The Pensions Advisory Service on 0300 123 1047.

2 Make sure the company is reputable

Before you commit to buying, check the seller. Does the company have a contact number that works and a postal address, and is it a member of a trade association? Financial companies must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – you can check a www.fca.org.uk/register or call 0800 111 6768.

3 Be wise to cold call scams

Ignore unsolicited invitations such as letters, emails or phone calls offering a brilliant investment or saying you’ve won a lottery. Never reply to these – it shows your details are active which will encourage scammers to contact you again. Contact the Mailing Preference Service on 0845 703 4599 to have your name taken off UK direct mailing lists. Check your email account is set up to filter spam.

4 Be aware of new pension scams

New rules allowing people to access their pension pots from age 55 have brought with them new scams. Be cautious of anyone that claims to know about loopholes, talks about overseas investments or says you can get your money before the age of 55. The FCA lists current scams at www.fca.gov.uk/scamsmart. Visit the Government’s Pension Wire website for free and impartial guidance on your pension options

5 Report it

Anyone can be taken in by a scam, so don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if it happens to you. If you think you’ve been scammed, or you’ve spotted a scam report the scam to the police and contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report it and get help.

See our free guide Avoiding scams or visit our Scams page at: www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/consumer-advice/scams-advice

WITNEY AND CARTERTON HEALTH WALKS

Witney - We meet at Witney’s Windrush Leisure Centre at 10 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There is no charge. We do two walks; one is 1-2 miles long, the other 2-3 miles both ending up with a cup of coffee. For more information ring Joy on 01993 842373. Carterton - On Monday, Thursday and Saturday we meet at the Town Hall, Carterton at 10am. The walks are 1–2 miles long. For more information contact Barbara Goudal on 01993 845923.

BAMPTON PHYSIOTHERAPY

Gym ball classes at Elderbank Hall on Wednesdays 7.15pm – 8.00pm. All abilities and ages welcome. Contact us on 01993 851753 bamptonphysio@btconnect.com www.bampton-physiotherapy.co.uk

20 20 20:

20 minutes of three different types of exercise, £5 per session, Wednesday nights, Elderbank Hall, 8-9pm, Call Steph 07970 831061


 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS – please refer to newsletter for further information

1 December Brize Norton School Christmas Bake Off & Fayre 3.30-5pm 4 December Parish Council meeting, 7.30pm Sports Pavilion 9 December Neighbourhood Plan open afternoon’ in the Elderbank Hall 15 December Preschool Christmas Nativity 10am 17 December Candlelit Carol Service at St Britius 6pm 18 December Carol singing in the village 6.30pm 24 December Midnight Mass 1130pm 25 December Christmas day service 9.15am 8 January 2018 Parish Council meeting, 7.30pm Sports Pavilion 2 February 2018 Preschool hosting a handbag auction 4 February 2018 Christingle service 10am 5 February 2018 Parish Council meeting, 7.30pm Sports Pavilion 5 March 2018 Parish Council meeting, 7.30pm Sports Pavilion 24 June 2018 Village gardens open for the National Garden Scheme

All entries for inclusion in the March 20187 issue should be received by Garry Griffin
at garry.griffin@tesco.net by 15th February 2018.