Hornton Online

Jumpa, Hornton and Horleys Jubilee Fund for a mutli-purpose play area, is holding its annual meeting tonight, Thursday, and needs your support!

Its had a fantastic year, having recently won a 10,000 grant from Cherwell District Council, but would like as many people as possible to turn up to hear about plans for the next round of fund-raising and come up with new ideas.

And attendance wont be that onerous. The meeting takes place tonight at 8.30pm at the Dun Cow. Where else?

29th July '04 - Times Pressing

The press deadline for the latest edition of The Gossip, Horntons very own village newspaper, is nearly up. Editors Julie Stanley and Ann Hemmings need your copy by this Saturday, July 31st.

Just about anything legal, decent honest and truthful can make it into The Gossip, just as long as its signed and its about Hornton.

So please contact Julie on 01295 670507 or Ann on 01295 670511 with your recollections, recipes and reminiscences as soon as possible.

29th July '04 - Hit a Hight Note at Upton

Upton Houses beautiful grounds will this weekend host a jazz evening with John Burnetts Jazz Bandits. So get your dancing shoes on and pop down with a picnic this Saturday, July 31st, from 6.30pm onwards. The music starts an hour later and it costs just 12.50 per person.

Next month local artist and tutor Chrissie Borland will be teaching budding artists the finer points of flower painting at Upton in an all-day workshop. There will be expert tuition throughout the day for all mediums and abilities where you can learn to capture the delicate beauty, detail and splendour of flowers in Uptons gardens. Please bring own materials. The workshop costs just £20, starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm.

29th July '04 - Your Favourite Hymns

Theres a special Songs of Praise being held in Hornton Methodist Church in a fortnight and if youve got a favourite hymn, then you can get it sung at the service. All you have to do is to ring Julie Stanley on 01295 670507 or pop a note into the special box in the Parish Church of St John the Baptist. The service will be held at 6pm on Sunday, August 15th.

This Sunday, August 1st, Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at the Parish Church at 8.30am and then there will be a village service in the Methodist Church at 11am.

28th July '04 - Bespoke Outing

Horntons Annual Leisure Cycle Ride is just weeks away, so its time to get your tyres in tip-top condition and your spokes sorted!

Event organiser Lynn Corke said that preparations are going well and she is in the process of sorting out a pub for lunch.

Thats the most important item on the agenda! said Lynn. After all, it is a leisure cycle ride, with the emphasis on everyone having a good time.

Last year the turnout exceeded all expectations and Lynn said she hoped this years event, on the morning of Sunday, August 30, would be equally successful.

If you can make it, please give me a call so that I can give the pub some idea of numbers.

You can ring Lynn on 01295 670673.

28th July '04 - Will You Do Good?

Hornton has a Goodwill Fund to send a card, a small gift and our good wishes to village people who are sick, just to let them know we are thinking of them - and it needs your cash.

The idea came from villager Jean Burden, whose mother ran a similar scheme in Cropredy, where it was a great success.

Its just really a practical way of us showing that were concerned about people who are ill, said Jean.

We decided to start if here because theres one little girl in the village who is very poorly. I thought it would be nice if we could send her a box of things that she could do and then we thought it would be a nice idea a for anyone else who is ill.

What the Goodwill Fund really needs is donations, so that a gift most suitable for the recipient can be bought. If youd like to give some money, please contact Jean at Barry Cottage, Milers Lane, or call her on 01295 670664.

27th July '04 - Wing of Bat, Tongue of Dog?

The waitings nearly on the most closely-guarded secret in the village what are the mysterious beers Dun Cow licensee Martin Gelling is serving at the second annual Hornton Summer Beer Festival?

All Martin will say is that all 12 brews have an animal theme. There will also be unusual bottled beers and a range of ciders to taste. All you have to do is to drop in to the Dun Cow this weekend to find out.

The festival is open from 7 to 11pm Friday, July 30th, on Saturday from noon to 11pm and from noon to 10.30pm on Sunday.

27th July '04 - End of the Road?

The work repairing the Hornton-Wroxton road is finally scheduled to start in the middle of August and the long-running saga should come to an end. Oxfordshire County Council has applied to carry out the 20,000 project during a two-week period beginning on August 16th. During that time, the road will be closed.

22nd July '04 - Yogi Bare

There will be no yoga class tonight, July 22nd, because teacher Ruth Griffiths is away. But she will be back next week and will go on teaching the class throughout the summer.

