Village voice spring 2012

HELMDON VOICE
www.helmdon.com
Wind Farm Public Enquiry
A reminder that the enquiry will run from Tuesday 15th May – Friday
25th May (not Monday 21st May) at the SNC offices at Springfields,
Towcester. All residents are urged to attend if they are able.
Changes to Cardboard Recycling
Residents should ensure that cardboard is now put in the BLACK BOX
(RECYCLING) not the green bin; details at www.southnorthants.gov.uk
Station Road Bridge – repair delayed
The latest estimate we have for work to commence is September
2012; the delay is due to various issues including wildlife surveys and budgetary discussions with British Rail Residuary.
Blackpits Development Update
Minor amendments have been made to the original approved anaerobic digestion technology: the basic change was to introduce maize from farms as a feed stock for the digestion process, which will lead to the production of electricity from the plant. Material Change is confirming feedstock contracts with waste producers and growers before commencing construction. There are still a number of further stages to go through and Material Change need to coincide the construction with agricultural growing seasons. Construction is therefore not imminent but Material Change hope to proceed shortly.
Spring 2012
Dog Mess – urgent appeal to owners
Dog owners are reminded that they must pick up dog mess from all public areas, otherwise they are breaking a
Dog Control Order under the Clean
Neighbourhoods and Environment Act
2005. This includes all pavements and rights of way including Gravel Path and public footpaths over farmland. Parish
Councillors are very concerned about the SERIOUS HEALTH RISK which dog waste poses especially to children.
Nobody should have to clean pushchair wheels or discard a pair of leather sandals simply because of someone else’s laziness. If you see somebody not clearing up after their dog you can report this online at www.southnorthants.gov.uk
Theft of Church Roofing
A section of the church roof was stolen recently. Please be vigilant at all times, especially after dark, and if you see anything unusual either call the police or the churchwardens:- Gerald Holt –
[phone number removed] or Vanessa Vicars –
[phone number removed].
Plant, Hanging Baskets and
Cake Sale
There will be a sale of Hanging Baskets, flowering and vegetable plants together with homemade cakes on
Thursday 31st May at Helmdon Acorns
Pre-School at 9:00am.

Royal Jubilee Sporting News
The Parish Council has budgeted £2000 toward a Jubilee project to enhance the entrance to the village at the Brackley end. The project is being led by Danny Moody with the assistance of Clare Nash. Her artist’s impression of how it might look is shown below.
Cricket: The new season started at the end of April; a full fixture list is on Helmdon website. Nets practice is on
Thursdays at 6.30pm at the sports field. If anyone is interested in joining, contact Karl Leitelmayer at
[email address removed]
Zumba: Classes continue at the Primary School on
Thursdays at 7:30pm. Contact Sarah: [phone number removed] to book.
Boot Camp: Bootcamp is coming to Helmdon! In
Celebrations in the village for the Queen’s
Jubilee include street parties as well as:
Friday 1st June – after a Church service in the morning Helmdon Primary School pupils will be picnicking on the field. In the afternoon there will be fun and games and all members of the community are warmly invited to join us. From 5 – 7pm there will be a BBQ and a local band providing musical entertainment.
conjunction with Helmdon Sports Club, Col Whitehead, a qualified personal trainer, will be running a bootcamp twice a week at the Sports Ground probably on a Tuesday evening/ Saturday morning. It will combine a mixture of strength, CV and core training. It will be lots of fun making sure everyone gets the most out of their workout. Each session will cost £5 or you can book 10 sessions for £ 40. A
trial session is available: [phone number removed] or
[email address removed]
Helmdon Hurler
Sunday 3rd June – 11am Special Service to commemorate the Jubilee at Helmdon Church including a jazz band
Tuesday 19th June – 1pm – Jubilee Lunch in the Reading Room – £4 each, sign up in the
Reading Room from 16th May, all are welcome.
Minibus for Hire
SNVB (the South Northants Volunteer Bureau)
are pleased to announce that as part of Village
Networks, a new Lottery-funded project, a 16-
seater minibus is available for hire by community, voluntary and non-profit groups.
The minibus and driver is operated and insured by SNVB with a section 19 permit.
Community groups can apply for membership and then can hire the minibus for trips. Terms
& conditions apply. www.snvb.org.uk
The 3rd Helmdon Hurler will be run on Monday 27th August.
It is a 4.3 mile run around the Astwell Track and through the village of Helmdon. The time to beat is 24:53, although there are plenty of people coming in after the hour mark too! The entry fee is just £10 in advance or £12 on the day
(Affiliated runners £8 in advance and £10 on the day).
Five to seventeen year olds pay just £5 in advance and £7 on the day. See www.helmdon.com for more details.

