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Summer 1998             Issue 70

IF YOU FEEL A BIT
	OR YOU WAKE UP
OR EVEN
CHEER YOURSELF UP AT THE PARISH FETE AND FLOWER FESTIVAL WEEKEND OF JUNE 26TH/27TH (SEE P.3)

CHURCH NEWS

BAPTISMS

WEDDINGS

Sandford is proud of its annual FLOWER FESTIVAL which is consistently one of the best in Oxfordshire. The church will be open on Saturday 27th June from 10.0 - 6.0 and on Sunday 28th June from 12.0 - 6.0 Church services on Sunday 28th: 10.0 a.m. Family Communion; 11.15 a.m. Prayer and Praise; 6.30 p.m. Choral Evensong.

LOADS OF GAMES BOUNCY CASTLE TUG OF WAR GRAND RAFFLE BRIC A BRAC PONY RIDES FACE PAINTING		CHILDRENS SPORTS TEA TENT / ICES / CAKES FUN AND GAMES BEST KNOBBLY KNEES BOOKS COCONUTS LOTS OF STALLS PLANTS
TESTS OF SKILL AND STRENGTH

CONGRATULATIONS

WELCOME

• A few people, some with well-developed muscled, to help get things ready on the recreation ground between 10.30 - 12.0 on the Saturday morning (and/or clear up at about 4.0)
• Bric a brac, good clothes, books, plants, which can be collected from your house or delivered to the Old School (next to church) from 20th June.
• Donations for Raffle, tombola, etc.
• Offers of help in running stalls, childrens' sports etc.
• A few people to take over for half-an-hour on stalls and games, to give stall-holders a break.

TUG OF WAR TEAMS

Rest in peace

Music, music, music

Mothers and Toddlers

SPONSORED BICYCLE RIDE

YOUR PARISH COUNCIL MAY 1998

CONCESSIONARY FARES SCHEME

Tokens will be accepted on most local bus and coach services for journeys which commence or end within the South Oxfordshire District or other local places such as Oxford City or Reading. Some local Taxi operators will also accept Tokens, but check with the driver prior to the commencement of your journey. In addition they may be used in full or part-payment for a Senior Citizen Rail Card or rail journey.
No proof of identification is required when using the Tokens, but they are strictly not transferable.
Gina Ashburner will issue Tokens this year at 73 Henley Road between the hours of 9.0 a.m. and 12 noon on Saturday 27th June.
If you are really unable to attend at this time, contact Gina on 771176.

THE LINK SUPPLEMENT

Youth Club

every Thursday, 7.0 p.m. for 8.0, raises funds for the Village Hall.

Aborted extension?

But as the village asks what to do to mark the millennium it might be time to revisit those early discussions. The idea was to make a poorly designed hall more user friendly and so able to serve and encourage a wider range of bookings. A bar area, for example. And the suggested office space could house IT equipment for residents who needed access, or wanted to understand what their kids were doing at school, but had no home computers or web-site or e-mail. 'Village Halls for the Millennium' which might well have funded the project was keen on that.

Future needs in child-care were also considered as many new families move into the Heyford Hill site (and nearby residential expansions in Littlemore, Blackbird and Greater Leys). The Link again asks the village to think on these things, and share your opinions in these columns, and with the management committee of the Village Hall, and with the new Council, who have already shown themselves keen to co-operate with that committee. Perhaps the last scheme was too ambitious or far-sighted? But some improvements are surely possible and desirable. Again we repeat our appreciation of the hard work done by the management committee.

SUNDAY CLUB

Henley Road, Sandford on Thames, Oxford OX4 4GX Telephone: (01865) 334114 . Fax: (01865) 334400 WEB http://www.four-pillars.co.uk Email: enquiries@four-pillars.co.uk Set in 30 acres of glorious parkland on the banks of the Thames. Open to non residents for drinks, light meals and riverside dining. Carvery lunch on Sundays. Conferences, Weddings (including Ceremony) and private parties. Telephone 01865 334444.

