Village Notices

Notes From St. Georges – January 2026

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2 January, 2026

Sarah Edmonds, our Area Dean, will lead the family service on 4th January at 11am.  We shall be celebrating the Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the wise men to Jesus.  They are known by different titles, but the fact that they had studied the stars does suggest that they were astrologers, wise men rather than kings.  Western tradition sets their number at three, probably based on the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh presented to the infant. Around the 8th century they were identified by name probably reflecting their lands of origin: Melchior hailed from Persia, Gaspar (also called “Caspar” or “Jaspar”) from India, and Balthazar from Arabia. Their gifts had special symbolic meanings as well: gold signified Jesus’ status as king; frankincense represented the infant’s identity as the Son of God; and myrrh touched upon Jesus’ mortality and suffering.  All this is brought together in the well-known and much-loved carol: We Three Kings.

In our nativity scenes, we tend to merge this event with the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s Gospel.  However, Matthew says that the wise men paid homage to Jesus ‘on entering the house’ – not stable, and the detail he gives leads us to conclude that up to two years could have passed between the visit of the shepherds and the visit of the magi.

The Eastern Orthodox tradition has twelve magi, and because the eastern churches use a different calendar from ours, Christmas and Epiphany are rolled into one great feast in early January.  Whatever your take on the details of the story, the important thing about Epiphany(meaning ‘revelation’) is that we celebrate because Jesus shows us in human terms what God is like.  He makes God accessible within the limitations of our understanding.

Blessings to you all and very best wishes for the year ahead.

God Bless.

George

Revd George Heighton

Email re********@*****ok.com

Telephone 01295 680 201

A View From The Pew – January 2026

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1 January, 2026

The Three Shops
ILMODB

I was saddened to read of the closure of the NatWest bank in my previous parish at Acocks Green in Birmingham. Being a working-class parish, I was often left with the job of taking the coin-filled bags to the branch some one hundred yards away in the village for banking. It left me wondering who now would have the thankless task of driving to the nearest bank some five or six miles away, having to find suitable car parking place, and then presenting the money to a, no doubt, disgruntled cashier. Closer to home, also the NatWest bank in Stratford has just closed; as has Lloyds bank in Shipston. And the bank in Kineton has long since left the High Street. And it not just the banks that are deserting the villages and towns. Since my arrival in Brailes in 2018, the curtain shop has closed down and the post office and convenience store also, and in Shipston specialised shops have succumbed to the power of the supermarket, Amazon and online shopping. 

But in Brailes, literally at the centre and heart of the village, we have the three shops that attract the custom of many of the villagers and beyond. La Tradition with its excellent bread, pastries and deli products. Baldwin’s newsagents that also doubles up as a convenience store with fresh seasonal vegetable available, and of course Paddock Farm butchers.

It is always wonderful to see queues forming outside this little area and I have often visited the bakers when workmen are patiently waiting for their sandwiches to be made up. Likewise I am always uplifted when I see a villager walking from the newsagents with paper in hand, no doubt ready for the daily cryptic or concise crossword challenge. But it is the butchers where I frequent most regularly, and enjoy discussing the merits (or otherwise) of Birmingham City, the Arsenal, or my own team, Aston Villa. The blackboard listing the restaurants that they supply speaks volumes for its quality of service and produce and I know I have family and friends in Birmingham who would be very disappointed if they did not receive a pork pie or game pie as a Christmas gift. 

We are so lucky to have these shops in our villages and towns and they are so deserving of our custom and our thanks. And it’s not just the three shops in Brailes that I am thinking of, but the shops in Long Compton, Shipston, Tysoe, Kineton and Sibford Ferris that I have visited also. And no doubt you will think of others that I have not mentioned.

And having mentioned our local shops I must say that I have recently enjoyed some lovely meals at the George in Brailes. Having had some wonderful pub lunches also at The Malt Shovel (Gaydon), The Lion (at Tredington), The Bell (at Alderminster) and the Red Lion (at Long Compton) and witnessed its many diners there, I just feel that the George is worthy of such custom and popularity. Likewise, do not forget that we have our own Michelin star restaurant and chef at Whatcote. The Royal Oak serves exceptional food and is worthy of a visit especially for a special occasion.

So I hope that these wonderful shops, restaurants and pubs continue to survive and are well supported by us all this year, for as Joni Mitchell once sang “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. May you have a joyful and blessed 2026, and I hope and pray that you and your loved ones receive many graces and blessings in the year ahead. God bless.

