Odell Village - DECEMBER 2009

jewellery and Christmas cards and paper, and gave 10% of the proceeds to the All Saints’ Tea Point and Toilet Block Appeal. The donation of Ł60.60p was very much appreciated!

Christmas is almost upon us. Presents are stowed away in secret places. The tree is lit and glows away in the shadows and garlands hang by the wall. You are all prepared for the festive occasion.

Or are you? Do you dread those down times when, stuffed with food and bored silly by the TV, you just don't know how to fill the time. Let me make a suggestion. Why not try one of those old-fashioned parlour games we used to play in years gone by? Get yourself prepared with pencils and paper, packs of playing cards, tangerines and spoons.

I am going to assume you know all about charades and pass-the-parcel, I am going to talk about some less familiar pastimes. How about trying your hand at a Scavenger Hunt? The aim here is to find as many items on a prepared list compiled with a bit of lateral thinking. Players can work either as individuals or as team, depending on numbers. Players must tick off each item as they find it. Provide a clue such as "the Queen's Head" - item can be either a coin or a stamp discreetly placed on a shelf or table somewhere. "Locate 21 spots" - (a dice), similarly placed about the house. "Something sharp that does not cut" - (a lemon). "A bunch of dates" - which can be either a calendar or a diary. I think you get my drift.

The Chocolate Game. Place a large bar of chocolate, together with a knife and fork on a table together with a selection of dressing-up clothes (including a pair of gloves). Players take it in turns to roll a dice until someone throws a six. This person must hurry into the dressing-up clothes and gloves and proceed to try a cut off a piece of chocolate with the knife and fork. In the meantime the rest of the players continue rolling the dice. As soon as a six is rolled that player must don the clothes and try to cut the chocolate before another six is rolled. The aim of the game is to eat as much chocolate as possible, the winner being the player to eat the last of the chocolate. A more simple version of the game would be to leave out the dressing-up clothes but to keep on wearing the gloves.

The Smells Quiz. Find eight or so numbered bags or pots (but make sure you cannot see the contents), and fill with pungent-smelling items from either the kitchen or bathroom. Find distinctive smells such as coffee, herbs and spices, toothpaste etc. Give players five minutes or so to write down what they think is in each container......by smell alone.

Spoons. This game can be played by up to ten people. You need a pack or cards - or two packs if a lot of people - and a bunch of spoons (one spoon less than the number of players). The object is to collect four of a kind of any playing card - and make sure you are not the player left without a spoon. Place the spoons around the centre of the table. Each player is dealt four cards from a shuffled pack. Place the remainder of the cards on the table. The dealer picks up the top card from the pack, deciding whether it will help him to complete a four of a kind. He must discard one card to the player on his left. This player then decides whether this card will help him or not and discards one card to his left....and so forth. The last player discards his card to create a new discard pile. No-one must have more than four cards at any one time. The dealer then starts a new round. Once one player gets four of a kind they immediately grab a spoon. Every player should be on the watch for this move and try to grab a spoon (whether or not they have four of a kind). The player left empty handed is eliminated unless the player declaring his four of a kind is shown to have wrongly declared. The game progresses.

Cheat. This game requires a minimum of three players. The winner is the first player to get rid of all their cards.....without being rumbled if you are lying. Aces should be agreed as either high or low. Deal out the cards and player to left of dealer places a number of cards face down on the table and declares his hand: i.e. three Jacks or three tens. If no-one challenges the game proceeds to the next player. This player then places his discard on the top of the pack and declares his discard as being either higher or lower than the previous discard, whether or not the cards are what he declares. If you think the player has put down an incorrect call he should be challenged with the word "cheat" whether it is your turn or not. The cards are then examined and if the player is seen to have cheated that player must take up all the cards. If he called correctly the challenger takes all the cards.

