January - June 2016 News

In the Epping Forest District the EU Referendum result gave a Majority to Leave the European Union of 25.37%

A total of 76,852 people voted which was 78.84% of the Electorate. A higher turnout than than 72.2% UK overall turnout.

14th June 2016:Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society AGM & Free Talk:

13th June 2016: St Clare’s Open Gardens Weekend:
Deputy Lieutenant of Essex and former St Clare Chairman opens garden in memory of beloved wife

A whole host of beautiful local gardens will be opening their gates to visitors during St Clare Hospice’s 22nd annual Open Gardens Weekend. The two-day event, which is being held on 25 and 26 June, is an opportunity to explore some of the area’s hidden treasures and best kept green spaces and is a must for all lovers of flora and fauna.

One of the new gardens opening its gates to the public for 2016 belongs to former St Clare Hospice Chairman and Deputy Lieutenant of Essex, Michael Chapman, who is also President of Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society. The garden sits in the grounds of the Grade II listed 17th century Goosebury Hall, and is a real treasure trove as well as including a Labyrinth for visitors to explore.

Michael Chapman, who was Chairman of St Clare Hospice from 2000 to 2009, was moved to open his garden in support of St Clare following the death of his wife Janet at the Hospice in January 2016.

Michael said: “Jan and I first met in Theydon Garnon at a Christmas carols by candlelight service in 1963 – I remember her coming in to the carols by candlelight in her nurse’s uniform and we were together from then on. We both grew up locally, I am from Theydon and Jan was from Loughton, and we lived in various houses in Epping and Theydon Bois over the years. Our gardens were always very important to Jan and she was a keen horticulturist.”

“We moved to Goosebury Hall over 30 years ago and when we first arrived the garden was non-existent – it was just a muddy paddock. It was a blank canvas for Jan to design upon!”

“Over the years Jan and I worked together to create the garden. Jan was very much the designer, and I did the handiwork – together we made the garden into a real haven. The garden is registered with the national Quiet Gardens Movement and is full of secluded nooks and crannies to sit alone, meditate and enjoy the tranquility of the surroundings.”

“I am still coming to terms with life without Jan. St Clare was there for us in our time of need and Jan had such a peaceful death at St Clare Hospice.”

“During my time as Chairman I was privileged to witness the care St Clare gave to thousands of people. I just never thought I would be on the receiving end of that care. I now know firsthand how the families of St Clare patients feel and will always be grateful for the amazing care that the staff provide. We could not have asked for more at the end of Jan’s life and I will be forever grateful for the support we both received.”

“I am delighted to open the garden for this wonderful St Clare event and look forward to people enjoying the beauty of the garden which Jan helped to create.”

Goosebury Hall is one of 27 gardens in the Harlow, Church Langley and Hastingwood area participating in this year’s Open Gardens Weekend.

Entry to all the participating gardens is by brochure only. They cost £5 each and contain all the details and locations of the gardens that will be open over the weekend. This year’s Open Gardens Weekend is kindly sponsored by Pawley & Malyon Chartered Accountants.

Brochures for the Open Gardens Weekend are available to purchase from all eight of the Hospice’s shops as well as from The Laurels on Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood (corner of Glovers Lane), CM17 9JX.

Refreshments, including homemade cakes and ploughman lunches, will be available at the majority of venues. St Clare will also be hosting a Family Fun Day at The Link in Harlow from 1.00pm-5.00pm on Saturday 25 June – entry is free with the Open Gardens brochure.

For more information about the event contact St Clare Community Fundraiser Dani De’ath on 01279 773738 or [email protected]

13th June 2016: Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing plants tree at Ivy Chimneys Primary School as part of school's celebrations for Queen's 90th birthday:

A tree to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday has been planted at Ivy Chimneys Primary School, Epping, by Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing.

Mrs Laing - and Epping Mayor Les Burrows - were invited to the school's Queen's birthday celebrations (Friday) which saw the children parade round the playground in their specially-made crowns and wearing red, white and blue clothes. After the planting of a hornbeam tree, which replaces a weeping willow, the children sang Happy Birthday to Her Majesty.

Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing said: "Ivy Chimneys Primary School should be really proud of their efforts. "It was really wonderful to see the children marching and wearing their crowns, which were magnificent, and their red, white and blue clothes to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday".

"It was a great pleasure for me to plant the new hornbeam tree in the school grounds and very important that the children appreciate the value of trees to our environment."

The Drama Society's next production at the Village Hall runs from 9th - 11th June and is Neil Simon's play Rumours. Tickets are now on sale and are £8.50. Box Office telephone 01992 812250.

24th May 2016:Preservation Society Deer Sanctuary Walk Attracts Record Turn Out:

City of London Keeper Michael Collins (actually holding a moose horn not a deer antler at this point)
answers visitors questions.

Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society's May walk, led by Robert Levene, that included a visit to the Deer Sanctuary, attracted a record number of 142 people this year (on Sunday 22nd May). The Deer Sanctuary is located within the village boundary, but many village residents do not realise that Theydon Bois is almost unique in having a near 100 acre Deer Sanctuary so close to its houses. As well the as the Theydon Residents who joined the walk there were many other visitors from London, across Essex and a few from even further afield who took this opportunity to see inside the sanctuary.

Access to the Deer Sanctuary, until recently was rare and is still only occasionally agreed by the City of London who administer the Deer Sanctuary as part of its management of Epping Forest. Therefore this was a rare opportunity for residents, their families, friends and visitors to our village to see inside the sanctuary and learn about it from Forest Keeper, Michael Collins and his Wife Angela who gave up their Sunday Afternoon to give an interesting & informative talk & tour.

The Society will be hosting three more free walks this year: 12th June - “Theydon's Hidden Rhododendrons”, 17th July - to 'Theydon Garnon' and 25th September - "Theydon Street tree identification walk". All are on Sundays starting at 2.00pm from the Village Hall. Full details on the TB&DRPS Page

The Society also has a free talk at its AGM on Friday 8th July at 8.00pm when our speaker Tricia Moxey's talk is; "Is there Honey still for tea" - A talk on Bee Keeping. There will also be free refreshments available.

24th May 2016:Playground At Theydon Spring Fair Raises £1,350 for the Charity:

The Playground At Theydon held a very successful Spring fair raising approximately £1,350 for the charity and giving the young children of the village a great day out.

There was a whole range of events from the ever-popular Smack-A-Rat and shooting gallery, to crafts, cakes, basketball and a football shootout.

The Fire Service also turned up, much to the delight of the children - and their mums! The event was also well supported by local businesses who donated raffle prizes. PAT chair Shelley Dix said: "The event was a real success, some people stayed for the entire afternoon. We are really pleased with the amount we raised and would like to thank everyone who supported us by either coming along, donating raffle prizes or giving up their time to man the stalls."

It has been more than 25 years since the playground was created and the equipment is coming to the end of its design life. The PAT committee have had three quotes for plans to redo the playground - and plans of these were on display at the fair. The committee is now looking at ways to raise the necessary funds, circa £100,000 to make this happen. The playground is a registered Charity that is run by a committee of volunteers who raise money for its upkeep and even empty the bins! There have been a few fun "maintenance" days where the committee members have cut back the hedges and spruced up the equipment.

If anyone would like to join the committee please contact Shelley Dix on 07919 215465. To make a donation, please go to the Total Giving page at totalgiving.co.uk and enter Playground At Theydon Association.

As indicated below last Sunday (22nd May) committee members from the Horticultural Society tided and replanted the station flower beds with new plants.

The Society has announced that it will be running a trip to Hever Castle on Saturday 10th September. The trip will be leaving from Village Hall at 9.30am and returning at approximately 5pm, members £25, non members £27. For more details or to book a place contact Margaret Jones 01992 814797 or Liz McGuire 01992 814845.

On Saturday (21st May) a group of dads from St Mary’s Church got together to give the front of the church hall a facelift in time for the Spring Fayre. This was following on from repairs to the church hall roof, which had required new boards on the rotten porch roof that now needed decoration.

Throughout the day, there were about 8 volunteers working on the outside (including the Rev John Fry), whilst Linda Hammond enlisted the help of her family to repaint some of the internal walls. Phil Crombie organized the day, and beforehand approached Wickes of Loughton to see if they would help out with the costs. They were very supportive and kindly donated £100 worth of gloss and masonry paint, along with some brushes and other essentials. The group now has plans to carry out more painting, and work their way around the entire building.

The group of dads normally gets together to involve their children in group activities associated with St Mary’s Church (the last of which was clearing up the graveyard prior to remembrance Sunday). This time, due to the task and the potential for mess, the children were left at home!

Have a Talk on Wednesday, 8th June at 8 pm in the small hall at the Village Hall. Russell Bowes talk is called - 'Say It With Poison'. Entry for members will be free and non-members will be £2.

Remember: this year’s Annual Show will be 23rd July 2016. The Society is hoping to plant up the flowerbeds on the station later on Sunday 22nd once the tulips have finished flowering.

The 2016 Theydon Bois Annual Parish Meeting took place last Wednesday 18th May and Parish Council Chairman Cllr. John Philip welcomed villagers and our three new parish councillors (see below). John then presented the Community Awards to those who have given outstanding service to our community.

