Don’t forget to check our Events Diary for more information on events in all our villages and surrounding area.

PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS…

From the Headteacher…

It’s been a super Autumn term so far and we’ve filled it with lots of learning and also curriculum enrichment days. We’ve completed a Magical Maths day, held our European Day of Languages, as well as our whole school seasonal walk!

We were delighted to welcome prospective parents as they came to have a good look around our wonderful Reception/Year 1 environment. Our Head Boy and Head Girl took part in the visits, speaking confidently to parents about their school experience so far. Thank you Henry and Annaliese, you did a grand job!

We held our first School Council and ‘Eco Worrier’ meetings this half term and already have some brilliant ideas to make our school even better. We’re all very excited to see what takes place over the next academic year!

We’ve completed our first parents evening appointments of the year and I hope you all felt well informed. Thank you to all parents who were able to attend. If you didn’t make parents evening then your teacher will be in contact for a quick phone call appointment.

Our Year 5 children have taken part in their Bikeability sessions, with the instructors expressing that our pupils did our school proud! Well done Year 5, you’re all superstars. Lots of year groups have also been taking part in the Pacesetters tournaments this half term. Again, we couldn’t be prouder of our children for representing our school in such a positive way, and of course we’re grateful for the support from our parents, it’s greatly appreciated. Our trophy cabinet is getting crowded again!

Looking ahead, we have lots to look forward to.  We have various fundraising events planned, Quicksticks hockey and Winter Olympic tournaments by Pacesetters and, of course, our Christmas celebrations. Our Year 5 and 6 children have also been invited to Guilsborough Academy to watch their Christmas performance.

Please remember, if you need any information about what’s happening at Guilsborough Primary we have lots of information on our website – www.guilsboroughprimary.co.uk or you can keep up to speed via our Facebook account – Guilsborough C of E Primary School (a closed group for parents, guardians or carers) or through our Twitter profile – @guilsboroughpri/x and our Instagram account - Instagram.com/guilsboroughprimaryschool.

MMM

Monday Morning Meet

Guilsborough Village Hall

9 – 11am every Monday (excluding Bank Holidays)  

All welcome, baby – OAPs.

£2.50 per Adult, Children Free

Meet for a chat, knit, hot drink & cake.  

Christmas Party

  Monday 16th December

9-11am

For more information contact
Janet 01604 740640

GUILSBOROUGH PARISH COUNCIL NEWS

Planning: Details of any planning application can be found on West Northants Council’s website (www.westnorthants.gov.uk) and searching for planning. We endeavour to post applications on our own website (www.guilsborough-pc.gov.uk and search planning matters) as well, but West Northants are the planning authority and will have the information first. We have to wait for them to notify us. WNC are also responsible for posting the notices at the location that the planning application refers to. These used to be a yellow, A4 sized notice but recently some have been orange.

Road Safety: As you will have noticed, as well as the fixed speed awareness devices, Guilsborough also has a portable device that can be moved to different locations which captures as well as notifies road users of their speed whilst in the village. So far it has captured data from the West Haddon Road, Cold Ashby Road, Nortoft and the High St areas of the village, with the purpose of providing the Parish Council with verifiable data on the activity in those locations which, so far, can be summarised as:

Showing mean speeds of between 28.3mph and 32.7mph and an 85th percentile of between 31.5 and 36 mph. (The percentile is a standard metric from the 1940’s stating that 85% of road users were travelling at or below a stated speed. It’s also the figure that Police forces look at when considering where to target speeding drivers).

West Haddon Rd and Nortoft experienced the majority of vehicle movements—up to C4,000 per week, measured in one direction only, with an as expected peak flow at 08:00hrs and 16:00hrs.

We are also able to see at what time the highest speeds are recorded for each 10mph band and these are at 07:00hrs and 20:00hrs. The highest recorded was a very concerning 68.9mph!

Parking: Now the dark evenings are with us, please remember that vehicles parked on the public highway at night should be parked in the direction of travel otherwise they should be displaying parking lights.

Vegetation: There are several areas in the village where street lights are being partially obscured, footpaths are being impeded and junction sight lines reduced by vegetation. If you are responsible for any such vegetation, please arrange for it to be cut back.

If you notice any street lights not working, please notify our Clerk by either email clerk@guilsborough-pc.gov.uk, by phone on 01788 824425 or by asking any Councillor to pass on the information.

In May of 2025, every Parish Council will be holding elections. We currently have two vacancies, so if you feel being a councillor could be for you, don’t hesitate to contact any member of the PC for more information.