It meets every Thursday at 7pm in the Methodist Chapel and Ruth says that all ages and abilities, including beginners, are welcome.

22nd July '04 - Chat Away

The deadline for your contributions for The Gossip, Hornton’s very own village newspaper is nearly up. Julie Stanley (01295 670507) and Ann Hemmings (01295 670511) must have your stories by July 31st.

22nd July '04 - Green Leaves

The mobile library from Oxfordshire County Council will be on the village green next Wednesday, July 28th, from 10.55 to 11.30am.

22nd July '04 - Godhead to Godhead

There will be a service in the Methodist Church this Sunday, July 25, at 11am. Holy Eucharist will be celebrated in the Parish Church of St John the Baptist at the same time.

21st July '04 - Sterling Efforts Strike Silver

Hornton has come second in the small village section of Oxfordshire’s best-kept village competition. Thanks must goes to everyone who helps keep our beautiful village so neat and tidy and especially to Bill Jeffs for co-ordinating our efforts.

21st July '04 - Carrot Tops Cooking Class

Carrot Cake is one of the mouth-watering recipes planned by the 3Hs Gardening Club for their cooking competition at the annual flower and produce show next month.

You can also make chocolate brownies and Banbury Cakes, all to special recipes which members can obtain from club secretary Sally Tweedsmuir.

The show, on Saturday, August 21st, is one of the highlights of the 3Hs calendar and its members are already gearing up to enter the flower and produce sections. A complete show schedule is available from Sally on 01295 670608.

The weather was kind to club members during their latest outing, to the Evenley garden of Mrs Janet Cropley on July 14.

“It was a nice evening and it didn’t rain,” said Sally. “Mrs Cropley is very informative about her garden and she gave us cuttings and plants.

“There were 25 of us and there were 25 other people from another gardening club. The garden is full of unusual plants because Mrs Cropley is a flower arranger as well as being a plantswoman.”

20th July '04 - The Long and Winding Road

The long-running saga of the Hornton to Wroxton Road is topping the agenda at Hornton Parish Council’s next meeting.

“Despite our best efforts, Oxfordshire County Council have yet to start the work,” said parish clerk Alan Cater, who said that it should have begun by now.

The £120,000 resurfacing project will require the road to be closed and councillors fear further delay because it’s going to be difficult to carry out the repairs during term time, when school buses use the route.

Before the meeting, Mr Cater is going to press the county council to establish a start date so that he can report back to members. The meeting takes place next Monday, July 26, at 7.30pm in the pavilion and all members of the public are welcome.

20th July '04 - Eye Of Newt, Toe of Frog?

Hornton’s second summer beer festival is fast approaching and Dun Cow licensee Martin Gelling is still keeping his cards very close to his chest when it comes to revealing what beers will be featured.

All he will say is that all the brews have an animal theme, so we’ll just have to pop in on Friday week, July 30th, to try them.

The festival is open all over the weekend - from 7 to 11pm on the Friday, noon to 11pm July 31st and noon to 10.30pm on August 1st.

19th July '04 - Big Profit from Little Piggy

Last Saturday’s Fete and Pig Roast at Hornton School raised more than £600.

Chrissy Rogers, from the Hornton School Association, said they were delighted with the amount they raised.

“It could be a bit more but I’m still awaiting some final expenses and bar money,” said Chrissy.

It was the first time the association, who stage a fete every July, have tried a pig roast and the fire under the pig had to be lit at 4.30 in the morning! But the early start paid off and every morsel of the pork was gobbled up by satisfied customers during the afternoon.

The children were kept entertained by a magician and a free bouncy castle, whilst their parents relaxed with wine, beer and glasses of Pimm’s to wash down the pork rolls as they toured the stalls.

The school has now broken up and the new term begins on Thursday, September 2nd.

16th July '04 - Upton to Hit a High Note

Bring a picnic and your dancing shoes to the beautiful grounds of Upton House for a summer’s evening of live jazz in the company of John Burnett’s jazz Bandits. The event, on July 31st, costs just £12.50 per person. The gates open at 6.30pm and the music will be playing from 7.30 all the way through to 10.30pm.

And this Sunday, July 18th, Jaguars will descend on Upton when Warwickshire Jaguar Club celebrate the last 50 years of the classic marque. Normal admission prices apply.

16th July '04 -Church Services

Matins will be celebrated in the Parish Church of St John the Baptist this Sunday, July 18th, at 10.30am. A service will be held in the Methodist Church half an hour later.