This year’s recipient of the Theydon Bois Community Rosebowl - Lifetime Achievement Award (formally Village of the Year award) is John Padfield. John has been active in the village for many years, served for 16 years on the Parish Council, stepping down in 2008, and was also our District Councillor. At EFDC, he was the Deputy Group Leader and in 1997-98 was the Chairman of the Council. John was one of the major movers behind the creation of the new Village Hall and he remains a key player in the Village Association. He can still often be seen around the village making contributions behind the scenes.

There was a decision this year to present the Community Award. This is an award for someone who, although not resident in the village, has made a significant contribution to the life of Theydon Bois. This award has only been given once before, but it was felt that the contribution made by Sailesh Dawda needed to be recognised. Many, if not most of you, will have made use of the Theydon Bois Pharmacy run by Sailesh. It was very clear at the meeting that we ran about the Limes Surgery how much the service that Sailesh provided was appreciated by people. Sailesh has been a fixture for many years. We thank him for his dedication and look forward to many more years seeing him welcoming us in the Pharmacy.

Cllr. Philip also thanked the three councillors who stood down at the last meeting of the Parish Council. Two Paul Vincent and Peter Hammond served for 8 years and Sue Jones served for 12 years and was a former chairman of the Parish Council. She remains one of our two EFDC Councillors. Cllr. Philip presented each of them with a gift to thank them publicly. Unfortunately Paul and Peter were unable to attend the meeting, but Sue was able to receive hers in person.

Additionally, John made one further presentation recognising Councillor Peter Gooch, the planning committee chairman, who has completed twenty years of service on the Parish Council. For anyone to dedicate such a long time to serving the village is a significant commitment and he thanked him for that, and for his willingness to stand for another term.

At the Annual Parish (Business) Meeting that immediately followed John Philip was re-elected as Chairman of the Parish Council and Peter Gooch was re-elected as Vice Chairman.

The full list of our Parish and District Councillors can be found on the Parish Councillors Page.

17th May 2016: Parking for 'The Green' Deadline for Submissions on the scheme is 20th May:

The proposed parking restrictions for The Green were first advertised in April. They comprise no waiting at any time (double yellow lines) along the whole of the western side of the road from Coppice Row to Loughton Lane. On the other side of the road double yellow lines are proposed on both sides of the road at the junction with Piercing Hill and opposite the entrance to Avenue Road and from the junction with Loughton Lane almost as far as the telephone exchange. For the other part of The Green double yellow lines are proposed for the junction with Woburn Avenue, opposite the access half-way along the road and at the corner with Poplar Row (on the green side of the road).

The timetable for implementation will depend on how long it takes the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) to deal with submissions regarding the scheme. Letters of support or objections should be received by NEPP before the 20th May deadline.

Send to:TRO Comments
North Essex Parking Partnership
PO Box 5575
Colchester
CO1 9LTQuoting Reference:NEPP_16-01, Drawing TRO5419-022

17th May 2016: Tree Wardens, Tree Wardens, where have you been?
- We have been up to London to visit the Queen!:

The Permanent Secretary at the Department of The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was contacted by The Lord Chamberlain's Office to make nominations to attend Her Majesty The Queen's Royal Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace.

Wanting "ordinary people", the Tree Council was contacted who in turn contacted Epping Forest District Council knowing they have many Tree Wardens in the District.

Sue Warren and Jane Turner from Theydon were fortunate to be asked if they would like to attend. They travelled up to London with important identification documents and the queue started to enter the Palace grounds at 3.00 pm.

Unfortunately, May 10th was a rainy day and many people there (said to be 8,000) sheltered in the Tea Tent where Sandringham Apple Juice was available and cups of tea along with nice sandwiches and even nicer cakes! While two bands took it in turns to play, two corridors of quests were formed for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to walk along, who then stopped to speak to "the chosen few" ( some of you will have seen the Queen talking to the Policewoman about the Chinese!).

This is when it rained quite hard and the ladies were trying not to sink their heels in the wet grass. Sue and Jane haven't any photos of the Garden Party as the instruction was that no photos should be taken. They were very put out to see so many people ignoring this, using their phones to take photos.

However, they were able to walk round the gardens which were beautifully kept as you can imagine and saw the Queen again as she left The Royal Tea Tent. How small she looked with all the tall officials round her. All together an enjoyable (if wet) day and an honour to be invited.

Members of the Loughton Astronomical set up specialist telescopes to view the transit of Mercury (May 9th). Over 200 members of the public including local schoolchildren were amazed at how the Sun dwarfed Mercury, a planet only a little larger than our Moon. Clear weather prevailed from 1st contact at around 12:15 until the clouds closed in around 4:30 pm, by which time Mercury had traversed approximately half of the Sun’s diameter.

This sighting was one of the best visible for many decades, the next full length transit to be seen from the UK will not be until May 2049. Intermediate ones will occur in in November 2019, 2032 and 2039 but the Sun will be much lower and either be rising or setting part way through.

