The Editorial Team Maxine Palmer - Sean Clarke - Wally Wilton - David Burton - Lesley Pugh - Euan Stevenson Our reporters cannot be everywhere. EMAIL YOUR STORIES TO EDITOR@OVERTON-ON-DEE.CO.UK
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Have your say…..invitation to speak at the next Overton Community Council Meeting Please note that the public is welcome to attend the Overton Community Council Meetings. Previously one was not allowed to speak! Only observe, or place queries in writing to the Clerk prior to that meeting. The Community Council has decided to trial offering the public the opportunity to address the Council about any issues or problems during a 10 minute open discussion at the start of the meeting. Any points that cannot be clarified during that meeting will be followed up in the following weeks. The next meeting will be held in the Parish Rooms, on Tuesday 8th March, at 7.20pm.
Our guest speaker at the March meeting is Mr Bob Dewey, the Planning Control Officer for Wrexham County Borough Council. He will give us a half-hour presentation on Wrexham Planning policies etc. If you have any questions for Mr. Dewey, please put them in writing to the Clerk for presentation on your behalf or come along to the meeting. Cemetery Safety During the recent high winds it was noticed that at least one of the gravestones in the village cemetery was rocking slightly. Please note that Overton Community Council has a duty of care to remove or lay down any memorial found to be unsafe to the public, and it will be inspecting all the memorials to identify any unstable gravestones. Family members / grave owners are responsible for ensuring that any unstable gravestones are made safe, either by being laid down, or repaired / restored.
The inspections will be ongoing from March 2005. If you have any queries or require any further information about memorial safety testing methods, please contact the clerk on 710055. Another successful skiing trip…….
Bonjour nos amis lisent s'il vous plaît sur suivre nos aventures françaises! Roughly translated to Hello our friends, Please read on to follow our French adventures! The Foulee Blanche is a race in the village of Autrans in the Vercors region of France, which is a cross-country race for everyone. There is a separate section for children where over 2,000 children race over a km track. The children have put together diaries of the events of the week that took place from Saturday 15th January 2005. Mrs Clarke spoke of the tremendous way that these children (as young as 9) become fantastic ambassadors of our school and country. They behaved impeccably from the minute they stepped on the plane at Coventry – met with sharp intakes of breath and gasps of ‘Oh no, children!’ which changed to smiles, gratitude and ‘Aren’t they good?’ as they landed in Lyon. This carried on through out the week and the children made firm friends with the children from the school in Autrans. We’ll leave to your imagination ‘dorm inspections’, what time they went to sleep some nights and practical jokes – we just wanted to share with you the fantastic time they had and it would not have been possible with the enthusiasm of Mrs Clarke, Mr Morris and Mr Williams (and the other 3 helpers), who are apparently still recovering! Thanks Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th January...We left school at 1 pm, feeling really excited. At 4 pm we arrived at Coventry Airport we had to wait for ages to get our bags through the check in. We boarded the airplane – look out Lyon here we come! When we got to Lyon we were glad to be in France. We travelled up a mountain to Autran.We arrived at our hotel and we had some goute, which is a French snack. And then we settled down into bed. We had a good lie in compared to all the other days. After that we set off to get our skis and we started to ski. Alice fell over first and PLONK! But she got back up and started again. By Matthew Lawrenson, Toby Lynch and Adam Williams Monday 18th January the morning was bright and sunny, we got changed and went down to breakfast as usual. Our French friends came to pick us up in a shuttle bus from the hotel, to take us up into the mountains to ride on a ski lift. When we got to the ski lift we lined up ready to jump on, then all of a sudden we were up, up and away. We were partners with Mr. Williams and Allison (one of our French friends). We got off the ski lift with a big jump into the thick snow. We walked around the mountain top and saw some amazing views of Grenoble. On the way back to the ski lift, Mr. Morris and Mr. Williams had a race on their hands and knees up a hill. They both drew. We were now back at the ski lift ready to go back down (it was scarier going down). Bumpf! We jumped off, the shuttle bus was already waiting for us at the bottom. We were now heading back to the hotel to get ready for our Welsh show. We got on the stage and all went as planned, then BANG! KERPLUNK! Adam fell backwards off the stage and injured himself. Though funnily enough the audience thought he had intended to fall off. Even though this had happened the day was really exciting and fun, we all enjoyed ourselves! By Gabrielle Shaw and Cassandra Adelmann Early morning on Friday 21st January and a fire alarm went off at 2 o’clock and I wouldn’t get up. Mr. Williams had to shout at me to get me up. Much later on Friday morning, some of us couldn’t wait for the race. We all collected our skis and carried them outside. We went to the start of the race! When we were lining up our hearts were beating like mad. BANG!!! And the race started. There were about 3000 children in the race. When we came to a hill, it got much harder for us to ski, because of all the children. It was easier when people like Mr. Morris were helping us. When we got to the bottom of the hill there was a long, straight line of skis. At the end of the race the snow was really slushy and wet. When we got to the finish line Mrs. Clarke was waiting to greet us. After the race we went to the French school for some lunch.
