Long Marston.org

The Long Marston Pantomime: Dick Whittington

Posted by admin - 23/12/09 at 07:12:41 am

The L M & P Horticultural Society is pleased to announce that tickets for The Long Marston Pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’, by Neil Gurney, will be on sale at Long Marston Village Hall on Saturday, 16th January from 11am to 12noon.

See posters for where tickets can be purchased after that date. Pantomime performances will take place at Long Marston Village Hall on:

• Thursday, 18th February at 8pm
• Friday, 19th February at 8pm
• Saturday, 20th February 2pm & 7.30pm

Adults: £6, Senior Citizens: £4, Children: £3. For ticket sales please see www.longmarstonpanto.com

If you would like to help with the Panto please ring Vicky on 01296 661586

Long Marston Show: cups and trophies

Posted by admin - 31/08/09 at 12:08:07 pm

The Long Marston and Puttenham Horticultural Society awarded the following cups and trophies at the August show.

• William Dean Cup (fruit and veg.) – Alan Reeves/John Rowe.
• Grace Trophy (veg. collection) – Michael Glasser/John Rowe.
• Ernest Gregory Cup (flowers) – Jeff Norwood.
• John Chapman Trophy (roses) – John North/Alan Winfield.
• Val Brash Memorial Cup (novice floral art) – Frances Farley.
• Parker Cup (floral art) – Victoria Green.
• William Huckvale Cup (domestic) – Carole Harrison.
• Katherine Severs Memorial Plate (domestic, cakes) – Rozanne Wallis.
• ‘Woman’ magazine cup (handicraft) – Margaret Kaye/Tabitha Conn.
• Frank Hopkins Trophy (art) – Debbie Chalmers.
• Sir Harry Vaisey Cup (most points, child) – Laura Edmonds.
• Sheila Wood Trophies (veg. collection, child) – Grace Kirk, Maisie Driver, Liam Skells.
• Sheila Wood Cup (veg. and flower, child) – Grace Kirk, Maisie Driver.
• Astrope Cup (photography, child) – No overall winner.
• Hales Trophy (most points, lady) – Carole Harrison.
• Alan Taylor Cup (most points, gentleman) – Jeff Norwood.

The winner of the Thomas Chapman Award for contribution to village life is to be announced later.

Diplomas in Horticulture were awarded to: John North for flowers, and three to John Rowe for root vegetables, non root vegetables and a collection of vegetables. (Good with the veg. then. Ed.)

Certificates in floral art were awarded to Victoria Green and Caroline Smith-Wright.

Novice awards were earned by Alena Murrell and Phoebe Galloway

Marston village show by David Severs

Posted by admin - 31/08/09 at 12:08:19 pm

ONCE again we thanked the weather gods as the rain that blighted the afternoon of the 1st August for so many was absent from Long Marston for the duration of the annual village show, the heavens only deciding to open as the afternoon’s proceedings drew to a close with the auction of items left in the show hall. Even this was not thwarted with show goers biding enthusiastically from the relative comfort of the marquee on the field. Earlier the crowds were entertained with music from Reflections and the traditional children’s games in the arena. Most stall holders reported that they had had a good afternoon and commented on what a lovely show it was to attend. Unfortunately the operators of the penny arcade and the megaslide were unable to come because of the forecast of inclement weather. Fingers crossed they will be able to make it next year.

A word of thanks is due to all those who helped with staging the show. A lot of hard work goes in over the three days which is made easier by the volunteer help that we receive to haul stuff around and erect and dismantle the various awnings, gazeebos, bunting, tables, etc. that make up the fabric of the event and those that spend their afternoon selling raffle tickets, tombola, flipping burgers and so forth. Thanks to all that contributed their time and effort.

