TADWORTH AND WALTON-----------------------------------------------------
Duck owner found Following an item published in this column on 11th April concerning a white duck that had been rescued from Mere Pond, Walton-on-the-Hill, after being attacked by Mallard ducks, John Potts of Swan & Friends Bird Rescue received a telephone call from the person who had put it on that pond. He was very apologetic, but had thought that it would provide his duck with ideal surroundings. He does not wish to reclaim it, so John is keeping it. Local residents may have noticed that the one year old cygnet is missing from the pond. John Potts thinks that it may have flown away to try to find a mate. This, says John, is a natural happening at this time of the year. If the swan is successful, it is hoped that it will return, with a mate, to the Walton pond where, for several months, it has been provided with plenty of food by local people.
'Take away the lady' It is still not too late to get tickets for the Gage Players' production, with this title, that is being presented at Walton's Riddell Hall, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (26th,27th & 28th April) at 8 pm. Tickets at £9, include free tea or coffee, and can be obtained at the door or by telephoning 01737 812703.
..for the want of a chairman The future of the Walton Village Forum is at risk unless a new chairman can be found. Charles Harvey, in a statement, says –"At the last Forum meeting in January it was said that we need a new Chair, as Sam Stevenson has to stand down, due to too many other commitments. No one has come forward to take her place, and those approached have not been able to take it on. Jane Gandey does sterling work as Secretary, but we need someone to back her up. "I retired a couple of years ago and will not take it on again. We need someone younger! I will chair the meeting on 30th April. If there is still no one willing to take over, this will be the last Forum meeting in its present form. "The Forum serves a useful function for disseminating news of village activities, " Charles adds", and it would be a pity to see it wither away. We should be proud of Walton and make sure it stays the way it is; or changes with the times in ways we want." The Village Forum meetings are always well attended by local residents, with the county and borough councillors invariably present, together with a community police officer.
Forum agenda There are quite a number of items on the agenda for the meeting on Tuesday 30th April, at 8.30 pm in the Breech Lane Community Centre. One is the Diamond Jubilee commemoration, about which Charles Harvey has written a note –"There is no suitable place for a Commemorative tree in the village and no obvious place for a bench. We will circulate a suggestion to enhance the entrance to the village at the meeting, but any other ideas would be welcome. We have about £2,000 in our funds. Again this is the last time we should discuss this!" Other items include the Chicane in mere Road, police and councillors reports, the Tadworth & Walton Residents' Association's planning report, and a halls report.
Footpath cleaning At the time of writing this column, Peter Dodd reports that the footpath from Station Approach, Tadworth, to The Avenue, and from there to Mere Road, Walton-on-the-Hill has still not been cleaned, in spite of the council's neighbourhood support team having said, two weeks ago, that the necessary work should be completed in that time. It is interesting to note that 'footpath cleaning' in on the Walton Village Forum's agenda as one of the matters arising from the previous meeting. It is perhaps surprising says one resident that 'road repairs' is not on that agenda, as most local roads have many potholes of varying depths due to the Highways Authority having neglected the maintenance of our roads for many years. It has only recently recommenced the top dressing of roads with granite chips rolled into tar or bitumen, which makes then proof against water and frost. Hurst Lane is in a terrible state and is not safe for cyclists. The top of Tadworth's Station Approach is almost as bad. The white lines drawn around the potholes have been there so long that they have almost be worn away.
TWOAT's street collection The annual street collection of the Tadworth & Walton Overseas Trust took place in Tadworth, Walton and Kingswood on the 12th and 13th April. "Unfortunately the weather was not kind on Friday 12th," says Mike Fox, the Chairman, "and some of our collectors were rather drenched. In consequence the takings were down on last year at £459. However, the new tax rules for charities to obtain Gift Aid on bucket collections will bring our total back up to more normal levels. Many thanks to those that collected and those that donated. If you missed our collectors, you can always send money directly to our Treasurer, John Tedder, at 103 Shelvers Way, Tadworth."
Financially sound The annual church parochial meeting was held after the morning service last Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Tadworth. Although the church income, from donations, collections and other sources, was down in the year ended 31st December last, the expenditure was also down in spite of an increase in the Diocesan quota to £54,136 and large increase in the cost of the gas supply. There was a net surplus of £42,477. At the end of last year the total of the Centenary Fund stood at £102,438. It is now much closer to the target of £200,000, which is required for the building of the new Ladies Chapel. There have been many activities to raise money for this Fund. One of the most recent was the Centenary Bake Cake, at Easter, which raised £180.
101st Tea party The final event to celebrate the centenary year of Tadworth's Church of the Good Shepherd, will be this tea party on Saturday, 27th April, from 3.30 pm until 6.00 pm. It will be in the Church Hall. The charge for adults being £5 and children £3. This will include food, drink and a raffle ticket. There will be a book sale, sing-along, party games and an accordion serenade!.
