Launton Lines Issue 293 May 2025

The Easter Egg Hunt at Launton School Photos from the Friends of Launton School

On Sunday 6 April 2025 there was the annual Easter Egg Hunt held on the School Field, organised by the Friends of Launton School (FoLS). On page 19 of this issue some Year 3 children report on the event, when over 300 eggs were donated by people of Launton, and over £1,100 was raised for PTA projects.

The cover for May shows the new Spring and Easter themed post box topper by the village pump and the old chapel on Station Road. Many thanks to the Launton-based creators. Watch out for a new VE Day themed topper for May. Photo from Isobel Jennion. Cover designed by Matt Hill

The Editor writes …

Suddenly spring has sprung. The front cover shows the Spring and Easter topper on the Post Box by the Pump on Station Road, with a picture on page 43 of the twin topper from outside the Post Office and Costcutter shop on Bicester Road.

Page 43 features ten photos from round the village, many involving Easter activities, and page 2 (opposite) has photos of the School Easter Egg Hunt. Year 3 children from the school report on the event on page 19.

May also sees the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 on VE Day. Events on 8 May at St Mary’s Church are on page 10, and page 28 sees the display of the Poppy Cascade for VE Day. Page 39 has a chance to take tea at the Village Coffee Shop with John Stephens as he talks about his experience of those years. He also writes on pages 25-28. Pages 22-23 feature photos and a report on the opening of The Village Coffee Shop on 6 May. The Parish Council report on pages 4-6, and Callum Miller MP (page 7) has good news about the campaign to keep vehicle access on London Road when the level crossing is closed. There is a report on the main findings of the Launton Lines readership survey on pages 20 and 34.

Pages 13-15 feature an obituary notice for Bill Hawkins (the founder of FreshGrow which later became Fresh Direct), who lived in the village for many years. There is news of two AGMs - for Friends of Launton Parish Hall (page 33) and Launton Plotters (page 28), and a report from 1875 of an arguement about a borrowed shawl (page 38) that ended up in court.

Please support our advertisers: we need them to keep Launton Lines going.

Robert Cornford Launton Lines

A monthly newsletter for Launton. Published around the first of each month by the Launton Community Communications Group © 2025 Launton Lines

email: launtonlines@launton.org website: https://launton.org/launton-lines/ The Launton Lines Committee 2024-2025 Chair: Vacant | Secretary: Kate Greig | Editors: Robert Cornford, Matt Hill Treasurer: Carina Collins | Distribution: Shirley Johnson | Advertising: Jenni Walker

Contact the Parish Council While we are without a Clerk, you can contact the Council by email at clerk@launton-pc.gov.uk or on the Council's mobile at 07305 303 889

To book the Parish Hall Contact: Joan Packer Phone: 07922 042 133 Parish Hall Committee: The Church Parish Hall Committee has stood down, and the Parish Council is appointing a new committee.

LIGHT UP A LIFE

Would you like to sponsor an evening’s floodlighting at St. Mary’s Church in memory of a loved one, to give thanks for the birth of a child, or to celebrate a baptism, a birthday, or a wedding?

A minimum donation of £10 is suggested which can be Gift Aided.

Please contact Joan Packer on 01869 241694 by 20 May 2025 for entry in the June 2025 issue of Launton Lines.

May 5 | Sponsored by Bob Roberts. to celebrate the birthday of his father Cyril Roberts

LAUNTON PARISH COUNCIL

Combined notes from two meetings of the Parish Council, held on Thursday 3 April 2025 at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall (Ordinary Meeting) and Wednesday 23 April 2025 at 7.30pm in the Grange Farm Conference Room (Extraordinary Meeting) The Council’s April meeting has many procedural items relating to the end of the financial year, including final approval of the draft budget agreed in January (which can only take place once the end-of-year figures are known); unfortunately this year the Acting Clerk has lost a lot of time to some family health issues, causing the end-of-year accounts to be delayed with an extraordinary meeting being called in the hope of getting the accounts and related items dealt with before the May meeting. Sadly ongoing time pressures meant that this was not successful, with some items having to be carried over to the next meeting.

Councillors present: Mr Glyn Austin, Mr Andrew Briant (Vice Chairman), Mrs Jackie Hackett, Mr Simon Turner (Chairman) and Mrs Jaqueline Webber.

Apologies: None.

In attendance: 5 members of the public on 3 April; none on 23 April.

Reports from District and County Councillors No reports were received.

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Governance and Consultations As last month, there are still two Councillor vacancies and there has still been no interest shown in the vacant role of Parish Clerk - details of the vacancy may be found on the Parish Council website. Anyone interested in the position, or in becoming a Councillor, should contact the Chairman, Simon Turner: simon.turner@launton-pc.gov.uk or call the Parish Council’s mobile number (07305 303889).

Finance The Finance Report for the 3 April meeting is available on the Parish Council website.

Planning All planning applications, which include the links to Cherwell’s Planning Portal, are put on the Parish Council website when they are received (www.launton-pc.gov.uk -in the Agenda and Minutes section).

If a villager has concerns or comments about a planning application, they are welcome to come along to Parish Council meetings to bring them to the attention of the meeting. Villagers are also welcome to contact Councillors or the Clerk to make comments.

Guidance about how the Parish Council is able to respond is available on the Parish Council website at https://www.launtonpc.gov.uk/planning-applications/ Parish Hall The roof replacement work continues, but the expected duration turns out to have been overly optimistic (the contractors have apparently been let down by a third party): at time of writing, it is hoped that it will be finished during the week commencing 4 May. As previously noted, the Hall is unavailable for use during the day on weekdays during the works (except for 1 May, when work will be halted to allow the building to be used for the elections), but remains available in the evenings and at weekends. As the Hall is still an active building site, users should continue to take appropriate care when arriving and departing.

The Parish Hall Development Advisory Group is now looking into the next steps for the Hall and is also analysing the responses to the recent survey.

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Highway and Traffic Issues The abandoned open-top Mercedes has been removed.

The Speedwatch team has now restarted its activities, but the small group of volunteers could really do with more helpers - please contact the team at speedwatch@launton-pc.gov.uk if you can spare an hour or two each month to help out.

Annual Parish Meeting - 17 April The village Annual Parish Meeting on 17 April was well attended, with many groups reporting on their activities during the past year, but numbers were a bit down on recent years - the publicity had not been up to the usual standard due to time pressures on the Acting Clerk, for which he apologises.

Agenda items and dates of the next meetings The next meeting will be on Thursday 1 May 2025 in Launton School Hall (note that the unusual venue - the Parish Hall - is a polling station that day), starting at 7.30pm. If you’d like to chat with a Councillor, do come along after 7.15pm.

