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Spring 2004             Issue 93

Sunday 1st March 10.0 a.m. Parish Communion 11.15 a.m. Family Service

CHURCH NEWS
Ministry team: Robert Morgan (Lower Farm, 748848) priest-in-charge; licensed lay ministers: Brian Andrews (777011);  Liz Shatford (772598). Church Wardens: Mrs Marjorie Harris (24 Henley Road) and Ray Lee (93 Henley Road). Organist: Daniel Chambers. Choirmaster: Christian Bradley.

Lent, Holy Week and Easter Discussion group:Thursdays 18th and 25th March 7.30 p.m. in the Welch Room (by church tower). Compline by candlelight: 7.0 p.m. Wednesdays in Lent. Mothering Sunday 21st March: 10.0 a.m. Parish Communion, and 11.15 Family Service. Palm Sunday 4th April: Distribution of Palm Crosses at 10 a.m. service. 6.30 p.m. Handel's Messiah Maundy Thursday 8th April: Lord's Supper 7.30 p.m. Good Friday 9th April: Silent meditation in church from 12.0 - 2.15 - opportunity to drop in. Service of devotion 2.15 p.m. EASTER SUNDAY 11th April: 8.0 a.m. Holy Communion 10.0 a.m. Parish Communion 6.30 p.m. Evening prayer

But even if we are too polite to mention it, there's the language issue - we haven't a clue what it's about. The Danish theory about sermons is that what the vicar says is secondary, and you don't have to listen to it at all. What happens in a sermon is between the person in the pew and God. The words spoken are meant only to trigger off a bit of that, and different people hear or take away different things, depending on where they are at.

Even the slightly weird things have a point. If we don't know a hymn so can't join in some unfamiliar music, that's a chance to concentrate on the words and let other people provide the background. And if the strange clothes seem a long way from the beauty and simplicity of God as the mystics know it, or the beauty and complexity of God as we all know it from nature - well, there's a lot of symbolism behind it and we can always find out more.

Many of us just go with the flow, not worrying about the details. Others want it all to be more transparent - so that the love of God shines through and touches us, heals and restores us, and gives us hope.

Extract from officer's report to Oxon CC Environment Scrutiny Committee (to meet 10 03 04 and first meeting of councillors to address comments made to the draft so far)

1. The draft Structure Plan proposed two new strategic locations for housing - land south of Grenoble Road in the Green Belt and Grove. The former attracted about 1900 objections, including from South Oxfordshire District Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council, Oxford Preservation Trust, CPRE and others.
The grounds for objection are both matters of principle and site specific, including that development would set a precedent for further development in the Green Belt and that no exceptional circumstances have been identified in accordance with Government advice in PPG2.
Many comment that the development would be contrary to the purposes of the Green Belt by causing urban sprawl, coalescence of settlements, and damaging the landscape setting of Oxford. Traffic problems and the ability of local services and facilities to cope with additional demand are also seen as problems.

However, please stay alert as the proposals will no doubt appear again in the future...
possibly at the Examination in Public stage part of the process to be held in October, see this second extract from the officer's report:-

2. Oxford City Council support the proposed urban extension to Oxford, as a means of increasing the supply of affordable and key worker housing and providing an extension to Oxford Science Park. However, they estimate that a development of 4000-5000 homes plus an extension to the Oxford Science Park could be accommodated and suggest provision for 2500 dwellings should be allowed for within the plan period. The submission on behalf of the landowners points to a development of about 3000 dwellings up to 2016, also including an extension to the Oxford Science Park.

Also the proposed gravel extraction at Berinsfield, Stadhampton etc. will still be included and will entail much heavy traffic movement and disruption to the whole area apart from the disfigurement of the landscape so please be prepared for another fight against this.

TODDLERS GROUP Mondays 10 - 12 in the Village Hall Run by Michelle (748257) and Jackie (776598) Mums and Dads very welcome	in the Village Hall every Thursday 7.0 for 8.0 in aid of Village Hall funds
VILLAGE HALL BOOKINGS Private functions: £10 per hour Bookings phone: 07759-890696 [Village Hall - Info]	Community Refuse Vehicles for use by villagers: for dates and times, please see Parish Council noticeboards.

Early birds Spring in the air brings out the early morning joggers and doggers, a cheerful sight. We hope they have the River Run in their diaries (June 26th, 5 p.m.). Childminders Teenagers who have passed the course and got the certificate are able to baby sit. Enquiries to Link office if help needed. Champions Still uncertain, but meanwhile, at the time of writing in early March, congratulations to Ireland. A great day for the celtic nations. The choir will sing the alleluya chorus on Palm Sunday, 4th April, for other reasons, but still . . .

