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Ramsbury & Axford Community
Village Diary - January 2006 |
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| Please may we have items for the February Diary by 18 January. They can be left with Sylvia Judge, 55 High Street; Ben Tottenham, Vicarage Cottage, Back Lane; at the Post Office; or by email to diary@pccare.ltd.uk | |||||||||||||
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As I write this a week before Christmas, I
feel that the past month has been a bit of a yo-yo with hard frosts
some nights followed by milder periods; in the same way, a mixture
of bright sunny days and very dull ones without much rain falling.
December may have started very wet but the Kennet is still very
low for the time of year. Immediately after the rain it did rise
over the wood piles to be followed by the river carrying a lot
of chalky mud in suspension which took about three days to clear.
When the level rose I saw a trout by the bridge, the first time
for several months. In spite of the hard frosts that really turned the leaves brown, they have been slow to fall from the beech and oak trees. The oak tree in the Square has usually shed its leaves before the lights are put up, but not this year. However, I notice that, in sheltered places, the winter jasmine is opening its yellow flowers, and some bulbs are sending up good strong leaves. It is surprising how insects, which hide away during dull, cold days, reappear on sunny days. I had a housefly and a larger bluebottle which kept emerging when the sun shone until at last I managed to kill them: where they hid on dull days I never found out. At dusk on 15 December I noticed how large and clear the moon looked. It had an icy glow to it set off by a pink-orange sunset. Later that evening the position of the moon was referred to on TV, when it was stated that it would be many years before it will be in such an overhead position again. A Happy New Year to you all. Rosie Pauline Clear blue skies on many days have made for great sightings. The apparently 'resident for the winter' flock of Golden Plover on Springs Hill now number many hundred. When they are all in the air in the bright sunshine the display is really dramatic. Also seen regularly up there are a pair of Stonechat, usually perched on a post enjoying some morsel or another. Other special sightings include a Brambling on the bird table, a Dabchick on the river at Mill lane, and a Red Kite rising from a snack in the middle of the village! This was so close that the magnificent colouring could easily be seen.Small flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing can often be seen on the fields, and one walk was enriched by a group of Goldfinch doing great acrobatics as they used their sharp beaks to extract the seeds from thistles. These small, colourful birds even have their own collective name, a 'charm', which seems particularly appropriate. Paul Swan Rainfall for the month to 17 December was 2.40 inches, average 3.42 inches. |
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There will be a Recycling Point at the Surgery from Tuesday 3 to Monday 9 January. All Christmas Trees will be shredded and turned into compost, which can then be bought at Household Recycling Centres. Happy New Recycling Year After a Christmas break in refuse and recycling collections Ramsbury and Axford will return to the familiar pattern for January to June 2006. Black bag refuse collection will begin as usual on Wednesday 4 January, and you are asked please to put out the minimum number of full black sacks whenever you can. The Black Boxes will be emptied from the
kerbside fortnightly starting on Tuesday 10 January. 200 Club Draw The winners of the 200 Club
Draw for November were: and for December
were: The 200 Club would also like to remind all those who joined in November or December 2004, that the 200 Club year started in November and that they should renew their subscriptions if they wish to rejoin the Club. The Royal British Legion in Ramsbury The President,
Lieut. Colonel Ben Tottenham writes: Please clean up after your dog Toxocara Canis (roundworm) infects 16,000 children each year; some 200 cases result in temporary or permanent loss of vision. You can help by worming your dog on a regular basis, encouraging your dog to use your garden before its walk, and remembering how unpleasant it is when a dog has fouled outside your own front door or gate. Try to avoid letting your dog foul where children play or people take part in sports. Above all carry plenty of poop scoop or plastic bags with you. Kennet District Council |
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Doors open for pre-film drinks at 7.30 pm. The film starts at