At the time of writing the agenda for the 1 May meeting has already been posted; suggestions for agenda items for the 5 June meeting need to be with the Clerk by 22 May. If you’re not signed up to our mailing list to receive news from the Parish Council, you can find a signup form at the bottom left-hand menu of the Parish Council website at www.launton-pc.gov.uk/

St. Mary’s Easter Family Fun

We were delighted to hold an Easter themed Family Fun morning on Easter Saturday. Families were invited to help assemble the Easter garden, ready for Easter celebrations in St. Mary’s the following day. John told the Easter story as the garden was assembled. Children then took part in some crafts which were taken home to remind them of the Easter story. There are some photos on page 43 of this issue.

Children made tombs from playdough, decorated stones to go in front of their tomb and much time was spent thoughtfully making prayer crosses.

Thank you to all the families who attended and to the volunteers for all their support with this event. Please look out for details of the next Family Fun session on the St. Mary’s Launton Facebook page.

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Update on London Road Level Crossing We have had an update from Calum Miller on progress with the campaign to keep London Road open with access for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles to the town centre once the level crossing is closed. I wanted to give you an update on recent progress on the London Road crossing.

On 7 April I met with East West Rail CEO David Hughes and Baron Peter Hendy, the Minister for Rail.

They have since confirmed to me in writing that they are now looking at two underpass options to keep London Road open: one to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians and another to also accommodate cars.

This could not have been achieved without everyone who wrote directly to them, raising their concerns. Mr Hughes and Lord Hendy both confirmed that they have had more correspondence about Bicester than any other area along the line.

But our hard work is not finished yet. I am launching a public petition which I will be bringing to Parliament to keep the pressure on ministers.

My team and I will be at Bicester Market on Friday 25 April between 9am and 3pm, where I hope to meet many of you and gather your signatures to take back to Parliament with me.

If you cannot attend the Market but would still like to sign the petition, please let me know and I will try to arrange another opportunity for you to sign. email me at calum.miller.mp@parliament.uk 

Deaths in the Village

Launton Lines tries to record significant events in the village. We try to list births, marriages, civil partnerships, and deaths as we get information.

Contact launtonlines@launton.org or drop a note in at 36 West End, to have a listing. There is no charge for such reporting.

Bill Hawkins, a long term Launton resident, died on 20 February aged 90 years. An obituary by John Harris is on pages 13-15 of this issue.

John Austin, who had lived on Bicester Road, died on 19 February aged 84 years. His mother, Annie Austin, was well-known in the village.

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Reporting from our Cherwell District Councillors We hope you are all enjoying the sunnier and warmer weather. There are a few updates this month.

Cherwell District Council Office Move As some of you may be aware, Cherwell District Council has moved office from Bodicote House to Castle Quay in Banbury. The new address is 39 Castle Quay, Banbury, OX16 5FD. Cherwell are encouraging members of the public to make an appointment in advance if their services are needed to ensure that relevant members of staff are in the office. If you would like to make an appointment you can either email customer.service@cherwell-dc.gov.uk or phone 01295 227001 London Road Level Crossing As many of you may have seen, Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock has held meetings with East West Rail and the Rail Minister, to discuss the proposed closure of the London Road Level Crossing (see page 7). In it, he pressed for the Government to replace the crossing with an underpass for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Both the Rail Minister and East West Rail have now confirmed to Calum that they are looking into the feasibility of such an underpass.

To keep the pressure up, Calum has launched a Parliamentary petition and I would encourage everyone who is concerned about the proposed closure to sign it. For more information about how to sign it the petition, please check out Calum’s social media or email him on calum.miller.mp@parliament.uk Get in Touch As always, please do get in touch! Our emails are below: gemma.coton@cherwell-dc.gov.uk alisa.russell@cherwell-dc.gov.uk julian.nedelcu@cherwell-dc.gov.uk or phone us on 01869717712.

Gemma, Alisa, and Julian Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 8

Launton Watercolour Art Group The Watercolour Group normally meets on Mondays in the Parish Hall between 2pm and 4pm. In May we will meet on these days: 12, 19, and 26. We will not meet on 5 May, which is the “May Day” Bank Holiday.

Because of building work on the Parish Hall roof, which may continue into May, we will meet in the Boardroom at Grange Farm on Station Road until the work on the Hall is completed.

Here is a work in progress from a class member.

If you are interested in attending, and for updates on the venue we’ll use in May, please email Paul.Ebberson@gmail.com

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‘Together we chime’ | Church open | Refreshments Save the date, and check back for more info

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NEWS FROM ST MARY’S CHURCH SERVICES & EVENTS IN MAY 2025 You are most welcome to join our Services and Events listed here.

All are in St Mary’s Church except the Holy Communion service on 29 May which will be in Bucknell church.

4 May

8.00am 11.00am

BCP Holy Communion Family Service - Peace

To commemorate VE Day there will be a display by Launton Historical Society 8 May

6.30pm

11 May 6.00pm 18 May 11.00am

“Together We Chime” Bell ringing throughout the country to mark V E Day. Church will be open all day Evensong Holy Communion

19 May 2.30pm Fellowship Group meets in St. Mary’s 25 May 11.00am Morning Worship 29 May 7.30am Holy Communion followed by breakfast at St Peter’s Bucknell

It is always advisable to refer to the Facebook page for St Mary’s Church Launton for the most up-to-date information in case any last minute changes have been necessary, or please contact Revd Sarah revsarahmortimer@outlook.com 07876 188 519 or one of the Churchwardens Joan Packer j.packer779@btinternet.com 01869 241694 Celia Manderson celiamanderson@aol.com 01869 571735                 

PLEASE CHECK OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MORE . . .

8 May 2025 VE Day Commemoration - The Church will be open during the day, and bells rung at 6.30pm (see page 10 opposite) The Morning Community Café Venues - while the Hall roof work is continuing . . .

The next Family Fun Morning . . .

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Launton WI Reporting …

At our April meeting, Launton WI was 84 years old and Maretta had made an elegant and delicious cake. At least four members had a birthday that month too - Isobel, Sue, Sherie, and Maureen.

After hearing about all the upcoming events – a trip to Parliament, a fundraising tabletop sale, the annual WI meeting and the bells for VE Day’s 80th celebration, we had the opportunity to listen to two Jennys.

The first, Jenny Soddy, is a community Ambassador for Katharine House, the hospice at Adderbury, near Banbury. Jenny acknowledged that hospices are an emotive subject, not morbid but not jolly. The aim of Katharine House is to help patients with incurable illness, from diagnosis onwards, ensuring that every day is the best possible day for them and their families.

Hospices are where every moment matters.

The father of Katharine Gadsby founded this hospice, beginning in 1985.

His daughter died of cancer age 20 in 1983. The building was completed in 1990 and opened in 1991. It’s a small hospice with 10 inpatient beds plus community care and it offers services to people in North and South Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, 275,000 people in all.

