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PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
JUNE 2005
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY IN CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS DURING JUNE 2005
AND WHICH WERE RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS, THE THEYDON BOIS LOCAL HISTORY
RECORDER.
Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing was promoted to the front bench in
the House of Commons as the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. She
would continue to hold her existing office of Shadow Minister for Women,
as she believed that the new position would fit in with her current responsibilities.
Local outrage at the closure of Wansfell College in August 2004 surfaced
again when it was disclosed that the building (and presumably the extensive
grounds) had been sold to a residential property developer for more than
2.25 million pounds. Criticisms of this action were numerous. Former Wansfell
Governor John Rapley said, “It was grave shame that a valuable asset
would be lost to the community in Essex and a great shame if five and
a half acres of lovely gardens became a mass of concrete”. The Friends
of Wansfell College described the decision to close as “barbaric”.
The property was built in 1871 as a residential house but was converted
by the ECC (Essex County Council) into an adult educational centre in
1945.
Mark Scrace of the Quality and Excellence butchers in Forest Drive
recently introduced a free delivery service for his customers using an
old fashioned black bicycle. This was built locally, and conjointly, by
Tryton Cycles of Barkingside and Phoenix Sheet Metal of Theydon Garnon.
To promote this service, he held a street barbecue outside his shop. In
addition to butchery, the business now retailed green groceries. The proceeds
of the barbecue were donated to the Theydon Bois Branch of Cancer Research
UK
Freemasons from Theydon Bois supported a Masonic charity event in
support of the Orange Aid appeal to raise £25,000 to buy a new D
Class lifeboat for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). Orange
is the colour used on the Institution‘s lifeboats. This event was
held at Chingford Masonic Hall the highlight of which was a balloon race
in which thousands of orange balloons were released by the Sir Neil Thorne,
the Essex Provincial Grand Master. This will be the twelfth lifeboat donated
to the RNLI by Freemasons and it will be stationed at Southend to play
a vital role in protecting and saving lives.
A two part musical/visual presentation by Ian Noble was the feature
of this last musical event in the current season held by the Theydon Bois
Music Society. The first part comprised pictures of classical paintings
set against appropriate classical music. Although similar in presentation,
the second comprised a series of images of interesting events, from the
sixties onwards, with a background of popular music of those days. This
example from Ian’s extensive repertoire of presentations was particularly
well received.
“Green Fingered Jean Terry of Theydon Park Road once again opened
her garden to the general public for a plant sale in aid of the Theydon
Branch of Cancer Research UK. Most, if not all, of the plants on sale
had been grown from cuttings taken from her own garden, and these were
eagerly bought by the many who were present. The weather was fine but
cool for June and enabled refreshments, served by the Ladies of the Branch,
to be enjoyed outdoors.
The ECC Trading Standards office warned of rogue traders who, in the
guise of charity organisers, distributed leaflets, which requested that
donations of clothing and other discarded items be left out in the bags
provided for collection by the "charity". The small print in
the leaflets revealed that the organisers were in fact a business concern.
Moreover, items not intended for collection could also be collected if
left out unintentionally eg. a child’s cycle. Householders were advised
to ignore the leaflets and take their discarded items direct to a charity
shop.
The increasing interest in model cars, trains and toys resulted in
more than 150 people attending a “collectors evening" at the
TBVH (Theydon Bois Village Hall). Both rare and modern models were on
display with many for sale. Organiser Joe Lock pronounced the event a
great success and said that they would be returning to TB (Theydon Bois)
for a similar evening next August.
The TBVH was the recent venue for a number of awards made to volunteers
in the Epping Forest District who had taken part in the Voluntary Action
Epping Forest Scheme. The Chairman of the EFDC (Epping For4st District
Council), Councillor Brian Sandler, made the presentations one of which
went to Linda Marsh of TB who worked with Interact – Bridges to Work
in Waltham Abbey. Tea was served and the North Weald Bassett Singers entertained
with songs from popular musicals. Higgins Plc, the Loughton based construction
company, sponsored the scheme.
Ralph Weston, 88, and Vera Weston, 83, of Woodland Way TB celebrated
their diamond wedding anniversary. The couple is known to their family
and friends as Henry and Min after the characters in the 1960s Radio Goon
Show; they have two children and two grandchildren. They met in the Building
Research Station, Watford, during WWII where Vera was already working
and Ralph was seconded from the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
Ralph eventually became the Senior Scientific Officer at the Government
Laboratory and was awarded the OBE after 43 years service.