For more information about the activities of the Loughton Astronomical Society and AstroKyds (the Junior Section) please visit www.las-astro.org.uk

8th May 2016: Local Election Results:

District Councillor for Theydon Bois:

Our other District Councillor Sue Jones did not have to stand for re-election this time.

Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) election for Essex:

No candidate received more than half of all the first choice votes cast in the election. The
contest therefore proceeded to the counting of the second choice votes, with Roger Hirst, Conservative elected.

As we reported earlier below the election for Theydon Bois Parish Council was uncontested as there were only 9 nominations.

Members of the Loughton Astronomical Society will setting up specialist equipment to view the rare Transit of Mercury in front of the Sun tomorrow, 9th May from 12 midday weather permitting. They will be by the Village Sign, Coppice Row, near the shops.

1st contact is around 12:14 and the event lasts until 19:41.

Viewing the Sun can be very dangerous, so drop by anytime to watch this safely.

5th May 2016:Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society Free Guided Walks:

Three burglaries have occurred in the THEYDON BOIS area, these were at MORGAN CRESCENT, HORNBEAM CLOSE and DUKES AVENUE between 09.15hrs and 18.30hrs on Friday 29th April 2016. Suspects unknown have used an implement to smash the rear patio doors in each burglary. Items stolen.

A Silver Citroen C3 sporting a false number plate of EA15CHG was seen along with a male in his 20's wearing a blue hoody in the area. Did you see anything?. If you have any further information please contact Essex Police on the 101 non-emergency number. You can also give information anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Crime prevention advice is available by viewing the following link - http://www.essex.police.uk/be_safe/burglary.aspx

We are looking forward to this year’s Donkey Derby which is in aid of Theydon Bois Scouts and other youth groups. There are lots of ways you can join in by sponsoring a race, donating items for stalls, riding donkeys, helping out on the day or advertising in our brochure. All help gratefully received - we cannot do it without you!

SPONSORING: To name a donkey in one of the races which will be printed in our programme you will need to donate £10 or more. To sponsor a race and get your business’ or family name at the top of the race programme - eg Smith Family Chase - will require a donation of £100 or more. For either, please fill in the form below or contact Nik: [email protected]

BRIC-A-BRAC: We are always looking for bric-a-brac to sell on the stalls and old crockery for
our ever-popular smash the crocks stall - we will collect. Call Bob on 01992 813709.

ADVERTISING: You can even take out an advertisement in our programme from as little as £40. These are distributed a month before the event as well as on the day. Please contact Ed on 07968 759203 or email [email protected]

JOCKEYS: To ride in the races you must be aged between 10 and 15 years old and weigh less than 50kg (seven and a half stone). Call Julia on 01992 07889 534182.

ON THE DAY: To help with the event on one of our stalls or setting up etc please call Stephen on 07825 270832 or John on 01992 812862 or via [email protected]

DONATE: You can also donate to the charity via this form which has further details on the above.

Theydon Bois Short Mat Bowling Club is celebrating the arrival of three new bowlsmats. Now in its 30th year the club is open to all, regardless of age, experience or ability, and meets at the village hall every Thursday from 9am till 4pm.

Chairman Frank Sparks explained that the aim of the club is to enjoy playing bowls in a friendly atmosphere and beginners are given a warm welcome. So if you fancy joining this merry band for some fun and a bit of healthy competition pop along to the village hall any Thursday. All you will need is a pair of flat shoes; spare bowls are available to try along with lots of help and advice. More details here on our Club Details Page.

The next meeting will be on the 11/5/16 at the Queen Victoria pub Theydon Bois from 7.30pm - 9.00pm. All welcome no membership fee. The book to be discussed at this meeting is “The Widow” by Fiona Barton. It is available on Kindle for £5.99.

This Thursdays Parish Council Meeting - Thursday 28th April - has been cancelled as insufficient councillors are available to make it quorate.

The May Parish Council Annual Meeting has been moved from Thursday 26th May to Wednesday 18th of May as the 26th May date clashed with an important EFDC Meeting that Parish Councillors needed to attend.

The 18th May Meeting will be the first opportunity for villagers to meet and speak to our new Parish Councillors (see below).

There will be no voting on Thursday 5th May this year for Parish Councillors. The Election was uncontested with only 9 people putting themselves forward to stand. The full complement of Councillors for Parish Council is eleven. There are three new faces joining the council; Liz Burn - Dukes Avenue, Andrew Crook - Theydon Park Road and Craig Withers - Morgan Crescent.

Peter Hammond, Sue Jones, Chris McDonald and Paul Vincent have stood down from the Parish Council and Rob Young had previously resigned.

There will still be an election for one District Council seat on May 5th as there are two candidates; George Lund - Liberal Democrat and John Phillip - Conservative.