Since 1991, 14,000 patients have been helped. Most people who are terminally ill can live in the community and for them Katharine House offers a range of services such as day hospice, respite for carers, counselling, physiotherapy, social work support, support for spiritual needs and bereavement support.

Jenny spoke with warmth about the patients she had met, and the benefits that hospice care had brought, whether with pain management or mental wellbeing through being allowed to cook or through contact with pets. In Katharine House, every patient’s bedroom looks out onto the garden and the surroundings are beautiful.

But, the crunch point, the finances are horrendous. The hospice costs more than £4.7 million per year, £91,000 per week. It receives half of its funding from the NHS, but needs to raise £13,000 every day, £3 million a year. It sounds large, but it is achievable. Jenny wanted to make us aware of all the opportunities to support the work which hospices do, whether through donating, fundraising, volunteering, taking clothes to the charity shops (there is a Katharine House shop on Bicester Market Square), buying from charity shops, shaking collecting tins. 300 volunteers work for the hospice in different ways– in reception, the garden, in shops, bungee jumping, Santa Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 12

runs, opening their gardens, half marathons. There are lots of ways people can help.

The second Jenny was Jenny Jones, who wrote about the WI in a prizewinning poem (this is an extract): In the Hall or Parish Centre, in the Sports and Social Club In the quiet room at the library, even in the village pub There will be a lot of laughter, catching up with who’s done what Listening, learning, craft and baking, campaigns, visits, sport, the lot If you want some fun and friendship, join your local WI. Launton WI meets at 7.30pm in the Parish Hall on the second Thursday of the month.

Gwen Skinner

William Robert Leslie Hawkins, “Bill”

12 July 1934 - 20 February 2025 Bill was born in 1934 in London, the only and much wanted son of Les and Vi Hawkins. The family moved to Bicester during WWII where his father owned and ran a General Grocery shop in Buckingham Crescent, Bicester.

At the end of the War the family settled in Launton where they bought Launton House. Bill passed his 11 plus a year early attending Bicester Grammar School. He was bright, but had no interest in school, knowing his path as a greengrocer was laid out for him. As a 12-year-old, he spent his evenings driving his father about on business errands. One such trip, involved a minor motor accident for which Bill bore the scar across his forehead for the rest of his life.

After leaving school Bill helped in his father’s fruit and veg shop in Sheep Street, Bicester and in 1954 he was called up to do National Service in the RAF in Khartoum, as a Morse code operator.

On completing National Service he returned to run the Sheep Street shop and one in Ambrosden. In 1966 Bill formed a partnership with John Harris, buying a lorry and converting it into a mobile shop, serving local villages with fruit and veg. From one small lorry the business expanded into 30 shops and ultimately became one of the largest fruit and vegetable companies in the UK - Fresh Direct Ltd. At Bill’s funeral the original lorry, fully stocked, was displayed outside the Bull pub in his memory.

In 1986 Bill sold his share of the company. He continued on pages 14-15  Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 13

Continued from page 13 had enjoyed his and John’s success, but lacked

the will to develop the diplomatic style needed when operating in a corporate world (he was deeply suspicious of people he referred to as poshos). He returned to the original greengrocer shop in Bicester’s Sheep Street where he was later joined by his son Bob. Bill was a great orator and writer. He honed his conversational skills curing a severe stutter, which plagued him throughout childhood and into early adulthood.

Bill loved to write and when the partnership started trading in 1966 he wrote articles for The Bicester Advertiser published under the prefix “Open Letters”. These always started with local gossip - and he was a gossip - and ended promoting the wonderful bargains at the fruit and veg shop in Bicester. Bill also wrote many letters and amusing emails to various friends and acquaintances.

Sunday mornings the newspaper boy, who later claimed he did himself an injury due to the weight of the papers, delivered every single Sunday paper to Bill. Bill armed with them, marched across the road to the Bull, ordered a pint of bitter and sat contentedly reading, popping out every so often to check on the progress of the roast he was cooking back home.

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Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 14

In retirement Bill discovered independent travel. This was a revelation to Bill, opening up a whole new world. He and his wife Sue had many wonderful holidays but once they found Goa they were smitten for the next 30 years, returning year after year, spending months avoiding the English winter.

Bill shared his love of holidays with his family, enjoying many a family holiday with his son Steve and his family.

In his final years it remained a fixed part of his routine to get over to The Bull for a drink every day. Later in a wheelchair, he would appreciate being pushed over to the Bull by his son Steve, or by John.

Bill is survived by his widow Sue, his two sons Steve and Bob, step children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.

John Harris

All our Obedience Training is part of The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme Jennie, our Instructor is an Approved Instructor (Academy of Dog Training and Behaviour), Agility Club Approved Instructor, UK Agility Instructor.

Saturday classes at Westfield Stables, Steeple Aston Introduction to Agility starts at 12 noon Introduction to Hoopers starts at 1.30pm Thursday Classes in Arncott Village Hall Puppy Socialisation, starts 6.45pm Basic Obedience, starts 7.30pm Rally or Scentwork, every alternate week for each class, from 8.15pm Introduction to Mantrialing and Introduction to Tracking are also offered at a day and time to suit the trainer, yourself, and your dog.

House maintenance  Repointing  Internal and external decorations  Patios  Decking  Fencing 

For a personal service, call Peter N Southam 01869 278333 07721 633 220

peteroofer@aol.com

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LAUNTON ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIETY . . . AND . . .

I consider myself a bit of a numbers guy. Consequently, I don’t like words. Well, let me rephrase that. I don’t appreciate words as much as I should.

I certainly don’t like using big words when often little words can have a big impact. My favourite little word has only 3 letters. That word is AND. It is a word that connects things together, a coordinating conjunction. It helps us organize thoughts in our minds; it doesn’t force us to make any decisions. And it helps us focus. Etc. etc. . . .

In life there are a lot of choices; ‘likes and dislikes’, ‘needs and wants’, ‘haves and have-nots’, ‘war and peace’, ‘The Global North’ and ‘The Global South’. I could go on and on. . . .

We live in a polarized world on a once beautifully balanced planet that is now in need of some serious DIY. The powers that be are currently involved in deciding on which direction we should be moving in our quest to restore planetary balance.

Who are those powers? Well, they are Governments, Institutions, Leaders of the ‘Free World’.

Leaders of the Environmental Movement in general, and Local LOCAL, TAILORED Environmentalists, like us at LES. SUPPORT FOR YOU There are about 8 billion of us on IN YOUR HOME this planet. We are all a party to the Our Companions can help keep your daily routine Global Warming problem. AND, achievable by helping with shopping, we all have some hard choices to meal preparation, light housework, gardening, and accompanying you to appointments make. the list really is endless Do we continue with Plan A, Flexible, local, reliable and friendly which is to work in earnest to we aim to make your life easier reduce our human impact. Or do we replace it with Plan B, which is CONTACT: 07764 219 955 to devote all our attention to KATE@KATESCOMPANIONS.CO.UK coping with life on a less Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 16

LAUNTON ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIETY hospitable planet.

