​It is with great sadness that we report the departure of Ted Nieass, the oldest resident of the village at the age of 96.  Ted died at The John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford on 8th April and is to be cremated at a family service on 29th April.

Ted’s long and successful RAF service began in 1942, at the age of just 18, when he volunteered to become a pilot. His flying training took place at No 1 British Flying Training School in Terrel, Texas, with Ted earning his wings on the US Harvard AT-6 Trainer aircraft.  Ted went on to fly jet fighters throughout the 1950s and 60s, finishing his flying career leading an RAF training team with the Kenya Airforce in the mid-seventies.  His last posting was as a member of the Directing Staff at RMCS Shrivenham before his retirement in 1979.  He then spent six years as the Bursar of Christs Hospital Girls School in Hertford before finally settling down in Great Coxwell 1986.  He was soon persuaded to become Parish Clerk a job that lasted for 13 years, while his wife Joan was WI Treasurer during ten of them.

Joan and Ted were married in 1946 and reached the milestone 60th Wedding Anniversary in 2006. They had one daughter, Jennifer (Jenny), three grandsons, Christopher, Martyn and Jonathan, and one great granddaughter, Emilia Rose, born in September 2019.

Ted will be remembered fondly in the village as a thoughtful, quiet, generous contributor and a resolutely independent and steadfast character. 

Ted remained quite active throughout his life and his love of flying continued in his 90s when he flew a Tiger Moth on his 90th birthday

Our thoughts are with his daughter, Jenny, and her family at this sad time.
 
If anyone wishes to attend the cremation, which is Covid restricted to 30 people, please contact Ted’s daughter, Jenny on 07771681679.  The hearse will be leaving from the house in the village (time to be confirmed) for those wishing to pay their respects.

Due to an upcoming vacancy, we are looking for applications for the position of Parish Clerk. This is a paid part time position not requiring specific prior experience. The Clerk attends all Council meetings and is an essential central function of the local Parish Council.

Please contact Richard May, the Council Chairman, on 01367240413 and/or at [email protected] for further details.

Great Coxwell Green/Sustainability Group
(We don’t have an official name yet)
 
We had our first meeting and we have started to identify and develop some sustainability projects such as:

• Supporting wildlife and wild flowers in our parish
• Village orchard
• Build awareness of energy saving and green energy generation

 
In addition, we would like to build a network of like-minded people and supporters, and also plug into any available expertise or funding from Vale or the County Council.

If you are interested contact us via the newsletter or email Annabelle at [email protected]
 
Are there any tips and resources on environmentally friendly actions you have taken and can share? 
BBC iPlayer have a new series about Greta Thunberg called ‘A Year to Change the World’ about her year off school travelling the world, meeting people - David Attenborough included and trying to get world leaders to act on the science around global warming.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p099f5k2/greta-thunberg-a-year-to-change-the-world-series-1-episode-1
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Tomatoes and Summer Plants will be available from Foxley as and when weather permits - probably mid to end May

Please phone Jane (241367) if you would like to place your order or discuss availability.

• Tomato plants – cherry (red, orange), traditional (red, yellow Golden Sunrise, orange Sungold), Italian beefsteak
• Also courgettes and French beans
• Annual Bedding: Geraniums, mixed Begonias, Petunias, Antirrhinum, Rudbeckia 
• Perennials: Sea Holly, Lupins, Hollyhocks, everlasting Sweet Pea

Proceeds are for St Giles

The following documents have been added to the website:

County Councillor's Monthly Report March 2021

Zoom talk on Thursday 13th May ’21 at 2.30pm
 
May’s speaker will be Al Sylvester on the RAF Mountain Rescue Service.  Al, a renowned RAF Rescue Service leader with over 20 years of service, has attended more than 400 rescue operations including the recovery and rescue of downed aircrew of military fast jets and civilian aircraft. Thankfully the majority of his rescue missions involved successfully searching some of the most hostile environments of the British mountain ranges.  His talk will be about these experiences and is bound to be exciting.
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On your strolls around the village over Easter you may have noticed a colourful display of decorated Easter eggs hanging on some branches arranged inside the church porch. These were the entries to the first ever (as far as we know!) Great Coxwell Women's Institute Easter Egg Competition. The winner, chosen after much deliberation by the committee, was Rosie Hawkes with her Easter bunny. Well done Rosie, and thank you to everyone who took part in this ingenious activity which brought us together despite lockdown as well as providing some cheer for villagers and visitors.

Best wishes

Jacqueline

Four-pad electronic drum kit model DD40 by Gear4Music – really good, very compact, lots of options including recording.  Comes with instructions, sticks and new batteries.  Free to good home.  

Contact Russ at Stonevale, [email protected]
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Nice Hornby model railway layout (tracks, buildings scenery etc) measures 160x120cm.  Two separate loops with sidings etc. Not on EBay (yet) so will take offers on just the layout, or with some of the other accessories as well.   Note: The passenger train shown in the photo isn’t up for sale now – Oliver wants to keep it, but there are three other engines and numerous trucks etc. 
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Contact Russ at Stonevale, [email protected]

For sale -  Solid pine bunk bed with retractable workstation table and shelves. Suitable for all ages up to teens.  Comes with workstation wheely swivel chair (not shown)  – currently on EBay starting price £60 (£400 new) but open to offers.  

Contact Russ at Stonevale [email protected]
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