The editor apologies for the lack of recent updates to the Village Website due to a number of technical and other problems. We are endeavoring to bring the site back up to date.

From this Sunday 10th April the present 541 Bus that serves Theydon Bois will be replaced by a new service. The new bus number is 418 and this will run from Loughton Underground Station via Theydon Bois, Epping High Street and St. Margaret's Hospital and on to Harlow Bus Station. In the Epping/Harlow direction the buses will run every hour from 7.06am to 11.06pm Mondays to Frtidays and 7.01am to 11.01pm Saturdays with a reduced Sunday service.

After pressure from our Parish Council this is now an improvement on the previous 541 service. It was hoped that it would serve both Epping and Harlow hospitals directly, but Harlow was not possible due to parking problems.

The new home of the Theydon Bois Jazz Club, which is the best place to hear jazz in the Epping Forest area, is at The King’s Oak, High Beach, IG10 4AE, a mere three miles from the village. So residents who were regulars at the Golf Club Venue can continue to enjoy top quality jazz concerts regularly, and handily, in the sumptuous surroundings of the plush King’s Room at The King’s Oak.

As always we meet every Monday (except for a few Tuesdays to avoid bank holidays – check our website). The bands play from 8.00pm - 10.30pm. ALL are welcome, Visitors £10, Members £8 (you can join for just £10). The Oak is open for meals from 5 pm, including a very reasonably-priced weekday set menu. Free car parking, dance floor, comfortable seating - HAPPY atmosphere.

In December 2015 Essex Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner confirmed proposals to close fifteen police station front counters as the force develops a modern fit for purpose police estate to meet the challenges of keeping the county safe.

The Essex Police front counters which will remain open to the public from 9am to 5pm are: Grays, Basildon, Harlow, Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester and Clacton (all Monday to Sunday) and Maldon (Monday to Friday).

Saffron Walden police station will remain open from Monday to Friday but the police station is currently closed following a chemical leak. A further update on the future of Saffron Walden police station is pending but a police station with front counter service will continue to operate in the town in future. Southend police station is currently closed for refurbishment.

These front counters represent 80% of all visits to Essex Police stations during a two-month long piece of research. Of the police stations scheduled for closure by April 2016: Billericay, Pitsea, Southminster, Harwich, Halstead, Witham, Great Dunmow, Tilbury and South Woodham Ferrers police station front counters are now closed to the public. South Ockendon, Brentwood, Loughton, Epping, Rayleigh and Canvey police station front counters will close to the public on 1 April 2016.

The current police station opening hours can be found on the following link:http://www.essex.police.uk/contact_us/my_police_station.aspx

Do you want to help fight crime whilst giving something back to your community? Many of our 'Specials' have families and full-time jobs, and volunteer with us in their spare time. It’s a flexible role, and our volunteers only need to give a minimum of 16 hours a month as part of the team. There are many rewarding and challenging opportunities available with our Specials.

Follow this link for more information: https://www.essex.police.uk/recruitment/special_constabulary/applying.aspx

As part of the village litter pick on 5th March, which on this date also formed part of the 'National Clean Up for the Queen Campaign', the boys from Theydon Bois Cubs took on the task clearing part of the forest from litter. Their participation in the litter pick also contributed as part of their "Our World Challenge Badge". Between them they collected over 5 bags of litter from the forest in the snow and all enjoyed them selves while doing so.

There is a Theydon Bois Tennis Club "do" at the Theydon Bois Golf Club this Saturday evening (12th March). Music will be provided by the Union Blues - Blues Band and reason is that one of the skilled musicians is one of the old Tennis Club coaches and stalwarts (Brian Barrett). We have seen them before and they are very good so it should be a great fun evening. Richard Crone says they have sold most of the tickets but there may be a few are still available. Tickets and further information from Richard Crone Tel: 01992 572566.

Following the change of date for the the last Planning Committee meeting (below) it has now been decided that the next full Parish Council Public Meeting will now be on the 24th March at 8.00pm to avoid a clash with the Easter Holidays. The next Planning Committee meeting will also move to the 24th March at 7.00pm preceding the main meeting. A full updated list of Parish Council Meetings is available here.

11th March 2016: Local Volunteer Distributors Urgently Needed for Village News:

Theydon Newsdesk is very pleased when villagers tell us how much they enjoy receiving their copies of Village News that are delivered through their letterboxes four times a year. Both Village News and the Village Website are run totally by volunteers and all our costs are met by the generosity of our sponsors, we do not make a profit or run at any cost to village tax payers.

We are particularly very grateful to all our Village News distributors who make sure your household gets a copy of the magazine as soon as possible after we get them back from our printers. Between them they deliver over 1,800 copies to every home in the village. Unfortunately some of our distributors have now moved from Theydon, and we sadly also have some who are ill and so unable to take on their usual delivery round at present.