Summer came in with a vengeance when a mass of warm air moved in from
the "Caribbean!" and sent temperatures soaring to 33 degrees
C. (90 degrees F.). The sun shone continuously through the weekend encouraging
many to head for the cool of the coast, or stay at home and enjoy the
outdoor life with alfresco meals as in warmer climes. The sting in the
tail, which the South of England thankfully avoided, were severe thunderstorms
which devastated parts of Yorkshire, especially the village of Helmsley.
A five bedroom house in Theydon Park Road was severely damaged by
a major conflagration. Fifteen firemen were called from Epping and Loughton
at 11 pm. to tackle the blaze and it was feared that people were trapped
inside; an ambulance and paramedics stood by while a police helicopter
hovered overhead. However, it was established that the property had been
unoccupied for about a year despite being fully furnished, with children's
toys in an upstairs bedroom. The fire had commenced in three separate
areas with traces of an accelerant being found. A full investigation had
therefore been ordered.
Unease and suspicion remained about the EFDC’s plans to reorganise
the collection of refuse in the District with a bias on recycling. Peter
Smith of Theydon Park Road claimed that the huge amounts of waste glass
and paper from the village pubs and restaurants were removed collectively
by private contractors and were almost certainly deposited in a landfill
site. Trevor Roberts of Orchard Drive told of the vast recycling schemes
adopted country wide during WWII when virtually everything was recycled,
including kitchen waste for conversion to pig food. The organisation required
at that time for recycled waste disposal was colossal and he wondered
if the EFDC had the resources to cope with the waste collected through
their proposed scheme, or would it also end up in landfill sites. He asked
if the scheme was a genuine attempt to improve the environment, or political
expediency to avoid financial penalties for non compliance with government
recycling targets which would, almost certainly, be passed on to council
taxpayers?
The Parent Teacher Association of the TBCPS (Theydon Bois County Primary
School) held their Family Funday in the School Grounds in association
with "Barkingside", the Volvo car dealers. The events in the
School Playing Field included a hot air balloon (sponsored by Clinton
Cards), an Inflatable Area, Quad Bikes and an Excavator. Dr Who Daleks
and Tardis, Stomp Rockets and a Remote Control UFO were in the Infant
Playground. The Junior Playground featured public service vehicles, including
a local Fire Appliance, the siren of which was continually operated by
enthusiastic children, a Food Court, Cinderella Carriage and a Petting
Zoo. For the more senior visitors (especially Dads) Model Train Layouts,
a Train Simulator and Kites were to be found in the School Hall. The proceeds
of the Funday were donated to the Essex Air Ambulance charity and its
helicopter was able to make a brief landing on the village green during
the day.
The 25th Theydon Bois Village Open Gardens Day was held under the
new management of Carol and Grahame James of Hornbeam Close. Twenty two
gardens were open for viewing including four for the first time, all of
which were well worth seeing; many front gardens had also been tidied
and groomed to compliment the attractive nature of Theydon Bois. The usual
free minibus service operated to take visitors to gardens in the village
outskirts of Theydon Road and Great Gregories Lane. The ladies provided
ploughman’s lunches and afternoon teas in the TBVH and the event
closed with the Churches of Theydon, accompanied by the Salvation Army
Band, holding a Songs of Praise service on the TBVH patio. The Day raised
some £3,500 to support the Playground At Theydon charity and the
Village Association.
The funeral of the great village stalwart, Jack Farmer, was held in
the Theydon Bois Baptist Church on a warm and sunny afternoon. Jack died
on Friday 17 Jun aged 93 in a Suffolk nursing home and so closed an era
of village life reaching back to 1927 when Jack began working at the Wood
and Krailing Garage in Theydon Bois. The congregation included his family,
many friends’ and associates who bade him farewell at the service
and subsequent cremation at the Parndon Wood Crematorium in Harlow. Jack
took on many roles in the community as a part time fireman, organist,
freemason and family man. He married Gladys Day in 1937 and had two sons
Robert and Kenneth; the marriage unfortunately failed and Kenneth died
in a road accident in 1960. Jack then married Cicely Reeve, a nurse from
Norfolk and they had three daughters; Sally, Linda and Margaret. Following
Cicely’s death, Jack wrote a number of books about Theydon Bois and
so became the village unofficial historian. These were titled “Theydon
Bois as I Knew It”, "Theydon Bois and All That" and the
"Wood and Krailing Story". He went on the write nearly a dozen
more booklets and books some of which were used to raise funds for charities.
