ASHBURY COMPTON LONGCOT FERNHAM NEWS MARCH 2022 - Broadband and telephone update inside Platinum Jubilee plans and call for helpers
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ASHBURY
COMPTON LONGCOT FERNHAM
NEWS
MARCH 2022
Community Club 31st March-remembering the ‘Seventies
Churchyard spring clean 19th
Broadband and telephone update inside
Platinum Jubilee plans and call for helpers
1
Thought for the month
Lent begins on 2 March this year, and something overheard in conversation made me
think about how we perceive Lent in our society.
When I was still at school, all my friends and classmates would be talking about what
they were “giving up for Lent.” Giving up chocolate, or another favourite sweet, was
a popular choice. My parents would try to give up smoking. Others would give up
drinking, or choose to fast (usually accompanied by the hope that they’d lose a bit of
weight). There was a spirit of making resolutions in anticipation of a grand holiday at
the end.
So, I decided to read a bit about the habits and practices of Lent. It was very
interesting in all kinds of ways, but there were certain ‘everyday’ aspects that struck
me. First of all, I read that “…many view Lent as a time in which to give up a
particular vice, bad habit, or pleasurable thing. In the 21st century, Christians
frequently use the fasting season to motivate them to continue with New Year’s
resolutions in a blend of secular and Christian observance.”
Unsurprisingly, the article went on to suggest that this rather misses the point. The
point is to attempt to develop a deeper relationship with God. That requires quiet,
solitude, contemplation and prayer.
This is a worthwhile experience for everyone, whether actively Christian or not.
We’ve all heard of the benefits of contemplation and meditation, of stillness and
listening. So, perhaps it’s worth setting aside fifteen minutes a day for quiet
contemplation and listening. You may get a great deal more out of it than you might
expect – and you can still have chocolate.
Gail Haslam Loose
Views expressed in “Thought for the month” are those of the contributors
2
Ashbury News
For Your Diaries:
Platinum Jubilee Party on the Village Green, 1200 on Sunday 5th June
At the public meeting on 7 February, the decision was taken to celebrate HM The
Queen's Platinum Jubilee with a party for everyone in the parish on the Village Green
on Sunday 05 June, starting at 1200. Please put the date in your diaries.
A committee of volunteers has been formed to plan the day in detail. All ideas and
suggestions are welcome. We shall also need many helpers to deliver the
programme. Please volunteer your ideas and your help by email to either of us. Let's
make it a great day for Ashbury and for HM. ---see below p.4
Maggie Simons - maggiemsimons@hotmail.com
Christopher Prentice - Chair@ashbury.org.uk
Ashbury Community Club
Thursday 31st March at 2.30pm in the Village Hall
Do you remember the 1970s? Come and find out what we were doing locally and
nationally 50 years ago. Please bring along a photo of yourself in the 70s and, if you
have it, something from that period e.g. newspaper, clothing, toys, household item
etc.
A fun afternoon which will be led by Stewart Smith. We hope you can join us on
Thursday 31 March at 2.30pm in the Village Hall.
All welcome. £2 includes tea & biscuits
Ashbury St Mary’s
Talent Scheme raising money for St Mary's Church
You are invited to help raise funds for our lovely village church by using your
talent! You will be given a £10 starter to raise as much money as you can. Perhaps
you could bake bread or cakes to order, hold a soup lunch, paint a picture, cut
hedges/trees, hold dance lessons, give IT help, have a car boot sale, grow some plants
etc., etc. The scheme starts on 6 March and finishes on 2 October. Your chosen way
of fundraising will be advertised during this time. For more information please
contact Margaret Smith (710800) or mbsmith5@hotmail.co.uk
3Ashbury Jubilee Party on the Green - Sunday 5th June
Following our public meeting in the Village Hall on 7th February a small sub-
committee of the Village Hall Committee has been formed to organise the day around
all the suggestions that were made. Possible plans are as follows:
On 5th June
Morning sports/games e.g. tug of war, goal shooting, etc
Lunch – hog roast/barbecue/etc –
Jubilee Pudding
Ice Creams
Tea and cakes
Cash Bar
Maypole dancing
Music
Fun games/races eg egg and spoon, sack race etc.
