POPPY APPEAL 2002

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The adage "better late than never" seems to be appropriate as I write this missive, referring to the publishing of Poppy Appeal 2002 for our area, which I have to say was not good.

My article to announce the event back in September/October was somehow mislaid and subsequently not published. My efforts to meet the December edition also failed, primarily because I was not in receipt of all donations and it seemed pointless to write not knowing whether we were up or down on the previous years total. Hopefully it will be better next time - that's all the excuses out of the way - now I'll proceed with the news on Poppy Appeal 2002.

We did very well. Clanfield, Radcot and Grafton being the collecting area (some enterprising collectors stretch these boundaries) managed the total (excluding tax refunds on envelopes) of £896.79. This is a very good amount and approximately £66 up on last year's total - well done. On behalf of the Royal British Legion - many thanks for your contribution. I am sure it will be put to good use. As usual a big thank-you to the dedicated band of collectors and businesses that have helped achieve this figure - I really do appreciate your help. Whilst on this topic, we welcome Caroline Hudson and Sue Jackson to the cadre and acknowledge the long service of Mabel Home and Bob Hunt who now qualify for a Royal British Legion Merit Certificate -just another 5 years and they will be entitled to a tie tack or broach and join Tony Harrison and Dorothy Wise who are already recipients.

As always, Bob Hunt did a wonderful job of preparing the War Memorial for the service on 10hNovember, which was well attended by just over 60 people. Rev. Whiffen conducted the service and called for divine intervention to stop the traffic for the 2 minutes silence. This was ably carried out by those attending and made the ceremony that much more meaningful. Thank you for your support - lets do it again for 2003.

Phil Figgins

Apologies for missing this in October - Ed Poppy Appeal Organiser

PARISH COUNCIL

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At the meeting held on January 20th present were Cllrs James, Cole, Smith and Gaertner. District Cllr Fred Grey also attended.

Some of the matters discussed included:

v A planning application to convert a barn in Little Clanfield into a light storage facility had been received. Councillors voiced concern over the increased traffic this might bring through the village, especially Marsh Lane.

It was decided that any complaints regarding the bus service should be reported to Cllr Bret Gaertner on 01367 810465, who will collect the information and contact the relevant people.

Cllr Gaertner reported from a neighbourhood scheme newsletter that up to £44,000 was being spent on CCTV in Witney town centre. West Oxon was commended in a crime strategy report on the South East together with Portsmouth and Guildford. Several parishioners were present to discuss the recent floods in the village. The Parish Council has written to the Highways Department regarding clearance of the ditches. The bridges are slowing the water flow by up to 30%.

Assistance with village grass cutting will be needed in the Spring. As little as 2 hours a month will make a huge difference. If anyone is interested please contact a councillor.

The next meeting for the Council will be on Monday 17th February at 7:30 pm in the Carter Institute.

5th INTERNAL SEWAGE FLOOD

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The Payne family would like to thank all the Clanfield friends who helped them with physical help, loan of equipment, offers of help, advice and encouragement. We don't know the names of many of the Clanfield residents who stopped to offer sympathy. Our sympathy goes to all the other Clanfield householders who suffered during this latest flood.

Thank you all, David, Rosina & Odele

BELL RINGING

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Recently Clanfield ringers welcomed visitors to an 8-Bell Branch Practice. Ringers came from Woodstock, Stonesfield, Bampton and Ducklington.

Remember anyone, any age, can come and learn to bell ring. The only skills you need are determination and a sense of fun! For further details contact: Liz Gaertner on 810465.

Liz Stevens

THE CHILDREN'S SOCIETY

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Many Clanfield people collect small change in the blue boxes and the amazing sum of £302.15 was raised this year. One box holder added to the Society's funds by taking her box to work and asking her colleagues to donate money instead of sending Christmas cards - an excellent idea! £115 was raised from the Carol Singing on 16 December and £69 from the Christingle Service before Christmas. Thanks to everyone.

Liz Stevens

THANK YOU Mrs Mabel Home would like to thank all those kind people who offered help to her during and after the recent flood

SCHOOL NEWS UPDATE - DECEMBER 2002 New Classroom

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I am very pleased to report that our new mobile classroom has been installed. It is beautifully decorated, carpeted, has a new heating system, double glazed windows and is the last word in luxury. The building is fully accessible for wheelchair users. Thank You

I would like to thank Jane Saunders (Carter Institute) for accommodating the children at lunchtimes during the build programme.

I would also like to thank Mr and Mrs Pocock for hosting our annual Christmas Concert. The event was well supported by family and friends of the school and everyone had an enjoyable time.

