Faringdon’s very own local cycle club is once again running its flagship annual sportive.  Great route, brilliant company and fantastic refreshments.  What more could you want on FollyFest weekend?
 
Great Coxwell has plenty of current and lapsed Farcycles participants - so if you’ve not yet registered, go on dust off your bike and register.  Here are the details: le-tour-2021.html
 
Ian Mason
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Thanks to everyone who has helped, funded and supported the ‘defibrillator project’.  Particular thanks go to the Parish Council for their support; to Pam Holley for helping with the fund-raiser; to the team of ’custodians' who will ensure that the machine is maintained and always ready for use, and to Howell and Collins Electricians for their prompt friendly and efficient installation of the device’s cabinet.
 
The defibrillator arrived yesterday and was activated and installed today.  A message has been sent to the ambulance service with details of the machine to register it with them. 
 
The ambulance service will provide the cabinet unlock code if someone calls 999.  The machine is really compact, lightweight and totally intuitive to use, with spoken and ‘pictogram' instructions for users. There is absolutely no need for operators to have any prior training in its use.  
 
Here’s some information about the device for those of you who are interested.
(Link updated)

Ian & Karen Mason

Scottish and Southern Electricity are carrying out some repair work and the electricity will be off on the morning of the 28th June 2021.

If you are directly affected you should receive a letter.

This Fund was set up in 2017 and it seems appropriate now to reprint the information that was put in the Newsletter at that time.
 
"The Village Community Fund
The group came about because of the great success of the Artweeks cafe and plant sale. In previous years the Artweeks group consisted mainly of village artists but as the years have gone on the demographic has changed and now less than 10% of the artists come from the village. So, where in the past the decision as to who benefitted from the proceeds of the Artweeks Cafe and plant sale was made by the artists, now we need people who know the village and its needs to make that decision.
 
The group consists of Pam Smith, Pauline Durham, Sylvia Athawes, Annabelle Zinovieff and Steve McNally. The people in the group have been chosen to reflect different groups in the village in the hope that all interested parties have a voice.
 
Our aim is to decide year on year where the money goes from the profit from Artweeks. This is kept flexible. One year all the money might go to one needy cause only. It is the group’s decision. Key to the decision is that money is to be spent in the village.
 
Our aspirations are that the Village Fund will enable more to happen in the village, more people to get involved and the assets the village will be improved or added to. If you have an idea, want some money to start up a village project, a sports group, a social group or can think of something the village needs, please get in touch with any of the group named above."
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FUNDRAISING TARGET MET!  DEFIBRILLATOR ORDERED!!
 
Thanks to twenty-seven donations from our kind supporters, the target for the Parish defibrillator was exceeded within just a few days - with over £2600 raised.   We were lucky enough to secure a generous grant from the supplier, London Hearts, and therefore the machine cost nearly £400 less than anticipated - £1211.   We need to reserve £500 for maintenance and replacement consumables, but that leaves enough money to arrange for CPR/First Aid training for parishioners if we wish, and a healthy balance to be donated to the Parish Community Fund.  
 
The machine has been ordered and will be with us shortly.  
 
Thanks you all again for your help and generous support.
 
Kind regards
 
Ian & Karen
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