|
Christmas Refuse Collections |
- The refuse collections will be one day later than usual over Christmas, ie: Wednesday 28 December and Wednesday 4th January.
|
|
|
Missing Cat |
- Minty, a white male cat, has gone AWOL from 9 School Lane, only 3 weeks after moving to Sherington. If found, please contact Mary (Tel: 611916).
|
|
|
2005 Fete |
- The sponsorship money from the last of the corporate sponsors of this year's Fete has now been received, so the organisers are now able to announce that the total amount available for distribution is:
£13,762.57
which includes raffle ticket money raised by various organisations.
- Cheques are on their way to all the beneficiaries: Willen Hospice, St Laud's Church and the various Village Organisations involved.
|
|
|
News In Brief |
- The Annual Traidcraft Event organised by Pearl Teasdale on 5/6 November raised £1117.41 for the poor of the the Third World.
- On 30 September, vandalism was caused to the Village signs and bus shelter. Police are investigating.
- SCAN magazine is looking for a new Treasurer and Advertising Manager to take over from Wendy Austyn after Christmas. If interested please contact Wendy (Tel: 616283).
- SCAN Kids are looking for adult helpers for the Thursday evening 7pm-8.30pm session for 8 to 12 year olds. Please contact Flora Jeeves (Tel: 217687) or Pauline Stanton-Saringer (Tel: 610521).
- The Safari Supper will not go ahead this year, as unfortunately there were no volunteers to host the final venue.
- Trevor and Eleanor Findull and Michael and Esther Boyce both celebrated their Ruby Weddings with a joint party in the Village Hall on 15 October.
- Jackie Watts, 15 Church Road is the poppy distributor this year for the Royal British Legion.
- SCAN magazine will have a Christmas greetings page in their December issue - senders should give donations to their favourite charity in lieu of Christmas card costs. Enquiries to the SCAN Editor, Betty Feasey (Tel: 611587)
|
|
|
Milton Keynes Wind Farm |
- A company called Your Energy Ltd has published proposals to construct a wind farm at Petsoe Manor, approximately 2 miles NE of Sherington. E4Environment Ltd are currently carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment for Your Energy to support their planning application. If approval is granted, 10 turbines each of height 125mm would be built during 2008. Your Energy has recently circulated a letter and map, plus the 'Wind Power' booklet, to local residents to try to gain their support. They have also set up a web site: www.miltonkeyneswindfarm.com.
- The proposal is already proving to be controversial, with concern being expressed at Parish Council meetings in the area. A key criticism is that the 10 turbines, at three times the height of local church towers and located in the Ouse Valley Area of Attractive Landscape, will be very visually intrusive. Local MP Mark Lancaster has published reasoned arguments against the proposals in his monthly column in the local press. Even those who support the principles of sustainable energy question the logic of siting this wind farm in one of the least windy parts of the UK. Since the proposal is not part of an integrated government energy plan, it is being seen as little more than a straightforward commercial opportunity by a private company. 'B.L.E.W.' (Bucks Lacks Enough Wind) has set up a web site containing details of the opposition to the wind farm: www.embertonwindfarm.co.uk
|
|
|
Parish Councillor Vacancy |
- There is a vacancy for a Parish Councillor following the resignation of Cllr Sarah Jackson. Enquiries should be addressed to the Parish Clerk or any of the Parish Councillors.
|
|
|
Calling All Former Students of Sherington School! |
- The school would like to hear from all former students who have been successful in some walk of life (not neccessarily academic). Milton Keynes Council is considering placing a logo recording past student's successes in the school entrance. Further details
|
|
|
Bell-ringing |
- St Laud's Church is looking for new members for the bell-ringing team - if interested, please contact Ella Field or the Rector.
|
|
|
Closure of Crofts End |
- The section of Crofts End between School Lane and Perry Lane will be closed to all through traffic from 25 July to 19 August whilst Milton Keynes Council re-construct the footpath.
- Whilst residents living along this stretch will retain access to their properties, all other traffic, including emergency vehicles, will be diverted via Chicheley Hill.
|
|
|
Willen Hospice Auction |
- The auction in aid of Willen Hospice, held in the White Hart car park on Saturday 16 July, has raised £1,769, with a further £400 in Gift Aid expected.
|
|
|
Mobile Library- New Timetable |
- The Mobile Library will be outside the shop on Tuesday mornings from 11.40 to 12.10, once a fortnight. Dates are 2/16/30 August, 13/27 September, 11/25 October, 8/22 November and 6/20 December.
|
|
|
Fundraising |
- The Parish Plant Sale on 4 June raised £520 in just an hour and a half.
- This year the Willen Hospice collection raised £567.
