Just a few of the stories in the March Chipping Norton News. The full stories and many others PLUS all the regular features are in the current edition.  Price 50p

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Lord Mayor of London in town

Amateur dramatics is very much alive and well in Chippy – with the latest sparkling traditional panto from the Nortonians bringing ‘Lord Mayor of London’ Dick Whittington and his cat to the Town Hall for two winter weekends. Our local (town!) mayor Jo Graves was, as ever, helping with the makeup – and reported ‘In this fortieth year of the Nortonians existence they came up with a cracking panto. There was plenty to boo and hiss with King Rat really entering into the spirit of his role and just how many amazing costumes does our own home grown panto dame Martin Hannant possess? There were some of the most inventive to be seen this year. The whole performance was well staged, with superb backdrops and scenery, clever lighting and very appropriate sound effects. Audience participation is always a feature of the Norts Panto and there was plenty of this, together with the usual topical reference to local matters. It was good to see that there were so many young people in the cast which should augur well for the next forty years of pantomimes from the Nortonians.’
 

Cardiac machine from CRY

A new 24-hour Cardiac Event Recorder was presented in December to the West Street Surgery by Ian Willoughby’s partner Kay Linnington and their daughter Hannah. Dr Jane Pargeter, Dr Jonathan Moore and Liz Drury were there to receive the gift. Another Cardiac machine is being presented to the Horton Hospital in March. Ian was a popular local footballer who died of a hidden heart defect and local group CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) was started. Kay would like to thank her committee and everyone who helped raise funds – and to the main supporters of CRY: The Kings Arms, The Fox and CN Rugby Club.

 

All change at butcher’s

Loyal customers of Steve Moulder’s popular butcher’s shop in Market Street are saying goodbye on 1 March as Steve has decided to stop, chill out and see the world. He is off first to Thailand, where his father lives, and is looking forward to exploring new places and a more relaxed life – building on his hard work in running the business. He still owns the butcher’s and retains many interests in Chippy, and is delighted to see Trevon Beadle returning to run the shop – good news for those who will remember Trevon from working there before.

 

Holiday cash from the Post Office

Chippy’s post office upgraded its currency exchange facilities in February – customers can now change pounds into euros or dollars in any amounts. On a chilly Chippy Saturday that made summer holidays seem a very good idea, Manager Jenny Innes was spotted handing out balloons to the next generation of customers. She told the News that business had been very brisk and stressed that the post office is the only place in town with ’instant’ foreign currency.

 

Sing your heart out

At the end of last year a talent show for everyone took place at the Theatre. Two girls from Chipping Norton decided it would be fun to have a go, so along they went one Sunday afternoon. They sang two songs each along with other contestants. The winners were a group from outside the Town but in second place came Charlene Pinfold – better known to her friends as Charly and in third place came Sarah Doe. The next round of the competition is to be held in London in March and the two girls have been invited. This round is to be judged by stars so this could be an opportunity of a lifetime. So good luck and break a leg as they say in show business. We hope your dreams come true!

 

St Mary’s welcomes Samuel

St Mary’s Church was packed on Sunday morning, 8 February for the Baptism of baby Samuel, son of Tim and Vanessa Norman. The Revd Stephen Weston did the necessary, surrounded by admiring friends and relatives, many from overseas, and the ceremony was followed by a ‘bring and share’ lunch. Tim has been Curate at St Mary’s for nearly 3 years, but in April it will be time for him to move on and he and Vanessa, who both speak French, will be moving to a position in Paris with Samuel. They have enjoyed their time in Chipping Norton and will take with them many fond memories of their good friends. Anyone wishing to contribute to a leaving gift for him can do so by sending a cheque, payable to St Mary’s Church, to the church office (tel 646202).

 

More Italian travel

The History of Art class set off for a week in Venice at the end of January. Our journey was uneventful and by late afternoon we were settling into our hotel close to San Marco (Venice’s only Piazza – all other squares are called campi). The more energetic wasted no time and went on a walking tour to see the Basilica and the Palazzo Ducale, and the atmospherics of the Bacino di San Marco.

Our programme set a high pace. We steeped ourselves in as much as we could possibly manage of 700 years of Venetian art and architecture, helped by a daily talk. The rich, mellow colours of the paintings, the famous Venetian light, and the quirky architecture peculiar to this remarkable city all lived up to our expectations. References to water and boats were evident in so many of the images we saw, emphasising just how much the canals have informed Venetian sensibility.The weather was perfect: extremely cold, but bright, and no rain. Ungainly British gumboots remained triumphantly in our hotel wardrobes. We never had to queue and we were able to see the churches and museums at leisure and in comfort. We also had time for fun, and are immensely proud of the fact that we can now tell the difference between a Bellini in the Accademia, and a Bellini in Harry’s Bar.

Once again, the trip was led jointly by Martin Gray of Learn Italy Ltd based in Oxford, and Alice Foster, History of Art Tutor at CNCEC and local WEA classes. Off to Amsterdam in March…

Alice Foster

 

Lovely War – a testing performance

Over 60 students pulled off the ambitious challenge of putting on Joan Littlewood’s production of Oh What a Lovely War to enthusiastic houses at the Theatre at the end of February. A News reporter attended a half-term rehearsal, took the photo above and wrote the following: What a privilege to see young people from Years 10-13 rehearsing during their holidays. Not only was the school hall filled with the bustle of technical, costume and musical ‘binding of the bits’, but also the cacophony of laughter and joy as a real sense of purpose was apparent in their endeavours.

With musical direction by Peter Hunt, stage and artistic direction from Steve Bridges the pupils of the school have taken this production to their hearts as they lift the roof with the rousing songs of the First World War – possibly seen through more contemporary eyes – ‘a revelation’. With the school’s new status as a Performing Arts Centre this is a cross curriculum project which has seen history staff explain the facts behind the War, the art department involved in set design, A Level English course work centred on the text of OWALW, while computer graphics and costume have been handled internally by students – all ‘slightly stressful but a real learning experience!’

Congratulations to the entire troupe as they bring to Chippy audiences the stories, songs and images that have been handed down in families, as part of our national heritage.

 

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