Lastly I would like to thank Angie Fisher and Clanfield Football Club for organising and hosting the Christmas Bingo and children's Christmas Disco. Both of these PTA events were well supported and appreciated by all participants.

Raising Cash for our School

We are still collecting used ink cartridges, box tops for schools and Persil stars for art materials. If you have any of these please drop them into the school office. We also have a few items that are surplus to requirements and if you could use any of them a small donation to the school would be appreciated. These items are as follows: -

Lightweight roof rack aluminium suitable for a transit type van Screen-printing materials

Singer hand sewing machine in good working order Sturdy wooden cupboard and 3-drawer unit Finally...

We will be saying farewell to Luke Bowden at the end of the term as his family have moved to Witney (we hope he settles into his new school) and welcoming two new children into our Reception class in January, Sebastian and Warren Stevens.

Visitors are always welcome and encouraged. If you would like to know more please I, telephone 01367 810257. Thank you.

Jane Lloyd Headteacher

ST STEPHEN'S CHURCH NEWS

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On the l" December it was our Service of Light at St. Stephen's and this year Vicar David dedicated our new, very beautiful, oak candle stand to the memory of Fred Farmer who died this time last year. The stand looked lovely dressed in its greenery and four Advent candles - the great thing is that it has been designed to take the Pascal candle at Easter time. The stand was organised by Fred's daughter, Yvonne, using half the collection taken at the funeral service, the other half being donated to Witney Hospital. From everyone at St. Stephen's Thank You!

Christingle Service - After a certain amount of confusion regarding the date of the Christingle Service it took place on Saturday 21St December at 3pm. The church was nicely filled with children and their parents for an interesting and fun service - George Middleton and Amy Ward read the lessons and two youngsters ably helped with the collection, which amounted to nearly £70 for The Children's Society. Over 40 children received their Christingle from Vicar David. We were especially pleased to see Molly King back in church after falling and breaking her hip, she was accompanied by her family. Refreshments followed the Service.

Christmas Eve - A full complement of bell ringers rang for the Midnight service and a good congregation assembled for the service taken by Revd. Roland Meredith. Those present enjoyed singing the age-old and much loved Christmas Carols. There were 30 communicants. Christmas Day - Holy Communion was celebrated at Sam with Vicar David and 20 parishioners, it was good to see so many so early!

A very quiet start to the New Year, the last service of December was a United Family service at St. James, Aston. Unfortunately owing to illness and the holiday period only two members of St. Stephen's church were able to attend. The following Sunday we celebrated Epiphany at Evensong and were pleased to welcome our friends from St. Mary's Bampton. Sadly, our beautiful Nativity scene with figurines has now been put to bed for another year. February brings the start of our new format for Sunday services. This is the schedule for February:

2nd February 9.15am Revd. David Battersby

6.00pm Revd. David Lloyd

9th February 9.15am Revd.David Lloyd

!6th February 9.15am Arthur Pont

23rd February 8.00am Revd. David Lloyd

9.15am Ruby Riches & Helen Sharpe

Hopefully with the main service being at the same time every Sunday it will make it easier to remember service times. Please come and support your church - you might find you enjoy yourself!

TALES OF THE VILLAGE

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Do you have a tale to tell about Clanfield? Do you know some forgotten history?

v Would you like us to print your story?

But do you HATE the idea of writing it down?

Well fear not. The WHATs roving reporter Dorothy Wise is here to help. Over the next few months you can call Dorothy on 810294, tell her your story and she'll write it for you. It's as easy as that. Any articles printed will earn the contributor £10.00!

ONLY IN AMERICA...

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The "Stella" Awards rank up there with the Darwin awards. Stella Liebeck is the 81 year old lady who spilt coffee on herself and sued McDonalds. This case inspired an annual award for the most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S.

This is just one of the many candidates for the award:

October 1998: Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had just finished robbing, by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation - Mr.Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance, claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed, to the tune of half a million dollars.

Clanfield W.I. December 2002 Despite. the bad weather attendance at this meeting was good and we welcomed four new members and two visitors. It was decided to spend our £100 winnings from the W.I. 400 Club on our birthday meal at The Plough Hotel on 1 st May - this should benefit all members!

Our speaker was Christine Bloxham, a local historian, who gave a fascinating account of Christmas customs around the world and over the ages. She illustrated the talk with slides and samples of Christmas decorations and cards.

Elizabeth Stevens

January 2003.

January saw a large number members gather at Windmill Barn for our annual New Year Party. As usual members surpassed themselves with a magnificent buffet supper, which tempted even the most dedicated slimmer to abandon her regime for the evening!

As a break from tradition, the usual party games were shelved for a year and instead we were entertained by Lesley Morris (Mezzo soprano) and Keith Harris (Piano/ guitar). They presented a varied programme of songs appropriate to the twelve months of the year.

