ODELL VILLAGE NEWS
October 2001
WI News
The theme for the evening was ‘A Favourite Pudding’. A real treat was in store as we all sampled each other’s contribution, and learnt why we had chosen to bring it and what made it a favourite. Reasons varied from being a tried and trusted favourite to a family favourite made on high days and holidays or simply because it was so easy to prepare. It was a friendly relaxed evening allowing time for all to catch up with each other news after our summer break.
Next month’s meeting
This will be on 9th October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. It will be an evening of fashion and gossip. We hope the ladies of the village will join us when we welcome a return visit from "Y" Fashions. They start the evening with a fashion show, all from their range of discounted clothes from top retailers such as Next while you sip the glass of wine included in the entry ticket. Then you have the opportunity to try on the clothes and treat yourself to something new for autumn.
Rachel Halton 720572
"Y" Fashion Evening
The Ladies of Odell W.I. invite you to a "Y" Fashion evening when you will have the opportunity to buy top quality clothes at a fraction of retail price. The garments offered are all top quality, sourced from leading retailers such as Wallis, Next, M&S and other similar stores. Come and spice up your autumn wardrobe.
Tickets priced at £3.00 are available from W.I. members or at the door. The price includes a glass of wine and nibbles.
The evening will include a raffle with the opportunity to win a £25 gift voucher from "Y" Fashions and other prizes.
For further information see the posters round the village or ring Doreen Wheeler 720358. Rachel Halton 720572
Odell Parish Council
The Parish Council met on September 10th and included an opportunity for villagers to comment on the fencing which has been erected on both sides of the river between the Mill and the footbridge. This was a lively discussion with strong feelings on both sides.
A letter from Mr Chamberlain, Odell Castle,
pointing out his reasons for erecting the fence was read out. The Council will hold
another meeting soon (date not available at the time of going to press) to allow all views
to be documented. They will also seek advice on the legality of the fence.
Here are the main points of the meeting:
1 It was decided to renegotiate the mowing contract with Chris Horne, who has given good service hitherto.
2 Bedfordshire CC have agreed subject to the availability of cash to resuface Horsefair Lane. However they have stated that it will not be possible to extrend the footway beyond its present length due to the narrowness of the roadway.
3 The Bedfordshire CC have been requested to improve the footway southwards from Little Odell.
4 The new fencing on both sides of the river by the Odell Bridge was discussed. Mr Chamberlain had written a letter to the Chairman
explaining that his objective was to protect passers by from the danger of falling in to the Mill Pool, which is notoriously dangerous. It is to be screened with hedging to improve the appearance. It was noted that there were no Planning objections to such a fence. As there were 21 members of the public present, the
Chairman invited comments. Views were expressed both opposing and in favour of the fencing. Those opposing were invited to submit their objections in writing to Councillor Robert Lee. The Environment Agency is to be advised, and their reaction is awaited. The Parish Council is to seek legal advice. Mr Chamberlain is to be advised of the concern of certain members of the Parish.
5 British Telecom is to be advised that a mirror is to be fixed on the pole opposite the entrance to Tannery Lane to assist drivers entering the High Street from Tannery Lane. If BT do not object, it is proposed to buy a suitable mirror, if the residents of Tannery Lane are willing to fix it.
6 It was decided not to ask Bedford Borough Council for a bottle bank to be established in the Village.
7 The poor quality of the work of resurfacing the High Street
was deplored. There were far too many loose chippings. The County Council is to be asked to sweep the chippings from the footways beside the High Street.
8 Householders will be requested to cut back the ivy overhanging the footways in the High Street, particularly for the sake of the elderly using these footways.
9 Plans will be formulated to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in June 2002. Ideas please to the Chairman, Councillor Rachel Halton, or to Councillor Robert Lee.
10 It was decided to support Mr Jones proposal to convert a barn at Yelnow Farm to provide living accommodation and a workshop for young people with learning difficulties. The proposal is to give them instruction in horticultural techniques.
11 It was decided to increase the Clerk's stipend to "level 18" at 8 hours work per month. This amounts to £686 per annum, back dated to 1st April this year.
12 The next meeting is to be held on 21st November, 2001. Jonathan Harrison
Odell Scout Troop.