SANDFORD-ON-THAMES PARISH COUNCIL

1. 1997/98 was quite a difficult year due to the resignation of three Parish Councillors. We were, however, successful in filling two of the vacancies. We also received the resignation of the Clerk, effective from 30th April 1998. Hopefully it will not be too long before we get a replacement.
2. The Village Hall kitchen and committee room has been completely refurbished and I am sure we all agree it was a job well done. The additional storage space created is of great benefit. Thank you to the Village Hall Committee for their hard work in managing the hall so well throughout the year.
3. The new burial ground has given the Parish Council quite a few problems over the past year but hopefully it will not be long before everything is finalised. It was agreed that the final stages should be dealt with via Mrs Agulnik.
4. It was agreed by the Parish Council that Sandford recreation ground was in need of new playground equipment. Literature has been obtained showing the different types of equipment available. It is going to be quite a costly project but the various grant options that might be available will be looked and hopefully applied for in the near future.
5. There is nothing to report on the new football stadium as all work came to a halt at the beginning of last year and to date has not restarted.
6. Highways Dept say that due to insufficient use they are not prepared to provide a proper pedestrian crossing at the roundabout by Oxford Park Homes. This is very bad news for all those who have to try and cross the road.
7. During the year we have seen the Hospital houses at the top of Heyford Hill Lane sadly demolished and new Westhury Homes being built.
8. I am glad to report that the Parish Council agreed to increase their contribution towards bus tokens to £5 per person.
9. It was agreed that the Parish Council would produce a Link supplement four times a year to keep everyone informed of issues that might arise between the issuing of the Link.
10. I am pleased to report that the Oxford Bus Co. have at last decided to provide Sandford with an evening and Sunday bus service.

11. In conclusion I would like to take this opportunity of thanking our District Councillor Mr Stimson and County Councillor Mr Tudor-Hughes for all the support they have given us throughout the year. I would also like to say thank you to M.Leary, G.Ashburner, S.Rudman and the Clerk C.Leary for all the hard work they put in before their resignations.
    Janet Shepherd, 11th May 1998

Changing guard

St Andrews' AGM

Martin Pitson was congratulated on maintaining the parish's musical standards especially with the Passion anthems on Palm Sunday evening the choir's solidity is hugely valued. Recent removals have left vacancies - so the search for singers is on - nudges to vicar, please. The Sunday club has developed steadily under the guidance of Ann Pitson and Prue Sykes, helped by a rota of parents, and provided the launching pad for the new 11.15 all age service on the last Sunday of the month.

Good news was reported on burials - a meeting of the Council with PCC on 9th Feb had discovered there were no outstanding problems, and the Council had also decided to continue to support the Link as a joint effort with the Church. The Treasurer Mike Dixon reported on the financial situation following re-roofing of vestry and the vicar hoped that a few more non-regular church members would find their way into helping to maintain a church in Sandford by taking out a covenant, however modest. They both thanked the Independent Examiner Mr McKisack for auditing the accounts and the Covenant secretary Liz Shatford for seeing to that side of things. [NB - the parish subsequently received a letter of congratulations from HQ on the way its finances were presented 'a model of its kind' [HQ meaning Diocesan Church House, not Heavenly Quarters]. The aim to give away a tenth of the budget in addition to paying our parish share

The vicar thanked the ministry team, Rev. Mary Parsons, Brian Andrews, Liz Shatford and Eric Franklin for sharing much of his own and the Bishop's work, and especially Pam for conducting the children's services and motivating the 11.15 Family services about to begin. He reminded the parish of 'every member of the same in his or her vocation and ministry' having their tasks to perform, witnessing to Christ in their daily lives and praying for the church and the world, including this little local expression of God's love for the world.

