Oxfordshire EVENTS COMING SOON and NEWS Epwell lunches The Chandlers is no longer doing lunches so Allison has arranged for the next few lunches to take place at The Bell in Shenington.    Cost:  £10 for main course and a pudding. Call The Bell (670274) to book and call Allison (788529) if you need additional information or need transport Timothy Wimbush Timothy was approaching retirement when he became ill, and had he lived, there would have been a presentation made to him to mark his 35 years of service to the community.  Throughout his time here  Tim had the devoted support of his wife Erica, who must now plan to leave the rectory in Sibford when a new incumbent is appointed.   An appeal is being organised in Tim’s memory to help Erica find a new home.   Details wil be in the March issue of the Wykeham News and on this website in March. Preparations for Snow  notes from Oxfordshire County Council and elsewhere   Oxfordshire CC will fill grit bins before winter sets in. The Parish Council has ordered some extra grit/salt and is responsible for refilling the bins when necessary. Please note that the grit/salt in the bins is for use only on public highways.  Householders should buy salt from supermarkets or DIY stores for use on their own driveways and paths. OCC will salt and plough the priority road network as shown on the website below. There is no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice outside your house or from public places. It is most unlikely you’d be held legally responsible for any injuries on the path if you have cleared it carefully.  You should avoid making the pathways more dangerous, so use salt or sand/grit and not water which may refreeze.     Further information:  www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/salting     and highway enquiries on 0845 310 11 11 Action on achieving faster broadband In Epwell we are on the Swalcliffe telephone exchange. Paul Hobson from Sibford is involved in setting up the Swalcliffe Exchange User Group which will gather information to put together a bid for funds to have our exchange area  upgraded to Superfast Broadband. Here is the group’s first newsletter. Swalcliffe Exchange User Group  - Launch Newsletter Would your household benefit from Superfast Broadband?  If you live in Tadmarton, Swalcliffe, Shutford, Epwell or The Sibfords your telephone exchange is  Swalcliffe.  The Swalcliffe Exchange User Group, supported by Sibford Gower and Sibford Ferris PCs, is  gathering information to put together a bid for funds to have our exchange area upgraded to  Superfast Broadband. Our current service to many households is probably satisfactory by today’s  standards but, as the services available on the internet get ever more varied and sophisticated, the  bandwidth (broadband speed) required to access those services will increase beyond that available  from our exchange.   As an example, to stream HDTV (watch high definition TV on the internet) requires a bandwidth of  approximately 3.5Mbps. Already the majority of our community cannot access this service because of  the limitations of our exchange, many cannot even access SDTV (standard definition TV) as the  bandwidth available to their household is less than 1.5Mbps.  See broadband map at www.thesibfords.org.uk/bbsurvey.   Please contribute to the survey by clicking on “Contact Paul” and leaving me a message  If we do not win funding for the exchange to be upgraded to Superfast broadband we will not be  upgraded in any way for the foreseeable future. This means that our access to broadband services  will diminish as more users try to access more services from our already out of date and overloaded  exchange.   Our bid may be made either through a scheme run by Oxon CC, or the Rural Community Broadband  Fund (RCBF). In either case we need to begin by establishing the demand in three user categories:  homes, businesses and public organisations.   Your contribution is essential if we are to win the funding we need. Please register your interest by  sending us your email address and user category to paulalanhobson@btinternet.com  Superfast Broadband (40Mbps) has already reached Broughton, don’t let our communities get left  behind in the communications slow lane, please register now and encourage others to do so.