Colin Russell with his 1939 Fordson Standard

Compared to the bright sunshine of the previous year, September 17th 2017 was a rather grey, cool and cheerless day. However, the air was soon full of the nostalgic sound of tractors from 60 to 80 years ago (when they were small and travelled at a walking pace!) As usual, the venue was Dial House Farm, courtesy of the Cherry Family. Comments in italics for the rest of this entry are by Richard Fonge, village website agricultural correspondent.

More pictures on the following page:

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Brackley Morris at the Star Inn

More pictures on the next page, including the Pimms and Fizz Party at the Corner House and goodbye to Village Shop supervisor Jeanette Smith who is moving to Australia (temporarily, we all hope!)

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Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Castle Hill History Day scheduled for Sunday 10th September, has been cancelled.

Members of the public are now able to contact the HS2 helpdesk team using a new Freephone telephone number. All calls are free of charge from UK landlines and mobile phones. The new number is 08081 434 434. This number can also be found on the government website www.gov.uk/hs2

There is also a new Freephone mini-com number for callers with hearing and speech difficulties. This number is 08081 456 472.

As previously published on this website, the line of HS2 in the vicinity of Sulgrave is shown on the map below:

Click here for details of the route between A and B.

Click here for details of the route between B and C.

Photograph taken by Jim Oakley in about 1986. The pumps were in the forecourt of the then village shop, in approximately the position shown in the map below:

Undeterred by frequent heavy rain showers, competitors gathered in the Star Inn gardens for the annual “Aunt Sally Challenge”, organised by the Sulgrave Women’s Activities Group. The Star has a regular group of enthusiasts making up a team which competes in the Banbury and District Aunt Sally League. The stars of this team were on hand to demonstrate the necessary skills but did not have things entirely their own way. Future stars, both young and old, were discovered, often to their own amazement, as can be seen in the pictures on the next page. A first class BBQ was provided by the Star in conjunction with SWAG members.

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Pastoral View

As I stand on Barrow hill
I take my fill.
Of the countryside from which I grew
Still so natural with it’s view,
Of woods,and sheep,and fields of corn,
Evolving,as to the manor born.

Sulgrave nestles down below
Of villagers with their own life flow.
Some off to school or work at speed
Others taking life at a more leisurely need.

The Church, the Shop and the Pub
Together form a vibrant hub
It is quite unique to have all three
And thankful we are in unity.
For they keep us up together
And do we gossip? Oh no never!!

The Manor strives to attract the public
With concerts, plays and re-enactments
School children come on many days
To learn the history of the Tudor ways
Whilst the cottages decay,
Hoping for a better day.

The Parish Council keeps us up to date
With many minor matters to debate.
A group of men go for a pint
Ladies meet up for a talk.
In summertime Aunt Sally is played
So by living here,we all are blessed

Sent in by “Magpie“.

The Parish Council has received the following communication from the Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner:

Dear Parish Council,

We have now launched a public consultation regarding proposals for the governance of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service to transfer from the Fire Authority which currently sits in Northamptonshire County Council, to the Police and Crime Commissioner, who would therefore become the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

The government wants our emergency services to work much more collaboratively and has recently changed the law to allow this to happen. We already do this really well in Northamptonshire but there is scope for this to increase and for our fire and police services to work more closely together to keep our communities safe.

We want to ensure as many people who live and work in Northamptonshire have their say and tell us what benefits and concerns they may have. We have produced a leaflet and a short animated film to describe the proposal. Please click here to view the short video:  

We have created an online survey to capture people’s views, which can be accessed at www.northantsfireproposals.co.uk (a postal survey and easy read version are also available on request).  The survey closes on Tuesday 1^st August 2017.

We would really appreciate it if you would take the time to watch the short video clip and complete our online survey, and share the link with your friends, family and community.   We would like as many people to have their voice heard as possible.

For further information or if you having any questions please contact Sam Ward, Involvement Officer at: [email protected]

Views will be collated and will inform a business case that will be sent to the Home Office in mid August

Thank you for taking part in advance.

Stephen Mold

Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner

The Prish Council urges residents to access the video and then send in any views they may have as suggested above. Remember that the consultation ends on Tuesday 1st August 2017.

On Sunday 18th June, ten Sulgrave gardens were open to the public in aid of charity, under the National Gardens Scheme. Nationally, over the last 90 years this scheme has raised more than £50m for nursing, caring and gardening charities  The gardens open to visitors were: Allotment Gardens, Church Cottage, Eagle House, Forge Cottage, Mill Hollow Barn, Rectory Farm, Sulgrave Manor, Sunnymead, Threeways and The Watermill. The day being exceptionally warm, sensible animals sought cool places to snooze the day away, as can be seen above and in the first pictures in the rest of this entry:

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See here for details of the powers of Parish Councils

and here for the Roles and Responsibilities of Parish Councillors.

The Good Councillor’s Guide