Morris Dancing
Afternoon stalls
Jubilee Tree and thanksgiving Service
Church Bell Ringing
Dog Show
Pony Rides
Hobby Horse Competition
Possible Other weekend events
Village Hall Exhibitions
Decorated Houses/gardens
Fun run or race
CAN YOU HELP??
If we are to do all this we need lots of volunteers and helpers before the day and on
the day.
We really need people to volunteer NOW to take on the following events.
These events will not be able to take place without your help.
Tug of War etc. Someone to organise the morning sports – tug of war competition,
goal shooting or anything else. Finals could take place during the afternoon.
Cash Bar on the green – do you have experience of running a bar – could you take this
over and organise it for us?
4Fun games and stalls during the afternoon – ideas include coconut shy, stocks,
smashing crockery, but there are lots of other opportunities
Fun run or race – again can you help organise this?
If you are able to help with any of these or any other ideas please let Christopher or
Maggie know, if possible by 14th March.
We also need to raise some money so that a really inclusive event can be run for
everyone to enjoy.
Subsidize the cost of the Hog Roast so that everyone can afford some
Subsidise other refreshments
Cover the costs of a PA System
Cover the cost of the Jubilee Tree
There will also be other expenses
We will try for any grant monies that may be available but in addition
We need your support
If you feel able to donate something – however small – it will be gratefully received.
If, at the end of the day, we were to be in surplus this would be shared out between
the village organisations as we have in the past.
If you feel able to help in any way please let either Christopher Prentice
(cnrprentice@gmail.com) or Maggie Simons (maggiemsimons@outlook.com) or
710801 know.
5Ashbury Parish Council Corner: Telecommunications and Broadband
In last month’s newsletter Christopher Prentice, Chair of Ashbury Parish Council
stated:
A. the need to address some telecommunications and broadband issues from
the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) plan and implementation process as
they related to Ashbury Parish residents, and
B. that Pauline Smith as Chair of the Ashbury Neighbourhood Plan group would
be organising the brief and monitoring of the work required.
The brief to address will inform you all of what has been happening so far in parts of
the parish and provide details of current possibilities and plans for the future. The
activity will focus on the following.
1. Providing information to you all about the OCC funded contract awarded to
Airband to install Broadband Services to some households in Kingstone
Winslow.
2. Provide details of the possibilities for certain households in Ashbury and
Idstone to have installed Airband Broadband Services.
3. Update residents on the 5G services and any mast installation.
4. Provide details of the national ending of ‘landline’ services and what actions
may be necessary for Ashbury parish households to take.
5. I (Graham Turner) have been asked to lead the investigations in this area.
Here is my update so far.
Items 1 and 2: Airband and Broadband
Currently OpenReach (part of BT) provides fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) and depending
on how close houses are to their respective cabinets they can typically get a service
ranging from 20 to 75Mbps. Many different companies, not just BT, offer a
broadband service using this infrastructure and householder contracts are with those
companies, not OpenReach. These services will continue to be available, so if what
you have meets your needs you do not need to make any changes.
Recently Airband were contracted by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), as part of the
Rural Broadband initiative, to provide a fibre to the premises (FTTP) service to a
number of homes in Kingstone Winslow. You may have noticed the new telegraph
poles that have appeared at various places in connection with this.
FTTP can deliver very high speeds, typically 100 or 250Mbps, sometimes even 1Gbps.
As well as covering Kingstone Winslow, Airband have installed a fibre “backbone” in
parts of Ashbury, and they may be able to provide an FTTP service to some houses in
6Ashbury. If they decide to proceed with an Ashbury deployment, then they would be
looking for groups of people who are interested in signing up to their service so that
they can claim the government funded vouchers* to pay for extending the network to
these houses. (See below for how to proceed if you are interested)
The situation with Idstone is a bit more complicated, in that either a larger number of
homes would need to take up the service to justify the costs of extending the fibre
network, or Airband may offer a wireless solution.
