The school summer holidays are fast approaching. This is a reminder that
from the 24th of July to the 3rd of September, during the School summer
holidays, we will be operating our reduced hours of 9am – 12pm, Monday to
Friday. Thank you for your understanding during this time.
We have fresh kitty’s eggs and local honey on sale. As well as a variety of
sweet treats, ice lollies, chocolate and cool drinks available to help keep
cool this summer.
As well as sending parcels, you can also do all your banking at the post
office, including cash withdrawals, cash deposits and cheque deposits.
We look forward to seeing you in the post office soon.
Thanks so much,
Sarah, Karen and Andrew
Why are Churchyards Special
The English country churchyard provides a very special environment for
trees, birds, animals and insects. Often almost unchanged for centuries,
churchyards can provide a haven for species that can be threatened by
development or intensive agriculture elsewhere.
On Sunday, 21st July there will be a special event in St Mary’s
churchyard exploring and celebrating this special place in the heart of
Upton. It’s part of the Churn Benefice Science Festival and it will give
the opportunity to learn about the history and natural environment of
this unique place. It’s an event for all ages – adults can join the guided
tour of the churchyard and there will be special activities for children
to enjoy.
The event will start at 3:00pm and will conclude with tea and cakes.
And there’s no charge – do come and join us!
Paul Batho
Blewbury Post Office News
The school summer holidays are fast approaching. This is a reminder that
from the 24th of July to the 3rd of September, during the School summer
holidays, we will be operating our reduced hours of 9am – 12pm, Monday to
Friday. Thank you for your understanding during this time.
We have fresh kitty’s eggs and local honey on sale. As well as a variety of
sweet treats, ice lollies, chocolate and cool drinks available to help keep
cool this summer.
As well as sending parcels, you can also do all your banking at the post
office, including cash withdrawals, cash deposits and cheque deposits.
We look forward to seeing you in the post office soon.
Thanks so much,
Sarah, Karen and Andrew
St Mary’s Church – Past and Present
Would you like to learn more about the oldest building and institution in
Upton? If so, you’d be most welcome at an open event which will take place
on Sunday 16th June at 3pm in the church.
It will start with three short presentations on:
The history of the building and its features of interest.
The church in village life, past and present
Recent changes and future plans.
There’ll be an opportunity to explore the building and the churchyard, and
to ask questions. And to round it all off, there’ll be plenty of tea and cakes.
The whole event will last about an hour, and it’s free!
Though the presentations will primarily be aimed at adults, children will be
very welcome and there’ll be a quiz trail for them to follow. We look
forward to seeing you on 16th June!
The Caucasian Chalk Circle at Orchard Dene Garden Theatre 17-20 July 2024.
A change from Shakespeare…A gem of a play, full of action, humour, music, and emotion…
Grusha, a maid, flees with abandoned baby Michael and face many challenges to protect him. This is a story as
old as Solomon, of motherhood and maternal love.
What makes a good mother: a mother by blood or mother by nurture?
Azdak a drunk or genius -judge or villain? Who will he protect – the landowners or the people?
The Caucasian Chalk Circle welcomes the audience into a world of
huge characters, big emotions, and the eternal question of who has the right
to claim ownership – who should own what?
Directed by Erica Harley. This adaptation provides an alternative and more
accessible version than the more traditional text. Described as a
masterpiece of 20th century drama.
Box office – Tickets will be available online at www.blewburyplayers.co.uk.
Priority booking opens 5 June (using a code that will be sent to them).
General Box Office opens 7 June.
To become a Friend and get priority booking for Blewbury Players’
productions and an annual entertainment and newsletter, please contact
Roger at bpfriends123@gmail.com. Subscription is £15 and is renewable on
1st May 2024.
Front of House roles. Fancy joining the front of House Team? Please call
David Long on 01235 851574 or 07484 360169 or @ blewburyplayers@gmail.com
Jeff and Peter’s Music Quiz – 9 November 2024 More news nearer the date
Puss In Boots Auditions – September 2024 We are excited to confirm that
we will be performing another pantomime in 2025! This has been written
and will be directed by Blewbury’s very own Andy Jarvis. More information
about auditions soon.
For updates on events refer to www.blewburyplayers.co.uk, Facebook or
Instagram. We can contact us at blewburyplayers@gmail.com
Blewbury Post Office News
As summer approaches we hope you are enjoying the warmer weather ☀
We have tickets for the summer preschool raffle for sale. They have some
excellent prizes so please do come along and buy some to support your
local preschool. Tickets for the BVS summer dance are also available.
We have fresh kitty’s eggs and local honey on sale as the hayfever season
kicks in. We have a variety of sweet treats, ice lollies, chocolate and cool
drinks available to help keep cool this summer.
