Upton Village

South Oxfordshire

Vote NOW for super-fast broadband

This is like 2003/04 all over again, except this time we need more help. As you might be aware, BT is running a ‘race’ to decide which of the UK’s smaller exchanges will jump the queue to get super-fast fibre optic broadband (Didcot and the larger towns will get it automatically, but once again we’ll have to fight for it). There will be five winners, and one of them will also get computer equipment worth £5000 for a local school or community project.

The race runs from now until December 31st and simply requires people to vote for their exchange. There’s no cost and no commitment – you just need to stand up and be counted.

For the Blewbury exchange (serving Blewbury, Upton, the Astons, West Hagbourne and part of East Hagbourne) to be in with a chance, we need at least 1,000 votes from all the villages combined.

If you’re on the Internet already, you can vote by going to http://www.racetoinfinity.bt.com/vote/cast and entering your details. It takes less than a minute.

If you’re not on the Internet, you can call Graham de Wilde on 01235 851600, he’s the Upton representative for the campaign and he will place your vote for you. Only one vote is allowed per postal address, and according to BT there are only 1236 postal addresses in all the villages put together. That means in order to get 1000 votes, we need 81% of all our households and businesses to stand up and be counted. So you can see why we need your help! Please vote as soon as you can and ask your friends, family and neighbours to do the same.

Keep up with the campaign as it develops

We’ll report on progress in Upton News and on the village web site. If you want more frequent updates than that, you can contact Chris Whatmore at cwhatmore.tst@btinternet.com and he’ll add you to the campaign mailing list. And for all you social networkers out there, you can follow us on Facebook. You can also follow 0123585infinity on Twitter. Whatever it takes to spread the word and get this done, we’re going to do it!

Christian Aid Sponsored Walk

If anybody would like to take part in the Sponsored Walk for Christian Aid, we have sponsor forms and maps.  It will take place on Saturday 9 October; it starts between 9 and 10 am from Chilton Church; and a 5 and a 10 mile route are available.

Elisabeth and Malcolm Wright 850705

First Birthday of the Spring Line Methodist Church

The Spring Lines first anniversary service will be at the Blewbury Centre on 24 October. The reason we are holding the service in October is because it was on 12 October 2009 that the church councils of the two churches voted ‘to join to form a new church to be known as Spring Line Methodist Church with effect from 1st January 2010’. So our real anniversary is in October each year. Everyone is invited to help us celebrate our first birthday.

Jo Lakeland

September News from the Churn Benefice

Churn Youth Group

Sunday 17th October at 7pm in the Benefice Centre

All young people of secondary school age are welcome to come along.

We meet on the third Sunday of the month from 7pm to 8.30pm at the Benefice Centre or other venue depending on what activity we decide to do.

The Churn Benefice All Soul’s Service

The annual All Souls’ Service will take place this year at

St. Michael’s Blewbury on Sunday 31st October at 3.30pm.

All are welcome at this service, which includes the lighting of commemorative candles and reading out of names of those to be remembered. Anyone who would like to have a loved one remembered at this service is invited to add their name(s) to the list on the sheets available in all the benefice churches from 3rd October until 17th October.

Announcement

As you may or may not be aware, Fr Anthony and Rosemary are in the process of buying a retirement house in Ipswich. They plan to leave the Benefice sometime later this year or early next. More information will be given when available.

The CHURN Branch of the MU

The next Pram Service will be on Wednesday 6th October at 12.15pm in the Vale Room, Blewbury Village Hall. ALL AGES ARE WELCOME.

A sandwich lunch is provided by the Mothers Union after the service. This is a short Eucharist service ideal for pre-school children to bring parents, grandparents, carers to.

PASSIONATE about PARENTING

This Autumn a group will run for parents caring for children of 0 – 6 yrs. This will be a time to share the joys and challenges of being a parent.

DATES: Tuesday evenings, 8-10pm for 6 weeks from October 5th (break for half-term)

VENUE: Blewbury Benefice Centre

BOOKING FORMS from: Louise Butler, louisegbutler@aol.com  851011, Jenny Balshaw, jenny.balshaw@googlemail.com  815452

Have you wanted the chance to……..

  • discuss bible passages.
  • worship informally.
  • pray in a group setting.
  • get to know other Christians in the area over coffee.

Then this group may be for you!

It is held on Wednesdays at 7.45pm in the Benefice Centre near Blewbury Church.

Please also let us know if you would attend a group if offered on a different day and give the preferred day. See you there!

Help if you are a Carer

Do you care for someone who is ill, disabled, frail or has an addiction?

Caring responsibilities can be emotionally draining and physically demanding. Would you like to meet people who are also caring for someone? Have a cuppa, chat to others and find out what services are available to you?