On Saturday …..we went to the French school and we played a game with wool and it was good fun. We said good-bye to our French friends. I was sad and some of us were even crying! When we got back to the hotel we packed and said goodbye to our dorms. We put our suitcases in the bus and went to the airport. At the airport we had a little bit to eat. When we got on the plane and it was stuffy because they were too many people. We got off the plane and got our suitcases and went to the bus and went home to our families. We would go again because it was good fun By Sam Ratcliffe and Lois Jones Tuesday….First
we woke up to an early morning and we went down for breakfast,
it We walked through the caves and saw fascinating things like 3m long icicles. Amy showed Alice around the caves and Alice was surprised to see what she saw. Amy gave Alice a French coin to give to the guide. That night, at 7:30, we had a disco and our favourite song came on. It was called Mi a hee. Cassie and Gabrielle love that song so they asked for it. Emma asked for Christina Agularia ‘s song called ‘Dirty’ and they said they had it, but after half an hour we came to them and they told us that they couldn’t find it. At the end of the disco everybody wanted another song on but they closed the flaps. We went back to our rooms and went to bed. Goodnight! By Alice Greville and Zoe King Wednesday 19 January… Everyone’s eyes opened to find Sam’s dorm singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Sam. Sam opened his presents and he got a door alarm. We went down to breakfast and everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Sam again. We got on the bus to Grenoble and met our Japanese friends. It was great, we all sang different songs on the bus and after a short time we arrived. We got on the tram and we had fun! But it looked like a mini horsebox, which were blue and white colours. Together we all walked to the ice-skating rink, it was had fun but some people fell over! It smelt like fish. We had lunch at the ice skating ring and Sam got to be King for the day because it was his birthday (and he found a coin in his pie, for good luck!). After, we went shopping for 30 minutes then went back on the tram to go to the museum, which was very interesting. We went to see the Mayor of Grenoble. Bethan and Sam presented a gift from the Mayor of Wrexham. We went back to our hotel and every one was tired. For tea we had Sam’s birthday cake (yum! yum!) By Bethan Hanmer and Sam Pinder Thursday morning, we opened our eyes to hear the sound of teachers shouting ”Wake up, its time to get ready to practice for the race”, so we did. We collected our skis and went down to the ski park. Later we went to the school where our French friends were. We then went into the school to dry off. After we had dried off we all went to our French friends house for lunch, we had cheesy pasta and corn beef with mashed potatoes. Soon after we had all come back we trotted on back to the hotel to get ready for the ‘Tables of Europe’. Emma had to dress up as a little Welsh lady because she was representing Wales.
