Merry Christmas!

Christmas Carol Service

Tonight was the annual Christmas Carol Service organised by Grove Parish Council next to the Christmas tree in Vale Avenue. The service was led by Rev. John Robertson and the music was provided by Wantage Silver Band. The wintry weather gave it a seasonal touch and a collection was held in aid of the Vale and Downland Museum.

Of course, it was just over a year ago that the great Christmas tree mystery in Grove occurred. Read about it here, here and here.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year

A fantastic night for the local area at the BBC Sports Personaility of the Year Award. First of all, Sir Frank Williams, founder of local Grove-based F1 team WilliamsF1, won the Helen Rollason award. Then to cap it all, local jockey A.P. McCoy won the main award!

999 Emergency Services Christmas Ball in Wantage

Yesterday seemed to be a day of chaos on our roads due to the amount of snow which fell overnight and during the day. Our emergency services must have been stretched to the limit. It was therefore no surprise that many people were unable to make it to Civic Hall for the Wantage 999 Emergency Services Christmas Ball. This is an annual event which raises funds for local charities. We managed to make it through the snow to show support and enjoy the evening, though some of the entertainment had to be called off. Some of the emergency service teams were also dealing with real emergencies on the roads.

The snow this year was not unexpected having been accurately forecast by the Met Office, however we always still seem to be ill-prepared. However, maybe it will be a white Christmas after all this year....

The Coming of Christmas

This was the theme of a candlelit evening of Christmas music and readings which I attended at Dorchester Abbey on Wednesday night. It was an excellent event with the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford and readings by Juliet Stevenson CBE and Michael Pennington. David Hyde was the conductor. The evening was in aid of the Home Farm Trust (Hft) which supports people with learning difficulties. You can view their website here.

The Abbey was a beautiful setting for Christmas carols and readings and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Christmas seems to be coming faster than ever this year and will be upon us so soon especially with it falling at the weekend. The parish council is holding its Christmas carol service round the tree at 7pm next Tuesday evening 21st December. I hope to join many residents there too.

Saving our local services

Last night at Grove Parish Council's meeting we discussed the future of Grove Library. The County Librarian came along to hear our views and to see what possible plans we could put together to potentially save the service. However, more details are needed and above all we need the community behind us, especially if any fundraising is to happen. It was agreed to hold a public meeting in the New Year and to try to rally the Friends of Grove Library again as there are very few of the original members left. Let us hope residents will get involved. Grove Library is not just a place to borrow books, it is the hub of our community where people can socialise, use the internet and find information.

Today Cllr. Jenny Hannaby and I met with the head and deputy head of King Alfred's School and Garry Kingett, our youth worker, to see what we can do to save our youth centre at the Sweatbox. Again, we need a business case and some idea how we and the community can run the service without the County Council. We are hoping to start a steering group to move things forward, so anyone who would like to get involved should contact Garry direct at the Sweatbox Tel: 01235 770577 or garry.kingett@oxfordshire.gov.uk. Again, the Sweatbox is not just a youth centre, but a vital kingpin in our community where young people can access a whole range of services and information and above all keep them off the streets.

Christmas Lights on at County Hall

Christmas lights have been switched on this evening at County Hall, so I was there to see the ceremony. Children from Great Tew Primary School came along to sing carols for us.

There is now increased security at County Hall after last week saw two protests by students on the site. The first time they gained access to the Members' suite and the second time some of the students had a meeting with the Leader of the Council about disparaging remarks he made about them on Twitter. Let us hope that the festive season brings some good will and cheer to us all.