- Christian Aid week (15 to 21 May) raised £449 in Sherington.
|
|
|
Gun Lane |
- On 8 June Milton Keynes Council made an order to impose a 30mph speed limit in Gun Lane, for a distance of 185 metres from Park Road. This is 12 metres further than at present, plus it corrects an anomaly by imposing 30mph on the first 90 metres from Park Road to the White Hart, which is actually unrestricted at present. It comes into force on 20 June.
|
|
|
May Day Celebrations - 2 May 2005 |
- Good weather brought a large crowd to The Knoll to watch the traditional dancing around the Maypole by the children from Sherington School.
- Other activities included a raffle and the annual Fun Run organised by John Risby. There were several stalls, providing refreshments and details of the forthcoming Fete. This year no-one volunteered for the Yard of Ale competition. Philip Smith was Master of Ceremonies.
- Click here for 9 more photos!
|
|
|
White Hart |
- The Beer and Sausage Festival at the White Hart on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend raised £479.62 for Willen Hospice.
|
|
|
Buses |
- They've mucked about with the buses again! As from 17 April, the No. 36 service to Northampton has been replaced by the 1B, and the 132 to Bedford is now the 24. The Sunday 131 service to Bedford has been re-numbered 1. The new Mon-Sat 1/1B services provide an hourly service through Sherington during the day from Milton Keynes to Olney. Note: don't get on the 1A service or you'll end up in Cranfield!
- Confused? Download the latest official timetable (published by Milton Keynes Council):
|
|
|
2001 Census |
- Local details from the 2001 Census are available on the Milton Keynes Council website. In particular, page 10 of the following PDF document gives a detailed breakdown for Sherington parish: www.mkweb.co.uk/statistics/documents/Profiles_M-W.pdf. Additional information can be obtained by going to www.mkweb.co.uk/statistics/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=21638 and drilling down into the 17 maps. Highlights include:
- Of the 963 population:
- 240 are aged 19 or less, 159 are aged 65 or over.
- 10 are unemployed and 464 have jobs. 195 are Managers/Senior Officials/Professional.
- 205 have degrees. 760 are Christians
- 125 have a limiting long term illness, 46 class their general heath as 'not good'.
- Of the 374 households:
- 314 are owner occupied, 42 are rented from the Council.
- 5 are without central heating.
- 29 have no car, 56 have 3 or more cars.
- Note: on the official 2001 Census website, data is only broken down as far as Ward level. Sherington Ward covers the whole area from Stoke Goldington to Astwood, and not just Sherington parish itself, so the Ward figures are much higher than those for the parish.
|
|
|
Web Site |
- Our URL was successfully transferred to 123-Reg (part of the the Pipex group) over the Easter holiday. This transfer brings the following benefits.
- The School, Pre-School and Parish Council web sites can now be accessed directly via the following URLs. It is no longer necessary to go via the main Village home page (although you still can if you prefer!). Don't forget the forward slashes!
- All pages on the web site can now be accessed directly or bookmarked by simply appending the page name to 'www.sherington.org.uk/'. This did not work before. For example:
- The number of 'www.sherington.org.uk' email adresses we can create has increased from 10 to at least 100. Also, each address can now forward mail automatically to 3 mailboxes (rather than just 1). If you would like to take advantage of these facilities, please contact us. It's free!
|
|
|
School News |
- Don't forget to read the School news regularly! This month: Easter bonnet parade, egg rolling, Vikings, Africa Week, Red Nose Day, etc.
   |
|
|
2005/6 Council Tax |
- MK Council has announced the Council Tax for the year 2005/6. Sherington residents will be paying between £763.59 and £2290.76, depending on their property's value. The Tax has increased by 5.55% from last year. Further details
- Sherington Parish Council precept is £15,750, up from £10,500 in 2004/5.
|
|
|
Cllr Pat Seymour |
- If you wish to contact Cllr Pat Seymour, who represents Sherington on Milton Keynes Council, please note that she has a new telephone number: 01908 551868. She can also be contacted by email: [email protected]
|
|
|
Electricity Cables |
- On 7 March Central Networks will be starting work to put the electricity cables along part of Water Lane underground. As this involves digging a trench along the road, there will inevitably be some disruption and inconvenience whilst the work is carried out.
- It should be noted that not all the cables along the whole length will be put underground. Residents who have any questions or concerns are invited to contact Parish Councillor Sarah Jackson (Tel: 217881, 3 Gun Lane, email: [email protected]).
|
|
|
Parish Council Open Morning |
- The Parish Council held a very successful Open Morning on Saturday 19 February in the Village Hall. Many Sherington residents took the opportunity to find out about Parish Council activities and plans. Five of the Parish Councillors were on hand to answer questions.
Further details
|
|
|
Youth Club |
- £188.75 was raised for the Tsunami Appeal at the Youth Club's concert held on Wednesday 6 February. Two groups played:
- 'Super Heroes In Training' with David White (vocals and guitar), Ben Tough (guitar) and two friends from Ousedale School.
