Chipperfield News

December 2010

Cycling To Morocco

A brief account of a short bicycle tour to the Berber city of Fes by Patrick Field, sometime resident of Queen Street, Chipperfield (8/10/10) M.V. Normandy docks at Ouistreham before dawn and - after a sweaty night sleeping on the floor - I turn west, lean my bike by an imposing D-Day memorial and leaving my clothes, passport, cash on a sandbank run naked into the shallows to bathe. On a trip like this you have to trust yourself, trust others and the World. Normandy sand stays in my shoes until I swim in the Loire two nights later. (14/10/10) There's no sign for Spain until you're 1500 metres from the frontera. Is this because I'm on the old coast road rather than the autovia, Francocentrism or sensitivity to Basque nationalism? My morning coffee in France was often taken in an empty bar. In Irun I nip into the first local, a small room, nearly full of big men with bellies and moustaches, smoking, shouting and drinking spirits in generous measures. Thirty-five miles uphill to the first continental pass, 847 metres. Near the top the new road runs in a tunnel, closed to bikes, so I climb further and alone winding gently through intricate forest hairpins. At the Hotel Yoldi - mentioned by Hemingway in "The Sun Also Rises" - I park my bike. It's a pretentious recumbent. Hand-made near Norwich by Mike Burrows, with a comfortable seat and a riding position that doesn't stress your neck, wrists or perineum. I'm certainly not in condition, not tough enough, to ride three weeks of consecutive 150 km days on a classic bike. The high plains of Castille are cold in the mornings and hot in the afternoons under skies of blank Velásquez blue. I saw the towers of Madrid from the hills. In Peurtollano, a mining town strung along a valley like South Wales, well dressed people in early middle- age have rickets. Not long ago this was a poor country. (20/10/10) Into Andalucia over four mountain passes through a lonely parc naturel. I see a Iberian lynx. The evenings are warm in pastel-painted towns busy with animated citizens like an operetta's opening scene. Two days of rolling hills with nothing but olives. The largest building in every town is the olive oil refinery. (24/10/10) Landing in Africa it's a short ride to the border of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and entry into Morocco proper. You're leaving lands where people expect cars and fridges, for those where street markets feature second-hand shoes and old clothes. In the country some families must walk to collect their water. Three more days - through the Rif mountains, across a fertile plain where the only tourists go speeding by in buses and towns are strung along the highway like sets for a wild-west movie - to reach the mysterious, ancient capital Fes. Definitely a different place but, because I've measured every dry millimetre with the power of my will, somehow I still feel at home. Patrick Field

Chipperfield News Publication

After 11 years as joint editor, Anne Breen is retiring and an opportunity has arisen to apply for the voluntary post of joint editor. For further details, please contact Richard Edwards, Chairman. 01923 262549 [email protected]

Sale Of Charity Christmas Cards

A very successful sale on 23 October raised £1197.15 for charity and the raffle, refreshments etc made over £200 for the Small Hall. Buying Christmas cards and small gifts was fun when there was so much variety and choice. The coffee and cakes were excellent and the morning became quite a social occasion. Many thanks to the helpers and to all those who came to support us. We hope to see you all again next year. Elizabeth Percy

Lifeboats

The September house to house collection raised £687.47 including a most welcome collection of £15.57 from The Boot at Tower Hill. Very many thanks go to all the collectors and contributors who have so willingly given their

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help and support. Margaret Newman

Rspb - Save The Albatross

With Christmas fast approaching, please remember to tear off the used stamps on your Christmas card envelopes and all other mail. If you could collect them and put them into the box at the back of the narthex in St. Paul’s Church, the RSPB would be very grateful for your help. Together with the clean used foil that you leave there, they raise much needed funds for the campaign to make fishing in the southern ocean safer for these wonderful birds. Thank you so much for your help now and throughout the year. Ann Soanes

