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THE PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
APRIL 2003
HERE ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY IN CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER, WHICH OCCURRED IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS DURING APRIL 2003
AND WHICH HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS THE LOCAL HISTORY RECORDER
FOR THEYDON BOIS.
Class 5W at the Theydon Bois Primary School took part in the Passport
Reading Scheme organised by the Epping Guardian newspaper. The children
were tasked to read each weekly edition of the newspaper for ten weeks
and to complete set assignments designed to help develop their aptitudes
for reading, writing and mathematics. On completion of the task, a group
photograph of the Class was published in the newspaper and each pupil
received a personal certificate of participation.
At a recent meeting of the Theydon Bois Community Safety Group, set
up two years ago, it was reported that the village was one of the foremost
Essex villages which promoted community safety. Chairman David White of
the Burglary Action Sub-group reported that Theydon Bois was a very safe
place to live. He also reported on the action which had been taken to
deal with burglary by the circulation to every household of a leaflet
giving advice on making homes more secure. Margaret O’Connor from
the Anti Social Behaviour Sub-group reported that retailers were following
the licensing laws regarding the non-sale of alcohol to youths, and also
regarding the co-operation of the London Transport police over anti social
behaviour near the station.
The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, a high-tempo dance group, visited the Theydon
Bois Primary School to work with pupils in dancing sessions including
a variety of dance styles ranging from jive to jazz and including the
“Lindy Hop”.
After much criticism regarding London Underground’s alternative
travel bus arrangements for the village, a new service was introduced
which ran from Theydon Bois station to Loughton station where the Central
Line was now operating.
The audience at a musical evening in the village hall travelled down
”memory lane” with a variety of music, songs and comedy. This
event was held to raise funds for the Haven House Hospice for children
at Woodford Green.
The first of the 2003 monthly walks organised by the Theydon Bois
Rural Preservation Society entitled “A Forest for the Future"
took walkers through some four miles of Epping Forest. The Society’s
Secretary, Peter Newton, organised the event.
The Epping Villages Team of Midwives based at St Margaret’s Hospital,
Epping, celebrated its ninth anniversary. This dedicated team of six midwives
provide an essential service of antenatal and postnatal care for local
mothers as well as attending at the birth. Since its formation in 1994
its members have looked after some 3,000 patients in the district including
Theydon Bois. In normal circumstances, the team replaced the doctor by
dealing with the mother directly and Kathy Edwards - the Team Supervisor
- explained that some 3% of women now elected to have home births, which
was encouraging. However most local births took place at the Princess
Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and where the team also attended the labour
ward. It was rare for births to occur away from these areas although some
babies have arrived in car parks and one birth recently occurred in Epping
High Street.
The elaborate set created by the Theydon Bois Drama Society for its
October 2002 production of the bitter sweet comedy drama “Steel Magnolias”,
was once again in the news. Representatives from the National Operatic
and Dramatic Association (NODA) had attended the production, were most
impressed with the set and had nominated it for one of their awards. The
set was built in two days and represented the interior of a ladies hairdressers
with working sinks and hair dryers.
The Essex Federation Of Women’s Institutes staged a Gilbert and
Sullivan evening in the TB village hall. The trio Perfect Harmony, comprising
Pamela Baxter- Mezzo Soprano, Ralph Meanley – Baritone and David
Mackie – piano, entertained the audience with numerous excerpts from
the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Audience participation was encouraged
and was particularly evident after the interval where glasses of wine
had been served. The vocal renderings by the singers were both dramatic
and of high quality, and the expert accompaniment provided by David Mackie
gave a brilliant lustre to the overall performance
After several months’ absence, Central Line trains once again
appeared at Theydon Bois station. It being a Saturday, there was little
commuter traffic and the posting of a simple notice in a quiet station
foyer announcing the resumption of the service so bringing to a close
many weeks of frustration and angry protests from passengers. However,
the Replacement Bus Service was to continue for a few weeks yet, until
the rail service became fully re established. After urgent talks with
Paul Godier, General Manager of London Underground, Eleanor Laing MP said
she understood how annoying it was for people from our part of the world
to see parts of the Central Line open, but not our section. London Underground
were looking very carefully at the position of shopkeepers who hold their
leases from London Underground and that they may be able to give them
a rent holiday.