Tangerine Tussle. A game of combat between two players, the winner taking on the next player in a knock-out competition until you are left with an overall winner. Each player is equipped with two dessert spoons and a tangerine. They must each place the tangerine in one of their spoons in one hand whilst attempting, with the other spoon in their other hand to make the second player drop their tangerine whilst protecting their own tangerine. No contact is allowed between the two players other than with the spoon....and there is definitely no securing the tangerine via a thumb ... that is cheating!

Old Maid, (or Chase the Ace if you wish to be p.c.). In earlier times this game was very popular and called "Old Maid". You play with a pack of cards from which one of the Queens has been removed, (remove an Ace if you wish). The object of the game is not to be the player left with the odd Queen (or Ace). Deal all the cards. Each player checks their hand to make up as many pairs as possible: (two Kings, two fours etc) and places their pairs on the table. Each player then takes it in turn to offer all their cards - face down- to the player on their left. That player then takes one card and checks to see if it helps to make a pair and if it does places the new pair on the table. They then offer their remaining cards to the next player, and so on. When all the cards are on the table the loser will be left with one card in their hand.

The duel between two players whilst retaining a tangerine in their spoon sounds quite fun - although I imagine that this can lead to a bit of horseplay but I just cannot imagine eating chocolate with a knife and fork whilst wearing gloves!

Wode-Hill Jazz Band will be playing at The Bell on Wednesday 2^nd December from 7pm and then in the New Year on Wednesday 6^th January 2010.

Rachel, Peter and staff always offer a warm welcome, providing drinks and fine meals in a warm and cosy ambiance, the ideal place to stop after a refreshing walk across the countryside, or just to go and chat to friends. The Bell offers customers great entertainment too: the local trad jazz group ‘Wode-Hill Jazz Band’ plays from 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month, and a Quiz Night is held on the last Sunday of every month. Look out for the Christmas menu being served over the festive season.

Our thanks to Lynette Hall and Doreen Wheeler for a very entertaining evening; they demonstrated the methods for making Christmas Crackers. They made it look relatively easy and at least achievable, but how deceptive looks can be.

They provided us with a huge range of material and then it was over to us. Fortunately they were on hand to sort out our mistakes and at the end of the evening after a great deal of laughter most of us had achieved two recognisable crackers which we proudly took home.

We will be at Jill Cheadle’s on Tuesday December 8th at 7.30p.m. It is our bring and share Christmas Meal. The theme this year is Red and Gold.

Back to the Village Hall on January 12^th at 7.30 p.m. for an introduction to the sport of Indoor Curling and a chance to ‘have a go’.

There is no competition in December, though Carol Ormond is devising some entertainment for us. January’s competition is to ‘Name as many sports as you can’.

It's been a lengthy, complicated and at times frustrating process, but we are delighted to report that we are nearly there. Here is the story of the hall for anyone not familiar with its recent history.

The village hall was leased to the village for a period of 50 years in 1971 by the then Lord Luke at a peppercorn rent. As time passed and property prices and land began escalating in value, it was realised that by the time the 50 years ran out, the cost of buying the hall would probably be prohibitive and there would be no guarantee that it would not just be sold to the highest bidder for the land, as it stands in a prime location within the village. Three years ago the Parish Council agreed to take over fund raising from the Village Hall Committee that had been going on for a few years without resolution. The agent made it clear that the offer figure for the hall was conditional upon a rapid conclusion, stipulating only six months for completion. The price was such that the Parish Council felt there was no option but to pursue this opportunity even if it meant having to obtain a loan for the purchase. The Council is able to access funds which are not necessarily available to other community organisations and intense efforts were made to obtain substantial grants. Within six months the entire amount needed for the purchase was raised – the largest sum being donated by Bedford Borough Council's Rural Grants scheme - and the village hall was finally in the ownership of the residents of Odell, represented by the Parish Council.

The deal did not however include the car parking area in front of the hall, which was in separate ownership. Last year the Parish Council managed to purchase this area using its existing funds, so that now the whole of the hall and its car park are permanently protected for the village.