Details of Airband’s service can be found on their website at
https://www.airband.co.uk with pricing for different speed options on the All
Packages page.
How to proceed if you are interested in an Airband Broadband Service
The starting point for both Ashbury and Idstone is to get an idea of how many people
would be interested in taking up the Airband service.
I am happy to act as a central point for people to contact and to let me know if they
are interested in the Airband service, so that we can see whether there may be
enough people, and thus vouchers*, in each area of Ashbury to potentially meet the
costs for the infrastructure installations. It is important to note that Airband have
said that any decision on whether to offer service will be taken on an individual house
by house basis. Therefore, any actual order to take the service would need to be
arranged directly between individual householders and Airband.
*NOTE: It is ONLY the Broadband Service provider, and in this part of Oxfordshire,
currently only Airband as the OCC contracted supplier, which can claim the nationally
provided and allocated ‘vouchers’. These vouchers are used to fund the infrastructure
installation works required for the Broadband Service provision.
Item 3: 5G service and mast installations
At present there are no further planning applications submitted for the installation of
a 5G mast in Ashbury Parish.
We shall continue to look at any plans for 5G mobile telephony in this area and we
will provide more information as it becomes available.
7Item 4: Telephones At the moment, telephone use in Ashbury
is mainly a mixture of BT landlines and mobile phones, although some residents may
be using their broadband connections for internet telephony, known as VoIP (Voice
over IP).
As was mentioned last month, the existing landline network is in the process of being
turned off, and the current expectation is that Ashbury will have it turned off during
2024.
It is very important to stress that Ofcom have worked with BT to ensure that no one
will be left without a “landline” telephone service.
If you only have a landline telephone service, and no broadband connection, then BT
have to provide an equivalent service. To do this they will bring a broadband
connection to your house (but you will not be charged extra for it) and instal a unit
that will allow your existing telephone to be plugged into it just as if it was connecting
to the old service.
If you already have a broadband service, then BT will provide the conversion unit so
that your existing landline telephone can continue to be used.
In the near future we will be providing more information on this transition. For
example, if you are classed as a ‘vulnerable user’ then there will be an opportunity to
advise BT of that fact when they arrange to instal the new equipment. They will then
provide some additional equipment, so that your telephone will continue to operate
even if there is a power failure.
If your landline is used for other services, such as fax or emergency signalling then
these are likely to be affected by the change from the current telephone network.
For emergency signalling you will need to contact your service provider to check that
the equipment will still operate correctly. However, there is no need to panic, the
changeover in Ashbury is expected to be during 2024, and the wrinkles will have been
ironed out in the areas that transitioned before Ashbury.
Resources
I am in the process of creating an on-line repository of useful documents which can
be accessed for reading at https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ao-
uskWXrMPcgfk8NaauvkZTQ6Rr_A?e=kHnrU7
8As time goes on more and more information will be available here.
To make it easier to access the repository I will:
• put a post on the Ashbury (UK) Community News and Events Facebook page
including a clickable link, and
• send the details of the link in an email to be circulated via the Ashbury email
managed by Margaret Smith.
Contact
If you want to contact me to raise any queries, to indicate potential interest in the
Airband service or discuss progress on what is happening, then you can email me at
graham@mltgnt.com or drop a note through my letter box at Claremont (opposite
the village school). Graham Turner, February 2022
Longcot Churchyard Wildlife Garden
Our small group of volunteers have weathered the Covid times well and we are so
grateful to all of them. Usually working alone, they have kept the churchyard cared
for throughout the seasons. A huge amount of clearing, cutting back and grass
cutting has gone on and some adjustments to simplify management tasks and
improve access will continue. We know how much the churchyard is appreciated and
will continue to keep it as a wildlife friendly, beautiful and peaceful space in the
village.