As well as sending parcels, you can also do all your banking at the post
office, including cash withdrawals, cash deposits and cheque deposits.
We look forward to seeing you in the post office soon.
Thanks so much,
Sarah, Karen and Andrew
Christian Aid Week 2024
Thanks to the hard work of some wonderful volunteers and the exceptional
generosity of those who filled their envelopes and attended the Tea Party –
and perhaps perfect weather for the occasion – the total raised (so far) is
the highest ever. Not only four figures, a wonder in itself, but over £1100.
Very Many thanks to all who contributed in any way to this amazing success.
Elisabeth and Malcolm Wright
Help is Required
YOUR HELP, ASSISTANCE, PARTICIPATION is needed with one of the
following activities –
1 Cakes and Biscuits – could you bake a delicious item for sale at the
Village Hall Café to sell during the Uptonogood cycle event? Donations
can be brought to the hall in the morning of the event (15th June.) Or
brought to Chris Traynor, Pentrose, Fieldside the day before.
2. Could you spare some time to help serve in the Hall Café selling
teas and cakes for the cyclists? Please contact Lucy
(lucinda.mason@btinternet.com) if you could spare an hour of your
time on this day.
3 .Upton Village Hall Amenities Trust have a vacancy for a new
member to join this team, who are responsible for the maintenance
and bookings for the village hall. The workload and time involved are
not excessive. If interested please contact
Rob Traynor at
ronyart5@hotmail.com
April Wine Club – “Beyond Malbec and Sauvignon”
Most monthly meetings, we have some members from our committee
talking about wine, often with a story that in weaved in-between each
wine that cleverly links the theme and the evening together. Several times
each year however, we invite external speakers to come and tell us about
their wine. This month saw the return of Tim and Jill North, from Joie de
Vin, an on-line wine business they set up over 10 years ago. They specialise
in going over to France and finding small producers, who often only supply
their local areas due to the small volume of wine they make and convincing
them to sell a few crates so they can bring them back to the UK for us to
try.
There are many hundreds of grape varieties that are used to produce wine.
We could all probably name a dozen or so of the main varieties however,
just because you know a certain grape, don’t assume that it only has one
flavour! Tim took us through some wines to show just that!
By way of an example, our first two wines were from the Chenin Blanc
grape. One wine was made by fermenting the grapes in a steel tank (very
common method for producing lighter, crisp wines) and the second had
spent some of the fermentation process in oak barrels. The difference
was very noticeable – the same grape, from the same region and made by
the same producer but with the influence of oak on the second wine, came
a stronger flavour, with notes of caramel and vanilla that you would expect
form wine that had spent some time in a barrel. You might hear people
referring to these style of wines as being more complex….because they
have had extra processes in production but also because there is more to
the wine…it seems to last longer “on the nose” and there is typically more
flavours you pick up when tasting.
Another example was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre region in the
north of France. Sancerre has become famous for producing a specific
style of crisp, highly acidic white wine from this grape that reflects the
cooler climates and flint soil where the grapes grow. Just like other
regions you may know such as Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape, the wine
commands a high value because of it’s regional popularity. Tim had found
one producer that wanted to challenge that particular style. Allowing the
grapes to spend more time during fermentation in contact with the natural
yeast, stems, pips etc (this is known as spending more time on the lees),
the wine took on a totally different complexity and when combined with
some Oak, again produced a much softer wine that many would not have
assumed was from Sancerre.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with some excellent wines. So if,
for example you are a person that has said before “I’m an ABC wine
drinker….”Anything But Chardonnay” – I urge you to look again and see if
you can find something a little different (try a Chardonnay from Chablis
for example!) you might just surprise yourself!
Next month we have wines being presented by some of our club members.
It will be a great evening full of why some wines have just become firm
favorites – which rarely has anything to do with how they have been
made! If you would like to come along then all our details can be found
on our website: www.uptonwineclub.co.uk
Ian
UWAC Chairman
Post Office News
Just a little update on our spring opening hours.
The post office will be closed on Monday 6th
of May and Monday 27th May
due to the spring bank holidays. We will also be closed on Friday 17th of
May due to staff holiday.
From the 28th May to the 31st of May, during the School Half term, we will
be operating our reduced hours of 9am – 12pm, Tuesday to Friday. Thank
you for your understanding during this time.
Don’t forget we have fresh kitty’s eggs and local honey on sale as the
hayfever season approaches. We have a variety of sweet treats and
chocolate for sale so do come and have a look.
You can also do all your banking at the post office, including cash
withdrawals, cash deposits and cheque deposits.
We look forward to seeing you in the post office soon.
Thanks so much,
Sarah, Karen and Andrew