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Ramsbury & Axford Community
Village Diary - September 2009 |
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| Please may we have items
for the October 2009 Diary by 17 September 2009. They can be left at the Post Office; or sent by email to diary@ramsbury.org |
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We may not be happy with the quantity of rain that has been falling this summer but it has been good for many of the vegetables. Radishes are larger than usual and courgettes are quickly turning to marrows. Also, large parsnip leaves suggest I shall have a good crop for winter use. Since there were few spring frosts, the fruit trees are yielding well, even if some plums, hanging in clusters, have rotted off due to staying wet too long. I expect it has been a bad year for soft fruit growers, with raspberries being spoilt by the rain. Perhaps the autumn varieties will do better. As the summer has not been particularly hot, it is surprising it is such a good year for painted ladies, with a second brood hatching out in this country. They do not, however, survive the winter in England. Mid-August and the peacocks and tortoiseshells are getting more numerous but the red admirals are still scarce; however, not the cabbage whites, who are doing a merry dance around my vegetable patch, depositing their yellow eggs in spite of netting, and wasps trying to attack them. One day I noticed a wasp with a piece of wing in its mouth. How effective they are at killing them I have not been able to ascertain. At least, as yet, they are not around ripening plums. At this time of year some of the vegetables can get rather rank but, nevertheless, a good variety of wild flowers are still to be found. On Hungerford marsh a few days ago, a few of us found 38 wild flowers, including the blue skullcap which only grows near water and is not very common. The monkey flower gave a good splash of yellow and the reed sweet grass, in a damp spot, was about 6 ft tall. The marsh orchids had finished flowering. To our surprise, we noticed many trout in the river Dun. Two herons were flying over, so I expect they were feeding well, to the annoyance of those who are responsible for restocking the river. May we get some dry weather for the grain harvest during this holiday season. Rosie Pauline August was a month for clouds and not just of the kind that deprived us of our 'barbecue summer'. A short walk along Springs Hill gave us a cloud of butterflies, a cloud of goldfinches feasting on thistles and a cloud of mixed swallows and martins hurtling around above the crop of linseed that must soon be ready for harvesting. The swallows were taking on fuel prior to their extraordinary migration south in September. On average, they will take four months on their journey to herald summer in Southern Africa, arriving in December. This leisurely journey contrasts with the urgency with which they will head back here, taking only five weeks to cover the same distance in the race to find the best breeding sites. The robins will soon start to emerge from their annual moult with a bright, new set of feathers and a battle for feeding territory on their hands. Both male and female sing at this time of the year and for most of the day. Sometimes the competition escalates and can end in a short and vicious fight with only one survivor. Shock sighting of the month was a hobby, with a swallow in its talons, being mobbed by other swallows. Just to the west of us, there have been a couple of sightings of a peregrine falcon, so these may soon be competing for food in our skies. Paul Swan Rainfall for the month to 17 August was 4.0 inches, average 2.16 inches. |
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The Gazette & Herald Correspondent The Gazette & Herald is looking for a new correspondent to cover Ramsbury and Axford. There will be a small remuneration. Anyone interested should contact Diana Deal at the Devizes Office of the Gazette & Herald on 01380 731684 or email ddeal@newswilts.co.uk - see also THANKS below. Ramsbury Short Mat Bowls Club The RSMBC is ready to start regular club meetings in the Memorial Hall on Thursday mornings and Sunday afternoons. For more information contact Phil Allin 520306, George Hawes 520693 or Robert Osmond 520568. Annual subscription £10. Newcomers Welcome Pack The Ramsbury Amenity Group, the publishers of this Diary, also produce a Newcomers Welcome Pack. Please contact Rolf Mitson on 521366 if you are new to the village and have not received a copy. Charity Shop in Hill’s Stores It is hoped to open a charity shop in September, run by, and raising funds for, local groups. If you have donations of bric-a-brac, books, toys etc. (but not clothes), or if your group could help for a share of the profits, please contact Sheila Glass on 520409, email sheila.glass@ramsbury.org; or Ian Smith on 520871. Ramsbury & Aldbourne Bowls Club The new bowling green at the recreation ground is well advanced. The turf and patio/paths will be laid and the bowls pavilion delivered within weeks. Both experienced and new players will be welcomed, Make contact now: Chris & Linda Martin 521673 or email linda.d.martin@btinternet.com. Waste Green wheelie-bins & black boxes will be emptied on Tuesdays 1, 15 & 29 September. Black wheelie-bins & orange sacks will be taken on Tuesdays 8 & 22 September. Skips will be at the Square in Aldbourne on Tuesday 1 September from 8 - 10.30 am and at Ramsbury Surgery on Tuesday 15 September from 8 - 10.30 am. |