Twenty years to the day that he was admitted to hospital with cancer
of the spine, Les Stevens, 56, of Woodford Green took part in the London
marathon. Running on behalf of a local charity, the Theydon Bois Cancer
Research UK. He took a little more time (5 hours) to fininsh compared
with his previous run in 1994. Les, a retired school teacher, attributed
this to advancing years but hoped to raise £1,000 for the charity
and was more than satisfied to have completed the gruelling 22 mile course
run over London’s streets.
The last in the 2003 series of Lent Soup Lunches was held in the St
Mary’s Church Hall. A speciality which proved very popular was “cullen
skink”, a Scottish soup with Haddock as the main ingredient. The
proceeds from the event went to support Christian Aid Week.
The long established Theydon Bois Singers gave an evening Spring Concert
in the village hall. The capacity audience enjoyed a performance of Mozart’s
Coronation Mass in C and, after the interval and as a complete contrast,
an abridged version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta Iolanthe.
The soloists were Frances Cass –Soprano, Kirstie Mathieson –
Contralto, Chris Joyce – Tenor and Gavin Cranmer-Moralee – Bass.
Janet Cass gave a masterly performance as the concert conductor and Ellie
Morrow was the hard working pianist who helped keep everything together
The Theydon Bois Short Mat Bowls Club advertised for new members.
Having existed for nearly 20 years, the Club met regularly in the village
hall; play took place throughout the day with morning and afternoon breaks
for coffee and tea. Equipment, including woods, was provided free of charge
and tuition was also available. The current secretary was Ted Norris on
01992 812104, who would be pleased to receive enquiries regarding membership.
Essex Environmental Awards made a grant of £13,000 towards the
current work of underpinning the north wall of St Mary’s Church TB.
This work was necessary prior to the construction of new vestry rooms
and disabled facilities. Canon the Rev Colin Davis was delighted to receive
a grant at this stage of the project, which was due for completion in
November 2003 at a cost of £425,000.
It was revealed that Birch Hall, the home of village resident David
Sullivan, was now worth fifteen million pounds. The Sunday Times national
newspaper listed the building as one of the “Ten Fabulous Homes”
in Britain; it was also placed 38th in a similar list published by the
Sunday Express. The house contained an indoor and outdoor swimming pool,
cinema, ten-pin bowling alley, and a corridor lined with trophies and
memorabilia relating to Birmingham City Football Club of which Sullivan
was the current Chairman.
Dr Chris Pond from the Loughton Historical Society was the speaker
at the Theydon Bois Baptist Men’s Meeting. His subject was the Palace
of Westminster where he was currently responsible for the administration
of the reference library used by MPs and Lords. He gave a fascinating
insight into the history of the building and the current function of the
Houses of Commons and Lords. His talk was supported by many excellent
photographic slides.
Each pupil at the Village Primary School received a copy of the Bible
when by the Bible for Children organisation paid a recent visit as part
of its scheme to advance the knowledge if Christianity in schools, and
help with financial burden of buying books. Head Teacher Elspeth Bonds
said “It’s exciting to be involved in this project and we know
that every family will benefit from each child having a Bible. We intend
to use the Bibles in the School”.
Theydon Bois Badminton Club was the organisers of a recent fashion
show in the village hall. Spring outfits were modelled and supplied by
Valerie’s of Sawbridgeworth, and Amy of Matching Green displayed
hats for hire. The function raised £400 for Homestart, a local charity
concerned with deprived families. £675 was also raised in support
of the Theydon Bois Village Hall and brought to a total of £3,500,
the amount raised by the Club for this purpose.
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PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
MARCH 2003
HERE ARE SOME OF THE EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY IN CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER, WHICH OCCURRED IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS DURING MARCH 2003
AND WHICH HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS THE LOCAL HISTORY RECORDER
FOR THEYDON BOIS.
