Owen Jones About 25 children attended the Christmas party in the Red Lion on Sunday 13 December. A great time was had by one and all. Thanks go to Frank and Lesley for providing the red room for free on a busy Sunday afternoon and some food as well for the kids. In between the games some parents were seen disappearing to the bar which kept everyone happy.
Great news. After much hard work put in by the Parish Council we have secured new funding for two projects.
Resilient Community Grant Bid Success
A few months ago the Parish Council put in a bid to the Resilient Community Fund created by Scottish & Southern Energy. The fund was set up to address concerns about severe winter weather with specific reference to increased numbers of power outages for longer periods and also possible flooding and other eventualities.
We are pleased to report that we have been successful in acquiring a grant of £9,500 and have started work on updating the community resilience plan for the village. The money will be spent on items to help in the event of an emergency.
A key purchase is a Defibrillator which will be housed in a cabinet centrally located in the village for easy access. We will also be building a storage facility and external store, acquiring a generator and items like emergency lighting, torches, snow shovels, another grit bin, a pavement grit spreader, first aid equipment, blankets, hot water bottles etc. So the village will be well equipped if not for this winter then 2016.
We are looking for volunteers to come forward for training in the use of the Defibrillator, also emergency awareness training and generally for people who would be interested in helping coordinate emergency plans possibly as street representatives. Please contact Stewart Hopkins on 277 937 or email strattonaudley.parishclerk@gmail.com
Playground Grant Success
The Parish Council is also delighted to announce that it has been successful in its application to WREN for funding to renovate the playground surface and build new play equipment. Together with funding that has been built up over a number of years by the Parish Council, we have some £30,000 to carry out the work. Although there has been talk about a new playground for some years the detailed submission was only prepared and submitted in July of this year, so a success first time around.
The plan is to undertake the work as quickly as possible depending on contractor availability and to ideally complete the work in time for summer.
Consultations with parents and other interested parties are continuing to take place and if you have comments to make please contact in the first instance the Chairman of the Parish Council, John Honsinger on 278 000 or email strattonaudley.parishclerk@gmail.com
The winners in the 100 Club draw for the month of December 2015 are:
£60 Adam Burgess (118)
£40 Kerrison Family (110)
£20 Julia Manley (92)
£20 Fitzgerald Family (119)
Thanks to everyone who helped make the road sweepers job much easier on Tuesday by moving their cars. Again we only had a few left on the road, this time in Bicester Road. Bosses from Cherwell District Council paid us a visit to witness the impressive scene and we can be regarded as an example to all other villages as an illustration of effective street cleaning. So thanks also to CDC and driver Harry. Well done everyone!
Done!
Those of you who attended Gill Harper’s wonderful sale at the end of October will know that we now have some STRATTON AUDLEY 3D CHRISTMAS CARDS. These make a very impressive and unique item which can be viewed in the light of a small gift. They come flat packed and are sold with an envelope and will go through the post on a normal postage stamp.
They cost £4 each and all profits will go to the Church Restoration Fund. We also have a wonderful 3D ”Thank Ewe” card, some general 3D Christmas cards and another two which are more suited to birthdays. The non-Stratton cards cost £3.50 each.
All can be obtained from Dorothy Howarth, 12 Cavendish Place or by phoning 01869 277694.
Winners of the 100 Club draw for the month of November 2015 are :-
£30 – June Simpson (123)
£20 – Goble family (7)
£10 – Brent-Smith family (73)
£10 – Yasmin Walsh (122)
This year the Remembrance Service in Stratton Audley took place on the 8th November. On a mild Sunday morning the service was attended by some 60 local people who witnessed the laying of a wreathe at the church Memorial in memory of those who gave their lives in wars. The wreath, donated by the Parish Council and supplied by the Royal British Legion, was laid by a new resident who lives in the village with his wife Rachel and two small children – Captain Rick Fowles AGC (ETS), who is a current serving member in the army.
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It was an unseasonably bright Saturday afternoon when 22 of our younger villagers congregated in the Red Room of the “Red Lion” for the village Hallowe’en party: ghouls, witches, magicians and blood-sucking arachnids gathered to enjoy the festivities organised by our CLP committee. Amongst the activities were dancing, party games and a ‘wrap the mummy’ competition with plenty of fun had by all. The children enjoyed a hot sausage supper courtesy of Frank and Lesley, followed by freaky fancies baked and contributed by some of the parents. A fun-packed two hours for all involved!
Thanks to everyone who helped but particularly to Victoria Osborne for organising it and the Red Lion for hosting the party gratis.
If you have any photos you would like to have added, please email them to enquiry@pcclients.co.uk
Saturday 31st October 2015.
Winners of the 100 Club draw for the month of October 2015 are :-
£30 – John Woodward (61)
£20 – Josie Williamson (107)
£10 – Graham Nash (87)
£10 – Lourdes Holliman (24)
A warm welcome awaited all the family from 3 pm in the specially decorated Parish Church and no one was to be disappointed. The weather was fine and some 40 people sat down to a sumptuous afternoon feast, sipping tea from beautiful vintage crockery kindly supplied by Poundon House. A selection of speciality teas were supplied by Alex Smith, a resident of the village who owns The Tea House. Cream teas with scones and a multitude of cakes were consumed, all baked by local people and sandwiches were kindly provided by the Red Lion so grateful thanks to Lesley and Kevin who got up early to make them!
The sound system and an eclectic mix of music from vintage years gone by was put together by our very own multi-talented Mike Gore. To add to the fun a draw was held with some great prizes for the lucky winners and a prize went to the best dressed man and woman.
The event was held to raise money for the Church Porch Restoration Fund and a donation was also made to Sobell House. In all, the event raised £450 after expenses of just £25. Grateful thanks go to everyone who helped organise and generously support this event and in particular to Sarah Watkins and Anthony Flack for bringing it all together.
We are delighted to report that everyone managed to stagger out of the church after 5pm and we suspect that few people were planning to eat an evening meal.
