Upton Village

South Oxfordshire

More from your Local Post Office

Apparently 95% of us can now access our bank accounts at the Post office, HSBC, First Direct, Co-Op, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, Halifax, Smile, Nat West to name but a few! Save a trip to “town”, and get your cash from us! Euro’s always in stock and 24hr delivery for all currencies ordered in the mornings!

We will also be the Box Office for ALL Blewbury Festival tickets or events, the WI are also offering to meet up with “onesies” who would like to join in with events but have no one to go with, the lists for each event are with us too!

We are closed for the Bank Holiday Monday on the 27th; allowances paid on Monday will be paid on Friday 24th.

Love from Karen & Angela

Blewbury Post Office

Theft of a Horse Carriage – Grove, Wantage

Thames Valley Police is appealing for information following the theft of a horse carriage from Grove, Wantage.

Between 7pm on Friday (26/4), and 11am on Saturday (27/4), a four wheeled horse carriage was stolen from a shed at a farm in Grove Bridge, Grove.

It is believed the offender(s) gained entry to the property by climbing over a locked gate and then lifted the carriage over the gate to steal it.

If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101 and state you are responding to a Thames Valley Alert message.

Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online@crimestoppers-uk.org.  No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

Horse Carriage Horse Carriage

Closure of our Methodist Churches

It was a sad day when, after 187 years of services, both Upton and Blewbury Methodist Churches closed on April 14th, but at the same time we (the church members) were glad that our final services were so well supported. The last full service for Upton was on Easter Sunday, a Communion Service led by our minister, Rev Richard Bittleston. It was well supported by regular attendees and visitors to the village, and Upton chapel was completely full for the short service there on Sunday 14th April. Rev Bittleston wanted to emphasise that Blewbury and Upton Methodist churches had combined 3 years ago to become one church, the Spring Line Church. So we started with a short service in Upton, then many of us walked to Blewbury along the old footpath to continue the service at Blewbury chapel.

Members of Blewbury Brass Band volunteered to play at the Blewbury service (very fitting, because one of the founders of the Band was a Methodist local preacher and chapel trustee for 35 years). The chapel was full to overflowing and the singing raised the roof. Richard asked us not to feel sad at the closure of the chapels but to remember everything they had done in the past, in particular revolutionising the Victorian attitude to children’s education by building their chapels with a school room. Methodism thrived in Oxfordshire Villages through the two world wars, but times have changed and the number of members has fallen, so we have to accept that it is time to move on. “Even as we let go of these cherished places, God remains with us”

For those who wish to continue to attend Methodist Church services the nearest churches are in Didcot and Wallingford, or if you prefer to attend a smaller chapel, the nearest is in Milton village. See www.wantageandabingdoncircuit.org.uk/ for details of services.

We would like to thank everyone in the community who has used our buildings in the past few years – your financial support enabled us to continue as long as we have.

Members of the Spring Line Church

Latest News from your Local Post Office

More great news! HSBC, First Direct & M & S bank customers, will be able to access their accounts via all Post Office branches, from the 8th of May they can make free cash withdrawals, and pay in cash or cheques using their own personal paying in slip! This means over 95 % of us can access our accounts without going into “town”, and help keep our little Post Offices going!

The “contactless” payment option is now also live, so when paying by chip & pin cards for amounts less than £15, the little screen on the pin pad will show the “wave” symbol, simply apply your card onto the screen and bingo, no pin needed! I have tried it, the card needs to be quite close, and so no chance of paying for someone else’s shopping by accident!

We will be closed for the two Bank Holiday Mondays at either end of May, I am sure that pensions etc that are paid on Mondays will be available on the Friday before!

We now have ice-cream in anticipation of a heat wave!

Love from Karen & Angela

Blewbury Post Office

Pump Track nearly open

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

Didcot Film Club

It is now six months since the Didcot Film Club was started. The Club meets at Cornerstone in Didcot at 8 pm on a Wednesday evening (it does not clash with our wine club nights).

It shows the sort of films you won’t see in mainstream cinemas including Hollywood Classics, Foreign Language films and British Independent films.

Annual Membership costs £5 and is available from Cornerstone and Didcot Civic Hall. After that, film tickets cost £5 each and members can buy tickets for themselves and a guest (so no need for both of a couple to join). Tickets can be bought through the normal Cornerstone booking system in person or on line.

Forthcoming films: 27th March Argo, 1st May Untouchable and 22nd May Rebel Without a Cause.

Mike Collins

Marshals required for Uptonogood

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

Bike Humps

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

Mothers’ Union comes to Upton!

MU: DO THEY REALLY???

  • Speak out against violence to women
  • Campaign against advertising which promotes sales of adult styles to children
  • Support parents as they bring up their children
  • Pray for the needs of families across the world
  • Give financial support to set up literacy and health education schemes

YES THEY DO!!!

These are just some of the things that this dynamic Christian organisation “The Mothers’ Union” has been doing year in, year out.

We invite all villagers to come and find out more about this amazing, global Christian organisation, which works in this area as well as across the world.

Gentlemen, ladies, teenagers, children – a warm welcome awaits you

– Upton Village Hall, Saturday 9th March at 3.30pm

– complimentary teas, activities for children with a Mothering Sunday theme, displays and information, informal conversation and a short presentation.

The doors will be open for just one hour, so we hope many of you will find time to drop in for a cup of tea and cake, with plenty to keep young people busy as well.

See you there!

Revd Louise Butler

Enjoy a Ridgeway Day

On Sunday, 7 April, The Friends of the Ridgeway are holding an Open Day at the Court Hill Centre near Wantage. Why not take a walk on The Ridgeway, and enjoy one of Britain’s finest views. Visit nearby Segsbury Castle hillfort, and spot wildlife and spring flowers. Drop in to the Court Hill Centre any time between 10.30am and 3.30pm and find out more about the trail and how you can help to keep it special. Have a snack at the Barn Café.  Meet the volunteers who help to preserve the ancient track, and join in a discussion about the future of the National Trails.  With exhibitions of art inspired by the Ridgeway landscape and a birds of prey display, there’s something for the whole family to enjoy.

To get to the Court Hill Centre, take the A338 south from Wantage for 2 miles. Turn right into The Centre just before the crest of Court Hill.