News From St Paul's School

Dressing up day On the last day before half term the school decided to have a themed dressing up day. There was a theme for each class which was the history topic they had been studying. Reception was allowed to choose; Year 1 dressed up in the theme of their Grandparents, Mum or Dad; Year 2’s theme was The Great Fire of London; Year 3 dressed up as people from World War II; Year 4 the Tudors; Year 5 the Victorians and finally Year 6 dressed up as the Egyptians! Everyone was really excited to be dressing up and to show their costumes to all their friends. The reason for the day was because we wanted to help the air ambulance keep on flying and have more supplies to rescue and help the wounded that have been in an accident. Fleur West, Year 6 Rock Challenge The Be Your Best Foundation run Rock Challenge which is a dance and drama competition for schools. We take part in it every year because it’s really fun. They are £10,000 short and have asked each school doing Rock Challenge to give a donation to the Be Your Best Foundation. The PTA have kindly given £1 to each pupil doing Rock Challenge. What they then have to do with it is to basically make the pound bigger. There will be a week in school where the children will do enterprising week from 8-13 November. We are planning things like cake sales and swapping Match Attax cards. Anjali Moser, Year 6 Parents’ netball match On 1 November staff and parents from our school took part in a netball match against at Hemel Sports Centre. The score was 28-10 to St Paul’s. Everyone that took part played amazingly well, considering that Kings Langley have been practising for a year and have already played lots of matches before but we haven’t. Aine Peasey and Sophie Brett. Year 5 School trips Before half term Year 2 visited the Musuem of London to learn more about the Great Fire of London, and some Year 6 pupils went to the Houses of Parliament. On 4 November Year 4 visited Hatfield House for their Tudor topic.

The Lanes Children's Centre

A SureStart Children’s Centre for , Chipperfield, and . Where did that year go!?! The count-down to Christmas is now well and truly on and a new year will soon be upon us. 2010 has been a very significant year for us and we are delighted with how the Centre has gradually become an intrinsic part of the local community, particularly for those families with children under the age of 5 years. We have lots more planned for 2011 and we look forward to welcoming more families to the Centre and the activities we offer. In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year and to thank you for your continued support and, of course, your adorable children! Our regular activities will continue right up until Christmas but we shall be taking a small break over the festive period. Tuesday Under 1’s group and Wednesday Wigwams will return in the new year. On Wednesday 22 December why not come along to Wednesday Wigwams at The Baptist Church, Bovingdon, for a special CHRISTMAS MUSIC SESSION with traditional carols and mince pies from 1.30 – 3pm. From 20 January - 31 March we are offering a 10 week level 1 CACHE Course for those wanting to get into a career working with children in a setting. If interested, or to book your place on the course, please contact Zoe. Don’t forget that our popular toy library can be accessed during the under 1’s group and at Wednesday Wigwams and also at the Flaunden Toddler Group at the Village Hall every Friday morning from 9.30–10.30am. Please note, that there will be no toy library in Flaunden during the Christmas holidays. Look out for information of future courses, workshops, activities and events throughout the coming months on local advertising boards and, of course, on our website. If you require further information regarding the Children’s Centre services or becoming involved with the Children’s Centre, please contact: Zoë Hier: 01923 262640 or 07966 966352 Email: [email protected] www.hertschildrenscentres.org.uk/the lanes

Village People

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Lesley and Richard Edwards are pleased to announce the safe arrival on 28 October of twin granddaughters, Charlotte Maeve and Esme Rhiannon, born to their son and daughter-in-law, Robbie and Emma, in Putney. We are sad to report the tragic death on 8 October of Mark Dunford, aged 45, husband of Katie, father of Max (9), Lara (7) and Tallula (4) and son-in-law of Sarah and Alan Toulson. Mark and Katie were married at St. Paul’s Church in July 1999 and lived in Somerset where Mark farmed. Mark was struck by a car whilst trying to rescue an animal and to prevent an accident. Cathy, a ‘toddler’ mum living in Belsize, plays cornet in a brass band, a registered charity, for community events. Their next concert which will include traditional brass band music and a selection of Christmas music is on Sunday 12 December at 7pm in Elliot Hall, Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, HA5 4EA. Tickets: £10 and £8, under 16s free. Box office: 020 8864 0684.

