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Thanks: We were very sorry when we heard that one of our very active residents, Marion Smith a Head Teacher in the District, had been involved in an accident and we wish her an early and full recovery. The following message has been received from Marion's family:-
"Marion Smith and her family would like to thank the many people in Theydon Bois who have given support during her recent hospitalisation after a bad accident. As an example of a community, which is alive and well, Theydon Bois has shown it is in great heart. Marion is now home and getting around in a wobbly fashion. The many cards and offers of help were much appreciated".

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Douglas Haig Denby: We are sad to learn of recent death of Doug aged 83, who lived in the Village all his life. Born in Woburn Avenue, after a few years he moved with the family to Red Oaks Mead where he lived for the rest of his life.
Doug served in the Royal Marines for 12 years, including the whole of the last war. Following this he had a very varied life, his activities including being the Village chimney sweep, running a green grocery round and also carrying out gardening works for both large and small houses. Some may be surprised to learn that he a took a course in cordon bleu cooking at Loughton College and then hired his services to a number of large houses.
His funeral took place at Pardon Crematorium on the 22nd January 2002 and was very well attended, including relatives who came from abroad. He will be missed.

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Crime and Disorder Public Meeting held on Thursday 24th January 2002: Villagers turned up in force for this important meeting - also present were Inspector Glenn Mayes - crime reduction officer Tony Ellis, Pc Paul Gardener and Epping Forest Council's crime and disorder reduction co-ordinator Simon Ford together with members of the Parish Council.
As a result of the Public Audit last April three main issues emerged as a cause for public concern. Burglary - Vandalism - and Anti-Social Behaviour.
Three community-led action groups - each with a member of Theydon Bois Community Safety Group will be formed to tackle the concerns. A number of people came forward to volunteer and it is hoped that anyone with any ideas on how to tackle these issues will contact the Parish Office. Hopefully they will also volunteer to serve on the sub-committees. Parish Office telephone number: 01992 813442 or Robert Glozier on 01992 815408.

The progress of the groups will be monitored through a monthly or bimonthly meeting.

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The Friends of Copped Hall: The Friends have notified us of their events for 2002, including open days, walks and the lecture series in the Village Hall. For further details see the Diary Page or
Click Here.

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Cancer Research UK.: Theydon Bois Friends of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund again had a very successful fund raising year in the village and raised a total of £22,157.62 from events. They thanked all in the village for their generous support during 2001 that made this achievement possible. Their hard working committee are now working on this years events and some already planned are:

Quiz Night 1st March Village Hall
AGM 11th March Village Hall
Sponsored Parachute Jump 6th April
Plant Sale 8th June
Bridge Evening 27th September
Autumn Bazaar 2nd November

The Friends also tell us that a formal decision was made to merge Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign from early February. The combined charity will now be called Cancer Research UK. The charities hope that by working together they will be in an even stronger position to increase their understanding of cancer and develop more and better treatments.

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Poppy Appeal results:

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This years appeal raised the sum of £2805.76

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Advance Information on Events at Wansfell College: We have received the following information from the friends on some of the events later in the year at Wansfell College. We will add them to the Diary Page closer to the dates but you may wish to book now for these popular events.

Sunday 17 March, 3.45 for 4.15, at Wansfell College. Talk by Peter Foley entitled 'Essex Ghosts – but not the commoner phenomena!', followed by a salad meal, sweet and coffee. Tickets, at £8, are available from Mrs Kay Rush, 5 Thrifts Mead, Theydon Bois, Essex. CM16 7NF. Please make cheques payable to 'Friends of Wansfell College' and enclose a stamped addressed envelope.

Quiz Night arranged by the Friends of Wansfell College at the Village Hall on Saturday 27 April at 7.30 pm Tickets £7, including a fish and chip supper. Tables of up to eight. Bring your own drinks and glasses. Tickets by personal application from Wansfell College or by post (with cheque made out to 'Friends of Wansfell College' and sae) from Mrs Kay Rush, 5 Thrifts Mead, Theydon Bois, Essex. CM16 7NF

Annual visit by the Greek Theatre Players for their popular Shakespeare performance in the Wansfell College garden. This year they are performing 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on Sunday 16 June, at 4 PM Tickets, at £7.50, are available by personal application to Wansfell College or by post from Mrs Kay Rush, 5 Thrifts Mead, Theydon Bois, Essex. CM16 7NF. (Please make cheques payable to 'Friends of Wansfell College' and enclose an sae).