So are you able to help us ensure that everyone gets their copy of the Theydon Bois Village News magazine as usual?

We only deliver four times a year and most distributors only take on a delivery to one village road, or a part road for the longer ones (delivering around 50 magazines on average). We delivery the magazines to our distributors and we also try to allocate roads for distribution as close to the distributor as possible. So it will probably take less than an hour of your time to complete a delivery. It would help us even if we could find just a couple of standby deliverers to cover any sickness or holidays.

We are also looking for one or two people with transport to help with delivery to our volunteer distributors. This is to ensure they get their copies for onward distribution as soon as possible after publication. We have approximately 40 delivery rounds and with help this would mean less than 10 rounds each for delivery. Again we try to keep these rounds in the same part of the village.

Please Help us maintain your Village News delivery by E-mailing: [email protected]

As reported in the March Issue of Village News and previously on this News page Theydon Jazz Club has moved from its Theydon Golf Club venue. Initially this was to Epping Upper Clapton Rugby Club in Upland Road, CM16 6NL and the concerts will continue here till the 14th March. The 21st March concert will now be at the Kings Oak, High Beech and after 21st March a choice of the new permanent venue will be decided.
March 2016
14 Mike Lovell & his Six-in-a-Bar At Rugby Club
21 Mike Barry & his Uptown Gang At the Kings Oak, High Beech

Venue to be decided after 21st March - check at Theydon Jazz Club Website.
29 Graham Hughes & his Sunshine Kings (N.B. TUESDAY)

Concert on 21st March at the Kings Oak (£10; members £8) 8pm-10.30pm (open beforehand for meals from 5pm)

MIKE BARRY – trumpet, & his UPTOWN GANG (above):
Mike Holt – trombone; John Elmer – clarinet; John Stewart – banjo & guitar; Roger Curphey – bass; Graham Collicott – drums
Always a firm favourite at our jazz club (I’ve heard them there 25 times! – Ray), The Uptown Gang make their first visit this year. In its latest incarnation the band has been going for 17 years. They play an entertaining and danceable blend of tunes from yesteryear, with a mix of classic jazz from various periods, all presented in a Traditional, swinging style. With veteran trumpet maestro Mike Barry blowing as well as ever, an exhilarating evening of enjoyable jazz is guaranteed.

Please note that the Parish Council Planning Committee meeting that was due to take place on 17th March will now take place tomorrow 10th March. This meeting is open to the public. A full list of the Parish Council Meetings for 2016 is available here.

9th March: Jeff Short Band Concert to Celebrate Our Queen's 90 Glorious Years:

Music and dancing from the 9 decades of Her Majesty's reign with the Jeff Short Dance Band & Singers. Please note that the ticket price has now been reduced to £12.50 and tickets are available now by calling 01245 450 450. People will be encouraged to dress up in Black Tie and Posh Frocks. You may bring your own drinks and buffet for a great night out.

23rd February: Local Vehicle Thefts:

Essex Police report that there have been a number of vehicle crimes in our area, including theft of and from vehicles, and damage caused to vehicles. Please consider crime prevention before you park. Don't leave valuables on display and ensure your vehicle is locked before leaving it. If you have any information in relation to vehicle crime please contact Essex Police on the 101 non-emergency number. You can also give information anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org Crime prevention advice is available by viewing the following link - http://www.essex.police.uk/be_safe/your_property/vehicles.aspx

This is a campaign launched by Country Life magazine in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy to clear up Britain in time for The Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016. It will rally an army of volunteers across the country to clean up their local areas and will include special clean-up weekends. Theydon Bois resident John Eaton tells Village News and Website that for many years there have been regular monthly litter picks in the village and the approach roads to which he started when he was a parish councillor in 1997 and he has been organising them ever since, assisted by Martin Oliver, also an ex parish councillor.

Theydon Litter pickers meet on the first Saturday of every month at 9am at the Village Hall but in the last year or two, numbers have dwindled from about 12 down to about three. It is hoped that the event itself might re-kindle some of the pride of the older litter pickers and interest some of our newer residents. Please help, you can either contact John directly or through the Theydon Bois Parish Clerk.

There are two proposed clean up dates national clean up weekend 4th - 6th March and local clean up weekend 14th - 15th May. The first one will coincide with the normal first Saturday in the month litter pick and perhaps villagers can all try to boost the numbers already helping. The second date is mid month but on this auspicious occasion, perhaps support for the second one could come from as many people as possible who do not normally join in.

Meet at the Village Hall at 9am on Saturday
5th March & 14th May and any other first
Saturday in the month

The Horticultural Society have a Talk on Wednesday 30th March 2016 at 8pm in the small hall at the Village Hall when Martin Heard, an art historian, will speak about ‘The Gardens of Impressionism’. Entry for members will be free and Non-members will be £2.

