Local cyclists to ride 900 miles non-stop for charity

Two local men will embark on extraordinary 900-mile bike ride during Jubilee week in June to raise money for charity.

The riders, Ian Gain and Richard Postill, and the main support team are all people from Steeple Aston. The event, called JOGLE for Juliet is dedicated to the memory of Juliet Hodkin from Grange Park who sadly died from cancer last year. It is being held to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in her memory.

But it is not just any old 900-mile bike-ride, Ian and Richard will be cycling from John O'Groats to Land's End non-stop, day and night, through all weathers - aiming to complete the trip in just 110 hours! A JOGLE is a cycle trip from John O'Groats to Land's End, but most people take rather longer to complete the trip.

Are these participants top athletes I hear you ask? No. Just a couple of ageing 50 plus year-olds, one of whom is actually building his bike from spare parts... and it's not quite ready yet!

Jubilee Committee appeals for volunteers, cakes and old photos

With arrangements well under way for Steeple Aston's Jubilee Celebrations, John Coley, the chair of the organising committee, outlines the plans for the day and appeals for volunteers to help with the lunch and to provide cakes.

John writes: "It's nearly here!! Monday 5th June!! A whole day celebrating the three Village Jubilees: 60 Years for the Queen, 60 years for the Valentines and 50 years for the Whit Races.

"We will be starting with the Whit Races; sign on from 9.00am, races start at 10.00am. For those who like a mid-morning snack there will be candy floss and a barbeque.

"From around 1.00pm there will be light refreshments in the Village Hall, open to everyone. This will be free, but donations will, of course, be gratefully received. It will finish by 3.00pm, or when the food runs out whichever is the soonest.

"In the evening we have an all-ticket event starting at 7.30pm with a pig roast and a bar; then from 8.30pm we have the George Buchanan Scottish Ceilidh Band who will help us all to have a 'reely' good experience. Don't be put off about not knowing the steps, we will be walked through them first.

"Because of space restrictions, it's first come, first served, at £12 a ticket for the combined roast and the ceilidh. Get your tickets from Raj at the village shop, Anna Thatcher or me. Don't be the ones left trying to listen from the outside.

"We will have an exhibition of photos from the earliest days of the Whit Races, with village folks looking even younger than they do now. If anyone has photos of the earliest days, please let me or Stuart Walton have them, so we can enhance the exhibition.

"Now, for the lunchtime refreshments we need cakes and folk to prepare the rest of the food. Please contact me beforehand, so we know where we are. As usual in the village, folks like to have a slice of cake with their drink, so I'm also asking here for volunteers to donate cakes for the lunch. These can be large cakes, or cupcakes for the children. Bring them along during the morning (when you enter for the Races??) and they will be gratefully received. If you can spare a couple of hours, then do come along to the kitchen from 10.00am and join our merry band who will be breading and spreading refreshments."

Children boost the Spring Show entries

The children's entries for this year's Steeple Aston Spring Show were about 25 per cent up on the previous year - maybe because the Horticultural Society promised to pay £1 for each entry put in by children from Dr Radcliffe's School. They now owe them a total of £42.

Overall there were 325 entries for the show, held in the Village Hall on a very sunny Sunday, March 25th. .

The entry that won the Bedding Trophy for best child's exhibit was one by Joe Ellis for a soap carving of a tank. The turret turned round.

Steeple Aston twins Joshua and Isaac Moran won the under 5s section. According to their mother, Alison, they wake up early and had been busy preparing their entries before dawn for at least a week before the show. Both of them put in seven entries.

The other winners of the children's classes were Julius Quist (under 8s), Aaron Thatcher (under 12s) and Abbie Plows (under 16s).

Adult winners included Roderick Nicholson who won the Duncan Cup and Gwen Stone, who won the Flower Cup and the flower arrangement judged by visitors. Janet Coley won the Handicraft Cup. As usual Mary White won a prize with her lemon curd.

Compared to last year the handicraft entries were about 20 per cent down but flower arranging was up from six entries last year to 27 this year. The most popular class was a flower arrangement in an egg cup which had 13 entries.

