Editorial

Happy New Year to you all.

We would like to start the year by thanking all those villagers who have given their time and helped

with the newsletter in 2017.We really appreciate your assistance.

From this edition of the newsletter it looks like 2018 will be another busy year in Towersey.

Editors: Lisa Davis (t: 217328) and Anne Barrow (t: 215034)

TOWERSEY NEWSLETTER SUPPORTED by HELPFUL HIRINGS, TOOL HIRE

Towersey Newsletter January 2018

2018 Annual New Year’s Lunch

This year’s annual new year’s lunch held in the village hall last Sunday was the most fantastic event – deemed by many to be the best yet! There was a combination of delicious food and drink, most entertaining and upbeat ukulele playing from Katie’s Jumping Fleas, and much fun, laughter and dancing amongst good friends and neighbours. The day is a precious jewel in the annual Towersey calendar, and greatly enjoyed by all who attend – either as guests or hosts. None of it would be at all possible though without the most generous donations from the Playing Fields Committee, Towersey Folk Group, the PCC, the Wednesday Coffee Morning group, and Towcap, and we are most grateful. It also could not happen without the help we receive from so many people – the potato roasters (Jilli, Sally, Angie and Judith), Andrew Fitzgerald for his delicious Cauliflower Cheese, and the dozen or so helpers we get on the day who do everything from peel veg, to pour wine, to wash up, to empty the bins! Thank you everyone – you’re fab! Lucinda Masters Memorial Hall Committee

Towersey Parish Council

January 2018

News…. Towersey PC is now on Facebook

Please like our Facebook page for news and events search for … Towersey Parish Council

Next Meeting Date:

All meetings are held in the War Memorial Hall and will commence at 7.30pm

Next meeting dates: 23rd January 2018

All electors in the Parish are welcome to attend Parish Council meetings.

If you wish to ask a question of the Council email The Clerk joannewills@btinternet.com

Parish Councillors on the Council are:

Cllr Mark Davis (Chairman), Cllr Steve Nutley, Cllr Kerr Stephenson, Cllr Nikki Jackson and

Cllr Ashley Byrne (Vice Chairman).

District Councillors are: Cllr Lynn Lloyd, Cllr Ian White

County Councillor: Cllr Jeannette Matelot

Carousel route 40 – revised bus timetable

There is now a revised bus timetable which does include Towersey again for limited stops and times.

Please see the link below for the timetable, which started on 07-01-18

https://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/2017/12/15/Link40_Timetable_Leaflet_Ja

n2018-WEB.pdf

Did you know about the FREE Tesco Broadfields Bus Service?

Thursdays - Bus leaves 09.15 and returns at 12.53

St. Catherine’s Church bus stop

Bus number - T11

Bus Company - Redline Buses

Useful Contact Numbers:

Mrs Jo Wills - Towersey Parish Council Clerk – joannewills@btinternet.com

PCSO Thames Valley Police - 101

OCC Street Light faults - 0800 317802

OCC Highways issues – pot holes etc. 0345 3101111

Thame Citizens Advice Bureau 08444 111 444

C/Cllr Matelot 01844 213004 or

emailjeannette.matelot@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Sing and Dance your way through 2018!

Did you make a new year’s resolution to take up some healthy activities? Singing and dancing are

both health-boosting activities for body and mind as well as being sociable and great fun. Dance

on Monday, sing on Wednesday, all within walking distance at the splendid Memorial Hall!

For sociable singing, why not come and try ‘Village Voices’, our local community choir which

meets every Wednesday, 7.30 – 9.30 p.m. (with a friendly tea break)? The ethos of community

choirs is that everyone can sing and is welcome. Songs are taught by ear, so you do not need to

be able to read music. We have an inspiring leader, Sarah Westcott, who teaches us a wide range

of songs in harmony – rounds, songs from around the world, spirituals, folk songs, old songs, pop

songs – all unaccompanied. However tired we are on Wednesday evenings, Village Voices lifts

our spirits. Note that on the 3rd Wednesday of each month we have to move out of Towersey,

please check on our website, or contact us (see below).

For sociable dancing, we have a fun and friendly time country dancing every Monday, 7.30 – 9.00

pm (also with tea break!) to Towersey Folk’s lively band, and dances called by club members and

visiting callers. Beginners welcome. We dance every Monday except Bank Holidays and during

August. You will dance with a partner, but you do not have to bring one with you – lots of people

come alone, and we change partners for each dance. Warning – folk dancing generates a lot of

hilarity, so come prepared for a good laugh as well as lots of dancing!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Village Voices Towersey: phone Madeleine on 01844 352468, or Ruth on 07966 373134

www.villagevoicestowersey.com

villagevoices.towersey@gmail.com

Towersey Folk: Mary Walter, 01494 481459.

