February 2004
Chipperfield’s own village web site is now ‘on-line’. Set up and run by interested residents under the sponsorship of both the Parish Council and Chipperfield News, www.chipperfield.org.uk is the ‘official’ web site for our village. The web site has been professionally designed and hosted by Chipperfield resident, Russ Evans. Russ has contributed his time and resources as a gift to the village. He can be contacted via webmaster@chipperfield.org.uk. Included on the site are pages on public transport, village map, local schools, current and archive news (from Chipperfield News), booking information for village hall/parish rooms and a village diary. This diary is intended to look further ahead than its printed version in Chipperfield News to help organisations avoid conflicting events. Information is included on village organisations, clubs & societies. Contact graham@chipperfield.org.uk if there are any errors or if your club is not yet included. The web site will run complementary to Chipperfield News whose advertisers will automatically be highlighted in the web site’s directory of village services. This directory will be expanded to include a comprehensive A-Z reference to village focused tradesmen and businesses. If you wish to be included contact jeff@chipperfield.org.uk’. Please submit news stories and articles to Chipperfield News (see back page for details); these will be posted to the website to link in with publication date. P.S. Beware imitations! There are a couple of commercially based web sites purporting to represent Chipperfield. This is not the case www.chipperfield.org.uk is the Official web site for the residents of Chipperfield. Help us make it the best village web site in the country. Geoff Bryant
VOLUNTEERS MAKE GREAT PROGRESS AT BLACKWELL’S
Local volunteers have been busy stripping-out the old Chipperfield Social Club premises in preparation for the planned extensive refurbishment and re-opening of the club as Blackwell's - The Village Club. Work parties have been regularly undertaking work under the guidance of local builders, Richard Minshell and Colin Bayliss, and already major progress has been made. As a result, the club has entered into an arrangement with the Greene King brewery, and the main lounge bar area has been fitted out ready for use. This area will itself be the subject of a total refit next year, but in the meantime, please note that it has been thoroughly cleaned and painted, and is now available for individual event party bookings in addition to the existing function room - further details contact Graham Holt on 01923-269421. It was always anticipated that Chipperfield residents would be willing to assist in this venture, but the response in actually rolling up sleeves and getting on with the job has been exceptional. The more people that volunteer to help the better (skilled or unskilled) so if you are able to come along and assist us for a couple of hours, please call Steve Foskett on 01442-833684.
The New Year's Eve Party held at the club was a total sell-out, and raised much needed funds in excess of £8,000 which included the proceeds of the Big Prize Raffle organised by Des Swainson. Further exciting, and rather unique, fundraising events are in the pipeline, and these will be publicised over the next few months.
The Trustees and all those involved in Blackwell's would like to pass on their heartfelt sympathy to the Stabb family, following the death of Sir William Stabb QC, who was a great supporter of the club over a long period.
Peter Jackson
PERSONAL NEWS
A new column!
As a result of several requests, we are planning to introduce a new column to Chipperfield News containing items about people in the village. We would like to ask readers to contact Valerie Briselden with any pieces which may be suitable – for example, would you like to send someone your congratulations (new baby, anniversary, wedding, academic success, etc), birthday wishes, get well wishes, welcome new residents to the village - anything of a personal nature that may be of interest to others living locally. If you have any items which you would like included, please use the Chipperfield News box in either Londis or the Two Brewers, or drop a note through Valerie’s door at The Firs, The Common. We hope to start this column in the April issue but it would be very helpful if you could let Valerie have your copy as soon as possible, certainly before Monday 1 March. Please include a telephone number in case we need to check any details.
RE-CYCLING CHRISTMAS CARDS in aid of St Paul’s Church Organ Fund
Volunteers for cutting and pasting are invited to Hunterswood House, Penmans Green, on 1 March and every following Monday until the end of the month, so that we can complete our fundraising effort (so far over £400). We’ll meet 10-10.30am for coffee.
Please contact Mary Stirling on 01923 262397 if you would like to join us.
CHIPPERFIELD VILLAGE HALL REFURBISHMENT
FUNDING
As readers will appreciate from previous issues of the Chipperfield News, the refurbishment works on the Village Hall were completed last Autumn, and two thirds of the total costs had been provided by Dacorum Borough Council, Chipperfield Parish Council and the Lottery Funds, whom we have already thanked.
Most of the remaining one third has since been donated by gift aid and other donations. In this regard, I would like to express our most sincere thanks to all those individuals and local organisations for their very generous gifts. Without your support, we could not have completed the task.
We are now £3K away from the total required sum of £65K and are due to hold two fund raising events in the New Year. If however, there are any other well-wishers or Hall users who would like to donate money to bridge this final gap, I would be most grateful for your support.
R.A. Edwards (Tel: 01923 262549) Chairman, the Village Hall Committee
THE BEAUTY ROOM
The Beauty Room is a new business which has recently opened up in premises at the Garden Scene in Chipperfield. The Beauty Room offers spa treatments for hands and feet, manicures, nail extensions and nail art, pedicures, facials, eye treatments, waxing, Tooth Fairy Crystals, St Tropez tanning, and much more. The salon is run by Joanne, who is IHBC qualified and BABTAC insured. If you would like to know more about the treatments on offer, please call Joanne on 01442 257133 to make an appointment, or call in to see her in the Beauty Room at Garden Scene.
Thank you!
We would like to say a big ‘Thank you’ to the children and staff of St Paul’s School who entertained us on the morning of 17 December. They worked really hard and we enjoyed it very much. However we are sure that there must have been a certain amount of disappointment that only eleven OAPs made the effort to attend. Thank you once again to Mr Evans and everyone concerned. J. and R. Petherick
CHIPPERFIELD HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Our AGM is on Thursday 5 February and will be held in the Upper Room, St Paul’s Church, starting at 8.00pm. The Committee would greatly appreciate your support at this meeting which is to present a report on the year’s activities, receive the accounts, elect the committee for 2004, and discuss any other matters arising.
The new Handbook Show Schedule and membership cards are available and will be distributed during February/March. We have been informed by Garden Scene that they are starting a new discount scheme on 2 February. Members should register at Garden Scene when they will receive a Reward Card against which purchases and due discounts will be recorded. The scheme is free to CHS members. See page 11 for further details. J.R. Foulgham
BONFIRE SMOKE
A reader writes: It is ironic that while in a public place we can generally avoid inhaling harmful tobacco smoke yet, while occupying our own properties, we are regularly invaded by similarly unpleasant and potentially carcinogenic bonfire smoke. Bonfires lit during the daytime are particularly aggravating. The smoke prevents us from enjoying our own gardens and laundry has to be re-washed. The smoke even enters the house. We leave our double glazed house windows closed all the time now, but to no avail.
Apart from the nuisance and their contribution to global warming, bonfires are harmful, particularly for neighbours with heart and chest problems such as asthma. Cardboard boxes used to help start a fire may seem innocuous, but if coated with plastic produce cyanide when burned. Bonfires aren’t necessary either. We have been provided with large green waste bins, there is a dump nearby for bulky material or we can easily make our own compost.
Please consider the stress, harm to health and bad feeling you provoke when you next feel tempted to light a fire on your boundary. (Name and address supplied)
CHIPPERFIELD COMMUNITY FUND
When the administration of the funds in the former Village Chest was transferred to the Dacorum Community Trust with the new title of The Chipperfield Community Fund, it was agreed that the financial position of the Fund would be reported upon annually. This first report is of necessity limited. The Annual Report of the Dacorum Community Trust including its accounts to 31 March 2003 was published in the autumn. At that time it had only held the Chipperfield funds for 4 months and there had been no disbursements at that stage. The amount being held in our Restricted Fund at the end of the financial year was stated as being £3,873. This is perhaps a good time to remind residents that these monies are being held ‘to be used in cases of need within the Parish (Civil and Parochial)’. If you would like to apply for a grant for yourself or someone else in need, please contact Margaret Kingston at the Trust’s office at 48 High Street, Hemel Hempstead HP1 3AF Tel 01442 231396. In cases of urgent need, the Trust can, in appropriate circumstances, make a very rapid response.