The TBPC (Theydon Bois Parish Council) Planning Committee meeting,
normally a quiet affair, became the opposite when villagers crammed into
the Beech Room of the TBVH to hear the Council’s consideration of
two planning applications associated with the Parsonage Golf development.
The first was EPF/790/05 – Installation of a Commuter Car Parking
Area on land in the vicinity of the railway station. The second was EPF/791/05
– Outline Application for a Proposed Tennis Centre with Ancillary
Leisure and Car Parking on the golf course currently being developed.
Both developments fell within the Metropolitan Green Belt and, if only
for this reason, the Council had no hesitation in refusing both applications.
Local concern regarding the size of the Parsonage Golf development and
the resulting annoyance from some 300 lorries dumping soil daily on the
site, surfaced during the meeting. To the surprise of many, John Knapman,
Leader of the EFDC attended as an observer but then spoke to explain why
this situation existed and proceeded to advise the TBPC on the action
to take with the two planning refusals. The meeting was reminded about
the Tottenham Hotspur Football Academy application for a site near Abridge
in June 2002, which was unsuccessful; it was pointed out that the Parsonage
Golf development was far greater.
During May, the following were recorded in the registers of St Mary’s
Church:
Baptisms 08 05 05 Harrison Poole Alexander Bowen
Funerals 06 05 05 Lewis Bowe 13 05 05 Carol Cowley 23 05 0 Phyllis
Lewis
Burial of Ashes 16 05 05 Pat Folley
Top
THE PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
MAY 2005
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY IN CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS DURING MAY 2005
AND WHICH WERE RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS, THE THEYDON BOIS LOCAL HISTORY
RECORDER.
The pupils of the TBCPS (Theydon Bois County Primary School) staged
their own sponsored mini marathon to support their teacher, Chris Margot,
who ran in the recent London Marathon to raise funds for the charity “Children
with Leukaemia”. The pupils ran a set course in the school grounds
and so increased the amount raised by Chris.
Polling Day for the Parliamentary and County Council Elections dawned
bright and breezy and the Polling Station in the TBVH (Theydon Bois Village
Hall) opened promptly at 7 am. The first to vote were residents on their
way to work followed by mothers who had left their children at school
and then other villagers. The voting was steady throughout the day and
the “tellers” for the three main political parties- Conservative,
Labour and Liberal Democrats- who were busy at the TBVH entrance soon
realised that voting would be substantial. At 10.00 pm. the boxes containing
the ballot papers were taken to the Loughton Debden Park High School where
vote counting for the Epping Forest Constituency was taking place. It
was evident quite early that Eleanor Laing, the previous Conservative
MP was going to be re elected and at 2 am. her third election success
was confirmed. Her majority almost doubled from 8,426 to 14,358 and her
share of the vote increased from 49.1% to 52.7%. The Labour Candidate,
Enfield Borough Councillor Bambos Charalambous, came second with 20.9%
of the votes cast and Liberal Democrat Michael Heavens came third with
18.37%. The British National Party candidate, Julian Lepport obtained
1,728 votes, the United Kingdom Independent Party’s Andrew Smith
managed 1,104 votes and the English Democrat’s Robin Tilbrook received
631 votes; these last three candidates all lost their deposits.
The next day the TBVH was again the centre of activity when the votes
were counted for the vacant seats on the (Essex County Council). That
for Epping and Theydon Bois was won by Conservative John Spencer, a new
arrival on the local political scene, when he beat Liberal Democrat Janet
Whitehouse by only 121 votes. The actual votes cast were John Spencer
3,496, Janet Whitehouse 3,375, Labour’s Michael Sellears 827, English
Democrat’s Robin Tillbrook 368 and the Green Party’s Korinna
Willis 284. Janet Whitehouse, who had previously served the local community
for some four years on the ECC, remained a member of the (Epping Forest
District Council).
The funeral of Charles Pratt, who died on 21 Apr 05, was held at the
Theydon Bois Baptist Church. A long standing member of the local community
and also the Church, Charles had reached to ripe old age of 98 and one
half and was expected to attain his centenary and receive a congratulatory
message from the Queen. The large congregation at the funeral service
comprised not only Baptists, but also many villagers and others who had
known him for many years.
