Patron Saints are chosen as special protectors for a country and this month we start with David, Patron Saint of Wales on the 1st March, which was the day of his death in 589. Many miracles surround David, the most notable being when the ground on which he was standing talking to the people, rose up into a hill so that everyone could see him. The story has it that he only ate leeks and drank water! Although this is not a national holiday in Wales, the day is widely celebrated with the wearing of traditional costume adorned with leeks and daffodils. Move along to the 17th March and we say hello to Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland who was believed to have died sometime between 461 and 493. Patrick was a Christian missionary and bishop and while much of his life is shrouded in legend, he is famously credited with using the three leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the people. This of course is why we recognise the shamrock as being a symbol of Ireland, much like the leeks and the daffodils associated with David. In Ireland, what once was a religious holiday has become a national holiday with much celebration of the Irish culture and history with parades, music and Irish dancing and I am sure, a copious supply of Guinness!

Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations and is held on the second Monday in March falling on the 9th March this year. It traces it’s origins back to Empire Day, which when Queen Victoria was alive, was celebrated on her birthday 24th May but was renamed Commonwealth Day during the mid 20th century and moved to March. On this day the King broadcasts a message to all commonwealth countries and attends an interdenominational service  held at Westminster Abbey when the flags of the member countries are offered for blessing.

Sitting in the middle of March on the 15th is Mother’s Day which always falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent and which I talked a bit about last year. This special day has been observed by the Catholic and other Christian churches since the middle ages and the UK is believed to be the first country in the world to have a dedicated day for mothers, so well done Great Britain!

We are almost at the end of March but I have to mention first the Vernal Equinox on the 20th. This is when spring time officially begins and all across the earth there will be an equal amount of darkness and daylight. I think we will all be glad of that!

Coming right at the end of the month (phew!) on the 29th is Palm Sunday which starts Jesus’ final week on earth and marks his victorious entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey. The people welcomed him using palm fronds, laying them on the ground in front of him and shouting ‘Hosanna’. Our service in church starts at 10.30 for Holy Communion so please come along and join us for this special service. We will then be going into Holy Week with compline in the evenings at 6 p.m, St Matthews Passion on Good Friday afternoon, an Easter vigil on Saturday and our Easter Day service with Mark Thomas at the end. More details about all these things next time.

There was a good number of visitors in the congregation for the service led by Rev Jane Haslam at the start of Epiphany this month and it was good to welcome her to St Mary’s for the first time. I think over the years we have been well looked after by a large number of priests from the Witney Deanery so it was nice to see a fresh face and enjoy her personal input into the service.

This year Easter is early and so Shrove Tuesday arrives on Tues 17th Feb. To mark this St Britius are holding their Pancake Supper in the church at 6 p.m. This is always a jolly affair and I highly recommend joining in if you can. Tickets are £7.50 for two pancakes with a variety of fillings (all tastes catered for) and you will need some pennies for extra pancakes and a drink. Let me know if you’d like to come before 10th so I can book a place for you and  organise a lift. Before that on the 7th Feb there will be a Candlemas Tea Party at the Humble Bumble cafe in Brize Norton just by the car park, again hosted by St Britius and this starts at 4 p.m. Again, let me know by 30th Jan if you would like to join in the fun so I can book you a place.

Once all the cake and pancakes have been cleared away we move into our period of Lent and to mark this special date (18th Feb) Rev Barry is holding a eucharist service at 5.30p.m in addition to our normal twice monthly services.  Two days later on the 20th we will be pleased to welcome Millie and Max from Carterton to St Mary’s to join together in Holy Matrimony. We wish them both a happy and fulfilling future together.

For those who enjoy our bible study sessions, the group will reconvene again on Tuesday 10th Feb at Jeremy’s and continue through on a fortnightly basis until the 5th May. If you are interested in knowing more about the bible and what it’s all about, it’s worth a try. You would be most welcome.

More news next month about the busyness of the run up to Easter and the events being held in Holy Week.

The Snowdrops are out – Spring is on its way!

It’s always so heartening when you start to see snowdrops peaking through the undergrowth whilst out on a walk. With that in mind if you’d like to take a stroll amongst the snowdrops to lift your spirits here are some stunning locations around our area.

