Tree Cutting on Longfellow / Wordsworth Green

We were sorry to lose the trees on the green, but the Town Council have told us that these two horse chestnut trees were badly diseased and a tree surgeon had said that they should be removed without delay.  The Town Council have also told us that they hope to be able to plant replacement trees in the Autumn, although they can't say for certain.

Ock Path update

Update from the Vale of the White Horse on the Ock path and the metal fencing that was fallen down.  Good news at last.  We have just heard that they are going to improve the footpath between Chaunterell Way and Tescos.  They say they're going to tarmac it, once it has been cleared and cleaned.  Also that very unpleasant barbed wire fencing is going to be removed and another type of fencing put in its place.

In the recent newsletter we said that we had been back to the Environment Agency about the fallen fence by the weir.  This was after going backwards and forwards between the EA and the Vale, each saying it definitely belonged to the other agency.  We are also pleased to report the the Vale have finally agreed that they are responsible for this fence.  Though they don't say yet what they are going to do about it!

Neighbourhood Watch - Courier Fraud

Thames Valley Police are calling on residents to help tackle courier fraud by taking ten minutes to talk to elderly friends and relatives.  Courier fraudsters phone and trick victims into handing large sums of cash to a courier that arrives at their home.

• Never deal with cold callers on the phone or in person, no matter how polite or friendly they are.  Saying ‘No thank you’ and shutting the door or hanging up the phone is not rude.

• Your bank, the police or anyone legitimate will never send a courier to your home to collect your money, your bank cards, and they will never ask for your pin number.  Close the door, lock it, and call 101 to speak to the police.

• Keep a mobile phone next to the landline, and if you want to make a phone call immediately after hanging up the landline, always use the other phone.

• If you do hand over your bank details or cards, don’t panic.  Call your bank immediately using another phone, such as a mobile phone, explain what’s happened and cancel your cards.

• Legitimate callers will never try to rush you, scare you, or force you into anything. If you feel scared or pressured at any point, hang up or shut the door and tell someone what’s happened.

Since mid-December, there have been 13 reported incidents of courier fraud in Abingdon and the surrounding areas.  The victim’s have lost a combined total of over £150,000.

There are many variations of the courier scam, but it usually follows this method:

• A fraudster will cold call the victim on a landline.   In Abingdon, the fraudster’s have claimed to be from the victim’s bank, the police, a fraud investigator, and even television personality and Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis OBE.

• The fraudster states their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment in the victim’s account, or that they need the victim’s help in investigating fraudulent activity at their bank.

• In order to reassure the victim that they are genuine, they suggest that the victim hangs up and rings the bank/police back straight away.  However, they don’t disconnect the call from the landline so that when the real phone number is dialled, they are actually still speaking to the fraudster.

• Finally, the fraudsters will send a courier to collect cash from the victim’s home address, or to take the victim to their bank to withdraw the money.  The fraudster will have then obtained the victim’s name, address, full bank details, card and PIN.

If you receive this type of call, report it to the Police by calling 101, or to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. In an emergency dial 999.

Children's Corner - Christmas Colouring Competition

Thank you to all the children who sent in their pictures for the Christmas Colouring competition - there were many superb colouring pictures!  You can view all entries in the window of the Stonewater flats Common Room, Bridges Close.

Christmas Quiz Winners

There were quite a few correct answers sent in for the adults Christmas Quiz from the December Newsletter ..... the winner is Daphne Stevens of Mill Road - well done!!  Daphne wins a small prize.

The answers to the quiz are:

1) Stocking, 2) Santa, 3) Tinsel, 4) Spruce, 5) Manger, 6) Noel, 7) Turkey, 8) Sleigh, 9) Reindeer, 10) Present, 11) Mistletoe, 12) Carol, 13) Star, 14) Angel, 15) Magi (Kings)

Children's Corner - Colouring Competition - Christmas 2015

There were many superb colouring pictures sent in for the children's colouring competition featured in the Christmas Newsletter - well done to all who submitted an entry - it was a tough decision to select 2 winners from such beautiful pictures!!  Our independent judge selected 2 winners for both categories, and the winners are Lois age 4 and Anna age 6, and the runner up is Izabel age 8, all from Tithe Farm.  The children received a book token each.  Well done!

You can view all the entires in the window of the Stonewater flats Common Room, Bridges Close.

Winner - Anna age 6

Winner - Lois age 4

Runner Up - Izabel age 6

Neighbourhood Watch - Christmas Theft

The Neighbourhood Watch reported that there had sadly been a theft of some exterior decorations from Medlicott Drive over Christmas - sometime between Monday evening 28th December and Tuesday morning 29th December.

He said that residents of the road had been suspicious of a large white transit-type van parked in the road on several occasions before the theft, although they don't know if the two events are linked.  He asks that if other residents see a van of this type, driving slowly or stopped in this area, that they note the registration number and let him know and he will pass it on to the local police.

Neighbourhood Watch number is 07753915437.

Update on the Drayton Road resurfacing

Following our blog post about the resurfacing of the Drayton Road back in September, here's the latest from Fix My Street website:

It has been reported that the Mill Road/Drayton Road roundabout leading into Abingdon is in a poor state with potholes and damaged road surface and that the KEEP CLEAR sign on the road has virtually gone causing difficulty for Tithe Farm residents turning right from the estate which is often blocked by cars queueing.  The roundabout markings have now been added to the OCC Lining Maintenance list for the year beginning April 2016.

Councillors News - New Recycling Services by Chris Palmer

Some new recycling services have been introduced by Vale of White Horse District Council.  From this week you can now recycle:

•  broken or unusable small electrical goods in grey bin week

•  tatty, torn and unusable old clothes and textiles in green bin week

Just put them in a tied carrier bag next to your bin on your normal collection day.

Small electrical items - taken to a specialist site in Newbury for sorting, storing and processing into new gadgets.

Textiles - taken to a sorting warehouse in East London - any cotton and polyester gets cut into industrial rags, and any wool is shredded and made into felt or new yarn.

See also: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-and-advice/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/new-recycling-services-now-available 

Also for those of you who have brown bins:

Extra, extra! Extra-large garden waste collections this autumn

Garden waste customers in the Vale of White Horse can put an extra-large collection out during the week of 19th October 2015.  You can put out one extra bins’ worth of garden waste in sacks or reusable bags (but not trade bags) on your usual collection day - you just need to make sure they’re open so the crew can see what’s in there.

See also:

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-and-advice/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/garden-waste

Gardening - The Garden in late Winter - 2015

Not a lot to do at this time of year really, except keep any weeds in check.  These can proliferate in mild wet weather.  If we get snow, it can lay on and break branches, so although it looks lovely, it's a good idea to brush heavy snow off any delicate branches.

Planning is a good thing - there are new seed packets in the garden centres now, so buy now while stocks last.  Also now is a good time to check any garden structures - supports for climbing plants, sheds, fences and greenhouses.  Repair them before new growth starts covering them. 

In late February, you can cut back buddleia hard, to a few inches from the ground, as it flowers on this year's new branches.  This also applies to dogwoods, to produce wonderful red stems.

Trim winter flowering heathers after they have flowered.  As snowdrops start to fade, lift them, split up the bunches, and replant them at the same depth.

Hellebores will start flowering soon - cut back old leaves to allow the new flowers to be seen.

Not a lot to do at this time of year really??  So I was wrong!!