February 2002
We extend a warm welcome to Terry Boston who took over as licensee at The Boot in Tower Hill at the end of November.
Terry comes from Thundersley in Essex and after 42 years in the shipping and transport business decided the time was right to make a change. He and his wife, Linda, had been looking for suitable premises for over a year and immediately felt ‘at home’ when they walked into The Boot for the first time. Terry has found local people very welcoming and says that he does not plan to change the character of the pub. However, he hopes perhaps to have a luxury marquee in the garden for weddings and other events, and summer Bar-B-Qs are also planned. The pub serves excellent bar snacks, lunches and dinners Monday to Saturday as well as Sunday lunch.
ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL
School Report
As we enter the Spring Term 2002, we are wondering quite where the long Autumn Term, along with Christmas plans and celebrations, went! Just before the break, the boys in the football team completed their league fixtures and I am delighted to report that they won their league by a large margin. They won every game in some style! Their prize is to progress to the next stage, with larger schools who have also won their own leagues. We will let you know how they do.
The school has recently become involved in a nationwide scheme called ‘Healthy Schools’. We have decided to focus upon four areas that we hope to develop further. These are healthy eating, physical activity, emotional health and well-being and safety. Pupils, staff, governors, parents and members of the local community are involved in the project. As a result, we have some important and interesting challenges ahead as we aim to build upon much good work that has been done in these areas in recent months and years.
We are awaiting news of a recent bid to Hertfordshire County Council for funding to further improve our building. Our objective is to build an additional classroom to replace one that is too small for its purpose. If successful, we will refurbish the existing classroom in order to introduce a computer suite and some additional library space. This is a project that is very much a priority for everyone at the school, so fingers crossed. Before Christmas we were delighted to learn that our planning application was successful. We are always happy to share the work of the school with those of you who live locally. We hope to launch the school’s website shortly so that communication will be even better. In the meantime, if you would like to email us you can do so using the following address: head.stpauls909@thegrid.org.uk. I will forward emails to classes where appropriate.
On behalf of the staff and pupils at St Paul’s, I would like to wish you all a happy and a peaceful New Year. Lyndon Evans, Headteacher
VANDALISM: THE COST TO YOUR POCKET
There have been numerous incidents of vandalism, thoughtless destruction and theft in the village during recent months and every single household in the village is bearing the cost to repair and replace the damage.
In the last few months the Parish Council notice board near the school has been vandalised three times, the large notice board opposite the newsagents has been damaged and uprooted, the wooden bus shelter at Tower Hill has been damaged, shrubs have been stolen from the flower bed in front of Tower Hill Garage and turves from the car park opposite Queen Street removed. On New Year’s Eve the finger signpost opposite The Two Brewers was wrenched out of the ground.
The cost of repairs? £600 so far this year. And you are paying for all this damage. The money has had to be taken from the Parish Precept and so far 30% of the budget has been "wasted" in unnecessary expenditure. The Parish Council planned to spend this money on grants to local groups and projects in the village, like car park improvements.
Why should we all have to pay for the hooliganism of a few? If you see any vandalism taking place in the village please report it to your Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator or contact the police.
CHIPPERFIELD NEWS A.G.M.
The AGM of Chipperfield News was held on the evening of Monday 3 December 2001.
The joint editors, Liz Holliday and Anne Breen, presented their report and appealed to the village community for more contributions from villagers and local organisations. The accounts for the year ended 31 October 2001 were adopted and showed a small loss on trading, compared with a small profit in the previous year. It was gratifying to note the funds were in good order.
The aim, as readers may know, is to produce, free of charge, an interesting village newspaper which is possible thanks to our advertisers, upon whose continued support we rely.
The Chairman thanked the new distribution manager, Popsi Stokes, for taking over the assignment from Ruth Hare, and expressed the Committee’s thanks to all those involved in circulating and delivering the
Chipperfield News.
He also thanked all the Committee for their hard work during the year. RAE
A GOOD READ
To find out how Hertfordshire people celebrated the Millennium Year, treat yourself to a new book called
Community Life in Hertfordshire -2000. It has been launched by the Hertfordshire Association for Local History Recorders’ Group and copies are available at the Chipperfield Larder at a price of £10. Each of the 65 towns and villages featured is introduced by a potted history, followed by a description of the year’s events. At the Parish Council’s suggestion, Mary Nobbs sent a contribution on behalf of Chipperfield, so village events during 2000 have been recorded for posterity. Why not enjoy reading about these, together with entries from Abbots Langley, Berkhamsted, Sarratt, Bovingdon, Chorleywood, Hemel Hempstead and Watford, to name but a few?