8 pm. Ramsbury Amenity Group Guided Walks There will be guided walks on Sunday 8 January to Pentico (Walk 11) 4 miles, and on Sunday 22 January to Piggs Hill (Walk 7) 4 miles including Open Access Land. Meet at the Tree to share cars. Everyone is welcome with dogs under control.Ramsbury Flyer The next visit to Newbury will be on Thursday
12 January, leaving the Tree at 11.30 am and returning from Newbury
at 2.30 pm. Book with Muriel Lye on 520555. The Community Bus also has its own page - just follow the link. Axford Bingo There will be Bingo in Axford Village Hall on Wednesdays <> at 7.30 pm. Ramsbury Horticultural Society Quiz The Society is looking forward to their annual Quiz in the Memorial Hall in the Square at Lambourn on Thursday 12 January, as Lambourn are always excellent hosts. This enjoyable night out is always well supported and the quiz will start at 7.30 pm. If you have any difficulty with transport, or have seats in your car available for others, please contact Geoff Rissone on 520544, or Allan Davison on 520591. WI New Year Party Ramsbury WI will hold their New Year Party on Friday 13 January at 7.30 pm in the Church Room. Tickets are on sale in the Post Office at £4.50. There will be supper followed by entertainment from soloists from Hungerford Community Theatre’s recent production of ‘Annie Get Your Gun’. Space constraints mean that tickets are limited to WI members and their families and friends. Parish Council The Parish Council will meet at 7.45 pm on Monday 16 January in the Memorial Hall. All members of the public are welcome. Horticultural Society AGM The Ramsbury Horticultural Society’s AGM will be held at 7.45 pm on Monday 30 January in the Memorial Hall. Those who attend will find a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie awaiting them. The Society is always keen to see new faces on the Committee or available to help at any of our events. Please contact Geoffrey Rissone on 520544 geoffrissone@btopenworld.com or Sue Arnold sue@darnold.co.uk. Otherwise please be sure to speak to any committee member on the night. Condolences The Editors of the Diary offer their condolences and sympathy to John Marshall the author of the Bird Notes, and to Simon Marshall one of the diary desk-top-publishers, on the death of their mother Margaret. |
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Many thanks to Brian Hunter for driving the Flyer to Bath and London. Both outings were enjoyed by the passengers. We are looking for a Co-ordinator of drivers for next spring. If you think that you could help in this way, please contact Janet Webster on 520033 or Peter Raper on 521092. Thank you to all who came and joined us on our Christmas Lights Celebration on December 1 at Whitehill Close. It was a very wet and windy night, so thank you to the Ramsbury Silver Band, The Major-Wrecks and to Father Christmas for making it a fun evening. A grand total of £447.42 was raised during the evening from the raffle and collection towards Devizes and District Contact a Family, who support families of children who have a disability of some kind. A grand total of £177 was raised at the Coffee Centre Christmas Raffle on 15 December. Thank you to all who help support the centre and all who donated prizes for the raffle. A Happy New Year to all. The Coffee Centre will open on Thursday 5 January. |
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The Annual Ramsbury closed golf tournament will be held at Marlborough golf club on Monday 1 May 2006 and is open to all golfers who live in the parish of Ramsbury & Axford. Tee-off time is early afternoon and once again we are grateful to Gordon and Liz Kenneth who have kindly offered to host the post tournament celebrations and barbecue at Whittonhill. Those who are not members at Marlborough will have to pay the members guest green fee in addition to the tournament entry. We are once again very appreciative for sponsorship from the Ramsbury brewery. To enter please phone Dave Lewis on 520008 or Robert Osmond on 520568. The Marlborough Brandt Group Lent Lecture 2006 will be held in the Memorial Hall, Marlborough College, at 8.00 pm on Thursday March 9th 2006. The speaker will be Mark Malloch Brown, Chef de Cabinet to Koffi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations. Tickets will be free and availability details in February diary. A River Kennet Report from ARK states that it is no longer a crystal clear bubbling stream because the catchment area has received less than 50% of its average rainfall during ten of the last twelve months. For the river to recover, over twice the average rainfall is required for the whole winter period. The river keeper says it is a very worrying situation. Also, water consumption is still increasing and Thames Water is abstracting huge volumes of water at Axford. For more information phone 513672 or visit www.riverkennet.org The Diary is published in paper form, and is incorporated here by kind permission of the Ramsbury Amenity Group. |
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