It was generally agreed that the evening was a great success.

The next meeting will be on February 1 I `h when Arthur Pont will speak on Lambeth Palace.

Barbara Hilditch.

ST. STEPHEN'S CLANFIELD Regular Service 9:15am every Sunday

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For many years now Sunday services at St. Stephen's Church have been held at different times. After numerous meetings between the Church Council and the Reverend David Lloyd there has been an agreement to hold a regular Sunday 9.15 am service for a trial period of one year. It is hoped that this will prove easier for everyone.

We are very appreciative of the kind offers we have received to lead our new services. We particularly welcome families and young people and it is hoped that in the near future we will be in a position to develop activities in line with youth!!

The Church Council welcome any suggestions that you may have for the future of our services and their content.

Church Wardens: John Greatrex -- 01367 810606 Ian Kenworthy - 01367 810577

Service Schedule: (9:15 am) 2003

,February

2 Revd. D Battersby

9 Revd. D Lloyd

16 Arthur Pont

23 I R. Riches, H. Sharpe

Amb

2 Tessa Kuin Lawton

9 Revd. D Lloyd

16 D. Jackson?

23 Arthur Pont

30 Revd. D Lloyd

Rprit

6 Tessa Kuin Lawton

13 Revd. D Lloyd

20 Revd. D Battersby

27 D. Jackson

As well as the above services Revd. David Lloyd will take:

lst Sunday each month: 4th Sunday each month:

Evensong 6:00pm

Holy Communion 8:00am

CLANFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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At the January meeting of the Society, members were happy to welcome Juliet Phipps of the National Trust who showed us slides and talked about the Buscot Estate.

Built in 1780, we heard about the various owners who brought their own ideas to the running of the estate, with mixed results. Apparently the one who had most success was Robert Campbell from 1859. He turned the farm into one of the most highly industrialised in the country at that time, including building a distillery to produce alcohol from sugar beet, which he then managed to export to France!

The estate finally passed into the hands of the Henderson family, and then to the National Trust. Juliet then took us through the day to day running of the estate and the current policy of the National Trust in relation to the environment. Several questions were raised and general discussions developed with the audience during the talk, and it was obvious that great interest had been aroused.

The next meeting will be on February 18th, when Brig. J. F. Ricketts will speak about the Civil War in the Midlands.

Austin Hilditch

Flood Alert...

See page 14 for a report on the most recent flood in Clanfield.

WANTED

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TO BORROW - OLD POSTCARDS OR PHOTOGRAPHS OF CLANFIELD Many of you will have known my late father, Fred Farmer. During the latter years of his life he wrote down his memories of Clanfield, which have proved very interesting to lots of people. I have now re-typed them and would like to make this document more interesting by adding pictures of Clanfield in years gone by.

If anyone has any postcards or photographs which I could borrow (I will take great care of them) to scan into the text of the document, would you please leave them in an envelope with your name and address on, with my uncle & aunt, George and Peg Farmer at Stromness, Main Road, Clanfield (the house with the Parish Notice Board attached to it). I would very much appreciate any help you can give. Thank you

Yvonne Cox

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The ground was already saturated and the heavy rain caused huge puddles to form in the fields (the second field along the Bampton Road was a lake). The puddles merged in the first field and the ditch beside the driveway to Shurey's Cottage overflowed, flooding their access road. The ditch discharges into the ditch running along the north side of marsh Lane through a 12 inch diameter pipe under the Bampton Rd. The ditch on either side of the road is 4 feet wide by 2 or 3 feet deep! The 12inch pipe just could not cope. Water flooded the roadway at marsh Lane corner, then by the pond and ran down the road towards the pub, spreading across the road as it went. When it reached the pub it could not run into the brook because the road rises to cross the bridge there so that the flood level rose steadily. Although the road gullies were carrying it away a little at first, eventually, water spilled over the village green and into the barn paddock and passing vehicles were washing water against the thresholds of houses next to the pub in spite of the boarding and sand bag barriers which had been built by caring neighbours.

The Bourton Road was already closed because of flooding on the S bends so villagers took it upon themselves to close Bampton Road at the pub and at Marsh Lane. Cars began to use Marsh Lane as a village by-pass.

At IOpm on Thursday night, 2nd January, Colin and Ruth Fowler received a call from Charles Willmer saying that Mr and Mrs Gordon Shute were flooded and that he and Jeffrey were moving their furniture upstairs. Armed with 4x2 timbers, the Fowlers joined them and helped get heavy items up on blocks. The water was 2 inches deep by then and rising, so the blocks were raised to 6 inches, just high enough to save the remaining furniture from serious damage.