INTERVIEW WITH …

Richard Franklin (Horologist),
Cuckoo Clock Hospital, Guilsborough

What got you started in this hobby?

During a family holiday in Hamburg many years ago I purchased a cuckoo clock, brought it home and it ran well for several years until it stopped completely. The clock then remained in a box for several years. I couldn’t find a repairer interested in fixing it. Later, having retired, I decided to take it on as a project. I undertook training in horology and brought the clock back to life. This was immensely satisfying and rekindled memories of that family holiday in Hamburg.

How many clocks do you estimate to have repaired or refurbished over the years?

I started purchasing old cuckoo clocks from eBay, repairing and refurbishing and reselling them. Sometimes for little or no monetary gain. But the experience was great for skill and knowledge . This then evolved into creating my own website and advertising my services. In the last few years I have successfully repaired and refurbished over eighty clocks, from all over the UK and many in Northamptonshire.

This seems like quite a niche skill/hobby - do you have a feel for how many other specialist repairers there might be in the UK?

Most mainstream watch and clock repairers avoid cuckoo clocks. Perhaps they don’t take these seriously or they find repairing them unprofitable. There are two or three companies that might take cuckoo clocks in for repair in the UK but waiting times can be up to a year. By specialising in cuckoo clocks only I can reduce turnaround times to a couple of weeks in most cases.

A ‘Potty’ History of Cuckoo Clocks

The history of Cuckoo Clocks stretches back to the 17th Century in the Black Forest; an area in the southwest of Germany known as Baden- Württemberg. They are a splendid and varied combination of music, the cuckoo and its call, and a gong. The movement inside is designed to operate these features on the hour and half hour. The movement’s design has changed very little since the mid-19th century. Movements generally come in 1-Day and 8-Day variants. All driven by the familiar fir cone style weights of varied sizes.

The cases can be quite plain or highly decorative and follow two basic formats. Chalet style clocks recreating Swiss/Bavarian mountain chalets, some with animations including dancers, musicians, sawyers, water wheels. Hunter style clocks are of a more gothic style with flint lock rifles, a hunter’s satchel, nesting birds or dead game hanging. The cases are a mixture of Lime (boxwood) and ply.

Cuckoo clock movements have a typical shelf life of about 15 years. At this stage wear to spindles, wheels and escapement takes its toll and repair or replay becomes necessary. But cuckoo clock owners hate giving up on their clocks. Which is where the Cuckoo Clock Hospital comes in. Returning broken worn-out clocks back to life and with them the memories of loved ones and holidays. Richard is self-taught and has practiced his hobby for many years now for people far and wide across the UK.

We need more volunteers to help keep our successful and viable hall going, including a new Chairperson to bring fresh ideas and energy. Please get in touch, even if you only have a spare hour or two. The hall depends on volunteers with a wide range of skills such as:

-  I.T.

- practical and DIY skills

- making cakes for fundraiser events

Please help if you can – SPEAK TO one of the current volunteer team: Sue O’Neil (07713 622 127); Sue Needham; Carl Barnes; Sue Barnes; Richard Furnell; Ally Phillips; Emily Cheney

OR COME TO OUR AGM

Tuesday 10th December, 7.30 at the Village Hall.

Thank you!

CAROL SINGING

We will be singing in the village as usual this year in aid of The Hope Centre Northampton.

Meet on The Green by the Christmas Tree at 6.30pm on Tuesday 17th December. Wrap up warm and bring a torch. Everyone welcome, children must be accompanied by an adult.

HELP !!!!

Guilsborough

Village Hall

VICE VERSA

20th-22nd March 2025

GMADS (Guilsborough Music & Drama Society) next production is a comedy romp through ancient Rome. It is ripped off from the Roman comedies of Plautus, written by Phil Porter, especially for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Directed by Pam Townsend, rehearsals are going well with the cast regularly in fits of laughter.  

Tickets will be available from February.

GUILSBOROUGH FRIENDS

are a local friendly group for ladies and gentlemen, usually meeting at 7.30pm at Guilsborough Village Hall, the second Thursday of the month.

£3 per meeting, unless otherwise stated, which is used to cover refreshments, costs and make charitable donations.

Social activities include

Guest speakers

Garden visits

Meals out

Visits to local places of interest

and much more.

We look forward to welcoming new members.

Our Programme for the next 3 months:

Thursday 5th Dec Christmas Party

Thursday 9th Jan Photography - How to use and take the best photos on your mobile phone. Talk by Mary and Graham Fowler

Thursday 6th Feb Money raising supper for Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service

For further information contact:

Janet Minney T01604 740640

Elizabeth Southgate T01604 740064