SANDFORD-ON-THAMES NEWSLETTER
Issue 14	December 1988

IMPORTANT NOTICE - INSIDE PAGE

CONGRATULATIONS

Many thanks to everyone who entered. Look for parts of your artwork throughout the Link.


LOST an old fashioned family brooch, either in Cowley Centre or in Sandford on 7th November.
If found, please phone Ox xxxxx Reward Offered

CHURCH NEWS

WHEN IS CHRISTMAS?

    Perhaps we lose something if by Boxing Day we are into an anti-climax. The full meaning of the feast has too quickly evaporated. But it is still possible to make room for what it is all about within the bustle of our material preparations, and especially to keep In 'Holy Night, Silent Night' a space in which to adore.

    We are already, perhaps, getting ourselves organized - cards and gifts sent in good time. The Church urges us to get ourselves together at a deeper level. To prepare ourselves to receive the true gift of Christmas, and to recognize the hidden meaning of our world and our own life.

    The keyword of our prayers and hymns this Advent month is Come. We look forward in hope to the joy that is held out to us. The invitation is for all. Here in Sandford villagers who are not church-goers are also invited to prepare by joining in a carol service on the Sunday evening before Christmas. Then there is Holy night, Christmas Eve. Some Christians will wish to make their Christmas communion at that evocative midnight hour, others in the early morning quiet of the Prayer Book service at 8 a.m., others at the main Christmas Day service at 10 a.m., with children also present.

    At all those services non-communicants will be welcome, because God's gift to the world is for all, of any religion or none. There is also help in preparation available - enquiries Tel. xxxxxx. But most people already know enough about it to celebrate Christmas with joy and with thankfulness, and to want to share it with others, especially others less fortunate. Some will make their own act of generosity privately, others by sharing in a corporate effort. Either way, it is the heart that counts, as we join in the carol and sing:

O holy child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in:

Be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell:

O come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord Emmanuel.

Priest-in-charge:	The Rev. Robert Morgan,
	xxx Iffley Road. Tel.xxxxxx
SERVICES IN DECEMBER
Sunday 4th December	2nd Sunday in Advent
	8 a.m. Holy Communion
	10 a.m. Choral Communion, with cathedral music
	led by the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford
Sunday 11th December	3rd Sunday in Advent
	10 a.m. Family Communion
Sunday 18th December	4th Sunday in Advent
	10 a.m. Sung Eucharist (Rite B)
	6.30 p.m. CAROL SERVICE: Readings and Carols
24th December	CHRISTMAS EVE
	11.30 p.m. Blessing of Crib and Midnight Mass
25th December	CHRISTMAS DAY
	8 a.m. Holy Communion (Prayer Book)
	10 a.m. Family Communion
Sunday 1st January	Sunday after Christmas
	10 a.m. Sung Eucharist
	(N.B. No 8 a.m. service on this day)

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

    The custom has a practical side - preparing the pudding in plenty of time - but the name comes from the Collect for the day: 'Stir up, we beseech thee, 0 Lord, the wills of Thy faithful people.'

    Everyone who stirs the pudding three times can make a wish, (a good way to get the family involved). Today whoever finds the 'sixpence' can make a wish.

    It is lucky to deck the pudding with a sprig of holly. The holly is a symbol of everlasting life.

GOOD WILL TO MEN - CHRISTMAS GREETINGS IN SIX LANGUAGES At Christmas, when old friends are meeting. We give that long-loved joyous greeting- 'Merry Christmas!' While hanging sheaves for winter birds Friends in Norway call the words, 'God Jul!' With wooden shoes ranged on the hearth, Dutch celebrators cry their mirth, 'Vrolyk Kerstfeest!' In France, that land of courtesy, Our welcome to our guests would be. 'Joyeux Noel!' Enshrining Christmas in her art, Italy cries from a full heart. 'Buon Natale!' When in the land of Christmas trees. Old Germany, use words like these 'Frohliche Weihnachten!' Though each land names a different name, Good will rings through each wish the same- 'Merry Christmas!' Dorothy Brown Thompson

In Victorian times the postmen wore red jackets and acquired the nickname of 'Robin'. It's uncertain which came first the robin on the Christmas card or the postman nicknamed 'Robin' who delivered the card. Jillian, age 5

KING CUP'S DIARY

This month will be remembered for its warm nights although it started off with three frosts on the 1st 2nd and 3rd, with warm day temperatures in the 60°F.
During the 4th 5th 6th and 7th, night temperatures were in the high 40°Fs, on the 6th it rose to 54°F with the day time temperature only 2 higher. Strong winds with periods of sunshine and rain, thunder during the evening.
Rain fell on the 9th and 27th.
Night temperatures falling a little on the 10th 11th 12th 13th and 14th to around 38°F, with mist. The 15th to the 20th was a period of very warm nights. The average temperature was 51°F on the night of the 18th and rose to 54°F.
The 21st was a cold and foggy night with the temperature falling to 32°F followed by a warm day of 60°F.
Night temperatures rising again from the 22nd to the 28th with thick mist over the fields, many trees are now in their full Autumn colours.
29th 30th and 31st had hard white frosts with temperatures down to 24°F, with foggy evenings.