For several years residents have been asking when facilities for the disabled would be installed. The Village Hall Committee took this on board some time ago and had plans drawn up for a toilet and storage room to be built as an extension to the building and a external disabled access door which would be approached through the 'Memorial Garden' area adjacent to the hall. However, more recent changes to planning laws meant that the access plans had to be re-drawn, taking more land to create a shallower gradient. An unfortunate result of this step was that the Bedford Borough planning officers refused to allow it to be constructed until an alternative children's play area is provided. The Memorial Garden has a planning designation as a playground attached to it which cannot be removed without an alternative site being provided. This meant the whole disabled facilities project stalled, and the planning approval expired.

The Parish Council agreed with the Village Hall Committee to take over this project and re-submitted the disabled facilities for planning approval. There was considerable controversy once again as the planning officers this time wanted a new play area to be constructed before even the disabled facilities could be introduced. After much lobbying and a helpful intervention by Cllr. Ian Clifton, the Bedford Borough Councillor who represented the rural villages at the time, the condition was relaxed and planning permission granted.

The Parish Council once again had to start looking for funds, though by this time the national economic situation had deteriorated and everyone was chasing the reduced pots of cash. The Council was aware that after this year, access to both the Wren and Sita landfill grant schemes would be unavailable to Odell due to a change in the geographical rules, so it was seen as imperative that funding was sought and obtained whilst it was still available. Application was made to the Wren scheme for the cost of the disabled facilities, together with various other applications to small charities. The landfill grant schemes are unique in that there is an obligation on successful applicants to find third party funding for 11% of the total they are requesting, with this 11% to be paid direct to the landfill scheme itself. So further funding had to be sought, and this third party funding for the Wren project was kindly donated largely by The Bedford Charity, with a small input from Bedford Borough Rural Grants.

The Parish Council's applications were successful and the work is now in the final stages, with completion expected very shortly.

In order to make as much use as possible of the available schemes before losing our eligibility, it was decided to make an application to the Sita landfill scheme for further improvements to the village hall. Discussions with the Village Hall Committee identified the provision of new windows, internal insulation and a repaired porch canopy as the main priorities for the moment and an application was made on this basis. This application was also successful and all three elements of this scheme have been successfully completed, with a highly beneficial result. The Village Hall Committee is the third party funders for this project and also organised the installation of wall lights during the insulation process. The overall result is a greatly enhanced and updated look to the hall interior, making it increasingly attractive for regular users and visitors.

The Parish Council is very pleased to have been able to achieve all of this work without incurring any financial cost to local ratepayers, and looks forward to increased usage of the building. The Village Hall Committee, who already has a very successful track record of events at the hall, now has a much improved asset to manage into the future.

The Parish Council has also just been informed that they have been awarded a grant of Ł35,000 under the Playbuilder provision scheme, which is a government initiative for improving play areas or providing one where none exists. Much work has to be done over the next few weeks to satisfy the conditions of this grant. The Parish Council hopes it will be successful, otherwise the disabled access to the village hall will not be built, as the playground condition on the Memorial Garden will not be lifted. The Council is pleased to say that close co-operation with the Harrold-Odell Country Park management has identified a potential playground site on their land, inside the park boundary at the Odell entrance to the park. Whilst there are still some issues to be resolved, we hope that another valuable village amenity can be provided for the younger generation of villagers.

Photographs of the various stages of the work on the village hall are available on the Parish Council's website at: www/odell.bedsparishes.gov.uk/ and any comments or feedback are welcome. And watch this space for an announcement of an event to celebrate our enhanced Village Hall early in the New Year.

Minutes of a meeting of Odell Parish Council held on Monday, 16^th November 2009 at 7.30 p.m. in Odell Village Hall.

Present: Cllr. Mrs R Halton [in the Chair]; Cllrs. B. Cheadle, T. Freeman, J. Harrison, S. Robinson, A. Sharpe.

In attendance: Mr. R. Lee, Mr. J. Ardley, Mr. G. Staughton [Village Hall Committee], Mr. S. Goodman, Mr. R.Hall [Members of the Public]

The Minutes of the meeting held on Monday, 21^st September were approved and duly signed as a true record of the proceedings.

