After a Summer of record breaking temperatures, the mornings are beginning to have a distinctly Autumnal feel and we’ve even seen some wet stuff falling from the sky! An alarming number of trees around the village have fallen victim to the drought and also of ash dieback and will need to be felled, which is always sad to see. The change of seasons also brings with it a few changes to Waterstock’s residents.
One of the long time stalwarts of the village, Keith Ashby, and his wife Amanda have moved to pastures new in Tackley and sent this farewell message:
“The Ashby's have finally left Waterstock having first arrived in the village in 1939 when Bob Ashby (my grandfather) his wife Francis and son Joe took up residence in what is now Holly Cottage.
After serving in the army during the war Joe (Dad) married Majorie Meriman, the blacksmith's daughter from Tiddington in 1950. My sister Gillian was born in 1952 and myself in 1955. I have lived in Waterstock ever since.
In 1984 Dad gave me a piece of land and I was able to build a house (The Old Timberyard) so as to continue living here.
I married Amanda in 1993 and we raised our boys Sam (born1995) and Oli (born 1998) in Waterstock.
We have loved living in the village for so many years and would like to thank everyone for the support and friendship we have been shown. So many fond memories of the people and village events but we both feel it’s time to move on to a new adventure.
Please give a warm Waterstock welcome to Simon, Alison and their son Erik who by now should be happily settled in The Old Timberyard."
Keith’s departure leaves Geoff and I as the last two of the older generation of Waterstock ‘lifers’ which is quite a sobering thought when you think who has been and gone before us.
We will really miss them both and all that Keith has contributed to the village over the years and wish them well on their new adventure.
As well as new residents at The Old Timberyard, it’s also hello and welcome to Alice who recently moved into the Nook. Alice is no stranger to the village, as her mother Katie also lived at The Nook (and also at Park Cottage and Tamworth House) for some years.
Not strictly speaking welcome to Waterstock but more ‘Welcome to the World’ to Janet and Stephen’s new grandson Oliver Stephen born to their daughter Becca and her husband Greg in late August. Proud Granny Janet will provide further details and an update in her Parish news next month.
RIDE AND STRIDE:
As Malcolm will be back at work in the Middle East on the official Ride and Stride weekend, he undertook his own version the weekend before, managing to visit 14 churches rather than the planned 12. His total distance was 48.5 km and the ride took just over 3 1/2 hrs with church stops (visitors books signed where the churches were open!) and a pit stop at the Bruin Cafe in Wheatley for one of their amazing Scotch eggs!
The tally so far is just over £600 assuming all donations come in as pledged.
Malcolm reports:
“It was an absolutely lovely ride along what were mostly quiet country lanes, through beautiful countryside and villages. Once you get off the main roads it really is a very different place! I didn't
realise that our part of Oxfordshire was quite so hilly, especially around Cuddesdon and Garsington! The views from St Mary's in Garsington across Oxford and around to the Chilterns were pretty spectacular.
Given what the day before was like, I was very lucky with the weather and could really enjoy our breathtaking countryside!”
A big thank youto Malcolm and also to Sini who helped organise sponsorship.
CPR:
Thanks to Gill many of us had the opportunity to update our CPR skills and familiarise ourselves with the defibrillator. Gill reports:
“Richard Shackleton a local First Responder for Oxfordshire Ambulance Service gave 2 training sessions in the church on CPR and using the village defibrillator. Both sessions were well attended and the feedback was that everyone found it very helpful. Hopefully a good majority of people in the village are now well equipped to handle the defibrillator in an emergency. If you haven’t already joined the village emergency response WhatsApp Group and would like to do so, please contact Sini. Richard does refresher training sessions once a month at Thame Tennis Club on Saturday mornings. If anyone feels they would like to attend, please let Gill know. Richard was most impressed with the Waterstock
community spirit, something we should all be immensely proud of.”
Donations by participants over the two sessions totalled £217 for the Oxford Ambulance
Service, for which Richard was extremely thankful.
A big thank you to Gill for setting up these well attended and potentially life saving sessions.
PARISH MEETING NEWS:
During the recent Parish meeting the decision was made to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan in order to help protect our interests when we become, for better or worse, part of Greater Oxford in April 2028. Bass has volunteered to pull this together but I’m sure he will appreciate some help!
How to move forward with the plans to make the Church more user friendly as a social space was also discussed. It seems setting this project up as a charity would be advantageous in order to make the most
of cheaper banking, available grants and other benefits.
Caroline is starting the ball rolling by setting up a book exchange in the church. Any contributions to get library started would be most welcome. Joe Ashby’s cine films have been converted to mp4 and a showing is planned in the church in the Autumn, along with a display of photographs from village events over the years.
Meanwhile the working group has been gathering information on the memorials, windows, silver and furniture in the church which may be of interest to visitors.
A section of lathe and plaster fell from the chancel roof and some recently plastered cracks have reappeared, however there is no discernible movement of the most serious external cracks which have been monitored for the last seven years. Geoff and Michael are checking to see if the front pews can be moved to make it easier to erect a scaffolding tower to facilitate repair of the chancel ceiling.
As always I end my piece with a reminder that the annual British Legion Poppy Appeal will be launched at the end of October and I will be doing my usual rounds of the village in early November with the
poppies and Gift Aid envelopes hoping for contributions. I’m always astounded by your generosity and I really hope this year will be no exception!
Looking further ahead, one villager mentioned to me in early September how much they were looking forward to the traditional Christmas Eve Carol singing around the village and offered to host a ‘refreshment stop’.
More details nearer the time but do please come and sing with us or offer refreshments, it’s a great way to start Christmas!
