With no separate Newsletter in January, I wish you all a Happy New Year even if it’s now almost Valentine’s Day.
I hope everyone has had a positive start to 2023 and that you’ve been able to safely negotiate some treacherous icy roads, especially the nice patch of black ice that formed at the bottom of Denton Hill recently, right on the bend below the Rec which sadly indicates that we still have a water leak there.
No doubt we’ll be discussing this at our February PC meeting, along with a few other issues that councillors have been contacted about. As you probably know, the PC meets in the village hall at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of every month (except August) and it would be great to see more parishioners there. If you have anything to raise then it’s always a stronger plea if you come along to help focus the minds of not only the seven of us but also our District and County councillors.
As our Parish Clerk, Mike, mentions in his Parish Notes, it was extremely sad that we lost John Paxton just before Christmas who was involved with everything positive that happened in our parish throughout all my life at least. (And I’m the wrong side of 50).
My thanks to him and to everyone in our little patch who, like JP, helps make Cuddesdon & Denton a wonderful community. Sadly, I was away for work and was unable to attend his funeral, so I wrote a short poem for my fellow Dentoner which you can read below.
Ohana, Chris
POEM FOR JP
Soldier, horticulturist, angler
Philanthropist, councillor, parish wrangler
We’ve lost a little piece of Denton
With the passing of John Paxton
He’d lived a life before Oxfordshire
But John, to me, was always here
In Denton.
He led us up the Garden Path
Made us think and made us laugh
Every year we’d get the warning
“Stand by to help at the Coffee Morning”
And down we’d go to Denton Brook
To stop and chat and buy a book
A parish institution.
I’ll think of him up on the track
With dog in tow, when I look back
I’ll see him smiling back at me
And salute my friend, our friend, JP
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