Objections against the proposed introduction of wheelie bins in TB
(Theydon Bois) and the surrounding area continued with Alan Wheeler of
Purlieu Way TB organising a 200 – name petition of opposition. Alan’s
views were that villagers were not against recycling; however public consultations
had been held for the proposals for street parking and tree planting in
the village, but none for wheelie bins. In the past, TB had won awards
for the best kept village of its class but that would be unlikely in the
future with the introduction of these bins. Trevor Roberts of Orchard
Drive recently visited the Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds where wheelie
bins are in use, and was appalled to see the exteriors of many interesting
and attractive buildings marred by multicoloured bins, often three, in
permanent locations at the front.
The continuing development of the Parsonage Golf Course off the Abridge
Road and the large number of lorries moving earth to this site was having
an adverse affect both within and outside the village. In nearby Abridge,
Sam Pickering of Abridge Mews, was now unable to leave her 8-month daughter
Harriet in a pram outside her home because of the danger from these vehicles.
Recently one lorry, crossing the small road bridge opposite her home,
mounted the pavement where the pram would have been and destroyed a bollard.
Sam claimed lorry movements were continuous throughout the day and had
she recently video recorded 76 using the bridge in one hour. Sue McNally,
who lived in the building next to the bridge, claimed that the lorries
shook the structure and dislodged bricks; the vehicles were destroying
the village. Residents have reported their suspicions of damage to the
bridge and ECC officials were due to carry out a survey. The bridge had
an advisory 7.5 ton weight limitation but an official weight restriction
has not been thought to be necessary. George Dilloway, director of the
UK Golf and Leisure denied the claims of damage by his lorries; other
heavy vehicles visiting local premises and farms also used the bridge.
Steps were being taken to complete the in filling of the golf course as
soon as possible to minimise any inconvenience. He was sure that the bridge
"would stand up to it - its solid!".
The TB Tennis Club held a successful Charity Day when over £500
was raised for the St Margaret’s Hospital Breast Cancer Research
Unit, which treats more than 2,000 women annually. The winner in the men’s
section was John Raw with Richard Taylor as runner up. The women’s
section winners were Margaret Hopkinson and Claire Smith.
The TBVH car park became a bus park when some ten vintage double and
single decker buses arrived to take part in the North London Transport
Society Meeting. Many were London Transport vehicles from the 1940s onwards
and these magnificent vehicles in their red and green colour schemes made
a handsome sight against the green spring foliage of the village. Many
were reminded of the single decker London Transport bus that once ran
from Epping to Romford via the village in a truly rural setting. Modern
Routemaster double deckers brought passengers to the event, at no charge,
from Chingford and Loughton stations. Others provided free tours of the
village and Epping Forest. The interior of the TBVH was filled with many
stalls selling model buses, videos, books and timetables and other bus
memorabilia.
The Theydon Bois Short Mat Bowls Club (Thursday Section) held its
Presentation Lunch in the TBVH. After an excellent buffet lunch arranged
by the Ladies, the Club Secretary Ted Norris announced the winners and
runners up in the Club Competitions for 2004-2005 and Club Chairman Anne
Washer then presented the awards as follows (winners first): TARGET BOWLS
– Alan Drake and Bert Larner, LADIES SINGLES – Penny Page and
Joan Larner, MENS SINGLES – Matt Furlong and Alan Drake, MENS PAIRS
– Brian Giddens/Bert Taylor and John Field/Stan Larner, MIXED PAIRS
– Tide Wiles/Penny Page and Ken Rae/Marjorie Twinn.
The weather once again showed that, to some, “global warming"
was a reality when the temperature suddenly shot up to a record 31 degrees
C. (88 degrees F.) the highest recorded for the month of May since 1957.
A mass of hot air moved up from the Sahara to cause delays on the railways,
due to distortion of the track, and a mammoth nineteen-mile tail back
on the section of the M25 Motorway in the vicinity of Theydon Bois. The
temperature returned to normal within 24 hours but the strong dry winds
continued, to the dismay of gardeners who remained busy with their watering
cans.
