The Bulletin
Get your copy of the latest Bulletin, click here.

Updates from West Berkshire Council
As you will know, the government requires the abolition of district councils and their re-organisation into larger councils. The proposal for West Berkshire Council is laid out here. Also, the new Local Plan Review Adoption Statement is viewable here and the Sustainability Appraisal / Strategic Environmental Assessment relating to the Local Plan is here.

Switching off your Outside Lights
The North Wessex Downs NL ask people to switch off their outside lights when they’re not absolutely necessary. Wildlife groups ask the same. Neighbours living next to someone that keep their outside lights on at night want the lights to go off and the police tactfully suggest that leaving outside lights on simply helps burglars. Switching off your outside lights helps the environment and saves money.

Any suggestions about how to incentivise people to switch off unnecessary outside lights would be gratefully received. Email inkpen-climate@outlook.com.

INKPEN HISTORY SOCIETY


During the summer break, Chris Sears has been taking a closer look at how St Michael’s church was altered during the restoration, at the end of the 19th Century, and what influenced those changes? Come and join us at St Michael's church on the 4th September at 7pm to find out more. Make a note.

Later in the season, we’ll be taking a look at the Butler family and their role in Inkpen’s past.

And we’ll be telling you more about the finds from the dig site near the crossroads above the church.

Details about the dig, where and when we will meet, will be posted on history.inkpenvillage.co.uk.  Check out the history website for more dates and information.

We’re looking for evidence of buildings associated with Inkpen’s 13th century manor house. Maybe there was a gate house. So far, most of the finds look much more recent but slowly, bit by bit, we’re getting an impression of the people and activities that used the site.

The dig is expected to last over the summer months. It’s not too late to join the group, just email us at ihjarchaeology@gmail.com. Follow us at history.inkpenvillage.co.uk. Archaeology is fun. And it’s worth remembering that every area of Inkpen that was scanned by archaeologists back in 2022/2023 showed buried archaeology.

Alternatively, if you would like to help us with our work on the Crusades, and specifically, Inkpen’s role in them, please do get in touch at enquiries@inkpenhistory.uk


YOUR POP-IN CAFE

We want to try and continue our support for charities on your behalf. This month we have managed to send £100 to Parkinson’s UK, an often forgotten charity. There are around 166,000 people in the UK suffering from Parkinson’s disease, a progressive and debilitating condition. You are probably thinking – that’s a small number but many in our area are affected by Parkinson’s. Compared with cancer or dementia the numbers may seem small - but we’ll get to them in September and October. That’ll be it for this year. Please help us to make a difference. Come and join us at the Pop-In Café and make a donation if you want. Otherwise, just come for a cuppa, some cake and a chat.

Please support us at the Pop-In Café so that we can continue to support you. The July dates are the 2nd and 16th, it’s the first and third Thursdays of each month. We’re at the Inkpen playing field pavilion and open between 10 and 12:30. Looking ahead to August, we’re open on the 7th and 21st and in September it’s the 3rd and 17th. Make a note in your diary or calendar.

The Café is a great place to meet, greet and make friends. There’s plenty of car parking space available, and there’s a disabled toilet and all of the usual facilities.

You can help us too. If you know of someone near to you that might appreciate a bit of company, a friendly chat, then bring them to the Pop-In Café. Apart from the obvious need to choose between tea, coffee, cake etc., there are no demands. Socialising is so important.

If you’re a carer or someone being cared for, you are just as welcome. Stay as long as you like. We look forward to seeing you.

INKPEN AND DISTRICT STARGAZERS

This isn’t all that we do. We also have fun searching out objects in the sky, like the Owl Nebula or the Beehive Cluster. On those seemingly rare evenings when the sky is clear, it’s simply magic.

Our group meets at the Inkpen pavilion on the second Wednesday of each month (except for July and August) from 7:30 pm. The next meeting is on June the 10th. All are welcome, and you don’t have to have any previous knowledge or skill, just come and give it a try. It’s £3 entry per session or £20 for the year. Our future talks will include how to read the clouds. Who doesn’t want to know that!

Going for a walk
If you want a breath of fresh air and some exercise, check out the Inkpen walks, but keep your distance from others, that's at least 6 feet apart in old money. If you feel that you should wear a face mask when outdoors, then checkout the design given on the News page.

On the news page this month there are a number of updates including from the Inkpen Primary School and pre-school, from the Playing field trust and Village Hall, and there's this months Police Report .

Local Climate Group.
We have a newly formed climate group. The website is http://climate.inkpenvillage.co.uk. If you have a look, you’ll see that we have collected data on moths, trees, bird sightings and beetles, as well as data on the weather. This data enables us to see what changes are taking place locally and the pace of those changes. If you have any data, new or historic, on local climate related events or know of someone with an interest in this, then please get in touch with us. We want to bring all local data together in one place and make sure that it doesn’t get lost. Email us at inkpen-climate@outlook.com.

In the autumn, we’ll hold a meeting so that all of you that are concerned about climate change can meet and help us to get properly organised. Keep an eye on the website. Thank you.

THE NORTH WESSEX DOWNS
To see the latest news and events, click here.  Gill Haggarty, Chair of our Council of Partners, took Ben Prater from BBC Radio Wiltshire on a tour to help raise awareness of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, and encourage more people to visit. This week features a light hearted introduction to Wilton Windmill with volunteer John Herbert - listen in at around 8.50, or catch previous episodes talking to farmer Josef Bowles near Chiseldon from March 9th at around 8.20.

Over the Christmas break, the Inkpen History Society put together a set of descriptions of the historic environment for each, and hopefully every, parish within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. These are temporarily held at nwd.inkpenvillage.co.uk. Please have a look and if you find any errors, notify us at climate.inkpenvillage.co.uk. Your help in getting these historic environment descriptions right in every detail, is important and much appreciated.

Work continues to relate each parish to all the others, in terms of terrain and historic highlights etc. so that we can clearly see how the landscape influenced the different historic eras. This work will also be added to this website.

Please give us a hand – Oak Trees in Inkpen
We need your help to measure oak trees. Measuring tree girths helps us to evaluate changes that have taken place in Inkpen and enable future researchers to evaluate the effect of climate change on tree growth and distribution. This is work of real value, be part of it. Go to inkpenhistory.uk to find out more.