The Tea Birds meet the last Tuesday of the month in Upton Village Hall at 8pm. We run outside of the 9-5 working week and will be doing all sorts of
activities from the very traditional to the modern.
A full calendar of our activities and all of the details can be found on our website www.tea-birdswi.co.uk we also can be found on Facebook and twitter so our members can be easily kept up to sped.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTeaBirdsWI
Follow us on twitter: @TeaBirdsWI
For any questions and queries we can be emailed at ku.oc.liamtohnull@iwsdrib-aet.
As well as the monthly meeting we also have some spin off groups. We have a knitting and crochet group that meets in the Fleur De Lys in East Hagbourne and a walking group. Dates/details will be confirmed via facebok and
twitter as these are not currently scheduled at set times.
Jo Christie
(President – Tea Birds WI)

The pump track is now complete but not open.

Shoretrax worked hard under difficult conditions to finish job within the week, but now nature needs to take its course. The crushed and baked limestone surface needs to cure and the mounds settle. As such the area will remain fenced for at least another week.

Please be patient kids. It will be worth the wait!

Bob Lott

It’s almost “Uptonogood?” time again (15th June) and preparations are well under way. As always we’re in search of that most precious of commodities; Marshals!

By way of an additional incentive, this year we’ve decided to offer every marshal £20 for a charity/school/youth group etc. of their choice. If you haven’t marshalled before and would like to get involved please contact Bob Lott (851222) or Mike Tibbetts (851474). If you have marshalled before I’ll be in contact soon!

Bob Lott

After a long wait, work on the bike humps is to begin on Monday the 8th April. The work will be carried out by ShoreTrax and is scheduled to take a week. During this time the immediate area will be fenced off and out of public use. The rest of the play area will remain open.

The existing humps will be remodelled, and resurfaced to create an all weather “pump track”. It is hoped this will prove every bit as popular with the kids as the temporary wooded structure present at last year’s “Uptonogood?”.

Bob Lott

This year’s Litter Pick is being arranged for Saturday 16^th March. If you can spare us an hour or two please come along to the Village Hall at about 9.30 where there will be a cup of tea and biscuits awaiting you before setting out to help clean up our parish.

Mike Brown

Community First Responders are local volunteers trained and equipped by the ambulance service to attend certain types of 999 emergency calls within their local community. They carry a medical kit that includes an oxygen cylinder and masks, airways, a defibrillator and other first aid equipment. CFRs are trained in life support to help patients with chest pain, in cardiac arrest, breathing problems, severe bleeding, diabetic emergencies and unconscious casualties; all incidents where seconds count.

Unfortunately, the team for various different reasons has seen their numbers fall and now would appreciate some additional volunteers to help cover the village and surrounding areas.

Studies have shown that the early response to medical emergencies such as cardiac problems greatly enhance the patients chances of recovery. For example, following a cardiac arrest (where the heart stops beating) a person’s chance of survival decreases by 10% for every minute they wait for help to arrive.

Following a ‘999’ call, the CFR is contacted by mobile phone with details of the call and at the same time an ambulance is dispatched. The CFR will deliver immediate medical support then hand over to the ambulance crew on arrival and continue to assist as necessary.

CFRs receive 2 days of initial training, have monthly training update opportunities and are re-assessed every 6 months.

Community First Responders are a vital, lifesaving link in OUR local community.

Upton formed a CFR team back in 2009 initially with nine trained volunteers providing cover when available and although we formed to cover Upton we have been asked to provide occasional support to the surrounding villages of West Hagbourne, Blewbury, Chilton and Harwell. The team to date has been involved in over 90 calls in the local area.

CFRs are volunteers and the equipment is provided by the South Central Ambulance League of Friends, the team has raised funds to cover the cost of the equipment and has managed to fund a second kit for the village.

If you would like to make a donation to support the work of the CFRs or are interested in becoming a CFR and provide lifesaving cover to the village then more information can be found using the following link -

http://www.southcentralambulance.nhs.uk/get-involved/howdoivolunteer.ashx

If you would like more information about Community Responding, please contact

Ian Jones on 07791 561998 or ku.shn.sacsnull@senoj.nai or please give me a call on 850031.

Thank you for your time and interest and I hope that you are able to help.

Mike Weston – Upton CFR team

Many thanks to everyone who came carol singing, rang handbells and donated to our house-to-house collection. We raised the respectable sum of £138.19, which has now been given to Didcot TRAIN Youth Project to support the work of this excellent local charity. Thank you so much for supporting this event.

Sarah Tenant-Flowers

Are you missing out on the annual office Christmas party because you work from home in Upton? Don’t worry! Anyone who lives and works in the village and would like to meet up for a Christmas meal in the George & Dragon is welcome to join us for lunch on Tuesday 18^th December at 1.00pm. We had a great time last year and would love to see as many Uptonians as possible at this event. We will need to confirm numbers and orders in advance, so please contact Paul Batho by Friday 14^th December at the latest.

Paul Batho (Tel: 851251 or email moc.loanull@ohtabp)

All villagers are warmly invited to come carol singing round Upton’s streets on Friday 21^st December. We will meet at the Village Hall at 6.30pm and finish up there again at around 8pm for a welcome glass of mulled wine, mince pies and more seasonal music performed by the village handbell ringers led by Daphne Simpson. Word sheets will be provided, but please bring torches and lanterns. We will be collecting again for local charity, Didcot TRAIN Youth Project (Registered Charity No 1094601) which gives support to homeless and disaffected young people in Didcot, providing alternative activities to vandalism, drugs and alcohol. If you’d prefer to listen rather than sing, please get your pennies and pounds (but no missiles please!) ready for this excellent local cause. Give me a call or drop me a line if you would like to take part. The more the merrier!

Sarah Tenant-Flowers (Tel: 850488 or email moc.loanull@epacsgnis)