The controversy over the introduction by the EFDC of a new refuse
collection system involving the use of wheelie bins continued when Madeleine
Murphy, the TBPC Parish Clerk, wrote to the press. She explained that,
while it was understood that the EFDC was obliged to reach Government
targets for waste disposal, the TBPC was concerned about the hygienic
implications of the new collections and the difficulties likely to be
experienced by some members of the community in handling these large bins.
Other worries were the possibility of bins becoming overfilled, and the
lack of recycling collections for plastics; and many elderly residents
were worried as to how they would cope with the proposed changes in refuse
collection.
Once again Dr John Warren of Woodland Way TB took up his pen on the
recycling issue and asked if John Knapman, the Leader of the EFDC, lived
in the same world as the rest of use. The Leader had suggested that a
possible solution to hygiene problems caused by nasty residual domestic
waste was to wrap this material in plastic carrier bags. Dr Warren claimed
that he already followed this practice with the existing black bags but
still experienced unpleasant problems during the summer. Anther suggestion
of Mr Knapman's was that less food should be served so that there was
less to throw away; but then, said Dr Warren, how would this relate to
other items such as babies nappies and soiled cat litters to name but
few? He ended by asking the EFDC to listen to the ratepayers rather than
riding roughshod over them, and pointed out that this would all be remembered
at the next EFDC elections.
The Spring Bank Holiday Monday produced indifferent weather which
discouraged many residents from departing for the coast and instead, attending
local events eg. the St Mary’s Church May Fayre and Fun day. The
Rev Canon Colin Travers attributed this to the success of the event, which
grossed over £4,000 in support of church funds. More than twenty
stalls in the grounds of the Church Hall had a variety of items
for sale ranging from bric a brac to ice cream. Others provided entertainment
with hoopla, catch the pig pong ball, shooting the football and especially
the “bouncy castle “ always a great favourite with the children.
The odd shower saw many visitors moving into the Church Hall where the
hard working ladies of the Church provided light lunches and other refreshments.
The Epping Forest Conservators gave permission for car parking on the
village green, which, consequently, attracted much custom from passing
motorists. All in all, this was a good day for both the Church and visitors
with this annual event continuing to increase in popularity. The event
raised nearly £4,500.
During May, the following were recorded in the registers of St Mary’s
Church:
Baptism
08 05 05 Harrison Poole
Alexander Bowen
Funerals
06 05 05 Lewis Bowe
13 05 05 Carol Cowley
23 05 05 Phylis Lewis
Burial of Ashes
16 05 05 Pat Folley
Top
PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
APRIL 2005
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY
IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS
DURING APRIL 2005 AND WHICH WERE RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS, THE THEYDON
BOIS LOCAL HISTORY RECORDER.
The residents of Orchard, Elizabeth and Forest Drives
were surprised to find their early Saturday and Sunday mornings disturbed
by the frequent passage of single - decker buses. These vehicles were
introduced for the weekend only to replace Central Line trains, which
were not running due to maintenance work on the rail link between Epping
and Woodford. One route ran from Epping to Theydon Bois stations; another
ran direct from Epping to Woodford stations serving interim stations en
route. Passengers from the village travelling to Woodford and beyond therefore
had to travel first to Epping before switching to the Epping – Woodford
bus, definitely not an ideal arrangement. Being the weekend, the three
Drives affected were relatively free of the usual road congestion caused
by weekday commuter parking and primary school use; otherwise there could
have been substantial disruption of the traffic in these roads.
The death of Pope John Paul II created an outburst of
grief and emotion, not only in the Roman Catholic Church but also among
many other religious and non-religious societies worldwide. A period of
official mourning now began with the lying in state of the Pope who was
expected to be buried later at St Peters in Rome with all the high dignity
and solemnity of the Church. Several days later, a conclave of 115 Cardinals
would meet in secrecy to elect the 265th successor to St Paul. The Rome
authorities were rapidly organising facilities to cater for some 2 million
pilgrims who were expected to descend on the city to pay their respects
to His Holiness. Meanwhile prayer services and special masses were expected
to be held throughout the local district, especially at the Church of
the Immaculate Conception at Church Hill in Epping, which many villagers
of the Roman Catholic faith attended. In deference to these momentous
events, the main political parties in the UK postponed any electioneering
planned in preparation for the Government and County Council elections
to be held on 5 May 05. At Royal level, the marriage of the Prince of
Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles planned for the day of the Pope’s
burial was put back one day so that the Prince could represent the Queen
at the funeral.