      [Kingcup - more info]

ANNOUNCEMENTS Have you something you would like to announce? A wedding? A new baby? An anniversary? Just telephone xxxxxx with the details or drop them in at xx Henley Road. (Please include your address or tel. no. so that we can verify the announcement)

(PLEASE NOTE) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES INTO THE LINK IS 6PM ON 20th OF EACH MONTH TO xx HENLEY ROAD IN A SEALED ENVELOPE MARKED LINK PLEASE.

PRESENT
Mrs. J. Rolston (Chairman)
Mrs. C. Ashburner
Mrs. H. Hutton
Mr. M. Leary
Mr. M. Norton
Mr. A. Robinson

MINUTES
The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

Apologies for absence were received from Mrs. J. Shepherd (bereavement), Mrs. N. King and Mr. I. Stevenson.

MATTERS ARISING
Items dealt with under Any Other Business.

CORRESPONDENCE
1. SODC - Fireworks. Noted.
2. SODC - Amenity tree planting. Clerk was asked to write for application forms.
3. Sound (received by hand 24.9.88.). Noted.
4. Pitmans - Transfer of Licence - Templars Court. Noted.
5. Oxfordshire Council on Alcohol and Drug Use. (Circulated prior to Meeting). Noted.
6. SOUND - Meeting on Wednesday, 12th October, 1988. Noted. Mrs. Ashburner would try to attend meeting.
7. OCC - Public Transport. Noted.

MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION

PLANNING
Land to south of Blackbird Leys, Garsington. No. objection. Clerk to write to SODC asking about pedestrian access to Kiln Park.

Field Cottage, 26 Henley Road, Sandford. Clerk to reply to SODC giving reasons for objections.

GENERAL
Magdalen College - Lease of land to Parish Council

A copy of a reply to the Council's queries on the draft Agreement was read out. The Council approved the draft Agreement and the Clerk was asked to write to Mrs. Agulnik instructing her to inform Magdalen College accordingly.

Insurance - Update to insurance policy
The Chairman read out a letter from the Insurance Company recommending that the Council update its insurance cover. It was agreed that the policy should be updated to include the additional streetlights, grass cutting equipment, etc. and that the amount of cover for each of the bus shelters be increased to £1,000 and the public liability cover increased to £1,000,000.

Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
Papers circulated.

Wharf Site - Dogs
A letter from Mrs. Harris complaining about the condition of the wharf site was read out. It was agreed that dogs should be banned from this area. Mr. Norton said that he would acquire some Notices.

Minutes in Link

Mrs. Ashburner reported that the Link was to be funded through advertising.

Mr. Robinson suggested that the Parish Council pay £25.00 per month towards the cost of printing. The Chairman felt that this was too much and suggested £10.00 per month. Mr. Norton proposed that the Parish Council make a token payment of £50.00 towards the cost of printing the Link, seconded by Mrs. Hutton.
5 votes in favour, one abstention (Mrs. Ashburner).

It was suggested that the Minutes should be printed in the Link each month. The Clerk was asked to make enquiries.
Mr. Leary said that he felt that the Minutes of the previous 12 months should also be printed. The Parish Council felt that this would be too costly.

APPROVAL OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Income	£		Expenditure	£
Donation (trenching)	200.00		Magdalen College	75.00
Donation (trenching)	50.00		Rent due 29.9.88.
Precept	2323.00		Littlemore Plant	596.00
			(Trenching A423)
			Petrol and blades	10.06
			for grass cutting
			SEB Power	79.05
			SEB - New street	4408.30.
			lights

Transfer of £3,044 (three thousand & forty-four pounds) from deposit account to current account.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Community Policeman's Report
PC Reynolds reported that the Police had carried out a stop check on the Henley Road and that 6 vehicles were stopped for speeding resulting in two prosecutions.

The Chairman asked about the car parked outside No. 7a Henley Road. PC Reynolds replied that it was not a police prosecution matter. The vehicle was insured and it was up to Swansea to take action in respect of the non-payment of road tax. Mr. Leary asked whether the vehicle had a MOT certificate. PC Reynolds said that it was all right provided the vehicle was not being used.
Mr. Leary proposed that the Parish Council write to Mr. Harris requesting that the vehicle is removed from the highway.

It had been reported that the pavement had been broken up outside the top bus shelter by a lorry parking on it. PC Reynolds said that he would make enquiries in respect of this vehicle.

