News Update, no 93, June 17th

by
The parties are over…and so
This regular newsletter begins with a little more news about the jubilee celebrations, but do read on as it also contains NEW general news-worth information. 
But first a Birds Eye View of the Jubilee Street Party!
(taken from a drone courtesy of Jonathan Beech)
Platinum Jubilee Street Party
Three separate reports have gone out during the last week on the success of the jubilee celebrations and street party in which some of the photos taken on the day were included. Please don’t hesitate to share your own photos on the Stratton Audley Facebook site.
A short video is also being put together of the day as it unfolded and a link will be provided in due course.
Platinum Jubilee Mug

The ‘Made in Britain’ Jubilee mug was distributed by hand to all households in the Parish during the Jubilee week and was well received. It will act as a more lasting memento of the occasion.
Platinum Jubilee Tree Planting

For those of you who have not been able to go and see the new Jubilee tree I am happy to confirm that the tree, an attractive ‘Whitebeam’ has now been planted permanently in the agreed location on The Green, Mill Road. This is thanks to a bit of help from Jeremy Adams and a fencing contractor who successfully drilled through the layer of stone and rubble to allow for good drainage. An official commemorative plaque has been ordered.
…..and finally the parties over and this must be one of the most endearing sketches out there.
News from The Red Lion
Following a highly successful Jubilee weekend the pub is taking it a bit easy, but not wishing to rest on its laurels too long, gird your loins for a special quiz on 23rd June.  Dillie is setting the questions and Jonesy is your quizmaster.
Otherwise, everything is as usual.  Check the boards outside in case of changes occur or additions to the calendar are made.  Wednesday coffee mornings with lunch continues and goes down a real treat. Sunday lunches also continue as usual!Stratton Audley Church
“The next service in Stratton Audley Church will be a service of Holy Communion at 9.15am on Sunday 26th June – all are welcome, as ever.
Please check our website for details of services elsewhere in the benefice http://www.shelswellparishes.info/services.php “
There are two up-coming Memorial Services to be held in Stratton Audley Church for previous residents who would be remembered by many.
A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the late Audrey Weedon, previously of Fringford Lodge, will be held on Friday 1stJuly at
A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the late Lady Frances Stokes will be held on Thursday 7th July at 2.30pmAnyone who remembers Audrey or Frances is very welcome to attend.‘Little Lambs’ baby and toddler group continues on Wednesdays in term time in Stratton Audley Church, starting at the new time of 9.30am!Stratton Audley Barn
The following is from Richard, Sara and the Barn team:
“Summer has arrived! So with things hotting up, this weekend at the Barn, it’s all about the Ice Cream! With special flavours made here each week, there’s always something new to try, and we can whip it up into a delicious refreshing shake too! If you’re out and about enjoying the local events, you’ll also find us serving up our homemade Ice Cream, hot drinks and traybakes from our event box at both Fringford Beer Festival and the Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble, we hope to see you there. Back at the
Barn we’ll be serving up our lunch menu daily along with some delicious specials, come and see us this weekend and we’ll take the heat off! 
Finally, this Father’s Day, we’d love to treat the Stratton Dad’s to an Ice cream, just flash a copy of the newsletter when ordering and Dad’s Ice Cream is our treat!”Shelswell Art & History Festival Saturday 16th July 2022 – Free Entry
The Shelswell History Festival is back and this time being organised in conjunction with the Newton Purcell Art Exhibition.
Many people in the area are already involved but they need more volunteers, in particular to:
–          make cakes or savouries for the tea tent
–          help Stoke Lyne WI serve teas
–          rattle a collection bucket
–          sell raffle tickets
–          marshall traffic
Why not enjoy a great day of entertainment and help out for a few hours at the same time. Help raise some money for The Woodland Trust, Oxfordshire Mind and the Shelswell Group of Churches.  Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.  Send me a message on alicegoodall313@gmail.com or phone 01280 848192, to say what you can do to help.
They are also looking for one or two more really good raffle prizes – so if you are in the fortunate position to be able to donate a days fishing or shooting, or a beauty treatment, or a stay in a holiday cottage or caravan, or similar, do get in touch!
Also Shelswell WI are collecting for their Vintage clothing store – if you have any clothing, handbags or scarfs in good condition, please do pass them on to them.
And don’t forget the Celebration Service on Sunday 17th July at 11 am on the festival site at Newton Purcell followed by a ‘Bring and share’ picnic.  Dogs and children welcome
Bicester Heritage October Scramble
Tickets for the next Scramble meeting, set to be held on the 9th of October will go on sale from  9am on the 20th of June. Once again, local residents have discounted tickets allocated to them at 50% off.
Promocode: BristolBoxkiteEWR Site Visit
A resident has asked if a walking tour of the track could be organised prior to the start of rails being laid at the end of July. EWR Alliance have responded with an offer to organise a minibus tour of the track from Bicester end, as a walking tour cannot be allowed on safety grounds. If anyone is interested please let me or another Parish Councillor know and then a suitable date in July will be arranged.Separately,  please note the road to Marsh Gibbon is now open, exactly on schedule.Stratton Audley 2022 Boules Cup Competition
This event is scheduled for Friday 5th Augusat, starting at 6.30pm and is being held at Stratton Audley Park, the home of Mark and Emma ter Haar.
Tickets are on sale now and cost £15 for adults and £5 for children under five. This includes Supper and wine, beer and soft drinks, all generously sponsored by Mark and Emma. For tickets please contact Emma at emmaterhaar@yahoo.co.uk or call 07867 783938. All proceeds will go to the Stratton Audley Church.
·       Please bring a Boules set with you (if you have one)
·       Don’t worry if you’re on your own, a partner will be found for you to pair up with
·       Play with your partner or child(ren) or mix up with friends!
