Boots Baby Competition

Marg and Dennis Harris's grand-daughter Julie is in the last hundred finalists in the Boots 'Baby of the Year Competition'. This was after her mother Beverley sent in a photograph of her, she was chosen out of an entry of 24,000 entrants. The winner receives a thousand pounds worth of Boots products and a week-end in France, Holland or Belgium. We wish them well in the final stages of the competition.



Miss Elizabeth Burra

I am extremely sorry to see Miss Burra leave the village as I have for a long time had a very 'soft spot' for Liz. I personally have had many public arguments with her and in private but at the end of it all, Liz never bore any malice. Obviously she was a person who was lady enough to realize that as a Parish Councillor, that people would not always agree with her. She will be greatly missed on the Parish Council. Part of Sandford has gone with her and she will be greatly missed by everyone.

I hope to keep her in touch with 'village affairs' by sending her the Link every month, and I know many of her friends will be visiting her.



Ice

Nov we hope the cold weather has gone, I hope that parents will remind their children that the ice on the small back streams can be extremely dangerous,at this late stage of the winter we do not want any fatalities



A.G.M. Village Hall Committee

On March 17th at 8 pm, the Annual General Meeting of the Village Hall Committee will take place. Members of the public who wish to attend will be most welcome.



200 Club

The February winners of the 200 Club are:

145 Mrs Jenner
47 Mr Absolom
193 Bernard (Post)

Can I please have all entries for the Sandford Link by March 20th. You will find my telephone numbers and address underneath the puzzle.

The most popular item seems to be the puzzle, which is compiled by myself, my wife or Sam my secretary. If any one feels they would like to produce one I would be more than grateful. Sine June 1983 we only ever 'copied' one from a publication, so please do not copy, it must be original due to copy right laws.

Like most of us the Parish Council is still short of money, in fact they have spent out. I am therefore coming to you with cap in hand to help support the next two issues of the Link.

Now that Miss Burra has left the village, I am looking for people to deliver the Sandford Link in the village. It will only take a few minutes a month. I would only expect you to deliver to your immediate area. So I am looking for about half a dozen people.



A.G.M. of the Parish Council

On Monday April at 7.30 pm the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council is to be held, where we the public will be able to ask questions of our council. It is hoped that as many as possible will attend.

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*	Mine Host JOYCE ROLSTON	*
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NAVARIN OF LAMB

This is a traditional dish of French origin.

1 kg (2¼ lb) best end of neck, divided into cutlets 30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil 5 ml (1 level tsp) sugar 15 ml (1 level tbsp) flour 900 ml (1½ pint) chicken stock or water chopped parsley to garnish

30 ml (2 tbsp) tomato puree salt and freshly ground pepper bouquet garni 4 onions, skinned and quartered 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1-2 turnips, peeled and quartered 8 small, even sized potatoes, peeled

Serves 4

Fry the cutlets lightly on all sides in the oil. If there is too much fat at this stage, pour off a little to leave 15-30 ml (1-2 tbsp), Stir in the sugar and heat until it browns slightly, then add the flour, stirring until this also cooks and browns. Remove from the heat, stir in the stock gradually, then bring to the boil and add the tomato puree, seasoning and bouquet garni. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Remove the bouquet garni, add the onions, carrots and turnips and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Finally, add the potatoes and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until tender.

Serve the meat on a heated serving dish, surrounded by the vegetables and garnished with the parsley.


BRAISED LEEKS

8 medium leeks about 900g (2 lb) total weight 25 g (1 oz) butter or margarine salt and freshly ground pepper

125 g (4 oz) rindless streaky bacon, chopped 150 ml ¼ pint) chicken stock 2 bay leaves 125 g (4 oz) Red Leicester cheese, grated

Serves 4

Trim off and discard any coarse dark green leaves. Split the leeks open without cutting in half and wash to remove all grit. Melt the fat in a shallow flameproof casserole. Add the leeks and bacon and fry gently until golden. Stir in the stock with the bay leaves and seasoning and bring to the boil. Cover tightly and cook in the oven at 170°C (3253F) mark 3 for about 1 hour, or until the leeks are just tender. Sprinkle over the cheese and grill until bubbling.

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A meeting of the Parish Council was held on February 24th. Mr Norton was on holiday but all other members of the Council were present, and three members of the public. There was little important business to discuss.

Planning

New plans were presented for the development of the Mill House site. These include 4 houses and 2 flats. This would represent even more people living on the development than the original plan. The Parish Council objected to the original plans as they would increase traffic in Church Road to an unacceptable level and because we thought that the provision of so many dwellings in that space was too high. S.O.D.C. supported us. We object to these plans for the same reasons. The original plans are to go to appeal and there will be a public enquiry at a future date, not yet fixed.

Election for a new Parish Councillor

Miss Burra's resignation is from 25th February. Notices have been post- ed regarding the election, and candidates should apply to Mrs. Heery for nomination forms within fourteen days from that date. If 10 electors ask for an election during that period, we shall have to have one in April. This will cost the parish £250 out of our normal funds. There will be a full election in May 1987 in any case. If there is no election, the Parish Council will elect a new member from among those nominated at their next meeting on 7th April. This meeting will be followed by the Annual Parish Meeting, which all parishioners are encouraged to attend.