15th July '04 - Yoga and Out

There will be no yoga class on Thursday of next week, July 22nd, because teacher Ruth Griffiths will be away. But she will be back the following week and will go on teaching the class throughout the summer.

The class meets every Thursday at 7pm in the Methodist Chapel and Ruth says that all ages and abilities, including beginners, are welcome. “You don’t have to put yourself in pretzel poses to enjoy yoga and its benefits”, says Ruth.

15th July '04 -Chat Away

The deadline for the next edition of Hornton’s very own newspaper, The Gossip, is fast approaching. All contributions must be in by July 31st, so please put pen to paper soon. Editors Julie Stanley (01295 670507) and Ann Hemmings (01295 670511) need your recollections, recipes and reminiscences as soon as possible.

14th July '04 - Six at Seven

The annual Hornton Six race is run this Saturday, July 17th, and starts at 7pm from Hornton Sports Pavilion. The organisers are hoping that the Six - which gets bigger and better every year - will attract well over 100 people this year and runners can register from 6.15pm onwards.

The six-mile race, organised by Hornton’s Pete Hart under the auspices of Cherwell Runners and Joggers, will be followed by a BBQ, in which people are invited to bring their own food. Drinks will be available.

14th July '04 - Zoo Brew

Preparations for the second Hornton Summer Beer Festival are well under way but Dun Cow licensee Martin Gelling is keeping the highlights well under his hat.

“All I will say is that the names of the beers all have an animal theme,” said Martin. “We should have 12 ales in all and, like last year, we will be holding it in a tent at the bottom of the garden.”

Martin and his wife, Gwyneth, were so bowled over by the success of last’s year’s event that a second summer festival was scheduled as soon as the first one had finished. They follwed it up with another in February, which concentrated on winter ales and was also a big hit.

If the previous two festivals are anything to go by, real ale drinkers from all over the area will descend on Hornton but Martin said that he was also keen on attracting local trade.

“The festival is another way of allowing relatively local people to try new ales,” he said. “There will also be ciders to taste and unusual bottled beers.”

The festival will run from 7 to 11pm on July 30th, noon to 11pm the following day and noon to 10.30pm on August 1st.

13th July '04 - This Little Piggy Went to Hornton

Succulent pork rolls with apple sauce and stuffing will be the culinary highlight of this year’s Hornton School fete, which takes place this Saturday, July 17, from 2pm onwards.

Veggie options will also be available and thirsty parents can wash the food down with a glass of Pimm’s from the licensed bar, with soft drinks and hot dogs for the children. There will be plenty to see and do, including a Good as New clothes stall, Plants, Toy and Games, Cakes, Tombola, Teas and, of course, a traditional Hornton raffle, without which no village event would be complete.

The children will be kept entertained with a free - yes, free - bouncy castle, a visit from Martin the Magic man and lots of games and crafts and in return, they will entertain everyone with a Talent Show.

If any budding artistes have not yet entered, there’s still time, so please contact Jane Wain on 01295 670716. Jane is also the person to call if anyone has items for any of the stalls, such as Good as New, and would like them collected.

13th July '04 - Tennis Tinies Put Tim to Shame

Hornton School’s pupils have gone one better than Tim Henman this month - they’ve won a tennis tournament!

For the last five weeks, classes 2 and 3, have been learning how to play the game with Steve, a trainer from Banbury Tennis Club.

“In that time, they’ve managed to get the ball over the net and serve underarm,” said headteacher Wendy Clifford. “Last week they competed against half a dozen other teams in a Banbury tennis tournament - and won!

“We've got a shiny cup, which the children are chuffed to bits with. Next week it will go off to the engravers to have our school name put on it. Then we keep it for the year.

“I drove them down to the tournament and they were quiet as mice. I couldn’t get a word out of them. On the way home, I couldn’t keep them quiet!”

In the end, Hornton and King’s Sutton both won the same number of games in the tournament but Hornton won the cup because they had amassed more points - 14 to their rivals’ 12.

“It was really good and we’re thrilled to bits,” said Mrs Clifford, who added that the victory coincided with a parents’ open evening that day, where the children’s success was celebrated and the cup was proudly on display.

“The open evening was very, very busy and well appreciated. We’ve had the third computer-controlled interactive whiteboard installed in Class 1 and we were able to create presentations on it, so all the whiteboards were showing clips through the year of the children’s activities. It was a reminder to the children what they’d done and to the parents.