Helmdon Fellowship Falcutt Open Gardens
The Helmdon Fellowship was entertained by David Taylor for the final Friday afternoon session of this year’s winter programme.
David (a Director of Studies and teacher at English Language
House in Milton Keynes) sang songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s accompanied by his guitar. He asked for his fee to be donated to
Help for Heroes, a cause close to him as his brother is serving in
Afghanistan.
On Saturday 23rd June, the lovely gardens of Falcutt House and Stable House will be open from 2 -5:30pm. Combined entrance will be £3 for adults; refreshments will be available. Proceeds will be for the Friends of the Church, for the repair and maintenance of the historic building. Do come and enjoy the plants, flowers, shrubs and trees.
Our busy summer programme will include several trips, a
Diamond Jubilee lunch, fish-and-chips lunch and a coffee morning. Some of the events are open to all, so do come along. If you are retired, we’d be delighted for you to join the Fellowship.
Hugh Walmsley, Chairman, Friends of St
Mary Magdalene Church
Last call for the Ball
There are fewer than 10 tickets available for the HYHO ball on Saturday 30th June so if you want a ticket (£59 each) contact Toby
Ballantine on [phone number removed].
News from the WEA
David Taylor entertains the Helmdon Fellowship
Helmdon Women’s Institute
The W.I. is doing well having celebrated our 90th Anniversary last year. We were pleased to hang the flower ’Manger’ on the front wall of the Reading Room to mark the occasion and, thanks to members, it is always bright with colour. We are also purchasing a new clock for the Reading Room in honour of the Queen’s
Jubilee. We continue to have interesting and varied speakers and are looking forward to a talk on the Gardens of the West Coast of
America and, from Niki Phillips, details of her novel The Liffey
Flows on By. We meet at the Reading Room on the second
Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm and we are always pleased to welcome visitors and new members.
Louise Stothard, President [phone number removed]
A new 10-week adult education evening course will start on Tuesday 18 September
"The Gift of the Nile: An Introduction to
Ancient Egypt" – a concise overview of the development of Egyptian civilization, emphasising archaeology and monumental architecture.
Fee is £52:50 or FREE if on certain benefit.
Richard Farquharson on [phone number removed]
(daytimes) or [email address removed]
Theatrical romps in May…..
Helmdon Bridge Players present two excellent short plays in the Reading Room on both Friday and Saturday 19th May at
7.30pm: Zoo – a fast-paced, racy comedy on how not to manage a zoo and Going
Underground – the secrets of your everyday commuter. Tickets from Zoe: [phone number removed]
or from Morag : [phone number removed]. £6 adults and £4 concessions (unsuitable for children)
.

Parish Council Contacts
Peter Burns – Chairman Tel: [phone number removed]
Sarah Adhemar Tel: [phone number removed]
Mike Barnes Tel: [phone number removed]
John Coatsworth Tel: [phone number removed]
Paul Duncombe Tel: [phone number removed]
Bill England Tel: [phone number removed]
Danny Moody Tel: [phone number removed]
Gemma Simpson Tel: [phone number removed]
Eddie Garner Tel: [phone number removed]
A Plaque for Harold Seckington
Email contacts for the Cllrs are on the website.
Liz Hart – Parish Clerk Tel: [phone number removed]
parishcouncil@helmdon.com
Diary Dates:
Wed. 23rd May – AGM & Council Meeting
Wed. 25th July – Council Meeting
Both at 7:30pm in the Reading Room
Snapshot Project
Launched at the Annual Parish Meeting the
Snapshot Project photos are to be posted on www.helmdon.com ; if you are interested in a hard copy contact Danny Moody, Parish Cllr.
Bill England reads a tribute to Harold Seckington for his services to the village as a plaque in his memory is unveiled at the Reading Room at the Annual Parish Meeting.
Out and About – Summer Evening Walks
Walks start on Monday 14th May, meeting at The Bell at 7pm for a walk of about five miles and aiming to be back about 9pm for a drink. We shall then continue until late August; note these walks are in addition to the regular Thursday afternoon walks. For details contact Roger Miles: [phone number removed].
Friends of Helmdon Primary School
Please bag up any jumble (old clothes etc) for our “Bags 2
School” campaign and drop them off at or before 9:00am on
Thursday 10th May (put the school’s name on the outside of the bags). On Saturday 16th June we will be holding a “Dad’s and Lad’s Snail Race” Night, to coincide with Father’s day, further details will follow www.helmdonprimaryschool.com
Acre’s Bulk Oil Service
Offering a service which allows you to get excellent prices, subscriptions for membership are £20 per annum and forms can be downloaded at www.northantsacre.org.uk. If you are interested and would like more information before committing yourselves contact the Co-ordinator Bill England: [phone number removed] or [email address removed]
Helmdon Presents..
The arts and culture group in the village promote professional performances of drama, music, dance and comedy…. on your doorstep. Past productions have been well received and are reasonably priced. Our film club is just £15 per year – this season we are showing “The Adjustment Bureau”, “Snow
Cake”, “Drive” and “Best in Show”. We also organise discounted theatre trips. To be placed on our mailing list to receive all event details, send an email to [email address removed] .