Coronavirus - COVID-19
Need help or support? There are many in the village who have offered their services and are more than happy to help. Please see "What's On" or contact us now for further details, including contact names and phone numbers. You may also have had a leaflet posted through your door or seen a poster with more details. Please do get in touch.
"What's On" is now once again available through your letter box on paper! It will also remain available online and is available here now, please do sign up now to get your copy delivered to your email inbox.
The rules and advice are changing daily, please keep up with the latest via national and local news outlets.
Many if not all events in the village have unfortunately been cancelled as a result of the outbreak and subsequent social distancing measures. Find the very latest information on the calendar here.
Ollie's Shop & P.O.
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Visit the newly launched "Cotswold Room" at Ollie's Shop for a fantastic range of lovingly made local products and unique gifts from the Cotswolds such as scrumptious smoked fish from reknown Severn and Wye smokery, award winning jams and sauces, curious meats and Cotswold chorizos, Stroud handmade candles and Cotswold lavender lotions and much, much more!"
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Oakridge Village Shop and Post Office carries an extensive range of products from household essentials to award-winning organic foods and the very best local delicacies from all over the Cotswolds. Off road parking and a weekly order service and delivery are also available. Open 7 days a week.
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For more details click here
Email : olliesoakridge@gmail.com Tel : 01285 760239 Facebook : Ollie'sShop@OakridgeLynch Instagram: @ollies.oakridge |
Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday: 9am - 6pm Saturday: 9am - 1pm Sunday: 9am - 12 Noon Change of hours notice: In order to deal with an increasing number of orders, pick ups and deliveries efficiently, we will now be closed weekdays as from 3pm. Weekend hours remain the same. |
Oakridge Community Website
The Oakridge Community consists of five villages with a combined population of about five hundred and is situated on the edge of the Cotswolds, overlooking the magnificent Golden Valley; six miles from Stroud and seven miles from Cirencester.
The five villages form the ecclesiastical parish of Oakridge, within the Civic Parish of Bisley-with-Lipyatt. The Oakridge Parish Church, part of the Bisley Benefice, is dedicated to St Bartholomew and was built in 1837 with funds raised by Thomas Keble, the then vicar of Bisley.
Oakridge is a thriving and very active community with many groups and societies and extensive amenities, including a Village Shop & Post Office, Primary School, Pub, Recreation / Cricket Ground, Tennis Court, Allotments, Childrens Playground and Village Hall.
A Flower and Vegetable Show is held in July and a Village Show on the first Saturday in September. The School holds an annual May Revels on the village green.
Do You Offer Services to Oakridge Residents?
Do you live locally and offer services to Oakridge Residents - such as Plumbing, Decorating, Gardening, Odd Jobs, Dog Walking, Photography, Electrician, Walling, Bookkeeping etc. etc.
If you do we have added a new page 'Local Services' where you can advertise for free! Just contact me via the Contact Page with details of what you offer and how to contact you.
Latest!
For more detailed information on many of these items and much more, download the current edition of What's On
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Oakridge Show Goes Online!
Unfortunately not many photo entries were received for the “Alternative Show”, but we did receive these wonderful photographs of a ‘love-heart potato’ and ‘courgette couch’!
Protected
We are the blessed generation. Born near war’s end and destined to be gifted the best of everything. Cossetted by the new welfare state, free healthcare and education for all. Showered with grants for universities; jobs and careers for the taking. Every chance for social mobility if such was our choice. Within our reach, affordable homes, cars, childcare and foreign travel. Guaranteed pensions, a comfortable retirement The burgeoning emergence of equality in all its forms. A life free from world wars and want. And even now in times of modern plague We are the fortunate ones. For our safe-keeping we are shielded from the virus, The younger element in our communities looking to our every need. All errands run by a generation less fortunate than ours. Online slots and careful social distancing to safeguard our later lives. No worries for us of loss of job or income. And what have we done to deserve this life-long privilege? To be smiled upon by the gods at every turn? We were merely in the right place at the right time. Not always so for subsequent generations. We owe them. Sue Wise Butchers Arms Reopens!
It's been lovely to see so many of you in your village pub again! Our new menu has been received well and we are now offering food all day from Monday - Saturday and from noon - 4pm on Sundays. Traditional roasts will be back on the menu in September. Monday night is Pizza night, takeaway or eat in.
