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Ramsbury & Axford Community
Village Diary - December 2007 |
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| Please may we have items for the January Diary by 18 December. 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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This is a quiet time of year as nature prepares for its winter sleep. On a sunny morning the colours of the hedgerow on the way to Hungerford looked grand, but even on some of the dull dank days the rich colours of the beeches are to be admired. Until the frosts of mid November quite a few plants were still flowering, such as my small campanula and the nerines (Jersey lilies): the latter after two hard frosts are sadly hanging their withered heads but compensation came with the sun shining from a clear blue sky on a lawn white with frost. This is the time of year when people are putting their gardens to bed, as the National Trust would say. With the cutting down of herbaceous plants the unexpected is seen, such as about 50 snails clustered round a large pot where they were protected by numerous small plants. Needless to say they will not be emerging next spring. I did give the birds a chance to have a feast but I was left to deal with them. As November began I was surprised to see a Red Admiral inspecting my window cleaning efforts, and a few days later a large bumblebee was on the wing. A few hard frosts and the winter jasmine and some viburnum are strong enough to keep flowering. They and the ivy can give food for birds on sunny days. We are now in the season of pheasant shooting but as they have been reared in captivity they seem to have no road sense so fall victim to fast cars, as do deer such as the muntjac by the roadside near Chilton Foliat. I expected the mild autumn to give a variety of fungi, but I have only seen the regulars i.e. honey fungus, sulphur tuft and clusters of the small fairy ring type that appear on my lawn each autumn. May Christmas bring good cheer to you all. Rosie Pauline The Golden Plover on Spring Hill have gone from about 70 birds to about 140. I have had reports of over 5000 of these birds seen on Hackpen Hill! Back on Springs Hill; one can also see Green Sandpiper at the slurry pit near Park Farm. I have also seen Stonechat here and at Upper Upham. In Hens wood there have been flocks of at least 24 Siskin. This small finch has arrived here en masse from the continent with at least 500 birds landing on one Scottish Island. Also in Hens wood I have seen Crossbills, Redpoll and a pair of extremely noisy Raven. Seven Bridges has played host to a Cetti’s Warbler in the last month. At the end of October there were still two Little Egret at Froxfield. Others of interest were a female Reed Bunting and a male Redcap that visited the apple tree in our garden. The Gulls that we usually have in this neck of the wood are Lesser Black Backed, Herring and Black Headed Gulls but at the end of October we played host to three Common Gulls. John Marshall The rainfall for the month to 18 November was 0.60 inches, average 3.70 inches. |
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Collections due on 25 December and 1 January will be undertaken on 26 December and 2 January. Crews will be working on Boxing Day. Normal day collections will resume on week commencing Monday 7 January. There will be sacks for Christmas card recycling in the Post Office, Midway Stores and Ramsbury Primary School after Christmas until 21 January. There will be a Christmas tree recycling facility at the Recycling site at the surgery for one day only on Monday 7 January. Black wheelie bins will be emptied and orange sacks taken on 4 and 18 December. Black boxes and green wheelie bins will be emptied on December 11 and 26. There will not be plastic and cardboard recycling skips at the Surgery site in December - January 8 will be the first collection. |
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Come and join us for a great evening at Whitehill Close on Saturday 1 December in aid of the Prospect Hospice. Raffle tickets will be on sale from 5 pm. Bella Fair-organ will also be there from 5 pm. Ramsbury Silver Band, Father Christmas and Jenny Pitman will join us for the great switch-on at 7 pm. Link AGM The Link AGM on will be held on Monday 3 December at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall. Mrs Carole Walker will speak about the Jubilee Centre. Mulled wine and minced pies will be served. Anyone thinking about volunteering would be particularly welcome. Ramsbury WI Ramsbury WI meets on Thursday 6 December in the Methodist Schoolroom, Oxford Street. Caroline Franklin will entertain with a poetry reading entitled "Christmas is Coming - Oh Yes It Is!" Doors open at 7.15 pm and the meeting starts at 7.45 pm. Visitors are always welcome. Ramsbury Silver Band and Bella Voce Christmas Concert The Silver Band and Bella Voce will be giving a Christmas Concert at 7.30 pm on Friday 7 December in the Memorial Hall. Tickets £5 and £3 for children. Bella Voce will also sing at the Holy Cross 'Carols by Candlelight' service on Sunday 16 December