Discussion groups The Parish Discussion Groups will resume at 7.30 Thursday 18th March in the Welch Room (by church tower). Since some may decide to see the Mel Gibson film on The Passion of Christ one of this year's topics will be the historical issues raised by films about the gospels.

April 18th Easter Vestry 11.15 May 30th Lewis Carroll Sunday and Alice sermon 6.30 June 28th Sandford River Run 5.0 July 10th Parish and Village Fete July 10th/11th Flower Festival July 13th Green sermon on the Environment 6.30 September 11th Historic Churches Cycle Ride September 26th Harvest Festival: 10.0, 11.15 and Lunch October 31st All Souls - Memorial service 6.30 December 19th Children's Carol Service 11.15 Christmas Carol Service 6.30

There has been a really great response from all over the village to the consultation phase of Sandford's Village Appraisal, with many people responding very positively to the survey, which was delivered to all households in the village during February.

We asked and you answered...
With over 270 completed questionnaires out of 580 being returned so far, (and that's an unequalled 47%) and hopefully a few more still to come, its a wonderful response. They have come back with loads of very useful comments and suggestions, which will greatly assist with the action planning. The appraisal working group will certainly be kept busy over the next few weeks sorting through all the returns and gathering the results together.
We still have a little more work to do on the youth survey, with not so many returned. Can it be really true that our young people are so happy that they don't need to comment? We aim to follow this up, and check!

It's still not too late...
We still have a few questionnaires left, so if you would like to join in and express your opinion on your village, you can still add your ideas and suggestions to those already received. If we have not been able to collect from you, please do contact us and we will be more than happy to call around and collect your questionnaire.

Your raffle ticket...
The Four Pillars Hotel has very generously donated the raffle prize, of a Sunday carvery lunch for two in their splendid river room restaurant. The appraisal group welcomes their involvement in the village appraisal, and would like to thank the management at our local hotel for their support.
The winning ticket was drawn by the vicar, Bob Morgan, who selected the lucky number 399 out of the hat, after church on Sunday 7th March. The number is displayed on the village notice boards and on the Sandford on Thames web site. So don't forget to check if you're the lucky owner, and claim the prize from Steve Daniels.

And the draft plan.
Discussions can then take place with the various authorities and organisations to draw up an initial plan of the best way of tackling the issues raised. This draft plan will then be delivered to all households in the village so everyone can look at the results and have a chance to comment on the outcome of the consultation and action planning.
An open meeting will be held in May and this will be your chance to tell us how we are doing, and our chance to explain how we intend doing it. Some issues will no doubt be difficult to act on, but the appraisal group is keen to try, and with the help of all concerned, we can work together to make this village an even better place to live.

Want more information?
The appraisal group is being co-ordinated by Steve Daniels tel. ****** and administered by Mick Hills (tel. ******) along with a great team of volunteers. Further information can also be found in the appraisal section of the web site: www.Sandford onThames.co.uk

John Briggs
Many villagers who buy their papers or shop in Littlemore have expressed their sorrow at the loss in January of a familiar and friendly face while he was still working at the shop. We join in extending our sympathy with Janet and their daughter at such a difficult time.


Jim ('Laddie') White died on 8th February 2004, aged 94
The Whites moved to Lower Farm in 1926 when their Cowley farm was sold to Mr Morris to become a motor works and new housing. Laddie was 16 and keen on motor-bikes. In due course he took over the lease on the Lower Farm from the university until retiring to Lower Wootten in 1988 - though he continued to visit and keep an eye on things. He was famous for exporting farm machinery all over the globe - and carried that on till he was past 80. A big man in every way and a gentleman farmer, he spoke well and was for 47 years a devoted husband to Marjorie.
  On February 29th at the cremation service (conducted by his successor at Lower Farm) Admiral Sir Peter White spoke to a packed chapel, a large part of the Oxfordshire farming fraternity being present and an extended family. 'We plough the fields and scatter' was sung, and his ashes were later scattered like the good seed on his land. Our sympathies go to Marjorie in particular, and his surviving sister, nephews and niece.


Gerald Walter Naish born 13th March 1925, died 24th January 2004
There are few names better known in old Sandford than Naish. Gerald and Michael's father, Tom Naish, son of Harry (in Sandford churchyard) came back from the (First) War and into the Henley Road house built for returning servicemen in 1921 by Lloyd George. Gerald was shy and retiring, following a motor accident as a small child which left him traumatized and with a slight stammer. He went to Sandford school with Miss Greening, leaving at 14.
  He worked in John Allen's factory as a refrigeration engineer, and later as storeman at the motor works. Poor health (he had rheumatic fever at 15) meant early retirement.
  Our sympathies go especially to his brother Michael, and among the many surviving Naishes especially to Beth (102) and Hilda (100/1) at Mon Choisi, across the river. And thanks are due to his good neighbours, especially Peggy and Gina on either side.