We came back to Maeva (our hotel) at 7 o’ clock. When we got back we were told to have a shower before supper. For supper, we had hot dogs and chips. For pudding we had a Lemon tart or a coconut tart. Once we had our supper, we went up to tidy our dorms ready for the dorm inspection. We then got changed and went to the games-room for an hour. Then we went up to our dorms to get ready for bed. Good night ZZZzzzzz. By Emma Williams and Polly Pemberton Thanks for the diaries kids I am pleased to see that one still has to do school work after a trip away ...just like in the old days!! Regards Maxine COUNTRY
BEAT By now you will have seen the posters around the village advertising the forthcoming Overton Neighbourhood Policing Meeting. This meeting will be held on Monday 11th April 2005 in the Village Hall, commencing at 6.30pm, and will chaired by my District Inspector Paul Firth.
The meeting is aimed at giving the community an opportunity to have a say in how North Wales Police serves your area. If you have any concerns regarding policing, please come along. From regularly attending the village council meetings and speaking to residents, I am already well aware of numerous concerns surrounding policing, but this meeting gives the opportunity for residents to air their views to a member of management directly.
This meeting is one of 7 that I have organised throughout my beat. You may see posters in the surrounding villages advertising similar meetings, but if you reside in Overton, this is the one you need to attend. However, if you are not able to make it, please either see me or attend one of the other meetings listed below, that way your points will still be heard. I hope to see you there.
Forthcoming Maelor Section Neighbourhood Policing Meetings, all commence at 6.30pm. Tuesday 1st March- Penley Maelor School. Wednesday 9th March- Bronington School. Monday 14th March- Worthenbury Village Hall. Tuesday 15th March- Bangor on Dee Village Hall. Thursday 31st March- Bettisfield Village Hall. Tuesday 5th April- Hanmer School.
Finally, on a separate note, whilst attending the Village Youth Disco on 11th February, I was approached by a concerned resident of Pen Y Llan Street who is suffering from children being noisy and on occasion entering her garden whilst waiting to go into the disco. When waiting for the hall doors to open, please be mindful of the noise and consider the people who live nearby. Thank you. Darren
King, Constable 1360. Overton Medical Practice News We have settled in extremely quickly and feel quite at home. There is a book on reception for comments, happily so far and almost without exception, you seem really impressed with the Centre. We are going to ask the local secondary schools to produce some pictures for us to further brighten up the place. There are post boxes on the outside of the building, as you look from the road the one on the right is for the surgery, the left hand side for the District Nurses, etc. Some questions have been asked regarding how the new surgery came about. Briefly, the Medical Centre has been built through a private finance initiative. A company called Trinity own the building having purchased the old surgery and site from Wrexham Council. It was constructed on their behalf by Randall Orchard with design involvement from the doctors and staff. The medical partnership rents the property from Trinity and the rent is reimbursed by the Wrexham Local Health Board. Please remember that repeat prescriptions need to be in writing and take 48 hours to process. The local chemist has asked us to include a note from them to say that they will not be moving into the new premises for the foreseeable future. Notice will be given to the public prior to their move so no one should be inconvenienced. Dr. Charlotte completed her six months with us on February 1 and has been offered a position with a Practice in Chirk. Our thanks and very best wishes go with her for the future. Scientific
Breakthrough
Pharmacy staffs have no bladders!
Pharmacy staffs have no bladders!
Pharmacy staff makes the strangest of neighbours.
Pharmacy staff makes the strangest of neighbours
Pharmacy staffs are bound to be desperate.
So please be kind and compassionate. KID’S
COLUMN The Panto On the seventh of January Saint Mary’s school went to Rhyl to see the terrific story of Peter Pan that was written by J.M Barry in the late nineteenth early twentieth century. We left school at around twelve thirty. After a long journey through the rain we arrived at Rhyl. Within five minutes of sitting down the show began, it was brilliant. Peter Pan was played by a lady called Kim Harvey, Tinkerbelle was played by Lucy Johnson, Mrs. Darling was played by Cindy Marshall Day , Tiger Lilly was Bethan Eldrige, the pirate crew were called the nitwits and captain hook was Gary Turner (Carlos from Emmerdale). There were lots of pop songs and if you like a noisy Panto then this is for you in my book it gets ten out of ten. Rebecca Overthrow wrote this article, age ten. Brain Teaser Last months Answer The paragraph is so unusual because there isn't a single “e” in the whole thing, and “e” is the most commonly used letter in the English language! Just a little note Hope everyone had a great valentines day Again a big thanks to Rebecca Overthrow for her Panto Review. It was really well written! Oh yeah, how many of you managed to work out what was wrong with that paragraph? I bet it wasn't many….or at least it wasn't many who could work it out by themselves without the help of the internet!