My view in not to follow the ‘lead’ of two other conjunctions, ‘or’ and ‘all’. There are three ‘fronts’ in our self-imposed war on Mother Nature.

And it is all a part of Plan A. We must live our life as best we can. We must continue reducing our carbon footprint. And we must prepare ourselves and our children for life in a less balanced world!

And all of that requires multi-tasking. Big Time! There is no magic Wand. We mustn’t stick our head in the Sand. We must work Hand in Hand, with our neighbours and our adversaries. We must Band together with nature to save our wonderful Land.

Ed from LES P.S. If you want or need help with your multi-tasking why not come to MOP VII on Friday 23 May at 7:30pm in The Parish Hall. After all it is there for you!

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Launton School reporting on the Easter Egg Hunt Today, some children from Year 3 are talking to us about the recent Easter Egg Hunt at the school, organised by the PTA. See photos on page 2.

At the end of March, the PTA organised lots of parents and children to put leaflets requesting donations of Easter eggs for the hunt through all the doors in the village. A week later we went out with our parents to collect the eggs.

Some people had left eggs outside, so we didn’t need to knock on their doors, other people had eggs to give us if we had knocked. We also had donations of money, which helped us to buy extra eggs to make sure we had enough for the hunt.

All the donated eggs were kept safely at Sophie’s house until the morning of the hunt. We had more than 300 eggs donated by the very generous people of the village. On the day of the hunt all the eggs were taken to the school hall, and we helped display them on tables, ready for them to be claimed by children once they had found their stones on the field. It was a lovely sunny day, and lots of people came for the hunt. Coloured stones were hidden on the school field, we had to find three yellow stones and either a red or blue stone. When we found the stones, we went to the hall and choose one large, boxed egg, and one smaller boxed egg, or three small, boxed eggs. There were eleven silver stones, which meant we got an even bigger boxed egg – Sophie found a silver stone – and two gold stones, the finders of those stones got a goody bag filled with lot of Easter treats.

As well as the egg hunt there were other games we could play. There was a tombola, which gave a prize every time. Some of the prizes were cuddly toys, more chocolate and bubble wands. We could guess the name of the bunny to win a cuddly toy bunny. The winning name was Bramble and was won by Arabella. To win smaller, foil-wrapped eggs there were pictures on the field of creatures who also lay eggs, each creature has a number, and when we had collected all the numbers you could claim your prize. We also had the chance to make our own badges. We could decorate the badge with any design we wanted, and then an adult used a special machine to make the badge, which we could then wear for the rest of the hunt.

After the hunt we helped tidy the hall and clear away the left-over tombola prizes. There were not many eggs left at all. We really enjoyed the hunt and being part of the all the preparation. We raised over £1,100 for the school, and we are very proud to have been part of that.

Ben, Sophie and Elizabeth – Year 3 Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 19

The LCCG Readership Survey reports In November 2024 we did a survey to find out what our readers made of, mainly, Launton Lines and, briefly, of our social media channels on facebook.

It has taken some time to do detailed analysis. Here is a summary reporting of the main findings.

There were 49 responses. 98% of these (48) were from village residents. 20 were responses in print: 29 were online responses.

We asked how people read Launton Lines. 67.5% (33) said in print; 30.6% (15) in a mix of print and online; and 2% (1) said online only.

We asked what people most valued in Launton Lines? The top three, and easily the most significant, things were: Reports and photos from village events (39), Reports from village organisations (35), and Diary Dates (34).

Would like to see more of . . .

There were 33 responses. Grouping them helped to make sense of the answers. The largest number of comments were generally happy (“I think it is great/No change needed/Like it as it is”) (10 mentions) The most surprising specific response (10 comments) was for the return of the Grumpy Old Men of Launton on a regular basis. We will ask them if they can continue contributing.

Then there were many responses with three to five counts; grouped together these were  Recipes, Gardening, Craft projects (many suggestions, some already implemented)  Competitions, Crossword, Puzzles (many suggestions along these lines)  News/events/activities from Bicester and other villages  More for young families and children - competitions, treasure hunts, quizzes  Contributions from Launton School pupils, more from/for children and young people.  More historical reports and photos  A wider range of contributors (“Residents who do not participate in local groups” or “More about the village from people who live here.”)  More content reporting on sports teams (see below) Continued on page 34 

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My Memories of WW2, from John Stephens

This month (May) marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, 8th May, 1945, when Germany surrendered. Hitler had gone (suicide), and the surrender document was signed by Admiral Donitz, Hitler’s successor. So it seems an appropriate time to record my memories of the Second Woorld War. When the war started in September 1939 I was 10 and when it ended I was 16.

In Launton Lines Issue 273, July 2023 I wrote an account that was mostly about the narrow escapes that happened to my family.

Now I wish to give an account of other things that were experienced, not only in London, but generally elsewhere, including Oxfordshire.

Blackouts and The Home Guard One of the first things that we noticed when war was declared was the appearance of elderly men in khaki uniform with a label LDV (Local Defence Volunteer), who soon morphed into the Home Guard, later featured by the BBC in Dad’s Army.

Other things that soon followed were the testing of air raid sirens and issuing of gas masks, which we carried around with us in cardboard boxes. A long piece of string was attached so that you could carry it over your shoulder. There were specially designed gas masks for babies which were not worn on the face; the baby was put inside the mask.

Air raid warnings were given by sirens which gave a wailing sound where the pitch went up and down. ‘All clear’ was a long sound at a steady pitch.

Then came the ‘blackout’. Houses were not allowed to show any lights at night, so we had to cover all windows with boards or dark curtains. Street lights were angled downwards and there were strict limits on all vehicle lights, so walking around at night could be a rather ghostly experience. Wardens with ARP (Air Raid Precautions) or W (Warden) on their tin hats patrolled around, assisting the police by calling at any house showing a light and warning the occupants. Bill Pertwee acted as a warden in Dad’s Army who had frequent rows with Captain Mainwaring.

Other volunteers were posted on the tops of buildings as firewatchers. Patsy’s father was one of these.

Air Raid Shelters Communal air raid shelters were soon established so if there was a sudden air raid you could soon take shelter. Sometimes the people inside the shelter would sing songs. One song that I remember went; A German aviator came from just across the sea.

He thought I was a target and he dropped a bomb on me.

I said “I’m not a target, I am only Mr Brown.

You nasty something so-and-so, I hope they shoot you down!”