Volunteers who turned out for a Saturday morning “litter pick”
around the village collected some twenty large sacks of litter. Among
the “rubbish” collected were wheel trims lost from passing motor
vehicles and three badly damaged and abandoned road signs. The Chairman
of the Theydon Bois Parish Council, John Eaton, said that the litter picks
would now be held monthly by popular consent.
The village hall was packed to capacity for an "Elvis Presley"
night of song and dance in support of the Playground At Theydon (PAT)
charity. The younger members of the audience discovered the delights of
the music of the sixties while those much older relived their dancing
days. This support was boosted by the current problems of vandalism, which
the Playground was experiencing, and more than £850 was raised towards
the fund launched to finance the repair of the damage. The Chairman of
PAT, Joy Wainwright, expressed her grateful thanks to all for their magnificent
support.
At the February meeting of the Theydon Bois Wine Circle, President
Alan Witts gave a re run of two slide presentations of holidays in England
(1987) and France (1995). During the interval those attending sampled
French food and wine.
Ronald Warren, the President of the Theydon Bois Rural Preservation
Society, was cremated at Parndon Wood Crematorium in Harlow. He had died
suddenly on 21 Feb 03, aged 86, having been in ill health for some time.
However he continued to express a strong interest in the Society through
which he had helped prevent unwelcome development in parts of TB and the
surrounding area. More than 40 friends and family attended his cremation
and these included representatives from many sections of the local community
including the Parish Council.
The Theydon Bois WI celebrated Shrove Tuesday with a “Pancake
Day” event in the village hall. Children from the Theydon Bois Primary
School, suitably dressed as Victorian cooks, attended and competed with
the ladies, led by President Peggy Cooke, at “tossing the pancake”.
The children won hands down and returned to school victorious with each
clutching an Easter Egg presented by the WI. The event raised a substantial
sum for the Playground At Theydon charity.
The travelling difficulties experienced by the villagers, due to closure
of the Central Line, were exacerbated by the proposed withdrawal of the
500 Sunday Bus service which linked the village with Harlow and Romford.
This was due to the ECC subsidy for each passenger now exceeding £5,
which was unacceptable. It was possible that another, existing, route
could be extended to serve the village, but details were not known.
A Women’s Day of Pray was held in the Theydon Bois Baptist Church
with the first lesson being read by Eleanor Laing, the Epping Forest MP.
The Theydon team leader, Angela Walling, assisted by other church members
led the service: Anne Barnes gave the sermon.
Parts of Theydon Bois, Theydon Mount, Passingford Bridge, Toot Hill
and Stable ford Abbotts comprised the route for the early morning Sunday
cycle race held by the Redbridge Cycling Club. The weather conditions
were cold but sunny for the event; Trevor Bedon of Collier Row won in
a time of 13 mins 26 secs and Steve Isgar of Loughton was second, his
time being 26 mins 28 secs.
The first of the weekly Lent Soup Lunches was held in the St Mary’s
Church Hall. The meals were prepared by the ladies of the church and comprised
a variety of soups followed by a selection of dessert pies, tarts and
coffee. The vicar, the Rev Canon Colin Travers, announced that the proceeds
for each weekly event would be used to support the “Aquabox”
organisation which provided emergency boxes containing water purifying
agents to areas stricken by natural or man made disasters.
Subsequent to the death on 21 Jan 03 of Toby Delderfield who resided
in Abridge Road TB, a man from Gidea Park near Romford was arrested and
bailed by the police. Toby, 23, died after being struck by a Ford Transit
van while walking in Abridge Road.
During the Second Weekly Lent Soup Lunch in St Mary’s Village
Hall, the Rev Canon Colin Travis led those present in a fervent prayer
for the victims of the Second Gulf War which had broken out in Iraq and
for the short duration of this conflict. The proceeds for this lunch went
to support the Manna Society, which administered to the homeless and long-term
unemployed.