CONGRATULATIONS
Heidi Leaney, a former pupil of St Paul’s School, Chipperfield, and Kings Langley Secondary School, qualified as a solicitor on 2 January 2002. Heidi went on to study at Keele University and gained a dual honours degree in Law and Criminology. She then studied at the London School of Law.
We, Heidi’s parents and family, are extremely proud of her achievements and wish her every success in the future.
Ray and Chris Leaney Croft End Road
ACCIDENT ON CHRISTMAS EVE
Can I please use your columns to pass on my gratitude to all those who helped my mother and me after our car was hit by another car in The Street, Chipperfield at just after 1pm on 24th December. People appeared as if from nowhere, helping my mother from the car, tending to her head wound and providing comfort and blankets until the ambulance arrived. My mother was taken to Hemel Hempstead Hospital and she is making an excellent recovery. Every passing car also produced further offers of assistance and so thank you to everyone else who wanted to help. A Mr Bromage or Bromwich witnessed the accident and stopped to give his name but unfortunately he had disappeared by the time the police arrived. I would be grateful if he could contact me on 01442 832588 if he sees this. Finally a big thank to the public spirited person who followed the other driver as she left the scene of the accident and pointed her out to the police. Brian Johnson email: briant.johnson@ukgateway.net
CHIPPERFIELD EVENING W.I.
Chipperfield Evening W.I. is young in terms of the history of the Womens’ Institute but members were happy to celebrate their 25th Anniversary recently. Mrs Curl from County Office recalled items in the news at the time the group was formed in November 1976 with 47 members, four of whom are still active in the group. November has been a busy month for the Chipperfield Evening W.I. In addition to the birthday celebrations, members have been involved in supporting the Hollyberry Fair held in the village and have also planted 1,200 bulbs in and around the churchyard. Plans are also in hand to provide a wooden bench adjacent to the Apostles Pond to mark Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee next year. Vida Metcalfe
CHIPPERFIELD THEATRE GROUP
The players of Chipperfield Theatre Group are now veterans of nine pantomimes and it shows. This Jack and the Beanstalk was an extremely polished production, full of good performances and evidently well directed by Felicity Cox (no relation!). Sarah Jayne Bottril was rewarded for her outstanding performances in previous productions with the role of Jack, but it is testament to the expertise of her colleagues that even she had to play second fiddle to the glorious antics of the supporting cast. As ever, Wendy Marchant anchored the show with a faultless performance as the Fairy Queen and Paul Instrall provided a wonderful madcap counterfoil to Bottril as Jack’s brother, Billy. The boos and hisses meanwhile were reserved for John Oglesby, who cut a menacing figure as the intolerant face of the property classes – the resident baddie, Sebastian Gray.
So - impressive performances all round then, and yet, unlikely as it may seem, a character I can only describe as Jimmy Cricket in drag stole the show. For Lyle Rainey, as pantomime dame Lily White, was extraordinary. His facial expressions were a constant delight, his delivery made the weakest jokes funny and, if innuendo was called for, he was able to pull it off. In short, his cheeky, sympathetic portrayal endeared him to the audience from the outset and injected the necessary humour into a script, which got progressively stronger following his introduction. The songs were good too. Neatly interspersed, familiar tunes with alternate lyrics that made them fresh and relevant thus avoiding unflattering comparisons with the originals.