Chorus Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 25

Old folks, young folks, everybody come, Come to the refuge room and make yourselves at home.

Kindly bring your gas mask and park it on the floor And you’ll hear some Nazi stories that you’ve never heard before.

Many homes had ‘Anderson’ shelters supplied and we had one of them. These were made of corrugated iron and were partly buried in the ground, then covered with earth and rubble. They were supposed to keep you safe from everything except a direct hit. We fitted bunk beds inside but we found it so cold and uncomfortable that we soon abandoned it and took our chances inside the house.

Later we had a ‘Morrison’ steel table set up in the dining room, which was much better. It was about 7 ft x 7 ft and about 30 inches high with strong steel legs and we could sleep underneath it. The sides were caged in so that we were protected from flying ‘shrapnel’. The table was designed to be strong enough to protect us if the house collapsed.

The Anderson and Morrison shelters were named after the Home Office ministers in office at the time, Sir John Anderson and Herbert Morrison.

Rationing and Food One very important event was the start of rationing; this became acute when Germany invaded Holland, Belgium and France. We had imported much of our food from these countries, beef, lamb and pork, eggs, dairy produce and vegetables. When these supplies were cut off we had to rely more on food from the USA and Canada which came across the Atlantic in convoys. German submarines (U-boats) sank some ships and many sailors lost their lives. As a result, food rationing became quite severe and at one point we were cut own to one egg and two ounces of butter per week! This may sound terrible but fortunately we were often able to get dried milk powder and dried egg powder and housewives performed miracles with these ingredients. You could, if you were lucky, get chicken and rabbit. The flavour of rabbit could be quite strong but not unpleasant.

People were encouraged to grow vegetables in their gardens or allotments with the slogan ‘Dig for Victory’. Among other items that were also rationed were sugar, tea and clothes. There were some shady characters who could get you things that were in short supply, if you paid them! We called them ‘Spivs’. One such character was featured in Dad’s Army. He was Private Walker and was clearly a Spiv.

A very amusing novel entitled London belongs to me by Norman Collins introduced a character called Mr Puddy. Now, whereas most of us eat to live, Mr Puddy lived to eat! When food rationing was imminent it made Mr Puddy feel most anxious. I well remember the vivid description of Mr Puddy at the table. “He would eat bread and jam, or bread and fish paste, slice after slice, until the loaf was a gaunt ruin, and Mr Puddy would sit back, his waistcoat buttons undone, satiated and sickly, but in a dumb way happy and contented.”

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 26

Rationing continued for a few years after the war and bread rationing was discontinued in 1952. Meat rationing ended in 1954. Shoes were even later.

Keeping Our Spirits Up! Entertainment was an important factor in maintaining morale. There was no television but the BBC operated two programmes, the Home Service and the Light Programme, which later morphed into Radio 4 and Radio 2. Some popular comedy programmes included ITMA (Its That Man Again) starring Tommy Handley, in which every character had a catch phrase, like Mona Lott, “It’s being so cheerful that keeps me going”. Other programmes included a variety programme Monday Night at Eight o’Clock, Happidrome, starring Harry Korris, The Charlie Chester Show, and a late evening programme, Appointment with Fear, scary stories introduced by Valentine Dyall as ‘The Man in Black’. This programme always ended with “This is your storyteller, the Man in Black, wishing you all - pleasant dreams!”

Then there was VE Day Eventually VE Day arrived on 8 May 1945. What a day that was!

We had suffered nearly six years of war with frequent bombing raids. My grandmother had her flat destroyed - twice! She later had a narrow escape from a V1 flying bomb. My mother also had a narrow escape from a V1 and

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 27

another escape from a V2 rocket.

So after nearly six years, each day wondering if we would still be alive the next day, you can imagine our joy and relief!

I was still at school at the time and we had a cadet corps, the 3rd Cadet Battalion, London Rifle Brigade.

We marched in a Victory Parade through Bushey, past cheering crowds waving flags and followed by a detachment of the American army that was stationed in the grounds of Bushey Hall, close to our school. Then in the evening we had a big fireworks display.

What a day to remember!

John Stephens

The Poppy Cascade returns for VE Day 80 By the time you’re reading this The Launton Poppy Cascaders will have reinstalled the Poppy display plus the two silent soldiers at the War Memorial for VE Day 80 on 8 May. They hope that you will enjoy this display once more The Launton Poppy Cascaders

Launton Plotters 2025 Annual General Meeting The Launton Plotters are holding their 2025 AGM on Thursday 5 June at 7.30pm at Launton Allotments A Bring and Share Event Refreshments will be provided after the AGM. Last year we were able to share some early produce such as Rhubarb Cake and Asparagus Frittatas, as well as cheeses and homemade bread, and delicious homemade fruit wine provided by a plotter.

Please bring your own seating.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 28

“Local orchestras don’t get much better than this”

Conductor - Sam Laughton 18 May 2025 at 4pm St. Edburg’s Church, Bicester

Sunday afternoon concert ARNOLD Four Scottish Dances BRUCH Scottish Fantasy

Soloist: Jordan Brooks MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 “Scottish” Tickets: Adults £12 in advance (Coles Books), £15 on the door; under 16’s half price Jordan Brooks is kindly supported

by Making Music’s Philip and Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artistes scheme.

www.trinitycamerata.org

Launton Ladies FC After a fantastic season, finishing 3rd in our league, Launton Ladies are looking for a few additional experienced players for next season to strengthen our squad, as we look to go forward into next season and challenge for the league title During May, all training sessions are Open Sessions, welcoming to all who might be interested in coming to meet our amazing group of friendly and supportive ladies and showing us your ball skills!

Reach out to Claire on 07540 013105 or via our social media platforms if you are interested in finding out more.

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 29

Launton Village Players Awards for Beauty and the Beast Panto from Oxfordshire Drama Network (ODN) Representatives from LVP attended the ODN AGM on 28 March, where awards from their Winter Festival were announced.

There were many individual awards, and we can report that LVP won two awards; for the Best Front of House and the Best Choreography.

We also were runners up in three other categories: Best Music, Best Chorus and Best Double Act (for Blossom and Petal).

The judges commented on our set saying how colourful and beautiful it was, as well as saying what a wonderful welcome was given to audience members as they arrived from the Front of House team. They commented that everyone should go to Launton pantomime at least once to experience this. The band impressed the reviewers with comments about how good it is to have original music. On the show itself they commented: Audience participation was at the heart of practically every scene which really kept the younger members of the audience engaged . . .  Hats off to the costume team who did a fantastic job . . .

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Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 30

 Pacing was good throughout with lots of energy from the cast and chorus  There were many wonderful, choreographed routines - particularly the

younger children who appeared as a variety of animals and were delightful throughout and we thought really added some special moments to the production. The shadow dance was also extremely memorable - very technical and well executed by the 2 young dancers.