“We had lots of very favourable comments and the Class 1 parents were bowled over by the new whiteboard.”

It was a sporty week all round for the school, because Hornton held a highly-successful sports day on Wednesday.

“It was brilliant,” said Mrs Clifford. “I’ve had a very nice card from a parent saying what a delightful morning it was. I think we’ve probably got the balance about right between competitive running and races and a carousel of activities that children can take part and we just beat the bad weather.

“The Seahorses team won and we also had first, second and third certificates. One little boy said ‘I’ve never won a prize before’. He went away proud as a peacock. “Unfortunately, he then lost his certificate when it blew away on the sports field! Thankfully, we recovered it later.”

Click on the image to see the full size version

9th July '04 - Your Favourite Hymns

There’s a special Songs of Praise service being held in Hornton Methodist Church next month and if you’ve got a favourite hymn, then it can be sung. All you have to do is to ring Julie Stanley on 01295 670507.

The service will be held at 6pm on Sunday, August 15th.

A village service will be held in the Parish Church of St John the Baptist this Sunday, July 11, at 11am. Refreshments will be served after the service.

8th July '04 - Evenley Evening

The 3Hs Gardening Club is off to Evenley next Wednesday, July 14, to look round the beautiful garden of Janet Cropley. Members should gather on the village green to depart at 6.45pm. The trip costs £3-50 per person, including coffee.

8th July '04 - Open Book

The mobile library from Oxfordshire County Council will be on the village green next Wednesday from 10.55 to 11.30am.

7th July '04 - Best Foot Forward

Come on children, don’t be shy! If you can sing a song, dance a jig, perform a magic trick or do anything else to entertain, put your best foot forward and enter the special children’s talent competition at Hornton School Fete.

It’s all happening on Saturday, July 17 in the school grounds and now’s the time to start practising. Any budding artistes (or their parents) who would like more details should contact Jane Wain on 01295 670716.

There’ll be lots to see and do at the fete, which starts at 2pm, including a Good as New clothes stall, Plants, Toy and Games, Cakes, Tombola, Teas and, of course, a traditional Hornton raffle.

The children will be kept entertained with a FREE bouncy castle and a visit from Martin the Magic man, and will also be lots of games and crafts.

Then why not relax with a glass of Pimms from the licensed bar? You can forget the cooking too, and enjoy a pork bap complete with apple sauce and stuffing from the pig roast. Veggie options will also be available, plus hot dogs for the kids.

Jane is also the person to call if anyone has items for any of the stalls, such as Good as New, and would like them collected.

7th July '04 - Top of the Class

That’s where you’ll be if you can help Hornton School! It needs a part-time helper to support the four and five-year-olds in Class 1 during the autumn term. The post is for five mornings a week, two and a half hours per day, and anyone interested should contact headteacher Wendy Clifford on 01295 670335 as soon as possible.

2nd July '04 - Kitchen Garden

Gardeners will also be keen on popping up to Upton House later this month where they can learn how to grow good food and how to cook it. Plot to Plate is the second in the series of seasonal participation events sponsored by Rachel’s Organic. Learn about the production of fresh produce from gardening experts in the Kitchen Display Garden, then learn how to use the produce to create mouth-watering dishes under the expert supervision of Upton’s chefs.

Pre-booking for this event, on July 22, is absolutely essential and the cost is £10 for one session or £18 for two sessions. You can get more details by calling Upton on 01295 670266

Before then, there’s an action-packed programme of other events at Upton. This Saturday and Sunday is Wild about Wildlife weekend, when there will be a host of environmental activities for all those who enjoy the great outdoors, the plants that grow there and the creatures that live in it. It takes place between noon and 4pm, with normal admission prices applying.

Then car buffs have the chance to relive the golden age of motoring in two special events. On Saturday, July 10th, the Rover Car Club is holding its centenary rally and on Sunday, July 18th, the last 50 years of a famous marque will be celebrated by the Warwickshire Jaguar Club in a meet which will see pristine classics converging on Upton for the afternoon.

Again, normal admission prices apply, as they do for the exhibition of contemporary glass in the beautiful grounds of Upton throughout July. Ever Changing Light showcases the talents of the Cohesion network of glassmakers and is open from noon till 4pm.

2nd July '04 - Church Services

Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 8.30am this Sunday, July 4, at the Parish Church of St John the Baptist. At 11am a United Service will be held at the Methodist Church.