Want to contribute to the well-being of Litton? Why not join the Premier Crew, a group of well-intentioned citizens of our village who clean and tidy up areas when they need a little bit of care and attention. Your ability to help will undoubtedly depend on your availability and you are not expected to turn up everytime there is a call to arms. Gender equality is alive and well, as is the bonhomie or bonfemme on offer whenever we meet. With enough volunteers we could even become the Grand Crew! If you would like to join us, please contact John Firrell on 01308 482313.

Premier Crew – Come & Join Us

Dorset Digital Hotline

Message from Parish Council re. Corona Virus

Plant Sale

Ultrafast Broadband

Village Newsletter November 2020

St. Mary’s Church At the time of going to press we have no idea whether the Christmas services will go ahead, but hope and pray that they will. All being well, there will be a Carol Service on the 20th December at 5.00 p.m. with the usual readings and live music from Paul on the organ plus recordings of carols made by members of the choir. On Christmas Eve we hope to hold a Crib Service at 4.00 pm as well as the 11.30 pm service of Holy Communion. In all probability numbers will have to be limited to comply with social distancing. A leaflet will be delivered around the village with full details of all the Christmas services once the current lockdown is lifted and the revised restrictions have been announced. Brighter news is that there are now new floodlights to replace the ones that failed last year through old age. If you would like to light up the church to celebrate an occasion or remember a loved one over the Christmas period please contact Freddie Spicer (fandspicer@gmail.com or 01308 482617) to arrange dates and provide a donation of £5 per night. In Remembrance Due to lockdown we were unable to involve ourselves in traditional events and services in the lead-up to Remembrance Day. Headteacher at Thorner’s, Mike Sitch, however, came up with a splendid idea that involved the school children, local residents both in Litton and the surrounding villages in an act of remembrance. A candle or a light was placed by the front door or in the window of participating residents at 6 pm on Wednesday 11th November (Remembrance Day) – by such an act, the sacrifice of many over past decades was remembered. Thank you to all who got involved including villages and residents throughout the Bride Valley and thank you, Mike, for the inspirational idea. On both Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day itself St Mary’s church was floodlit and the Union Jack flew from the church tower from Sunday 8th through Wednesday 11th November. Litton Cheney Parish Council The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 12th January 2021 when the level of parish precept will be decided for 2021/22. Please join us and become involved with the workings of your council. At this point we assume the meeting with be via Zoom and full details of how to join the meeting will be given on the agenda. After giving several years of valiant service Kathryn Brooks has stood down as a parish councillor. In her time on the council, and as part of her brief, Kathryn ensured the council accepted and adhered to the myriad of rules and regulations that these days govern the current workings of smaller councils, and then took on the planning brief which inevitably is the most active area of the council’s responsibilities. We thank Kathryn for her wisdom, diligence and hard work during the course of carrying out her duties – she will be much missed and we wish her well in life beyond the Parish Council. We will shortly be seeking a replacement for Kathryn via the usual process. We welcome to the Parish Council, Diana Maston, who has recently been co-opted to fill a long-standing vacancy. Diana has lived in the village for a fair number of years, knows the lie of the land and is looking forward with considerable enthusiasm to playing a more proactive role in the life of Litton Cheney. 30 MPH Speed Limit – Progress Report Litton Cheney Parish Council has pressed a case for introducing a 30 mph speed limit for the village. Thorner’s school, which serves our surrounding area, supports the proposal and encourages parents in the village to let children walk and cycle to the school. Numbers of children in the village have increased substantially in recent years, as have traffic volumes and speeds, causing concern both to parents and also to elderly residents. The Council therefore welcomes the news that Dorset Council have now included this request in their programme for 2020-2021 and the Traffic Regulation team will be starting the consultation and legal processes during this financial year. New Turnstiles at The Rocks You will surely have seen that new turnstiles and gates have been installed at the top and bottom of The Rocks footpath. You will no doubt also appreciate the incredible artisanal skills that have been applied to their construction. That is down to Russell Randall and son Steve. Our grateful thanks to Russell and Steve, also to Philip Dyke for the design and The Litton Cheney