Show Secretary, Julia Whybrew (who won the WI Cup and the Mead Vase) said the harvest loaves were the prettiest bit of the cookery classes. But she nearly faced disaster when her harvest loaf got dropped on the night before the show and a bit broke off the bottom. Ever resourceful, she glued it back on and managed to win third prize!.

She said, "As always a huge thank you to all the helpers, tea and cake providers, entrants, exhibitors and visitors."

Jubilee Bell is up and ringing!

Steeple Aston's new tenor bell, cast to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, rang out across the village for the first time on the evening of Sunday, March 11th. But before it was installed in the bell tower, schoolchildren and villagers had the chance to see it close up.

Pictured here is the Tower Captain and Chairman of the Jubilee Bell Appeal Committee, Graham Clifton showing the bell to children from Dr Radcliffe's school.

Diana Gardner tells the story of its arrival and installation under his careful direction. She writes: "Everything went according to Graham's carefully laid plans.

"On Wednesday the old tenor was disconnected from its place in the bell frame, the trap doors down the centre of the tower opened for the first time since 1986 and slowly, slowly down came the bell with the use of block and tackle. So wonderful to have a bell hanger in the Steeple Aston family.

"Many bellringers assembled to help in any way they could, and not just ringers from Steeple Aston. Tim Taylor arrived with his fork lift truck and lifted the bell onto the Whites of Appleton bell hangers' lorry. Dorothy Clifton kindly provided tea and delicious cake, for once underestimating her catering!

"Early on Thursday Graham and daughter Vicky set off to Whitechapel bell foundry where the exchange took place. By 1.00pm they were back and heading for the school car park. Here all the children came to have a look and ask questions.lots of them!

"On Friday Graham went to work, and went to work on our bell, adding the headstock and preparing its clapper (etc, no doubt).

"On Saturday people had assembled outside the village shop before the bell arrived there at 9.45am. Most people were surprised at the size of it. At 12cwt, 2 quarters and 16 pounds or 643 kg, it is certainly a hefty object, not to be dropped on toes!

"A representative of Viridor, our main sponsors, and a press photographer were also present. More people viewed the bell outside the Red Lion and outside the church. Tim Taylor had left his fork lift truck for us to borrow to manoeuvre the bell from the road to the base of the tower. During the afternoon others came for a close look at the bell which was about to be raised out of sight.

"Sunday! The Rector conducted a brief "Christening" service for the bell, and then at 10.30am up it went. A goodly crowd were there to witness the event which took about 15 minutes, with cameras flashing busily.

"Under Graham's instructions our male ringers attached the bell to the frame and inserted the clapper. The female ringers tidied up! At 5.15pm it was at last time to try the new bell out with the old bells.

"We were anxious that it might stand out like a sore thumb, but no, the bell foundry have done an excellent job in casting it not only to fit into the space and fittings we have, but also to fit in with the volume of the sound of our existing bells. We were all smiling broadly as the rich over tones and resonant sound of our new bell hummed on over the other seven, just as we'd been hoping it would!

"As for the old tenor, we were rather sad to hear that it had been promptly broken up and melted down on its arrival at Whitechapel, but absolutely delighted to hear the reason why. Our bell metal was recycled on Friday into new bells for the Queen's river pageant in June. This set will be rung from the leading barge; hopefully it will be a nice calm day. And so our old tenor becomes part of other Jubilee bells!"

Parish Council reaches out to try and improve mobile coverage

Following the recent campaign by mobile phone users to improve coverage in the village, the Parish Council is contacting providers and others to continue the campaign on their behalf.

Clare McKinley, the parish councillor leading the campaign explains, "Mobile users in Steeple Aston complained to their providers for twelve weeks because Ofcom's website states that Ofcom will offer an Alternative Dispute Resolution Service if complaints are not addressed and the service improved after eight weeks of sustained complaints.

"However, when pressed, Ofcom now say that their dispute resolution service only covers such issues as disputes over individual contracts. They will not deal with complaints over inadequate coverage. Nevertheless, the complaints recorded on the Steeple website are useful evidence which the Parish Council can use."

The Parish Council has approached the Department of Culture, Media and Sport with their complaint. They replied with a letter saying that Mobile Network Operators have met, and even exceeded, their obligation to provide coverage for 2G phones (phone and text) in the UK. They don't say what percentage coverage this is.