Summer variety show: Heroes and Villains Rehearsals have now started for our 2025 summer show Heroes and Villains, which will feature music, dancing, songs, and comedy sketches.

The show is suitable for all ages and will include sketches, funny skits and some well-known show songs, plus a few surprises.

There will be three performances: 1:30pm and 6pm on Saturday 12 July and 2:30pm on Sunday 13 July. The Show will be in The Big Shed Theatre at Hare Leys Farm, Launton. Tickets (Adults £12, Children £6.) are available from 1 May from www.ticketsource.co.uk/lvp You can buy refreshments when you buy tickets, and on the day. If you are unable to buy online, call us on 07864 715708 for cash and cheque purchases.

We hope to raise money for the final parts of our new staging system so we can continue to put on shows and raise money for good causes.

We will be performing our show in a farm shed so please bring your own chairs or rug to sit on. There is plenty of parking available and we do have space for disabled parking and a few spare chairs for anyone who cannot bring one, as well as toilet facilities.

The 1:30 show on Saturday 13 July will be a “relaxed performance”, aimed at those who might require a more relaxed environment. The show will be exactly the same but will involve the following adaptations:

 Music will be turned down slightly.  We will provide a small area to be used as a chill out space.  A visual story will be made available before the show  The cast and crew will have an open attitude towards audience noise and movement.

If you have any questions, please contact us on 01869 277625 or by email to tickets@launtonvillageplayers.org.uk We do hope you will be able to come to our “Show in a Shed” and enjoy an afternoon's entertainment with us.

The LVP team Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 31

Launton Historical Society reporting …

Our booked speaker had a family emergency, but we were very pleased to have an excellent substitute. Sean Callery spoke with humour and great enthusiasm about Literary Cotswolds - including the Rev Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the Thomas the Tank Engine series of books. Rev Awdry designed his own memorial, and a small corner shows him closing the shed door on Thomas.

Shakespeare crossed the Cotswolds a lot. Now he’s buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford - but an X ray of the grave a few years ago revealed no head. Grave robbers? He went to London and came back rich, but no-one knew how - his works were not published until after his death.

Marie Corelli, a successful author of the time, lived in Stratford and championed Shakespeare in the late 19th Century, buying up relevant Shakespeare sites. She wrote the novel, Thelma and in fact invented the name.

Queen Victoria and Gladstone were admirers of Marie, who went to Venice and came back with a gondola and a gondolier.

Pam Ayres featured: she lives near Cirencester but is thought not to be up there with the greats, though may are fond of her work.

Laurie Lee and George Orwell both fought in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell, (Eric Blair) stayed in Cranham, Gloucestershire, in 1949, when he was treated in a sanatorium for TB. He moved on to London where he died. Laurie Lee spent the beginning and end of his life in Slad, where his favourite pub, the Woolpack, is still going strong.

The Mitford sisters also lived in the Cotswolds; Debo owned the Swan at Swinbrook, before becoming the Duchess of Devonshire and moving to a bigger place at Chatsworth. The father, Lord Redesdale, planted Batsford Arboretum.

Prue Leith lives near Hook Norton. She has written eight novels, three of which record the lives of two families based in the Cotswolds. Nearby, close to the Rollright Stones, lives Penelope Lively, who writes well about the Cotswolds and has also written children’s books.

The Oxford based Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) was thought to have been inspired by a gargoyle at Winchcombe and produced the Mad Hatter. We heard that Alice didn’t relish the fame his books brought her, but she did use it later, when she needed to.

TS Eliot lived near Chipping Campden and Geoffrey Chaucer near Blenheim.

Graham Greene moved to the Cotswolds in the 1930s and wrote Stamboul Train there, his first commercial success. His house is now a holiday let.

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 32

Joanna Trollope was born in Minchinhampton. Sean was not a fan of this ‘Queen of the Aga Saga - people having affairs in nice kitchens’. Jilly Cooper writes about posh people having fun, too. She moved from London to the Cotswolds. Her novels were filmed in Tetbury. Sean was not an especial fan, but he did like the line ‘I’m going to get plastered, I love you so much I want to see two of you.’.

Edward Thomas wrote the famous poem beginning ‘Yes. I remember Adelstrop’ (which is in the Cotswolds).The express train drew up there and no one left, and no one came. It was published posthumously; Edward died in World War I. We enjoyed our evening with Sean. By the time you read this we will have heard John Tyler speak about Reading the Countryside. After that on 29 May we will hear Martin Sirot Smith speak about Daily Life in Tudor Times. I suspect that Martin will be dressed in Tudor garb.

The Historical Society meets at 7.30 in the Parish Hall on the last Thursday of the month and all are welcome.

Gwen Skinner Friends of Launton Parish Hall

FoLPH Annual General Meeting Thursday 15 May Launton Parish Hall 7.30 pm All welcome to catch up on work on the Parish Hall and on fundraising for the Improvement Project.

The scaffolding is down.

The roof is almost complete.

Find out what the next stage will be on the Hall project.

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 33

Continued from page 20

Would like to see less/fewer of . . .

Most of these were single comments which are noted.  Length of some articles. (2 responses: “More than two pages and I don’t always read to the end.”)  Fewer reports and historical features. (2 responses; “Historical reports; only one needed, not all 50, 100, 150, sometimes 200 Years Ago”)  Political views. (2 responses: “I do not want to see any politically biased content . . . The publication is funded in part by our rates, via the Parish Council. The editor should not allow political views to be expressed: there are many other places where peoples’ political views can be aired.  Memories of an ex-Launton boy (2 responses)  Printed moans (1 response)  The print edition itself. (1 response: “. . . a waste of Parish Council funding and environmentally unfriendly. The reality is most households either don’t read, or skim and bin it.”)  Grumpy Old Men...moan, moan, moan anonymously! (1 response)

Sports teams reporting . . .

We specifically asked about reporting of sports teams and clubs in Launton: 59% (29) of respondents said they would like to see more on sports. When asked to list what they wanted to see, most replied, in a variety of ways “All sports and games based in the village or played by people from the village.”

Some asked for info on “What they do?” “Where they do it?” “When they get together?”, and “How to take part?”. If any readers of this would like to help with reporting sports in Launton Lines, please contact editor@launton.org It anyone would like to see the raw data from the responses, just let us know.

Oh, and 15 responses (29.5%) replied that they would like to contribute to Launton Lines. We wait for the flood of contributions.

Finally, one response to “What would you like to see more of. . .?” asked for “Children’s contributions and family-reflecting articles . . . children’s activity page online, competitions or puzzles. Sadly it reads like an old man’s club too often with little recognition of families in the village.” We ask the person who made this comment to come forward and contribute.