William Matthew Morgan29 /10/09 To 29/10/10

Our baby boy was born a sleeping angel. 1st anniversary above in Heaven. We held you in our arms, We kissed your face, we held your hand, You are at peace our baby William. A kiss never kissed, A dream never wished, An embrace never felt, A beauty never beheld, A tear never cried, A life never shown. Till we meet again, fly high little one. With love and hugs.

Wi News

CHIPPERFIELD AFTERNOON W.I. Margaret Rogers began her talk ‘All about elephants’ by reminding us of the story as to how he got his trunk! She then told us of his physical and family structures, social life and the differences between the Indian and African elephants. We enjoyed hearing about these wonderful animals. CHIPPERFIELD EVENING W.I. Mr Hugh Grainger entertained us with amusing anecdotes relating to health, hearing, and loss of memory with which many members could empathise.

St Paul's And Holy Cross

Tuesday 26 October was a cold grey day and I was glad of that as the taxi bus in which I was sitting made its way to Auschwitz. Such weather seemed somehow fitting for such a visit. Having visited genocide sites in Rwanda, I was both expecting and prepared to be disturbed as my thoughts were focused on what it must have been like to have actually been there, some seventy years earlier – as prisoner, guard, or... Perhaps it was sensible that there was very little of the horrendous activities of that place actually visible… as the tour went from one location to another I had to imagine what it must have been like ….difficult but healthily painful to try to ‘be there’ in those days… But I was disturbed in a way I did not expect. The whole site was crowded with visitors, in many ways a really good thing that so many were exposed to all this, yet in the crowds it seemed as if this place was just another tourist attraction with everyone knowing this was a place where evil things had happened but somehow immune to the reality of it. That concerned me deeply. And now as I think towards Christmas, I find I am disturbed in similar fashion. There will be plenty of celebration no doubt. We all know this marks the birth of Jesus but are we immune to the reality of this amazing event? What have we understood and received from His coming? Do we even remember what His name means? What difference has His coming made to my daily life over this last year? How much impact will ‘the Saviour of the World’ have upon me as we move into 2011? I wish you much joy in Jesus Christ this coming season. Jim Stevens THE BIGGER PICTURE Sat. 4 December 5.30-7.00pm St Paul's Parish Room Come and join us as we eat together, worship, pray and look at different topics that will encourage us to think about the ‘bigger picture’. Each term there will be a theme which we will build upon together as we discover more of God’s heart for us and explore His Big Picture for our lives and his world. All ages are welcome

Baptist Church

In all honesty, hand on heart, I can say I don’t like to be known. I refrained from using the word ‘celebrity’ or ‘to be famous’ because that would just sound crass. Over the last few weeks people have been coming up to me saying “saw you in the papers” or “nice photo in Chipp News” (thanks go to Terry Simmonds for that, just remember I know where you live) and I have been genuinely embarrassed, mostly in conceit at the numerical state of my jaw but also because I have felt uncomfortable. Why, I hear you ask, isn’t that what everyone craves? Isn’t that how our society works, that the sole aim for any human being is to be noticed, to be recognized, to be famous just for being famous? That may well be the case but I don’t feel that way and I am convinced many of