Mrs. Ashburner asked about vehicles parking on the pavement outside No. 67 Henley Road. PC Reynolds replied that it was not an offence and that the vehicles did not obstruct the sight lines.

Notice Board
Mrs. Ashburner reported that the notice board in the recreation field had been pulled out of the ground.

Mr. Robinson's Report (Six plus One)
Mr. Leary and Mr. Norton asked Mr. Robinson about his report.
Mr. Robinson replied that the report was his personal observations on the meetings of the Parish Council.
Mr. Leary said that he felt that there was a particular bias in his reporting and that much of the report was inaccurate.
Mr. Robinson said that if anyone was aggrieved by his report they should let him know.

Cheques
The Clerk reported that she had been unable to get cheques signed because Mrs. Shepherd was unavailable due to a bereavement in the family and asked whether it would be possible to change the bank mandate. It was proposed that Mr. Norton be added to the signatories and that any two from four should sign.
6 votes in favour.

Audited Accounts
Mr. Robinson asked whether the figures shown on the balance sheet he had been given by the Clerk was the same as the audited accounts for the last financial year.
The Clerk replied that she believed that it was correct but would check the records and report back at the next meeting.

Kiln Park - Wall
Mrs. Hutton brought up the matter of the boundary wall at the entrance to Kiln Park and asked whether the Clerk could check with SODC that the wall conformed to planning policy.

Village Maintenance - Walk-about
It was agreed that the Parish Council should meet at Mr. Norton's home at 3 pm on Sunday, 6th November.

Graffiti
Mr. Powell reported that he had washed off the graffiti from the lamp posts with methylated spirit.

Gypsies
The Chairman reported that SODC were to pay for a barrier to prevent the gypsies illegally camping on the Barley Mow car park in Clifton Hampden.

Litter Bins
The Chairman said that she had read in the Oxford Mail that SODC were giving away litter bins.

Public Footpath Signs
The Public Footpath Signs at the entrance to the Mill Site have not yet been replaced.

Date of Next Meeting confirmed for Monday, 7th November at 7 pm in the Village Hall. The date for the December meeting was also confirmed for Monday, 12th December.

Signed         J S Rolston
Chairman

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS

Tom Smith was a confectioner living in London in 1840. On a business trip to France he was intrigued with the sugared almonds which were sold in twists of tissue paper. The French called the Bon-bons. They were exchanged as gifts between adults.

Tom Smith was fascinated with the idea because sweets were always sold unwrapped and lacked any value as novelties. He began importing Bon-bons from France. Tom Smith's sales of sweets increased. and he improved on the basic French idea by wrapping the sweets in brightly coloured twists of paper. Later still he improved them by including love mottoes inside the wrapping, like the fortune cookies which American children enjoy.

Being a man of great initiative Tom Smith then replaced the sugared almonds with toys and novelties. The new invention didn't catch on as he had hoped. Tom Smith was despondent but not defeated. He sat before his log fire on Christmas day pondering the problem. He stretched out his foot and turned a log with his shoe. Immediately the log spurted out a jet of flame. There was a small popping explosion as a hot resin from the burning log ignited.

Crack, pop, crackle went the log. Tom Smith knew at once that he had found the missing ingredient for his Bon-bons. After many experiments he succeeded in making the snap for the log-shaped paper cracker. The Christmas cracker quickly became established as a novel addition to Christmas parties.

At Tom Smith's factory which is still in existence in Norfolk, over a thousand people work in the manufacture of Christmas crackers all the year round.

Thirteen million are produced annually and a hundred tons of cardboard are used for making the cracker boxes. One skilled cracker maker can make 160,000 crackers in a year, even allowing time off for holidays! Five tons of cardboard are used for making the bangs, known in the trade as detonators, and twenty tons of glue and paste are mixed annually.

IRIS GRENDER
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
(Hutchinson 1979)

SANDFORD AND LITTLEMORE BEAT To those of you who turned up to have your cycles stamped only to find no P.C. Reynolds. Sorry. I was to coin a phrase unavoidably detained. I will try again this month and will be at the Community Centre in Giles Road Littlemore on Sunday December 4th at 10.30am, Again, sorry if you had a wasted journey last month. Some people say to me "Did you receive my message I left last week about"...whatever. "I thought you were coming to see me?" Unfortunately, the system we Policemen work under is just as falable as the next. Most times I get the messages which are left for me. Occasionally they go astray or get forgotten for many reasons. Please if you have left a message for me and I have not contacted you within a reasonable time, phone again and emphasise it is the second time you have tried. I may not have got the message first time around but remember if your call is very urgent or an emergency dial 999. Merry Christmas to you all and a Flappy New Year. Carl Reynolds Community Policeman

YOUTH CLUB November 5th saw a most successful Bonfire and Bar-B-Q at the Village Hall. Organised jointly by the Youth Club and the Village Hall Committee. The fireworks display which I think took everyone by surprise was terrific. Sorry if the noise upset any of the residence but we truly didn't realise that it would be quite that loud. Many thanks to all the people who lent a hand on the night and to all those who generously donated items which we sold or made us of on the night. I think we can safely say that everyone had a good time. Thank you. Youth Club Committee.

