Teething trouble

SOME teething problems in the engine room mean the Flickr link to the calendar has stopped working temporarily. Until then you can look at the latest Apethorpe calendar contenders by clicking the link here, I hope! http://www.flickr.com/photos/42651357@N04/

Thanks for the welcome...

Getting 200,000 copies of Motor Cycle News to press on a Monday night is pretty nerve-wracking, but nothing like the pressure of pulling together Apethorpe News. Usually I can hide behind a phone if MCN's readers don't like what we've written, not bump into them on a Tuesday night in the Kings Head. So with that in mind, please enjoy the first update of Apethorpe News from my own hand. This newsletter is about you, and the fantastic village that Nicola, Max, Finlay and myself moved into two months ago. And if our welcome is anything to go by, and the village really is as sociable and friendly as it seems then my inbox should be flooded with news. Thanks to Rick for giving me the opportunity to truly feel part of the village. If you would like anything (within reason) posting, my email address is: marc.potter@mac.com

Help stop nuclear waste

ACT now if you want to stop radioactive nuclear waste being dumped in King's Cliffe. Chairman of the Apethorpe Village meeting, Malcolm Winder, has already written to the County Council on behalf of the village but is urging villagers to make their own stand. Send your letter to: The Development Control Section, Northamptonshire County Council, John Dryden House, 8-10 The Lakes, Northampton,NN14 7YD. The Planning Application is by Augean PLC and the Number is 09/0053/WAS. Or, oppose the decision online by going to www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/environ/planning/planningapps/pages/currentEN.aspx

Phone box saved!

VILLAGERS threw more than £50 into the pint pot at this week's village meeting to save the Apethorpe Village telephone kiosk. The red phone box will soon become the private property of the village. George Kelley and Graham Warren have kindly offered to keep on top of its maintenance.

Numbers down at Apethorpe Hall

A MASSIVE 1500 people attended the Apethorpe Hall tour this summer, but this was 30 per cent down compared to last year. And the future of the tours for 2010 is in question. So far a sale has not been achieved but rumours are rife that an American University currently based near Grantham have shown interest.

Book now for Christmas!

JULIA and Steve say now is the time if you want to book a place at the hottest Christmas Eve party in town. Places at the King's Head on December 24 are filling up fast, so book your place now. The Christmas menu is now available in the pub.

Plans for Lilac Cottage

A NEW planning application has been put in place to refurbish and extend the fire-damaged Lilac Cottage in Laundry Road. Previous planning applications for the historic building have failed in the past due to potential over development of the site. For more details on how it could affect you, the application can be viewed at www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk. It's application number EN/09/01385/FUL. You can post comments until October 6, 2009.

Help Communicare transport scheme

IF you could spare an hour or two a week, and drive a car then you could be a massive help to Communicare. The patient participation for the Wansford and King's Cliffe surgeries are seeking volunteers to help get patients from their homes and hospitals in Stamford and Peterborough. The group will reimburse petrol costs and no medical or physical assistance is required. The scheme's Gilbert Markley said: "Involvement with the scheme would be entirely when convenient to you - the more volunteers we can recruit, the fewer times you might be called upon to offer your services." If you can help, ring Gilbert on 01780 470578

Calendar update from Mike Johnson

Summer Selection: The selection of photos for the Summer Season are now on display in the King’s Head and the Church. As before, our judge (Maggie Farmer) had a difficult task and has tried to select places / areas not featured before. We also have one photo selected which was taken twenty to thirty years ago. If you look at the top of the blog you can see all the latest pictures. Thanks again to Maggie for carrying out a difficult judging job. All photos are anonymous when Maggie is judging, so she has no idea who has submitted them until the judging is complete. Autumn (final) Selection: The submission date for our final group is 31st October. Please help us to finish on a high with lots of Autumn photos for Maggie to judge. Remember that photos don’t have to be taken this year as long as they are Autumn landscapes taken in or around Apethorpe. The simplest way to submit photos is as an email attachment (address below), second preference is on a memory stick or disc but if you wish, I can scan in photos. This latter option will certainly apply if you wish to submit old or film based pictures. For digital photos, JPEG (.jpg) format is preferred but others are acceptable. For those with a digital camera but no computer, I will attempt to download directly from your camera. The Calendar for 2010: We should end up with 30-35 photos covering all seasons and a wide range of locations in and around the village from which to make the final selection for the Calendar. It is likely that we will have a small group to help in choosing the final 13 or 14 photos (one for each Month, a cover and possibly a small one for the back). I believe that they will make fabulous Christmas gifts, especially for friends and relations who know Apethorpe, they will also be a wonderful personal memory of our beautiful countryside. Those who saw my own example from last year will appreciate that they are very practical, have A4 size pictures with the same size calendar and have enough space to write in entries for each day. Could those of you who require calendars but have not yet replied, let me know how many you require by the end of September at the latest otherwise you will be disappointed! I can then inform the selected printers (Austin Rose – Peterborough) of the run size required, confirm the prices and get them to prepare the calendar ready for the photos to be slotted in after the end of October. I hope the calendars will be ready for delivery by Mid-November. I will be round collecting your money during the first week in November so that we can pay the printers as soon as they are printed. The price is expected to be around £5.50 per calendar. Mike Johnson, Lavender Cottage, Manor Farm; T: 470669; E: HYPERLINK "mailto:annmike.johnson@tiscali.co.uk" annmike.johnson@tiscali.co.uk

Apethorpe calendar gets a step closer

What better Xmas present than a calendar of Apethorpe for friends, family, or even a copy for your wall? Ann and Mike Johnson are currently investigating printing options and prices for the Apethorpe Landscapes Calendar. Basically, the more they order, the cheaper they become. At present, for a print run of 100 copies the best price quoted is £5.75 for 13 pictures including the cover, or £6 for 14 pictures. If demand is high and the order is pushed to 150 copies the price drops to £5.25 for the 13 picture version, or £5.50 for 14 pictures. Please indicate your interest, and decide if you'd like the 13 or 14 picture calendar, and send the information to Ann and Mike at Lavender Cottage, 5A Manor Farm, or email: annmike.johnson@tiscali.co.uk

STOP PRESS: Village Meeting on Tuesday

The next Apethorpe Village Meeting will take place on Tuesday September 15 at the Kings Head, starting at 7.30pm. It is the perfect opportunity to keep up-to-date with the latest village matters and have your say. Malcolm assures us there will be information on the proposed radioactive waste disposal in Kings Cliffe, an update on the calendar project and discussion on adopting the village telephone box, and that's just for starters. If you wish to discuss anything else, please send ideas and suggestions to the Clerk of the Meeting, Deborah Manger, at: deborahmanger@btinternet.com by this Sunday (September 13) for inclusion in the agenda.

Snow family set for Great North Run

Matt and Andrea Snow would like to thank everyone in the village for their very generous sponsorship money. The Great North Run (half-marathon) is on the 20th September and all monies raised go to CAFOD. It is not too late to donate and you can still visit www.justgiving.com/andreaandmattsnow or alternatively you can add to the paper based form Matt and Andrea have on the go. We wish them the best of luck and we'll keep you posted on their progress here at Apethorpe News.