Delicious cream teas are available Mon-Sat afternoons - bookings essential on 01285 760390. Our self-catering cottage is now finished, boasting a new bathroom and kitchen and is available as a holiday let with immediate effect. Quiz night has been popular with you all, and the next is on Sunday 2nd of August followed by the 5th of September (8pm start). Thanks go to Andy and Kevin (well done Leeds!) for all their hard work in putting it all together for us. Our first mini beer festival will hopefully be held on the first weekend of September, more details will be available nearer the time. Keep well everyone Greg & Bev Call 01285 760 390 to book a table! Weekly Specials! Please see our facebook page and new website for the latest opening hours, or call for the latest menu. 
Local Author Publishes Children's Book
Midnight at Lucas Bay I’ve spent many hours during lockdown getting a book ready for publication as an ebook. It’s an adventure story for children aged between about 9 and 14, set in the Gower Peninsula. It will be available from Amazon in early August. The brilliant illustrations are by Sarah Wimperis.
Michael was dared by his sister Kate to go down to Lucas Bay at midnight. What he saw there changed an ordinary summer into a world of gun runners, secret agents and dangerous adventures for six friends. I will be giving £1.00 for every book sold for at least the next 3 months to The Family Holiday Association, a charity which gives disadvantaged families a break so its work is very necessary at this time. They have an excellent website. It’s a win/win situation: You buy the book and make me happy; you enjoy reading the book which makes you happy and me even happier; and we all help a good cause. I’m publishing it under the name of Lee Pennell www.leepennell.co.uk. 
From The Ground
Oakridge Parochial School Allotment Project
Read The February/March
Update Here ... OAT (Oakridge Allotment Team) Tel: 07983 65414 Email: info@fromtheground.co.uk |
Impact of Coronavirus on School Life
I am pleased to report that children have returned to school and are very happy to be back. Although we are living in ever changing times, we are keen to ensure the school runs as close to normality as possible with the teachers working hard to provide a rich, wide-ranging curriculum.
We would usually hold an Open Day at school at this time of year, welcoming prospective parents and children, as well as members of the local community to look around the school. We are unable to hold this in the same format this year. However, we would very much like to share all the wonderful things that go on at Oakridge School. If you would like to look around, particularly if your child might be approaching Reception age, please telephone the school (01285 760269) and we will arrange a socially distanced tour at a convenient time. Jonathan Preston Executive Headteacher Monster Mast!
The residents of Far Oakridge have been having a tough time lately. Things have been quite tricky, unsettling and distracting since we found out about plans to build a telecommunications mast on the edge of Far Oakridge village. As if living in this new Covid era wasn't enough to deal with.
It’s been difficult because we can't all get together as we used to in the old days, and it was hard initially to gauge response and to understand what the village as a whole felt about the proposal. At the beginning there was uncertainty about the idea of the ‘willing landowner’ and this caused a great deal of misunderstanding and unhappiness. I hope it is now clear that Sue and Sandra were seriously misled by EE into believing that they had no choice about their land being used, and that as soon as they were in full possession of the facts about their rights they rejected EE’s demands and stated their own objection to the mast being built. It's been a difficult experience for them and for those of us in the village who couldn't understand the details of what had been going on. Sue and Sandra have written separately about their experiences and responses, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their courage in standing up to EE and for bearing as they did the discomfort of the situation. I’d like also to apologise to anyone in Far Oakridge or surrounding villages if we, who’ve been actively campaigning against the mast, have in any way inadvertently offended anyone. We may have been a bit over enthusiastic about our posters and leaflets! And I now know that some people didn't like them. As soon as we were aware of this, and once we’d been rebuked by the Council we took them all down. We may have annoyed some of you by leafletting and door stepping - again we apologise. Some people didn’t like What’s On being used to provide information about the mast application and we apologise for that too. And of course not everyone thinks the mast is a bad idea, so we are sorry if we have campaigned against your vote. As it stands today, as What's On goes to print on 25th September and the deadline for public comment arrives, we've gathered more than 150 objections and over 400 petition signatures, which is an amazing response. Many people thought at first that it wasn’t worth protesting because of Home Office approval, but we have campaigned on the grounds of the inappropriate site and size of the mast, the current 21 uncertainties admitted by Government, surrounding the likely delivery time and effectiveness of the new Emergency Services Network technology, and the need to protect our precious and fragile AONB. People have written wonderfully powerful objections and we should all be exceedingly proud of our response. We should know the