29th June 2011: The Appleton Village Cookbook is now on sale in the Appleton Community Shop. With 170 pages comprising everyone’s favourite recipes, information about village organisations, an introduction by our very own village baker, recipes from local pubs, a circular walk, line drawings, photographs of Appleton and 33 colour illustrations, it is a bargain at £8.50. There is a limited supply - come and buy your copy early to avoid disappointment! All proceeds to the Pre School.

27th June 2011: School Summer Fete breaks all records. This Sunday saw the holding of the annual Appleton School Summer Fete, children and parents a like enjoyed a really super day out, with attractions such as Go Karting, Pull the mini, Jonathans Jungle and much much more. Once all the money had been counted up we raised an unbelievable £2,806 for the school a great achievement. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who helped in making this a really special day, especially Elaine McKno and her team of Summer Fete Organisers who have taken the last few months to organise this terriffic day. We would also like to thank all of our sponsors who helped us out, these included Premier Soccer School, Hartwell Landrover, R H Builders, Oliver James, Appleton CC, David Tompkins, Ability Matters, Utility Warehouse, Clarendon Business Centre, the Plough, Greyhound and the many others who donated prizes on the day. All the funds raised by the fete are spent on helping to provide activities and resources that the school would not ordinarily be able to afford.

26th June 2011: Camping at the Sportsfield. Early this morning it was brought to the attention of the Sportsfield Committee a group of young people had camped at the Sportsfield overnight (Saturday/ Sunday). They were observed at the War Memorial in the late evening and there is evidence “For Sale/ Rent" signs were broken along Netherton Road. The damage at the Sportsfield was minimal with some litter in a bag on the handle of the pavilion! In the bag was a receipt from the Kennington Co-operative Shop (at 1854hrs) and this is being investigated. The Police have been advised. Camping is allowed at the Sportsfield, but only with the permission of the Sportsfield Committee. If anyone has any further information about the incident and was aware of any disturbance during the evening or this morning, please contact Graham Rose urgently on 864026.

22nd June 2011: Friends of Appleton School meeting cancelled: At the last Friends meeting, and as per the minutes, we said there would be a short meeting tonight to finalise any last minute issues with the School fete and Sports Night. However, as this is all in hand, we do not feel that a meeting tonight is necessary. Sorry for any inconvenience.

17th June 2011: Appleton visited by group of Rumanian and Swedish community activists: Sally Ramsden, founder of Reachability Reachability website and a colleague of Eatonian Bruce Gow, visited Appleton today together with about 10 community activists from Roma (Rumania) and Gothenburg (Sweden). Lunching at The Plough with, they were briefed on rural issues by Tom McCulloch, the ORCC Rural Housing Enabler & Community Development Worker. Appleton Shop director, Carol Bateman, told the story of the Appleton Community Shop and Graham Rose the changes in the community since 1963. After the talks the group visited the Appleton Community Shop. Sally said: “This exchange visit will help us reflect on some key issues that are relevant for both the local communities and our international partners representing their own communities”.

16th June 2011: Alix Hodge launches Ten for Ten campaign in Abingdon. Appleton villager, Alix Hodge, enjoyed a very busy day today! At 7:20 am she was interviewed by Phil Gayle on Radio Oxford. Then at about 8:20am Lt Adam Morley of 3 Rifles was on BBC Radio Oxford giving his support to the campaign. Later in the morning, and on Malcolm Boyden's show - again on BBC Radio Oxford when Graham Rose was interviewed and the report of the event by the Oxford Mail see Oxford Mail report of launch. The launch ceremony was held at the Community Centre at Dalton Barracks in the afternoon. Four soldiers from 3 Rifles talked to the 100 children about their experiences and were asked several questions in a lively Q&A session. 100 red, white and blue balloons were set off into the sky and the children then ate red white and blue cakes! Appleton School 6th Form was present in strength. Between today and 10th October 2011 the aim is to raise £1m which will be distributed between Help for Heroes and ABF The Soldier's Charity, who will use it to build Personnel Recovery Centres and to fund Individual Recovery Plans. Listen to the campaign theme song composed by Rock and Blues musician, villager Shaun Kirkpatrick, on the Ten for Ten website! And you can hear the piece on the Ten for Ten website by clicking on the image to the right of the screen. Adults are encouraged to donate £10 (one for each year of the operations in Afghanistan) NOW and children will be asked to donate £1 (£0.10p for every year) on the Red White and Blue day: 10th October 2011. Sign up on the website www.tenforten.co.uk - and making your donation to this worthy cause. See the link on this website Ten for Ten Campaign for details on the campaign. Or, if you know of people not PC connected ... write a cheque to "Ten for Ten" and put it in an envelope addressed to Appleton Shop, Ten for Ten Campaign, 39 Eaton Road, Appleton Oxfordshire OX13 5JH.

