Thank you Longparish

After 31 very happy years in Longparish it was with a heavy heart that we decided the time had come to move on as we were both within sight of our ‘three score years and twenty’. We realised that ‘Woodstock’ was not a home for octogenarians. We have settled in now at Wash Common on the south side of Newbury which is an interesting town full of historical interest and we are enjoying the wider range of shops.

Our sincere thanks for all the kind words that were said and written about us before we left – we never felt that we had done anything more than respond to the privilege of living in such a beautiful village among a caring and friendly community.

Our very best wishes

Stuart and Daphne Bevan

The editor’s apologies to Daphne, (pictured here) who is of course President of Andover Inner Wheel and not a leading light of the Round Table, as was stated in the March issue.

Sewing mornings

14th May at Eila Chamberlen’s – Home Farm Cottage, East Aston.

18th June at Christian Dryden’s – Grebe House, Forton.

9th July at Christian Dryden’s.

Please ring 720398 for lifts or more information

Jumble Sale result

The fantastic sum of £1355 was raised for Breakthrough Breast Cancer at the Jumble Sale on 31st March. I would like to thank everyone who helped, donated and came along to support the event. I would also like to thank Maureen for the use of her garage to store everything.

Sue Kent

Fire at Little Beck

Jenny & Rod Mercer & family would like to thank the many kind friends and neighbours who rallied round with practical help and support after the recent fire at Little Beck - especially Nona & Roy Harrison and Liz & Ricky Bourne. They have settled comfortably into Folly Cottage and will be there possibly for a year or more."

They were also overwhelmed by the generous donation collected by the village and wish to extend their grateful thanks to all.

A message from Nona

Thank you to all who responded to the call for help and who donated through the various collecting boxes. We were able to hand over £246.39 to the Mercer family to help with immediate problems. There is always a delay with insurance claims, and rarely does the compensation cover the actual loss.

The family have a long haul before they will be back, settled, in Little Beck again, and they will need the support of friends for some time to come.

The Ark

Children’s Church meets in the playgroup building on the 1^st and 4^th Sundays of the month, from 9.30 to 10.30am, at the same time as the morning service in Longparish Church. The family service service at Hurstbourne Priors takes place on the 2^nd Sunday of the month and at Longparish on the 3^rd Sunday, both at 9.30am to 10.30am.

Future dates are May 6^th, May 27^th, June 3^rd and June 24^th. During the meeting we have teaching, singing, prayers, activities and fun together.

All are welcome

Nona Harrison

Longparish School News

Years 3 and 4 visited Winchester in March as part of their work on the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. At the museum, they handled artefacts, including a pot over 1000 years old, examined original Viking shoes and also dressed as the Vikings would have done. They then went on to the Cathedral where, amongst other things, they made Viking brooches and saw wooden boxes containing Viking bones, including those of King Canute. All of the children enjoyed the day and were a credit to the school.

During the Easter break, work took place on the new outside area for the Year R classroom and we are extremely pleased with the result. This now allows the children to access the outdoors fully during the school day, all year round and will open up many new opportunities for learning.

In April, Years 4 and 5 took part in the ‘Festival of Sport’ in April which is held each year at the Charlton Athletic Track in Andover. On this day they have the opportunity to try out many different sports, which this year included cricket, athletics, multi-sport, martial arts, rugby and football. They all took part enthusiastically and had a fantastic day. Alex Foggo

May Fayre Plant Stall

We need plants of all sorts for the May Fayre plant stall. So if you have a surplus of bedding or can split herbaceous plants please give some. Seeds and other garden stuff will also be very welcome. Please drop them off at school on the morning of the May Fayre, 12 May, or let me know if you’d like me to collect them beforehand. Thanks very much. Maggie Barber tel 720459

Size is important …

But so are looks and flavour. There will be a huge range of courgettes, cucumbers, marrows, pumpkins, squashes and gourds on sale at the May Fayre. And the Eleventh Great Longparish Pumpkin Competition in October will feature classes for decorative and unusual entries of all shapes and sizes as well as huge ones.

If you prefer eating to showing we have cute courgettes and tasty small pumpkins and squashes as well as burpless cucumbers.

May Fayre

Saturday 12^th May

We would be grateful for donations of any good quality books and toys.

We are also looking for donations of bottles for the tombola, cakes and biscuits for the cake and refreshment stalls.

