From the Editor Your Letters by Peter Archer Newsletter Standards He Last Time I Edited the to the Editor Newsletter Was Earlier This Year T for the February Edition
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THE October 2020 LEE For The Lee, Lee Common, Hunts Green, Kings Ash and Swan Bottom From the Editor Your Letters By Peter Archer Newsletter standards he last time I edited the To the Editor Newsletter was earlier this year T for the February edition. Life I note with dismay that the last two was normal then and most of us were editions of The Lee Newsletter both unaware of the lurking Covid virus contained pictures of naked birds on which was about to engulf us. the front cover. I certainly had never heard of This is clearly wrong – they should Zoom which, over the past six months, be confined to page three. has become familiar to most of us. It Believe me, I know about birds! was therefore a relief to find that Colonel Sanders (retired) editing the Newsletter has hardly The Lee changed. The content has reflected the impact of Covid and sadly many of the Jones’ Hill Wood Camp activities and events we would have To the Editor been looking forward to have been Following on from the article in greatly curtailed. Although we continue to live in August’s edition of The Lee restricted times with no early signs of Newsletter, about the Jones’ Hill Wood it ending anytime soon, it has shown camp; for those who haven’t visited the how important the sense of community camp yet, I recommend it. The is to all our lives. The village shop is protesters are a very friendly and an example of this and it is interesting welcoming group, and you may not to learn in this month’s edition of it have much time to see this lovely wood hosting a collection point for before HS2 takes possession. donations to the Chiltern Food Bank. The HS2 contractors have now There has been a noticeable reached the field next to the camp, and increase in the number of cyclists on are increasing their numbers in our roads and it is therefore very Durham Farm beneath. It’s therefore timely that we feature, this month, best to contact the group first to let Rudi Kalveks’ latest Cycle Tour which them know if you intend to visit. I’m may be tempting to keen cyclists posting the following link to their amongst our readers. gofundme page https://gf.me/u/yncdv8 The editor for November is Please help if you can. Jonathan Batten. Please send your If anyone’s interested I’ve also contributions, by 12th October, by made a short aerial film of the wood. email to [email protected]. If the project continues as intended it 2 will at least serve as a record of how off local water supplies than there that part of the landscape looked arrived on the doorsteps of Princes before the cuttings and the viaducts. Lane households big containers of The protesters will do their best to water. These were delivered by two of hold up HS2 for as long as possible. our thoughtful neighbours who had The video link is: https:// immediately galloped down to the vimeo.com/448324812 supermarket to buy emergency Karl Neilson supplies. Nick and Rupert, thank you Lee Common so much. Peter and Liz Macann The value of friendship (1) Lee Common To the Editor The article by Phil Harrison, recalling domestic life during the oil crisis of Chiltern Food the early 70s, reminded me that good friends were as invaluable in that Bank comes to crisis as they are in the current one. In 1972 many homes, as well as the Shop businesses, were without electricity By Terry Bottle for up to nine hours a day as think we would all agree that the electricity was switched off on a rota basis. We lived in North London at Shop at The Lee is a vital the time and I recall checking, in the I community resource which has electricity showroom window, which been invaluable during the pandemic. evenings our electricity was due to be Similarly, the Chiltern Foodbank ‘off’ and then checking which friends’ seeks to support the wider community houses were due to be ‘on’. Dining-in and has experienced an increasing and dining-out needed to be carefully demand for its services from local planned. I also recall a huge, sudden residents who find themselves in growth in take-away restaurants. crisis, unable to buy food for their Incidentally, the crisis in the 70s family. The Chiltern Foodbank was led to a period of extremely high set up in 2011 and is part of a inflation – peaking at 24% – and four nationwide network of 428 foodbanks changes of Prime Minster in one supported by the Trussell Trust. decade – something that hasn’t How they operate, in simple terms, happened since! is that food and other essential Colin Sully household consumables are donated Swan Bottom and then sorted and stored by the foodbank. Families who are in need The value of friendship (2) are identified by referral agencies who To the Editor issue a voucher which can be exchanged for three days of The unsolicited kindness of people in emergency provisions. this village never fails to impress and warm our hearts. No sooner had a text Having become aware of the been received from Affinity Water success of recent local collection days advising that storm damage had cut for the Chiltern Foodbank, the Shop 3 at The Lee Committee has agreed to set up a permanent food collection Lee Common point within the shop. With such challenging times and increasing School numbers of people struggling to By Claire Gresswell, make ends meet, the Committee felt Head Teacher they would like to offer the he children have settled back opportunity for members of our into school life and seem to be community to support and regularly thriving. It is a joy to hear the donate to the foodbank. T sound of learning and laughter ringing through the building again, but oh how I miss the singing! The staff and I are going to have to get creative and think of alternative ways to celebrate Harvest Festival and Christmas this year. Despite the ever-changing guidance and the tricky job of deciding what is a cold and what is a Covid symptom, I am so pleased that Chiltern foodbank in Chesham we have been able to get the children Donations of non-perishable food back into school and are operating as and other household items, either close to normal as our risk assessments allow. Social interaction purchased in the Shop at The Lee or bought elsewhere, can be left in the Chiltern Foodbank blue collection box within the shop. Items which are Pippa Hart specifically required will be listed each Photography week on the box. Not all of these items will be stocked in the shop, which is why items bought elsewhere can also be donated. Other items not listed will also be gratefully received but please bear in mind, that they already have a mountain of dried pasta, baked beans and tinned soup so no further supplies of these are required at this time. If you would like more information on the excellent work done by the Chiltern Foodbank please visit www.chiltern.foodbank.org.uk; details can also be found on their website if Natural & Informal you would prefer to make a financial Black &White donation instead. Portraits The Shop at The Lee Committee would like to thank you if you are able 01494 837340 to support this worthwhile cause. www.pippahart.com 4 is a hugely important aspect of a learn to listen attentively, to answer child’s development. On the Early questions, to ask questions, to share Years Foundation Stage curriculum, and record their ideas to name but a ‘Personal, Social and Emotional few. They also need a great deal of Development’ is one of the three perseverance in order to keep trying, prime areas of learning as it is practising and not give up. They need considered to support development in resilience when things go wrong and all other areas of the curriculum. It they need courage to try new things includes: self-confidence and self- and make mistakes. There has been a awareness; managing feelings and big push in education over recent behaviour; and making relationships. years to teach children to have a It is vitally important that we don’t Growth Mindset. We explain how the lose sight of this as children leave brain works and how true learning Reception and progress onto the happens when the brain is being National Curriculum; we must slightly challenged; too easy and no continue to prioritise children’s new connections are made, too hard personal, social and health education. and children can panic and give up. It Play and collaboration is a tricky balance to achieve, but it At Lee Common School we are becomes much easier when children carving out space on our timetables this feel secure and relaxed at school. A term to allow the children time to stressed or anxious child cannot learn. rebuild relationships and adjust to the Their well-being must always come social demands of school life. This first. I have no doubt the months means allowing them to learn through ahead will continue to challenge us play and through collaboration with all, but we will learn as we go, their peers. We are also inviting our alongside the children. children to take responsibility for their own learning. We want our children to be curious and inquisitive and ask National questions about the world around them. We want to teach them to be independent in their learning, knowing Tree Week what to do if they are stuck and where By Judy Hart his year, from 28th November to they can find the resources they need to th help themselves.