31st March 2011: Congratulations to Appleton School Football Team for winning the Small Schools Cup yesterday by beating Chalgrove 4-1 (goal scorers Louie Snell x 2, Will Gordon-Roach and Ben Cruttenden).

31st March 2011: Oaksmere open again 1500hrs The ash tree that had fallen across the road has been removed.

31st March 2011: 1220hrs Oaksmere Road closed. As a result of a tree falling acoss the road between the A420 and the bridge, the road is closed. The matter is being addressed immediately.

30th March 2011: The Plough tenants, Matt & Sophie Sydenham, send a message: "Firstly we would like to confirm and reassure everyone that we are firmly committed to keeping The Plough a pub/restaurant, and we have no intention of doing anything that would endanger that. We are local!! Sophie and her siblings, Emma and Ben, have all attended Appleton school and hence we know many of you in the village. Sue, their mother was born in Cumnor and both her and I have lived in Fyfield since 1987, and before that in Tubney since 1983. We intend to try to be a social hub for the village and wherever possible appeal to all aspects of the Appleton social scene. We take over the tenancy on April 11th, however we apologise unreservedly that the pub will be closed from then until April 29th. We are intending to do some structural work, including the toilets, restaurant area and converting the old doctor's surgery room into a function room for village meetings, quiz nights, darts etc. – and all this plus a general re-vamp. The village Royal Wedding party is going to be held on April 29th at 3.30 in the pub garden, organised by Jo Golding, and we hope to meet many of you there. After this, from 6'o'clock, we are going to have a pig roast and a band to continue our grand opening. If anyone has any questions, queries, observations or requests please feel free to contact Matt or Sophie on 01865 390880. We are very much looking forward to serving you. Kind regards" Matt and Sophie Sydenham

21st March 2011: Litter picking success! Chairman of the Parish Council, Claire Salmon, said: "The Parish Council would like to thank Sue Hine for organising the litter pick and, indeed, all the litter pickers. Great job. Two pleas: Firstly I would be grateful to all in the community with dogs if the "parcels" they use could be deposited in the Dog bins or taken home. Several were found just left by the roadside. Secondly: now the parish has been cleared of rubbish, can we all try and keep it that way?" Cllr Sue Hine commented: "A great job was done over the weekend by everyone involved in the parish litterpick. Five teams went out at various times, totalling fifty volunteers. This year they were supplied with litterpickers, high vis jackets and gloves from the Vale, and had bags for recycling as well as for general waste. The results were visible in the mounds of rubbish collected, and in the litter-free roadsides. Thanks to everyone involved, especially the team leaders, and thanks also to the independent litterpickers who go out regularly during the year: your work is much appreciated.

14th March 2011: Marcus Hodge completes the Reading Half Marathon! "Amazing all the runners supporting such good causes" commented Marcus. "Many thanks to all of you who supported me and Team Green raising money for Care for Casualties. The day was a great success with everyone finishing in good time and over £7,000 raised and still counting."

7th March 2011: Heidi and Andre to return to Australia: Heidi and Andre, who have been landlords of The Plough for the past three years, have made the decision to return to Australia with their son Mattias. They will hand over to a newly appointed Greene King tenant in April 2011. We thank them for their energy in organising events in the community, and particularly Heidi who has been instrumental in offering good food at The Plough. Good luck with their future.

March 7th 2011: Greetings fron New Zealand! David Appleton sent an email from New Zealand: "Just wanted to say, having stumbled upon it (due to my surname) that your website is very impressive. The village is obviously at the heart of a very vibrant community. Ambridge could learn a thing or two! From a homesick Pom in Christchurch New Zealand." Editor responded "Ambridge has nothing on us! We only put on the website a very little of what really happens in the parish!!! Much would subject us to serious litigation!!! " Ed: thanks David, appreciated.

25th February 2011: Village to celebrate Royal wedding: Well done Jo Golding! Jo is leading the management of an event organised by the village for the village to celebrate the Royal wedding on Friday 29th April. If you have any ideas either phone Jo on 864654 or email on goldingje@yahoo.co.uk All ideas welcome: entertainment, financial contributions etc. Bring a plate of food to share ... times to be confirmed nearer the time. Come and have fun and celebrate this event with friends in the community.

16th February 2011 Appleton with Eaton History Group: Can you help? We need some help in typing some very old documents – to convert them into Word type documents. We have a detailed account of Appleton’s charities, written in flowing copperplate in 1818. It is now in a legible scanned form. We can supply it as a dictated audio file (for a PC) or as a mini cassette. We have a cassette replay unit for replaying these. If this can be done then this important document can see the light of day in a form that will be easy to research. The Appleton-with-Eaton History Group is quite small, about eight people. We are trying to collect what we can about life in the parish. We are interested in anything – photographs, maps, buildings, landscape, documents of all sorts and oral recollections. We could do with more help in uncovering our past – so if this interests you, do get in touch with one of us. John Evans (863822) or - john@oxmed.net

15th February 2011: Calling all Litter Pickers! Following the success of last year’s litter pick, we are holding another one on Sat/Sun March 12/13. The Vale is supplying us with jackets, gloves, pickers and bags, and will arrange collection of the rubbish afterwards. If you volunteered before, you will be contacted about taking part again; if you would like to be a new recruit, please contact Sue Hine, tel. 861931 or email susan_hine@hotmail.com and you will be assigned to the team working in your part of the parish. Thanks

9th February 2011: Village Royal Party announced: Well done Jo Golding! Jo is leading the management of an event organised by the village for the village to celebrate the Royal wedding on Friday 29th April. If you have any ideas either phone Jo on 864654 or email on goldingje@yahoo.co.uk All ideas welcome: entertainment, financial contributions etc. Bring a plate of food to share ... times to be confirmed nearer the time. Come and have fun and celebrate this event with friends in the community.

8th February 2011: Crash on Oaksmere: On Tuesday morning about 7:30 there was a bad crash on Oaksmere just the other side of the bridge on the way out of the village. An 18 yr old girl (Beccy) had hit a Jaguar with a mum and child in. The mum and child were ok, but unfortunately Beccy was not. "I got into the car with her and aided the Paramedics. She had to be cut out of her car and then taken to hospital. I do not know how she is as I have no connection with her. This crash was just on the narrow corner of the road and it was at relatively low speed, but her car was a mess. This highlights the dangers of this corner. We constantly see tractors flying around this corner. If she had hit a tractor, there is not doubt she would have been killed. This incident highlights the dangers of this corner and we should all to try to slow down on this bend at Oaksmere." Rob Hughes

7th February 2011: Community Shop AGM: The Appleton Community Shop AGM which was held on Thursday 3rd February was attended by over 30 people. Jerry Uren, chairman, reported a healthy turnover of £228,434 (up from £224,049), good control of expenses and the major event of last year, the refurbishment of the shop. With two anonymous and generous donors, the refurbishment cost of £47,480 was met out of these donations and reserves. He made a special point of thanking village builders WG Carter and Paul Taylor's firm Advanced Electrical Systems for the efficiency in completing the works on a tight time table. Jerry emphasised that many shop prices were competitive with the super markets and urged those in the Parish to be conscious of the ever-rising costs of fuel and the advantages to us all of shopping in the Appleton Community Shop.See a fuller report at ACS AGM 2011 Notes 

7th February 2011: Cinderella sell out! The Appleton Players production of Cinderella, which was performed on Friday 4th February and Saturday 5th February, delighted full houses with humorous references to various village characters and features. Roger Gilkes, a member of the audience on Saturday night, commented: "It was a thoroughly entertaining evening and the producers and the cast should be congratulated. What a talented comminity we live in!"