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Thank You: May we, through the Parish Newsletter & Web Site, thank everyone in the village, young and old, for the warm support and friendship we have been shown since our son Mark had his car accident on 20th October 2001. Mark continues to make steady progress and we are so grateful for the community spirit that exists in this village.
Bev and Neal Tomlinson of Dukes Avenue, Theydon Bois.

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The Queen's Jubilee Celebration: It seems the Christmas & New Year celebrations are hardly over but the keen band of activists in our village are already hard at work preparing events for the coming year. One of the most important will surely be the celebrations around the Queens Jubilee which Peter Simmance and his committee are working towards. If you fancy yourself as an entertainer (you may be the next 'Pop Idol') or can help in any way please contact the Parish office or Peter as below.

Next year Queen Elizabeth will celebrate her Golden Jubilee marking her 50-year reign as the Queen of our country. To commemorate this event, an extra bank holiday has been granted to mark the date of her coronation. A Golden Jubilee is a very rare event, and no one alive today has celebrated one in this country before.
Theydon Bois Parish Council has provided funds for a village party to be held on the 3rd June 2002, the Bank Holiday designated for the whole of Great Britain to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.
A committee, chaired by Peter Simmance, has been set up to run the event, which we hope you will all enjoy. We have been given permission by Mrs Elspeth Bonds (Headmistress of our primary school) to hold the event on the school playing fields. Although we are at an early stage in the planning of the event, I feel it appropriate to share with you, some of our thoughts on how the day might run.
The event will start at approximately 12 o'clock- midday.
It is hoped that families attending will bring a picnic lunch, garden chairs, tables and gazebos for protection from the sun (or rain Entertainment will be provided, which will commence with items for the young, such as face painting, children's games, fun races, shows and clowns etc. Parents will be able to mingle and chat with friends and neighbours without having to worry about their children.
The event will be supported throughout with a variety of music to suit all tastes In the evening we hope to arrange for outside caterers to provide takeaway food such as Chinese, Balti, Indian or fish and chips. We are also -providing a bar and there will be dancing to live music. The event should finish at about 11 o'clock.

If you have any suggestions or are able to organise/assist/partake in any of the activities listed below, please contact the Parish Office or Peter Simmance direct at:

The Laurels,
Coppice Row,
Theydon Bois.

We are looking for:
Singers - karooke
Star impersonation - Elvis, Sinatra, Jagger ect.
Musicians - soloist, group, band etc. (please include type of music)
Food Outlet - Other outside catering
Providing Bar
Magician Punch and Judy
Children's entertainer
Dance Groups Face Painter
Comic - suitable for all generations
Other.
Lets see what talent we have in Theydon B&S; - this could be your big break into the entertainment world. In return we will provide two stages for the performers with sound equipment backup. For those of you not able to help or partake, please make an early note in your events calendar so as many people as possible attend this once, in a lifetime' village event.

We hope that it will be a most enjoyable and memorable day.

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Re: Potential Road Closures for the Golden Jubilee:

It is anticipated that there will be a large number of requests for road closures connected with celebrations for the Golden Jubilee.

In order to keep disruption of the highway network to a minimum, the County Council have given guidance to the Agency districts. These must be adhered to by any party requiring a closure for a street party over the Golden Jubilee:

Formal applications must arrive at the Authority by 28 February 2002 to qualify for consideration. Any received after that date will not be considered. For further information click here.

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Working towards a safer village:

Theydon Bois Community Safety Group

CRIME AND DISORDER PUBLIC MEETING

THURSDAY 24TH JANUARY 8PM VILLAGE HALL

Last April many residents attended the Public Meeting to discuss CRIME AND DISORDER in THEYDON BOIS.

Many of you took part in the subsequent CRIME AUDIT to discover the main issues you wanted to be addressed.

The results of the Audit have been widely published and it is now time to discuss our approach to these problems, as a community.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS TO HELP REDUCE CRIME AND DISORDER IN YOUR VILLAGE?