Two talented instrumentalists, Rachel Calaminus – viola and Rachael
Buxton – piano, gave a performance of music by Bach, Hummel, Schubert,
Schumann and Rebecca Clarke at the March Meeting of the Theydon Bois Music
Society. The audience gave the players a resounding ovation. but were
disappointed because encores were not possible due to the necessary early
departure of the artists because of the continuing closure of the London
Underground Central Line.
The rebuilding of part of St Mary’s Church TB had commenced with
the demolition of the vestry and cloakroom. However, this had revealed
that further underpinng was necessary entailing further costs; the £425,000
already raised for this work would have to be increased.
The Central Line closure at TB continued although a service was now
running between Bethnal Green and Woodford. Mysterious lights at night
along the railway line this weekend revealed that the rail authorities
had taken the opportunity to renew a mile long section of the track from
TB Station back towards Debden. London Underground spokesman, Donai O’Reilly
explained that there was a huge delay in repairing the trains;
this entailed fitting 5,600 brackets and 11,200 bolts, which were designed
off the drawing board and then manufactured. A typically frustrated commuter
was Miles Foster, of The Weind TB, who had spent the last few weeks battling
for many hours each day to make a round trip to Leytonstone to take his
daughter to nursery and then proceed to his work in Westminster. To exacerbate
his difficulties, the replacement bus from Epping to Stratford now ceased
to call at the TB Station so entailing a further bus journey to Epping
Station from where he then commenced his journeys, but using three replacement
buses. He had protested strongly to London Underground about this, and
the lack of information regarding the reopening of the line, without receiving
any satisfactory response.
A special written “SOS – Save Our Shops” was circulated
by the TBPC to all residents in the village. Despite contentions from
some that commuters using the station contributed little to local business,
the closure of the Central Line had resulted in a substantial loss to
most of the village shops. Together with the current economic decline,
this was adversely affecting trade so much that some shopkeepers were
considering closure. Commuters forced to find new routes, and perhaps
better parking facilities elsewhere, were unlikely to return to the village
when the Line reopened. This general situation also brought into question
the wisdom of discouraging commuter parking in the planned revised parking
arrangements for the village
The owners of retail businesses in Forest Road TB complained collectively
about their loss of business through the two-month closure of the Central
line. Pravin Kheitya of the Bookshop, Eren Mustafa from Premier Valet
Services, Debbie Rutland from Theydon Beauty and Darren Tonkin from the
Market Garden were all furious that London Underground had not extended
its now limited service to Epping; commuters were driving to other stations
(eg. Chingford). Another trader, Mark Scrace from Quality and Excellence
Butchers, said that his takings were down 40% while Beverly Miles who
traded in Coppice Row as Venus Flowers said that the business was not
doing well and “struggling”. The business owners were considering
legal action to try and recover their lost earnings.
Peter Smith of Theydon Park Road TB claimed that the absence of commuters
and subsequent loss of trade was directly due to the “stupid”
bus system run by London Underground to convey London commuter to other
stations. Those travelling from TB were first taken to Epping (away from
London) before having to transfer to other busses taking them to stations
nearer the metropolis. This could entail three separate bus journeys with
a minimum of one hour’s extra travel.
The war in Iraq launched by the coalition forces of America and Britain
to remove
the tyrannical dictator Sadaam Hussein, and now in its second week,
began to affect the local populace. The Home Office had advised people
to stock up with water and non-perishable food and goods in case of terrorist
attack (as a result of the war). Consequently, supermarkets and stores
across the district experienced heavy sales of these goods such that urgent
restocking was necessary. This affect was not readily noticeable in TB
but residents were known to be heeding the Government’s advice.
The Playground At Theydon (PAT) finally reopened at 10.00 and was
immediately back in business with children enjoying the play facilities
in this wonderful playground. During the previous week, the play equipment
manufacturers had been repairing the damage caused by vandalism and misuse.
The PAT Committee which runs the Playground had been hard at work in cleaning
off the graffiti, levelling out the protective bark and clearing up the
site generally. This charity had received financial help from many sources
to help repair the damage and residents had monitored the site and informed
the police of any incidents; consequently there were now regular police
patrols in the area. The Central Line was finally reopened through London
and out to Loughton. This considerably improved the travel situation for
London commuters but the poor alternative bus arrangements for TB still
applied.