Trust who have made a generous grant to cover the cost of this important piece of village heritage. Telephone Kiosk has now been adopted At a cost of £1 the Parish Council have now approved the adoption of the village telephone kiosk. At some point in the near future BT will remove the telephony equipment. In the meantime we will begin to review the various ideas and schemes that have been put forward by local residents and start to put the selected use into place once the telephony kit has been removed. Covid – Assistance is Available – You have only to say Nowhere has it been more apparent that a tremendous community spirit exists in the Bride Valley than during Covid-19. Local residents requiring any form of assistance have been instantly attended to by willing neighbours, and other residents who perhaps up until that moment had been strangers. We know that willingness to help continues to this day, and it may well be required as we head into winter, so the message to everyone is quite simply – if you need assistance, you have only to say. You can do that via the village website, village FB page or by calling one of the numbers on the PC letter found on notice boards and website or by contacting a neighbour. Christmas 2020 What does Christmas hold for us this year – who knows? We would sincerely hope that we do get to spend some time with our family and friends. You can keep up to date with what is happening, or indeed not happening, by checking the village website, Litton Cheney Observer FB page or phone a friend. Sadly there will be no carol singing around the village this year, but we can expect to find the village Christmas tree “planted” at The Triangle in the lead up to Christmas and there will undoubtedly be several village residents decorating their houses in the traditional way. Please find time to check that those who live nearby are okay, and have all that they need during this period and beyond – see Covid above. The Parish Council wishes everyone in Litton Cheney and the Bride Valley a Happy Christmas and a vaccine available 2021! Census 2021 There will be a National Census held on Sunday 21st March 2021, more details for which will be made available over the coming months. Events at Litton and Thorner’s Community Hall - LATCH The second lockdown brought with it a number of cancellations, and at this point we do not know what restrictions will be with us in December but we remain hopeful the community hall can be put to good use during December and into 2021. The Wednesday evening Yoga class has been cancelled and will hopefully start again in the new year. Table tennis on a Wednesday at 4.00 pm may start up again in December depending on how and when restrictions are lifted. We look forward optimistically to 2021 with the hope that our usual range of classes and social events will be able to resume at some point. It’s Curtains for the Hall The four sets of large curtains in the main hall at LATCH, have been taken down and re-lined by Madeleine Hickling. It was a mammoth job, yet accomplished within the space of ten days. Thank you, Madeleine – another example of community spirit without reward – there’s a lot of it about thankfully! Ali Halliday – Plantswoman on behalf of Weldmar Hospicecare. In May of this year Ali decided to fund raise for Weldmar by selling plants she had planted and cultivated herself. To date she has raised over £1500, and Ali provides a continual supply of plants for sale outside her house in Barges Close. Thank you, Ali, for your magnificent effort on behalf of Weldmar – we are extremely proud of you for your efforts on behalf of others far less fortunate. Litton Cheney Social Committee Best Christmas Wishes to everyone, and let us hope that 2021 is a much more social year! The ducks are certainly looking forward to a dash down the stream, with a visit to The White Horse at the end! Keep healthy and safe. The Social Committee. Bride Valley Films at Litton and Thorner’s Community Hall. We have decided to delay any new film dates until 2021; hopefully we may be able to resume then. At such time we will try to ascertain whether everyone has seen all available films during lockdown etc. so we can confirm titles. That’s all folks! - for now. You Are Always Welcome at the White Horse So here we are in lockdown again and at the time of writing we should be able to open early December. But who knows? Will we be open for Christmas? And if so, what will that look like? We can’t imagine we will be able to do the Christmas parties we did last year, or that the bar can be as packed as it was last year on Christmas Day, but all being well, we will be doing a Christmas Roast on Sunday 20th and Cottage Pie Night on Christmas Eve - our chance to thank YOU for your support during the year. But we do know one thing; as with all of 2020 we will keep adapting, doing what we can to be here for you and to keep you safe. It’s been a tough year for everyone but most of us have survived. Huge love to anyone who has been ill themselves or lost someone, in fact to everyone. Have the best Christmas you can, and we can only hope for a better 2021 for everyone. Andy and Liz xxx