The Grumpy Old Men of Launton return . . . July 2025

The Grumpy Old Men of Launton return

We were delighted to read the results of the readership survey carried out at the end of 2024, and to see that we, the Grumpy Old Men, had such a ringing endorsement from your readership. We were further honoured to receive your invitation to contribute further to the village newsletter. So where to start? Maybe with roads and potholes. Or traffic reporting and speeding? Or perhaps with the road drains and ditches. Or the overgrown footpaths and pavements? There is plenty to discuss.

On the roads, it’s good to see the resurfacing of Bicester Road has been done in time for some really hot days: maybe the top dressing and sealing will harden up once the temperature drops below 25C. A couple of us swapped memories of growing up in the 1950s and walking to school in the country along roads where the tar was coming up in blackcurrant-shaped bubbles. We were 6 at the time and didn’t understand the difference between blackcurrants and hot tar – and came home with our fingers covered in black sticky stuff that certainly wasn’t blackcurrant juice. Do they use different tar nowadays, or were the summers of 1953 and 1954 so much hotter than today? We all agreed (or all of us who were round to remember) that certainly the summer of 1953 was cold and wet and miserable.

So now we wait for road markings to be reinstated. With any luck they will have some built-in traffic-calming in the shape of one way traffic and lights.

And while on the topic of traffic calming, what has happened to the County Council proposal for a raised cushion across the village crossroads covering all four roads and the crossing. We tried to remember how long ago this was put forward following a visit by a County Council expert: at least two years ago - maybe three, maybe four. It seemed a simple but effective solution and it could be one that would work: it was from the responsible authority (County Council handles highways and traffic). They normally tell us why some traffic measure proposed from other villages (like chicanes, or narrowed entrances to the village, or “give way to oncoming traffic” road narrowings, or sleeping policemen) could not be applied in Launton - so it might, possibly, be implemented.

We asked around our group, and outside it… and no one could remember anything beyond the original proposal. Had it been shelved? Was there no money? Had the enlightened highways engineer moved on? Or had it just got lost (like so many other things) in post-Covid overload? We agreed that we would try to find out. Here’s looking forward to next month!

The Grumpy Old Men of Launton