South Oxfordshire Dial-a-Ride    
Oxfordshire County Council has introduced a new Dial-a-Ride transport service for people with mobility problems living in South Oxfordshire. This demand-responsive. door to door service will operate initially for 12 months as a pilot scheme. This minibus service will operate 5 days a week. The district is being split into 4 different zones, each of which will receive a once-a-week service. (Nettlebed on Thursdays). The fifth day will be open for more flexible journeys throughout the district. Journeys will only be available to people who qualify on grounds of disability or other mobility impairment. It will help them to access key local services like pharmacies, shops and leisure facilities.

The service is being run by Walters Limousines, on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council.
For more information please contact Walters on 01869 327048 

Walters Limousines
Bus - Coach and Limousine Hire

Housing and Council Tax Benefit Office Helpline 0845 612 2422

Keeping the blind in touch
Some forty local volunteers work together to enable those who are unable to read the news for themselves to receive an hour long audio tape of the Henley Standard through their letterbox each week.

If you know someone who would benefit from receiving the local news FREE on tape each week, then please contact the Chairman, Jim Corrall on 01491 575541 or the secretary Tony Dutfield on 01189 242757

For more information visit the website by following this link

Do you want to make a difference to someone with a life threatening or terminal illness ?

The Oxfordshire Befriending Network is looking for reliable and trustworthy people in this area to befriend someone with a life threatening or terminal illness. We offer excellent free training and on going support . Our next course starts in May.
If you’d like to find out more please contact Catherine Gundry on 01865 316200 or [email protected]

Registered Charity No. 1086264

Oxford Cruse Bereavement Care
OCBC offers help and support to the bereaved. 
We offer a bereaved person, of any age, a place where they can talk in confidence. 
We are always looking for volunteers to join our team to work on our telephone Helpline – Monday-Friday, 10am – 12 pm.  If you can spare two mornings a month we would love to hear from you.  Training is provided for this valuable work.
For more information on any of the above please call 01865 202242. 

Community Transport (follow this link)

Oxfordshire a2b is a new website that is specifically designed to provide people in Oxfordshire with a quick and convenient way of finding out about community transport schemes in the County, for people who cannot use conventional public transport and are looking for an alternative means of travelling from A to B.

UKVillages.co.uk  (follow this link)

UKVillages.co.uk is a website linking 28,000 communities across the country. There is basic information about each village already on the site but anyone can add information relevant to their village by filling in a simple on-line form. You might want to advertise concerts and other events in your village or advertise items for sale. Alternatively you may wish to search for an all-night plumber or find somewhere to stay. The website is free to use and more information can be obtained from UKVillages.co.uk, 37 Church Street, Harston, Cambridge, CB2 5NP, telephone 01223 874500.

Seniorline

Seniorline is a free telephone advice and information service set up and run by Help the Aged for older people, their relatives, carers and friends. Trained advice workers offer free, confidential and impartial advice about welfare/disability benefits, community/residential care, housing options and other issues of concern to older people. Tel : 0808 800 6565 between 9.00am and 4.00pm Monday to Friday.

Food Directory

A new edition of The Oxfordshire Food Directory is now available. The Directory is an invaluable source of information about local food producers in Oxfordshire. You can find everything from pork to potatoes, farmhouse cheese to flour!
Get a free copy by sending an A5 sized SAE to: The Oxfordshire Food Group, School of Planning, Brookes University, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP. For more information about the Food Group and links to related sites go to
www.local-food.net

Stop Junk Mail - Leave the Paper on the Trees

Residents in Oxfordshire can rid themselves of unsolicited junk mail thanks to a scheme pioneered by Oxfordshire County Council.
500,000 tonnes of junk mail is thrust through peoples’ doors in the UK every year. Most of it ends up in the bin and therefore goes to landfill. It is one of the commonest gripes by Oxfordshire’s residents that they don’t want all this junk. However, you can now help to reduce the rubbish going to landfill by contacting the Junk Mail Hotline on 01865 816070 and requesting a copy of their junk mail package. It provides a range of solutions, including taking your name off junk mail databases, stopping the delivery of random junk mail and ensuring that companies stop sending you unsolicited mail.

Fly Tipping

If you see someone dumping waste in a country lane, field or lay-by contact your local police station or the Environment Agency without delay. Take down the registration number and colour of any vehicle to pass on, together with a description of the people involved and a note of the date, time and location.
Do not confront the offenders.

If you find dumped waste then contact the district council, who will then establish whether the area involved is a public place, if the waste is the kind they can deal with, or whether they need the expertise of the Environment Agency. They will consider prosecution if there is sufficient evidence and may recover the costs of cleaning up the site. A leaflet giving more information about fly tipping and abandoned vehicles can be obtained from the Watch Office at Abingdon on 01235 556937 (Alison Smith email [email protected]

SODC 01491 823416
Environment Agency 0645 333111 or 24 hour emergency 0800 807060

Unwanted phone calls

Are you fed up with endless phone calls from companies trying to sell you stuff from insurance policies to major home improvements ? Register with the telephone Preference Service on 0845 070 0707 to stop the nuisance.

Adopt-a-Gardener Scheme 

Do you enjoy gardening? Would you like to support your local school by developing/maintaining their grounds. If so, then Emma Murray, the Schools Sustainability Officer at the County Council would like to hear from you. She is trying to match interested volunteers with local schools.
Emma can be contacted on 01933 350458 or by e-mail [email protected]

Deer

The need for dealing with accidents and keeping numbers under control. With the appointment of a Deer Collisions Project Officer, we are prompted to investigate who owns the deer and what efforts are made to cull them. Information from www.deercollisions.co.uk
In the event of wounding or killing a deer we should notify the police who know the procedure to follow.
 

Oxfordshire Highways have issued some new comprehensive "Fact Sheets" on every subject you can think of concerning the roads in the County. Please contact the clerk for details [email protected]

Yellow Peril - Common Ragwort -
HORSES and other livestock under deadly threat (click here to read article)

Domestic Violence can affect anyone !
It can happen in all kinds of relationships and for any reason.
You don't need to live in fear of domestic violence.

If you are experiencing it you can get the support you need.

Thames Valley Police Domestic Violence Units

Victim Support