The way the music complimented the scenes was indicative of how well the show flowed, for despite boasting a large cast, the characters were well defined and the plot was easy to follow. The old adage "never work with children or animals" was also laid to rest in one fell swoop with the quartet of children who played the mischievous mice excelling in their cameos and "A team" dance routine. It all ended happily ever after of course and following the successful coupling of the major characters, nobody could have complained if the evening’s entertainment too had ended there. But it didn’t, as feigning outrage those with smaller parts in the play seized the spotlight to close proceedings with an expertly choreographed rendition of "If I were not upon this stage." Judging from the ovation that this and the rest of the pantomime received however, I do not think they need to be rehearsing the alternative pastimes they sung of, just yet. Jason Cox
Christmas at Chingulungulu
From Father Terry Cantwell, brother of Father Desmond, Mission of Chingulungulu, Southern Tanzania
To the dry bush of southern Tanzania, December arrives hot and humid. No bleak midwinter, snow and ice, holly and ivy are there to provide the familiar signs of our traditional Christmas. Yet over the sun-scorched earth hangs an air of expectation, for the gift of God’s Son, and for the life-giving rains due about this time. The birth of any child is a cause for great rejoicing and celebration in the Mission villages - how much more so for the Special Child? Preparations start weeks before, everyone it seems has some part to play, from the youngest child in the Nativity play, to the oldest villager, whose job it is to relate the story of the Bible from Abraham to Jesus on Christmas morning. It is the church, rather than individual homes, which is the target for decoration. Only at Christmas and Easter are the plastic flowers (the real ones droop and die too quickly) replaced with greenery. Run from a car battery, a single electric light placed high in the roof sheds its rays to the farthest corners of the church, illuminating multicoloured flags and strings of gaily painted polystyrene packing hanging from the rafters. The crib – with figures very much like those we have in Chipperfield - awaits the baby’s arrival at Midnight Mass. In homes, as well as food preparation, gallons of pombe, the local beer brewed from millet, has been fermenting in pots and drums of every size and shape for the past few weeks. Coming home for Christmas with the family is as important in Chingulungulu as it is here. In the North travel is easier; where we are in the South the roads are barely passable, but those who can will get through one way or another. Traditional carols as well as AdesteFideles and Silent Night (in Swahili of course) ring out joyfully as midnight approaches. The Mass too is a noisy, happy celebration, a great welcome for the newborn babe and King. On Christmas morning families gather before the first Mass for the telling and re-enactment of the scriptures. Lasting for an hour or more, this calls for the participation of all, acting, singing, and a good deal of ad-libbing too should the storyteller not keep to the traditional script.
After Mass, the congregation returns home for the Christmas meal, but Father Terry is off to say Mass at another church and later in the day – and with no Christmas dinner yet in sight – he travels to the main Mission at Masasi. where, by tradition, the President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, and his wife take their Christmas meal. Celebrations are a welcome break from toiling in the fields, a great time for socialising, catching up with news from those who have been away, playing with the children. Christmas presents are not customary, but the children get a few sweets or other treats and probably the lion’s share of attention, too. How long the celebrations last some say depends on when the pombe runs out. A longer break is forestalled by the imperative of the planting season, and it is back to work with the happy memories of the great Christmas celebrations to enrich and sustain for another year.
TED BURROUGHS
Edward John Burroughs, better known as ‘Ted’, was born on 7 April 1938 in Romford, Essex. Eldest son to Reg and Silvia, brother to John and Roger. At the outbreak of war, the family moved to Rickmansworth. Ted attended York House School where he excelled at all sports, especially cricket. In the early 1960’s Ted married his first wife, Beryl, and they had 3 children; but sadly Beryl died of cancer at the early age of 40.
I met Ted and we made a new life down in Torrington, North Devon, at the West of England public house. After 4 years, we moved back to Hertfordshire to the Bell in Bovingdon, where we adapted to village life and built up a thriving business. We decided to retire from the pub trade after 4 and a half years and Ted went back to work in the roller industry (rubber, not cars) but our love for the trade took us to Chipperfield where we took the tenancy of the Windmill in 1988. We loved the village life, Ted especially loved the cricket where he could be found on a regular basis supporting the local team. Last year Ted and I decided to retire in June, and spent September and October travelling around Europe in our motor home.
I had a wonderful life with Ted and together we had hoped to have a long and happy retirement, but unfortunately this gentle man was taken from me and all his family and friends on 5 December 2001. He would have been so proud that so many of his friends turned out to say goodbye at his funeral.
I would like to express my thanks for all the cards, letters and support you have given me and my family. Thank you also for all the donations to Macmillan Nurses. Ted will be missed by everyone who knew him for a very long time.
WINTER DINERS
The spell of cold weather between Christmas and New Year brought many new birds to the bird feeders and the little ponds in the garden. I spend most of my elevenses and teatime with my eyes fixed on the patio windows, bird watching in style! We have a new bird table, John made it for his GCSEs, and it has been interesting to see which birds have taken to it most readily and what their favourite foods are. It is positioned about halfway between the windows and a peanut feeder that hangs in a Cotoneaster, with a sunflower seed feeder a little further away. At the moment black sunflower seeds disappear faster than anything else, probably because they are the favourites of the great tits which are so numerous in the garden, closely followed by peanuts, with the offerings on the bird table coming in third. The table does attract different birds though, as the Robin cannot feed from any of the other feeders nor can the Dunnock. I put handfuls of mixed seeds, breadcrumbs, grated cheese and lumps of fat, plus any of bits of left over pastry onto it and try to cater for all tastes. The Robins seem to try most things, while Nuthatches fly off with the biggest seeds and members of the tit family enjoy the lumps of fat. The dear little Long Tailed Tits have taken to it really well and six or eight will crowd on to a lump of fat at a time. Don't forget to put some water out for the birds during cold spells. If it's very cold we put an upturned dustbin lid on three bricks, with a night light under the middle of it, on the edge of the terrace to ensure they have somewhere to drink and bathe.