A brave attempt fails – so a village shop closes

Posted by admin - 31/08/09 at 12:08:26 pm

THE Wilstone village stores will cease trading and close its doors on Saturday 29th August at 1pm. After six months of trading, this marks the end of a valiant attempt to make the shop a viable proposition. Tim and Jenny re-opened the village shop in March and have worked hard to make a go of it, but the numbers don’t stack up and they cannot continue. We reported in our June edition that the experiment in selling newspapers had not worked, and that turnover would need to increase by 40% to make the shop pay. Although initial results were promising, sales did not improve as the months went by. Tim told Village News that he and Jenny were very sorry that their plans for the shop had not worked out, and that regular customers would be disappointed. He said: “We have enjoyed being in Wilstone. We have met and made friends with many people in the village and surrounding area and they have been valued customers of the shop. With great regret we have taken the decision, none too lightly or easily, to close the shop for financial reasons. Thank you to all our customers, and we wish them all the best for the future.” Although there were regular customers for the shop, it would appear there were not enough of them for a chance of success.

Herts and the East: election results

Posted by admin - 11/07/09 at 03:07:13 am

VOTERS in the Tring and villages division turned out in significantly higher numbers than elsewhere for the County and European elections in June. The local turnout was 49% compared with an overall 39% for Hertfordshire and 38% for the East of England Euro constituency. Continue reading Herts and the East: election results…

Parish Go Extreme

Posted by admin - 11/07/09 at 03:07:46 am

The next special meeting for young people to discuss the ‘Parish Go Extreme’ project is on Tuesday 30th June at 6pm at Long Marston village hall. The meeting will discuss the next stage in the provision of additional equipment at the village recreation grounds, and will last no longer than 1 hour. All children from the villages are invited to attend and take part in the discussion. Interested adults are welcome too.

Sandbags available

Posted by admin - 11/07/09 at 03:07:10 am

To help residents with flood protection the Parish Council have a supply of sandbags available. Several homes regularly at risk have taken advantage of this free service and have a couple of sandbags on loan. Contact the Parish Council chairman Mike Tomlinson on 01296 661311 if sandbags would help shore up your flood defences.

Bridleway to link Herts and Bucks

Posted by admin - 10/07/09 at 05:07:19 pm

A new bridleway to link Wilstone with Marsworth has been proposed by Herts County Council at the suggestion of local farmers P E Mead and Sons. This new through route across the county boundary would join up some existing footpaths and bridleways and allow horses and riders to avoid the dangerous B489. Starting at Wilstone Green, the route will be to Dixons Gap, across Wingrave Road and then continue over the fields to Marsworth village. Some of the route is already used by riders. The Parish Council welcomed the proposal and hoped that the bridleway status would also bring some benefits in the way of improved maintenance by the County.

‘Core Strategy’ consultation

Posted by admin - 10/07/09 at 05:07:56 pm

For some while Dacorum Borough Council has been working on what it calls its “Core Strategy” for the next twenty years. Their website says: “The Core Strategy will set out the strategic vision, objectives and spatial strategy for the borough for twenty years. It will contain core policies, e.g. Green Belt and settlements, town-wide strategies and the housing programme, and include a development (key) diagram for the borough and other diagrams (for towns and large villages). It will also contain an implementation strategy.” On 30th June a public consultation opens on the draft strategy document which will be available on the Dacorum BC website. The Parish Council received their advance copy this week and will be commenting. These rather dry and difficult-to-read documents can have a big impact on our lives. County Councillor Nick Hollinghurst told the meeting that the document will be worth careful scrutiny, as proposals such as changes to village boundaries can be included. Individual residents are entitled to comment too, and the consultation is open until 28th August. To see the document for yourself go to www.dacorum.gov.uk/planning and look for “Core Strategy” consultation (after 30 June).

Housing project clears latest hurdle

Posted by admin - 10/07/09 at 05:07:45 pm

THE much debated Parish and Borough Councils’ project to build eight affordable homes in Wilstone for local people passed the next stage in the lengthy approval process when it was reviewed by the Dacorum Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June. Dacorum Councillor Derek Townsend had “called in” the proposal for review by the committee because of allegations from a resident of impropriety. Cllr Townsend told the Parish Council that he felt that because of the allegation, he had no option but to call in the proposal for official public review in order to demonstrate that there was no impropriety. He said he had been hurt by the accusation, which
he said had no foundation. The Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed that there was no reason why land should not be transferred to Aldwyck Housing Group. Formal planning permission will be sought to build the eight homes. Residents and the Parish Council will have a further opportunity to comment on the final plans within the next few weeks. Associated improvements to parking in Grange Road were crucial to the scheme, councillors said.

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