Lela Nightingale House Hospice Don’t forget! You can still get your Calendars from the Corner Shop and the Londis! They only cost one pound, and all the money goes to the charity. Come on, its for a good cause! Your Word Nothing for the your word, yet again...and yet, I am not surprised! I really do need your stuff in… Young at Heart It seems that the adults are no better than the kids! Come on people, get out your pen and paper! Tales
from the Trade……... 23
High St, Overton. Howard Jones the Butcher is something of an institution in the village of Overton. He has been serving the Community since 1967 and has forgotten more about the Butchers profession than most of us know. Howard’s first foray into the Meat trade was when he was just thirteen years old, delivering customers orders on a bicycle to places like Erbistock and Lightwood Green. Recalling his memories, he described an incident when riding down Bryn Y Pys Court one winter’s morning, he tumbled from the bike spectacularly, spilling customer’s meat everywhere and landing at the feet of his then boss, Perce Reeves. Several days later he received a note through the door containing a newspaper headline ‘Meat prices down this week!’- Perce at least had a sense of humour. At one time there were four Butchers and three slaughterhouses in the village and both wholesale and retail trades flourished, though Howard has noticed significant changes in taste and preference over the years, “there is less demand for food like offal these days”, he went on to explain , “some people associate it with school dinners “, it is interesting how memories our of food will effect our future purchasing. Following his apprenticeship, Howard purchased the shop in the High St, which underwent a total refurbishment, converting it into the Butchers. He has diligently traded from his premises since opening and was even undeterred from plying his trade when H.M. The Queen visited the village some years past. Howard sources his meat from Bishops Castle in Shropshire and is very particular about the produce he buys. He still produces his own sausage and these have now found there way on to the menu at The Cross Foxes. Like all local business’, Howard has diversified and carries a broader range of goods not traditionally associated with a Butchers, stocking preserves, sauces, and delicatessen fayre. With retirement looming in the next few years, it would be a blow to the village should the last Butchers close. Here’s hoping there is a young Howard about wanting to take up an honest but proud profession.
Thinking About You Best wishes to Anne Lipson and her family who we feel sure would wish to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time. Anne, who is currently receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer was the Overton librarian for many years before moving with her family to Treflach in Oswestry to set up her own successful fruit sauce company. Twinning visit to La Murette Following the very successful twinning event held in Overton last year to celebrate ten years of the partnership between Overton and La Murette, France, a return visit to La Murette is being planned for this summer. This will take place between 30th July and 7th August to coincide with the French holidays. This is great opportunity to enjoy the French way of life, sample French cuisine, savour the delights of French wine, and explore this beautiful country with true friends who have made all these exchanges one of the best in the country. If you have not been to la Murette before, you will not be disappointed, and it is an ideal opportunity for both families and individuals to see French life as it really is. By an agreement with our partners in La Murette, the numbers visiting are limited to 25 persons, so it is important to book your place as soon as possible. Not only that, but la Murette's twinning association needs to know as early as possible so that the host families can book their holidays to coincide with our visit. To assist those wishing to go with their family, the association is offering two free places for children to be decided by ballot if more than two children in total are included in the exchange visit. At least one parent or guardian must accompany their children. If you would like to take part in this year's twinning exchange please contact the association's secretary, Mr Fred Edwards on 01978 710641, who will be able to give you more information about the travel costs, flights, etc. All you will need is the airfare, roughly about £150 per person, some spending money and a small gift for your host family. Those who have been before have returned to Overton with some very happy memories of a people whose friendship knows no boundaries. This years AGM is to be held in the Parish Rooms on the 14th March at 1930hrs all welcome. Alan
Edwards Update on web letter...last month we published a letter from Gordon Richards…...Many of you did remember Gordon—pictured to the right with his wife Rose taken in Cuba on a holiday to Cuba