Tragedy struck again in the Abridge road with a two car
crash outside Theydon Hall Cottages. Roy Weston was driving a Nissan Car
when this was in collision with a red Peugeot 306. Roy broke his ankle
and sustained cuts but his wife Roberta died shortly after arrival at
Whipps Cross Hospital Leytonstone. Roberta was well known in Hemel Hempstead
being a member of the local Bingo Club; she enjoyed playing cards and
darts and also wrote poetry. A 19 year old man and 19 year old woman,
who were in the Peugeot, also suffered injuries and were taken to Princes
Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. The police were appealing for witnesses
to the accident.
John Jeffrey of Sidney Road TB, a pupil at St John’s
School Epping, was presented with the Young Citizen of the Year Award
by Richard Morgan, the Chairman of the EFDC (Epping Forest District Council).
John qualified for this honour with his work for charity and voluntary
organisations being a member of the Student Executive, the Young Essex
Assembly and a Deputy Member of the local Youth Parliament. He is also
the co-ordinator for Active Listeners, a group of students who provide
emotional support for their peers. He has also worked with the London
Ambulance Service, the Red Cross and has been involved with first aid
training.
TB residents were able to watch, on television, the marriage
of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles at Windsor. After many setbacks,
the couple were married at the Windsor Registry Office and then attended
a service of blessing in the Chapel at Windsor Castle, which was attended
by the Queen.
It was announced that the candidates standing for election
on 5 May 05 as the ECC (Essex County Council) representative for the Epping
and Theydon Bois District would be: Michael Sellears-Labour, John Spencer-Conservative,
Robin Tilbrook-English Democrats, Janet Whitehouse-Liberal and Korinna
Willis- Green Party.
The candidates standing for election as the Epping Forest
member in Parliament would be Bambos Charalambous-Labour, Michael Heavens-Liberal
Democrat, Eleanor Laing-Conservative, Julian Leprous-British National
Party, Andrew Smith-UK Independence Party and Robin Tillbrook-English
Democrats Party.
Eleanor Laing, the Conservative candidate and a resident
of TB, was supported by her three-year-old son, Matthew, when she handed
in her nomination papers for election. Although more interested in chocolate
buttons than Conservative policies, Matthew showed that he was already
aware of party politics as his mother worked at “Big Ben”; and
he thought that people should vote for “Michael”, the Conservative
Party leader Michael Howard.
Objections against the proposal to introduce wheelie
bins for the disposal of domestic waste continued. The current edition
of the Epping Guardian contained no less than three letters of objection
from residents of TB (Theydon Bois). Most damming was the letter from
Dr John Warren of Woodland Way who criticised the previous and existing
waste disposal schemes for household and gardening waste, which had caused
confusion with different size/colour of bags and their collection times
Residual household waste would largely comprise food waste residues which
was a pathogenic material, which, if left to fester in bins for two weeks
in the hot summer, would create a potential health problem. L. Real of
TB contended that bins would ensure the end of the village successes in
the Best Kept Village Awards competitions, as many bins would be a permanent
and unsightly feature at the front of properties. He also wanted to know
why plastic bags of different colours could not be used in place of bins.
Harry Memory of Baldocks Road hoped that this was not a fait accompli
situation and that the EFDC would still reconsider the proposal. B. Penman
of Avenue Road thought that a local referendum on this matter should be
held and further suggested that council tax payments by direct debit should
be cancelled to register general disapproval of the scheme.
The Roding Valley University of the Third Age (U3A),
which meets every third Monday morning of the month in the TBVH (Theydon
Bois Village Hall), received formal recognition when the Roding Valley
Chairman Margaret Seeley was presented with the official certificate by
Shirley Trew, the NEC Member for the Eastern Area U3A Trust. The Roding
Valley U3A was formed in May 04 because of the long waiting list for membership
of the Epping Forest U3A which also meets in the TBVH. Both U3As operate
on a "member's help basis” without official tutors and embody
various groups which meet outside the main meetings to study a variety
of subjects including literature, art, languages, music etc. However,
the main meetings, with professional speakers, remained the focal point
for all U3A activities and educational and social visits were also arranged
to supplement general studies.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded on Michael
Humphrys, 41, of Collard Green, Loughton, who died when his Black BMW
car crashed in Piercing Hill TB on 25 Feb 04 near the junction with Coppice
Row. PC Ian Donaldson of the Police Traffic Investigation Unit told the
Epping Coroner’s Court that Mr Humphrys was not wearing a seat belt
and driving at 45 mph in a 30 mph speed limit. The vehicle rounded a bend
too fast, left the road and collided with a tree. Toxicology reports showed
that Mr Humphrys had 206 milligrams of alcohol in his blood, two and one
half times the legal limit, and traces of cocaine and cannabis drug in
his system.