15th June 2011: Important: Flasher seen on Appleton/ Eaton straight. Please be aware that a flasher was seen on the Appleton/ Eaton Straight on Monday afternoon at around 4.45. The car was hidden behind the hedge and was an oldish blue Citroen Saxo, . White male 40's and bald headed. The police have been informed - if anyone notices anything please call the Abingdon police on 0845 850505 crime ref no ME3848820/11

12th June: The Plough six weeks on: At the request of Matt Sydenham, the group formed earlier this year (comprising John Evans, Roger Mitty, Graham Rose and Nick Withers) met with Matt to review the first six weeks of the new tenancy. Matt remarked: "I really appreciate the involvement of the group and listened to their comments good and not so good! They do, I believe, "tell it as it is" and Sophie and I accept some things have not been quite right first time. We will be making changes, which we hope will entice those who have not yet come to visit The Plough recently to come and enjoy the experience".

12th June 2011: Village Hall AGM: Please attend! The Village Hall Management Committee will be holding the AGM on Tuesday 21st June in the Village Hall at 7:30pm. If there was no Village Hall we would be running a campaign and fund raising to create such a valuable asset! Please, please consider attending and, more importantly, taking part in managing this important facility, which is at the heart of our community.

1st June 2011: Cumnor Youth Cricket: See link Cumnor Cricket Club In July and August, Cumnor Cricket Club still have some vacanies for Coaching courses for junior and youth players aged 6 to 14.

31st May 2011: ACC suffer first defeat: The Apples suffered their first loss of the season this Sunday, chasing a massive 237 runs to win, they fell just short by 28 runs. Congratulations go to Carl (The Bear) Alder for his first 5 wicket haul for the club and yet again to skipper Martin Bungay who hit a majestic 78 runs. Next we have a Southmoor Select XI visiting on Wednesday 1st June for a quick fire 20/20 game.

30th May 2011: Sunday Roast at The Plough: Thank you for everyone that came for Sunday Roast today - we hope you enjoyed it at much as we did! Due to the success of our first week we are planning to make the Sunday Roast a weekly occurance. With a choice of 2 meats served with all the trimmings, it will provide all the joys of a traditional Sunday Roast, without the usual hassle of washing up (at least not for you!) One course for £8.95 (main), and two courses for £12.95 (main and dessert). Childrens portion's at £5.95 and £7.95 respectively. We look forward to seeing you! Book now to avoid disappointment! 01865 863535

30th May 2011: Jack thanks viewers of website! Jack said: "Didn't quite make it, I'm afraid, to the finals of Live and unsigned UK. Ended up in 4th place, thanks for the help from Appleton and Eaton website viewers as I am sure your votes really helped to get some extra votes. I am going to keep at it, though, as 10,000 acts roughly did the auditions accross uk. 15 regional final finals from those venues (1/4 finals) from that roughly 60 acts were put forward to each area final. There were 6 area finals so I guess only around 360 acts made it to that stage. I certainly do feel proud to have got that far as roughly 9,000 accross uk didn't. I am going to keep writing, thinking of a band now too, also may try again next year but not too sure as yet. Thanks again for all your support."

27th May 2011: Major works at the Appleton Sewage Works, start Tuesday 31st May 2011 : The placement of temporary barriers have been put in place for the Sportsfield Car Park to enable large vehicles to navigate the sharp bend to the Sewage works. Damar Group Limited will be carrying out major work for Thames Water for about 16 weeks. Please use extra caution when travelling along the road leading to the Sportsfield, and if there is any issue please contact Graham Rose on 864026. Graham has contact details of Damar. For those who want to leave vehicles for any sporting activity, please park within the temporary barriers – better to park on the far side and nearest Hills Nurseries. These temporary barriers will be moved when large vehicles are delivering/ collecting plant and machinery.

