Any articles, information,

notices, personal messages

etc you would like in the

newsletter, please send to

me by email by the 20th of

the month to:-

dg2010@tiscali.co.uk or

telephone 830077 to have

hard copy collected

Thank You

Sandy Aked-Walker

LOTS BEGINNING TO HAPPEN

31st July - Children’s Play Area Now Open

1st August & 2nd August Table Top Sale –

Towcester Road

1st August – Village Planter Party

15th & 29th August Church Services

St Martins Church

YOUTH CLUB meet at the Playing Field

If anyone wants to get in touch for more information as to

the programme etc. Contact Sarah at Sarah@cypn.org or on

07422 573625

Tuesday 18thAug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Wednesday 19thAug – 10.00am – 12noon

Friday 21st Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Monday 24th Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Thursday 27th Aug – 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Printed by David and Sandy in Litchborough

Litchborough Church and Village

Newsletter August 2020

November 2014

A READER WRITES

Well, things seemed to have eased a little since May when I last

contributed to this column. I have witnessed men shaking with anticipation

at that first pint, great excitement at going to the garden centre and

colleagues almost in tears of joy at having managed to get a hair

appointment. Whilst my wife has suggested that haircut is long overdue

for me, I felt obliged to support the licensed trade and have paid a visit or

two to my local pub!

Something else has happened that has not caused quite as much

widespread excitement is the opening of our churches. Indeed, we have

very recently been able to hold services.

Whilst these services were “services, but not as we know it”, they have

been well received and certainly I have found it an immense comfort to

enter into a place which for centuries has been a haven of peace and

safety.

As I said, the services are a bit different; no singing, social distancing and

no coffee and I was reflecting on this when I was reminded of the

difficulties faced by some individuals and groups of people around the

world in following their faith openly and safely. There are still many faiths

that are subjected to oppression and worse throughout the world. Where

even the limited acts of worship that we can now enjoy can bring about

terrible repercussions. Of course, it is not just through faith that people

are suffering; we hear constantly of people who lack the very basics by

which to live or face the ever present threat to life from war and

oppression

Before Covid-19 hit, it would have been unthinkable for us not to be able

to walk into our church, pop around the corner to see friends, meet the

locals in the pub, jetting off to foreign lands and a whole host of things

were suddenly taken away from us. Perhaps we will have learned how

valuable these are and will take more care over them in future.

I do hope that your holiday plans have come together as the children

break up for summer and I wish you all enjoyable summer with all your

family.

All the best

Reader Paul

Contact Sonia for Yoga Class information. Dance currently

cancelled until further notice but lessons are available on line

so please contact me for details

To All Litchborough Ladies As the lockdown and government guidelines are amended I hope it will not

be too long before we can get together – maybe in a garden –weather

permitting. Take care and keep safe

Jan – 01327-830877

From St Martins Church The church is open for private prayer on a Sunday between 10am and 4pm,

and at any other time by arrangement. The use of sanitisers is required as

is social distancing if there is anyone else in the church. An explanatory

note is on the door while the church is open.

Stop press - Sunday Service at St Martin’s Church The PCC have resolved to hold two church services in August, on Sundays

15th and 29th August at 9.30am. Both services will be led by Paul, on of

the Benefice readers.

The services will be of around 20 minutes in length, relaxed and relatively

informal. We will be abiding by all of the relevant guidance issued by both

Church of England and the Government. There will be details on the door

of the church on the day, please do read them. We do not require face

coverings to be worn, it is up to you! However, the guidance does strongly

advise that they are. The guidelines also suggest those categorised as

vulnerable should not attend. Again, we leave this to your discretion.

We look forward to our first services in a long time and hope that you will

come and join us if you feel safe to.

Christine Rodhouse

Dog Walking Service Dear Litchborough Neighbours

I am a volunteer dog walker for the Cinnamon Trust, a charity which

offers a free walking and fostering service to the elderly and terminally

ill. I would be happy to assist in walking your dog, taking your pets to the

vets and collecting their medication if you are ill or unable to go out during

these difficult weeks. I can sort out the details of actually handing a dog

over (2 metres or 3 paces apart etc etc) with whoever contacts me .Please

ring me on 01327 830191 if you think I can help you. ID provided.