- 'Splitting Image' with John-Michael Sanderson and two friends from Bedford School.
|
|
|
Sherington Tsunami Earthquake Appeal |
- A final total of £7000 plus £600 Gift Aid has been raised in just four weeks via direct donations, collection boxes in the pubs, shops and church, and contributions from village groups.
- The money will be sent to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) who are co-ordinating the national appeal. Its members include: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Concern, Help The Aged, Merlin, Oxfam, Save The Children, Tearfund and World Vision.
|
|
|
Fete |
- The Fete web pages can now be accessed directly using www.sheringtonfete.org.uk without having to visit the main village website first, if you prefer. Access via the links on the main village web site is unchanged. The Fete web site is now being actively updated with the latest Fete news, requests for help, etc, as preparations for this year's event continue, so please visit it regularly to keep up-to-date.
|
|
|
Easter Lilies |
- If you would like a lily placed in Church in memory of a loved one at Easter, please contact Jill Burgess (Tel: 611163) or Ella Field (Tel: 610560) by 13 March at the latest. Cost is £3 per name.
|
|
|
Website Information Updates |
- The minutes of the December Parish Council Meeting record a resident expressing concern about out-of-date information on village organisations on the web site. As the individual is not identified, and did not bother to raise his concerns with me first, I can not contact them personally to discuss the matter. The following is therefore an Open Letter from the webmaster to that person.
- The Sherington web site is visited by several hundred people every month. It is therefore vitally important that they can find the information they are seeking and that this information is accurate. Whilst I provide the technical facilities and upload the information, I can not include anything I do not know about. No single individual can possibly know what the other 1000 residents are doing, unless they tell him. All the information I have is already online - there is no backlog. This means if the information is missing or out-of-date then I simply do not know about it. The solution is simple - just tell me.
- There are a number of pages on the website containing an explicit request for information. However, every page has my contact details - look on right hand side, part way down. If you click on 'Email', your email program (eg: Outlook Express) will open with my email address ([email protected]) already in the 'To' box. Just type your message and press 'Send' - it couldn't be easier or quicker. My street address (8 Gun Lane, directly opposite the White Hart) is also provided if you prefer to pop the information through my letter-box, or discuss it in person. This also means that those without internet access can still contribute.
- It is disappointing that you chose not to do this, but instead complained to a third party. The web site was set up on my own initiative. It is not run by the Parish Council, just as they do not run SCAN. Unlike SCAN, which receives financial support from the Council, the website has not received (and does not require) any funding from the Council. However, the Parish Council is one of the village organisations that recognises the benefit of the Web in assisting in communicating with villagers. It does provide items for inclusion itself (eg: the Village Appraisal and Council Meeting Minutes). These relate to its own activities and are available in its own distinctive section of the web site - look for the green pages. The Council is not responsible for publicising other organisations - that is the responsibility of the organisations themselves.
- A number of other village organisations and individuals are also actively involved in providing information for the web site. The rapid expansion of the website in the last two years is due solely to their contributions - I am merely a facilitator. An organisation that wishes to be accessible to the whole community will want to publicise itself, advertise its events, etc. If it wants to attract new members, the information (times/places/contact details) needs to be available to the whole village, not just existing members. You can not look village organisations up in the Phone Book or Yellow Pages, so the web site is an obvious place to look instead.
- Whilst the facilities of the web site are available to everyone in the village (completely free of charge - there really is no catch!), some organisations still do not actively participate. They have a perfect right not to do so, and keep their details secret, if they so choose. Perhaps they are a closed organisation, and do not want new members, or outsiders attending their meetings. Perhaps they are prejudiced against internet users. Perhaps they just can't be bothered. However, I suspect that few Sherington organisations fall into this category and that the reason they do not use the website is they are either unaware of the facilities/benefits available free to them or that they do not realise their publicity is not as good as it could be. I can help, but only if they ask. Ultimately, the extent/quality of the information that an organisation chooses to make available on the web can be seen as a reflection of that organisation's attitude. If you run, or are a member of, a Sherington organisation and your organisation's information on the website is not as good or as extensive as you would like, please supply the information or get a member of your committee to get in touch with me. The website really can be as good as you want it to be. Don't be put off because you are not an internet/computing expert - I can handle that - you just need to supply the relevant information.
- You obviously have information that I do not possess. Do not keep it to yourself - please tell me, so I can put it online. Don't leave it to someone else - YOUR knowlede is equally important. One of the advantages of the internet is that anyone can join in - please take part.
Ian Collinge, Webmaster
|
|
|
Easter Lilies |
- If you would like a lily placed in Church in memory of a loved one at Easter, please contact Jill Burgess (Tel: 611163) or Ella Field (Tel: 610560) by 13 March at the latest. Cost is £3 per name.
|
|
|
More... |
|
|