Dates and venues for this term
Here is a list of the dates and venues for the rest of the year:
October 3rd Village Hall
10th Village Hall
17th Cub Hut
20th - 21st Barge Trip, organised by Colmworth Scouts
24th No meeting
31st Cub Hut
November 7th Village Hall
14th Village Hall
21st Cub Hut
28th Cub Hut
December 5th Village Hall Parents’ and Friends’ Evening
7th - 9th District Cycle Camp
12th Village Hall
19th Cub Hut
New Recruits
The Odell Scout Troop is always looking for young people aged from 10½ to 14 years old to join the Troop!
If, after reading this article, you are interested, please contact Scout Leader Martin Clark, telephone 01604 763890, or email: MartinOdell51@aol.com
Or you could come along to one of our meetings (7pm to 9pm, venues shown above)!
Martin Clark Scout Leader, 51st Beds (Odell)
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak pub in Carlton has a new Landlord and Landlady, Andy and Jo who invite you to drop in to meet them.
Village Hall News
On September 22nd we held another fun-packed Quiz night with 6 teams competing.
Congratulations to the ‘Corner Team’, most of whom are pictured to
the left. They were the undisputed
winners.
Upcoming events:
Folk Music and Dance – 10th November
A good night out for all musical tastes and good company so watch for details nearer the time.
Christmas Party – 16th December
We are keen to hold a party for all the family but particularly the children, so put the date in your diary now.
New Year’s Eve – 31st December (in case you forgot)
An open house is being planned for a New Year’s Eve "get together". It is hoped to revive an enjoyable event from years gone by. Details will be available shortly, so if you want to stay local for your celebrations, join us in the hall.
Do please support these events, and do suggest to us your ideas for alternative activities. Rob Lee tel: 720730 on behalf of the Village Hall Committee
Round and About
Curious and Curiouser.
The world is full of information that you really do not wish to know. As an avid collector of useless information, I am now going to share a number of these "bizarre" details with you.
The world's smallest insect is the fairy fly which is 0.2mm long. A human being has around 3,000 taste buds - but do not get excited, a pig has twice as many! You think that is bizarre? Then how about this - when an octopus is feeling nervous it sucks on its tentacles and ends up eating them. Fortunately for the octopus it can grow new tentacles. The salamander, however, can go one better. It can regrow just about any body part that it requires. On the loss of a limb, or even an eye, it simply grows a new one!
The giant squid has the largest eyes of any creature, being roughly 10 inches across ~ but scallops have around 100 eyes, positioned around the edge of their shell so as to spot the approach of any predators. Chameleons and sea horses rely on a different skill. They both have the ability to swivel their eyes in all directions and each eye can move independently to the other. Birds of prey have the best eyesight, and they can spot a small rodent on the ground when they are flying more than 15,000 ft. The owl has the best hearing and can hear a mouse stepping on a twig 65 ft. away. Dogs have 17 muscles in their ears, enabling them to move their ears in a multitude of directions in order to pick up sounds.
A giraffe is an extraordinary creature. Not only does it look odd with those short rear legs compared to the front ones, but also, despite that long neck it has to do the splits to get close enough to the ground to have a drink of water. Then, to help it to have that drink it has a tongue which is 35 inches long. However, it does not have to drink that often as the giraffe can last longer without water than a camel! The crocodile has so much acid in its stomach that it can digest steel, a diet it hopefully does not take too often as the crocodile frequently loses its teeth whilst attacking prey. This is not too much of a hindrance, however, as it can grow up to 50 new sets of teeth in a lifetime!
The emperor moth starts life with a very long tongue but by the time it has reached maturity the tongue has shrunk away to nothing and the poor creature, now unable to feed, slowly starves to death. The duckbill platypus, however, can keep more than 600 worms in its cheek pouches at any one time and the anteater can catch up to 30,000 ants on its tongue each day, whilst the tiny shrew has to eat its own weight in food every three hours to survive. A rodent’s teeth never stop growing and they must constantly chew on things to keep their teeth down to size.