There is an Outing to Wisley in Springtime on Saturday 23rd April 2016 starting from the Village Hall car park at 9.30am (return about 5.30pm) Tickets £20 for members £22 for non-members. Contact Margaret Jones 814797 or Liz McGuire 814845.

The Society has We have weeded the flowerbeds on the station with a view to planting them up in April or May. The Annual Show will be on 23rd July, open to the public from 2.00pm and the Society's AGM will be on the 23rd November at 8.00pm.

Debbie Palmer and her team, Melinda Veres and Debbie Banham, are delighted to announce that the Village Montessori Nursery has been graded “Outstanding” by Ofsted. Parents, carers and children were thrilled by the news which was officially announced in the New Year following an inspection in December 2015.

The Nursery received “Outstanding” in all areas of the Inspection. The outcome is particularly gratifying for Debbie as she rebuilt her team following the retirement of several members of staff in the summer, with remarkable results. The full story of the Nursery's success will follow in the March edition of Village News.

Debbie can be contacted on 07930-313075 or at [email protected] for further information about the nursery or the Montessori method of teaching

15th February: WI Ladies Bridge Club Seeks More Members:
If you would like to play bridge or learn to play, there are vacancies at the WI Bridge Group. Please contact Marion Oliver on 812042 for further information if you are interested.

Who can join: Open to everyone. To start we are looking for an initial membership of 15.
When: To meet monthly on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm – 9.00pm. First meeting 6th April 2016.
Location: Queen Victoria Pub, Coppice Row, Theydon Bois, Epping CM16 7ES
Cost: No membership fee. All books will be paperback and will aim to cost about £5 (new on Amazon).
Books: Very open to the title selection (all genres, fiction/non-fiction, modern/classic). We can develop a system to select the books but to kick off for the first meeting I would suggest one the following:

It would be great to have a facilitator, preferably someone who has hosted a book club before, so if this is of interest to you I would love to hear from you.
For more information please contact Clare Homer at [email protected] or telephone 01992 848931.

The St Mary’s Lent Lunches (organised by the Mission Committee) will take place weekly throughout Lent until March 22nd, starting at 12 midday. Dates (all Tuesdays) are 16th & 23rd February & 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd March.

On offer a choice of tasty home-made soups, fresh roll and butter, delicious home-baked desserts with cream, and tea, coffee or a soft drink to finish, all for just £5 per person, £1.50 for children. There is a bring and buy stall and plenty of fun and fellowship.

Proceeds from these lunches are donated to charities and organisations supported by St Mary’s at home and overseas, including The Box in Epping, St Clare Hospice, the Church Mission Society and the Mission to Seafarers. Please come along if you can, and bring a friend or neighbour.

Theydon Jazz Club will hold it's last concert at the Theydon Bois Golf Club venue tonight, but Jazz-loving Theydon residents will be delighted to know that they will still be able to take their weekly dose of life-enhancing music, after the Theydon Jazz Club’s 21-month residence at the Golf Club finishes with the happy jazz of George “Kid” Tidiman. They won’t be moving far – so keep an eye on www.theydonjazzclub.org.uk for details. Initially at least we’ll be in the smart, brand new clubhouse of the Epping Upper Clapton Rugby Club in Upland Road, CM16 6NL

A baker’s dozen of the country’s top bands are lined up to entertain over the next quarter: old favourites such as Peter Baker and Mike Barry, plus newcomers to TJC, Six-in-a-Bar and the Old Green River Band. As ever, all are welcome to listen, relax, eat, drink, dance . . . and feel all the better for it!

10th February:Village Association Vacancy For Part-Time Cleaner At Village Hall:

The Village Association are looking for an occasional part-time CLEANER to join our existing team at the village hall. We need someone who we can call on as and when required during staff holidays or sickness. The hours are 7.30am – 9.30am. In addition, there will be the opportunity to do occasional cleaning (usually about 1 – 1.5 hours) between hall bookings during the week and occasionally at weekends. The rate of pay is £11.60 per hour.

If you think this sort of arrangement would suit you, please contact the Village Hall Hall Manager, Frank Bell on: 0208 502 5014.

A new pilot Weekend GP Service has been operating in Epping since October and has received very positive feedback from patients. Over 1,000 patients have visited the service with the majority being people of working age who may not be able to access appointments during the week.

The NHS service is based out of Loughton Health Centre and Waltham Abbey Health Centre. Appointments are accessed through a patient’s own GP surgery for a booked appointment only, it is not a ‘walk-in service’. All GP practices in Epping Forest are taking bookings for the service which allows patients to see a GP, practice nurse or healthcare assistant for a routine appointment.