·       Play to win the prestigious “Stratton Audley Boules Cup” and “the Plate” competition for those knocked out in the first round!
Non-participants are very welcome to come along for the fun of it and the same prices apply to cover food and drink.Advanced Warning – Church Street & Launton Road Surface repairs
This is to provide advanced notice of repair works to both Church Street and Launton Road in the village throughout the nights of 17,18 19 October. The map below gives you an indication of the type of work in each area and as you can see it is unfortunately not the more extensive repair that we were promised but budget cuts have prevented this. The disruption fortunately will be minimal.
I can also confirm that the big machine that attended the section of the Launton Road from the edge of the village to the crossroads with Station Road was in fact the dragon patcher which is supposed to give a good but temporary repair to the surface.
Launton Road and Church Street. Blue indicates deeper structural patching and Inlay repairs and Orange indicates patching works of a more minor kind by another team.
And some reminders from the previous newsletters for those who missed them:
Access to The Manor Grounds in Church Street
From time-to-time residents of the Manor have legitimate cause to remind everyone, especially visitors to the village and those who are new in the village, that the grounds of the Manor are private. This is not necessarily obvious as the gates are kept permanently open for ease of access by residents. Situated next to the pub, it means vehicles of people visiting the pub are frequently identified as parking in the Manor grounds. Likewise a few Manor residents have recently seen an increase in dog walking, pushing prams and generally using the grounds as either a recreational area or as a cut through to Mill Road.
The Management Committee of the Manor are looking at new signage to install at the entrance, but have asked for it to be pointed out that the grounds are private for the use of the residents and invited visitors.
East West Rail General Update 
EWR are still on schedule with the majority of the Bicester phase including the track bed earthworks and civils works substantially complete, with them programmed for completion in the next few months. After this, the majority of the Compounds are programmed to be dismantled which invariably means some of the compound materials will be transported out through the road network. In late July, the next phase of the project commences with the track being installed. We are told that this should be must less intrusive to local residents, as all the sleepers, rail and the majority of ballast will be transported using rail equipment and trains without the need for HGV’s on the road.
A further review and consultation with the Parish and County Council will take place in due course to agree the reparation works. In the meantime EWR have been made aware of the general poor state of Stratton Park Road and the urgent repairs that are outstanding.Traffic Speed & Volume Monitoring Results
The analysis of the traffic speeds and volumes survey in and out of the village has been completed and a summary of the findings is now available. Most vehicles keep close to the speed limit in the village but a minority exceed the 30mph limit both entering and exiting the village, a few by nearly 100% and this applies to all four main roads! A comparison with the data collected in 2013 perhaps unsurprisingly shows volumes to be 80-100% higher in 2022 and maximum speeds recorded on all four roads to be higher than in 2022.Defibrillator Training – Date to be confirmed
Sorry to say we are still waiting to get some dates for this to happen but it will take place on a Saturday morning.
There are still places available just email ( jhonsinger@btconnect.com ) if you are interested in this two-hour training session.Don’t Forget – Fresh Fish every Thursday 
Jack from Grimsby continues to come to the village on Thursday’s between 6.30-7pm and parks his van outside the Red Lion. He has a wide selection of fresh fish and shellfish. You can just turn up or place orders in advance by text and his mobile number is 07535 935119.Fish & Chips Van in the village on Saturdays
For those new in the community, a Howe’s Fish and Chip van comes to the village every Saturday lunchtime from 1.30pm to 2pm. You will hear a bell (like a school bell) and his first stop is in Cherry Street. He then drives along Cavendish Place and stops again at the junction with Mill Road.
Howe & Co was established in 1930 and now has over 100 vans serving villages. You can track each van by going to their website and you need to look for van no 4:
https://howeandcofishandchips.co.uk/#findvan
They also have a general number you can call 07809 901761.Collection Point for Disposal of Ink Jet Cartridges
Please continue to pop your ink jet cartridges into the basket in the Glen Close bus shelter.  Please don’t drop larger toner cartridges off as these are not recycled by the RSPB. If you are not sure if your cartridges are suitable for recycling, you can contact Rachel Dewhurst by email at treehouse0@sky.comVillage Questionnaire Top Line Results
A PowerPoint presentation of the findings has been created and will be circulated via email and placed on the website. 106 questionnaires were received which is a very good response taking everything into account. It represents a 55% return rate, which coincidentally, is similar to the last survey carried out in 2015.
A significant majority of residents are concerned about speeding and large vehicle numbers in the village and there is overwhelming support for progressing the idea of introducing a 20mph zone within the village. A majority are in favour of electronic speed signs at the entrances to both the Launton and Mill Road. Most people are against any other forms of physical traffic calming solutions although chicanes are approved of by some 40% of respondents. Finally, a massive 84% indicated they would be in favour of reducing the speed limit on the roads in and out of the village to 50mph.Local Police Bicester and Kidlington Rural Team News
To report a crime or contact the police there are now three options:
·       Call 999 if you see a crime being committed or in an emergency
·       Call 101 to report anything else to the police – or go online to do so
·       And now police are partnering with CrimeStoppers to remind everyone of ‘The 3rd Number – 0800 555 111’ that enables you to report your information totally anonymously if you prefer.
Finally for the latest crime statistics there is a useful national site into which you can put your post code. Click on this link  Bicester Rural | Police.uk (www.police.uk)