Martin Lewis and Gordon used to go with a cart and collect the fire ash and take it to the tip for about sixpence. The tip was a source of goodies because the Americans used to dump truck loads of waste that included packets of Lucky Strike cigarettes and boxes of oranges and packets of gum. The tip caught fire at some point and huge rats came out (smoking Lucky Strike) the size of a small dog but it did get rid of the awful smell the tip created. Josie Ralphs remembers the Americans throwing packets of gum from their trucks to the school children, it also prompted a reminder of when bananas first became available as most of the children had never seen let alone eaten, a banana and didn't know how to deal with them. This has obviously jogged a lot of memories Reflections
of Borneo As the plane hovered over the jungle surrounding Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, I wondered, “Why on earth have we booked a holiday in Borneo?” The brochure had sounded so adventurous – staying in the Kuching Hilton for 4 days followed by a trip into the jungle to stay in a “long-house style” hotel, overlooking a lake. However I was now having second thoughts. As the plane landed, after a long and tedious flight, it was pouring with rain – we had found out ( too late ?) that January was the middle of the rainy season, with over 20 inches of rain in that month alone! There were other hazards floating around in my mind – malaria, jungle fever, snakes, Moslem extremists, not forgetting the recent earthquake and Tsunami in that part of the world. Over a month after returning safely, I can report back that all my secret fears were needless and that we found Borneo to be a truly magical place. The people are really friendly, the capital was a modern prosperous city buzzing with life, the jungle countryside was beautiful, the wild life fascinating, the culture and history interesting and the hotels superb. O.K. – it did rain a bit – but it was warm rain, and overall we had more sun than rain. Perhaps the highlight was the jungle trip to see the Orang-Utangs in the wild. It took two attempts ! On the first occasion, the legendary orange apes did no turn up – apparently nature is unpredictable. It was fruit season in Sarawak and they had probably found a spot with plenty of accessible food somewhere else in the jungle ( or maybe they were just sheltering from the rain ?) The Tour Organisers, aware of the group’s disappointment, arranged a free trip the following day, but stressed that there was no guarantee that the primates would show.Anyway, on a hot and sunny day, we gave it another go.The first period of our second vigil was ominous – no signs of any life in the jungle.After about 20 minutes, however, the forest “ranger” who was offering umpteen bunches of bananas on the viewing platform, pointed excitedly upwards and gave a Tarzan cry to his friends. We all strained to see what it was, and, sure enough, we soon saw a big male Orang-Utang leisurely and slowly swinging from tree to tree down the jungle canopy. After about 10 minutes, he arrived at the feeding platform, about 20 yards away, and started munching the bananas. Shortly afterwards, a mother and clinging baby arrived and a little later “Big-Daddy”, the “leader of the pack”, a 30 year old Orang-Utang with a large flat face arrived. His name, apparently, was “Richie”, and he was a real star. After strutting around and some feeding, he climbed into the trees above us, obviously “performing”. He finally jumped down on to the path about 10 yards behind us and led us out of the jungle. Seeing such splendid animals in their natural habitat is indeed a fascinating experience.
Other
wonderful trips followed : Overall, we reflect back on a real experience rather than a holiday, giving us memories that will remain with us for many years. Overton
Then and Now…. Two views of one of our most picturesque and peaceful scenes – the Boat Inn at Erbistock, with about a hundred years between them. The older photo show the original ferry which consisted of a flat-bottomed boat, rather like a punt, attached to a cable which ran around a pulley on the Overton side of the river and a windlass on the other. Turning the handle on the windlass would the cable round its wooden drum and, in turn, hauled the boat across. During the 1950’s or 1960’s, the old boat, by now showing its age, was hauled up on to the bank and left by the windlass. Later, during a Spring flood it was washed away and now only the wooden windlass remains, together with a few scraps of rusty cable buried in the undergrowth on the Overton side. I recall that the fare during th e1930’s was one old penny each way, which in modern money would be less than 1p for the return trip. There was some talk a few years ago that the ferry would be re-opened but I guess that the fare might have had to go up a bit by then.