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you feel as I do. What we all really want, what drives us to crave attention, is the need to be appreciated for who we are and ultimately loved for that reason as well. Not for what we can do. Not for how attractive we are. Not for the letters after our names and not for the size of our bank balance or number of bedrooms in our house. It is for who we are that we want to be prized. The Good News message at Christmas is about exactly that. Not just that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son’ but that he chose in no uncertain terms to be like us. He came not with whistles and bells. He didn’t come in pomp and circumstance. He did not appear with fanfare and national celebration. You did not see him on X Factor or Big Brother. He didn’t have a camera crew following every twist and turn of his life exposing the family quirks. He came quietly with little fuss. Well, that is not exactly true is it? Angels, shepherds, wise men bearing gifts and trouble with the authorities. All of these, on their own, would have caused a little stir but altogether there must have been a bit of a do! Maybe it is not about being known, being famous or a celebrity that is the problem but WHY we are! For the start of his life it was not easy for Jesus because once the noise had died down he had to flee for his life. Not the normal response to celebrity. In the end he was famous for all the right reasons. Humility, forgiveness, service and love. Now that’s what I think is worth being famous for. Love Jason, The Man in the Manse Church News We celebrated the 173rd anniversary of our church building in October so together with the exciting time of Jason's Ordination Service, it was a great month in our church. The time is fast approaching for the opening of our Christmas Tree Festival on 5 December and we are looking forward to seeing you all there. Unfortunately, our Christmas lunch has had to be cancelled this year but the 15 January lunch will be as usual and if you would like to join us, please contact Brenda on 01923 269574 to book your place. There will be a report of our November Family Beetle Evening and other happenings in the next issue. Please see the diary for our Christmas services. We especially invite you to our Family Carol service at 3pm on 19 December with mince pies and refreshments afterwards! You can browse among the Christmas Trees beforehand until 2.30pm. The Baptist Church family wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas.

David Bathurst 1929 - 2010

David was born and bred in Scatterdells Lane, well almost. In fact, he had to be born in hospital as Scatterdells lane had no electricity, gas or water supplies! Other than his RAF service and odd stints in digs from Monday to Friday ‘86’ or ‘88’ had always been his home. The young David was a useful little soul and hadn’t been to school by 7 years of age. After David’s aunts and the authorities intervened he was sent to Jordans College in Alexandra Road,and then got a Scholarship to Miss Cross’ school at Kings Langley Priory to become a ‘green boy’. His father also had strange ideas about diet and so they were sort of vegetarians and David was very thin; malnourished according to his Aunt Mary. All this changed when he joined the RAF for national service. Three hot meals a day and in six weeks he had outgrown his first uniform! It was the making of him and he loved it. By the time he came back his father had gone and his mother was at home with his brother Peter who had had a nervous breakdown during his national service. David always cared for his mum and Peter and decided to plant Christmas trees on the nursery hoping that Peter might help to look after them and give them some income. David went to training college to train as a draftsman and finally got some qualifications. It was at this time that David got interested in scooters and rallying. In 1958 he won the Daily Mirror National Rally, being presented with his cup at a dinner at the Cafe Royal in London. David was sporting a rather fine waxed moustache at the time. He then worked as a sub-contracted draftsman, often working on aircraft design and ultimately the tail fin of Concorde, but by the early seventies the work was drying up. David decided to try his luck as a salesman and started off as a BetterWare man going door to door. He was lucky enough to call on a manager of a Pearl Assurance office who offered him a job as an agent on the doorstep. The Pearl job suited David to a tee. He could work odd hours and so look after the Christmas trees, his mum and Peter, and fit in home and away trips to watch playing football. Somewhere along the way he got married and divorced a couple of times! He also built, but did not finish, 86 Scatterdells lane. He was living alone in one room of ‘86’ when one evening in June 1980 his life changed. Out walking through Scatterdells wood he met a “wizen” young woman in the middle of Stony Field. He had just seen a deer and stopped to talk. Over the next few summer evenings they walked together often and then at the start of the football season they realised that they were both Watford season ticket holders! There was a bit of a shock for both of them, David’s wizen 35 year old was in fact 25 and Wendy’s forty year old was 51!! It was too late by then and in November 1981 they were married. When David’s mum became very ill they decided to build a new bungalow at ‘88’ with a granny annexe for mum and Peter. Although Dorothy didn’t live to see it she knew that Peter would be looked after. Just before the bungalow was finished David’s much longed for son came along. Life was hectic but very happy. David was able to retire at

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60 and they all set about making a garden, enjoying all sorts of sports, and of course the sights and sounds of nature. They travelled to the Alps and combined bird watching and beach trips on visits to Majorca. David and Wendy enjoyed watching John play football and cricket for his school, and loved the teas which came with it! They all had a great time. David was aware that things in his brain were not right about four years ago and although things progressed quite slowly at first the last months have not been easy. But David did manage the first two matches of the season at Vicarage Road. During this difficult time friends and neighbours have been so kind and understanding and this is very much appreciated. David’s last three weeks were spent at Lambourne Grove, , where they hoped to treat his night time hallucinations. His deterioration was very sudden and he passed away peacefully on Friday 1 October with Wendy at his side.