James Skerrett, a former Royal Worcester Painter, gave a demonstration
of china and porcelain painting in the TB Scout Hut in Loughton Lane.
The occasion was the March meeting of the Loughton China and Porcelain
Painters Club, which used the Hut as a regular venue.
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THE PAST MONTH IN THEYDON BOIS
February 2003
HERE ARE SOME OF THE MANY EVENTS, NOT NECESSARILY IN
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, WHICH OCCURRED IN THE VILLAGE OF THEYDON BOIS DURING
FEBRUARY 2003 AND WHICH HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY TREVOR ROBERTS THE LOCAL
HISTORY RECORDER FOR THEYDON BOIS.
Peter Byatt of the Toybox Charity of Guatemala was the speaker at
the February meeting of the Epping Forest U3A which was held in the Theydon
Bois Village Hall. He gave a moving account of the living conditions of
the homeless street children who inhabited the streets of Guatemala City.
He explained how the charity worked with poor communities to break the
cycle of poverty and prevent children from becoming homeless. His talk
prompted a number of questions, some resulting in financial support for
the charity.
Sarah Hannibal, 18, who lives in the village with her parents Liz
and Mick and her sister Emma, 14, planned to spend three weeks in Uganda
as part of the Guide Association’s Project Gold which entails training
the country’s Guide leaders and setting up Brownie Packs. She will
travel throughout most of the country during the rainy season and in temperatures
of 25 degrees. A pupil at Bancroft’s School at Woodford, Sarah has
a place at Oxford University and the trip will introduce her to different
cultures, which could help her studies. The cost of the trip will be £2,000,
raised through sponsorship.
Following complaints that the roads had not been gritted during the
recent cold spells, the Epping Forest District Council Chief Executive,
John Burgess, paid tribute to the teams which had battled to keep local
roads open. All the seven main routes through the District (including
the village) had been gritted three or four times at the height of the
bad weather. Two gritting vehicles, with fitted snowploughs, had dealt
with drifting snow in the country areas; digging vehicles had cleared
snowdrifts up to four feet high elsewhere. However, it later emerged that
a failure of the radio link between the gritting vehicles operating on
the M11 and M25 motorways had resulted the lack of gritting on these routes
and their subsequent closure.
The contractors refurbishing the main water supply in the village
had installed safety fencing and warning lights around the work areas.
However, in many cases, a group of mindless vandals in the village soon
got to work by throwing both fencing and lights into the workings and
also into the village pond. One incensed resident called for a return
of the village police officer, and the personnel in the mobile police
caravan received a number of complaints about this problem when it next
called at the village on it's fortnightly visit.
At a recent meeting of the Theydon Bois Wine Circle at the village
hall, Don Seaborne presented an excellent commercial tasting of German
wines. Some of these wines, which included excellent reds, were purchased
when on a trip to the Ahr Valley in Germany.
Members of the Theydon Masonic Lodge met in the held in the village
hall to see the Immediate Past Master of the Lodge, Peter Lowe, present
a cheque for £750 to the Rev Canon Colin Davis, the Vicar of St
Mary’s Theydon Bois. This sum brought to a total of £1,000
the amount raised by the Lodge members in support of the Church Vestry
Appeal. The Lodge had also contributed a further £1,000 to the appeal
launched by the Essex Provincial Grand Lodge for Freemasons to help with
the restoration of Chelmsford Cathedral.
The renowned Russian concert pianist, Yekaterina Lebedeva, gave a
recital of music by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev at the February
meeting of the Theydon Bois Music Society. Before playing each item, she
gave a short description of the work and the background of the composer.
Yekaterina graduated from the Kiev Conservatoire in 1993 and, after performing
widely in Russia, moved to London to establish a European base from which
she has played throughout Europe, and also regularly at the South Bank
Centre in London.
It was announced that the Epping Rotary Club has raised over £6,100
with their Christmas 2002 charity collections in Theydon Bois, Epping,
Epping Green and North Weald. This money would be used to support local
charities.
