Village News

  • Pop-Up Pub on the Green Frioday August 2018 1st August 2018

    FRIDAY August 3rd AT 6.30 PM

    THE GREEN, GREAT WOLFORD, CV36 5NQ

    FEATURING the Bar in the Tree, Todenham Farm BBQ.

    FULL BAR – beer, wines, spirits, soft drinks.

    FAMILIES WELCOME. Free entry. Plenty of parking. Tents if it rains.

    PROGRESS REPORT on the campaign to save The Fox and Hounds.

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  • Village Meeting regarding Pub Planning application 25th July 2018

    I have received the  following from Lynn Mathias Chair, Great Wolford Parish Council

    There has been a planning application received (ref 18/01396/FUL) by Stratford District Council to convert the Fox and Hounds Public House into 2 dwellings.  The Parish Council has to make its representations by 13 August 2018.

    There will be, as are all our PC meetings, an open meeting, on Thursday 9 August in the Village Hall, Little Wolford at 7.30pm. The change of use application for the pub will be the only item on the Agenda. This meeting is open to all so please come along and encourage anyone who may not have received this email to join us.  As is the Parish Councils normal practice the applicants, if they are at the meeting, will be invited to explain the application and answer any questions from the floor or the council to clarify any points that may not be clear and will then be expected to leave.

    If you live in the Parish please attend and make your voice heard.

    If you don’t live in the Parish you may not be permitted to speak but if you’d like to attend to support us that would be great!

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  • New Parish Council Website 6th March 2018

    All matters relating to the Parish Council may now be found on their new website:

    http://greatwolfordparishcouncil.org.uk/

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  • Summer Pop-Up pub – Friday 30th June 2017 20th June 2017

    The next pop up will be held on Great Wolford Village Green i.e. the telephone Box on Friday 30th June 2017 from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

    The aim is to keep the Re Opening of the Pub fresh  in everyone’s mind and to enjoy ourselves.

    Fully licensed bar at more than reasonable prices, Real Ale,  2 marquees full B B Q. menu.

    All welcome and dog and family friendly.

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  • CALLING ALL ARTISTS 7th June 2017

    Wolfords Village Hall has an unused long  wall which is available to local artists to exhibit their pictures/artwork. There will be no charge to exhibitors and the only conditions are that the works are by locals, not political, not pornographic otherwise any subjects, any media, landscapes, portraits, abstract whatever.

    The hall is used by quite a lot and your work will be exposed to a good few folks over a period of 2 months. You hang your own pictures , prepare your own display title and price cards and your contact details.

    You can come in and change your exhibits as you please. You can hang 1 piece or several.

    We hope to have a comprehensive art wall . If successful we will follow this with an exhibition one for local photographers.

    In the first instance contact Peter Watson on 01608 674325  peter.watson34@btinternet.com


     

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  • New Website – The History of the Wolfords 15th May 2017

    With considerable assistance from David Farman a Wolford History Website has been launched at www.wolfordshistory.uk It contains many articles and photographs acquired during the last 35 years or so.  They will be of interest to serious students, children working of local history projects, casually interested villagers and visitors.  The intention is to add further items.  I would welcome criticism and suggestions about further content.  Meanwhile, enjoy knowing more of Wolfords’ history.

    Please note that as this is a new website the complete address(URL) will need to entered into Google or Bing.  It will take several weeks for browsers to index its contents so in time  searching for Wolfords History should bring it up.

     

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  • St George’s Evening – cancelled 18th April 2017

    The St. George’s Evening planned this Saturday April 22nd at Little Wolford Village Hall has been cancelled. It will be replaced by a pop up pub evening in support of the “Save Our Village Pub” campaign starting at 6.30 pm with last orders at 10.30pm.

    Because of the short notice we won’t have a draught beer on tap but will have a good selection of English bottled beers as well as cider, lager, Guinness, red and white wine, soft drinks and possibly some hot food.