We greatly appreciate the number of people who have come forward to help
recently. Too many to mention by name but thank you all and it is wonderful to know
we can call on help for specific tasks. So, if you see something you think needs doing,
or would like to take on a small area of flower border, do get in touch, we’d love to
hear from you.
We shall continue the monthly work party on the 1st Sunday of each month as we
love the sense of achievement working as a team, and of course the company and
chocolate biscuits! So do drop by to say hello.
Jan 782265 or Shirley 782989. E-mail: sdm57@btinternet.com
9Ready for spring: a corner of the Longcot wildlife garden.
CHURCH MATTERS
MARCH SERVICES IN ASHBURY, COMPTON, LONGCOT & FERNHAM
WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:
Sunday 6 March 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Compton
9.30am Family Service Longcot
11.00am Morning Prayer Ashbury
& launch of Talent Scheme
3.00pm United Service Longcot Chapel
Thursday 10 March 10.00am Holy Communion (Iona) Ashbury
Sunday 13 March 9.30am Holy Communion Longcot
11.00am Holy Communion Ashbury
3.00pm Sunday School Watchfield
Sunday 20 March 9.00am Matins (BCP) Compton
9.30am Morning Prayer: Longcot
11.00am Celtic Morning Prayer Ashbury
Sunday 27 March 9.00am Family service Fernham
Mothering Sunday 9.30am Family communion Longcot
11.00am Family communion Ashbury
Messy Church 3.15 in St Andrew’s Shrivenham on Thursday 3 and 31 March
10Covid Precautions at Services
We are doing our best to ensure that our church remains COVID safe for anyone who
would like to come to our services. For the time being we request you continue to
wear a face covering or sit socially distanced – there is plenty of room to do this.
Please do not come into church if you think you may have symptoms of Covid 19.
Please sign in or use the NHS QR code. Please respect the concerns of others in the
congregation. Hand sanitizer is available.
All online services can be watched on the Shrivenham and Ashbury Facebook
If you are unable to join us in person, do join online through services and study
groups on the Benefice Facebook page. You do not need a Facebook account to
access these events.
Ashbury Prayer cycle for March:-
6th College Farm Road, 13th Ashdown estate, 20th High Street, 27th Idstone Road.
PASTORAL CARE If you have need for prayer or pastoral support, do not hesitate to
ring Rev’d Norma Fergusson on 01793 784338.
LONGCOT CHURCHES WORKING TOGETHER – CHAPEL NEWS
SUNDAY 6th March 3pm - We look forward to this month’s United service being led
by Rev. Norma Fergusson. Everyone is welcome to the service and stay for tea and
biscuits afterwards.
FRIDAY 25th March 3pm - T TIME FELLOWSHIP – Do come and join us for afternoon
tea (with crumpets!) in the chapel and enjoy plenty of chat and laughter. There is no
charge but contributions to our chosen charity will be most welcome.
LENT CHALLENGE FOR 2022
We have a different Lent challenge for you this year – inspired by knitters at Victoria
Methodist Church in Bristol who are holding their third Lent knitalong this year and
would warmly welcome knitters from all over the country (and beyond!) to join them.
The knitalong will take the format of weekly emails throughout Lent, consisting of a
set of daily knitting instructions (or 'clues') and specially written meditations for each
day. By the end of the knitalong, each knitter will have completed a cushion cover.
Those participating may like to buy a cushion pad in advance so it can be sewn
up/finished on Easter morning - full details of dimensions etc. will be available on the
information sheet. The design of the cushion cover is a surprise but will only use
simple knit and purl stitches, so should be achievable by knitters of all abilities.
Alongside each knitting clue will be a daily meditation which knitters may wish to use
11as they knit and enjoy some quiet, reflective time as they journey through Lent. The
meditations have been written by a team of seven Ministers, preachers and worship
leaders from the Bristol area and beyond. An information sheet, containing details of
yarn/needles needed, release dates, and a practice swatch pattern to check gauge
(for those worried about these things!) will be available from Monday 14th February.
