21st May 2010: Village Hall Damaged: There has been damage caused to the Appleton Village Hall: windows were broken, roofing and guttering damaged, all of which has to be repaired at a high cost to the Village Hall Committee. If you are aware of any groups congregating and causing damage, please contact the Police on 08458 505 505 and quote URN 492 of 21st May 2010.

21st May 2010: More tiles stolen from Besselsleigh Church. It has been reported that tiles form the back of the church have now been stolen by night - while the repairs are ongoing on the front section by day - see item below on 2nd May 2010.

20th May 2010: Roger Smith receives Churchill Fellowship. Villager Roger Smith (of Southby Close) will, on Friday 21st May 2010, receive his Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) medallion from Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at London's Guildhall, so making him a fully fledged Churchill Fellow. Roger was awarded a Travelling Fellowship in 2008 when he completed a 'Survey of Camera Obscuras in Europe ' covering 7000 miles through 12 countries. He commented: "Since 2002 I have been making and collecting camera obscuras and on the 28th May my latest creation, commissioned by the Bodleian, is on display as part of an exhibition dedicated to John Aubrey (a 17th c. antiquarian/educator). You can get details of that and the survey from my website www.camera-obscura.org.uk".  

15th May 2010: Quiz Winners! The winners, and new Appleton Quiz Champions 2010, are Claire & Stephen Barratt, Gavin and Jo Gregory Newman and Jess Adams. Suspicions are rife that Jess, being the quizmaster's wife, had inside knowledge, 'though this is stenuously denied by both Jess and John. £200 was raised and a fun evening had by all. Appleton Cubs is alive and well, and there are spaces for more boys (and girls.) Contact Richard Tyack if interested.

12th May 2010: Malthouse Surgery. With the retirement of Dr Frank Debney from the Malthouse Medical Practice on 31st July 2010, it is confirmed that Dr Tudor Gwatkin will take on the care of Dr Debney’s patients. The surgery, which takes place in the surgery at the Appleton Village Hall on Wednesday mornings, will be attended by Dr Gwatkin from the beginning of August.

10th May 2010: New Wheelie Bins. On 4th October 2010 the Vale will introduce food waste collection (one bin for food waste and one for the kitchen) and two wheelie bins - one for recyclable waste and another for non-recyclable waste. See the website for details of the new scheme The details about October 2010 Waste Collection - see our website item October 2010 New Collection.

7th May 2010: Playground receives award. Fantastic news! Playbuilder told the Playground and Recreation Group today that they had been successful with a grant application and have been awarded the full amount of £47,000!!! This brings the total to £53,000 so far (£1,000 from village shop and £5,000 from Sovereign Vale) which is fabulous! Playbuilder will be holding seminars for the successful groups starting mid May which the Group will be attending to begin planning. They will be applying for some further grants in the very near future and will need to raise some funds so will be holding a fun family event in late summer - watch this space! Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far - an amazing effort from everyone!

2nd May 2010: Besselsleigh Church roof slates stolen. Last week thieves stripped Besselsleigh Church of centuries-old Stonesfield tiles and the Besselsleigh community is offering a £1,000 reward for any information that leads to prosecution. Anyone with information should call the Police on 08458 505505. The theft took place between Tuesday evening 20th April and Wednesday morning 21st April.

1st May 2010: Appleton Community Shop celebrates Tenth Birthday! Joining the celebrations was Jane Barker, Adviser Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council, who awarded the Appleton Community Shop (ACS) the Runners Up Award, Oxfordshire Village Shop of the Year 2009 to Jerry Uren, Chairman ACS. Folk came and went during the morning and enjoyed birthday cake and champers!