Best regards
John Chiles
john@johnchiles.plus.com
Duck owner found Following an item published in this column on 11th April concerning a white duck that had been rescued from Mere Pond, Walton-on-the-Hill, after being attacked by Mallard ducks, John Potts of Swan & Friends Bird Rescue received a telephone call from the person who had put it on that pond. He was very apologetic, but had thought that it would provide his duck with ideal surroundings. He does not wish to reclaim it, so John is keeping it. Local residents may have noticed that the one year old cygnet is missing from the pond. John Potts thinks that it may have flown away to try to find a mate. This, says John, is a natural happening at this time of the year. If the swan is successful, it is hoped that it will return, with a mate, to the Walton pond where, for several months, it has been provided with plenty of food by local people.
'Take away the lady' It is still not too late to get tickets for the Gage Players' production, with this title, that is being presented at Walton's Riddell Hall, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (26th,27th & 28th April) at 8 pm. Tickets at £9, include free tea or coffee, and can be obtained at the door or by telephoning 01737 812703.
..for the want of a chairman The future of the Walton Village Forum is at risk unless a new chairman can be found. Charles Harvey, in a statement, says –"At the last Forum meeting in January it was said that we need a new Chair, as Sam Stevenson has to stand down, due to too many other commitments. No one has come forward to take her place, and those approached have not been able to take it on. Jane Gandey does sterling work as Secretary, but we need someone to back her up. "I retired a couple of years ago and will not take it on again. We need someone younger! I will chair the meeting on 30th April. If there is still no one willing to take over, this will be the last Forum meeting in its present form. "The Forum serves a useful function for disseminating news of village activities, " Charles adds", and it would be a pity to see it wither away. We should be proud of Walton and make sure it stays the way it is; or changes with the times in ways we want." The Village Forum meetings are always well attended by local residents, with the county and borough councillors invariably present, together with a community police officer.
Forum agenda There are quite a number of items on the agenda for the meeting on Tuesday 30th April, at 8.30 pm in the Breech Lane Community Centre. One is the Diamond Jubilee commemoration, about which Charles Harvey has written a note –"There is no suitable place for a Commemorative tree in the village and no obvious place for a bench. We will circulate a suggestion to enhance the entrance to the village at the meeting, but any other ideas would be welcome. We have about £2,000 in our funds. Again this is the last time we should discuss this!" Other items include the Chicane in mere Road, police and councillors reports, the Tadworth & Walton Residents' Association's planning report, and a halls report.
Footpath cleaning At the time of writing this column, Peter Dodd reports that the footpath from Station Approach, Tadworth, to The Avenue, and from there to Mere Road, Walton-on-the-Hill has still not been cleaned, in spite of the council's neighbourhood support team having said, two weeks ago, that the necessary work should be completed in that time. It is interesting to note that 'footpath cleaning' in on the Walton Village Forum's agenda as one of the matters arising from the previous meeting. It is perhaps surprising says one resident that 'road repairs' is not on that agenda, as most local roads have many potholes of varying depths due to the Highways Authority having neglected the maintenance of our roads for many years. It has only recently recommenced the top dressing of roads with granite chips rolled into tar or bitumen, which makes then proof against water and frost. Hurst Lane is in a terrible state and is not safe for cyclists. The top of Tadworth's Station Approach is almost as bad. The white lines drawn around the potholes have been there so long that they have almost be worn away.
TWOAT's street collection The annual street collection of the Tadworth & Walton Overseas Trust took place in Tadworth, Walton and Kingswood on the 12th and 13th April. "Unfortunately the weather was not kind on Friday 12th," says Mike Fox, the Chairman, "and some of our collectors were rather drenched. In consequence the takings were down on last year at £459. However, the new tax rules for charities to obtain Gift Aid on bucket collections will bring our total back up to more normal levels. Many thanks to those that collected and those that donated. If you missed our collectors, you can always send money directly to our Treasurer, John Tedder, at 103 Shelvers Way, Tadworth."
Financially sound The annual church parochial meeting was held after the morning service last Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Tadworth. Although the church income, from donations, collections and other sources, was down in the year ended 31st December last, the expenditure was also down in spite of an increase in the Diocesan quota to £54,136 and large increase in the cost of the gas supply. There was a net surplus of £42,477. At the end of last year the total of the Centenary Fund stood at £102,438. It is now much closer to the target of £200,000, which is required for the building of the new Ladies Chapel. There have been many activities to raise money for this Fund. One of the most recent was the Centenary Bake Cake, at Easter, which raised £180.
101st Tea party The final event to celebrate the centenary year of Tadworth's Church of the Good Shepherd, will be this tea party on Saturday, 27th April, from 3.30 pm until 6.00 pm. It will be in the Church Hall. The charge for adults being £5 and children £3. This will include food, drink and a raffle ticket. There will be a book sale, sing-along, party games and an accordion serenade!.
Best regards
John Chiles
john@johnchiles.plus.com