Disabled Facilities: Sample flooring provided by the builder had been passed to the Village Hall Committee for inspection and comment. The cheaper of the two available options was chosen as this would not require specialist equipment for cleaning. As there has to be a visible contrast between the colours of the walls and the floor, green was chosen as the preferred colour. It was pointed out that the door between the main hall and the new facility did not have the correct size of clear glass fitted; this will be discussed with the builder and rectified. It was also stated that there should be a distinct colour difference between the doors and door frames; this will be clarified with the appropriate Officer as no evidence of this has been visible in other village halls.

It is hoped the flooring will be laid this week followed quickly by the installation of the disabled toilet suite.
With regard to the exterior groundwork, safety is the main priority here and consideration will be given to how this can most effectively be achieved under the Parish Council's budgetary constraints.

Windows etc: All work under the Sita project has been completed satisfactorily.

Budget: The builder has not yet submitted his final claim for the disabled facilities but on request for an estimated figure to aid our own budget projections, has stated an additional amount of Ł2500-Ł3000 for the change from brickwork to natural stone for the building exterior, plus the unquoted groundwork he has carried out round the building. Using the higher figure and with VAT refunds and small grants, the overall budget for the two projects shows a surplus on the two projects of just over Ł1000.

The Clerk said that Mrs. Doreen Wheeler wished to extend thanks to the Parish Council for the work carried out to the village hall and also for the clearing operation following the work.

Opening/launch: There was discussion on the format of an official 'opening' of the new facility and hall improvements; the Village Hall Committee will discuss this at their next meeting and the Clerk will check the availability of Bedford Borough Chief Executive Philip Simpkins and Councillor Ian Clifton, both of whom gave able and valuable assistance to the Parish Council on various elements of the purchase of the hall and subsequent improvements. A possible date of early February was mooted, subject to availability of the Borough personnel. The event should include the local residents, and in particular the disabled people for whom the new facility has been built. Further details of this will be published as and when available. Updates will be on the Parish Council's website also.

Matters arising from previous meeting
SID – no update on this in the absence of Borough Councillor Charsley
Road signs: email response from Mr. Prigmore had been circulated – no funds left in this budget for this financial year. Again, no update on this in the absence of B.C. Charsley.
Bridges update: Mr. Hall gave an update on this; the contractors are currently working from dawn to dusk and from a conversation had with Mr. Don Blackman, a Director of the contracting firm, the latter is confident that given the right weather conditions the bridge should be completed before Christmas. This ties in with the latest information given by the contractor to the Clerk.
The Clerk was requested to ask the contractor what plans are in place for removal of the ramp.

Playbuilder Project: The Chairman gave a brief resumé of why it was necessary to follow up the provision of a play area; without this provision, the whole of the original land adjoining the village hall known as the 'memorial garden' would remain classified as a playground under the original planning permission, and no disabled access could be constructed. The only area identified as suitable for a village replacement was within the Country Park. The Parish Council's application to the Playbuilder Scheme has been successful and provided all the conditions can be met, we have been informally informed that the sum of Ł35,000 has been allocated to us for this project. The first major issue with this is that planning permission is required as it is a new facility, and although provisional approval was given by the old County Council, it will still have to be submitted through the formal Bedford Borough planning process. The time scale is extremely tight as they are looking for expected completion by June 2010 even though to date we still have nothing official from the Borough so do not know what our next [first] step should be. Updates will be available on the Parish Council's website as they become available.

Grazing land
Our tenant has given notice and has vacated the field; the first half yearly rent has been paid, however, taking it through to the end of February. A notice is up on the field gate and there is also the possibility that some of the land could be split up and used for allotments. A notice could be put in the parish magazine asking if anyone wanted an allotment and the current pricing of allotments locally will be determined by the Clerk.

Highways
In the absence of Cllr. Crotty there is no update today; however, the Chairman has received a letter of thanks from Mr. Perry of Horsefair Lane for the remedial works to the road.