    Entry is free – families most welcome.

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  • How shall we remember Frank Lax? 11th April 2017

    How shall we remember Frank?

    Written by his sons, David, Stephen and Michael

    Shall we remember him digging his garden, turning the produce into delicious jams and chutneys? Shall we remember his sense of style – a cravat for every occasion? Days at the cricket in Worcester, binoculars and sandwiches to hand? In his workroom with his tools? Or, perhaps, reclined on his chaise longue, a whisky by his side and the concise crossword on his lap?

    We will, of course, remember all of this. And much more.

    Frank was born in North Yorkshire in 1925, but grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire, attending the local grammar school. As a teenager he loved playing cricket and all things mechanical. He bought his first motorbike with a friend, but being too young to legally ride it, they pushed it home, freewheeling down the hills. The bike was later sold for half-a-crown and a pair of roller skates. Who got the coin and who the skates, we don’t know, though there is photographic evidence of Frank wearing roller skates.

    At 18, he volunteered for the RAF, training to be a navigator and gunner. A highlight for Frank was training at Lord’s cricket ground, running up and down the Long Room. He saw active service towards the end of and just after the war, notably in Egypt and the Far East.

    On his return, Frank enrolled at the Leicester School of Architecture. After qualifying as an architect, he worked for Leicestershire County Council. He met his wife, Beryl, on a blind date, set up by his sister Joan.

    Now the proud owner of an MG sports car, Frank took Beryl as his navigator on rally races in the Leicestershire countryside. Despite this, she agreed to marry him! They were married in 1956 and made their home in Leicester, their three sons, David, Stephen and Michael, all being born there.

    In 1966, Frank started a new job at IDC in Stratford and the family moved to Laureldene, here in Great Wolford, where all three children went to the village school. Frank designed buildings up and down the UK as well as in Europe during his 24 years at IDC.

    Some of his more notable projects included Madley Satellite Station in Herefordshire, BT’s only operational UK satellite ground station; the UK headquarters for VW in Milton Keynes; and the main sorting office in Liverpool for Royal Mail, including an underground passage linking it to Lime Street railway station.

    Frank retired in 1990, but kept busy, still doing occasional design work and always active in his garden and his workroom. He drove the Shipston Link community bus for many years. He loved his grandchildren and took a great interest in their lives. They enjoyed his company, often helping him in his garden.

    He took care of Beryl in her later years and they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in January 2006, a few months before Beryl passed away.

    Frank was extremely welcoming. He made his son’s partners feel they were part of the family as soon as they walked through the door. But, not just with family. Anyone coming to the house was given a warm welcome and a coffee. Or something stronger.

    He was generous with his time and interest. His architect’s mind was always engaged when discussing plans his sons and partners had for their homes. And, he was always glad to offer his advice.

    His garden was a huge passion and he was never happier than when showing people around. And, you would never go home without some of the produce – a bunch of freshly cut sweet peas, some seedlings, a bag of tomatoes or a handful of courgettes. If only he’d known how valuable they might become one day!

    At the same time, he could find real pleasure in the simpler things in life, whether feeding the birds or treating his family to lunch in the pub.

    Frank loved good food and cooked wonderful meals. Whenever his sons and their families visited, they could be sure of an excellent feast. His cousin Lucie would visit Frank at Great Wolford when passing through the area. After a couple of sandwich lunches, Frank insisted he would prepare a quick lunch on the next occasion. This turned out to be fresh salmon, home grown asparagus, home baked bread and homemade mayonnaise!

    Keeping his independence was hugely important to Frank. He was driving right up to his recent illness and still very able and comfortable living in his home of 50 years. And, he was always pleased to be able to help friends by driving them to the shops or their appointments – but, hopefully not at the same speed that he used to drive the MG!

    He retained a good quality of life, keeping fit and active. He had a quick and inquiring mind, staying alert to the end.