Our team of volunteers will be out and about around Longparish and Hurstbourne Priors in early May collecting bottles for the tombola. Anything you can give will be gratefully accepted. You can also make donations of bottles into our collections boxes at the Village Shop and outside the school.

Donations of books, toys and bottles may also be left at the Village Hall between 3.30pm and 4pm on 9^th, 10^th and 11^th May or deposited in the collection box which will be left outside the School.

Cakes and biscuits can be brought to the Community Hall from 9am on the morning of the Fayre.

If you would like any further information please contact

Lindsay Howie on 01256 895373. Thank you for your support.

We look forward to seeing you on the 12^th.

Scramblers

Our monthly services for Under-Fives and their carers begin again after the Easter break. We are joined by the Reception class from school and all are welcome. The service starts at 2.15, is informal and relaxed and consists of a story, teaching, songs, prayer, a craft activity, ending with refreshments.

Subjects coming up are:

May 14^th Jesus is still with us

June 11^th God gives us his Holy Spirit as well

Do come and join us. Nona Harrison

Longparish Community Association

Coffee morning

The next coffee morning will be at Nordale, the home of Sarah Nicholson, on Wednesday 23^rd May between 11 and 12.30. Do come along; you are assured of a warm welcome. If you would like a lift call Gloria on 720425

KidzZone

Ice Skating

Eleven Kidz Zone Club Members and two Club Leaders climbed on board the minibus bound for Bracknell ice rink on 4 April, anticipating a lively ice skating evening, and everyone enjoyed the experience. Though there were skaters of mixed abilities even the learners managed to get around, mostly upright, and the more confident skaters had a great time whizzing around the rink. Congratulations to all for making it an excellence night out.

Karting in Longparish

Thanks to Gina Snowden for providing the Karting contact. Unfortunately we can’t pursue this, as the circuit requires own go-karts to be provided. We are looking for another karting facility where the cost is not too high.

Change to Club closing time

We are trying out a change to the closing time of Club nights, as we have found that energy levels tail off at around 9.30 p.m. (both Members and Leaders!). From 2nd May, Club closing time will be half an hour earlier, unless Club is going on outside activities, when it may be different. The start time will be unchanged at 7:00 p.m., i.e. open at 7:00 p.m. and close at 9:30 p.m., every other Wednesday evening.

Dates in May

Club will meet at the Village Hall on 2^nd, 16^th and 30 May at 7:00-9:30. We look forward to seeing you then. Visit the Kidz Zone website at www.longparish.org.uk/kidzzone.

Longparish Cricket Club

March 100 Club Draw results

!st £35 25 Bill Nicholson

2^nd £15 91 Shane Nutley

3^rd £15 272 Vi Meares

L2SOTM

The Longparish Second Sunday of the Month Handicap Running Race

It was a lovely sunny Easter Sunday morning and 11 of the 14 runners improved on their previous time. Well done! Pam Raynsford was the most improved woman and Ian Beveridge the most improved man and the cups were presented by the Mayor of Test Valley, Longparish's own Jim Neal.

The next race is on Sunday 13 May (the day after the School May Fayre so many of us will be feeling tired and will have an excellent excuse for poor times). The handicap system means that the slowest have as much chance of winning the cups as the fastest. There are excellent refreshments afterwards and supporters of all ages are very welcome. Please come and bring a friend.

LCA Long Walks

We have walks of 12 – 20 miles on the first and third Thursdays of the month, stopping for a pub lunch. The most recent was a 13 mile loop starting and ending at The George at Vernham Dean. It was a lovely spring day and we saw wonderful views and beautiful bluebells. Best of all was the sight of no fewer than 11 buzzards and two red kites soaring, wheeling and tumbling in the sky near Hippenscombe. The May walks are on Thursday 3 and Thursday 17 May. If you would like to come please contact John Ellicock on 720386.

New Footpath to Deadman’s Plack

Middleton Estate has kindly opened a new permissive footpath to Deadman’s Plack in Harewood Forest. The route is well-signed from footpath 36 which goes from The Middleway to the A303. You leave The Middleway through the roadside hedge, over a stile, then up in to the forest. Watch for the permissive footpath sign off to the left. After a short walk the surprisingly large Victorian monument to the dark deeds of Queen Aelfrida can be seen to the left. Continue the permissive path then double back where it rejoins the main path to return to the starting point. If you continue along the main footpath it leads down to the A303, which is best avoided. You can cross with great care if you wish to get to the other side of the A303 and the public footpaths paths in Harewood Forest or follow the verge to the left for a short distance to join footpath 28 which goes over Cutty Brow to Forton. Please do exercise great care going anywhere near the A303 since there is no separate footpath and traffic moves at very high speed.