Council's decision by 5th October. We’ve got many people to thank. Diana Simon who first spotted the application online, long before anyone was officially notified; Isabelle and Richard Britton who hosted the first village meetings and then worked tirelessly to keep up awareness; likewise Sarah Maingot who also created our posters and powerful printed materials; Simon O’Halloran who helped us spread the word; Oscar and Laura in the shop always at hand to help; our Parish Council, with Roger Budgeon and Tony Martin representing us, who immediately came to our support; Nick Holliday in Oakridge who early on gave us vital guidance, and many many more in Oakridge and beyond. Some of our neighbours in Waterlane and Tunley have been extraordinary in their support, namely Jason Sippel in Tunley who has worked tirelessly to direct the campaign, and continues to do so; Geoff Napier, also in Tunley, has helped us enormously to understand and grasp potential health impacts, and has campaigned exhaustively to protect us. Other Tunley neighbours have offered kind and useful support. Over in Waterlane similar responses: particularly Alastair Matchett who overnight produced our first leaflet within 12 hours of our first meeting, and other residents who have come to our aid. People have been incredibly kind, and I’d like to use this space to say how lucky we are in our village to be able ultimately to all come together and give thanks for community. I think we all felt this during the Coviddominated summer, and though we wouldn’t have ever wished for anything like this to happen, we can at least give thanks for silver linings, and know that whatever happens we’ve all done our best to protect Far Oakridge, our beautiful home. Emma Vickers Bisley-With-Lypiatt Parish Council
Please see the Parish Council website for Ward information and minutes of Council meetings. www.bisley-with-lypiatt.gov.uk.
The Parish Council (PC) is busy with the project to develop a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) as an addition to Stroud District Council’s Local Plan to plan how the area will progress over the next 10 years. Consultations are under way with Village Hall meetings in the 3 constituent Wards to canvas opinion with ALL residents – so any ideas you have on the way YOU want YOUR area to develop would be happily received. Feel free to contact us if you want to share ideas about our future in Oakridge Ward. Ward Councillors - Tony Martin (brx44@ymail.com – 07710 800290), Mike Bell, Roger Budgeon, Dennis Robbins Clerk - Debbie Meredith 01452 771089 admin@bisley-withlypiatt.gov.uk |
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Did You Know? Siccaridge Wood
Siccaridge Wood is one of the few places in the Cotswolds in which the hazel dormouse makes its home, numbers of which are closely monitored as part of a national scheme, while wood ant nests can be found on the ground and silver washed fritillary and comma butterflies flit around the open rides. The Arts and Crafts Movement Oakridge was a hub of the Arts and Crafts Movement and famous painters, furniture makers, poets and other interesting people have lived here. Find out more at our Oakridge History Archive. Daneway Banks Just beyond Siccaridge Wood lies Daneway Banks, where the steep sides have almost lunar like bumps made by generations of yellow meadow ants. A classic example of limestone grassland, it is also home to the large blue butterfly which has been recently re-introduced after being extinct in the UK for several decades. |
Hire Our Village Hall Why not hire our Village hall?
Garden Club - Local Links Download the Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies Spring Newsletter.
Visit the Generous Gardener Website for news of Gardening Lecture Days, Masterclasses and Specialist Plant Sales at The Coach House Garden, Ampney Crucis. Find out about the new Cafe and what's on at Miserden Nursery. |
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Oakridge Events Diary If you would you like us to add an event - please get in touch through the Contact Us page. Full calendar and "What's On" available here. |
"What's On" Newsletter We protect your information and privacy strictly in accordance with all legal requirements and we do not share your personal information with any third party.
What's On Editors: Victoria Beard Tel: 01285 760339 Email: vbeard51@gmail.com and Gill Davis Tel: 01285 760354 Email: gillaquarius@aol.com
Regulars
Out and About Chalford Sports & Social Club
From time to time events and courses at the Chalford Sports & Social Club are included in 'Whats On' which you can download above or visit their website at chalford-ssc.co.uk Bisley "Well Dressing"
Bisley's famous "Well Dressing" custom, dating from 1863, is held every Ascention day - Find out more. Useful Links |
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Artists and Artisans In Residence Find out about the Artists and Artisans who live and work in Oakridge, Including:
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Country and Wildlife |
From the Archive
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Delve into the Archive at oakridgearchives.omeka.net
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And buy the Book! 
You can buy this beautiful 175 page fully illustrated hardback 'Oakridge a History' for just £12 from Ollie's Shop or by mail from John Loosely, Email :
johnloosley40@gmail.com |
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While every effort has been made to maintain accuracy, no responsibility is accepted for any errors in content.
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