Bedford Borough matters
Letter from the Borough regarding temporary signing of community events tabled.
Letter regarding the Electoral Review tabled and noted.
Notice of a Public Inquiry received relating to Nuon and the proposed 3 wind turbines at Airfield Road, Podington.
Noted that the Parish Council has informed the Borough Council that they wish to retain the red telephone box as a usable kiosk.
It is understood this may be reviewed again by BT at some time in the future if they decide it is no longer viable or required.
Final notice for the Borough Assembly to be held on 27^th November; no interest in this.

Harrold/Odell Country Park
The Chairman gave a brief update - no recent meetings held. There have been many sightings of otters in the park. It is hoped to create a wild flower area in front of the Visitor's Centre and they would also like a very simple play area for two year olds where the mothers could sit on the verandah and keep an eye on the children at play.

Finance
The financial reconciliation was circulated and the Clerk explained what the final figure would be once the outstanding invoice for the disabled facilities was received and paid, and the remainder of VAT reclaimed on the two projects. This was looked at in conjunction with the draft budget for next year to determine the level of precept to be requested; taking into account the unknown expenditure figure in tidying up and making safe the area surrounding the new disabled facility, it was agreed that the precept could be maintained at the same level for 2010-11.

Meeting dates 2010.
The meeting dates for 2010 were circulated; they are: 18^th January, 15^th March, 17^th May, 19^th July, 20^th September and 15^th November.

Specifically for the business of the meeting
Cllr. Sharpe asked if the question of the accumulation of falling/dead leaves on the footpaths had been addressed; it was noted that the clearance of these had taken place recently.

Cllr. Freeman raised yet again the vexing problem of the new light installed in the High Street over two years ago, but which is still not connected up. The Clerk is in frequent contact with Amey regarding this who state that the contractor who deals with this is “a law unto themselves” and not only is extremely difficult to contact, but then does not follow through on their promises. We will continue to press this issue until we get it resolved.

January for an illustrated talk by Richard Dowsett (C.P. Ranger) on the “Trials and Perils of managing Harrold/Odell Country Park”. 8pm Methodist Church, Park Lane. Admission Ł2 (inc. tea/coffee). Members and non-members welcome.

The meetings of the Friends continue to be well supported by our existing Members but we do still need more representatives from the villages who have patients that use Harrold Medical Practice.

Membership of the Friends is an excellent way to keep up to date with the services provided by Harrold Medical Practice and the local Primary Care Trust, as well as finding out how these will be affected by new Government initiatives.

Our income this year, from very generous “In Memoriam” donations and almost Ł900 from book sales, has enabled us to continue helping Harrold Medical Practice. This year we have purchased some new scales and a specialist machine to help staff dispense pills from blister packs. We have also continued to finance the servicing of equipment which we have already purchased.

The Harrold Volunteer Car Service is growing slowly. This new service has been set up by the Wellingborough Volunteer Centre in conjunction with Harrold Medical Practice to take people, mainly elderly or disabled, to essential medical appointments. This is for people without their own transport and where there is no public transport available. The service will pick users up at home, take them to their medical appointment, wait with them and return them safely home. Users own escorts can be taken at no extra charge. All drivers are volunteers, use their own cars, are recruited and CRB checked by the Volunteer Centre. Petrol expenses are covered by the passenger. If you are interested in using the scheme or becoming a volunteer driver please call 01933 2272735 or contact Harrold Surgery 01234 720225 for more details.

The next meeting of the Friends is to be held at the Surgery, Peach’s Close, Harrold on Tuesday 2 February 2010 at 7.30pm

If you would like to find out more about the Friends and the work that we do please contact: Frances Hirst tel 01234 825212

Water levels have been very low this summer so we have been able to get into the drainage dykes around the park and clean them out properly for the first time in about 10yrs. They should have been full of water but this year they have become bone dry allowing us to go in and take trees and undergrowth out. This will allow flood water to drain through the park much more freely when rain eventually falls.

