Just a few of the stories in November's 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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Southcombe Farm … and friends

Last month’s scare about an escaped Rhea (who answers to the name of Gertrude) caused owner Jainie Fordham at Southcombe Farm to write with some reassurances!! She was concerned people might think the bird was dangerous and said ‘this is untrue as rheas live off grass and the odd insect whilst grazing. Gertrude’s favourite food is lettuce leaves and a slice of bread for a treat along with her grass and ostrich pellets. She did acquire a liking for custard creams at Chipping Norton School as they were used to tempt her ‘behind bars’. The only reason that I was scratched by her feet was that as she didn’t want to go into the trailer and was looking as though she was about to make another bid for freedom – I grabbed her by the neck and dragged her into it. I am sure that the majority of your readers if grabbed by the neck and pulled into a vehicle would also kick out and try to scratch their attacker!! (This is) to set the record straight – just in case any of your readers were worried about a Man Eating Rhea wandering the streets of Chipping Norton. In fact Gertrude and her friends (yes we do have some more) are presently sharing part of their paddock with 39 two-week old saddleback piglets, some Soay sheep, three llamas including baby called Moonshine plus two horses, and all are living harmoniously together.’

Jainie and husband Rick are busy with their newly opened farm shop at the working farm (on the main Enstone Road just past the Southcombe traffic lights – and aim to build up custom for their range of fresh and frozen produce – plus knitting wool from their own sheep!

 

Sports grant for school

Amanda Perceval of Barclays Bank is pictured left presenting a cheque for £10,000 to Headteacher, Richard Graydon. The grant is to enable students to develop vital skills for life, work and citizenship through a Sports Leadership scheme. Students in Years 10 to 13 who are following the Central Council for Physical Recreation Sports leaders programme will be supported by the grant. Top school hopes to have 10 sports festivals in the next year - with all ten feeder primary schools invited. Matt Sims, head of PE at the school was thrilled with the grant and Mr Graydon added, ‘This is one of the best things to happen in my lifetime working in schools.’

The super picture above is available in a higher resolution full-screen version. You can probably print it OK. Its big (230Kb) but at least you can see all the faces.
DOWNLOAD IT HERE

 

Jan’s Great Day

St Mary’s curate, Jan Fielden, was ordained priest at Dorchester Abbey on Sunday 28 September and returned to our Parish Church to conduct her first communion the same afternoon. Over 100 friends, family and parishioners then adjourned to the parish rooms for a grand Celebration Tea. Jan has been presented with a leather-bound prayer book to mark the event and to wish her a happy and successful ministry in the Town.

 

Town Hall splendour

Over 30 guests joined Mayor Jo Graves and Town Councillors in October to celebrate the major upgrade to Chipping Norton’s Lower Town Hall. Over the summer there has been a major £85,000 project to give the place a total new look – and it is now open as an ideal place for meetings and functions. Plans are well in hand for advertising the Town Hall for weddings and the new room downstairs is ideal for a lively reception. Jo Graves, in a short speech, thanked everyone who had been involved, including builders Chunky Townley and his team, as well as the Town Hall Committee, the caretakers and the Town Council staff. She said she, along with everyone, was delighted with the changes, and hoped to see many people using the facilities. Plans for work on the Upper Town Hall will be next.The changes, under the watchful eye of architect Pat Russell have included a new wooden tiled floor and ceiling, opening up a new archway into the Council chamber, new kitchen, bar and ladies toilets. A ‘hanging’ committee also took charge of dusting off some splendid old pictures – including some of the famous forefathers of the town. The crest of the town’s adopted warships – the Magpie and the Heythrop – are also on display.

 

A Taste of Topschool

The car parks were overflowing. The banners were out. Several hundred parents and prospective students from all the feeder primary schools invaded Chipping Norton School on Thursday 16 October to find out what it was all going to be like. A News reporter joined the throng and went to find out what school was like. Parents going round clearly hadn’t been round a school like this for years: ‘Food technology was cookery in my day’, ‘I don’t remember my school being as big as this’, ‘Isn’t physics where they have circuits and things?’ Head Richard Graydon had to give two school hall welcomes because of the numbers – with the second group being entertained while waiting by the school jazz band.

Friendly atmosphere

The school is now nearly 1100 pupils (still not enormous by some standards), but the atmosphere all round the school was welcoming, helpful and friendly. A vast array of current students – from most years, had volunteered to help on the evening with demonstrations in each subject class room or acting as guides to take herds of inquisitive parents and year 6 kids round. The News reporter had several people ask if they could help – and several offers to explain everything from psychology to computer technology and history. Potential new students were allowed to venture wherever they were interested

.

Try out your subject

Most subjects had things the newcomers could try and several people were snapped in action on the tour. In physics you could have a go at ‘beat the buzzer’ while not being distracted by Queen performing on a big screen – Mr Wooldridge’s cunning plan to make physics fun. In biology and chemistry there were odd things to look at under microscopes and Mrs Tahgavi’s colourful experimental fountains – with a bunsen burner involved somewhere. In the Langauge Department Mrs Hobbs and colleagues were already into teaching the basics of German and French – eager to get everyone hooked.

and finally the News!

To make our News reporter feel really at home students in the English department were creating hot off the press editions of Ye Olde English Department Times pictured on the front page. Budding journalists were out and about round school interviewing teachers, parents and students, then two computer operators were creating the news sheets. The whole exercise seemed enormous fun and allowed the students to learn something of the challenges of journalism! This News reporter left just before the last edition went to print – had to make this deadline first!

A lively evening and a great advert for a community school with high standards.

 

More parking tickets?

Town parking problems yet again proved a hot topic with local traders and got plenty of airtime at the recent Police Forum. There were as many Police and Town Councillors as members of the public at the meeting held in Chipping Norton Town Hall in October. This did not prevent a lively and open exchange on a variety of subjects of concern to the small number of people. The session was chaired sensibly by Mayor Jo Graves and Inspector Nick Deacon led his team with a refreshing openness. Most issues were from people with concerns in the town centre: traffic, parking, rowdiness on the streets, kids ‘hanging about’ and lack of facilities, late night pub licences and police visible on the beat (see separate stories). There may well be other important issues from a more diverse public who did not attend. The lack of a full-time traffic warden to enforce the short-term parking and ‘book’ obstructing vehicles was a hot topic on the night. With the big rise of the police cost in the Council Tax there was some objection to Chippy not having its own full-time warden and some suggestion from the Police that the Town (or District?) may have to pay for its own warden at some time in the future. Many people at the meeting wanted stronger and more consistent enforcement. With the current warden averaging only 2-3 tickets a day across a patch including Chipping Norton, Woodstock & Kidlington, there seems to be scope for a lot more visible action. The contractors have finally got round to re-painting the town’s yellow lines so there should be no room for confusion!

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