Robert Cornford Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 34

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 35

County Council Election Result 1 May 2025 CHESTERTON AND LAUNTON William Boucher-Giles – Liberal Democrats: 935 votes: 32.9% of votes cast. Elected Sandy Dallimore – Conservatives: 806 votes: 28.3% of votes cast Ian Hodgson – Reform UK: 760 votes: 26.7% of votes cast John O’Regan – Green: 188 votes: 6.6% of votes cast Russell Hewer – Labour: 156 votes: 5.5% of votes cast Turnout: 37.8%

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 36

The Poppy Cascaders plan for Christmas!

The Poppy Cascaders are considering another community event for Christmas 2025. We are exploring making Christmas trees from wooden pallets, and then making Christmas decorations to adorn the trees which will be sited in several locations in the village.

We will need a team of people to help build the trees, and crafters to knit/crochet/sew the decorations, and enthusiastic supporters.

Hopefully this will involve copious amounts of coffee/tea and cake.

We appreciate that it’s very early to be talking about Christmas, but if you are interested joining us for this activity, please contact us on the details below Isobel Jennion isobeljennion@me.com Mary Carter carmore2007@hotmail.co.uk Hilary Bradshaw hilaryannbradshaw@hotmail.com Tel 01869 241989 Lesley Thompson 07971 381 074

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Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 37

150 Years Ago: from The Bicester Herald 14 May 1875

COUNTY COURT. John Waine, labourer, Launton, v James Long, labourer, Launton This action was brought to recover the value of a shawl, viz 18s 6d, which was alleged to have been unlawfully detained by the defendant’s wife, after having been lent to her by the plaintiff for the purpose of her attending the funeral of her brother-in-law, who, it will be remembered, was accidentally killed a short time back at Bicester railway station. Plaintiff’s wife stated that she lent the shawl to Mrs Long for her to attend a funeral; and when the shawl was brought back, she found it was not the right shawl, but an old one instead.

- The Judge: Now, Long, why did you keep the lady’s shawl?

- Long: I did not have it.

- Plaintiff: I did not lend the shawl to him, but to his wife, and she sent me an inferior and much smaller shawl in return; but I would not have it, so I sent it back.

The defendant’s wife (Mary Ann Long) here stepped into the box and said she had brought both of the shawls, upon which His Honour requested that they should be handed to the plaintiff’s wife for examination. Mrs Waine proceeded to examine the two, and during the examination said: - This (evidently the best shawl) is the one I lent her, but she has cut off some of the fringe.

- Mrs Long: That it ’aint.

- Mrs Waine: If you will excuse me, sir, I will speak the truth.

- The Judge: I hope you have done so already. (Laughter).

- Mrs Waine: It is my shawl, but it is not in the same state. I have summoned her for the money.

- The Judge: But you see you have got your own shawl now.

- Mrs Long: I never asked her to lend me the shawl.

- Mrs Waine: Oh, Mrs Long, you did. The shawl has been damaged, and it is not near so good.

- The Judge: Take the shawl and be satisfied. Take care never to lend again, for this is in the fault of lending. It is a very bad policy that. You should never borrow nor never lend: but give as much as you like.

- Verdict accordingly for the plaintiff to have the shawl.

- Mrs Long (on leaving) exclaimed: She can have it and welcome. I did not want her “paltry” shawl. (Laughter).

Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 38

Marking the eightieth anniversary of VE Day

Join us at The Village Coffee Shop (see pages 22-23) as we commemorate VE Day 80 with local resident John Stephens, who was just 16 when the war ended 80 years ago.

On Thursday 8 May, from 10 am to 12 pm, we’re offering our locally produced English Breakfast tea at a special price for the morning; it was a beloved staple of the British diet during WWII - come and enjoy a cup while John shares his personal memories from that historic time.

(See pages 25-28 of this issue for some of John’s recollections, and page 10 for news of the memorial bell-ringing at St Mary’s Church later in the day.)

We would be delighted to see any other villagers who have stories to share of the events around VE Day. Just a reminder that Launton Sports & Social is your local family and dog friendly pub/bar in the heart of the community of Launton, run by a small group of volunteers and OPEN TO ALL NO MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED. We show major sporting events, and serve a wide range of drinks, including Real Ale. We have been serving Launton for over 50 years, as a Sports and Social event venue.

Our next community event is on Sunday 10 May - a Race Night in the LSSC Hall (see page 29 for more information).

Memories of an ex-Launton boy This month the ex-Launton boy responds to the April report of the Spring Clean Day in 2025: he recalls when there was no need for a village-wide tidy up (there was so little litter), and the “Spring Clean” was done house by house and involved serious amounts of work.

Having picked up in the last issue of Launton Lines the item, “Launton has a Spring Clean Day”, it took me back to my childhood growing up in Launton.

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I do not recall the village having an outdoor Spring Cleaning Day, for way back then, I do not recall any rubbish in the streets, in people’s front gardens (I don’t know what the back gardens were like because you couldn’t see those from the pavements out front), so essentially, there was no outdoor Spring Cleaning to do. By that I mean, there was no picking up of litter quite simply because villagers back then would not have dreamt of littering our streets or footpaths.

I believe quite apart from an instinctive sense of family pride, another reason may well have been that people either tended to re-use something in the way of its’ original purpose, or they might be inclined to make some alterations and adaptations and utilise it for some other well-worthwhile purpose.

Take for example, when a family had decided that their brood was sufficiently large and not want to add any more, the pram, by then quite well-worn, may well have had its body removed, but the chassis and wheels could be put to some good use, such as converting it to a small hand-cart, specially useful for gardeners and allotment-holders.

A lot of that kind of thing stemmed from WWII when people had to mend and make-do, and so became quite ingenious in some of the things they produced out of something else rather than throw it away.

As I mentioned a couple of issues ago, hand-me-down clothes was an example of the way things used to be, i.e. “waste-not, want-not.”

But when it came to indoor Spring-Cleaning, that was another matter altogether. My mother was so very house-proud, in the days before we had carpet, she used to polish the lino floor to such a degree you could have quite safely eaten your dinner of it (not that we ever did).

The brown utility furniture wasn’t just dusted daily, it was highly polished daily. I would come in from school and the smell that hit the moment you walked in the door was of lavender furniture polish. Once my brother Cliff and I were old enough, we had to carry out certain household chores before we could go out to play.

Bearing in mind, both my parents served in the Armed Forces during WWII, if, after I had dusted what we called, the living room, my mum ran her finger along the top of the architrave above the door, I would have to dust the whole room again and get it right the second time. It may seem a bit harsh, but it stood me in very good stead when I went into the army where there was, during basic training, an awful lot of bull, but my bed-space and locker were Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 40

always immaculate, unlike some of the poor souls for whom this was a completely new experience. And didn’t they suffer until they got it right.