Jan, Farthingstone Road

WE ARE NOW OPEN

Litchborough Gardening Club

Hello all, the gardening club have agreed, for the most part, to move our

2020 garden visits to 2021 as so many have had to be cancelled. We were

due to go to Waterperry Gardens on Sunday July 26th but there is little

interest at the moment given reduced facilities due to the virus. We were

due to visit the Wisley flower show on Sunday 13th September but this

event has been cancelled. Our next, and final outing, is to Westonbirt, The

National Arboretum, on Sunday 25th October which we hope can go

ahead.

Next year we will be looking to reschedule our visit to Kathy Brown’s

Garden on one of her open days in May, the the Broughton Grange NGS

open day in June and to Thenford Arboretum on Saturday 3rd July. I have

contacted Thenford to move our pre-paid tickets to that date and to

provide a refund for those that have requested one. We’ll no doubt

consider Waterperry and Wisley in our schedule for next year and

hopefully join in the events that 'Maidford in the Garden’ schedule too.

In other news, we are keen to establish the planters around the village.

Marcus Buck, our wonderful postman, built these for us. Chris Watts is

leading the charge on this and would be grateful for plant donations. If

you have any plants that you would like to donate, please contact Chris via

email, chris24@live.co.uk. We are meeting by the post box at 10:00am on

Saturday August 1st to plant, all helpers very welcome.

Teresa is also organising a table top sale for 1st and 2nd August, the

proceeds for which will be shared with village groups such as the gardening

club, Church and Play Area.

If you’re short of jobs to do in the garden here is the RHS guidance for

August https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/august.

Keep gardening! Sue (01327 831545, sue.brunning1@btinternet.com) and

Teresa (07962 925709, teresacoxuk@yahoo.com)

*********

Village Lottery

A run of low teen bonus ball numbers by the National Lottery,13,12,13

meant that Melvina Rogers is a winner again. Sarah Skinner is our next

winner drawn on the 18th.Each receives a £25 cheque.

As always if you would like to join the village lottery contact Ian Lowery on

01327 830823 to purchase your number - only £1 per week.

Village Planters Hi Everyone - As some of the residents of Litchborough may know, a small

group of us in the village have been in the process of adding some new

planters to our village entrances to help add a bit of seasonal colour. Now

that the lockdown is nearly over I arrange d a weekend where we could

organised a few hours on Saturday 27th July to continue installing the

village planters. Once in place we are looking for plant donations from

residents to include within the planters. If anyone is able to spare a few

hours or have any plants in their gardens they would be willing to donate

please let us know on the village facebook page, or drop off any plant

donations to 4 Farthingstone Road. You can also email me on

chris24@live.co.uk

********

Your Village Defibrillator – Need it and you are on your own –

help is at hand Several people have kindly offered their phone numbers to be contacted

to go and get the defib and bring it to you. Sonia -07929-963976 or Anna

07940379650. Sandy and David 01327-830077/07759-326675 are sorry

but are still Shielding and can only help if no-one else can. -Thank you to

the volunteers.

We deliver daily newspapers and

magazines to the village.

Any combination of days per week catered for.

Ring us on 01295 268499

or e-mail

info@smithsnewsagents.co.uk

Litchborough Website - litchborough.org.uk

Our new village website went live in December 2018. The site provides

information on village groups and events such as the Walking Group dates,

Gardening Club outings, Youth Club evenings, Village Hall social gatherings,

Children’s Play Group/Area events, yoga and dance classes, Parish Council

meeting agendas and minutes, a section for latest news and much more.

The site is for people who live in the village but is also for those wishing to

visit, so has a section on village history, local services and points of

interest. If you haven’t had a look at the site, please do. We’d love to hear

your thoughts and any ideas for improvement, additional information, etc.

Please send any thoughts you have to Sue Brunning

(sue.brunning1@btinternet.com) who keeps the site up to date.