The next day the fire brigade pump lowered the level in the sitting room and the firemen dug a trench across the green to allow the water to drain into the brook as had been done in the the 1984 flood.

The level of the brook was going down by now, but for the previous 24 hours it had been threatening to flood the Main street while dilute sewage was discharging from manhole covers outside the Granary which was also flooded.

In Bampton Road, Mrs Mabel Home's house and the former Primitive Methodist Chapel were flood. Now follows a long and dreary process of drying out with de-humidifiers and fires, re-plastering, re-decorating and laying new carpets.

The headline in the Oxford Times read `Solution to floods years off. In Bampton Road the solution seems simple and could be done immediately: Make the culverts under the road the same size as the water course they are meant to carry. This also applies to the Shill Brook which flows from Black Bourton and crosses under the Bampton Road at the top of the first field. It overflowed causing the last flood of 1984.

Thank you to Colin Fowler who kindly put pen to paper just as we were going to press to record this event.

Marmalade Season

Bitter Seville oranges make the best marmalades with a pleasing flavour and appearance. Sweet oranges give marmalade a cloudy appearance as the pith does not turn as translucent as that of Seville oranges.

Seville oranges are only available for a short period in January and February so buy now! It is possible to freeze them. They must be scrubbed before packing whole in suitable containers. It is then advisable to use the whole fruit method for making the marmalade rather than thawing and cutting them up as they tend to become a bit messy and discoloured. Here's a recipe for a marmalade I have just made this year. It reminds me very much of one my mother used to make years ago and the smell of it cooking takes me back to the late fifties. The P.T.A. of my elder brother's school used to hand out a shilling to parents who agreed to find ways of increasing this in order to raise money for the school. My mother always spent the money on seville oranges and sugar and I can still hear her crowing about how much money she created from that shilling when she had sold the resulting pots of marmalade to other parents. You wouldn't get far with 5p today!

Dundee Marmalade Ingredients

31bs or 1.5kg Seville oranges 31bs or 1.5kg warmed sugar 11b 5oz or 700g soft brown sugar 2 tablespoons treacle

2 tablespoons whisky (optional) Scrub the fruit under warm running water. Cut in half and

then cut the halves in quarters and slice thinly. Remove the pips as you go, placing in a square of muslin in a small bowl so as not to loose any precious juices.

Bring the chopped fruit and tied muslin bag of pips to the boil with 1.75 litres (56 fl ozs) of water in a pan with a lid. Reduce the heat & simmer covered for 45 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

Add the sugars and treacle and stir over a low heat until dissolved. Return to the boil and boil rapidly for 30 minutes, stirring often until setting point is reached (Use a thermometer or cold saucer test). Add a knob of butter to reduce the scum which may form or remove with a slotted spoon. Stir in the whisky if required. Pot in the usual way.

WHATS ON

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 Clanfield Pre-school For children in the age range 2'/2-5 at the Methodist Church Hall. Open every Monday to Friday from 9.00 - 11.45 during term time. Contact Sara Smith on 810614.

Clanfield Toddlers

At Windmill Barn every Friday (during term time) 9:30am - 11:30am. Crafts, Playdough, Toys and fun, fun, fun! For further information contact Karina Hooper 01367 810397.

Women's Institute

Meeting held every second Tuesday in the month at 7.30 p.m. in the Carter Institute. All welcome. Contact Elizabeth Stevens, Cavarige House on 810255.

Mothers' Union

The Clanfield & Bampton branch meet on the first Tuesday of the month between September and June at

2.30 pm. See the Church notice board for more information

Historical Society

Meets on the third Tuesday of the month between October and May at 7.30 pm in the Carter Institute. Mobile Library

This service visits the village on alternate Thursdays and stops at the end of Queens Crescent at 11.55 until 12.15, before moving on to St Stephens Church from 12.20 until 12.40.

Snooker Club

6 pm - 10 pm every Tuesday, Thursday & Friday evening, upstairs in the Carter Institute. Contact Tony Harrison on 810449.

Yoga

Every Thursday evening from 7.45pm until 9.15pm, in the Carter Institute. Everyone welcome, just bring a mat or blanket. For further info call; Jill (01367) 810696, Karen (01367) 810680 or Chris (01993) 882035

Community Bus to Faringdon

FOR SALE Pine Bunk bed (can be separated

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into two single beds), with wooden bases and ladder. Supplied with two single mattresses. Two single beds, both with padded base, mattress and brown covered headboard. £30.00 Each Call 01367 810206 for details

West Oxfordshire Conservative Association

Bampton, Clanfield and Black Bourton Branch The Christmas Party held at the Grange in November was a great success and £20 is being donated to the Carter Institute.

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