Fr David Tams

Community Speed Watch: January 2026 Report

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18 December, 2025

Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

Plans are progressing to introduce a School Safety Zone to make the area around the school safer for everyone to cross the road. The first stage of the plan is to install warning signs that advise drivers to slow down to 20mph when the lights are flashing during school term drop-off and pick-up times. Further physical traffic calming measures are necessary and expected to follow.

The two static cameras record over 200 vehicles exceed 35mph every day!
Impatient drivers have been noted overtaking vehicles throughout the village.

As we reported last month, the area around the Primary School is our number one priority because children are constantly being put at risk crossing the road.  The School has reported several near-miss incidents in recent times where it’s been more luck than judgement that a child has not been seriously injured crossing the road outside the school gates!

The School Safety Zone project will be funded by a combination of means including a government grant that is available for improving road safety. Financial support will also come via the Parish Council as well as generous donations from the public. Many local initiatives have begun to help raise money for the cause. It is also hoped some of the businesses in the village will also consider making a donation so they too can be associated with helping to improve road safety. We all have a vested interest to make this happen.

There are lots of adverts on television from numerous charities asking for our money and there’s no doubt all are good causes whether in this country or abroad, however this is a request for your help to protect OUR children in OUR village at OUR school.

The Brailes School Safety Zone Crowdfunding page is up and running, so please help if you can. Even the cost of a cup of coffee will help us make a big and long overdue difference. 

-> OUR CROWD-FUNDING APPEAL

(https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brailes-school-safety-zone)

If you are able to help us improve the safety of everyone but especially our next generation, please do get in touch by email to:  br****************@*****ok.com. 

Brailes Mechanical & Craft Society – December 2025

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12 December, 2025

Our final meeting of 2025 was on 1 December, when we had our Buffet Supper and Christmas Raffle. We started the evening singing carols to Helen Porter’s accompaniment on the piano.

Thirty members enjoyed a very sociable evening. Many thanks go to our members who bought and prepared the food, and also prepared the hall. In particular, Stuart Cummings, Julia Webster, Sarah Day and Glenda Woods.

As we did last year, sheets of carols were distributed and each table was asked to choose one.
Many thanks to Helen for getting us into the Christmas spirit.

We followed the carols with an excellent buffet. Members provided their own drinks.

The raffle lived up to its reputation as a special Christmas occasion.

Thanks go to Katie Haycock for preparing a   varied programme for 2026. Programmes were handed out during the evening. We start next year with ‘Waiting for Whisky’, a talk given by a speaker from the Cotswold Distillery in Stourton.

The January meeting is on the 5th at 7 30 pm in the Village Hall.

Eric Darvell 

Notes From St. Georges – December 2025

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2 December, 2025

Christmas is coming . . .  That’s what Advent means in the church calendar and we have four Sundays of reflection on what ‘the coming’ means.  This year, because of the way the date of Christmas falls, Advent began on 30 November, unlike chocolate advent calendars, which we are not allowed to open until 1 December!
 
There will be an Advent Wreath in church, with five candles: four coloured ones for the Sundays in Advent and a white one which is lit at Christmas to represent the Christ-child. In Times and Seasons (the ‘rule book’ for celebrating Church of England festivals) each of the Sundays in Advent has a theme: 1. Patriarchs (Abraham and co.); 2. Prophets (Isaiah and co.); 3. John the Baptist; 4. Mary.
 
Alternative themes for the four Sundays are Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, which means that the theme for our Family Service on the second Sunday in Advent (7 December) would be Peace. This seems especially appropriate just now when our news media are still reporting on the conflict in Ukraine which started in 2022, and on the Israel/ Gaza situation where the precarious ceasefire is holding, as I write.
 
Joy is the theme for the third week of Advent.  Christmas is rightly a time of rejoicing that the Saviour of the world came to live among us! Something to celebrate in a world which can seem so dark at times.
 
The fourth theme is Love. We reflect with awe and wonder on the loving nature of our God who was willing to be born in humble circumstances and be exposed to all the pressures and pains, sorrows and delights of being human, so that we can know at first hand what God is like. God is beside us in all the experiences of life and by his grace we can look again and detect, and build on, signs of hope and peace and joy amidst the death and destruction and chaos which seem to characterise our world.
 