Time To Stand And Stare

I seem to spend a long time on the phone these days; some are nice calls from friends to see how I am, and some are not so nice business calls, often with a long wait and dreadful music. I am not a fan of any sort of music, I prefer bird song, rushing water, or the wind in the trees, but I have been able to amuse myself by looking out of the window and on to the front pond. The pond is backed by a low wall made from Pudding Stones that we collected from near by fields. Farmers hate them; they are so hard they can even break the plough, so trips with our stretcher to collect them were always welcomed. They have made a good local feature. They also make a good home for mice and as I sit waiting and watching a little house mouse runs in and out of the stones, then dashes across the little waterfall. He is a dull grey colour and runs with his tail close to the ground unlike the chestnut coloured wood mouse that always runs with his tail up. Another day, another call and this time a Grey Wagtail comes to visit the pond, bobbing along the wall and catching an insect by the waterfall. In early summer they make for upland streams and rivers, perching on boulders to feast on emerging insects. Now they are coming south to lower ground for the winter. This one may even have come from Northern Europe. Now in its winter plumage its hard to tell if it is male or female as they are both grey and black on top with a lovely patch of yellow underneath. The wait passes more quickly with this beautiful bird for company and I don’t notice that the music has stopped and the lady from the bank is finally on the line. I think she thought I had nodded off, but there is too much going on for that. Maybe I should just sit by the windows more often. Wendy Bathurst

Gardening In Winter

Gardening in winter With days getting shorter and colder we often think that there is nothing to do in the garden but there is much we should be doing. Vegetables and fruit. Winter digging should continue adding farmyard manure as necessary but not when the ground is frozen or sodden. This is a great way of getting warm on a cold day. Any weeds will need hoeing away and harvesting should continue. The new season's seeds will be in the garden centre soon after Christmas but it is too early to sow outdoors. In January seed potatoes will be on sale and these will need to be chitted or sprouted in a light frost free place ready for planting out in the spring. Carry on planting fruit trees and soft fruit when weather permits. Apple and pear trees should be pruned as soon as possible and sprayed with a winter wash. Peach trees must be sprayed against peach leaf curl before mid- February at the latest. Some birds attack the buds on soft fruit bushes and bird netting will help here. Forcing of rhubarb can start soon now. Shrubs and perennials. Carry on with cutting down hardy herbaceous plants, lifting and dividing them and plant out shrubs and roses if the ground permits. Many shrubs can be pruned now and it is a good idea to cut back rose bushes. Remove fallen leaves from plants. If we get snow, shake it off conifers and large shrubs to prevent branches getting broken. Bay trees growing in pots should be moved inside during freezing weather. Tender plants can be protected from frost damage by using garden fleece. In exposed places protect plants from wind damage and make sure trees and tall plants are well staked. Wrap up the pots where large evergreen plants are pot grown to prevent frost damage to the roots. The greenhouse. Make sure that the heater is working well and insulate with bubble plastic, if not already done. Sow exhibition onions just after Christmas and begonias, pelargoniums, lobelia and antirrhinums early in the new year. Sweet peas can still be sown. Do not over water plants at this time of the year. Make sure that tender perennial plants are put in the greenhouse without delay. In the garden. Keep the garden tidy but leave an odd heap of leaves and logs where wildlife can over winter. Sweep up the rest of the leaves and make compost from garden clippings. The use of a garden shredder will help to make compostable material or can make good mulch even from the old christmas tree. Make sure birds are fed and provide them with water too. Use a pond heater to stop freezing. Keep off the lawn if frozen or soggy and get the lawn mower serviced. And do visit the garden centre to see the amazing

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selection of plants that can brighten up the garden on the dullest of the winter days. Terry Simmonds

www.chipperfield.org.uk

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