Badby & Farthingstone Cricket Club News Play at Last The season finally got underway for Badby and Farthingstone CC on

Sunday July 12 with restrictions for recreational cricket having been

lifted.The club enjoyed a thrilling and competitive inter-club match which

was decided on the final ball of the final over, Mick Coulson hitting the

winning runs. The following Thursday saw another gripping T20 game, the

home team playing Harry’s Heroes a team largely composed of Badby

players and friends. The home side made a competitive 133 off their

allotted overs, which looked to be enough to win them the game until a

late, brutal onslaught saw Harry’s team home with an over spare – an

exciting contest played in great spirit and sportsmanship.

Sunday saw a return to more serious cricket with a visit to Stoke Bruerne

and a match against Spencer Bruerne. On a beautiful, sunny afternoon the

home side were reduced to 113 in their allotted 30 overs thanks to some

fine bowling and fielding from the visitors, including a fine debut from

Ollie Webb.

A solid opening partnership by Andy Nightingale and Chris Pratska gave

B&F grounds for optimism, realised by the later batsmen who saw the team

home by five wickets with over five overs to spare. That makes it three

trips to Stoke Bruerne now and three victories. A happy hunting ground

indeed. Thanks to our hosts for their hospitality.

Upcoming matches are against Abington and Braunston with the club also

trying to re-arrange matches previously cancelled by Covid 19.

Club news and fixtures are on the new noticeboard at the Badby ground as

well as on the club’s Facebook page.

Whittlebury Bakery Bread Delivery to the Village.

The bakery orders are still proving very popular so I’m happy to carry on

ordering for villagers for the foreseeable. The bread is delicious and it’s

so nice to be able to support a local, independent business.

There have been a few yummy additions to the list, please see below:

Prices: Large loaf (white, brown or multiseed) £1.85

Small loaf (white brown or multiseed) £1.40

Sourdough large £2.50

Sourdough small £2.00

Rolls (pack of 8.) white £1.80

Rolls (pack of 8.) brown or granary £2.00

Baguette £1.10

Large Sausage roll £1.50

Jam doughnut 90p

Apple turnover £1.05

The bread will be delivered keeping social distance to your doorstep

by Village volunteers who will knock on your door to let you know. We have

two deliveries per week- on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please text or email me

your order (and payment- I’ll email you my bank details) by 2pm on

Mondays for Tuesday delivery and 2pm on Thursdays for Friday delivery.

Any questions, please get in touch.

Val Mahoney - 07815 059826

War Memorial Flowers

100th anniversary of the War Memorial, it was in 1920 that Litchborough

WI began the tradition of placing fresh cut flower's there weekly

between Easter and Remembrance Sunday. How wonderful that we are

carrying on the tradition. Thank You

1stAugust -Vanessa Lowery, 8thAugust- Anna Prior,15th August-Sandy A-W

22nd August- Val Hartley, 29th August- Lucy Cavell-Northam

************

To All Dog Owners Please don’t forget to use the bins We still seem to have a problem on the footpath leading from the playing

field where there is a bin!

**********

Friday Afternoon Community Cuppa

Hi All and here we, are, still drinking cups of tea (and other beverages) but

not yet able to meet as a gang in our lovely Village Hall.

No fun drinking tea with a mask on!

So let's carry on carrying on, keeping everybody safe and meeting up in our

gardens ... how lucky we are to be able to do that.

In my cupboard is a packet of chocolate chip bikkies ... originally meant for

our cuppa afternoon. The date on them says to eat right now. My gate is

open ... please somebody rescue me from the fate of the chocolate chips ...

The very best of wishes –Carol x -830517- 07923985637

**********

We hoped the small number of children in the village who

are spoiling life for others would have taken the hint after the article in

last months’ newsletter – but sadly not. In fact some behaviour has got

even worse judging by the reports of incidents increasing. Ringing

doorbells,late in the evening, kicking peoples front door, riding bikes,

scateboards and scooters in the middle of the road ignoring cars behind

them and coming towards them and sticking fingers up when asked to get

out the middle of the road. This is dangerous, stupid, and rude.

To say nothing of those in the fenced off play area who left all their

rubbish including pizza boxes and a broken bottle for others to pick up.