Overton
Rambling Club A group of “Happy Wanderers” setting our on the 09th August 1993 from Overton Bridge to follow the River as far as Dutford Ford (where former Overtonians used to cross the Dee before the bridge was built in the early 19th Century) and then to circle round and return to the Cross Foxes past Old Hall Farm. Reading from left to right are Detta Palin, Joan Price, Freda Thompson, Grace Sidwell, Ken and Brenda Farrell.
Is it Blooming possible? Below are two newspaper clippings of the past ….some who know me will not be surprised by my interest in a scheme that would include cleaning road signs and sweeping the street fronts! (I am known in certain circles as the “Queen of Clean”) However Sean Clarke and I wish to ascertain if there is a genuine interest in Overton on Dee entering the Wales in Bloom scheme? For our bid to be successful we need to have a group of individuals willing to assist, to form a Neighbourhood action team. It is our intention that this be a village effort engaging a cross-section of the neighbourhood community including the involvement of children—run by people in the village for the benefit of the village. There are many benefits in Overton getting involved in the scheme such as: o Increased resident pride in their local area and sense of community o Better communication across the whole community on matters of local interest o Satisfaction of individuals involved in working towards a meaningful common goal and as part of a UK wide campaign involving many thousands of neighbourhoods o A boost to tourism and business improving local economy o Stimulation of voluntary work and better co-operation between residents, businesses and local authorities and the involvement of young people o A real reduction in vandalism, graffiti, fly posting and litter o Encouragement of recycling and reduction in waste o Sustainable improvement and conservation benefits to local surroundings that can be built on year to year Below: Newspaper headings of the past...surely if we all do our bit we can spruce things up once more?
If anyone is willing to assist in this scheme, then please place an expression of interest within the Village Shops Oracle box or through the door of No 3 Dispensary Row…..it’s over to you now. (if the scheme did go ahead it would be independent of the Oracle) Overton Amateur Dramatic Society Rehearsals are underway for the Spring Play due to be performed at the Village Hall on the 10th,11th & 12th March 2005. SEX,
DRUGS & RICK & NOEL Please don’t be deterred by the title – This is a daring “FLYING DUCKS” Musical comedy. Plenty of Rick & Noel not much of the other. James & Sue Glover plus the expert help of Sue England are the Direction / Production crew. The main parts are played by Roger Moore, Mike Redworth, Cath Eve and Ruth Overthrow, plus a chorus line of singers. This is a poignant story of two mature students studying History and a whole lot of other things at University. Letter from the Web…... I am researching the Lister family who lived here in Warninglid, West Sussex for some 60 years. John Lister and Ellen Lister (formerly Lowe) moved to Warninglid in the early 1860s from Overton, Flintshire. Both were born in Liverpool. John was the local "Squire" and owned a lot of land and property in Warninglid. John and Ellen were married in Liverpool in 1853. They had four children William Edward (b1855), Ellen (b1856), Charlotte Elizabeth (b1858) and John James (b1859). Sadly, William Edward and Charlotte Elizabeth died at Overton prior to moving here aged 3 and 10 months respectively. I believe they are both buried at St Mary's Church, Overton. On Ellen's birth certificate, John Lister's occupation is given as "Squire". John Lister died here in Warninglid in 1872 aged 61 years and his widow Ellen died in Huntingtown, Perthshire in 1912 aged 85 years. Again I believe they were both buried at St Mary's Church Overton. Prior to moving here they lived at Ash Grove, Overton. I am not sure if this is a house or an area. I am writing to ask if there is some one, a local historian maybe, who could tell me what Ash Grove was and what it is now with perhaps some background history. I
noted from your newsletter that the little tin church close to
Overton appears to have closed. John Lister's son and daughter
were instrumental in having a purpose built brick church, St Andrew's
Church, built here in Warninglid in 1935. This closed in November,
2004. A sign of the times! |