These appointments are available for people with long terms conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, as well as routine healthcare for patients who are unable to access weekday appointments. In their feedback, one Epping patient said: “Weekend appointments are a lot easier when you work full time. I was seen a lot quicker than normally would have been.” Another said following their appointment: “Good knowledge and thoroughness and good explanation of the way forward.”

Debbie Bodhanya, Chief Executive of Stellar Healthcare, one of the organisations which runs the service said: “We are incredibly proud to have launched this service which will allow people greater access to GP appointments. Our GP practices can book these appointments as part of their normal processes, which will provide greater choice to fit in with busy lifestyles.

“GP practices are under extreme pressure nationally and the demand for GP appointments is increasing and this service will help relieve that demand.”

The service is funded through a grant from the Prime Minister’s Access Fund and is a pilot managed by two local GP companies; Stellar Healthcare and Uttlesford Health. These two companies have been set up by the GP practices in the area. For more information please go to: www.weekendgpservice.net.

The 2016 Dates for the Hearing Advisory Service are 4th Jan. 7th March, 4th July, 5th Sept. 7th Nov. There is no service in May and December.

29th January:St. Mary's Youth Group Are 'Slum Survivors' for Second Year Running:

From Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th January, 9 young people from ACTION (the youth group at St Mary's Church) built and lived in their own "slum" in the church hall car park as a way of showing solidarity with those who live in slum conditions around the world, and to raise money for Soul Action (a charity working with slum dwellers). They ate two meals a day, and kept warm around the fire.

ACTION continues to meet weekly on Wednesday evening at St Mary's church, from 7- 9 pm. All young people in school years 10-13 are welcome.

The Epping Rotary quiz held on 22nd January in the Village Hall was very well attended, with 110 people helping to raise £1,000 for Mind in West Essex.

Some challenging questions taxed the collective brains, but the evening was very enjoyable.

16th January: Are you the Governor? Local Epping Forest Residents Sought for NHS Foundation Trust (NEP):

Are you the Governor? That is the question that North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) is asking local residents. Opportunities to help shape mental health and substance misuse services in North Essex are now open to the public. Local residents are invited to stand for Governor Elections and make a difference.

· Chelmsford (1 vacancy)
· Maldon (1 vacancy)
· Tendring (3 vacancies)
· Braintree (3 vacancies)
· Colchester (2 vacancies)
· Epping Forest (2 vacancies)
· Uttlesford (1 vacancy)
· South Essex (2 vacancies)
· Harlow (1 vacancy)

Andrew Geldard, Chief Executive at NEP said: “Governors make a real difference to how we develop mental health and substance misuse services. As a Governor, you will speak on behalf of local residents, influence how services develop and be a champion for mental health and wellbeing.”

A nomination form to stand for election to these positions can be obtained from the Returning Officer in the following ways:

All nomination papers should be received by the Returning Officer, John Box, at the address as detailed above, by Noon on Monday 8th February 2016.

Should any nominee wish to withdraw their nomination, they must put this in writing to the returning officer by 5pm on Thursday 11th February 2016.

Ballot papers will be distributed to qualifying members on Tuesday 1st March 2016. Completed ballot papers must be received by the Independent Scrutineer by Noon on Thursday 24th March 2016.

The regulations governing this election can be obtained from Electoral Reform Services Ltd (address as above).

The Independent Scrutineer for these elections is Electoral Reform Services Ltd (address as above).

The Returning Officer for these elections is John Box of Electoral Reform Services Ltd (address as above).

Many Villagers in Theydon recognise the importance of our Green Belt, but it is becoming under increasing threat from the pressure for more housing. Some of you may have seen the article in the Evening Standard on 8th January where Tom Papworth of the Adam Smith Institute suggests using 1,200 hectares of Green Belt land in Essex to build 60,000 homes. This land to include what he describes in the article as "a field near Theydon Bois Station on the Central Line that is - "home to three horses" -".

With EFDC working on our new Local Plan, which includes a Green Belt review it is important that the future of our Green Belt is properly discussed. The Epping Society is holding an Open Meeting next Friday at 7.30pm with or MP Eleanor Laing and representatives from Town, District and and County Councils. To reserve a place RSVP to [email protected]

Loughton Astronomical Society will be holding public stargazing observing sessions in January and February if the sky is clear. There will be an exhibition and demonstrations if cloudy. The Venue is the Scout Hall Off Loughton Lane and all are welcome.


Sun 17 Jan 16	Public observing	stargazing for the whole family - 18:30 to 20:45 - All welcome
Sun 31 Jan 16	Public observing	stargazing for the whole family - 18:30 to 20:45 - All welcome
Sat 13 Feb 16	Public observing	stargazing for the whole family - 18:30 to 20:45 - All welcome

Programmed events may change at short notice - Watch the LAS web site for any changes.

Theydon Bois Village Web Site

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