Martin Lampard Longparish PC Footpaths Chair.

Longparish Parish Council

This report covers the April meeting and the Annual Parish Meeting. Minutes of meetings are on the village website www.longparish.org.uk.

Annual Parish Meeting

All parish councillors, our borough and county councillors and around 20 parishioners attended the APM. You can see the full reports on the village website. Very briefly:

• It has been another busy year for the parish council. Highlights included replacement of the Ash Burn Rest, the establishment of our new Longparish Community Association which now has over 250 members, and a vigorous debate on affordable housing. The council’s finances are sound. Thanks were given to councillors for their work during the year and to all the members of the public who do so much in so many ways to make our village such a good place to live in.

• It is becoming clear that the community hall is unlikely to replace the village hall and a survey has been commissioned to establish what needs doing urgently and in the medium and long term to ensure that the village hall meets the needs of the village

• The number on the school roll remains healthy but has dropped slightly, partly because of children leaving for private education which leaves spaces in some junior classes. Priority is given to children from Longparish when places are allocated but they cannot be guaranteed a place unless the application is in before the deadline the previous autumn. The new facilities at the school are settling in well though some problems remain with the heating. Helen Mehaffey, chair of the governors, confirmed all parishioners are welcome to hire the Community Hall and the Ellicock Room. The governors have decided new hiring rates which are shown here and on the village and school websites.

Planning

The Council objected to

• Erection of a detached house adjacent to 2 Paddock Cottages. The council felt that the site was suitable for infilling but was concerned at the visual impact of a four car garage on the street scene.

• A 1.2 megawatt diesel powered electricity generator at Harewood Industrial Estate because of concerns about noise and pollution.

Open Spaces

Thanks to everyone who turned out for the Clean Up Day. Lots of cleaning and tidying was done and the stream was cleared to stop the water spilling out onto the road.

Elections

Seven people stood for the ten places on the council so we will have three vacancies. Thanks go to Mike Johnson, Sandra Jones and Toby Cooper who did not stand for re-election for all the work they have done as councillors. If you’d like to find out about being co-opted to fill one of the vacancies please contact Jeremy Barber on 720459. We are also looking for volunteers to serve on our committees which cover footpaths, open spaces, communications, finance and Parish Plan implementation.

Affordable Housing

The small group led by Jeff Bishop, the independent facilitator, was working towards an agreed briefing document for the village.

Footpaths

• Middleton Estate has kindly opened a permissive path to Deadman’s Plack
• Work on the new leaflet is going well. It shows every footpath in the village and includes details of four excellent circular walks. We hope to be able to issue a free copy to every household.

The next Council meeting is on Monday 14^th May in the Ellicock Room at the Community Hall. Meetings are public and all parishioners are welcome to come and can speak by invitation.

Jeremy Barber Chairman. Tel 720459

email jeremy.barber@longparish.org.uk

Longparish Community Hall Charges

£ Hourly rate
Normal hire rate	£15
Discounted rate for Longparish residents, Community Association members, parents of current children at school and playgroup, staff and governors	£10
Minimum hire of two hours
10% discount for termly bookings, payment in advance
Hire charges cover: use of hall, outside patio area, community kitchen, tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery, heating, and cleaning of up to one hour Also cover cost of licence

Note: PC and PCC have one free meeting each per month (usually 7.30 to 10.30 pm in Ellicock Room)

Note: Playgroup have 2.5 hours a week free use of Hall

Note: ‘Ark’ hire of Playgroup at £5 per Sunday session

Other charges:

1. Charges for Ellicock Room of £5 per hour for ‘locals’, and £10 per hour for other users. Details of logistics to be discussed by the Management Committee. When the Ellicock Room is being hired with a hall hiring, the charge is £10 per hiring session.

2. School kitchen hire: deposit £100; charge £25 per hire for ‘locals’, £50 per hire for other users.

3. Hire of hall chairs for indoor use only: charge of £10 for 50, £20 for 100; deposit required of £100.

Approved by Governors January 2007

Meet the Experts

From Hampshire Record Office, Genealogy Society, Andover Museum, History Society & Local Studies Library.

Discover collections and have your questions answered

Wednesday 16th May in Andover Library

Doors open 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.  Book a session at the enquiry desk or telephone

01264 352807

www.hants.gov.uk/library