Your Village Entertainment

AYNHO CRICKET CLUB
After the success of the Jubilee cricket match against Souldern, we are delighted to announce that, starting in the 2023 season, the Aynho Cricket Club will be a registered club with the ECB for the first time since many decades.
We are excited to be hosting up to 5 senior games per season on the playing fields against other local clubs, and very proud to also be facilitating the running of the ECB All Stars programme for children aged 5-8 in the area.
The final details are in the process of being worked through, but we would welcome interest in the Club from adults (men or women) including parents whose children, initially ages 5-8 in the present school year, might be interested in the game.

Contact:
Henry
Henrycarless@live.com

AYNHO ROAD CYCLING
Contrary to popular belief, the cycling club isn’t entirely populated by MAMILs (middle-aged men in lycra), but we would particularly welcome more lady members! We meet on Saturday or Sunday mornings once or twice a month for a short ride, followed by coffee/breakfast and an optional longer ride. In March, our short ride took us to Farthinghoe and our longer ride took us to Deddington, Bloxham and Adderbury. We also run regular virtual rides on Zwift.  Cyclists of all abilities and all bikes are welcome, including road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids and e-bikes.  Our next group rides are on Sunday 2nd and Saturday 29th April. Dust off your bike and come join us.

Contact:
Faraz Shibli
07742 906 780
faraz.shibli@oxon.org

GARDENING CLUB
The next Gardening Club evening will take place in the Village Hall on Wednesday 12^th April.    Sue Bedwell will be talking to us about “Clematis and their relatives”. Sue is an author of forty gardening titles, a speaker and a broadcaster, along with being a consultant on RHS Encyclopaedia. She opened her garden this spring – a glorious village garden packed with spring flowers. She came to talk to us about Nerines in 2016 and it is good that she is returning to the Aynho Gardening Club. The talk will start at 7.30pm

For any queries regarding the Gardening Club, please get in touch with Annabel Bellamy.

HISTORY SOCIETY
Wednesday 26th April. 
‘Oxford – Town and Clown’           Entry £3
This month we are delighted to host a visit from Richard Smith a prestigious comedic writer who has published many books, contributed to Radio 4’s ‘Now Show’ and the ‘News Quiz’ as well as regularly writing for the Oxford Times.  In tonight’s talk Richard promises to show us a much more humorous side to the ‘dreaming spires’ with an insight into the funnier parts of the city, its inhabitants and ‘goings-on’ away from stuffy academia.  This evening is sure to prove to be a very amusing and light hearted look at Oxford’s historical fact and fiction, and a great night out!

You do not need to be a member just come along and pay on the night.

Contact
Helen Mackenzie
07866 044985

MCC (MEN’S COFFEE CLUB)
Wednesday 5th April 10.30am – 12 noon in the Cartwright Hotel.
Joint Coffee Morning with the WI and Hot Cross Buns.  Cost £5.

MINDFULNESS
The next mindfulness workshop will be Wed 15th March at the Sports Pavilion. Hot drinks and cakes from 11.00am and we start at 11.30am with introductions and a seated meditation to settle us in. Each workshop has a different theme and there will be guided meditations, readings, poems and gentle mindful movement (seated or standing as our abilities allow).  Come and enjoy some peaceful practices with a small group and learn how developing mindful awareness can bring many benefits; suitable for beginners and experienced meditators.  I am a qualified, licensed and insured Mindfulness Meditation Teacher. £7.00 pp (Cash/Cheque).  Please wear warm clothing and supportive footwear.

SHORT MAT BOWLS
Tuesdays 2.30pm – 4.30pm in the Village Hall
We give a warm welcome to new members. We help each other to learn play and Tea/Coffee and Biscuits are provided in the interval. The cost is £2.50 a week per person playing.             

WELL BEING WALKS
Our weekly walks continue, starting from the Sports Pavilion at 10.00 am each Thursday. The numbers for the long walks are just about back to normal but we are a little light on the shorter walk. Many people walk around the village regularly throughout the week on their own to get some exercise. Perhaps you would like a bit of company sometimes so please come and join us, just once a week. We are a very friendly bunch and happy to stay and share a cuppa and a cake when we get back. As we are nudging slowly into Spring, we must still be aware of the chilly winds and muddy fields so make sure that you wear warm clothing and sturdy shoes. I hope to see a few new faces over the coming weeks.

WINTER LUNCH CLUB
The Winter Lunch Club has now finished but will hopefully return in the Autumn.  Meanwhile there is going to be a Summer Lunch Club at the Cartwright Hotel.  The first session is on Thursday 13th April at 12.30pm.  Please contact me if you are interested.       

Contact
Jill Wightman
01869 811206

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Our March meeting was the AGM where our President thanked the Committee for their hard work and our members, the vast majority of whom were present, for their support and enthusiasm.  Owing to financial constraints we had to vote on whether to stay part of the WI or become a village group having discussed this over the last month.  The final count was a large majority for leaving the WI so the current group will keep going but as a village club and under another name which will be announced later.
Following this Carol McClellan, one of our members, gave an amazing talk (with lots of photographs) on her and her husband Keith’s experiences teaching in Kenya during the late 1960s early 1970s.  We all thoroughly enjoyed hearing about all their ups and downs and are looking forward to hearing what happened next as she shares more of their adventures at our May meeting.    Our next meeting is on the 19^th April, and is a much deserved lunch out at the Blue Diamond Garden Centre, Bicester.

Easter Coffee Morning 5th April with Hot Cross Buns.  This is a joint session with MCC. Cost £5. Pre booking is essential.

Contact
Jill Wightman
811206

WRITERS’ GROUP
Saturday, 15th April,  10.00am -12.00noon.            We had a very successful meeting in March with interesting and amusing contributions on “Committing a crime” and “Advising our younger selves”. Next month we will consider “What is there in Banbury?” or “If only I had…”   

Contact
Keith McClellan
810346