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The Painting Group will meet on Tuesdays 1 & 15 September at 10 am in the Church Room, Back Lane. Ramsbury WI Ramsbury WI will meet on Thursday 3 September in the Methodist
School-room, Oxford Street when Mrs Whittle will speak on "Coping
with Gluts of Produce". The Busy Bees sewing group meets on Thursday 17 September at 7.30 pm in the Lychgate Room. Mary Tollyfield The funeral of Mary Tollyfield will be held at 3 pm on Friday 4 September at Holy Cross church. Crown & Anchor Events The annual Music, Beer & BBQ festival to be held on Saturday 5 September at 5 pm will be in aid of the Ravensbury Players production “The Wizard of Oz”. Local bands will be playing and local beer served. The farmers’ market planned for Saturday 12 September has been cancelled. Ramsbury Amenity Group Guided Walks On Sunday 6 September (1st Sunday to avoid conflict with Holy Cross) to Great Coppice (walk no. 2), 4 miles; and on Sunday 27 September to Wilton Water, 4 miles. Walk numbers are from the Ramsbury Amenity Group Short Walks pack available from the Post Office. Shared cars and dogs on leads, everyone is welcome. Further details from Sheila Morgan on 520501. Ramsbury Methodist Church Sunday Services, all at 10.30 am - 6 September
Harvest Festival with Rev Susan Holden; 13 September United Service
at Holy Cross; 20 September Rev Pat & Brian Hunter; 27 September
Service of Readings. The church, hall & kitchen may be hired: call Sue Barnes 520558. Ramsbury Horticultural Society Monday 7 September in the
Memorial Hall at 7.45 pm talk on “Roses” by Thomas
Sanday. Ramsbury Flyer The flyer will visit Newbury town on Thursday 10 September, leaving at 11.30 am and returning at 2.30 pm, and the West Berkshire Show at the Newbury Showground on Saturday 19 September leaving at 9.30 am, returning at 3.30 pm - fares both £3. To book a seat for either of these excursions, call Muriel Lye on 520555 or text 07769 570239. For latest news and information, just follow the link. Ramsbury Roxy Friday 11 September - The Reader Cert
15, starring
Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. Set in post-WW2 Germany when
a law student re-encounters his former lover defending herself
in a war-crime trial. Full Roxy programme to December available on The Roxy page. 1100th Anniversary Celebrations at Holy Cross Ramsbury The English
Chamber Choir will give a concert in Holy Cross on Saturday 12
September at 7.30 pm. Tickets £10 on sale at the Post Office,
at Midway Stores and from Danny Watson 521168. There will be no 8 am Holy Communion in Ramsbury nor 6 pm Evensong at Axford on 13 September. Ramsbury & Axford Golf Society Tuesday 15 September Bell Trophy at Donnington Grove. Call Robert Osmond on 520568 for details. The Marlborough College Concert Series The Marlborough College Concert Series starts on Sunday 20 September. For tickets and full details of the concert series, call Marlborough College on 01672 892566 or email tickets@marlboroughconcertseries.org. Parish Council Meeting The Ramsbury and Axford Parish Council will meet on Monday 21 September at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall. All Parish Council meetings are open to the public, who are welcome to attend. |
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Thanks to all who helped in the preparation for the Best Kept Village competition. At the time of going to press the results have not been published. The Parish Council would like to thank Georgie Brooks who has retired after many years serving as Ramsbury & Axford's correspondent for The Gazette & Herald. The Crown and Anchor has raised a total of £3,182 for the Prospect Hospice between 4 April 2008 and 7 August 2009 through candle sales, the Sunday quiz, swear box etc. Thank you to all who have contributed. Doris Dennison would like to thank many kind friends for their messages of sympathy on the death of her son Richard. It is a great consolation to have the love and support of so many people in the village. Ramsbury Horticultural Society thanks all who supported the Summer Show which, despite the weather, was a great success. |
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Axford Harvest Festival Service will be at 6 pm on Sunday 4 October, followed by Harvest Supper, as usual, in the Village Hall. To book for the Harvest Supper, contact Bridget Treherne on 512406 by Wednesday 30 September. Donations of fruit & vegetables to decorate the Church would be most welcome. Ravensbury Players present, for one night only, Murder at the Grange, a Murder Mystery evening on Saturday 31 October. £10 tickets from Chris Perkins 520515 or chrissy@astrocruise.com include a three course meal. The Diary is published in paper form, and is incorporated here by
kind permission of the Ramsbury Amenity Group. |
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