Dry Drayton not quite in the News Tonight

There are two interesting stories in this evening’s Cambridge News relating to the village. Former Dry Drayton resident Peter Tingley is among the group of leaseholders who have just won £15 million worth of freeholds from the University. It’s not been a good day for the University – the first case of swine flu allegedly confirmed in the University today, and they have given Bill Gates an honary degree. The other piece of Dry Drayton related news is that South Cambs District Council are allocating 20 travellers pitches to the proposed new settlement at Northstowe and 10 at Cambourne.

New Sites Established

New sites have been set up for the Parish Council at www.drydraytonPC.org.uk and for the School and Village Association at www.drydraytonSandVA.org.uk .

Anyone running activities in Dry Drayton can have a free page at www.drydrayton.net – please e-mail webmaster@drydrayton.net with your requirements.

How insular should we be?

Here’s an interesting thought. Shall we have a series of entries in the blog about good causes to support – even if outside the village?

I’m prompted to suggest this after bumping into a very dedicated and interesting chap standing with a placard outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand today. His good cause is stopping the promotion of smoking through its depiction in films and TV shows. He’s there for the duration, and has been there from 18 March 2009. Whenever there is one of those big news stories about some major legal case reported from outside the courts, you’ll see him in the background edging into the picture to get his placard in front of a wider audience. I reckon he deserves our support and I gave him a cheer when I saw him on the News tonight behind the servicemen with their case relating to atomic weapon trials. You can read more on his blog at ActorsSmokingFilmsTV.blogspot.com . He kindly allowed me to include his photo here.

Campaigner outside Royal Courts of Justice 5 June 2009

Second day of Village Open Gardens

The second day of the Village Open Gardens was a great success. Congratulations to the organisers and to all the friendly residents who opened their gardens. We are reliably informed that the weekend made over £1425 towards the Church restoration. Brilliant.

Foxgloves in a Dry Drayton garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a peaceful place to sit

Village Open Gardens

Day one of the open gardens was a great success – wonderful weather, interesting gardens, welcoming hosts – who could want for more. Today is likely to be the busier and hotter of the two days – and without competing with a cup final it’s sure to be a great success – well done to all the organisers.

Here are a few pictures to whet the appetite:

A peaceful garden in Pettitts Lane

Old Summer House - just waiting to be used

Dovecote

Easy feed poultry

Politicians’ Expenses

In view of all the horrors being revealed by the Daily Telegraph’s investigation into MP’s expenses, we thought it would be interesting to ask about the expenses of local politicians. We got a very full, open and helpful response from both the County and South Cambs  Councils. Both told us where to find expenses data – and if you want to take a look, these links will take you to the latest 2007/8 published figures for the County Council (go to page 67 of the accounts) and South Cambridgeshire District Council. We will update this later when the 2008/9 expenses are published.

Exciting things in the village?

There are two big dates for Dry Drayton coming up. On 30th and 31st May there will be open gardens in the village. We hope for and expect a good turn-out;  proceeds for the Church restoration. Next up is the 4th June ,7am to 10pm – the European and County Elections. Will it be worth opening the Village Hall for the poll? After a daily spectacle of politicians with their snouts in the trough, will villagers be turning out to vote for our political parties? And if people do turn up, will this be to put a cross or write a comment on their ballot papers?

An Exciting Summer Ahead

It looks like there will be an exciting summer ahead for Dry Drayton.

On 30th and 31st May there will be at least 25 gardens in the village open to the public. Dry Drayton goes on display to the rest of the world. This is a fantastic response – most village open garden events operate on around half this number of gardens – so expect this to be quite a draw, bringing people into the village from a distance around. The proceeds are for phase 2 of the church restoration, so please support neighbours who are already putting so much effort into making their gardens even more special this year. Let’s hope for good weather and a great turn-out.

We also have the outline programme for Feast Week in the Village Events, which looks packed with interest.

We are eager to learn what happened with the Village Plan discussed at yesterday’s Parish Council Meeting.

As if this isn’t enough – there is also the excitement of elections shortly for the County Council and the European Parliament – that is if anyone feels motivated to support any of our political parties this summer.

It’s been a few weeks since the last posting

But nothing much has happened. The bottom has dropped out of the housing market, the banking system has tottered on the brink, the village pub seems to have closed, new editors have taken over the Village Newsletter and consultation has been extended on the Village Plan until 31st October. In Cambridge the planners seem to have given the go-ahead for the major new development around the railway station and the Lion Yard Library now confidently expects to open in February 2009.

Perhaps in the fullness of time we might walk to Northstowe along our improved roadside verges, catch the ‘misguided bus’ into town and visit both of these attractions. But with the credit crunch and fall in house prices will there ever be a Northstowe. Perhaps the misguided bus will simply meander through an empty old airfield without stopping, and just concentrate on relieving the A14 of its conjestion.

Preview Night – Village Art Exhibition

Photos of the preview are now live on the village website www.drydrayton.net