April 2002
Sarratt Local History Society will be holding a family history day at Sarratt School on Saturday 20 April 10.30am to 3.30pm. Society members will be on hand to illustrate the various techniques available to the family historian. A wide range of actual sources will be on hand on the day which you will be able to consult. Most of these will relate to Sarratt and the surrounding area, but the general principles will apply to any avenue of research. So, if this is one of those things that you’ve always thought of doing but never quite got round to it, why not come along and see what you can find out? And if you’ve already done some family history, bring your ‘tree’ with you and see if we can help find a few more branches for you! Tea and coffee will be available but bring a packed lunch and make a day of it. Further details from Dawn Pitts on 01923 267071.
CHIPPERFIELD CARE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
At the Annual General Meeting held on 7 March in St Paul’s Parish Room, the Organiser, Shelagh Nichols, reported that Chipperfield Care has continued to provide invaluable assistance to residents over the past year. She thanked Muriel Samworth, the previous Organiser, for handing over the administration in such good order and also thanked all the volunteers for their unstinting support in helping so many people in the village but stressed the importance of finding and recruiting new volunteers.
David Nobbs (Chairman, Chipperfield Parish Council) then reported on the transition of monies from the Village Chest to the Dacorum Voluntary Trust. This has been delayed due to certain requirements made by the Charity Commissioners, but it is hoped that the Village Chest monies will be transferred shortly. Margaret Kingston (Administrator of the Dacorum Voluntary Trust) gave an insight as to how the Trust is operated and explained how the Dacorum Voluntary Trust will be able to provide financial help to needy local residents or groups. The Chairman, Donald Main, thanked the speakers for their time taken in explaining such a complex subject.
HERTFORDSHIRE MINERALS LOCAL
PLAN REVIEW Site AFS 21 – Bucks Hill
A big thank you to all who wrote letters of objection to the County Council. The latest known count is that they received over 800 letters plus petitions in respect of all sites included in the Review. They cannot, or will not, say how many letters referred to AFS Site 21, Bucks Hill; but I know from the number of copies sent to me that the number was substantial. Jennifer Tipton and I attended a meeting of the Aggregates Panel at County Hall on 29th January. We were merely observers, but it was obvious that there was much work to be done by County Staff - sifting letters and analysing points of objection – before further progress towards a decision could be made.
It was agreed at that meeting that, before recommendations were put before the County Council in July, a
Public Open Meeting should be held. The latest information on this meeting is that it will be held on Wednesday, 17th April at County Hall, Hertford, in the Beane Room at 2.00pm.
If you are able to attend, please do so. You will be directed to the Beane Room once you have registered your attendance at the front desk in the foyer at County Hall. Car parking is available there. However, PLEASE CHECK before you go to ensure that the meeting is still on by telephoning County Hall
01992 555206.
Jean Newell, Chairman,
Chandlers Cross, Bucks Hill and Penmans Green Residents Association.
WATCH OUT! THIEVES ABOUT
April and May traditionally have seen an increase in thefts of motor mowers, chainsaws and strimmers from sheds and garages in the Chipperfield and Sarratt areas; houses which have side-access to their gardens from paths or tracks are particularly at risk, as are owners who have been hit in the past years. High quality door bolts, or chaining the items to a secure post or workbench, or locking them in a cupboard will reduce the chance of your losing equipment - as will painting on your postcode and house name/number in several places. The police recover very little of this property once it has been stolen, so you need to make it harder, or less attractive, to steal.
THE VILLAGE HALL
The Village Hall is run by a voluntary charitable Management Committee formed from representatives of local organisations that use the hall and from locally elected members. The hall provides an excellent venue for regular user groups, which include bowls, mother and toddlers, theatre group, Womens Institute, Yoga, art class, keep fit, extend exercise, choral society, movement to music, body conditioners, horticultural society, infant welfare etc as well as for parties and private functions for both local and outside users. The committee works hard to keep the hall in a good decorative and sound condition and is currently in negotiations to meet the requirements of the Disability Act on access and toilets by 2004. There are currently still a few weekend vacancies available which can be booked through the booking secretary, Len Forsythe on 01923 260664.
The AGM is scheduled for Tuesday May 28 at 8.15pm in the Village Hall to which everyone is welcome.
