BLEWBURY SCHOOL

The Iron Age

The Blewbury School children chattered excitedly as they climbed onto the bus, their doorway to travel over 2,000 years back in time to the Iron Age. They were greeted, on arrival at the Danebury Fort, by the leader of a fierce Celtic tribe, clad in battle dress and armed with both sword and spear.

The children were soon seated on the hard mud floor in the warrior’s round house, a large single-room structure with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof. They coughed a little from the smoky fire and wrinkled their noses at the sweaty smell of the animals which had over wintered there. Invited to weave wool, grind grain or decorate pottery, their eager hands flew up.

Suddenly a warning shout called out; a challenging band of warriors was approaching. The children lined the wooden fence which crowned the defensive ramparts, hurling spears and rocks at the attackers. But the enemy could not be repulsed and soon burnt the gates…..

We can only be glad that we do not live in that uncertain and often violent world, where our children would really have been at risk. But for a few short hours we were whisked to that faraway place and I learnt that nothing could create a better learning environment than the “real thing”.

Andrea Brown

A Maggie’s Centre is a place to turn to for help with any of the problems associated with cancer. It is there for anybody who feels the need for help, which includes those who love and look after someone with cancer, who often feel as frightened and vulnerable as those who actually have the disease.
Maggie’s Oxford took over an existing cancer support service at the Churchill Hospital and from it’s current base they are bringing Maggie’s programme to the area. More than a million people are served by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust and its cancer services, and there are 4,000 new diagnosis of cancers here a year. 

A new purpose-built Maggie’s is planned for Oxford, and they are currently working towards raising £3 million to fund the new build.
On Sunday 15th May we are planning a 25 mile cycle ride to support Maggies, the ride will start at Radley and will follow the Sustrans cycle routes to Upton, where we will stop for light refreshments before returning to Radley.  A variety of bikes will be taking part, including tandems and tricycles. Registration is £10 per cyclist, which includes a Maggie’s T-shirt.
If you would like to join us, or would like further information please contact Wendy Hunter on 01235 512876 or email wafhunter@gmail.com. If you would like to make a donation please visit our Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/mbrownsbarmybikers .

If you would like further information about Maggies please visit their website – www.maggiescentres.org

No matter what your age, if you are sexually active you need to look after your sexual health. www.yoursexualhealthoxon.nhs.uk is a new website providing information about contraception choices, treatment and testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unplanned pregnancy, emergency contraception and sexual assault support in Oxfordshire.

Are you a Francophile or Germanophile or just like to meet new people from different cultures? ….. then read on ……………

Are you aware that Didcot and its associated villages have close links with towns in France and Germany? Last year we celebrated the 10^th anniversary of our official twinning with the town of Meylan, near Grenoble in SE France and recently we have been developing links with the town of Planegg in Bavaria, Germany with a view to a formal twinning in the future.

What is ‘twinning’? Twinning brings together people from different countries to share their values and cultures, promoting friendship and understanding. Twinning helps us to celebrate the differences as well as the similarities between two communities.

What’s involved? Visits take place every year, alternating between Meylan or Planegg and Didcot. When our guests come to Didcot we need families to host them. This involves looking after one or two people for the weekend, providing some meals and, ideally, accompanying them to various activities. When we visit Meylan and Planegg we are warmly welcomed as guests by families and have to pay only our travel costs.

What does the Didcot Twinning Association do? The Didcot Twinning Association (www.didcottwinning.org.uk) coordinates the annual visits on behalf of the town and can facilitate visits for individuals and groups at other times. We also help develop links between schools and associations, and hold fund-raising activities. To help with hosting the biennial event in Didcot we receive a grant from the Town Council.

What’s coming up? The next visit will be to Meylan between 8 and 11 September 2011. We would particularly like to encourage more associations to meet up with their counterparts in Meylan. Then, in November (24^th to 27^th), a small party from Planegg will come to Didcot and we would like to involve as many people as possible in meeting our German guests.

Would you like to know more or get involved? We would like to encourage as many people from Didcot and surrounding villages to be involved in the Twinning Association, the membership fee is just £5 per year for a family or £10 per year for an association. So if you would like to take part in one of the visits or just know more please contact the Secretary of the Association, Geoff Oldham (01235 816602; geoff.oldham@talktalk.net) or come along to the AGM on 22 June at 7:30pm in the Cornerstone.