Special sympathies also to other members of the village who have recently been bereaved

Steve Daniels reports that the Village Appraisal forms show that quite a few people are still unsure of what can or can't go into the green recycling boxes.

   As well as paper, card and tins, SODC are now re-cycling plastic, and any type of plastic bottle, as well as plastic containers (eg ice cream, yoghurt, margarine and plastic bags), can be put in the green box together with paper and tins - or if they don't fit, in a carrier bag next to the box. Boxes are available from the Clerk to the Council, Liz Shatford, at The Old School, Church Rd.(772598), and it seems worth reprinting Liz's article from Link issue 88:

   I didn't understand how the Green Box jumble of material, paper, card, plastics of all kinds and tins could possibly be separated and recycled efficiently and it was tempting to believe that it was all just tipped somewhere until I visited the Grundon recycling plant recently with a group of people from other villages.
   It was very impressive to see how the contents of the green boxes were delivered onto the conveyor system and passed along belts where a rotating drum allowed small, medium and larger items to drop down into collecting bays. The first manual sort came next and large pieces of card or plastic were taken off the belt and dropped down a shute and then the remaining paper, card, plastics and tins entered a huge revolving drum where an electro magnet was switched on to sort out steel from aluminium.
   The remains then went round the system again and possibly a third time until what was left was dumped in a pile, compressed and sent to a plant to form fuel pellets. The other items were baled up and sent to various outlets to be turned into newsprint, packaging, traffic cones etc.

Residence Property Properties Required To Let (Introduction Discount 7%) Letting and Property 132 Church Road Sandford on Thames Oxford OX4 4YB 01865 714989 www.residenceproperty.com information @ residenceproperty.com

FETE REMINDER for those who have helped in the past and/or would be willing to do so this year: SATURDAY JULY 10TH There will be a meeting after Easter - please contact the Link office if you haven't helped out before and would like to.

Don't Miss Out on Council Tax or Housing Benefit Did you know? * More than 1.4 million pensioners are losing out on Council Tax Benefit * Up to 860,000 households are failing to claim £960 million in Housing Benefit. * Up to 2 million households are failing to claim £860 million in Council Tax Benefit. For further information please contact Benefits on 01491 823579 or e-mail benefitssodcuk @  liberata.com Alternatively write to: South Oxfordshire District Council, Benefits Service Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford OX10 8NX www.southoxon.gov.uk

Traffic calming: The Kassam sign directing traffic through the village from the A4074 would be removed soon. A meeting is being arranged between Kassam and Oxford City Council to discuss expenditure of moneys allocated for traffic calming in Sandford at planning permission stage. It was not reasonable to say disturbance would take place only two days a week and there was therefore no need to make changes to traffic flows in Sandford. R Tudor Hughes understood that there was about £60,000 allocated for Sandford.

Henley Road, Sandford on Thames, Oxford OX4 4GX Telephone: (01865) 334444 . 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.

District Councillor's report
J Stimson drew attention to the proposed changes to licensing laws arrangements. He reported that the Task Group for Model Standards in Park Homes had been set up. It would require visits to sites and a method for enforcing phased introduction of the Model Standards to inconvenience residents as little as possible. The Local Plan process was underway, and he suggested checking the SODC website to monitor progress.

Monday March 1st 2004:
Donnington Hospital Trust has written explaining measures taken to fence their property against motor cyclists and also tree cutting on Henley Rd. Clerk to write to complain of mess left on Henley Rd.

County Councillor's report
J Howell was congratulated on his success in the County Council bye election.
He reported on the fight against development in the Green Belt. Boris Johnson (MP) has written to all Conservative members of the County Council. J Howell reported that the officers are not happy with the present proposal and would prefer the dispersed housing option. However, the officers were still recommending that the proposals for gravel extraction remain. This would considerably increase heavy traffic in Sandford and so the fight would go on to the examination in public, timetabled for June/July and then be adjourned until October/November. The housing proposal could also return at that time even if it were omitted at this stage.

Barry and Barbara welcome you to the Catherine Wheel FREEHOUSE 38 Henley Road Sandford-on-Thames, Oxford OX4 4YP Tel: 01865-778340 Hot and Cold Bar Food Traditional Sunday Roast Lunches     Real Ales Large Garden     Ample Car Park Parties and Outside Functions catered for

Traffic calming - the parking problem is not quite so bad at the moment but it was resolved to continue to press for the junction change at Church Rd.

Village appraisal -
Steve Daniels attended and spoke about the progress of the appraisal (report appended) All was going well and on schedule. There had been a response rate of 45% to the questionnaire which was very good. The youth response was not good and a different approach would be tried in the future.

NEXT MEETING: Monday April 5th at 7.0 p.m. in the Village Hall