News from Woodmancote

& Popham

St James hosted a Pet Service in June. I must admit to feeling slightly barking (no pun intended!) at taking two dogs and a chicken into Church! However, it was a good humoured short service, expertly taken by Rev Rob Rees. At the end of the day, I think anyone who owns a pet, really knows how loved and a part of one’s family they become, so maybe not so eccentric after all. In lockdown many pets quite literally kept people going–dogs have to be walked, all pets have to be fed and looked after, sometimes it is the little things that keep one feeling normal and they certainly give love back totally unconditionally.

In July it is our Patronal Service but at the time of writing this has not yet taken place. We are really looking forward to taking Holy Communion presided over by Rev’d Rob Rees following his ordination as a priest. In August it is holiday season and we only have one service, which is morning prayer on 21st. A date for the diary is our Harvest Festival followed by lunch on Sunday 25th September at 11am. Hope you can join us.

Jane

Jubilee Grid Photo

Many people think it a great idea to have a grid photo made of all our Platinum Jubilee Celebration photos taken by you. If you would like any of your photos included, please send them to Peter O’Keefe editor@thedever.org who has agreed to create the grid, which will be a wonderful memento of parish community memories. Please send your photos no later than the end of August. Thank you.

Iwould like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all in Micheldever for their kind thoughts and help recently. I can’t think of anywhere I would rather have been at this difficult time, it made life easier.

Special thanks to Alice Johnson who looked after me and Anby Dixon who nourished me. Small things make life bearable. So once again a big thank you to Micheldever.

Sheila Rodger

The Hampshire County Council consultation on 20mph speed limits has now gone live.

https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/20mph-speedlimits-consultation

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The deadline for responses will be extended to mid-September.

The Dever Valley Local History Society (DVLHS) has finally re‑surfaced following the pandemic and is pleased to make an early announcement of our first Talk of the season:

The Impact Of The Black Death 1348/9 On The Diocese Of Winchester.

13th September

Venue: The Warren Centre, Micheldever Station. 8pm prompt. £4 entry at the door.

Jubilee Thanks

The Jubilee celebrations are still fresh in our minds and this month here are some more photographs to enjoy.

The events each part of the parish put on were enjoyed by all and showed real community spirit throughout our parish. Thanks are due to many people–too many to mention by name but perhaps there are a few organisations which deserve special mention.

First a thank you to Micheldever Parish Council for their guidance and help with several aspects of the celebrations. They also gave us a loan to cover the purchase of the wine and the mugs. This we have paid back We received a grant from Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council which was spent on the hire of toilets for Woodmancote, hog roast equipment, road signs and several other expenses which soon mounted up. Thank you to both Councils

Another major contributor was Micheldever Mini Marquees who supplied, free of charge, a great number of tables and chairs. Thank you

Thanks are also due to all the village halls who loaned various things for the events and to Micheldever Church of England School for the use of the toilet and their grounds for the Street Party

Last but not least thank you to our sponsors, Whitefoot, Agri and Micheldever Tyres

We still have a number of mugs for sale, the proceeds of which will be used for something in the parish to commemorate this special occasion

Olly and Maurelle

More about the Parish Jubilee Celebrations

What wonderful memories were created across the parish over the Jubilee weekend to celebrate the remarkable reign of our Queen. The festivities started on the Thursday with the amazing Champagne Breakfast at The Half Moon and Spread Eagle and the day then ended with a delicious hog roast in Woodmancote, plus a drink or two! At 9.45pm the beacon was lit to coincide with the lighting of beacons around the country.

On Friday, Micheldever Station organised a splendid children’s party in the Warren Centre, and in the evening The Dove was full to capacity for the BBQ.

The fête at East Stratton on Saturday was a huge success, enjoyed by a large number of people, with an evening at The Northbrook Arms to follow, watching The Jubilee Concert and quenching thirsts.

After all these wonderful events, all blessed with fine weather, it was with great trepidation that the Micheldever Jubilee committee decided on the Sunday morning to go ahead as planned and hold the street party outside, even though the weather forecast wasn’t looking at all promising. At 8.30am Church Street was closed to traffic, marshals were in place, bunting and balloons were strung across the road and an army of volunteers appeared to begin setting up tables and chairs, all delivered by yet another team. It was lovely to hear the bells being rung before the Thanksgiving Service in St Mary’s, beautifully decorated with flowers from the

Flower Festival which had been running over the Jubilee weekend.

While we were singing away in the church the team outside continued to set up the tables, covered them with tablecloths, decorated them with flags and placed location letters on them to identify where party groups should sit–an incredibly well-thought-out plan. Everyone started to arrive at midday, the bar opened, manned by more volunteers, and the children paraded to show off their costumes for the ‘Kings and Queens’ competition. At 1pm the party began, food was shared, and an atmosphere created that was just unbelievable. And let’s not forget the amazing community singing and of course the conga at the end!

At 4.30pm the new play area at the LRPF was officially opened by the chairman of the Parish Council. By 6pm Church Street was cleared of everything, tables and chairs returned, and no rubbish left behind, so thank you all for that.

A HUGE thank you–to everyone who worked so hard to help in any way to make the truly fantastic memories we are all still talking about, and to everyone who supported the events. Maurelle and Olly

Parish Council News Vandalism

It is with sadness that the Parish Council have to note an increase in vandalism in the Parish. Where this vandalism is to Parish Council property, all residents bear the cost of repairs and money that could be used towards new items and projects has to be diverted to carrying out repairs that should not be arising. The basket swing at Warren Field has had to be repaired and glass has been broken in the bus shelter and the pavilion at the Lord Rank, along with other damage to property. It is such a sad waste of resources.

Reporting Issues

The Parish Council are always happy to have contact with residents. Parish Council meetings are open to the public and up to fifteen minutes of the meeting is set aside for residents to ask questions or raise concerns. Some of the issues brought to the Council may, however, be dealt with more promptly if reported directly to the appropriate authority. Both Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council have on-line reporting facilities on their websites for those who have internet access.

Hampshire County Council are the Highways Authority and issues relating to roads – potholes, damaged or obscured road signs etc can be reported at https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/ roadmaintenance/roadproblems

On minor roads in particular, HCC may be unaware of issues for a considerable amount of time if they are not reported by the public.

Winchester City Council are responsible for rubbish collection, fly tipping, planning and environmental health.

Fly tipping can be reported via https://www.winchester.gov.uk/waste-andrecycling/flytipping or 0300 3000013

Dog fouling, noise nuisance, bonfires etc can be reported to EH@winchester.gov.uk or 01962 848097

Planning Enforcement Issues can be reported to Enforcement@winchester.gov.uk or 01962 848480

Matters can also be reported on-line to the Police using https://www.hampshire. police.uk/ro/report This is typically quicker than reporting by phoning 101 but 999 should still be called in emergencies.

Jocelyn, the Clerk, can be contacted via micheldeverpc@hotmail.co.uk or on 01794 368951 (office hours if possible please).