Hard on the heels of the Essex County Council’s “Shaping
the Future” document relating to widespread development across the
Epping Forest District, came the announcement that the government also
planned future development in this area. The Deputy Prime Minster, John
Prescott, announced government proposals to develop the London to Stansted
M11 Corridor, which would see the construction of 500,000 homes with many
located in the Epping Forest District. Epping Forest MP, Eleanor Laing,
said that John Prescott’s proposals would put the Green Belt land
across the area under serious threat. The Epping Forest District Council
feared that the District would disappear under a blanket of tarmac and
concrete if the development plans went ahead in full. John Prescott had
said that he would guarantee to maintain or increase Green Belt land in
every region of England. Eleanor Laing's response was that she did not
want to see a new bit of Green Belt designated in Colchester which was
supposed to make up for a bit of Green Belt which was lost on the outskirts
of Epping, Loughton or Waltham Abbey.
Jeremy Wisenfeld, the Superintendent of Epping Forest, which is managed
by the Corporation of London acting as the Forest Conservators, commented
regarding the Essex County Council’s plans for development across
the Epping Forest District. He assured Eleanor Laing that the Forest would
continue to be vigorously protected by the Corporation. Today, the Forest
was under threat from increasing road traffic and air pollution, degradation
of the landscape by inappropriate development, and anti social abuse.
For these reasons the Corporation had been working hard to forge strong
partnerships with the Epping Forest District Council, the Essex County
Council and those London boroughs within whose boundaries a significant
portion of the Forest lay. It would be foolish to believe that no development
would ever take place in and around the Forest.
But, mindful of the importance of this unique landscape to the
quality of life to the local community, the Corporation had been heartened
by the sympathetic and supportive response from its partners. Nevertheless
the Forest should not be taken for granted. The conservators knew that,
should the Forest again come under threat (as in 1878) it would be the
passion and commitment of local people, which would offer the Forest its
greatest protection.
The Limes Medical Centre in Epping gave an assurance that it was not
closing its sub surgery in the village. This sub surgery offered a minimum
of three morning surgeries a week, provided practitioner nurse sessions,
a travel clinic, physiotherapy, phlebotomy and diabetic clinics. A spokesman
stated the surgery would continue these services in the village and, moreover,
was working with the Epping Forest Primary Care Trust to obtain funding
to increase them. The Epping High Street Surgery which had used the same
village premises, withdrew its services last September and its practice
manager Sue Surridge explained that this had been due to recruiting problems
which left only two doctors to mann its three surgeries at Epping, Theydon
Bois and North Weald. Patients from the village were welcome at the Epping
surgery.
London Underground announced that a full service of the Central Line
would not commence until the end of March 2003. An initial limited shuttle
service was due to start on Thursday 20 Feb (a date not met) extending
to a 50% service by mid March 2003. Meanwhile, travellers from the village
continued to be conveyed by bus, indirectly, to either Chingford or Harlow
for travel to London via the overhead system, a “trek” which
increased journey times by up to one and one half-hours.
A Peugeot 206 motor vehicle, colour green and of W registration was
stolen from outside a house in the Graylands area of the village where
the owner had left it with the engine running. This type of opportunist
crime was becoming commonplace, particularly when drivers were purchasing
their morning paper or effecting a quick transaction at shops in the general
area.
The recent approval by the Epping Forest District Council of a 14%
increase in the authority’s share of the council tax bills, resulted
in the resignation of the leader and deputy leader of the Council. Both
were senior members of Conservative Party element in the council, which
had proposed a lower 9.67% increase, reduced to 9.04% if councillors had
agreed to freeze their basic allowance payments. The new rate adopted
meant that householders with properties in the D Band, including the village,
would have to meet an increase of £15.03 per month to a new figure
of £122.23. Epping Forest Conservative MP Eleanor Laing said, “The
resignations of both members from office were the right thing. This (the
adopted increase) was not a trivial matter. For most householders in the
Epping Forest District, the increase which the Labour and Liberal Democrats
wanted, had been forced by the financial strategy of the Labour Government
which had given Essex the worst settlement of any county in the whole
of the UK and was a substantial amount because a lot of people paid the
high band council tax. It was also a matter of principal because
the Conservatives believed in low taxes”. A subsequent national survey
revealed an average increase of 12.9% for D Band households in the South
of England.