The bottom of the garden, under the big old Bramley apple trees, has been full of Fieldfares feasting on the fallen apples. Sometimes they come as mixed flocks with Red Wings, but this year they have been exclusively Fieldfares, probably more than 100 on two of the coldest days.
When going out to feed the sheep it is easy to see why woolly jumpers keep us so warm; for two days the sheep's backs stayed covered in frost all day! Perfect insulation! I can see exactly where they have spent the night when I go out to feed them first thing in the morning; there are five ovals of grass with no frost on them. That's if it's daylight of course! Oh for the longer days. Spring is just around the corner.
Wendy Bathurst
LOCAL COMPANY SCOOPS TOP AWARD
The Garden Company has just scooped the top national award from the British Association of Landscape Industries for a garden in Watford. ‘We are absolutely delighted’ said Kathie Coss, partner at The Garden Company. ‘The award is for garden maintenance; we designed and constructed the garden 3 years ago and have maintained it on a weekly basis since. We are very proud of the teams we have had working in the garden. It really shows how important good maintenance is to the development of a garden’. The Garden Company is based at Wyevale Garden Centre in Chipperfield. Kathie added ‘It has rounded off an excellent year for all of us here. We strive to undertake work of exceptional quality and value, and to be recognised as one of the leaders in our industry is a great accolade for all our staff.’
BOOK WORMS MEET
The suggestion to form a reading group in the village obviously struck a chord judging from the response to the article in last November’s Chipperfield News. As there is a practical limit to the number who can meet, applications were accepted from the first ten people who replied. This has created a waiting list of residents who would like to join -or perhaps they could form a second group ....
The first meeting held in January went very well and the Chipperfield Book Worms will be reading their way through the forthcoming year.
CHIPPERFIELD WITHIN LIVING MEMORY
Tenements Farm. Part 2:
In about 1930, Mr. Merrick, the property dealer who built Milbaise at Tower Hill, bought Tenements Farm and converted it into a private dwelling, comprised of a house, barn, cowshed and a garage with a flat for a chauffeur (now Blantyre). It stood empty for a long time and then it was let to Captain Colin Hurry who lived there with his wife and daughter. During the war he was in charge of the local Observer Corps. After the war, Mrs. Hurry’s two brothers, Guy and Alan Cheshire, also went to live at Tenements Farm. They took over what had originally been the cowshed, later converted into a garage and chauffeur’s accommodation, and began their lifetime hobby of constructing a full sized church organ. At that time, the east side of the building consisted of one large room, not divided by an upper floor, but open to the roof and this was ideal for the long bass pipes, some of which were of wood and constructed in the barn by Guy Cheshire who had converted part of it into a very fine workshop.
At this time (post WW2), Tenements Farm was offered to Captain and Mrs. Hurry but as they wished to return to London, it was purchased by the Cheshire brothers, who divided the property and sold the farmhouse and cowshed to Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Allen who lived there until 1978.
The finished organ was a great success and many famous organists came to play it, including Gillian Weir, Susan Landells and Peter Hurford, the St. Albans’ organist. The BBC also did an outside broadcast from there. Daphne Pritchard, of Tuffs Farm, used to love listening to the organ music as she walked along Tenements Lane with her children.
Circa 1930 Tenements Farm was extensively altered and enlarged but the old structures of the main part still remained. During their time, the Allens had the roof refelted and retiled because the old tiles were bedded on straw thus allowing snow to blow under the roof in winter gales. They were shown tiles that had deer hoof prints on them and some with rabbit bones used as pegs to keep them in place. In the cellar, there are some 2 inch bricks which date back to the 17th century. Dr. Allen was told that in the days of horse transport, farmers taking corn to Kings Langley mill would use the farm lane that connected with Barnes Lane, to avoid the steep gradients of Whippendell Hill and Vicarage Lane.