at 5 pm. Horticultural Society Christmas Party The committee invites you to join them at the Society’s Christmas Party this year on Saturday 8 December at 7 pm in the Memorial Hall, for an informal and fun wine tasting followed by supper. The tickets at £5 are on sale at the Post Office, and you are welcome to bring a friend or more. Please do not be put off by the thought of a wine tasting: no prior experience is needed, just a liking for good wine and an ability to laugh at the descriptions. We look forward to seeing you. It would be appreciated if you do not leave buying your tickets until the last minute as catering has to be arranged in good time. Axford Carol Service There will be a Carol Service at Axford at 3 pm on Sunday 9 December. Methodist Church Carol Service The Methodist Church will be holding a Carol Service at 6 pm on Sunday 9 December with Ramsbury Silver Band. All welcome. Ramsbury Amenity Group Guided Walks Sunday 9 December to Littlecote (4 miles). On Boxing Day, we are maintaining a tradition started by Ronnie and Priscilla by inviting everyone to join us on a short walk around the village. For both walks, we meet at the Tree in the Square at 2 pm. Dogs on leads. A Happy Christmas to all from the Leaders of the Walks. Parish Council The next meeting of the Parish Council is on Monday 10 December at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall. Axford Bingo There will be Bingo at Axford Village Hall at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 12 December. Coffee Centre The draw for the Coffee Centre Lucky Prize will take place on Thursday 13 December at 10 am at the Methodist Church. If you would like to donate a prize, this would be very much appreciated. Please call Julie Coe 521085 or bring it on the morning. Ramsbury Flyer The next visit of the Flyer to Newbury will be on Thursday 13 December, 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. Ramsbury Roxy Friday 14 December - 'Moulin Rouge'. The double Oscar winning musical special with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Cert. 12. Doors open at 7.30 pm with licenced bar; film starts at 8pm. Tickets £3.50 from Post Office, £4 on the door. Services at Holy Cross and St. Michael’s over Christmas Sunday 9 December - Carol Service at 3 pm
at Axford. Carol Singing Round the Village Thursday 20 December - 7 pm start at Isles Road. Friday 21 December - 7 pm round the Tree with the Band. Refreshments in the Methodist school room. Monday 24 - 6.30 pm start at the Crown & Anchor. It is regretted that only a little of the village will be visited due to lack of support. Come and join us and keep this old custom alive. For information call 520652. Melodi Music Ensemble Melodi Music Ensemble from Soweto, South Africa will present a selection of Baroque, Classical, Christmas and African music at Holy Cross on Sunday 23 December at 6 pm. Tickets at £10 will be available from the Post Office. Drinks and canapés will be served. Melodi consists of 14 young people aged 12-18. They would like to be accommodated for the nights of December 22 - 26. Failing that, the loan of mattresses and bedding will be appreciated. Contact Alex Bedford on 07795 623726 or at alex.b@propress.co.uk. Melodi Music Trust was founded to give disadvantaged children of South Africa the chance to read, write and play music. Several successful concerts have already been held in South Africa. Melodi depends on sponsorships and donations. Its next project is the renovation of a derelict mission house in Soweto to create boarding facilities, rehearsal rooms and a music library. |
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Memorial Hall Supervisor/Cleaner, Mavis Manning, has retired due to family commitments. On behalf of the whole village the Hall Trustees would like to thank her for her dedicated service over the last five years. We welcome Clare Pringle who has replaced her. Clare can be contacted on 07774 012599 or at cjsjpringle@aol.com. Hall bookings are still made in the diary kept in the Post Office. The Ramsbury Branch of the Royal British Legion is very grateful to everyone, both collectors and donors who supported the Poppy Appeal. The house to house calls raised £2,698 and the congregation in Holy Cross church gave £572. The turnout at the War Memorial of young and old reminded all of us of the extreme importance of the Covenant that binds the people and the Armed Forces of the Crown together. |
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Christmas Tree Recycling will be available for one day only at the Surgery on Monday 7 January. The Horticultural Society AGM will be on Monday 28 January at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall. Also, there will be a quiz: and mulled wine will be served. Please keep this date free and be sure to come along to contribute to our discussions on future plans. The Horticultural Society's annual quiz with Lambourn will take place on Thursday 13 March at Lambourn. The Diary is published in paper form, and is incorporated here by
kind permission of the Ramsbury Amenity Group. |
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