25th May 2011: Appleton Sportsfield drainage work on time and thanks! Late last year and earlier this year the Sportsfield Management Committee had to close the football practice area for about a month due to flooding. At the AGM it was decided drainage was necessary and the work was started on Monday 23rd May and completed today. Paul Taylor, chairman of the Sportsfield Management Committee, commented: "The community is very grateful to villagers Adrian White and Brian & Debbie Cade. AWBS sponsored the pea shell and pipes and Brian and Debbie dug and filled the trenches*. Fantastic job by all - and at about a quarter the price of the original quote. I am also grateful to Carl McKno who helped with the final stages of repair." *Ed comment: Brian sat in the cab of the digger and Debbie wielded the shovel! See Pictures of works

24th May 2011: Rock and Blues night a success! OX13 (Appleton Youth Club) would like to say a big ‘THANK YOU!’ to Shaun and Louise Kirkpatrick for organising ‘Rock Night’. It was a fantastic evening and over £1200 was raised. We would especially like to thank The Truth, Jack Parker, DJ James Mansfield , Richard and Felicity Dick and all those who spent time and energy decorating the Barn, providing delicious bacon butties and hot dogs, hosting the raffle and supporting the evening.

17th May 2011: Composition of new Parish Council and an appeal for another member: See Council Messages Updated for details of the composition of 2011 Parish Council, thanks to past members and one vacancy: if you are interested in joining the Appleton with Eaton Parish Council, apply now.

17th May 2011: Racquets & Roses raises over £2,000 for PACT: See report and pictures at Racquets and Roses. The Racquets and Roses event held at South Lawn on Monday 16th May 2011 in aid of the PACT charity was a great success, raising over £2,000.

16th May 2011: Harmony InSpires has a highly successful evening. Organiser Lisa Buck reports: "The Harmony InSpires Musical Miscellany on Friday 13th May was a great success. Over ninety members of audience were entertained by an opening set by Harmony Inspires. The first guest of the evening was Claire Barratt who delighted with her beautiful soprano voice. This was followed by Margaret and Rosemary who showed us their skills on the Paraguayan harp. "After an interval filled with the consumption of homemade cakes, baked by the ladies of Harmony InSpires, a double mother and daughter act opened the second half. In the Genes, comprising Marge and daughter Amy, Jan and daughter Lisa are one of the Harmony InSpires quartets and they told us that "Girls just wanna have fun"! Then came the Baggs Tree Buskers with their fantastic, lazy jazz which set feet tapping and raised many smiles. Men's Barbershop group 7 in a Bar (only six strong on the night!) sang a rousing set of songs which had the audience by turns amused and moved and finally the evening ended with another set from Harmony InSpires. "We have had so many positive comments about the evening and people have said how much they enjoyed it. We certainly had fun entertaining you! "So, on behalf of Harmony InSpires, I would like to thank everyone who came on Friday, because without an audience there is no show! I would also like to thank Richard and Jean Clanfield for manning the bar and particularly Richard for all his help in organising the event."

15th May 2011: Fish and Chips at The Plough: Change of day to Tuesdays. To fit in with other activities in the pub calender we are changing the Fish and Chip night to a Tuesday with effect from Tuesday 17th May. We hope this suits many of our customers. Top quality Fish and Chips, £6 per portion, to take away, eat in the bar or the garden.

13th May 2011 BURGLARY - Cumnor Hill On Friday 13th May a property in Cumnor Hill, Oxford, was burgled. Offender(s) gained entry by forcing rear French doors, it is not known at this time what has been stolen. The police are advising residents to be extra vigilant at this time. If you see any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message, please call the police on08458 505 505and quote URN 1110 of 13/05/11. Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

11th May 2011: Appleton Cricket Club was in action again this Wednesday evening away @ Wootton. and achieved a convincing win by 45 runs. For a full match report click here

9th May 2011: Arts Week success:The Arts Week weekend held in the Appleton Village Hall over the weekend 7/8th May, was a highly successful event. A packed preview night on Friday was followed by good attendances on Saturday and Sunday with over 500 visitors and exhibitors well pleased with the result.

6th May 2011: WAG reports EA to modernise weir: Following a recent meeting between representatives of WAG, Appleton with Eaton Parish Council, Northmoor Parish Council and managers from the Environment Agency, I regret to announce that the campaign to save the Paddle and Rymer weir at Northmoor Lock has been lost.. The Environment Agency made it clear they have been advised that the health and safety issues and the need to ensure there will be no increased risk of flooding means they have no alternative but to proceed with the replacement of the weir. The handing over of ownership or operation of Northmoor Weir (or, indeed, any of the locks and weirs on the River Thames), or ‘mutualisation’, which had been mooted by the EA last year, is not legally possible without an act of parliament. The relevant minister is expected to review the situation in 2015. The EA are now planning to commence work in April 2012, after a period of consultation with the villages about the appearance of the mechanised weir. When WAG and the Parish Council have had a chance to gather their thoughts we will hold a public meeting to investigate what the next step might be. Nick Withers Chair, Weir Action Group