How do we react to this love and share it?  One small way might be to get involved in the Reverse Advent Calendar scheme.  The idea is that we have a box, or something similar, at home and place an item of food in it every day of Advent.  Or we can put these items directly in the box in church.  By Christmas Eve there will be 24 items of food for the Foodbank in each box, to distribute to local people in need.
 
Please come and join in one or more of the church services to celebrate the real Christmas Spirit of love and joy.  
I wish peace and goodwill to you and to friends and to visitors among us.
God Bless
George
Revd George Heighton
Email re********@*****ok.com
Telephone 01295 680 201

A View From The Pew – December 2025

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1 December, 2025

The Christmas Crib
ILMODB

The first Christmas crib was the idea of St Francis of Assisi who on Christmas night in 1223, having been inspired by seeing Christ’s birthplace in Bethlehem, introduced the first living crib to the  people of Greccio in Italy. Since then, throughout the world, churches have traditionally displayed their own Christmas crib. Most churches will have them in place for Christmas Eve and will leave it in place for the celebration of the feast of the Epiphany, when the Kings or Magi are added. Many cribs remain in place until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord when the Christmas season liturgically ends, or some churches will leave them on display for the full forty days after Christmas day when the feast of the Presentation of the Lord is celebrated (Candlemas). Whichever option is taken, the crib stands as a beautiful symbol and reminder of the Christmas season.

I remember as a boy gazing at the nearly life size figures of the crib in my home parish at Sacred Heart in Aston. And how, even then, I was drawn into its wonder and beauty. I remember seeing a four-year- old Jonathan boldly opening the doors of my parish church in Headington and running up to the crib with his older brother, Dominic. Jonathan fell to his knees in wonder and awe at the crib in front of the altar, oblivious that I was in the church and able to witness the sight of such wonderful innocence on Christmas day. That same Jonathan is due to be ordained to the priesthood next year, and I often wonder how that little boy’s soul was so moved and touched that he was willing to follow the Lord in such a privileged and special way.

Even now I get so much pleasure in gazing at the three cribs to be found in Brailes, Shipston and Kineton, and how childhood and parish memories are often recalled and cherished as I contemplate the view before me. 

Of course, putting the crib on display in the house was something that my dear friend and departed parishioner David Brooks encouraged us to do. Indeed, he took great pride in the fact that so many people would stop and gaze at the wonderful crib that was displayed in the front of his house. I am sure David’s widow, Catherine, will do the same again this year and will do so with a great sadness, but also the cherished memory that the season brings, when your loved ones are no longer there. 

So I hope you will take time to put your crib on display in the home for the Christmas season. And I hope that in recalling the absence of departed family and friends you will do so with that childlike trust and awe in the great miracle of Christmas: That “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”  
(John 1:14)

The Mass times for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are as follows:

Christmas Eve:
St Francis of Assisi Church (Kineton) 7.00pm (First Mass of Christmas)
St Peter & St Paul Chapel (Brailes) 11.30pm  (Carols from 11.00pm)

Christmas Day:
Our Lady & St Michael Church (Shipston)  9.15am
St Francis of Assisi Church (Kineton) 11.00am

I wish you and your loved ones a most blessed and joyful Christmas time. 

God bless.  

Fr David Tams

Brailes Gardening Club – December 2025

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28 November, 2025

The club’s 2025 programme ended on a convivial note – a party!  Members gathered in the village hall, bringing with them a wide pre-planned range of food to share.  Tables joyously laid out with festive tablecloths and flower arrangements added to the party atmosphere, together with a none too serious team quiz.  The case of Beaujolais Nouveau duly arrived on its actual release date, which gave members the opportunity to be among the first to sample this year’s vintage.

Looking back, members recalled a wide variety of garden visits and talks/demonstrations on gardening throughout the year.  At our first meeting in February, we held a Gardeners’ Question Time which gave the opportunity for members to present their questions on all matters horticultural to an expert panel.  

Our first presentation of the year was on Evenley Wood Garden, by Head Gardener Dan Winter.  Set amongst beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, this 60 acre woodland was bought by keen local plantsman Timothy Whiteley in 1980 and he spent the next 37 years of his life planting specimen trees, shrubs, bulbs and other perennials.

There followed our first garden visit of the year, to the Old Rectory in Albury, near Thame.  The garden setting was just gorgeous, quintessential England, with the parish church and a thatched cottage providing the perfect backdrop. 