"PAUSE FOR THOUGHT" Jesus came to bring Peace and Love to the world and he tells us in Mark: 12:30-31. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is this - You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Linda Parrott

ADVERTISEMENTS Your business or service could be advertised here for as little as £1.50 an issue! Half page ads cost £2.50 and a full page is only £5.00. Classifieds are only 50 pence per item. The Link is delivered to 300 homes every month! Ring Oxford xxxxxx or xxxxxx.

CHRISTMAS TOYS As someone with lots of younger relatives and who's always maintained that Christmas is "really for the children". I was interested to discover that it is quite a modern custom to give children toys as gifts for Christmas. Before the turn of the century, only the children of wealthy families were given shop-bought toys. Most children received small novelties such as sweets, ribbons or homemade dolls. Older people may remember Christmas at the turn of the century. In those days the local benefactor would go to the school and distribute gifts to the children. These were often rubber balls, skipping ropes, glass bead necklaces, wooden soldiers, paper flowers, fans and tiny cellophane birds which spiralled down a twist of wire. During the recession of the 1930's. most children went without toys. During those years, many people were cold and hungry, so local charities held Christmas parties for the children and would send them home with now boots and a warm wooly scarf. Soon after the beginning of the Second World War, the toy factories were turned into munition factories and parents, both rich and poor, had to use their own talents to produce toys for their children. Anyone who was a child in the 1940's, will probably remember with affection, their hand-made toys.

At Christmas the cooks in the household may feel that they spend all of their time in the kitchen. They are probably right. The Italians have a saying for anyone who is really busy: "He (or she!) is as busy as an English oven at Christmas". HOMEMADE MINCEMEAT Pare, core and finely chop 2 lbs of apples. Add 1 lb each of currants, stoned and chopped raisins and brown sugar, 1/2 lb of very finely chopped suet, 1/4 lb candied peel (chopped very small), a level dessertspoonful of powdered allspice, a pinch of salt and the juice and grated rind of two lemons. A little brandy or rum may be used to moisten it. Mix the ingredients very thoroughly, cover with a cloth and let the mincemeat stand for some hours before putting it into small jars with seal wrap or greaseproof paper.

Allison, age 12

SNOW SCENE IN A BOTTLE Find a strong, squat, wide-necked bottle. Plan a scene using small plastic animals or tiny plaster-of-Paris cake decorations. Make sure the models will fit through the neck of the bottle. Brighten the models with coloured nail varnish if necessary. Allow them to dry. Cover the inside base of the bottle with strong glue. Clue the bases of the models. Set the models into place using eyebrow tweezers. Leave to dry for twenty-four hours. Fill the bottle with white vinegar and about two teaspoons of desiccated coconut. Glue the top of the bottle and screw the lid on firmly. Shake to make a snow scene.

PARISH COUNCIL NOTES The Parish Council would like to thank Mrs. Webber for the Horse Chestnut tree which she grew, to be planted on the wharf site. Also we would like to thank those people who donated money for the work carried out on the by-pass turn off into Sandford. Unfortunately, we are still quite a bit short of the target. So if you would like to donate a small amount towards the cost, we would be grateful. Please send all contributions to: Mrs. C.L. Leary, Clerk to the Parish Council, xx River View. Sandford-on-Thames.

WHAT'S ON SUNDAY.... Weekly - regular services at St. Andrews Parish Church. Monthly - Car Boot Sale. l0.am to 2.pm Village Hall. 11th December in aid of the Youth Club.   MONDAY... Fortnightly - Mobile Library outside The Fox. 5th and 19th December. 2.45pm to 3.15pm.   TUESDAY.... Fortnightly - Forget-Me-Not Club. Village Hall. 2.30pm. 6th and 20th December.   WEDNESDAY.. Weekly - Youth Club. Village Hall. 7pm to 9pm.   THURSDAY... Weekly - Mother and Toddler Group. Village Hall 9am. Weekly - Bingo. Village Hall. 8pm.   FRIDAY.... Monthly - Meeting Point. Village Hall. 12.30pm to 2pm. 2nd Friday in the month. Next one is December 9th.   TUESDAY 6th DECEMBER Meeting to form Committee for THE LINK. EVERYONE WHO IS AT ALL INTERESTED IS URGED TO ATTEND.   THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER Christian faith discussion group. 8pm. Everyone Welcome.   SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER CHORAL COMMUNION with the choir of Magdalen College Oxford.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM
THE LINK