Two very successful events were held over the last couple of months. Viking Day in September and The Big Draw on October 25^th. Park staff worked with Bedford Museum and the Wryngwurm re-enactment group to bring you crafts from the Viking Age. The latter saw us making charcoal from our own wood to draw with and also use natural park materials like leaves & feathers to create collages. Some beautiful pictures were created. Thank you to Susannah Oliver and Jo Roberts from Bedford Museum.

As the winter progresses, you will notice that we will be laying more of the hedges around the lake. This will open up the view and create a tight magpie-proof habitat for our small birds to nest in. Willow coppicing has already begun around the silt pond near the Odell end. This will allow light into the reed beds and encourage them to mature. Look out for fresh new shoots emerging from the stumps during the coming year.

We had a rare visitor recently, the Bittern. It stayed for only one day before departing. If we had more of the tall reed we may be able to encourage it to stay longer. A family of 3 otters has also been spotted on several occasions both in the big lake and along the river. Keep your eyes peeled, especially around dusk. Now is the time to see winter birds migrating from Scandinavia. Look out for Fieldfares and Redwings from the thrush family. They come here to feast on winter berries like hawthorn and rosehip. Last year in that very cold winter we also saw Waxwings, Red Breasted Merganser and Goosander.

Community Orchard update: As soon as we have had some significant rain, we will proceed with the orchard planting. For more info please e-mail hocp@bedford.gov.uk or tel. 01234 720016

Our programme of Health Walks has proved very popular. Every other Thursday of the month, we set off on a 45min trek, looking at various aspects of the park and its immediate surroundings. We meet at 10.30am outside the café. The next dates are as follows: Thursday Dec. 10^th, Thursday Dec. 24^th

I will also be leading a New Year’s Day Walk around the Park between 12pm – 2pm weather permitting, for which booking is essential (tel. 01234 720016). There will be a small charge of Ł1.50 per head, proceeds to the Friends of HOCP.

Come and join in with the practical work to enhance the Park for wildlife and visitors on the following dates: Monday 14^th December, Monday 25^th January.

Wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Drinks provided. Come for an hour or two or stay as long as you like.

Events

We are planning to celebrate Burns Night on Saturday23^rd January 2009 in the Village Hall. There will be the traditional haggis supper, dessert and a wee dram.

Vegetarians are catered for but do let the committee know if this is your preference when you buy your ticket.

Tickets were sold out for this event and the Village Hall was packed with Elvis (and ‘Melvis’!) enthusiasts. A great evening was spent dancing and singing along to old favourites from the 50s and 60s and all the big Elvis hits. Thanks to all the team who worked so hard to make the event such a success.

You are invited to a seasonal concert of

At Sharnbrook Mill Theatre, Sunday 6^th December at 6.30pm

Tickets Ł10 available NOW from: 01933 397800, 0781 742 7152 or Sharnbrook Post Office.

Rick Abbott’s hilarious comedy of the trials and tribulations of an amateur drama group…if it can go wrong… it does!

Man of La Mancha - Friday 14 – Saturday 22 May

The Mill Theatre Christmas Revue - Thursday 9^th – Saturday 11^th December 2010

Allocated parking, Lift; 2 wheelchair spaces (please book through

Central Box Office*), easier access seating Rows A – C; Hearing Loop effective Rows A - E.

2^nd 10.30am Meeting Point at Jane Eshelby’s, Newton House, Avenue Rd., Rushden.

11^th 10.30am Christian Family Care Christmas Hamper Coffee Morning, Hobbs Green Farm.

13^th 10.30am Meeting Point at Eileen Shakespeare’s, 24 Church Hall Road, Rushden.

Please send all entries for the February 2010 magazine to Tricia Hudson (mag1 at odellbeds.net) or Catherine Corkery by January 12^th 2010 at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the responsibility of the editorial team.

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For information, support and advice you can now ring the Bedfordshire Carers Helpline: 0300 0123435