SPRING FEVER
I have just spent a lovely early spring (5th March) afternoon in the garden, a pair of robins never far away. They must have paired up for spring and be in love, as for the rest of the year they are fiercely territorial and will fight any other robins that dare to cross their boundaries. They are always friendly towards gardeners though, and by pecking about whilst I was digging they were able to gobble up the best tit bits before the blackbirds, who arrived when I went indoors for my tea. The long tailed tits only come to the bird table in pairs now and the frogs are getting frisky in the pond in front of the kitchen windows; spring is definitely in the air. So far the frogs seem to be in good health but there is a mystery disease about, which makes their legs drop off. The garden would not be the same without frogs hopping about. I always think that the sound of male frogs calling for mates on sunny spring days is one of the nicest, and it usually means that it is warm enough for me to work in shirt sleeves! I try to creep up and see their cheeks all puffed out as they sit with their heads poking out of the water croaking away. Our colony of wild daffodils or lent lilies, as my mum always calls them, are pushing through now and will be in flower by the time you read this. They are much shorter than the cultivated varieties and their petals have a sort of papery quality, all together more dainty and gentle than the ones in the flower beds near the bungalow. I have lots of plans for changes to the garden in front of the bungalow this year and I am looking forward to the longer days when I can get down to plenty of digging and planting. Not sure my back is though! Wendy Bathurst
HOW TO STOP UNWANTED MAIL AND TELEPHONE CALLS
How often have you picked up the telephone or opened a letter to be told ‘You have won a free holiday to the Bahamas’? Unfortunately, we are all familiar with this sort of intrusive and irritating sales ploy. If you want to stop unsolicited junk mail, write and register with The Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 22, London W1E 7EZ; to stop unsolicited telephone calls, contact Telephone Preference Services on 0207 766 4410.
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Not a good start to the year with wet weather and a bad back keeping me off the garden for longer than usual and the green manure which I sowed in the autumn and which was supposed to stifle the weeds has - guess what? - been stifled by the weeds!
You should have received your schedules for the year from our intrepid distributors by now, but if you’ve been left out you can renew your membership at our Spring Show. At our AGM we welcomed one new member on to the committee - Ann Soanes - but we could still do with more pairs of hands to help out so if you have a few free hours and would like to support the Society in a more practical way please let me know on 01923 268852.
Our first show of the year will be held in the Village Hall on the afternoon of Saturday 6 April so do come along and enjoy the daffodils and other exhibits. Better still, why not have a go yourself? New exhibitors are always more than welcome.
On a sad note, we have recently lost two stalwarts of the Society: Eric Wright and Pete Houghton. Eric was a keen supporter for many years, most recently in the capacity of the ‘man on the door’ on our show days. Pete was one of our leading exhibitors and always the man to beat in the vegetables and roses sections and, on a personal note, someone who gave me great encouragement and invaluable advice when I was a novice. Both will be sadly missed. John Hopkins
KINGS LANGLEY SENIOR SCHOOL
The 15th annual FUN RUN will take place on Sunday 19 May. Money raised from this event will benefit not only the school and but also many charities. The Puffa Run is much more than a school event. Runners enter from a wide area and the organisers are still looking for further local support -sponsorship, runners, marshals, help with catering etc. Thanks to a team of dedicated organisers, it is a well run day and enjoyed not only by the participants but by the well-wishers along the routes too. If you can help in any way, or want further details about taking part, please contact 01923 268308.
CHIPPERFIELD CRICKET CLUB
Spring Bulletin
A new season approaches and there will be some new faces on The Common this year. Simon Smith has taken over as First Eleven captain and has brought some new players to the club, and we will also have the services of a young Australian from Melbourne. All the players are training hard and we hope to provide entertaining and successful cricket. On the administration side, Mick Garrini has retired as Chairman after 10 years of diligent service and Chris Bangs has taken over the reins. Tim Clyde has assumed the mantle of Fixture Secretary.
Social events will be arranged on a regular basis throughout the summer, the first being a Quiz Night on 17 May. The club is always ready to welcome new members both playing and social; come and join us on our beautiful Common. Contact Chris Bangs on 01923 268953 or come along to midweek training at 6pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, commencing early April, weather permitting.
Calling all youngsters. Our Colts section 9-14 year olds this year will run on Sunday mornings 10am-12 noon, starting 7 April. Further details from Bob Churchill 01923 260150.
ENCORE FOR THEATREGOERS
ENCORE is a club formed for the purpose of taking away the strain of booking for, and travelling to, the theatre. Encore offers a regular, specially selected programme of theatre visits to London and the provinces and includes both matinees and evening performances. All excursions are arranged by the experienced owner/manager; travel is by comfortable coach and the nearest pick-up point is in Kings Langley. Encore also offers special interest excursions to stately homes, exhibitions, gardens and river cruises with meals often included at quality hotels and restaurants.
For more details on this friendly club please contact Julia Rodgers, tel: 01296 630112 or e-mail julia.rodgers@btinternet.com
Letter to the Editor
In the March issue of Chipperfield News there was a report on traffic safety at the Tower Hill/Dunny Lane crossroads. We have received the following letter:
Dear Editors
The sightings at all approaches to this junction is excellent. The Halt sign is plain and always visible. The village residents were absolutely right to reject proposals for alterations. One small concession to the Highway authority would bring unacceptable impositions on our village.
As a driver I have experienced the impatience of motorists - especially after business hours - who turn right from Chapel Croft into Tower Hill frequently cutting across vehicles from Dunny Lane to Chapel Croft; or those misjudging the speed of vehicles on the Tower Hill/The Street section when crossing. 30mph? Ha! Should the driver’s reaction be slow perhaps it’s time to consider becoming a passenger for their own, as well as others, safety. Patience, courtesy, tolerance, early indications of one’s intentions could solve some of the problems. If we really need "to seek advice for any means by which motorists and pedestrians can be alerted to the potential dangers at this junction", then there’s little hope of improvement.
Yours sincerely W.E. Boon