The London Marathon was held on a bright Sunday morning
and a participant was Quentin Dawe, 63, a father of four and a member
of the Theydon Bois Baptist Church. This was the third Marathon in six
years in which Quentin had run to raise over £3,000 for a theatre
company, which involves young people with disabilities aged from 5 to
30. His daughter Penny has been with the company for more than two years
and recently played the part of one of Captain Cook’s pirates in
the production of Peter Pan.
General concern over the closure of Wansfell College
in 2004 continued when ECC Councillor Joan Whitehouse asked the Council
for details of the disposal of the College equipment and furniture, as
she believed that some items could be of use to local institutions. She
was told that most items had gone to the Essex Adult Community Colleges
in the North and West of the County. The Essex Youth Service had received
catering equipment and bedroom furniture for its residential and outdoor
pursuit centres while other beds had been donated to the Salvation Army
and to Shelter, the charity for the homeless.
Two youths received an unexpected and unpleasant surprise
when they grabbed the Cancer Research UK Charity collection box from the
counter of the Theydon Bois Bakery. Carol Howe, who was serving in the
shop, was so incensed that she pursued them to a parked car and demanded
the return of the box. She said that, in retrospect, she should not have
gone after them in case they were armed with knives, but she was tired
of charity boxes being stolen in this way. The box was promptly returned
to the counter but the Guide Dogs for the Blind box was then found to
be missing. The police were investigating the incident.
Tragedy struck the Theydon Bois Golf Club when Lewis
Bowe, 67, of Dukes Avenue TB, one of its leading members, collapsed and
died while playing on the ninth fairway of the course. Operations Manager
Brian O’Connell explained that the green keeper applied cardio-pulmonary
resuscitation and the ambulance helicopter landed at the scene and then
rushed the patient to Princess Alexander Hospital in Harlow; unfortunately
Lewis was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
Mike Emmett of Abridge Road TB complained in the local
press about the extensive and daily movements of over three hundred 16
wheel trucks carrying soil to the Parsonage Golf course currently under
construction. He claimed that these vehicles were rampaging through Abridge,
Chigwell, Loughton and Debden damaging roads and leaving dirt and refuse
en route. There had been three fatal accidents in the past twelve months
on the B172 road between Abridge and TB.
Leslie Jerman of Coppice Row TB wrote to say that plans
to use land near Davenant School in nearby Debden for burial purposes
should be reconsidered. He didn’t believe that we had the right to
sterilise land for this purpose when it could be used for the living rather
than the dead; large numbers of burial grounds were being neglected and
were therefore a problem. In reply, Arthur Loy an Epping resident, pointed
out that some land in cemeteries was usually reserved for the deposit
of ashes of those who had been cremated. Also, the neglect of cemeteries
was the fault of the living and not the dead.
The stalwarts of the Theydon Bois Singers gave their
Spring Concert in the TBVH. Their rendering of Haydn's “Maria Theresa”
Mass was of the usual high standard and, although in compete contrast,
the vocal performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan Yeoman of the Guard
was both bright and melodramatic, as it should be. The choral singing
was well balanced with that of the soloists ie. Frances Chilvers –
Soprano, Kirstie Mathieson – Contralto, Chris Joyce – Tenor,
Mark Hansford – Bass and Philip Jacobs - Bass. The narrator in “Yeoman”
was Kay Rush, the brilliant and hard working accompanist was Paul Chilvers
and Janet Cass, as a most able conductor, weaved everything together to
produce a most enjoyable spring evening concert
During April, the following were recorded in the registers
of St Mary’s Church:
Baptism 16 04 05 Olivia Hussey
Marriages 16 04 05 Louise Dorling and Richard Hussey
23 04 05 Victoria Arter and Oliver Furlong
Death 16 04 05 Frank Surridge, a former greengrocer in
the village died in Suffolk at the age of 94
Funerals 04 04 05 Ann Brooks 12 04 05 Lily Denby
13 04 05 Errol Goode 22 04 05 Pat Folley
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