The second garden visit of the year included two destinations in Oxfordshire, starting in Denton.  Denton House is a large walled garden surrounding a handsome Georgian mansion, which was rescued from a planned demolition some sixty years ago by its current owners who could see the potential for planting an outstanding garden at the property.  Following which we visited an altogether more modern garden in nearby Garsington which was maintained meticulously and offered a contrasting note.

In between the garden visits, Duncan Coombes presented a talk on climbers and wall shrubs with his usual relaxed style and expert knowledge.  The following month, we saw a totally different style of presentation on seasonal gardening for wildlife by garden designer Lottie Newitt, which comprised a demonstration on how to plant different colourful combinations of flowering plants and shrubs.  Also included was a sale of plants included in the presentation, which proved highly popular with members.

With autumn not far away, our September meeting on the topic of plant propagation was a timely reminder on how to prepare new plants for the next season.  The guest speaker was Andrew Mikolajski, a gardening author and RHS judge.

Timothy Walker, botanist and horticultural lecturer, gave the final talk of the year, on the topic of “Colour in a Small Garden”.  His talk was inspired by the Oxford Botanic Garden’s Gold Medal winning exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show but contained so much more content by way of explanation of some of the theory and practices employed by artists and gardeners to achieve a variety of effects.  

Our first meeting of 2026 will be our Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Monday 19th January, doors open at 6.30pm for the 7.15pm meeting.  This is always a much less formal affair than it sounds as most of the evening after a brief AGM is spent socialising over a freshly cooked fish and chip supper!  It is also an occasion when the programme of talks and activities for the coming year is announced and there is the opportunity to enlist in annual membership of the club for a fee of £15.  Members, partners, friends and visitors are all welcome (free entry for the AGM, £12 per person for the fish and chip supper which must be booked in advance).

Vic Lee
(Contact email: vi**********@********et.com) 

Community Speed Watch: December Report

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24 November, 2025

Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

As has been reported many times, speeding is a serious problem in the village and so it is good to report that progress to address the problem is now being made. 

The area around the Primary School is the most concerning where children are constantly being put at risk crossing the road.  The School has reported several near-miss accidents in recent times where it’s been more luck than judgement that a child has not been seriously injured crossing the road outside the school gates!

We have worked with the School throughout the process and our School Safety Zone project is the culmination of research combined with their suggestions on what needs to be done, so a big thank you to all the children, the parents and of course to Mrs Childs and her team for their enthusiastic support. Here is a reminder of some of the children’s ideas:

It is our absolute priority right now to work with Warwickshire County Council and all relevant stakeholders to gain agreement to implement an appropriate  School Safety Zone; ideally with 20mph flashing warning signs that operate during drop-off and pick-up times each side of a raised zebra crossing that ensures vehicles are ‘forced’ to slow down at that crossing point. As we stand currently there is no designated or identifiable safe crossing point by the school.

How can we fund the project?

In April we were made aware of a ‘Highways Community Action Fund’. This is a Government funded grant that local Councils have available to use to support towns and villages improve road safety and reduce potential serious injuries and death from road traffic accidents. We submitted a claim for this grant which has been approved, subject to the Councils’ audit checks and agreement. The grant supports up to 50% of the cost of the project.

The estimated total cost of implementing our School Safety Zone could be c£40k.

– 50% of this would be covered by the HCAF grant = £20k.

– The balance of £20k is what we are now working on.

The Parish Council will provide some financial support of course, plus we have the opportunity to look to our village business owners to help. We are also planning on holding lots of different events, like cake stalls, book sales, raffles, etc. etc. Donations are already underway.

We now have a Brailes School Safety Zone crowdfunding page where donations from businesses, sponsorship events and from the public can be made to support this cause, which of course will be greatly appreciated.

Please follow this appeal link below to check our progress and kindly make your donation:

-> OUR CROWD-FUNDING APPEAL

(https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brailes-school-safety-zone)

If you are able to help us improve the safety of everyone but especially our next generation, please do get in touch by email to:  br****************@*****ok.com. 

Brailes Mechanical & Craft Society – November 2025

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12 November, 2025

The Power of Purple with Epwell’s Ridge and Furrow Lavender
In November, Peter & Carolyn Koch de Gooreynd came to talk about their family business growing and distilling lavender

The meeting opened with two minutes silence for David Willatts. David was an anaesthetist in Banbury and in the past he has given us a very interesting talk on the history of anaesthetics. He travelled widely with his wife Alison, and we had several very good presentations about their travels.