    Frank was a caring and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was a thoughtful and generous friend, and a highly valued and respected colleague.

    We shall all miss him.


     

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  • Frank Lax – Dad’s life in Great Wolford 11th April 2017

    DAD’S LIFE IN GREAT WOLFORD

    Written by his son, Stephen Lax.

    “When Mum and Dad moved 50 years ago from urban Leicester to very-much-not-urban Great Wolford, with three young children, building work on the house far from finished and a garden completely overgrown, more than once they must have thought ‘what have we done’! But from the outset they settled into the village and rural life. So, imagine the excitement this seven-year-old felt when a real tractor came through the gates at the bottom of the garden, driven by Max Shurmer from up the road, who was about to embark on some serious landscaping.

    They were perfectly placed to witness the comings and goings in the village. Living where they did, right in the village centre opposite the shop and post office (when it was there) and the phone box – in the days when the phone box had a phone in it – they kept up to date about who had moved in, who had moved out. Right to the end, we’d come to visit Dad and point to someone passing the house. ‘Who’s that, and what can you tell us about them?’ we’d ask (or words to that effect) – and there was always something, some story (which may or may not have been accurate, of course).

    They were lucky to live somewhere where pretty much everyone knew everyone else and people would look out for each other, helping out wherever they could. And over the years – decades actually – Dad and Mum got to know so many people and really did feel at home here. Mum was parish clerk for a while and school secretary; Dad mowed the village green now and again. They also donated the tree that sits on the green now. They were ahead of the game when it came to ‘shop locally’: as well as miscellaneous tractor services, plumbing, electrical services, even furniture came from Great Wolford!

    So many people over the years … I know I shouldn’t single anyone out, but I’m going to. Particularly in his later years, there were a number of friends and neighbours who were so helpful to Dad in all sorts of ways: Sarah, Janette, always helping out when needed; Jo, who literally brought a sparkle back to the house Dad designed and was proud of; and Andrew, who helped Dad keep his garden alive and develop new ideas for it.

    And then, of course, next-door neighbour Glen. Glen would pop in all the time, would provide him with the latest village news, and generally be such a good friend. As children, we think we know better than our parents; parents, of course, know that this simply isn’t the case. Well, particularly in Dad’s latter years, we as children would offer what we thought was helpful advice or make useful suggestions, only to be met with an amused indifference. He was, of course, fiercely independent. However, now and again we’d be visiting and something had changed – either a new ‘thing’ in the house or a new way of doing something. ‘Oh yes,’ he’d tell us, ‘Glen thought that was a good idea.’ Oh, OK. We realised of course that if we did have something to suggest to him, we’d speak to Glen and get her to offer it to him first. That worked, maybe, just once or twice!

    Dad didn’t take these friendships for granted. Having lived a half-century here, for him Great Wolford was a special place where people genuinely care about each other. Long may it endure.”


     

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  • Pop-Up Pub 2017 – the campaign to rescue the Fox and Hounds 6th February 2017

    On Friday February 10th 2017 (this week) there will be a Pop-Up Pub at Little Wolford Village Hall.
    Starting at 6.30pm with last orders at 10.30pm.

    There will be a full bar with real ale and a good choice of beer, cider, wines and soft drinks.

    Bistro meals will be available: Chilli, Curry, Stews + French Bread  £7.50 adult  £5 children

    Food purchase is not obligatory and entry is free – come and go as you like. Cash only please

    The aim is to enjoy ourselves in a friendly village environment as though the F&H was open. Along the way we’d like to discuss tactics and to raise funds for the campaign.

    Just to be clear, and in the light of the unpleasant scenes surrounding Jackie Harding’s attempts to attend a previous meeting, this event is a social event being run for supporters of the campaign to rescue the Fox and Hounds. As those solely responsible for our village being denied our pub the proprietors of the Fox and Hounds’ and their families are not welcome and will be refused admittance.

    http://savegreatwolfordpub.co.uk

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