Contact Norma Fergusson for further information. 01793 784338
vicar@shrivenhamandashbury.co.uk
A POEM FOR MARCH
Mothering Sunday is on 27 March this year, so we have this poem by Malcom Guite
Mothering Sunday
At last, in spite of all, a recognition,
For those who loved and laboured for so long,
Who brought us, through that labour, to fruition
To flourish in the place where we belong.
A thanks to those who stayed and did the raising,
Who buckled down and did the work of two,
Whom governments have mocked instead of praising,
Who hid their heart-break and still struggled through,
The single mothers forced onto the edge
Whose work the world has overlooked, neglected,
Invisible to wealth and privilege,
But in whose lives the kingdom is reflected.
Now into Christ our mother church we bring them,
Who shares with them the birth-pangs of His Kingdom
LIFE AFTER OASIS
Foam-free Floral Demonstration
How to produce beautiful arrangements without using floral foam
St Mary’s Church, Ashbury 30th March 2022, 10 am, cost £5
Lorna and Kathryn from Skylark Flowers are passionate about the sustainable church
flowers movement and really enjoy sharing how to move away from the use of floral
foam without compromising on the lovely arrangements that can be achieved
To book please contact Margaret Smith
(01793 710800) or email mbsmith5@hotmail.co.uk
12CHURCHYARD “SPRING CLEAN”
Saturday, 19th March
10am- Noon
We would greatly appreciate as many helpers as we can to carry out our annual
Churchyard “Spring Clean” on Saturday 24th April at 10am. Usually we attract about
24 people such that as well getting the Churchyards ready for summer but also is a
very social occasion. Hot refreshments will be available. As well as appropriate
garden tools (secateurs, hard brush, trowel) those who can please also bring a
wheelbarrow or strimmer that would be very helpful.
CLOTHING EXCHANGE.
At St Andrew’s church on Saturday 12 March (and every second Saturday of the
month) from 9-11am. All are invited to exchange of children’s clothes (ages 0-13). It is
free, you can donate on the day (clean clothing which is not stained or damaged
please). You do not have donate clothes to take some home.
WELCOME PACK FOR NEW ASHBURY PARISH RESIDENTS
A pack has been prepared for new residents which contains:
Welcome letter,
Details of local organisations and activities,
Parish Council information,
Map of Ashbury indicating
Landmarks and various walks,
Copy of the current monthly newsletter
Postcard of the Ashbury Parish Textile Map.
If you have moved into the village this year and would like to receive a pack, or if
you have new neighbour, please contact Roger Simons (710801) or Margaret Smith
(710800) and we will deliver.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER SERVICE
Friday 4th March 2022 - 2.00 pm
Shrivenham Methodist Church and on
the Shrivenham & Ashbury Benefice Facebook page
Everyone is welcome to join us
13LONGCOT CHURCHES WORKING TOGETHER – CHAPEL NEWS
SUNDAY 6th March 3pm - We look forward to this month’s United service being led by
Rev. Norma Fergusson. Everyone is welcome to the service and stay for tea and biscuits
afterwards.
FRIDAY 25th March 3pm - T TIME FELLOWSHIP – Do come and join us for afternoon
tea (with crumpets!) in the chapel and enjoy plenty of chat and laughter. There is no
charge but contributions to our chosen charity will be most welcome
The Ambassadors Bible Church meet at what was the Ashbury Evangelical Free
Church at 10:00 am each Sunday morning. All are welcome and there is also a
Sunday School for the Children which meets at the same time.
Country Matters
The mornings are at long last getting lighter. It was dry at the start of February and at
Bishopstone the Browning’s dairy cows were even out to grass for a few days.
At this time of year I get repetitive as I can’t help but notice the signs of spring. For
centuries the first week of February has marked Candlemas, the Christian festival
marking a midpoint of winter. These days spring can start in February rather than
March. Rooks are making a racket and on nice days they are putting the finishing
touches to their nests.
Our garden is again coming to life and from the end of January snowdrops and
aconites are showing along with some early cyclamen and the hellebores or Christmas
roses.