3rd May 2011: Cumnor Cricket Club Wins Trophy! The sun came out on what was to be a glorious celebration of small sided cricket at Appleton Cricket Club this Bank Holiday Monday. With 8 teams in total vying for the coveted title of Appleton 6-a-side Champions 2011. The teams where; Wayfarers, Long Hanborough, Cumnor, Wootton & Boarshill, Kennington, Far from the MCC and 2 teams from ACC.The group stages saw lots of action from both groups with some magnificent shots and some tight bowling. Eventually, after a great day's cricket, the teams were whittled down to the last 4. With Group A winners Kennington (after a rather eventful bowl off) and Group B runners up Wootton in one semi final, and Group B winners, Cumnor, versus Wayfarers in the other. Both were close cut affairs with Cumnor and Wootton coming out the victors; this brought about, what could be called, a local derby-style final. Wootton batted first and put together a useful target for the Cumnor lads to chase. Cumnor however came out with gusto and blasted the ball to all parts of the ground, securing the title with an over to spare. Congratulations to Cumnor on their victory and a big thank you must be said to all those who volunteered their help both before with pitch prep etc. and during the competition itself. We would like to especially thank the Bennetts for their all day cooking marathon that kept all players fed and watered throughout the competition.

30th April 2011: Volunteer Transport Scheme launched: The Appleton Volunteer Transport Scheme (AVTS), a scheme to transport Appleton & Eaton residents to medical appointments, will start on 1st May 2011. See Volunteer Transport Scheme for details.

30th April 2011: Royal Tea Party a Great Success! Well done to Jo Golding and her team for the fantastic organisation of the Royal Tea Party Tea. See Royal Tea Party Photos for some photos - thanks again to Jo. Thanks also to Matt and Sophie Sydenham for allowing the village to celebrate in such a wonderful way. Any more photos to add to the collection? Send to appleton.website@dsl.pipex.com

28th April 2011: Playground Scheme Approved! We got news yesterday that we have been granted full planning permission for our playground - very exciting! We should be able to start work soon once the last few bits of paper work are sorted, we will let everyone know as soon as there is anymore news. Thanks again to all who have helped and supported the project and enabled it to get this far!

18th April 2011: Oxford Mail features Appleton in 1966: see Oxford Mail Changing Face of Appleton for link to the Oxford Mail and three photos!

16th April 2011: Southern Electric and work in Appleton: Thanks to John Evans ... "Yes - the overhead 450v cables (x5) are being replaced with a multicore cable; some wood poles are also being replaced. They are doing groups of about 10-20 house at a time. They are giving about 7-10 days notice of complete dissconnection - for up to 8 hours. Most houses will be visited and the mains circuit physically disconnected at the fuse-box. They seem to prepare the new cables on day one and connect them on day two, when the house is cut off. The work is done by a subcontractor employing very polite technicians. The subcontractor is Powerteam Electrical Services and the Project manager is Seymour Bennett, tel 01256 303 602. I don't know the extent of the work but they have worked west along Eaton Road to the village pond by Friday 15th" ... Cllr Claire Salmon also reports (on 19th April): "The men have now completed work at the top half of Badswell Lane, Monday 18th and are presently working away from Appleton. They return here on Tuesday 26th April when they will be doing work outside the shop, and have arranged for us to have minimal power disruption. I have to say they have been extremely helpful and pleasant with anyone who comes in to contact with them."

16th April: Do walk Bluebell Wood! If you only walk through Besselsleigh Wood once a year, do it this week. The paths are dry and clear. The bluebells are overlapping with the primroses and violets, wood anenomes are fading but the pure white wood sorrel, with shamrock leaves, is taking their place,and the birds are singing. Bathe yourself in the Essence of Spring!

15th April 2011: Sportsfield Chairman calls for a Junior village football team to be formed.

The Sportsfield Committee held its AGM on 13th April 2011 and there were three main issues discussed.

1. The lack of any junior football Appleton teams: it was noted many parents in the parish send their young to Cumnor Minors and Kingston Bagpuize, rather than trying to encourage football in the village.
2. Drainage plans for the football practice area
3. The resignation next year of Paul Taylor, chairman, and Graham Rose, secretary.

The Sportsfield Chairman, Paul Taylor, urged parents to consider forming an Appleton Junior Football organisation, thus promoting football in the parish into the future. Please look at the minutes of the meeting which can be viewed at Sportsfield AGM Minutes 2011 do contact the Chairman or Secretary if you have any interest in or comments about the Sportsfield. It is a Parish Council-owned facility and for all to use.