The department also says that the operators have also exceeded the obligatory 80 per cent coverage for 3G phones (phone, text and broadband). Therefore, the department and Ofcom have no further powers to make operators extend and improve coverage.

But the department is currently asking operators to provide information on 'not-spots' around the country. 'Not-spots' are areas which have 'no coverage at all, no broadband coverage, partial no coverage, interrupted coverage on the move, or no indoor coverage.' Clare says that Steeple Aston seems to meet all these criteria in some areas and with some operators.

So, the Parish Council are currently taking the following action:

1. Margaret Mason, Chair of the Parish Council, has written to the head of Customer Services, Vodafone with a letter of complaint on behalf of Vodafone customers in the village and asking for an upgrade of the existing Vodafone coverage. She'll wait for their reaction before approaching other operators as necessary.

2. Approached Oxfordshire County Council with a request that Steeple Aston be part of the government funded scheme to improve broadband coverage in rural areas (3G phones). If we can achieve this, we will bypass the current system of masts and become part of the next generation of 3G and 4G phones which are broadband based.

Clare added, "Until we know more about the above, mobile phone users needing to boost their signal can only work with the advice given by Ofcom )

. Buy a router-like device such as Vodafone's 'Sure Signal'or Orange's 'Signal Boost' from retail outlets.

. Route your mobile calls through your Wi-fi connection if you have one.

. Return your phone or cancel your contract if the operator does not meet the terms and conditions in your contract. If they refuse, you can ask Ofcom to mediate.

. If you choose another operator, check their coverage before you buy - though we know this information is not always accurate!

"The Parish Council will provide ongoing updates through SAL and this website. Meanwhile, many thanks again to all those who complained to their Network Operators as part of the campaign and which has given us the evidence we need."

Parish Council keeps costs down

Steeple Aston Parish Council has managed to reduce its planned expenditure, spending less in 2012/13 than it did in this financial year. This means that its share of the council tax bill should stay much the same.

Council Chairman, Margaret Mason explains: "In January the Parish Council set the precept for the village for the next financial year. The figures are then sent to Cherwell District Council who determine the amount returned to the village as the annual precept to be spent by the Parish Council for the village. This does not apply in Middle Aston as they have a Parish Meeting not a Parish Council and do not set a precept.

"The precept is usually agreed by CDC in March and the amount you are charged as part of your Council Tax is determined by the number of tax paying houses in the village, and what band you are in. Last year it worked out at about £49 for a band D property, we haven't the exact figure for this year yet.

Three hundred sign petition as White Lion is sold

Three hundred supporters of the White Lion pub in Steeple Aston have signed a petition to try and stop it being turned in to a private house.

But they fear it may be too late already, as the owners Admiral Taverns have already exchanged contracts with a purchaser, who is believed to want to turn the pub in to a private home. The current landlord has been given notice that the pub will close on Monday, 5th March.

The petition has been organised by villagers Samantha and Neil Brewer. Supporters of the pub have been able to sign a petition hanging beside the bar or to show their support through a special Facebook page.

Samantha explained: "We originally hoped to petition the brewery to prevent the sale. Now we feel we shouldn't let the pub go without a fight. It has a long history and would be really missed, particularly by families in the village."

Samantha has been grateful for help and advice from the Parish Council, and says if the new owner applies for a change to residential use, the petition will be sent to the planners at Cherwell District Council.

Meanwhile landlord Mark Foster and his wife Lorraine Caspall are determined to keep going to the very end. Indeed they are planning a big leaving party at the pub on Saturday, March 3rd starting at 7.00pm. - and everyone's invited.

Mark said, "We have loved it here and are quite upset to leave. We've made some very good friends in the village." Mark and Lorraine are looking for another pub to manage locally so they can keep their three children at school in Bicester.

Samantha paid tribute to the hard work they have put in at the pub over the past few months. She said, "They have been doing really well recently. They have worked hard to get the pub back to what it was and the customers have responded. The barrelage has tripled in the last few months. We had hoped Admiral Taverns would give them time to prove they could make a go of it.

"We don't have any ill feeling towards the purchaser, but everyone we know wants it to remain as a pub. There were some very strong feelings expressed, which is why we organised the petition. It would be a sad loss to the village, and we don't want it to go without a fight."