Catkins on hazel have been evident from the New Year. For wonderful winter
scenting, daphne and sweet box (sarcococca) take some beating and a few twigs
brought inside give a lovely aroma. Crocus, hyacinth, daffodil and tulip are all in leaf
or flower to cheer us on our way.
A few primroses have been flowering since January when in my youth they were
associated with Easter. This year Easter Sunday is late on April 20th. Down on our
pond in the vale I shall be searching later for the yellow kingcups I have been able to
14introduce, taken from Danny Finch’s streamside Bishopstone garden with his
permission.
Another regular sign of spring which I have already heard is the sound of
woodpeckers drumming, making their nesting hole and claiming their territory.
Turning over the soil in the vegetable garden I am pleasantly joined by not one but
two attendants, our friendly robins. Another striking sound at this time is the
repetitive single call of great tits, over and over again.
The farm has been in an environmental stewardship scheme for many years with the
main feature being the ongoing management of a large area of traditional downland
rich in botanical interest.
With the UK’s exit from Europe all support systems are set for a radical overhaul. We
had a visit from Natural England to see if in the short term they would extend our
existing scheme. Looks like they will, much assisted by a positive downland appraisal
and a stroke of luck. As we drove round we all viewed a large flock of lapwings and
golden plover rising from a field of rape. I have never seen so many in my life,
somewhere between 300-400 in total! I have to admit, with some shame, shooting a
lapwing once, in my early twenties, working in Norfolk. Their green neck feathers and
crest are pretty but no more so than the yellowish spots of a golden plover. As part of
our scheme we leave two hectares unploughed for lapwing nesting.
I hope you have mostly survived the storms and wind. For us it was worse on 27th
January 1989!
Richard Green
Cyclamen and hellebores at Mottisfont Priory this February
15Contacts
Ashbury Parish Council
Chairman: Christopher Prentice 01793 710821 chair@ashbury.org.uk
Clerk to the council: Laura Evans email clerk@ashbury.org.uk
Defibrillator: On the wall by the School entrance
St Mary’s Ashbury Parochial Church Council
Associate vicar: Vacancy.
Church wardens: Maggie Simons 01793 710801 Richard Green 01793 791310
Secretary: Roger Simons 01793 710801 rogersimons1@outlook.com
Vicar (Shrivenham) Revd Norma Fergusson 01793 784338
rev.n.fergusson@btinternet.com (not Monday)
Ashbury Village Hall
Maggie Simons 0193 710801 maggiemsimons@outlook.com
Secretary Margaret Smith 01793 710800 mbsmith5@hotmail.co.uk
Bookings: Lin and Kevin Clarke 01793 710326
Ashbury with Compton Beauchamp CE(A) Primary School and little Berries Preschool
Headteacher Rachael Smith 01793 710259 www. http://www.ashburyprimary.org.uk
office.3851@ashbury.oxon.sch.uk
Ashbury Village Shop 01793 710068
G.P. Surgeries Shrivenham 01793 782207 Lambourn 01488 71715/72299
Post Office at the Rose & Crown Wednesdays and Fridays 9.30-11.30am
Vale of the White Horse District Council 01235 422422
http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/
Recycling/Rubbish collection queries admin.vale@biffa.co.uk
Food waste is collected weekly, green/black bins alternate each week. Garden waste
brown bins fortnightly. Mondays except Bank holidays.
Your Local District Councillors are: Elaine Ware 01973 783026
elaine.ware@whitehorsedc.gov.uk and Simon Howell 01793 784491
simon.howell@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
County Councillor: Yvonne Constance: 01235 751475/07976934884
yvonne.constance@oxfordshire.gov.uk
M.P. for the Wantage constituency: David Johnston
david.johnston.mp@parliament.uk 0207 219 3000
Newsletter entries for April 2022. Submit your entries for April by 19th March to: M.
Turner Claremont, Ashbury SN6 8LN. marionlturner@me.com 01793 710302 For more of
“what’s on” and local information see the Ashbury Village Website www.ashbury.org.uk
and the community page on Facebook.
16You can also read