Madeleine Smith

TOWERSEY PLAYING FIELDS UPDATE –

Opportunities to get involved.

Happy New Year to you all.

The Playing Fields Committee continues to work hard on our exciting project and move closer to

implementing our plans. Before anything can be built we have a huge mountain of paperwork to

climb and boxes to tick. We must obtain multiple quotations for each part of the project and it does

take time to identify the most appropriate organisations. But we are on it!

As with any big community capital project we will be very reliant on grant aid to reach our target,

just as the Parochial Church Council has been working so hard to do, and the Memorial Hall

Committee did a few years ago. These organisations are being very helpful, providing us with

everything they have learned from their own experiences and we are grateful that we have their

expertise to guide us. We are currently focused on applications to Sport England and SODC, but

there are so many more grant organisations we can contact.

One of the areas we will be including in the main project is the Children’s Play Area. This is such a

well-used facility and inevitably it takes a regular bashing so will need some refurbishment.

We would like to create a USER GROUP specifically for the play area, to help us develop the area for

the future and to help us with weekly tasks such as checking for areas that need attention or

suggesting things that we can improve in the interim. If you have young children who use the area,

please don’t be shy, get in touch and help us build for the future.

As the project gathers pace, there will be many tasks to take care of and there will be opportunities

for all to get involved. If you would like to learn more, please attend our AGM in the Village Hall at

19.30 on 27th February or speak to any Committee member.

TPFMC: Judith Allworth, Richard Duckham, Andrew Fitzgerald, Mark Horrocks, Jenni Jones, Barbara

Jordan, Jim Lucas, Jon Masters, Steve Nutley, Kerr Stephenson.

Judith Allworth: jeallworth@tinyworld.co.uk

TOWERSEY PLAYING FIELDS MANAGMENT COMMITTEE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Tuesday 27th February 2018 – 7.30 pm Memorial Hall

All Villagers Welcome

Nomination forms for committee members are available from Jim Lucas (218871), or Judith

Allworth, Secretary (216767). Nominations should be returned to the Secretary by 13th

February 2018

Towersey Fringe 2018

We need your help!

Towersey Fringe has positioned itself as the major fundraiser for the Playing Fields redevelopment project, by the village. It was an incredible success last year – providing a fantastic event for those attending, but also making almost £13,000 for this cause so close to many in Towersey’s hearts. We have received a lot of very positive feedback from many people and one of the common themes is that the Fringe is a great event that offers excellent value for money with a fantastic village atmosphere. The Fringe committee are committed to maintaining an event that offers precisely that. This leaves us asking how best we can increase our profitability, for a great cause, whilst continuing to offer excellent value and not growing the event too much bigger! Having thought about this we decided that the best way to do this is to try and increase our sponsorship revenue. As the event is now positioned in the local calendar as a very popular event (last year we had well over 2500 people attending), its potential as a marketing tool for local businesses has increased hugely. We can therefore make more profit by asking local tradesmen and businesses, both big and small, to become sponsors (a barrel of beer can be sponsored for as little as £100), or advertise in the programme, which is a more affordable option. There are also opportunities for larger and more visible sponsorship. We also have many Towersey individuals and families who last year sponsored a barrel or two, or took out a ‘good luck’ message in the programme, to show their support and donate to the playing fields in a fun way. If you are involved with, or know of, any local tradesmen or businesses who might like to jump on this more and more popular band wagon, please do let me know. Also if you would like to sponsor/advertise yourself, we would love to hear from you. Lucinda Masters 260869 / jlmasters@btopenworld.com

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY…

TOWERSEY FETE

SUNDAY 24TH JUNE 2018

The Church Fete is organised by a small team who meet

at The Manor three or four times a year. If you would

like to take an active role in the Fete and join this team,

please contact: Louise Riley

Tel: 01844 218005 Email: lgjriley@btinternet.com

Village Diary from January

23rd January 7.30pm Parish Council Memorial Hall

15/16/17/February 7.00pm Bugsy Malone Memorial Hall 27th February 7.30pm Playing Fields AGM Memorial Hall

4th March 2 – 4pm Neighbourhood Plan Memorial Hall 12th June 7.00pm Clay Animal Session Phoenix Studio

The deadline for the next newsletter is 23rd February