I can remember the curtains coming down and being washed, the rugs being taken outside and given an almighty beating. The ceilings and paintwork being washed down using umpteen buckets of water (both mum and dad were smokers). I remember sitting at the pine scrub-top table covered in newspaper in the kitchen with a tin of Brasso and a couple of cloths cleaning the brass stair rods and the cutlery and the brass and copper ornaments.

Yes! Spring Cleaning indoors was quite an event each year.

But much has changed since those days, such as houses becoming centralheated, lino replaced by wall-to-wall carpets, curtains in many instances being replaced by vertical, roller or venetian blinds. Cutlery is for the most part these days, stainless steel that just needs washing after use.

But the biggest change is that for a few decades now, we have sadly developed a ‘throw-away’ society. Nothing is made to last, unless you wish or are able to pay a fortune for it. More people have cars; cars have wind-down windows; why take rubbish home with you when you can just chuck it out of the car window in someone else’s neighbourhood, just as outsiders can do in yours?

People have become idle; “Oh someone else can do that!” How many times do you see someone in a clothes shop accidentally catching something, causing it to fall to the floor, but will they stop to pick it up and put it back?

No! Someone else can do it.

The same thing happens in supermarkets, and what really gets my goat big time is when someone picks up an item of food in one aisle and decides partway round that they don’t want it after all and deposits it on the shelf where they then happen to be standing, so you have a piece of rump steak sitting among the toilet rolls.

So, for those of you Launtonites going around the village picking up rubbish as part of Launton’s Spring Clean, hats off to you and very well-done.

And for anyone brave enough to admit to being a self-confessed ‘Litter-Bug,’ please spare a thought for those who pick up after you!.

Keep healthy and stay SAFE! Tony Jeacock, MInstRE | The ex-Launton Boy | April 2025 Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 41

Diary Dates: May 2025

With the coming of Spring, there are more events. Send in details of events at the Sports and Social, at the pubs, at sports teams, and from village organisations, to launtonlines@launton.org for a FREE listing here.

Thur 1 Local Elections today. Polling Station in the Parish Hall, 7am - 10pm | Parish Council. Public Session 7.15pm, Council Meeting 7.30pm, Launton School Hall Sun 4 St Mary's Church, Holy Communion , 8.00am. Family Service - Peace, 11am | Quiz Night at The Bull from 8pm Mon 5 May Day Bank Holiday Tue 6 Rubbish Collection: recycling (blue) and garden (brown) bin | Community Café, Check St Mary's Facebook page for venue, 9am-11am | Village Coffee Shop opens today | Rock Chorus, Parish Hall, 7.30pm Wed 7 Over 60s Club Meeting, Sports & Social Hall. Doors open at 1.30pm, meeting ends about 3.30pm Thur 8 Village Coffee Shop VE Day recollections and a cuppa with John Stephens, 10am-12 noon | St Mary's Church, Open all day from 9am to 7pm, Historical Society exhibition on WW2. Open for themed refreshments 5pm-7pm. Together We Chime, Ringing the Bells to Mark VE Day, 6.30pm | WI Meeting, Resolutions, Parish Hall, 7.30pm Fri 9 SCOTS at The Bull from 5.30pm | Sat 10 Spring Fair (cakes, plants, refreshments) at The Parish Hall, 10am - 12noon | LPFA Race Night, Sports and Social Hall, starts at 6pm Sun 11 St Mary's Church, Evensong, 6pm | Quiz Night at The Bull from 8pm Mon 12 Watercolour Painting Group, 2pm-4pm. Contact Paul.Ebberson@gmail.com for venue Tue 13 Rubbish Collection: garbage (green) bin | Community Café, Check St Mary's Facebook page for venue, 9am-11am | FIPW Midweek working party in the woodland, Meet at the pond, 10.00am | Rock Chorus, Parish Hall, 7.30pm Sat 17 Vale Brewery Open Day with food van, from 12 noon, Lugershall Road, Brill Sun 18 Marsh Gibbon Farmer's Market at the Village Hall, 10am-1.00pm | St Mary's Church, Holy Communion, 11am | Quiz Night at The Bull from 8pm Mon 19 FINAL DATE FOR COPY FOR THE JUNE 2025 ISSUE OF LAUNTON LINES: SUBMIT TO launtonlines@launton.org | St Mary's Church, Fellowship Group, meeting, 2.30 Tue 20 Rubbish Collection: recycling (blue) and garden (brown) bin | Community Café, Check St Mary's Facebook page for venue, 9am-11am | Rock Chorus, Parish Hall, 7.30pm Wed 21 Over 60s Club Meeting, Sports & Social Hall. Doors open at 1.30pm, meeting ends about 3.30pm Fri 23 Launton Environmental Society MOP VII meeting , Parish Hall, 7.30pm Sat 24 Island Pond Wood marks The International Day for Biological Diversity in the Woodland, 1pm3pm - see page 44 Sun 25 St Mary's Church, Morning Worship, 11am | Quiz Night at The Bull from 8pm Mon 26 School half term starts today. Back to school on 2 June. | Watercolour Painting Group, 2pm4pm. Contact Paul.Ebberson@gmail.com for venue Tue 27 Rubbish Collection: garbage (green) bin | Rock Chorus, Parish Hall, 7.30pm Thur 29 St Mary's Church, Holy Communion at St Peter's Church Bucknell, 7.30am | Historical Society Meeting, Martin Sirot Smith is talking about Daily Life in Tudor Times. Parish Hall, 7.30pm Sat 31 FoLPH and Parish Council Joint event to mark the new roof, Parish Hall, 10am - 12noon Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 42

May Around the Village

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Pictures from round the village in the past month 1 - Duck and ducklings in West End 2 - The Easter Garden in place at St Mary’s 3, 4, 5, 6 - Children at St. Mary’s make the Easter Garden 7 - The Village Players hand £12,500 raised at the 2025 Pantomime to Hummingbird Centre 8 - The Spring Post Box Topper outside the Post Office and Costcutter shop 9-10 - Easter flowers in St Mary’s after the end of Lent Photos from the following: Ella Rayner 1, 8 | St. Mary’s Church - 2, 9, 10 | Emily Carter - 3, 4, 5, 6 | Launton Village Players - 7

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Launton Lines May 2025 Issue 293 | Page 43

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Launton Lines is the newsletter for Launton

It is published monthly by the Launton Community Communications Group which manages the Launton website www.launton.org and the Launton Village Facebook Group www.facebook.com/launtonvillage as well as Launton Lines Launton Lines is delivered free to all households in the village, funded by its advertisers and Launton Parish Council.

Further print copies are available at £1.00 per copy from Shirley Johnson (01869 369269) Launton Lines is also available online from January 2020 on www.issuu.com © MMXXV Launton Lines. We reserve the right to edit articles submitted for inclusion.

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