January 2010 - March 2010
The website celebrated the start of it's 6th year online with a record number of visitors for the month at 796 and has stayed above 500 unique visitors per month ever since. Hits for January reached 12,513 for January alone.
Traditionally a quiet time of year, 2010 started with some rather extreme weather and many people were either found digging out their cars or giving up and taking up sledging on the many fields around which saw the most snow and some amazingly low temperatures. Maybe being stuck indoors for a couple of days had something to do with the traffic on the website?? Who knows!
The Defibrillator was installed on the outside wall of the Village Hall and went "live" in March after several training events to upskill people in it's safe use. It is an excellent village resource and was paid for by money raised within the village - an excellent achievement!
April 2010 - June 2010
The Parish Council AGM took place in the Village Hall. All Agendas and Minutes are uploaded to the website on the Parish Council page. Please click on the links on the page to download the files (all kindly provided by Graham Francis, Clerk to the Council).
Ownership of the website officially handed over to the Parish Council after being run successfully by Mr. D (former resident) for many years. Mr. D took the initiative and started the website from scratch, developing the look and feel of the website and contributing most of the content himself. We continue to work on the site on a daily basis - so if you see any boken links, errors or missed files let us know! All feedback and comments welcome. He can still be seen from time to time enjoying a non-alcoholic beverage (I still find this hard to believe) in our local pub, The Wheatsheaf
Mrs. McNeill sent in an email to the website advertising a fundraising gig at the local school to celebrate her youngest son's leaving. Parents and governors were welcomed and live music was provided by the band Mrs. M is in - a great night had by all!
Our favourite bearded barman, Mr. G updated the Contacts and Ancestors page with a note about a former resident of which a visitor was asking. As we receive emails from ex-villagers and people who have moved overseas asking to trace lost relatives (typically servicemen and women who were stationed here during the war) we welcome any photos, stories and questions from people on this topic. Email the website here if you have any details to share.
Email received from Mrs. O (Chairman Village Hall Committee) in response to the excellent village Litter pick which took place at the end of May/beginning of June. It was decided to clean up the village as we had previously entered the Annual "Best Kept Village" competition and came second the year before. Lots of people turned out on a glorius Bank Holiday Monday to help sweeping, tidying and removing litter from the main street between Bridge House and Stag Service Station and beyond. A big thank you to all who helped out! Chilton Foliat had previously won the title of Best Kept Village several times.
An email received from Mr. D (former webmaster) regarding his son Oscar (a resident of the village for 10 years who, at the young age of 15, was the finalist in the Southern Sinfonia Young Musician of the Year competition held at The Corn Exchange in Newbury.
Mr. H made his annual visit to CF to take in the country atmosphere, some fishing and the odd beer in the village pub. Roger comes all the way to the village from California every year and was kind enough to send through some photos he took while staying. He even got to pull a pint in the pub! It was great to see him again and we welcome him back again for 2011.
July 2010 - September 2010
The Blues n Zuz Disco took place organised by Jonathan Mills of Marlborough Police - a chance for young people in the area to attend a professional event in a safe and fun environment. Building on the success of the first one, another similar event was organised for November by Jonathan.
Chilton Foliat's 4th Annual Flower and Vegetable Show and Beer Festival (with live Jazz) took place at the Wheatsheaf on the Bank Holiday Monday in August, organised by Tracy and Ben from the pub - an excellent turn out as always with a barbeque afterwards, much alcohol and awards handed out for the best vegetables.
October 2010 - December 2010
On the 9th November our very own Wheatsheaf was the sight of the handover for the Book of Rememberance between Wiltshire and Berkshire Royal British Legion before the teams of servicemen and women marched onto London for the 11th November event at The Royal Albert Hall. The pub contributed a cheque to the cause after a recent fundraiser and villagers and servicemen/women all posed for a photograph outside the front of the pub.
A casino night also took place and was well received by the village on New Year's Eve in the pub. Locals and visitors alike dressed up to enjoy a fundraising evening before the usual auction at the end of the night.
More bad weather meant travel chaos for a lot of people of the festive period. The earliest and largest amount of snow in the UK for some parts since records began left many councils etc looking at their long term strategies for coping with extreme weather. Luckily, not quite as many potholes opened up on the roads but at the time of writing - it is not yet Spring
Dateline: 16th December 2010
Received from Sue McKillop @HEAT Group
New Year HEAT Walk Sunday 2nd January meet Town Hall Steps 10am
Kick start the year with some fresh air and exercise in good company. c. 5 mile walk via Eddington, New Hayward and Little Hidden Farm to Hungerford Newtown. Short refreshments stop at the Tally Ho pub (bring some money for coffee) and return over the fields to Hungerford. Please check weather conditions and dress accordingly. Corinna Tel: (01448) 683000.
Ramblers festival of winter walks - walks held all over the UK - 25th December to 3rd January 2011
Spokes meeting Wednesday 5h January John O' Gaunt pub 7 for 7.30pm. For anyone interested in cycling - www.westberkshirespokes.org
Informal drop in social event to meet people interested in the environment, gardening or other green subjects. 1st Thursday of every month.
Coppicing Workshops Saturdays 8th January, 12th February & 12th March 9.30-4pm at Liddle Hidden Farm, Hungerford Newtown. A hands-on day in the woods with instruction, regular refreshments and a hearty lunch round a clay oven. £35 ph or £25 for students. Call Bill on (01488) 683253 for more detail or to book. See photos of previous years at www.littlehiddenfarm.co.uk
Slow Burn's Night Saturday 22nd January 7pm Lambourn - 3 Course slow Bun's Supper with dancing to traditional Ceilidh band. Dress code black tie. Tickets £42 each per person from Harriet Collins (01488) 674737.
Film: Pig Business - Wesley Hall, Oxford St. Marlborough 8pm Thursday 27th January - Tracy Worcester's film about the true cost of cheap meat. View trailer here. No need to book - just turn up!
Weekly Events: Sew, knit or crochet with others £4 including refreshments. Also beginners quilt making one Saturday a month October-March. Contact Joanne (01488) 648736
Whats in season now? Beetroot, Brussell sprouts, carrots, kale, maincrop potatoes, red cabbage, parsnip, turnip, swede, watercress, Jerusalem artichokes, spinach, apples.
Winter warmers, tasty but not expensive
Rabbit is free range, tasty and cheap. You can buy rabbit ready to put in the pot from local butchers & Hampstead Marshall village market. Add chunks of carrot, onion and potatoes to make a tasty one pot casserole meal for 4 under £5.
Barley Borth - thick soup of winter vegetables: potatoes, swede, carrots, leeks and onions sauted in butter then simmered in vegetable stock with pearl barley (pre-soaked for an hour), some thyme and basil. Served with home made soda bread, it's a whole meal. Easy recipe for soda bread here. It doesn't contain yeast so is very quick to make. HEAT seasonal recipes here.
Local village markets: