The Web Site for Residents of Hughenden Valley, Bryant's Bottom, North Dean and Cryer's Hill villages in the beautiful Buckinghamshire Chiltern Hills.
News is reported below in reverse chronological order (latest first). For quick access to other parts of the site, use the navigation bar on the left.
Autumn 2010
Forthcoming Events
Saturday 18th December Christmas Dinner Dance, Village Hall
Latest News
9 December 2010
I have set up a new website http://www.hughendeneye.orgto save embarrassment within BucksInfo, the lovely department that hosts this site. For their sakes, I have removed the letter from Mr Furness, about which there were complaints from "residents" and a "residents association". The letter is available at the new site. It is well-researched and the offer on this site to the parish Clerk of space to register in detail the alleged inaccuracies in that letter holds for the new site. The same offer is made to those "residents" and "residents association" that complained. Please provide any contribution in cut-and-paste format in an email.
This site will continue to hold local details until Christmas, but the "blog" will be now posted on the new site.
8 December 2010
New Scam warning for a scam going on in the UK. When you pay by credit card or debit card, check the receipt carefully. The current scam is for cashback to be added to your bill and for the cashier to pocket the cash or to hand it later to a friend who joins the queue. So, make sure that you get a receipt and accept no excuse. Then check it carefully. Then create stink if cashback has been added and you didn't ask for it.
It gives great pleasure to announce that Dory Morgan has been adopted as a Conservative District Councillor Candidate for the May 5th elections. Dory is a tireless worker in the community and her knowledge of planning matters is legendary - it never ceases to amaze me of what she knows. Along with David Carroll, she will make a good pair to represent the interests of Hugheneden Valley at District. It was a pleasure to talk to them both at the Village Hall AGM.
It was a delight at the AGM for John Veysey and Hugh Steel to be unanimously adopted as Vice Presidents. We had to make an amendment to the Constitution to allow for more than one of these honorary posts, but it was worth it to honour these two men, who had devoted so many years to the service of this community. John has also written the definitive history of Hughenden Valley, copies of which are available from the Village Shop. It makes an excellent Christmas present.
John also gave thanks to the workers of today, saying that all of those who had ever contributed to village life, if they could return and see what was being done now, would be proud of where we are and what we are doing. It is certainly easier to make progress when one stands on the shoulders of the giants who went before us. Long may this tradition continue in this wonderful community.
7 December 2010
We have not heard much about HS2 for a while. I was sent a copy of a letter from the Department of Transport that gives the official view of why this line is needed. It makes interesting reading.
I was also sent an email detailing the response of the local Hospital Trust to the Dr Foster findings that they were the worst for deaths of all the NHS Trusts in the UK.
Last night was the Village Hall AGM. it was a good meeting and I hope that you find the minutes interesting We had the usual reports from Chairman and Treasurer, but this year we have spent lots of money on making the hall better. It is now a very nice venue for all sorts of events, the next being the Christmas Dance.
It was nice to hear District and County Councillor David Carroll congratulate us for having a close-knit and vibrant community that was a shining beacon of what the Big Society proposals of the Government were trying to achieve. This site has been saying this all along, but it is nice to hear it from someone outside the village. It does require hard work by a large number of people, only fewer than half of whom were at the well-attended meeting last night. Others will be running organisations, or perhaps part of the Residents' Association, who are meeting tonight.
5 December 2010
The Village Hall AGM is to be held in the Small Hall, tomorrow, Monday 5th December at 8pm. If you can attend, please do so, as it is important that we get agreement to the new Constitution. The Agenda and Constitution are reproduced here for your convenience. They may seem dry, but they are important to the way the Village Hall assets are to be run. This appeal is being made so that you have the chance to contribute to the way we run things on your behalf. It is part of "public involvement" and is part of the bedrock of a democracy.
If, in spite of the internal consultation within the village hall commitee, I have not got it right, please let me know as soon as possible what you consider to be wrong, so that I can incorporate valid changes into the Consitution before the meeting.
2 December 2010
The Bucks Free Press has an article about the behaviour of the Parish Council. John Sherlock is a thoughtful, observant and intelligent man raising issues that the Chairman of the parish council would rather not hear. A resident asked me why the Chairman always complains about the non-appearance of vocal residents at the recent parish meeting, but never gave any reason why the "silent majority" she constantly refers to did not show up. I could give no rational reason for her. Perhaps they were all at home washing their hair. Of course, it could just be that there is no silent majority, because anybody delving into the detail of the Rural Affordable Housing proposal, and the way the parish council has handled the affair, soon becomes a member of the vocal "minority". And for the benefit of those in the parish council who monitor this site, these are personal views. (I have to say this, because you might think that my criticisms of the parish council are me speaking on behalf of the council.)
You might also like to know that I have given the Clerk of the parish council an opportunity to respond the letter of Mr Furness, which she criticised, but the only response was to lodge a complaint against me at the parish council. Why? I don't know, because nobody has the courtesy to say. She did demand that I remove the link to the letter and implied that it was libellous. She was asked to explain why she felt it to be libellous, to which I received a response, but, for her sake, I drew attention to some errors in her argument and asked her to send me a cut-and-paste version of what she would have liked included. At the same time, using similar wording, a complaint was raised about this website at BucksInfo - the platform for this site run by Bucks County council as a service to communities - and it demanded that the link be removed. This complaint to BucksInfo may, or may not, have come from the Clerk. If the Clerk disagrees with this version of events, then space will be made available for a response from her.
I was asked by one councillor why I was doing all of this ["making trouble for the council"]. My reply is that I am acting in what I see as the public interest. I may be wrong, but that is what I am doing. If this embarrasses the parish council, of which I am a member, representing residents in the Hughenden Ward, then so be it.
I have been pilloried for asking questions and drawing conclusions from what I know. If I have been wrong, I have been happy to admit it. But the public have a right to information, for they have to make an intelligent decision next May about who they want to represent them on their Parish Council.
30 November 2010
If you wnat to avoid the chore of delivering local Christmas cards, Christine is raising money for charity by delivering cards for a donation. Half the second-class postage (say 10p per card) should be the minimum! You can drop off your cards at the shop, with donation.
I was idly looking through the usage reports and see that we have readers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and others, so for their benefit, I report today that we have our first snow in the village. Nothing more than a dusting of 10mm or so, but definitely snow. I was woken by an early call from Emma, our shop manager, who wanted to know if it was OK our end, because she had to drive in this from some distance. Glad to report - she has arrived at the shop and will be leaving mid morning. More snow is forecast, so it might be a case of activating the Snow List tomorrow - to get those within walking distance to manage the shop if Emma can't make it.
29 November 2010
The Christmas Bazaar was well attended on Saturday, with many helpers manning the variety of tables. The bookstall was, by weight, the most populated, with books and recordings stacked everywhere. I came away with some lovely audio books and classical recordings not often come by. By next year these should be recycled to the next Christmas Bazaar. Which got me thinking - could we get a village library created? Storage and access would be the main issues, but if there was a demand, maybe we could find a way of doing this. Please write in with views.
Don't forget the Village Hall AGM next Monday evening in the Small Hall. The Village Hall Committee are doing what they can, but important issues are being discussed, so interested residents should try to attend so that we get good input. This is your one formal chance a year to see what is being done regarding YOUR village hall.
The gritting schedules for the winter have beenn published. We seem to be well-served round here, but side roads are not covered. It is recommended that residents acquire bags of salt so that they can treat these so that their cars can reach the main roads.
And finally (in the best Trevor McDonald manner) for those worried about the appeal lodged against me to the Standards Committee, the committee confirmed their earlier ruling and determined that no further action was appropriate.
27 November 2010
A resident has read last week's BFP article about the Chairman of the parish council bemoaning that the vociferous residents had not attended the meeting. She asks "Why did she not mention the non-attendance by any of the 8,000 or so people who are 'the silent majority' in favour of what the parish council is doing?" Perhaps they were all washing their hair that evening.
23 November 2010
I received an email today from one resident writing on behalf of a number of concerned residents. This resident has requested that his letter be put on the website as, although it is addressed to councillors, he feels that it needs a wider audience as it is a matter of public interest.. The letter is four pages long, but makes compelling reading. It very neatly summarises my own findings that caused me to raise allegations of illegality at the last full council meeting. (I must admit that this is not surprising, as I received a lot of this information from concerned residents directly.) For the letter, please click the paragraph below.
I advise you all to read it so that you have a partial appreciation of why residents have not trusted what emanates from the parish council. You will also appreciate why I have persistently been asking those making statements in council to verify what they say by directing me to the source of their information. Sadly, I rarely get the information requested, but my persistent questioning has led to charges of bullying!
There is to be a finance and Admin committee meeting (open to the public, but not for public speaking) tonight at 8pm in the council offices, when the subject will be the precept - the budget for next year that you will be paying for.
20 November 2010
Words cannot express my pride at being a member of this village. Bear with me and I will explain.
Today I did a stint in the village shop and served a lady, who bought a variety of items, remembering something she had forgotten on the first pass (as many customer do!) and we chatted (as we always do!). She also bought a raffle ticket for the Christmas Raffle. I helped her bag up the goods and bid her farewell. A few minutes later, she returned and said she thought I had made a mistake over £10. I looked quizzical for more information and she told me she was convinced that I had not taken her £10, but had, in the confusion over the raffle tickets, managed to return it to her. So she gave me the £10. At the first opportunity, I checked the takings, and sure enough, she was right. So a big thanks to that kind and honest resident.
The second incident happened when one of my favourite young shoppers came in with a biscuit tin of coins. It was a protracted transaction as major buying and financial decisions were made before goods were purchased and unused coins returned to the tin. He then handed me a 5p coin and told me that I had given him that in mistake for 1p. Now, in my defence I would say that many of the coins had been in the tin so long that they had oxidised to a similar colour of black, whether they started out as bronze or silver. But I was impressed by his honesty at such a tender age.
These two stories show how lovely are the people of this village, be they children or old enough to have arthritis.
Earlier in the stint, I had been telling a man, who told me that he was a new resident, how right he was to move into this village. I told him many good things about the village and its people, but did not mention their honesty. Perhaps there is no need to labour the obvious.
My thanks go to those three people for making my time in the shop so extra special and to the other customers who made it just ordinarily special.
So when ignorant people tell me that the residents in this village are a "mob", I get justifiably angry and protective.
19 November 2010
Another report in the BFP about the parish council. This time the bias is from the Chairman of the Parish Council and her Vice Chairman - both of whom are appealing against the Standards Committee rejection of their complaint against me, Cllr Konieczny, for raising issues they would rather have buried. (Until details were published by the BFP, this matter was supposedly sub-judice.)
I have a beef about the article in that it implies that the most serious allegation I could raise against Cllr Ewart was that she could not pronounce my name. In fact, I sent a five page dossier of recent evidence to the District Solicitor and he identified five potential breaches of the code of conduct including bullying and non-declaration of prejudicial interest. So the charges were pretty serious.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that most residents are increasingly annoyed of the way they are being ignored. I have seen cogent, intelligent and educated arguments from the "mob" and misleading statements from the council. There - that should result in a complaint from the Chairman, Vice Chairman and others on the council for "bringing the council into disrepute", conveniently forgetting that the Chairman, vice chairman and others need no help in doing that job. If you have been to a recent full council meeting, then you will know what residents are talking about in the Comments section of the BFP article.
Most of the councillors do not appreciate that the "mob" are asking questions of the council because the answers they get are inconsistent. This argument is no longer about Rural "Affordable" housing, it is about the manipulation of information, secrecy, a fear by some councillors of having their words accurately recorded, and, most disturbingly, acting against the law in their proceedings. And yes, I can back up all of those statements.
There has been an attempt to gag this website. This has been done by threatening actions if there is no compliance. So, Chairman, bring out your threats into the open.
So that there is no misunderstanding, the comments on this website do not necessarily represent the views of Hughenden Parish Council and are purely personal.
I can state that I am the only parish councillor to have voted that I have no confidence in the Chairman. Only at the last full council meeting was she heard to say that a comment with the word "written" in it was the same as that comment without the word "written" in it, when the word "written" was the key word. It beggars belief. She will now probably say that it was quoted out of context. Like her statement that "If one development is successfully completed the Council could look at building more". As the first development is proposed to be built on Green Belt/AONB/Agricultural land, one imagines that the others wil be built in the same way.
These are some of the comments that have been raised in council meetings where the chairman has not, on rare occasion, forbidden free speech. This is probably why she wants this website to be closed down, because she cannot control what information is passed out.
There are only two drivers for this website - public interest and truth.
At most parish council meetings there are few in the public gallery. At Hughenden Parish Council meetings the gallery is full. Why? Because when the parish council is doing its job properly, public apathy is the norm and nobody turns out. However, whenever the public are dissatisfied with their council, they turn out in droves. If they are really dissatisfied, they pass a vote of no confidence. If they are livid, they pass two votes of no confidence.
If I was to summarise the general feeling of the parish as I hear it when talking to parishioners, most would welcome some provision for really needy people who have strong ties with the area, but would not tolerate scroungers nor the building on Green Belt/AONB/Agricultural Land. It may be that Community Land Trusts would be more appropriate to meet this need. it maybe that they are not. But we won't find out what is best until we have an open, unbiased, honest, wide-ranging, resident-inclusive, fully-informed, debate.
Meanwhile, we have not discussed HS2 much, so here is a website that shows just how bad the proposed route will be for all lovers of the Chilterns. If you have 15 mins to spare then please look at this slideshow which will show you just how devastating this will be. http://www.chilternphoto.org.uk/introduction/photogroup/hs2/
18 November 2010
The Village Hall AGM is to be held at 8pm on Monday 6th December 2010 in the Small Hall. David Carroll, District and County Councillor, will address the meeting.
It is an important meeting this year as we have much to report and a new constitution to agree, so please come along. Wine and nibbles will be available to tempt you to come!
17 November 2010
It seems that a survey is being planned, sponsored by a number of houshold-name companies, in which people are asked a number of vey personal questions. The advice of this site has always been to NEVER GIVE OUT PERSONAL DETAILS to anyone you don't know. It seems that more and more organsations want to knw more about people so that they can target them with advertising. You never know who will see your personal information, so never give it out, no matter what the excuse. Don't let people have ANY information about you. It is none of their business. Amazon knows a lot about people in this village, because their buying habits are known to them. However, their business depends on them keeping that information to themselves, otherwise their business will evaporate. Facebook is one that worries me in that the amount of personal information people put on there, thinking that is it si only for friends. The rule is - IF IT IS ON THE INTERNET, ANYBODY COULD READ IT. Having said which, I trust my bank and have to trust government departments (reluctantly), but I don't have to give information out just because someone asks for it.
16 November 2010
15 November 2010
A report of the latest parish council meeting is on the BFP website. Go here to view.
It is easy to get complacent about where we live, right in the centre of the Chilterns. I had this email froma visitor...
I as a visitor to the hall and valley think it is one of the most beautiful parts of the country and well looked after.
I have visited twice now and enjoyed the walk by the river.
Could you tell me why the river has dried up. After all the rain we have had I thought that it would be flooding its banks but in parts it is bone dry.
I gave him the following reply, but would like to invite readers to provide any more information/correct any inaccuracies I provided.
A "hitchen" is a river that does just that - dries up when the water table sinks. It flows in chalkland and the chalk hills absorb water like a sponge. This raises the water table level and, when higher than the surface, it seeps out and flows down the river beds. This then lowers the water table level and flow only occurs lower down the river. This continues to drain the water table. If the rate of drain is greater than the replenishment, then the river stops flowing. It needs to keep replenishing the water.
In September we had a pretty dry month, so the level must have dropped. I did notice a couple of weeks ago that the river was still flowing under the bridge to the Manor, but suppose that the rainfall since has not been enough to keep up.
For many years earlier this decade, the river was almost non-existent and it did take considerablt rainfall to replenish the water table before flow started again.
if there is torrential rainfall, the water does not all penetrate the surface, but flows down the surface and away down the river direct. The river flows, but only briefly. We need continuous, penetrating rain to raise the water table level.
I should have mentioned that the village takes its name from the river - Hitchenden Valley (is that right?)
12 November 2010
Well, I don't know whether to be pleased or disappointed. Gt Kingshill Residents Association are monitoring this website and the HVRA website - just in cse we say anything about them that they don't like. According to their minutes, I was nearly sent a letter for reporting an inaccuracy that was passed to me by (a normally reliable source) about the composition of their committee. They seem to think it a big deal, but I didn't and I'm sure that none of you readers did either. But disappointed - all those hits I am getting on this site are not from Hughenden Valley - they are from Gt Kingshill RA!!!!! They must think that this site carries influence!
I remind readers that this is a village website. I know that at least one resident has found that his letter to the BFP was not published. Perhaps it was not considered important enough for the large area they cover, but it you would like to post a letter to this site on local issues, I will create a section for them and warn readers when they arrive. The only condition is that it must not be libellous and must have a name and address attached (not for publication) to verify its source. (That's two conditions!)
I hope to get back into theswing of writing for this site again. Things have been hectic recently, as many of you will know, but I can't report on that for now, as those of you who read the parish council minutes of October will be aware. (The bit that we agreed was under duress, GKRA, and therefore invalid).
11 November 2010
Foremost on this day we remember all of those who have perished as a result of war. We often think of these as military people, but the sad fact is that more civilians die and are injured by war than front-line troops. Each death is a tragedy as is each injury. It does not matter how they occured or to whom, they are all tragic. We should remember all those whose lives were adversely affected by war and resolve to do whatever we can to minimise the number of times we use war as a tool of diplomacy. Sometimes it has to be done to repel those who would do us harm; sometimes our consciences require us to go to war to help those who cannot help themselves, but we should always remember that war is terrible.
I have an update from Valley Wives, one of our local societies featured on the navigation bar to the left.
Three is a report about the Tuessday Parish Council meeting courtesy of the Bucks Free Press. Click here to view
9 November 2010
There are still tickets available for the Chrismas Dance on the last Saturday before Christmas. This is the first year that this can be said about this event. It will be as good as every other year, so get your tickets from Diana, or enquire at the Shop.
Tonight sees the monthly parish council meeting at 8pm in the Council Offices in Gt Kingshill.
Sorry for the lack of news - not much seems to have been happening, but that could well change.
Hallowe'en 2010
The Village Hall minutes are available on the village hall website - see Local Organisations and then follow the links to the village hall website.
29 October 2010
The HS2 issue seems to have been sidelined recently. I have been asked to make you aware of a rally....
HS2 Rally – Sunday 7 November 2pm, Buryfields, Great Missenden
HS2 Action Alliance would like to formally invite you to attend the HS2 Rally and afterwards to attend the information hall which will provide an opportunity to meet with the general public to discuss the HS2 proposals in more detail. For more details on the event please see below.
Event purpose:
Organised by HS2 Action Alliance, the event aims to raise awareness and inform residents in the Chiltern area of the latest developments on the Governments High Speed Rail 2 proposals. The event will also highlight the efforts of relevant organisations activities to date and planned future action to fight the proposals.
Event Date, Time and Location
Sunday 7th November 2pm, Outdoors in Buryfields, Great Missenden. This will accommodate the maximum number of participants (and parking facilities) The event will go ahead come rain or shine! The information hall on site will provide a refreshment areas, maps and information point. Each relevant group fighting the HS2 proposals will also have tables in the information hall.
Speakers include:
Cheryl Gillan (TBC), Martin Tett, Hilary Wharf, Shirley Judges, John Gladwin and a play performed by children of Great Missenden School.
27 October 2010
I have had a request to let you all know about the following event to be held in Speen.
The Speen Supporters Group, Helping our local Hospices, are having a their annual Christmas Market at the King William 1V, Hampden Road, Speen on Friday November 12th (from 9.30 to 4) and Saturday 13th ( 10.30 - 3 )
Charity Christmas cards, wonderful gifts, jewellery , cakes and raffle
Bucks Fizz, breakfast and food available all day
It sounds quite a good bash. If you go, please tell them where you saw it advertised (at no cost, of course!)
I have sent a request to the Hughenden News for a mention to be put in about residents in side roads getting in a 25Kg bag of salt for the winter. If everyone uses this to treat their half of the road - Presto! - the road will be passable! Get the bag soon, before everyone gets the idea and while suppliers can stock up again. Even better if alll in your road group together to negotiate a discount for a large order!
26 October 2010
There is to be a special ramble to celebrate 75 years of the Ramblers' Association along part of the proposed route of HS2. Click here to view poster. The press will be there so a good turnout will add weight to the cause. An AONB is just one small step below National Park status. The Chilterns is one of two AONB areas - the other is the Cotswolds. I can't imagine the Cotswolds wanting a rail track through their lovely countryside, so why should we?
24 October 2010
With pumpkins appearing in the village shop, it must be coming to Hallowe'en. This is the evening before All Hallows, the day on which the departed are remembered. Sadly, the one has faded as the other has grown in popularity (driven by the usual commercial interests). Sales of sweets in America make a massive leap around October 31st, outselling any other time of the year. However, it is fun and mainly harmless in this village. Not like the Dennis Wheatley Satanic novels, which usually culminated in an event around Walpurgis Night (March 31st) or Hallowe'en. Less scary are the novelties available in the village shop!
I have come into posession of an email from the local police, telling of events in the area that might be of interest.
Halloween Events taking place in the area of High Wycombe:
# - Witches Workshop – The Hell-Fire Caves, West Wycombe – 25th – 31st October 2010 – 11am – 5 pm Family Fun, which includes face painting, fancy dress competition & more.
Also Fright Nights – 28th – 31st October 2010 – 6pm – 9-30 pm.
More info at www.hellfirecaves.co.uk
# - Halloween Hauntings at Hughenden Manor – 29th – 30th October 2010 – 11am – 4pm – spooky activities for all the family.
More info at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hughendenmanor 01494 755573
# - Odds Farm Park, Wooburn Common – during half term – Carve pumpkins, watch spooky puppet shows and follow the witches trail
More info at www.oddsfarm.co.uk
I hope you find these events interesting, especially the lcal one at Hughenden Manor.
The 300 club outing had to be called off due to lack of sufficint numbers, but another event will be organised before long.
22 October 2010
There is a report from the Valley Wives' AGM. This is a little late in being posted, so I apologise to Joan and VW members for this.
19 October 2010
I'll be getting fired if I don't update this site more frequently!!
If you have not sent in your Housing Needs Survey form, please do so as the deadline is upon us.
I happened upon Dennis and his helpmate at the Village Hall today. We have had problems with smell and damp in the entrance lobby, but, no more! Dennis has fixed it. Unfortunately, that lovely brown carpet had to be sacrificed.
The village hall is actually looking very good these days, following the extensive refurbishments. We should be proud as a village that we have this facility.
13 October 2010
This morning I awoke to the news of the Chilean miners being rescued from their 69 day incarceration underground. What impressed me about this whole operation was the care, concern and love of humanity that drove this rescue. Small details are emerging to show that the small things have been thought of - special glasses to protect the miners' eyes from the sun, film across the hospital windows to dim the light to make it less disturbing for the miners as they are examined and treated, concerns for what would happen if the cage got stuck in the shaft, and so on. Everything prepared, everything considered. This shows that there must have been a massive co-ordintated project plan, right from the start. It is uplifting to see how a project should be run. The Chileans should be proud of their achievement today.
The top image shows Barry Milner, one of the contestants in the Valley Golf Day held today at Waterstock GC. It was a fine day with 26 people turning out to play this long course in the cool weather. A great day out, open to gentlemen and ladies (two ladies, both going home with prizes!). This is the second such day, the first being held at Mentmore last year. A sizeable sum was raised for the Village Hall Fund.
Talking of winners, our very own Mrs Christmas won the parish alloments competition, having been the best newcomer last year. Will this become a regular event (her winning)?
12 October 2010
The BFP has taken to publishing an old news story on how houses in this part of the world are not affordable. By definition, they must be affordable if they are to sell. However, they are not affordable by all. Therefore they may be described as "costly", or evem at a stretch "expensive". They may even be described as "affordable housing" - as only a few will qualify to live in them.
I mention this,because those who wish to destroy thought destroy the language - "Animal Farm" was a good example of this as a reflection of language destruction by the communists in Russia. We think we know what "affordable" means, because we apply our own criteria, forgetting that there are some to whom a million pounds is less that a year's salary and bonus. Such people flock to this area because of communication links and a lovely environment in which to live.
It seems strange that the BFP should be running this story, which is not news, in the middle of a contested housing needs survey.
Some people are criticising the survey and returning their criticisms with the form. If you feel that you want to criticise the form and./or process, please feel free to do so. It was only some 18% of the electorate that "gave the mandate" to the parish council to investigate "affordable" housing. Also ticked was the box saying that the environment was one of the reasons they liked living here.
A reminder that it is Parish Council meeting tonight at 8pm in the Council offices, Gt Kingshill. I am reliably informed that there is no ombudsman for parish councils, so the only possible way of influencing your representatives is to make your presence and views known at council meetings.
A reminder from Thames Valley Police about Halloween and Bonfire night. Fireworks are illegal after 11pm, except on Bonfire Night and New Year's Eve. If you don't want children to call on Halloween, there is a poster that you can download and print for your window. If you do like the kids in your area, don't forget to stock up on sweeties from the Village Shop!
11 October 2010
I was talking with a neighbour yesterday and he was unaware that the Parish Council precept is not capped. In other words, your parsh council can ask for whatever money it wants and you will have to pay it. District and County Councils are capped in their spending. The Government is proposing that parish councils be capped in future. This has been resisted by the Bucks Association of Local Councils. Perhaps you need to take more interest in who is making spending decisions on your behalf!
If you have not returned your "Affordable Homes for Local People" survey, then you should be doing so this week. Read the green sheet that was delivered around the same time as the survey so that you understand more properly what it all means.
10/10/10
A "magical" date!
Last night was also magical in the form of the Potter Cup Quiz - the annual bash devoted to raising money for the Senior Citizens' Evening. Al promised a fun evening and it was certainly challenging and fun. He probably has aspirations of becoming a team-building consultant as we were all given some Lego to play with to make something that symbolised the Four Seasons - the theme of the evening. Rounds of questions related in some way to each of the seasons and a music round had seasonal connotations. Very imaginative and well constructed. Our team's nemesis was the Marathon Round - tree and plant recognition not being a strong point. Time to go for more walks!
The winning team was from the Church - the aptly-named Michael Angelos. We were banned the use of mobile phones, but nothing was said about praying! Well done! No doubt there will be a fuller write-up in the magazine, due to come out in November.
As usual, the evening only worked because of the hard work of many people. In thanking them, someone will be left out, but here goes anyway.... Thanks to Al and Christine for leading the organisation of the evening, Angus and Janet, Dory and Daphne, the Residents Association team of helpers and special thanks to Paul for being the dapper questionmaster and MC. And also those who helped clear the hall in short order after the event and those who helped set up the hall in the afternoon.
One announcement - a Shopping evening in aid of Childrens Hospices UK at the school on November 4th 7:30-10:30. £2.50 entrance. See the advert on the shop noticeboard for details.
7 October 2010
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I went into the Community Impact Bucks website today just to have a look at the Rural Afforsdable Housing page, as a resident had said that some information had been removed from it. What I did not expect was that there was no RAH page at all! Perhaps they are just updating it - again!
Meanwhile the village shop veg boxes are being packed by Helen and Lin. The quality of vegetables is excellent and also quality controlled on packing, so they do represent good value. Contact the shop if you would like to subscribe to one of thie four options.
5 October 2010
It seems that Great Missenden Parish Council are to do a Housing Needs Survey under the auspices of the Rural Housing Enabler. If anybody knows residents in Gt Missenden, get them to ask the questions we have been asking. It seems that they have enough problems with the HS2 route to want more! We also hear that Lacey Green are thinking of doing the same. Again, if you know residents there, it might be kind to warn them of the problems they could face.
3 Oct 2010
Well, we did the Missenden Food Fair, probably for the last time. £4.30 entrance for seniors to a shop in a marquee, plus some cookery demonstrations. For what promised to be a celebration of local food, one realises that the Missenden definition of "local" is more wide-ranging that the parish council's. We had sausages from Essex and Lincolnshire, cheese from Lincolnshire marketed by a woman from Coventry, some secateurs from France, various high-margin resellers of stuff to do with food and its cooking, and lunchtime pasties from Cornwall (that were no advert for the county) and four stalls of local producers, including our own lady who provides the Village Shop with muesli and other cereals. All-in-all, a very disappointing performance, although we did buy some cheese, rachet secateurs and knife sharpeners.
Bucks CC had a Food From Waste team there who were very enthusiastic and getting across a practical message of how to waste less good food than we do. Given some of the nanny departments that BCC feels like sponsring with our money, this group seemed to be doing some good. We will try some of their recipes when we have some food going to waste.
Talking of recipes, I got one from my daughter that is Roast Tomato soup. Take a load of tomatoes (about a pound or so), a couple of onions, clove of garlic (crushed or chopped), oregano and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for an hour after turning in olive oil, until the vegetables have softened and charred slightly. Wash out of the pan with boiling water to remove the glaze from the pan and blend. Either freeze or serve.
The Food from Waste people told me that you can do the same with red peppers and butternut squash - basically any veg that will roast nicely.
We did meet Mattie, from the village, doing her best to promote The Wildlife Trust (fomerly BBONT), so we signed up to support. Had it not been so foul today, we had planned to go to the reservoir near Tring to watch the birdlife, but maybe another day. No doubt more news about this organisation will appear on this website as we get more into it.
Derek is still doing the admin to get the Village golf Day organised. If you want to go, he might have places. Contact me if you don't know his contact details.
The next 300 club outing is set for October 21st - a Thursday (or Thirst Day). If you would like details, contact me.
Do send in your contributions. I cannot be doing the only interesting things in this village. (I use the word "interesting" at the limits of its meaning.)
2 October 2010
A reminder to get your tables together for the Potter Quiz - one of the highlights of the village year and one where all proceeds are ring-fenced for the Senior Citizens' Evening next year. it is also great fun with fabulous buffet. See above for details.
The Gt Missenden Food Fair is on this weekend, so we thought we might chug along today to see what it's like.
For our foreign readers, our weather today is fog, with half a valley-width visibility at 8am. Hopefully this will burn away and sun appear. Ryder Cup followers will see that it rained yesterday in Wales, but also here in the village.
Those who have not been into the shop should do so and meet the new manager - Emma. She has had a week taking over from the admirable Chiara, who, thankfully, will remain as a volunteer, but unfortunately only for one shift per week. We also wish Gus well as he starts the second week of his course at uni.
The next police Have Your Say is to be at the Cafe at the entrance to 3 Site at the RAF base between 11 and 12:30 on 19th October. For the latest NAG report, go here.
The statistics for this site for September show that some 1100 visits per month are made, or over 35 per day on average! I hope you all find something useful on the site. If there is anything you want that is not provided, more of what is provided or less of what is provided, please give your feedback. this request is not an idle one - I really want to know. If I get no response, then I have to assume that you come here because you like what you find.
1 October 2010
Pinch and a punch, the first of the month! Nice to keep the old habits!
I see our dear friend Terry has been writing to the Bucks Free Press. What he says makes much sense about the anonymity of those commenting on various issues to do with the Parish Council and its workings on the Rural Affordable Housing debate. Personally, I don't like the anonymity either.
I also find it disconcerting when people like Terry speak about the support given by the Great Kingshill Residents' Association to the Parish Council. Unlike our own HVRA, which has members who pay hard cash to belong, and meetings are held monthly with a representative from each road to give the views of their residents, GKRA comprises some half dozen of people who do not have such demonstrable support from the residents.
Terry also quoted the fact that GKRA had sat down calmly to discusss the problem. I should mention that the residents of Naphill also did the same, but that they reached a different conclusion after their calm, rational and detailed analysis. Funnily enough, Naphill residents came to a very similar conclusion that HV residents came to after a wide-ranging poll of residents.
I asked some time ago for anybody in favour of Rural Affordable Housing to get in touch, as I want to get a balanced view. I have still not heard from one person. I really want to hear from such people. So please, if you are in favour, get in touch and tell me why you are in favour of it. This is a village website. All are welcome to contribute and be heard.
Ageing News - for news that was earlier.