CHIPPERFIELD NEWS AGM - DECEMBER 2003
The Chairman welcomed various new committee members to their first AGM and also Geoff Bryant, who was Manager of Chipperfield News in its first ten years of production.
The joint editors appealed for more in-put of local news from individuals and organisations. They would happily increase the size of the publication for one or two issues each year, if local residents could supply additional news-worthy articles. Jeff Beck, as the new advertising manager, said that he had settled in to the job in the last six months, and was pleased to report that currently there was a surplus of demand for advertising space by local businesses.
The distribution manager stated that roughly 1,300 copies were circulated each month. Popsi Stokes wished to record her thanks and that of the committee to all those who assisted with the monthly distribution.
The accounts were distributed to the meeting by Graham McMellin. These showed a small profit of £276 for the year compared to a loss of £588 in the previous year. The printing costs had recently increased for the first time in five years and therefore we would need to review the charge out rates for advertising, which Jeff Beck agreed to review. Tony Briselden and the joint editors, Liz Holliday and Anne Breen, had reviewed the current computer equipment which is now over four years old. It was agreed that more modern and reliable hardware/software should be purchased at a total cost of £3,000, and this would be installed early in the New Year.
The committee then went on to discuss the Parish Council’s proposal to introduce the Village Web Site in 2004 and unanimously agreed to support the scheme.
Richard A.Edwards
His Honour Sir William Stabb, Q.C. (1913-2003)
An extract from a tribute given by Sir Richard Nichols at the funeral service held on 30 December 2003.
William Stabb was a man of very considerable charm, high intelligence, unselfishness and brilliant achievement, but with a total lack of conceit. Admired by all for his approachability, his lack of pomposity, his genuine desire to help others, his humour, kindliness and what I suppose must now be described as old-fashioned good manners. William was related to the Blackwell family of Chipperfield and was involved with many activities in the village - the Cricket Club, Chipperfield Care, the Youth Club, the School, the Village Clubs, Probus and the Church. He was not only amongst the most regular attenders at St Paul’s but a trustee and a faithful and generous supporter of the various activities designed to raise funds for alterations and additions to the church.
He had an enviable reputation as an after-dinner speaker and I heard him many times in the City. He was the first to say that "An after dinner speech – to be immortal – need not be everlasting". He had a wonderful sense of humour which broke through every conversation. It was Chamford, I think, who said "The most completely lost of days is one in which we have not laughed". There will not have been many days in William’s life which were lost in that way.
In expressing our thanks for his life and the examples he and Dorothy set us, and offering our sympathy to his four daughters and their families who did so much to look after him following Dorothy’s death, I leave them with the words which have always meant much to me and I hope will mean much to you: Not how did he die, but how did he live Not what did he gain, but what did he give These are the units to measure the worth Of this man as a man regardless of birth.
Not what was his station, but had he a heart How did he play his God-given part Was he at hand with a word of good cheer To bring back a smile or banish a fear. Not what was his church or what was his creed But had he befriended those really in need Not how did the formal obituary run But how many grieved when his life’s work was done.
WINTER DINERS
This has been the worst Christmas I have ever known for holly berries. Of the 7 or 8 bushes that regularly berry, only the bush by our entrance had any berries left by the first of December. They were all on the ends of branches and in places that the blackbirds found hard to reach. All of the bushes had been loaded with berries but the dry weather and the difficulty in finding worms in the hard ground forced the birds to eat the berries much earlier than usual. Bad luck for me, but their need was greater than mine. The worrying aspect is that there will be no berries available if the ground becomes solid with frost and worms are once more off the menu. Our son made a lovely bird table for one of his GCSE’s and I think it will be a lifesaver this year. I am trying to give the birds a good selection of foods, given in a variety of ways.
