For the early evening party goers of the village the Christmas Season is now well under way. These little “get togethers” are of short duration and form a sort of “aperitif” to later evening activities (the mulled wine helps!) Above all they present an ideal opportunity for those newer to the village to mix with longer term residents in a very informal way.
More pictures on the next page (Click on “Read the rest of this entry”)
Four down and only twenty to go! Another very fine, cold and clear night. A window with a message to which we all say a fervent “Amen”.
Pictures on the next page (Click on “read the rest of this entry”)
Third evening of Advent. The weather remains cold and clear. 6.15 pm sees shadowy figures with torches converging on the Star Inn.
Photographs on next page (Click on “read the rest of this entry”)
As is now customary, the village bus shelter is decorated at the beginning of Advent by the Sulgrave Women’s Activity Group. See next page for photographs of the volunteers at work in the afternoon and the unveiling ceremony in the evening. Click on “read the rest of this entry.
A beautiful solo rendition of “Holy Night”.
Once more the Village Christmas Advent Celebrations begin with the Christingle Children’s Service at the Church. The idea of this service came originally from the Moravian Church in 1747 as a symbol of Christ’s light and love. The Children’s Society introduced it to the Church of England in 1986, and it has since become a popular service for all ages. This was the 30th service in the Church of St James the Less in Sulgrave. All money collected goes to the good work of the Children’s Society with the least fortunate of today’s young people. See the next page for more photographs.
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The new bench on the Moreton Road. Photo: Dom North
Parish Councillor Laura North writes:
In early September we witnessed a senseless act of vandalism on Kenneth’s bench in Moreton Road. With the wonderful support of the fantastic community that we have in this village (past and present) we were able to raise £750.00 through a coffee morning with a Bring and Buy Sale we held on Saturday 28th September which was attended by lots of villagers to replace the bench that has been used by so many of us over the years.
The bench is now in place thanks to Dom North and Tom Hirst where the old one once sat and I hope that it will remain there for everyone to enjoy for many years to come. The Parish Council would like to thank everyone for their very generous donations and kind support in this project.
The remaining funds will go towards trees and upkeep of the Millennium Wood that was purchased by Mr and Mrs Tattersall many years ago and handed over to the Parish Council for the Pocket Park. We look forward to this new task in the New Year.
Laura dispenses tea at the fund raising event……….
……and Mrs Tattersall thanks everyone for their efforts.
Cattle cudding in the shade on a hot afternoon
Richard Fonge writes:
November has been so far very wet, following on from an abnormally wet October. The result of which is that a lot of land has not been planted. Most winter wheat varieties can be planted up to February, as long as the plant has a period of vernalisation. Vernalisation is when plants are subjected to some frosts, without which they would not flower and therefore produce fruit.
The countryside that surrounds us may not be spectacular, but it has a natural beauty and serenity of its own, which can be appreciated so much more as you walk the many footpaths that radiate from the village. The countryside is in the main formed by those that farm it, which in turn is defined by Government policy, and at present we are having to balance the need to produce high quality food and environmental concerns.
Here in Sulgrave we have wild flower meadows on the Barrow Hill footpath. Grass margins around arable fields, a disused railway and plenty of permanent pasture, especially on the walk down the bridle lane to Weston. All these features encourage wildlife diversity. Grants are given to landowners to take land out of production and put it into an environmental scheme, which will have its own rules and monitoring from inspectors.
This balance between the two elements is vital for our well being. Indeed one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to eat locally produced food, and reduce the food miles where it is at all possible.
An interesting fact. In 1946 there were 41 million dairy cows producing milk for 150 million plus Americans. Today 9 million cows do the same thing for 350 million and the ratio is much the same for the U.K.
Cattle with their four stomachs have the ability to re-gurgitate their food and chew it again, an action known as cudding, which produces gases proven to be detrimental to the environment to a greater or lesser degree, but the numbers above show who has done more damage, I would suggest.
There is nothing more pleasing and satisfying for a farmer, when looking round his animals, whether that be cattle or sheep, than to see them lying down cudding. Their contentment tells all is well with their world.
Richard Fonge.
Click here to see an updated map from the “Village Walks” page on this website showing the footpaths and bridleways referred to in Richard’s article. A further click on the map will show a bigger version.
The Countryside Alliance Awards (AKA ‘The Rural Oscars’) are now open for nominations for 2019. Sulgrave Village Shop and Post Office has been selected as a regional finalist for the past two years but are hoping it will be a case of third time lucky and that this year we can go one step further and reach the national finals. Selection depends to a large extent on the number of nominations received and on the enthusiasm expressed in those nominations. We would therefore like as many people as possible to nominate the shop for selection in the “Village Shop and Post Office” category. If you would like to do so, please go to:
https://www.countryside-alliance.org/rural-awards/caawards/nominate
and complete the short nomination form. For reference the shop’s address is
Sulgrave Village Shop, Magpie Road, Sulgrave, Oxfordshire OX17 2RT
All that is required is a short entry on why you think the shop is so important to the community.
Thank you for your help.
Sulgrave Village Shop Management Committee
Also see on next page (click on “read the rest of this entry”) for a few photographs of the very successful shop 15th anniversary party at Sulgrave Manor on 18th October 2019.
