ELATED is a fair description of how Joan Gilbert sounded when she rang to tell me of the results of her jumble sale in the village hall last Saturday. There was a huge amount of stuff donated, possibly more than ever before for one of her events, and when all was set out and arranged ready to start, she was delighted to find a queue had formed waiting for the opening. She took over £200 on the day, and that is a high figure for this sort of operation where margins are predictably small; people go to look for a bargain, after all. There are still some things to sell through an auction house because that looks a better outlet for things like large pictures. The proceeds go to the Pro Deo Children and Family charity in Romania, and some of the surplus material will also be transported there. Some items will go to other charity shops and Joan discovered that one of her customers who seemed to be very selective to select out particular types of material was actually finding stuff appropriate to make bedding for a dogs’ charity. If you ever wondered about the role of jumble sales in society, last Saturday demonstrated the scope of the benefit they can have.

FRIENDS of Burford are running their now famous formal ball in May, and there has been a lot of publicity for that already; after yesterday’s deadline, the only avenue for discounted tickets now is to reserve a table for ten. More than two thirds have been sold, and past experience suggests that it will be a sell-out. There remains a lot of work to get the event really well organised and managed to match previous times.

If you able to help support the great work of FOB in raising important funds for Burford School – whether as part of the team on a regular basis, or helping out when available – FOB are eager to hear from you. Email fobmail@gmail.com, visit their website www.burfordschool.co.uk/fob.htm, or even ring the school at 01628 486655.

REMEMBER that cycling enterprise, The Big Pedal race? Burford’s overall position at the end was 448. Now that is actually pretty good considering 1,100 schools were competing, nationally.

HONESTLY, not every story is about Burford this week, but this one just amazed me. Last week I told you about a fairly impromptu project to raise money for Japan’s recent tragedies. It reflected the fact that several Japanese children in the school have families in the country. They set out to cover a large sign in Japanese saying ‘To the people of Japan. Love from Burford School’ with coins. I expected them to raise perhaps a £100, even a bit more. The figure was a staggering £802.

RENEWED interest in breeds and species of food animals and plants that have become unfashionable has featured on TV very recently and there could be a valley connection. The inimitable enthusiast, Clarissa Dickson Wright, the surviving one of those two fat ladies, was extolling the qualities of Lop-eared English, and Fenland woolly pigs (honest, no joke, they’re almost as woolly as sheep) and James Martin was encouraging us to try rarer apple varieties, ones that supermarkets disdain.

Their point was, by eating them, paradoxically, you save them; if they assume greater popular interest, then they’ll be more generally bred for profit. Bernie might be a good bet for helping this revival locally; he already encourages customers’ tastes in the unusual. Next time you’re in there, for instance, ask for a joint of intriguing Orial Flop pork, another variety never seen in supermarkets. Orial, according to Wikipedia, is the anglicised version of Irish Gaelic Airgíalla, a medieval Irish kingdom, roughly equating with modern day Louth and Monaghan; for local rugby fans, it spans the provinces of Leinster and Ulster. Flop is probably just a corruption of the more usual Lop. So, I speculate it could have been a one-time Irish favourite (and they know a thing or two about what’s good to eat and drink); how about a quintessential English village, like Marlow Bottom, enjoying restoring the breed’s popularity? Ask Bernie for it, why don’t you; he delights in a number of rarer offerings already, and I’m sure he will be pleased to inform you further about this rarity.

GRAHAM Cooper, from Beechtree Avenue is a trustee of Marlow Sea Cadets and told me about a first ever combined event with the Town Band.

At the Shelley theatre, tomorrow, Saturday, April 2 at 7 for 7.30pm the band will put on a concert,'Beyond the Sea', featuring Marlow Sea Cadets, with a nautical flavour. It's in support of their 'ship', TS Apollo.

Graham can provide tickets at £7.50, if you ring him on 01628 486675. You can also get them, on the door, at £8.50.

ELECTORS in the Parish are welcome to attend the Annual Parish Meeting for Marlow Bottom on April 14 in the village hall commencing at 7.30pm. It is an opportunity for electors to ask questions or draw attention to any issues of concern and to receive reports from local groups within the Parish.

If you would like more information please contact our (excellent) Clerk on 01628 473826 or email to clerk.mbpc@gmail.com FANCY drum lessons, in a soundproof room? Westmount Music, in Brucewood Parade, has completed the conversion of one of its rooms into a teaching room, and it’s now available for local music teachers to hire to extend the range of lessons available in the village. The music shop doesn’t run the lessons, but makes the facility available for others. From the start, there are lessons available in drums, keyboard and guitar; ring Paul or Glynn on 01628 481510 for details.

TOMORROW, it’s a police ‘Have Your Say’ day. If you’ve got an issue, tell them at 3.30pm outside Kingswood Parade shops.