• Waterperry Gardens (near Wheatley): Famous for its Snowdrop Weekend in February, showcasing over 60 varieties and a riverside walk.
• Welford Park (near Newbury): Known as one of the best in the UK, with 5 acres of beech woods filled with snowdrops, open Wed-Sun, Jan 28 to March 1, 2026.
• Kingston Bagpuize House (near Abingdon): A private estate opening in February with stunning, snowdrop-filled woodlands. Opening Days: Every Sunday and Wednesday in February (1st, 4th, 8th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 22nd, 25th).
• St Botolph’s Church (Swyncombe, near Henley-on-Thames RG9 6EA): Offers a peaceful, charming, and free, scenic walk, often with “snowdrop teas” available.
• Basildon Park (National Trust, near Goring): Features lovely, accessible woodland trails blanketed in white.
• Thenford Gardens and Arboretum (near Banbury): Boasts over 600 species of snowdrops, creating a spectacular, diverse display.
• Evenley Wood Garden (near Banbury): Boasts over 80 named snowdrop varieties in a woodland setting.
• Badbury Hill (National Trust, near Faringdon): Known for bluebells later but offers nice early-season snowdrop walks.
• Colesbourne Park (near Cheltenham): Renowned for over 350 varieties, with open days every weekend from late January to February 23, 2026.
• Newark Park (Gloucestershire Ozleworth, Wotton-under-Edge GL12 7PZ): A National Trust property featuring snowdrop-filled woodlands.
• Boddington Manor (The Manor Boddington Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ): Features an annual snowdrop trail in the woods. Sunday 9 February 2025, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. £5 admission, cash only.
• Painswick Rococo Gardens (near Stroud GL6 6^TH). Open daily from Saturday 17 January to Sunday 1^st March 2026. While there are only 15 named varieties, the garden is famous for its massive, naturalised display of over 5 million individual snowdrops.

Also, the days are starting to get a little bit longer, this is especially noticeable if we’ve had a sunny day (although they seem few and far between at the moment!). So, on days when it is sunny, it’s a chance to wrap up warm and get out in the garden. Here’s the link to the RHS website on jobs in the garden in February.

Continuing the snowdrop theme, I subscribe to the newsletter from Bunkers Hill Plant Nursery, and this week received an offer of a FREE pot of snowdrops and an opportunity to collect the new Bunkers Bonkers Bonus Card. All I have to do is to guess how many of them there are at Painswick Rococo Gardens…the answer is in the list above…so I may have a go!!! They do have regular offers but you have to subscribe to the newsletter https://bunkershillgardenshop.co.uk/

For those of you who haven’t ventured over to Bunkers Hill, it’s a bit of a trek but worth it as they often have different plant varieties than the garden centre chains. Bunkers Hill, Kidlington OX5 3BA.

For those of you who prefer a bit of armchair gardening during January, why not take a peek at Monty Don’s Rhineland Gardens, his new gardening series on the BBC. He travels from the Alps to the North Sea on the River Rhine as it flows through big cities, dramatic landscapes and romantic valleys. Along the way Monty explores extraordinary gardens shaped by the mighty River Rhine. Well worth a watch. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002px5m/monty-dons-rhineland-gardens

Just a reminder that as a member of the Black Bourton Gardening Club you can enjoy 10% discount at some of our local gardening centres, just take your membership cards along and show them at the checkout before you pay.:

• Bampton Garden Centre (full priced plants only),
• Timms Garden Department, Brize Norton (all products in the department)
• Cassington Garden Centre (plants only).

We also now have 20% discount for purchases from Thompson & Morgan. This includes seeds, plants, bulbs, onion and potato sets and more. Products which they refer to as ‘non live’ i.e. garden pots and tools etc are not included.  To benefit from our discount you can either order from their website HERE, or by post. If ordering online you will need to set yourself up when you order so that they have your address etc and can link the discount to it. When setting up and placing an order make sure you quote our unique order code which is TM_GT748P this will ensure you get the discount. If you would prefer to order by post we have some copies of their seed catalogue for 2026 and paper order forms, please just let us know and we will get them to you.