1) We can help you set up a meeting to find other carers in your area and find out what you want

2) We can help with the initial funding for setting up carer support groups

3) We are looking for ex carers who are happy to pass on their knowledge to people in similar situations

We want to know, how we can help you,

Please contact me

Brian Conroy

Community Development Team

West Oxfordshire & Vale of White Horse

Tel 01993-704007

e-mail brian.conroy@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Policing Update September 2010

Here is the latest Wantage East neighbourhood update from Police Community Support officer Tim Deane.

The Wantage East Neighbourhood Consultation indicated dog fouling is a priority issue in some local areas. Dog owners please note that it is in fact an offence under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 where a person who is in charge of a dog must clean up after it when it fouls any footpath, highway, verge or other open space to which the public have access. By allowing your dog to do this, you could face a fixed penalty of £50; if the case is prosecuted in court a fine of up to £1000 may be incurred.

While on the subject of dogs; many dogs are lost every year, some as a result of theft, even the most reliable and well-cared for dog can get lost or stolen. Dog theft has been attributed to two broad motives – breeding and ransom. Make sure that your dog wears a collar and identification (ID) tag. Include your surname, telephone number, address and full postcode – if there’s room put ‘microchipped’ on the tag if your dog has a chip. Microchip your dog so that it is permanently identifiable should the collar and ID tag be removed. For more information visit Thames Valley Police Dog Theft Website. The Wantage East Neighbourhood Team have access to a dog scanner.

Speeding was also indicated to be a priority concern in this area. The Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) continue to carry out speed checks in the Wantage East villages with the SID (Speed Indication Device) and the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) Machine. Owners of vehicles found to be exceeding the speed limit will be contacted.

Parking is an issue that takes up a lot of our time. In most cases common sense by the driver of the vehicle could prevent a lot of the problems. Under Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, you MUST NOT leave your vehicle in a dangerous position or where it causes any unnecessary obstruction of the road. Think before you park and before you lock your vehicle take that moment to look around you, ask yourself are you obstructing anyone or anything, or are you committing an offence by parking there. Bear in mind, if your vehicle is causing an obstruction it may be removed in your absence.

Incidents

Two people arrested for Burglary non dwelling in Harwell, both bailed. Enquires are ongoing.

One person arrested for public order offence – charged from Wantage.

There has been a spate of lead thefts across our area where Houses, Schools, Churches and Village Halls have been targeted.

PCSO’s Gary Kirby and Denise Clements were directly involved in the detention and subsequent arrest of three males caught Hare Coursing near Harwell.

PCSO Larry Gardner attended Harwell Archery open day on Saturday 21 August. Larry is a qualified archery himself and spent the day instructing local Young people.

If you would like to speak to any member of the Wantage East Neighbourhood Team call

0845 8 505 505

Forthcoming Have Your Say Meetings (HYS)

HYS. 4th October 2010. 18.30-19.30 Milton Village Methodist Hall.

HYS. 9th October 2010. 16.30-17.30 Ardington Police Office.

HYS. 9th October 2010. 18.00-19.00 East Hendred Snell’s Hall.

HYS. 25thOctober 2010. 19.00-20.00 Blewbury Village Hall.

HYS. 27thOctober 2010. 18.00-19.00 Steventon Village Hall.

HYS. 16th October 2010. 10.00-11.00 Harwell Village Hall.

HYS. 11th October 2010. 19.00-20.00 Chilton Village Hall.

HYS. 12th October 2010. 17.45-18.45 Upton Village Hall.

For more information about your local neighbourhood team, contact 0845 8 505 505 or visit www.thamesvalley.police.uk

Welcome to the Gould Family

We are pleased to welcome the Gould family who have just moved into Willows in Stream Road. Ian and Kim together with Hannah aged 15 and twins Christopher and Thomas aged 10 have moved to the village from Chalgrove. We wish them a long and happy stay in the village.

Fete Thank You

Thank you to all the volunteers whose hard work helped to make Saturday’s fete a huge success.  You will be pleased to know that the total receipts to date amount to £2476.  We really appreciate the work which goes in both on the day and beforehand.   Thank you all very much indeed for giving your time and for being so willing to help. It was a great occasion and we were so lucky with the weather.

The dog fun show raised £82 which the organiser has sent to the RSPCA. 

If you think of anything which we might do differently or better next time please let me know while the ideas are fresh in your mind.

Clare

Help Required for Nick

Many people in Upton will know that Nick Parham has MS and is confined to a wheelchair. At present he receives 2 hours of exercise a week following a regime designed by a physiotherapist. The young man who has been conducting these exercises with Nick is off to University in September and so we are seeking a fit individual who would be interested in continuing to support Nick with the exercises. Full training by a physiotherapist will be given and the payment is £25.00 per hour (£50.00 per week).

Please contact Ann or Nick Parham

850748 or anneparham@hotmail.com