Peter and Carolyn live on the edge of Epwell, where the long distance d’Arcy Dalton Way climbs out of the village towards Shennington. About 15 years ago they started to convert the field next to them into a lavender farm. Currently the rows of lavender plants occupy an area of about 200 yards by 50 yards. With occasional help from their son they do all the work themselves. They had no previous experience of large scale lavender growing and therefore there was a lot of trial error. Peter summarised their business as: Plants to planting, Drying to distilling, and Products to sell.

Every part of the plant is used. They produce body oil; lavender hydrosol, a milder product than the oil; soap; lavender bags and firelighters, made from the dried stalks. They sell on-line, and in one year they attended 200 local markets. They are pleased to have been accepted at Clarkson’s Farm where they have a pop-up shop.

Their plants need to keep there colour, and the plant type has to be a good producer of oil. Their chosen colour is purple. They have around 5 types, including Maillette from Provence. They visited a grower there and came back with 400 plants. Their motto is: Dream it, Build it, Grow it.  

Lavender does not like to be in water, nor does it like temperatures below about 7 degrees centigrade. They have created their own ridges. Initially they had to strip 2 kilometres of turf. Drainage trenches are also needed. A strong ground membrane is laid and a 4 inch diameter hole is pierced for each plant.  Although the membrane suppresses weeds, they still have problems with them. The plants have a life of around 7 years, so it is necessary to keep introducing replacements. 

Distillation is done in a 40 litre copper vessel and this means the plants are processed in relatively small batches. The harvesting period is 3-4 weeks. Lavender is used for its calming and anti-inflammatory properties, offering benefits to sleep, anxiety, skin health, and pain relief. It can also be used for aromatherapy.

After the meeting their products were for sale. Peter and Carolyn were thanked for an informative and entertaining talk.

Our next meeting is on Monday 1st December when we have our Christmas Party which includes a buffet supper and Christmas raffle. We meet in the Village Hall at 7 30 pm.

Eric Darvell 

Brailes Village Hall, Pavilion and Play Area Report November 2025

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2 November, 2025

Have you had a go yet! Yes the new slide in now up and looking great and the kids are making good use of it.  Well done to Katie Haycock and her Fund-Raising team for completing this project.  Thank you to the Free School Foundation, The Forge Garage, Brailes Show and all those that helped and supported the fund-raising activities that made this possible.

The Hall, Pavilion and Play area were very grateful to receive substantial donations from this years Brailes Show.  The Hall money will be put to good use to replace the curtains.  Susan is having fun with curtain samples and colours!   

It is 20 years since Deirdre Carney, a long time Committee member, came to us with the idea of a Rural Cinema and it has been going strong ever since.  A varied and eclectic mix of films have been shown over the years, from 1940’s black and white to the modern day block busters.  We are grateful to Deirdre and her team for bringing these monthly showings to the Hall for everyone to enjoy.  Please keep supporting so it can carry on. November’s film on Friday 14th is “Maria Callas” 

Dare we mention Christmas!  The Play area’s next fund-raising event is a Family Christmas Show on Sunday 7th December in the Hall, 3.30pm.  You can book on line at www.buytickets.at/stratfordtheatrecompany .  Great fun for all the family.  Refreshments and Christmas treat available  

The Brownies will be holding one of their Coffee Morning and Sales on Saturday 8th November in the Hall.  All welcome 10am to 12noon.

There will also be a Charty Christmas Bingo on Friday 12 December in aid of Midlands Air Ambulance at the Hall.  Door open 6pm, Eyes down 7pm.  

Apologies for the cancellation of this years Village Quiz, date clashes and low numbers didn’t help.   We look forward to Susan’s conundrums in 2026!  

Please we aware that the car park will NOT be available to general parking including for school drop off and pick up from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd and Friday 28th to Sunday 30th November.  

Please do get in touch if you would like to book an event at the Hall or Pavilion for 2026,  Some dates are already taken   Please do not hesitate to give Lisa a call if you need any further details or have an enquiry. https://braileshallandpavilion.co.uk/
 
If you have any questions or queries please get in touch with

Susan Gilkes, (Chair) – su*@***********************co.uk  
Ness & Jon Boyce (Treasurers) – ne**@***********************co.uk  
or Lisa Bryan (Secretary) –li**@***********************co.uk 07800 771368 (also for booking enquiries) 

Brailes Village Hall Committee. Registered Charity No. 522897.                                                    

Website :  https://www.braileshallandpavilion.co.uk/