Neighbours, locals, and Amazon delivery drivers will all be pleased to read that we’re close to completing the current phase of building work at Stonevale.  The builders could be finished (for now) by the end of Friday this week, weather permitting.  Huge thanks to all for your patience and help – the builders are happy working here now, so a great result all round.  Our other project, starting next month, is smaller-scale and quite conventional, so it should be less intrusive/disruptive than the ‘big roof’.
 
On a related topic – does anyone know roughly how old the boundary walls are between Stonevale and the Danes’ premises? These walls were incorporated into our garage in the 1970’s I think, but are clearly much older than that.  I wonder if the PC has any records?
 
Russ Payne  

Thank you to all those who have joined or renewed their subscription to the 100 Club.  There is still room for a few more!

Biddy plans to start the draw next week with the January and February winners.  If you have not yet renewed your subscription or would still like to join, there is still time.  Please let Biddy know as soon as possible.  We are aware that some people have had difficulty making their payment online.  If you wish to renew or pay in this way, please note that you may have to type "Great Coxwell Parochial Church Council" in full for the account to be recognised.

Remember, you have to be 'in it to win it'!

Pat

I would just like to say a big thank you to everybody who gave their Jigsaw Puzzles to me so that I could pass them onto my mother.  It was a bit tricky getting them to her due to the lockdown, but finally I managed it and to say she was over-joyed is an understatement.  She was so immensely thrilled and touched.  So once again THANK YOU!
 
Alison
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I know a number of villagers have been vaccinated, this study has been tracking symptoms and is now keen to also track any vaccinations.

https://covid.joinzoe.com/

There are 4,586,093 contributors already, but they always want more:-

"People of all ages and backgrounds are joining together to fight COVID.
Support the NHS, help scientific research and help get us out of lockdown safely."

I know this is the news you have all been waiting for - details here, they will be collecting from the 15th February, including any Christmas Trees that still need to be disposed of.

So no excuse not to do that gardening this weekend instead of sitting watching the rugby (other forms of entertainment are available).
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County Council Media Release

People in Oxfordshire are being advised that more needs to be done to drive down new cases of COVID-19 in Oxfordshire with a decline in figures still only taking the county back down to levels experienced in December.
 
The number of cases in the county in the week-ending 5 February was 134.5 per 100,000 compared to a figure of 191 per 100,000 on 29 January. However, on 11 December the number of cases was 124.6.
 
Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “We’ve done a good job in getting case numbers down in Oxfordshire but the figures here and elsewhere rose to such heights in late December and early January that we still have ground to make up. Now is the time to really make an impact.
 
“Over the last twelve months we have seen that if you give COVID-19 an inch it will gladly take a mile. We face uncertainty around the spread of different variants and what that means for our recovery from the pandemic. We also know the new UK variant is now the dominant form in UK, and if we were to relax now the case rate will not only go up but it will go up very fast to a very high level due to its increased transmissibility. 
 
“The government and NHS are now asking people aged over 70 to get in touch to book a vaccination if they have not received a letter. This is great news! However, we should not let any of that take our eye off the ball in terms of the simple rules to follow in our daily lives to drive new cases down further.
 
“The lower we can get the figures, the better position we will be in to respond to any issues that may arise down the line. We must continue to be vigilant and keep our distance from people, wash our hands, wear a face-covering and abide by all of the lockdown restrictions on not mixing households.
 
“If ever there was any doubt, we know, now almost 12 months on from the first cases in Oxfordshire, that COVID-19 is a formidable adversary. It is only by taking individual responsibility for our actions that we can get ourselves into good shape as winter changes to spring. We also need to give the vaccines the very best platform to do their bit.
 
“I would also urge anybody who shows any symptoms to get themselves tested and if they are positive to self-isolate. There’s a lot of capacity on offer for testing and a great deal of very good advice on self-isolation. In all of these areas, we are much more advanced than we were looking back to March and April of 2020.”
 
To stop the spread, residents are being asked to follow the rules and get tested when they have symptoms of the virus, however mild. For those who test positive for COVID-19, help is available. Information, support and advice on self-isolation has been published on the county council’s website or residents can download the information as part of a self-isolation support pack.
 
People are also being asked to get vaccinated when eligible. Anyone over 70 can now arrange a vaccination through the national booking service by visiting www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. Further information on this is available on the NHS website.

I am Pamela Shanks and for many years I have been selling my paintings and cards to raise money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance. With the pandemic all my venues for selling have been cancelled or closed so I am trying to sell my cards elsewhere. I have ten different floral cards which I ordered for Art Weeks 2020. Details below.

6 cards for £10.

All profits sent to THAMES VALLLEY AIR AMBULANCE.

Please phone Pamela on 01367 242177 to order cards.

Many thanks.

The meeting will be held on Zoom on Thursday 11th March at 2.30pm.  Link details of the meeting will be sent in advance if you are a U3A member.  Follow the screen instructions to attend the meeting. The speaker is Dr Richard Fisher.  His topic is Three Choirs and a Reformation: The Cathedrals of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester under Henry VIII.

The survival of the cathedrals through the turbulent years of Henry VIII’s reign is one of the anomalous features of his peculiarly English version of a reformed church.  Despite his determination to dissolve all the monastic foundations across the nation Henry inaugurated six new cathedrals in former large abbey churches.  What happened in three cities in the west of England?  Dr Fisher now teaches medieval art-history at Bristol University will explore this topic.

For many years the 100 Club has made a valuable contribution to the church's annual maintenance costs.  It is open to everyone who would like to help maintain our beautiful old church.

I should like to thank everyone who subscribed last year, and especially those who chose not to take their winnings.  Believe me, every little has been necessary during our period of closure, with no income from a fete, Arts Weeks and all the other fund raising events we normally put on.

Thanks also go to Biddy who is continuing to run it for us!

Sylvia and I will shortly be delivering to all residents in the village the usual letter about how to subscribe or renew your subscription(s). We hope you will feel you can participate.  As is usual with such things, some people have won more than once and some have grandchildren who have won!  You may be one of the lucky ones!

Thank you for your support.

Pat