Chairman

Mrs Agulnik, as Vice-Chairman will succeed Miss Burra as Chairman, until the Annual General Meeting in May. There will then be the normal annual election for chairman.

For a week-end each year, the village church is decorated with special flower arrangements for all to see. Some people may wish to dedicate an arrangement in memory of a loved one, with a donation, large or small, towards the cost of flowers.

This special week-end will coincide with the village fete, on Saturday June 7th. For further details, contact Mrs Marjorie Harris, Oxford 777900, 24. Henley Road.

Yours sincerely,
Barbara Hobbs.

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*		*
*	A SPRING BAZAAR	*
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*	WILL BE HELD	*
*	ON	*
*	SATURDAY, MARCH 15TH 1986	*
*	AT 2.30 PM	*
*	IN THE VILLAGE HALL	*
*		*
*	Jumble, cakes, old and new	*
*	Tombola, raffle, teas etc.	*
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*	In aid of the Church.	*
*		*
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Lent is here again, the word means Spring, and just as spring lies lurking under the snow and ice, with mysterious growth preparing to break out in April, so our Lenten devotions, starting on Ash Wednesday, burst into full joyful worship on Easter Day, the thirtieth of March.

As notified before Christmas, our special Lenten topic is 'The Church', and we are sharing a nation-wide programme on local radio stations called 'Not Strangers, but Pilgrims', on five Thursday evenings beginning on Feb 20th:

      Why believe in God?
      What did Jesus come for?
      Why did the Church begin?
      Why different churches?
      What now?

Our Radio Oxford programmes are on VHF 95.12 202m 1485 KHz. at 7.30. pm on the five Thursdays Feb 20 to March 20. The aim is to have groups of people from different churches listening to the broadcasts together and sharing their thoughts and experiences. After the discussion there is a time for phoning in which is broadcast live, so that the groups can listen in to each other. Our group already includes Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Free Church members, and meets as follows:

      Feb 13 (preliminary meeting) Mrs Hobbs, 27. Church Road
      Feb 20 Mrs Addyman, Manor House
      Feb 27 Mrs Gladwell, 140. Church Road (Mill Site, facing the river)

      March 6 and 13 Mrs Matthews, Sandford House.
      March 20th Mrs Hobbs, 27. Church Road.

The Church is people, not institutions or buildings: in our village we have many who are baptized but still unconfirmed Christians, living without sharing their fellowship in worship. From Christian beginnings this was not so. Jesus taught in the Synagogues and cleansed the Temple, and his followers had a distinctive form of shared worship as the source of his continuing power in their lives. This tradition is continued in Sandford: it needs to be more widely shared.

Services are:
      8 am Holy Communion First Sunday each month.
      10 am Sung Communion every Sunday
      6.30 pm Sung Evensong from 9th March every Sunday.

Good Friday: Devotions 12 noon to 3 pm. Easter, March 30 Holy Communion 8 and 10 am, Evensong 6.30. Topics of interest from the broadcasts will be raised in the church services, so if you cannot come to the group discussions, listen to the broadcasts, and come to church!

Have a good Lent, and a Happy Easter!

As most of you know, I shall be leaving Sandford at the end of this month, and moving to Steventon. I shall miss Sandford very much and all my friends here but at the same time I am looking forward to making a fresh start. Steventon is not very far away and I shall be returning to Sandford frequently during the next few weeks.

It is very difficult to thank you properly for all the kindness which you have shown to my family and myself in the last 39 years. My parents bought Elmslea in 1947 and since then we have been very happy here and much appreciated the friendship and help of so many of you. I would particularly like to thank you for your kindness and support to my mother and myself during the last few years and months of her life. She took a lively interest in the doings of Sandford to the very end.

Thank you very much indeed for the lovely party you gave for me last Sunday. It was a very kind thought, and you were very noble to turn out on what must have been the coldest day yet. I was quite overwhelmed by the generosity of your present - a Teasmade and 2 beautiful cups, which match those I had already. It could not have been better chosen and I shall remember Sandford with gratitude every morning as I use it.

Once I am settled at Steventon and the weather is warmer, I hope you will come to visit me there at 107. The Causeway.

Due to oversight on my part I failed to give you information about the Youth Club which started up on February 5th.

The club is open to anyone between the ages of seven to fourteen years. It is held every Wednesday between 7.30 pm and 9 pm.

There will be numerous activities taking place including pool, snooker, table tennis and darts, plus games and outside activities in the summer. During the summer it is hoped to take the members swimming and if enough show interest orienteering, and other outdoor pursuits. We also have the opportunity to borrow craft equipment from Peers School.

Linda Waterfield has agreed to continue being club leader, however, she will not be left on her own at any point, there will always be at least one male adult and another female adult to assist her and Gina will be there most evenings and she proposes to cook chips to sell at the tuck shop.

Membership fee will be £1 per year and 20p per week subscription and for non-members 30p per evening subscriptions.

I hope as many of you as possible will encourage your children to come along and even pop along yourself to see what is happening. It is your children we are trying to help. The club chairman is Mr. Mike Norton and he is available on Oxford 770417 or if you cannot contact him I can be contacted on Oxford 716537.

LAWRENCE BOYD.