News

Local Singer in Concert

Overton's own singer/songwriter Nina McCann is playing at Central Studio in Basingstoke on October 15th. Nina, whose debut album "Leave the Room" is out now, is also scheduled to appear on Meridian TV in the coming weeks, having already played live sessions for BBC Radio. Tickets for the gig are £5 from Central Studio box office. More details can be found on www.ninamccann.co.uk

Ahead of this, Nina can be found appearing alongside local favourites Sideways Down at the opening night of St Mary's Hall's first phase of refurbishment on 1st October. Tickets are £5 and are available from Overton Fireplaces. All proceeds from the gig go to the St Mary's Hall refurbishment fund.

Great Overton Duck Race - all round fun & fund raising

Bank holiday Monday saw Flashetts buzzing with excitement in anticipation of the Great Overton Duck Race. Held as part of the St Mary's Hall fund raising season and with the permission of Portals Properties Ltd, the event saw 100 sleek and honed racing duckies competing in eight thrilling races, with the first five going through to the grand final - with its £150 prize. The weather on the day was glorious, so much so that the venue provided some very welcome shade, but the weeks of sunshine leading up to the event did mean that the water level on the racecourse was a little low and the gallant racers took around 15 minutes to complete the 60 yard dash. Crew were on hand to rescue stragglers and Ref Duck made a number of appearances to keep slower members of the pack moving along. Each lucky winner of the first eight races took a £20 prize, each sponsored by Overton groups and businesses, who also contributed to the programme printing, the ice for the refreshments and the grand final prize. Overall winner Adrian Bentley was presented with his winnings after the final race. The organisers would like to thank everyone who helped make the event such a great success. In total, just over £1,200 was raised for St Mary's Hall.

Laverstoke Park Open Day

JODY SCHECKTER ex Formula 1 world champion turns his winning hands to "more than organic." farming at his renowned Laverstoke Park Farm, the biggest small holding in the world. ( double page feature in The Times Magazine Saturday 18th 2005)

Celebrity chef JAMES MARTIN launches the Laverstoke Park Open Day fun and festivities to the roar of the 1979 World Champion winning F1 Ferrari T4, which was driven across the winning line by JODY SCHECKTER himself and displayed at Laverstoke Park for the very first time to the British public, on Saturday 2nd July. JAMES MARTIN will carry on the day's festivities with intimate cooking demonstrations, mingling and personal book signings of his new book 'Easy British Dinners' throughout the Open Day.

'A quarter of century a go, Jody Scheckter was the Formula One world champion; a man who feared failure more than the kind of injuries that occurred in the 1973 British Grand Prix, when his crash caused a race-stopping pile-up. Now, although exercised by more gentle rhythms on his Hampshire estate, his ambition is not sated. (..)' The Times - The Times Magazine Saturday 18th June 2005. Tickets are £4 in advance, £5 on the day. Under 8's are free! The event will run from 12.00 - 8pm at Laverstoke Park, situated in the village of Laverstoke, between Basingstoke and Andover in North Hampshire is a farm that is running an experimental project with the aim of becoming self-sustaining and self-sufficient, producing the best-tasting, healthiest food without compromise. For more information see www.laverstokepark.co.uk or contact openday@laverstokepark.co.uk

BBC Radio Berkshire Visits the Village

As part of their "Out and About" series of visits to towns and villages in Berkshire & North Hampshire, BBC Radio Berkshire will be dropping in to Overton on Tuesday 14th June for the morning.

Based on the Community Centre car park, the presenters will be talking to anyone with something to tell about the village, whether it be historical, hysterical, topical or just a matter of opinion. Breakfast Show presenter Jim Cathcart dropped in last Wednesday for a look round and admitted to be looking forward to hearing from locals about just about anything that's an issue or of interest.

Pop along to the Community Centre any time from 7.15 on Tuesday morning until 12.00 noon and air your views, plug your event a or just promote the village.

Clothing Collection Caution

Some residents have expressed concern that another clothing collection, advertised by a leaflet drop in the village this week, may not be exactly what it appears to be. The leaflet, supposedly distributed on behalf of 'Lunetex Ltd', suggests that any clothing donated will benefit people in the third world and asks that bags be left out for collection on Wednesday.

Similar collections have been the subject of television reports recently, in which the donated clothing was actually sold for profit and did not benefit any charitable cause. We should point out that this may not be illegal, as the leaflets actually state that "Lunetex Ltd is a commercial organisation not a charity".

We would stress that this may not be an illegal practice, but you should be aware of these details before deciding if you wish to make a donation.

Notice of BT Roadworks

The Parish Council has received notification from BT that they intend to carry out cabling works at the Red Lion Lane/Sapley Lane/Dellands/Greyhound Lane crossroads under 4 way traffic signals on 16 March 2005.They have been asked to put up notices on site to give advance warning of these works.

In addition, they also plan to do similar work at the main crossroads in the village, which will involve turning off the permanent traffic signals & also work at the High Street/Red Lion Lane/Bridge Street crossroads.These jobs are programmed to be done on a Sunday, either 3rd, 10th or 17th April 2005, although they do not give a specific date. Again they should erect advance warning signs on site.

You can find archived news items from 2004 here.

The Parish Council's News and Views is here.