We hope these children will take the hint before they end up being named

and shamed or upset residents look at a more formal line of action. We are

sure their parents do not know how they are behaving and would be

embarrassed by it.

SOFEA Food Boxes - delivery These will be coming to an end at the end of August under the present

arrangements. Please contact Gareth Lugar- Mawson (830219) for details

if you wish to continue to receive them.

Welcome to Litchborough with the right names! My apologies to the new arrivals of Bev and Graeme Wales to Northampton

Road. I managed to get Bev’s name wrong and spelt Graeme wrong as well

last month. At least I have also managed to apologise in person.

Playing Field and Children’s Play Area

It is very disappointing when a lot of hard work is going on to get the Play

Area open again when there are those who pull down the signs we are

legally required to put up and remove the tape sectioning off the play

equipment. Should we even try?

Well the thoughtlessness of the minority will not spoil things for the

majority.

The new play surface and other requirements under Government

Guidelines, Health & Safety, Insurance Company, Play Association and local

Council requirements should all be in place by Friday 31st July The notices

on the gates are the Government Requirements for the Play Area to be

open so please do NOT remove them These notices also state the actions

required by ALL the users of the Play Area. These are:-

1. This play area is unsupervised

2. Please observe social distancing

3. You use the area at your own risk

4. You are responsible for sanitising equipment before and after use

5. Removing ALL your own rubbish

David Aked-Walker

Chairman Village Hall Management Committee ***********

FREE RANGE EGGS As we have many more eggs than we need, we would like to make them

available to the lovely people in the village. We kindly suggest a donation of

£2,00 per dozen, which will go back to the upkeep and welfare of the hens

The honesty box is located at 36 Banbury Road

We really hope you enjoy the eggs as much as we do.

*******

Table Top Sale – Towcester Road On Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd August (weather permitting) household

items, bric ‘n’ brac, books, toys, clothes and plants. All proceeds to

Litchborough Village –Church, Play Area, Garden Club etc. Please feel free

to join in and come along and bring things to sell – Teresa Cox

********

The Old Red Lion WE ARE OPEN

Our usual opening hours

We hope you will come and enjoy being in our spacious garden but if

the weather is unkind to us, inside we have made changes to allow

social distancing – but sorry no skittles and NO FOOD

Any Special Events will be on the Notice Board outside

*********

SPONSORED RIDE AND STRIDE – SATURDAY 12TH

SEPTEMBER 2020 The Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Ride and

Stride is going ahead on 12th September and St Martin’s Church is once

again taking part between 10am and 6pm. This year, because of Covid 19

restrictions, the church will not be open but a register will be available to

sign in the porch.

Individuals and groups of friends plan their own route where and when

they please during the day, walking, cycling, horse riding etc visiting

whichever churches they choose. Sponsor money collected is split 50: 50

between the NHCT and the church chosen by the participant.

Money raised for St Martin’s will be used by the Fabric Trust on the

church building. If you would like to take part but do not like asking for

sponsorship then sponsor yourself! The Ride and Stride will be conducted

taking account Covid 19 regulations which apply on the date. For more

information and details of how to obtain sponsor forms and a list of

churches taking part, please contact Val Hartley, Bay Tree, 12 Towcester

Road. (01327 831162) val.e.hartley@btinternet.com Information is also

available on the NHCT website, www.nhct.org.uk

The latest Parish Council meeting was held on Tuesday 14th

July, it was a Zoom call which followed the latest fashion by opening to a

chorus of “we can see you…can you hear me?” The Council discussed:

a Hedgehog Highway initiative aimed at facilitating the animal’s

nightly foraging routes – you can find out more about this initiative

elsewhere in this Newsletter.

the appointment of a new clerk to the Council, this search had been

delayed due to ‘lock down’ but is now starting up again, it is a part-

time, paid position, please see the advert in this newsletter, if you

are interested please contact John Robinson the acting clerk.

checking the state of the Footpaths and Rights of Way which has

started up again after lockdown – so far most paths are OK

although an unstable stile tread board has been replaced and there

are a couple of instances of paths being obstructed by crops.