PLEASE COME ALONG TO THE MEETING TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CREATING A SAFER VILLAGE

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Crime & Disorder Audit: Theydon Bois Community Safety Group recently published the results of the audit. 1,775 forms were circulated and a total of 629 audits were completed and returned. This was a response rate of 35%. In total the views of 1,072 local residents and businesses are represented in the audit. The respondents listed the three main categories of concern as 1. Burglary. 2. Vandalism. 3. Youth Anti-Social Behavior. The immediate work of the group is to identify resources and funding available to them so that an action plan can be produced to tackle each issue. In order to begin work the second Public Meeting is being called to discuss the audit, identify additional resources and listen to ideas of ways of attacking each issue. A good response to this meeting is essential help the Community Safety Group continue their work.

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Dogged Determination: (From K. Cope Animal Welfare Officer). Winter approaches and with it the nights start to 'draw in'. For some, we stay indoors never to be seen again until the golden rays of warm sunlight start to filter through our windows next spring. Of course, this is no good to our four legged friend as the dog still needs to be walked and exercised.
For some intrepid owners the obstacles of knee deep mud, wet and 'bog like' conditions of our fields and forest do not pose a problem. Even though the dog sinks up to its neck when it is taken for its walk is a challenge, not a problem. Others prefer to give the field a miss and take to our streets.
Although the dog becomes confused having being walked several times around the 'block' and never seems to be going in a straight line with the freedom of the open field, at least he is out and about and can use its highly sensitive nose to good use. Every lamp post is a wealth of 'doggy information' about the previous passersby. With a bit of luck the 'cute' little Poodle from number 14 could be out!
But does this mean that there is an increase in the amount of dog fouling on our streets? Statistically the number of reported incidents increases during this time and the District Council's Animal Welfare Service responds by concentrating more of its patrols around our streets. Over the forthcoming months we will be patrolling throughout Theydon Bois. Our Officers will be available to enforce current dog fouling legislation, give advice and offer help.
It therefore seems right to remind all us dog owners that we have a legal duty to 'CLEAN UP' after our dogs. A large number of owners do, as the District Council give out over 15,000 poop scoops every year. Those that don't bear this in mind; not only does dog mess cause all of us a nuisance and may be a health risk, its our dogs which naturally 'sniff' and use their noses to pick up scent from 'where other dogs have been' that come into close contact and a higher risk of picking up a disease or illness from dog fouling.
For everyone's sake, including our pets, remember to 'clean up' or face a fixed penalty of £25 or a fine of up to £1,000.

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A Time for Looking Forward & Looking Back: December 31st 2001 was a gorgeous sunny day showing our wonderful village and its pond at it's best. We wish you all many such days in 2002.

Swan on Pond 31/12/2002.	Duck on the Ice 31/12/2002
Photo: Jim Watts	Photo: Linda Tilling

Parish Council Chairman's End of Year Message: As another year draws to its close and our thoughts turn to Christmas let us for a moment consider what we are really celebration on the 25th December. With the sound of excited children as they open their presents let us have a glance around the village and we can see how fortunate we are to have such beautiful surroundings, particularly with the forest right on our doorstep.

During the year the Parish Council, assisted by other local organisations, particularly the Rural Preservation Society, have done our best to preserve this heritage although occasionally we have to recognise that times move on and some changes are inevitable. We must rely on the co-operation of all our residents to ensure the future good of the village.

As we enter 2002 let us glance back just for a moment to review the year just ending:
Many events have taken place but those that should be mentioned are that, as the year began work was just under way on the New Village Hall and then earlier this month the official opening took place. We now have a first class facility for benefit of all so please use it and enjoy it. There are of course continuing problems that will no doubt be around for some while yet, particularly Crime Prevention and Parking and we will do our utmost to find solutions, this will not be easy but again we will do our best.

During the year this area was affected by the foot and mouth outbreak that swept the country, it is very good news to know that this now appears to be over and we pray it will not return. Of the achievements during the year one that does stand out is the progress made at the Primary School. We should all appreciate the efforts made by the staff under the leadership of Mrs Elspeth Bonds the Head Teacher .This has resulted in a satisfactory Ofsted report following the inspection at the beginning of this term. Well done.

Finally in 2002 let us all work together for the village, this I am sure will be necessary as funding for services will still be tight, or tighter , this will mean that some items we have relied on others to do we may have to do ourselves. I should like to thank personally all those who have assisted me during the year, not only the Councillors but those in the village who have given support, I am grateful and appreciate your help. In May my 2 year term in office concludes and when I hand over to the new chairman I am sure this support will continue.

As Winter approaches and the wonderful Autumn colouring fades from the trees let us hope that world conflict will ease so that we can all look forward to a peaceful New Year.

Wilfred Shales Chairman

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