Category: Health and welfare

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Race Across our Advice Region: Saturday 22 August; 10am to 3.00pm.

Race Across our Advice Region is a great way to spend a few hours raising vital funds for your local Citizens Advice. Choose either Banbury or Northampton – and every step counts!

Come on, Mums and Dads – it’ll still be school holidays, so put a team together. Grab the kids and granny and grandpa and spend a lovely afternoon together. Search for clues; explore places you may not normally visit; solve tricky tasks; and clock up those steps!

The poster tells you more and how to book your places. Go for it!

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Yeee-haaaa! A real barn dance. In a real barn!

Elliotts’ Rectory Farm; Saturday 12 September; 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Well, dang ma britches and swing me sideways – a real barn dance in a real barn!  So dust off those cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats, and mosey on down for some thigh-slappin’, hand-clappin’, dance-floorin’, yeee-haaaar-in’ mayhem!

Don’t know what to do at a barn dance? Don’t think you can dance? Ride easy, pardner…

Our fabulous band, The Occasional Few, has a ‘caller’ who will literally tell us what to do. And with 40 years’ experience, will not be phased by the inevitable chaos. That’s why a barn dance is so much fun!

For more info about tickets, ordering food, buying drinks, car parking, disabled access and a whole lot more please click here.

Please note: the map shown on Ticket Source is NOT right. Click here for the correct location.

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Holcot Parish printed newsletter: July 2026

Hopefully, you have all received your copy of July’s printed newsletter – hand-delivered to every household in the village over the past week or so.

If you haven’t received your copy – or it’s been torn to shreds by your cat, pet parrot or over-zealous puppy – you can read an online PDF version here. (Once there, scroll down to the ‘Previous newsletters’ section – you can print from this version too.)

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Roadworks alert; Moulton Road closure; Sunday 12 July to Wednesday 15 July

According to Causeway one. net, Moulton Road will be closed for four days while Anglian Water carries out ‘new connection’ work. This is to connect the proposed new development on the left-hand-side just after the westerly end of Back Lane.

Assuming this really is a ‘road closed’ situation, it means that anyone aiming for Moulton will have to go via the Sywell Roundabout and the A43. Or, possibly, via Brixworth.

Click here for more details.

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Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio…

Calling all budding thespians – ever fancied being in a real-life drama?

The West Northamptonshire Council Emergency Planning Team is looking for individuals to play the role of evacuees in a realistic emergency scenario. This is your chance to experience how major incidents are managed in real time and play a vital role in making the exercise feel genuine.

Date: Wednesday 2 September 2026
Location: University of Northampton, Waterside Campus, NN1 5PH
Timing: 9.30am to 4.00pm

What’s involved?
You’ll be taking on the role of someone evacuated from their home during an emergency, interacting with real responders and seeing how support is delivered on the ground. No acting skills required – and refreshments are included!

To give you an idea of what an emergency exercise looks and feels like, check out this YouTube video (Dublin, 2018). And if you’re interested, please complete this registration form.

And HURRY! Places are going fast!

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3.00pm on Sunday 12 July is Fancy Dress time! Don’t miss out!

The Holcot Summer Fete is taking place on the Green by the Church on Sunday 12 July.

And we’re calling all princesses, clowns, super heroes, dinosaurs, cartoon characters, monsters, unicorns, fairies… and, oh… anything else you can think of!

Get Mum and Dad to help you create your favourite outfits! Tell them they need to get their imaginations into gear, and dig out some of those funky outfits they used to strut around in 20 years ago (that they hoped would come back into fashion). Yeah… as if!

Then they need to cut them up and sew them back together to create something NEW and FAN-TAS-MA-GORICAL! For YOU to strut around in!

The main event starts at 2.00pm, and to take part in the fancy dress competition, you MUST register your name by 3.00pm.

So come on Mum and Dad – time to step up!

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The biggest threat to somebody who has collapsed from a heart attack?

TIME.

It takes just four minutes after a human heart has stopped before internal organs begin to stop working. A frightening prospect.

Most of us would be out of our depth. A mixture of panic and ‘little knowledge’ would prevail. Valuable time would be lost. And a well-meaning but untrained physical response might cause more harm than good.

Enter the St John Ambulance CPR and defibrillator team.

On Thursday 18 June, in the Village Hall, nine parishioners were educated and entertained by Chris and Cayti from Kettering St John Ambulance. They benefitted from 90 minutes of CPR demonstration and defibrillator use – with hands-on practice on the very compliant Annie (a plastic ‘body’).

While none of us would now claim to be expert, we have at least a foundation of knowledge that would, hopefully, enable a quick and appropriate response in an emergency.

A very worthwhile session and I urge you all to look out for the next training opportunity and come and join us! You can find out more about how to do CPR here.