re-starting Youth Club activities is under discussion

undertaking a review of its assets and corresponding insurance

cover

the lack of consultation from Gigaclear over the siting of the new

broadband cabinet and to alert the local government association

that the expected consultation did not take place in Litchborough

the maintenance and refurbishment of the Children’s Play Area

some grouting is needed on the War Memorial

the accounts, the forecast, recent planning applications and

invoices due for payment

The Agenda and Minutes of this meeting are posted on the Parish Website

and on the Notice Board. The next meeting is to be held on Tuesday 8th

September 7:00pm, all are welcome to attend. ***********

Air Ambulance Fund Raiser

From the car park of The Old Red Lion With the cancellation of the Annual 24 hour Skittle marathon it became a

12 hour marathon run round the village. Many took part at different paces

and number of round trips but all in all a very successful event along with a

huge Raffle we now await the total figure raised which is at least over

£4000. Congratulaions to one and all.

Helping our Hedgehogs

We are very lucky in Litchborough to have resident hedgehogs, some of

you may have heard that familiar snuffling sound at night as they forage

for food. I am fascinated by these creatures and like many I am keen to

help them all I can. Here are some tips on how to help our prickly

friends...

Avoid using slug pellets or other poisons in the garden

Take care to check before lighting a bonfire or forking over a

compost heap

Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant - do not feed milk. Bread is low

in energy so fairly worthless to them as a food source

Provide a shallow dish of water

Feed meat-based wet chicken cat or dog food (try and avoid fish

varieties)

Hedgehogs are nocturnal and only come out at night. Generally, any

hedgehog out during the day is probably poorly and in need of help. Pick

them up using gardening gloves, put them in a cardboard box and

contact http://www.helpwildlife.co.uk we are lucky to have a hedgehog

rescue person in Bugbrook and happy to share her number if needed.

There is the possibility that during the summer months the female

hedgehogs may appear in the afternoon to forage, if you are unsure

contact 01844 292292.

I have been lucky to work with the rescue lady in Bugbrook and provide a

release site for rescued hedgehogs, so hopefully our numbers in

Litchborough will continue to grow.

Hedgehog require a large area in which to forage during the night and one

of the reasons for this decline is that their foraging routes are being

blocked more and more by fences and other objects blocking holes that

they could go through for their hunting.

One of the ways we can try to stop this decline is by the creation of

'hedgehog highways' where holes are deliberately left in places so that

they have access to wider ranges for foraging. To help with this we can put

up signs by such holes asking that they do not get blocked.

A 13cm x 13cm is sufficient for any hedgehog to pass through. To find out

more visit: https:https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-

your-garden/

It would be wonderful if Litchborough could declare itself a 'Hedgehog

Highway' and for everyone to install a 'Hedgehog Highway' sign - installing

the signs help prevent the hole from being accidentally blocked in the

future. The Hedgehog preservation society are able to offer the signs at

a reduced price of £2 each if we purchase 50+ signs. Towcester Wildlife

Group are in full support of the project and Jenny Lunn from the group

has kindly offered to donate 20 signs to the Village.

Link your garden with a hedgehog highway

Hedgehogs travel between one and two kilometres a night, so linking your

garden to its neighbours is the most important.

If you would be interested in purchasing the signs please could you email

me at: teresacoxuk@yahoo.com

Teresa Cox

************

LITCHBOROUGH PARISH COUNCIL

Litchborough Parish CounciI has a vacancy for a

parish clerk

(responsible finance officer.)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and

experienced persons, The post of Clerk involves working from home plus some evening work and occasional attendance at civic functions. Good communication skills plus ability to use

Microsoft Word and Excel are required. Friendly and positive outlooks are essential.

The post is paid and the expected requirement is 16 hours a month.

Travel is paid plus a small allowance for working from home. The successful applicant would be expected to have, CiLCA

{Certificate in Local Council Administration). The closing date for applications is 4th September 2020.

If you are interested in the position please contact the Acting Clerk for an Application Form at litchboroughclerk@gmail.com

or contact one of the current Parish Councillors.