The most poisonous fish in the world is the stonefish. Resting on the seabed disguised as a rock, it has 13 highly poisonous spines and anything touching one of those spines is instantly killed, or at the very least, severely injured. The anopheles rnosquito, which carries malaria, is believed to be responsible for half of all human deaths - barring war and accident - since the Stone Age.
The black mamba is the most deadly snake in the world. Just two drops of its venom can kill in just a few minutes. It then dislocates its lower jaw and can swallow prey up to four times the size of its own head. The king cobra is the largest venomous snake, growing up to 16 ft long. Just under 2 fluid ounces of its venom is enough to kill an elephant or twenty people within minutes. It rears up and puffs out its neck in a "hood" before striking and can "stand" nearly 6 ft. tall.
Now, don't you feel better for knowing all that!
Barbara Corley
The Mill Theatre, Sharnbrook
Chairman Mao – a one man performance by Michael Prior. Friday 5th and Sat. 6th October.
This is the third one man play of Michael Prior’s trilogy, The Enigma Series. His first play was Fuhrer followed by Jesus…and now Mao. They are all puzzles…and the plays seek to explain them, to show you the world seen through their eyes, a search for Their Truth. Michael writes produces and performs his own plays. He found Hitler and Jesus difficult, but Mao is the hardest of them all…he simply inhabits another world.
Tickets:£6. Performances start at 7.45pm.
Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – mid-Victorian musical thriller by Stephen Sondheim. Nov. 9th – 17th.
Melodrama! Terror! Crime! Villainy!…Justice!
Christmas Revue with Music Hall and Christmas themes. Friday Nov. 30th, Saturday 1st ,Friday 7th, Saturday 8th December. – A full and exciting programme – ‘not to be missed’.
Bookings may be made one month beforehand from:
Bedford - Central Box Office, Harpur Suite - tel: 01234 269519
Wellingborough - The Castle Box Office - tel: 01933 270007
(Both of the above accept credit card bookings; cheques payable to The Castle or Bedford Borough Council).
Sharnbrook – In person at The Village Trader, 28 High Street.(Cheques payable to S.A.T.T.).
Group Sales - Alison Bean - tel: 01234 781372 – 10% reduction for parties of 10 or more.
Enquiries/Mailing list 01234 782377
All performances start at 7.45pm. Seats can be reserved.
Surprise Surprise
Jill Cheadle organised a surprise birthday party for Brian on September 16th in the village hall for family and close friends.
Engineering milestone
Congratulations to Mark Asbery on building his own Tiger 6 Kit Car which is now on the road – watch out for Q697 RRP!
October Diary
3rd 10.30am Meeting Point at Manor Cottage, Harrold.
5th 7.45pm "Chairman Mao" at Sharnbrook Mill Theatre.
6th 7.00pm Harvest Supper, Village Hall.
6th 7.45pm "Chairman Mao" at Sharnbrook Mill Theatre.
9th 7.30pm W.I. in Village Hall
16th 10.30am Meeting Point at Rectory Farm, Odell.
20th 10.30am Coffee Morning at Rectory Farm, Odell.
31st 10.30am Meeting Point at Manor Cottage, Harrold.
Articles Wanted
We are always looking for more articles for the magazine – particularly items of special interest to the church, village and people of Odell!
Magazine Deadline
Please send all entries for the November magazine to Tricia Hudson (triciahudson@kbnet.co.uk), Anne Turner or Catherine Corkery by October12th at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the responsibility of the editorial team.
Village Directory
The Village Directory is an initiative of the Bridge and the Carlton, Harrold & Odell Parish Councils. Its purpose is to provide information on the facilities, amenities and services available locally.
The directory will have information in the following categories:
Churches Schools/education Recreation/Sport (Adult or Young People) Government Transport Businesses/Services Clubs/Societies Food & Drink Accommodation Amenities Utilities
In order to make sure the information is accurate, please
contact us about the organisation you represent. An electronic version of the form is available on request from:
Excellent Bed and
Breakfast Accomodation at the Oakley Arms in Harrold (2 miles from Odell by car, or 1 mile
through the Country Park) , call +44-1234-720478 for more details (mention the Odell Web
site!).
Electronic mail address
triciahudson@kbnet.co.uk
FAX number
01234-721004
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