He thanked those who supply flowers in church week by week and for another beautiful flower festival, and those who clean the church and the Welch Room. Also the whole team who see to the fete, and Prue for editing the Link and censoring the vicar, saving millions in libel actions, and those who place food in the Sunday box in the porch for the Porch in East Oxford. Concerning the coffee brewed and served by Pam Andrews after the 10 a.m. and the cooler refreshments planned to follow the 11.15 rave he quoted his hero William Blake:

The Mystery of the Sandford Mill Fire of 1768

In another bedroom, Hutchinson was suddenly awake, his senses sharp and his mind clear. He could hear loud crackling - and he could smell wood-smoke. Scrambling naked out of bed, he ran to the window where a dreadful sight met his eyes. The old wooden mill that stood next door was an inferno the orange and yellow flames roaring and the golden sparks flying up into the sky and dancing across the river in the strong wind. Worse still his own house was already well alight. And his wife, Mary, and their two little girls were still asleep.

Choking back the rising panic, he shouted at his family to get up. Turning back to the window, he climbed on to the sill and jumped. Landing safely, he grabbed a nearby ladder and thrust it up against the bedroom window frame. Three naked figures appeared through the smoke - his wife and daughters. Hutchinson clambered back up the ladder, and hauled each of the frightened girls over the sill and down to the ground.

By now, the flames had taken hold. But Hutchinson knew he had to try and save as many of the family's possessions as he could - and find some way of covering their embarrassment before other villagers arrived. Climbing back up the ladder, he re-entered the burning bedroom. His eyes streaming, hardly able to see through the smoke, and dimly aware that the floorboards were crackling and disintegrating beneath his feet, he dragged the bed-sheets off the straw mattress, rolled them all into a bundle and threw them out of the window. The heat was singeing his hair as he half-fell, half-climbed back down the ladder to safety.

Opening the bundle to throw the sheets round her little girls, Mary discovered with relief her own gown and her husband's waistcoat wrapped inside. The couple were scrambling into their clothes when the landlord's man appeared, stumbling through the smoke. Just in time, he too had been startled awake by the noise of the fire.

Grabbing the ladder, Hutchinson ran back towards the house, the landlord's man at his heels. They clapped the ladder to the window, but both knew immediately it was useless. The flames were roaring through the roof, and it was simply impossible to go back in. They could do nothing but retreat to a safe distance, and watch as the buildings burnt to the ground.

The little boy's body was found in the ashes the next day, charred almost beyond recognition. The loss of the mill was calculated at more than twelve hundred pounds, only two hundred of which were insured. By the next Saturday, Richard Hutchinson and his wife were in Oxford Castle on suspicion of arson. Their statements to the magistrate contained nothing incriminating, save for Hutchinson's argument with his landlord, but they were both committed for trial at the Reading Assizes in March.

Were Richard and Mary Hutchinson the victims of circumstance; an ill-judged argument with their landlord combined with a stray spark from the hearth? Or did the miller turn to arson for revenge? Certainly the owner, Mr Hill, appears to have lost a great deal of money as a result of that day's events . And what about the poor little boy who everyone forgot? The Oxford newspaper reported strangely that he had been 'somewhat rather accidentally left at the mill by his father only the Sunday before, and was to have come home that very day'.

The day after the pair's imprisonment, another suspicious fire broke out just a few miles down the road towards Henley - at Roke, where a barn, stable and hayrick (the property of the Master of the Red Lion at Benson), were all set ablaze. Three horses were burnt to death, but the prompt attendance of the fire engines averted another expensive disaster. The next weekend's edition of Jackson's Journal reported that speculation that 'the premises are supposed to have been maliciously set on fire, and probably by the same villains who last week set fire to the mills at Sandford'.

More than two hundred years later we can't solve the mystery of the great fire at Sandford mill or how John King of Oxford 'somewhat rather accidentally' left his young son with the miller's family. But we can always speculate...

Sandford Village Hall: Annual accounts 1.4.97 - 31.3.98

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