Month: November 2022

The show was a great success this year, attracting 2700 visitors. We received a lot of positive feedback from visitors, who were pleased to see the show return after a 2 year break and to enjoy a day out meeting old friends in the happy, friendly atmosphere the show always provides.

I am pleased to report that the show made a modest profit this year. We will be making a donation of £1500 to the Hampshire division of the Family Counselling Trust and £500 to the Winchester Basics Bank. In addition, St. Catherine’s Church is donating the collection from the service in the show marquee, which amounted to £176, to the Basics Bank. The Family Counselling Trust provides support to young people struggling with a range of psychological problems. The number of children suffering from anxiety, ADHD and other issues has increased markedly because of the disruption to their education caused by the Covid lockdowns, and we think it appropriate that our first show after Covid should support this cause. You will be familiar with the Winchester Basics Bank, of course, and we hope our small donation will help them cope with the increasing demand they are seeing.

The show is, and always has been, a community event organised by volunteers in the community for the benefit of all. My most sincere thanks to all of you who helped with this year’s show and to the very many of you who have helped in years gone by. For those of you who have not yet helped with the show, the hour is at hand, your destiny awaits you, you stand on the threshold of greatness. Choose your cliché, but offer your help now or it’s curtains for the show.

We have been steadily losing volunteers for many years and we no longer have enough people to organise the show. This year’s show was only possible because the committee members all took on several jobs in addition to their normal role. We can’t do this again. The show is now on hold until we get enough volunteers to help organise it. 

We have specific jobs that need to be done in the areas of managing the layout of the show; advertising via flyers, posters, newsletters, and social media; IT support; putting up road signs, traffic management and so on. You can find detailed descriptions of all the roles and what each entails on the Volunteer First website (www.volunteerfirst.co.uk). Enter your postcode and search for Littleton.

Please contact me if think you could do any of these jobs and would like to help. Alternatively, if you would like to help but you’re not sure how, I’m sure we can work something out so please drop me a line.

Tony Ormston

Chairman, Littleton & Harestock Show Society

tony.ormston@gmail.com

01962 883682

Please read the Littleton and Harestock Parish Council November e-newsletter here

Please note, the Parish Council sometimes provides links to third party websites. LHPC is not responsible for the content on the linked sites and we urge our users to be careful when clicking on any advertising that third party websites contain. Here is a link to some useful tips from Age UK for staying safe online.

I moved to Littleton in 2014, and I rely on the no 7 Winchester/Sparsholt bus which I use twice a day, every day. I am pleased to report that the service is excellent, but I’ve been very sad to see the number of users decline. If we have ever lost a service I have always written to both Stagecoach and the Hampshire Council Transport department, and the answer is always the same: it’s because of reduced demand.

Why not join us on the bus to reduce your carbon emissions, save Winchester from congestion and pollution, join a group of friendly bus-users and keep our services going! This really is ‘use it or lose it’ time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Stagecoach need to see support for the service among Littleton residents if we want to keep it. It’s true that the signage is terrible, and I know individual journeys can seem expensive, and it’s not perfect for everybody, but if we don’t use what we have, we won’t get any better.

I buy a weekly pass for £15.50, which I think is incredible value. I find the only reliable timetable info is via the free Stagecoach app, and yes, that doesn’t suit everyone either, but it is accurate. I do print the timetable and put it in the bus shelter at the crossroads, and if you go online always use the Stagecoach website and check the date – plenty of old ones still lurk around online.

The no 16 survives with three subsidised services a day, and if that suits you better, I hope you’ll be encouraged to use it. But we must make sure the no 7 is not cut in the same way.

I do hope my experience will encourage you to try the bus and leave the car at home. It really is a very good service They were short of drivers over the summer, but this problem has eased. Of course, there are occasional delays, but ironically, they are nearly always because of traffic congestion. So come and use the bus to cut that congestion, save carbon, reduce air pollution and keep Winchester moving – and I hope to see you soon for a friendly chat on the bus!

Rachel Platt