The proposal put forward by the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for
a football academy in Epping Lane, at nearby Abridge, was unanimously
rejected by the Epping Forest District Council Development and Control
Committee. After surveying the plans for 24 football pitches, a large
central building, car parking and perimeter fencing, the Committee agreed
that the impact on the environment and landscape would be unacceptable.
It would also be a major intrusion in the green belt and create serious
road traffic problems. Typical comments from local councillors regarding
the proposal included “unacceptable, wholly inappropriate, overwhelming”
and the rejection as “a triumph for local democracy”. Stephen
Metcalfe, the Lambourne Councillor who campaigned against the proposal
said he fully expected the Club to appeal. This action had not been confirmed
but the campaigners had vowed to fight any appeal all the way. Tottenham
Hotspur director Paul Kemsley said “We remain committed to developing
a new football academy and we still think that the Epping Lane site is
a very strong candidate”.
Ten years ago, the branch of Barclays Bank in the village closed for
business. Despite representations made since that time to Barclays Bank
and other finance houses, the village remained without this important
financial facility and many residents were forced to go elsewhere for
banking, eg. Epping and Loughton, and so deprived the local shops of business.
Cash withdrawal facilities were now available from an electronic cash
point located in the Quix newsagency in Forest Road, and the post office
in the One Stop shop in Coppice Row provided limited banking facilities.
However, the TESCO hypermarket chain had now acquired this shop and the
Parish Council was discussing with TESCO the future of the post office.
The Bank originally occupied a small building in Station Approach and
then moved to new premises in Coppice Row in 1968. The site of the later
building was verified when the frontage of the “Cinderella’s”
bridal business in Coppice Row was removed to reveal the name Barclays
Bank beautifully engraved across the stonework. Cinderella’s had
now closed and the premises was being taken over by the Walker Blakely
Kitchens organisation who would soon obscure the old name with their new
shop front.
The local historian for Chipping Ongar, Dr Michael Leech, gave a presentation
to a large audience at the February meeting of the Theydon Bois Mens'
Forum. His subject was a short history of public health and “killer
drains”, in particular, which were responsible for many deaths throughout
the country, even as late as the beginning of the twentieth century. He
explained how the population of Epping suffered from many water borne
diseases, even cholera, in the middle of the nineteen century; and how
the local Dr Clegg had campaigned for a proper water supply and sewage
system for the town, against strong resistance from the local authorities.
A fresh water supply eventually replaced the many wells and the famous
Epping Water Tower was constructed as a part of this scheme.
Essex County Councillor Janet Whitehouse, a resident of the village,
was one of several Liberal Democrats who visited Parliament recently to
present a petition against post office closures. This document was signed
by more than 1,000 people as part of the Liberal Democratic Party's nation
wide campaign against the Government’s plans to close a third of
the country’s urban post offices. With 12 such post offices in the
Epping Forest District, it was feared that up to 4 could close if this
policy was adopted locally.
Having entered the year on the back of a Siberian winter, February
left in fine spring weather. Many trees were decked in blossom eg. in
Elizabeth Drive, daffodils had begun to flower, birds were becoming more
territorial and looking for nest sites and the grass was getting greener.
The purr, whirr and grinding of many a lawn mower could now be heard earlier
each year confirming that spring was also arriving early. Most farmers,
horticulturists and gardeners accepted that the growing season was continuing
to extend. Global warming was held to be the reason and those who disputed
this could not deny that local rainfalls were now more intense and substantial.
However expert opinion claimed that this was just another upturn in global
weather patterns which had existed for many years, possibly before the
arrival of man. Nevertheless, the opportunity to turn down the domestic
heating and discard heavy outdoor clothing was as welcome as the flowers
in May –but that month is still a long way off!
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