Thank you for your continued support, we look forward to seeing you all in March when we kick off the year with a coffee morning on March 14^th and we have a talk on planning herbaceous borders on March 17th, please see below for our programme through to the summer.

Best wishes from your committee – Ellie, Jo, Niki and Rachel

The year ended with a lot of mulled wine and home-made mince pies (thank you Wendy!) at St Mary’s, where we welcomed the arrival of Santa and his gifts and a merry sing-along to all the favourite Christmas carols and readings led by our Rector Barry.

In fact December was a busy time for the BBVA and St Mary’s – the VoiceBox Choir from Witney delivered an enjoyable and engaging performance, and the Film Club presented its family friendly seasonal offering “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – the American equivalent of our “The Snowman”.

The coming year will see the return of many old favourites as well as a sponsored trip to David Ashley’s panto in Swindon. The very first event of the New Year for everyone is the BBVA’s AGM on Monday 12th January at 7pm in the church, at which the village will be entertained with illustrated highlights from 2025 and a conversation about how the BBVA could improve its offerings and funding support. There may even be some wine and mince pies!

So to make sure all voices are heard in the formulating of the BBVA’s activities do CLICK ON THIS LINK AND PLEASE TAKE TWO MINUTES TO ANSWER THE SURVEY! The BBVA really needs your inputs and ideas. The committee meets formally 12 times per year and many more times when erecting marquees and preparing for events.  Your support and input is vitally important.  So please answer the survey and let the committee have your  opinions at the AGM either in person or in writing. 

Email the BBVA at any time about anything! Happy New Year!

December is always a busy month in the life of the church and this year was no exception. Outside the tree surgeons were dealing with the big old chestnut near the entrance to the cemetery, trying to bring it back under control after 30 years of growth since it’s last haircut. Our biggest fear is that a branch will come down in a storm and damage the boundary wall, the bell tower or worse still, fall on someone’s head as they are walking along the path. So in a funny sort of way we were let off lightly, when in the process of lowering a big sawn off branch from the top of the tree, the thin end swung round and decapitated the castellation from the parapet on the top of the tower. Luckily the path had been closed to pedestrians and a clean break and a fall onto grass meant little damage was done. Not exactly good for the blood pressure though! So it’s with relief that the two stones have now been successfully reinstated.

We were able to get the Christmas tree up in church and decorated (thank you Janette) for the First Sunday in Advent which was also a communion service for all three churches in the benefice. Refreshments were served afterwards and we all had a good catch up with our friends from Brize and Carterton. The following week the outside trees were erected and dressed with lights, adding a really festive appearance to the approach along the path to the church and cemetery beyond. Thank you Richard for crawling around in all weathers fixing the cables and making everything work properly.

As usual Santa Claus paid us a visit last Saturday and gave out presents from his grotto in the Lady Chapel. We are always pleased to have him in Black Bourton and I am sure the children enjoyed his visit too. After the present giving we drank mulled wine and ate mince pies and sung all our favourite carols with Simon at the organ. As we have so few children of our own in the village I must thank those who came from the other churches in the benefice to read the passages from the bible and join in the service. We very much appreciate their boosting our numbers.

Rev Barry will be on holiday from Christmas Day for a month so on January 11th, the first Sunday in Epiphany, we will be welcoming Associate Archdeacon Rev Jane Haslam to St Mary’s to take our Holy Communion service, which I believe is the first time she has ever done this for us. So please come along and give her your support!

A Happy and Peaceful New Year to you all.

The BBVA hosted the Quiz Night at The Vines and a big thank you to all those who made it possible. The event raised over £500 to support village activities and needs.

The VoiceBox Choir is back by popular demand with their repertoire of festive and engaging songs, at St Mary’s at 6,30 on the 12th. Most of the ticket price of £10 (children free) goes towards the church’s fabric fund. Do support this talented group and get into the Christmas spirit! Mince pies and mulled wine will be served!

Christmas comes alive when children meet Santa, receive a present and then join in the carol singing! It’s all happening at St Mary’s on the 20th at 5pm. If you want Santa to give your child/grandchild a present do wrap a present (no more than £5) add the child’s name and give it to one of the elves in good time! The Christmas Carol sing-along will be from 6pm. It’s free to all including some mince pies and mulled wine!