Blackbirds can’t manage to get peanuts from hanging nets or cages, but they will go on to a bird table; however they really prefer to pick food up from the ground. I always sweep the crumbs from the breadboard out onto the grass at the edge of the terrace, and a young female black bird, probably from a late brood, soon cottoned on and took up residence in a nearby rhododendron bush. As food got scarce I started to put out extra seeds and bits of pastry etc. for her. She is no fool and has gradually got tamer and now she drops her wings and begs for food as if I am her mum! I now top up the peanut holder, put food on the table, and on the ground and then sit by the patio windows and have my breakfast watching the birds have theirs. A robin, a dunnock, and 4 or 5 Chaffinches all prefer to feed on the ground, while a nuthatch is king of the bird table and the great tits prefer the peanut cage.
A great variety of bird food is available these days, you can even buy live meal worms, but do remember to serve it in different ways. A birdbath is essential to keep feathers in tiptop condition during cold nights, as well as for drinking. With food in short supply you could encourage some new birds into your garden, and they often make better viewing than the TV! Wendy
YOUR GARDEN IN FEBRUARY
Although it’s winter now, spring is almost upon us and there is much to be done. Before the middle of February, fruit trees should be pruned and then sprayed with Mortegg Winter Wash as long as you still have some: unfortunately this product is no longer made and the winter washes now available are less effective. Peach trees are subject to Peach Leaf Curl which can be prevented by spraying before mid-February with either Copper Fungicide or Dithane. Farmyard manure should be dug into the vegetable garden for all crops, with the exception of root crops such as carrots and parsnips, and the ground should be left rough dug until the spring. Choose early varieties of potato if they are to be grown as new potatoes, and main crop varieties if they are for chips, jacket or mashed potatoes. Seeds cannot be sown outdoors yet, but if you have a glasshouse or conservatory some varieties can be raised in pots and seed trays now; most seed packets have very detailed information as to sowing times etc. Many folk these days use plug plants as a simpler alternative to seed, and these will soon be on sale in the garden centre. Summer-flowering bulbs will also be available now for planting in the spring, although many of the lilies can be planted straight away as long as the ground is not frozen solid. Lawn mowers were not used much last summer so it is important to get them serviced so that they are ready for use in the spring, because the grass is already growing. February and March are a good time to plant out trees, shrubs, soft fruit bushes and particularly bare-root hedging plants. Always pop in a sprinkling of bonemeal when planting any permanent plants. Make sure trees are well staked to prevent them rocking in the wind. There are many interesting winter flowering shrubs which may be seen in the garden centre. Have a look at the witch hazel (Hamamelis), Mahonia, Forsythia, Winter Jasmine, Skimmia rubella and the fragrant Viburnums. Then there are the helebores, winter heathers, primroses and pansies and the early bulbs such as winter aconites and snowdrops. The Chelsea Flower Show is just over 3 months away and tickets for the first day will soon be sold out: if you wish to go, tickets can be obtained by ringing 0870 906 3781.
Terry Simmonds
THE GARDEN CENTRE GARDEN SCENE
Following a review of the discount scheme which Garden Scene runs for members of local horticultural societies it has been decided to change from an immediate discount system to a reward scheme. Under the new scheme members will be issued with a "Reward Card" with which their purchase values will be recorded and vouchers equal in value to their accumulated discount will be sent to them every three months. The key features are as follows-Free membership for Horticultural Society members.
No minimum spend for qualifying items.
Reward rate based on cumulative purchase value.
Stepped reward rates starting at 2.5% on the first £100 (Cumulative purchase value £1 to £100), 5% on the next £100 (Cumulative purchase value £100 to £200), 10% on all further eligible purchases (Cumulative purchase value £200 plus).
Cumulative purchase value set back to zero on the 31st December each year. Cards can be used at weekends as well as in the week.
Vouchers to the value of reward achieved issued every 3 months. Minimum value of reward needed for voucher to be issued = £1.00.
Items not eligible for reward points will be Gift Tokens, Fuels, Food Items, Pet food, Wild Bird Food, Sale Items, Products Marked "Super Buy". This new scheme will come into operation on Monday 2 February 2004 and therefore Garden Scene will not be able to offer the present "on the day" discount of 10% from that date onwards. The cost of joining the new club will be £10 but members of Chipperfield Horticultural Society can get free membership by showing a current membership card. Full details are available from Garden Scene.
Phil King, Manager, Garden Scene