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Links to changing pages on this site
Latest PC Minutes (May) | Latest District Council News   | Latest Dragon | Henham Dads
| Latest Neighbourhood Watch News |

Visit www.saveourvillage.co.uk for the latest on the proposed housing developments

Mobile Police Station - Visiting Times 2012   |   Mobile Library Times 2012

With reference to the Village Development Plan (see below) there was a meeting of volunteers on 29th November the details of which can be viewed on The Village Development Plan page.
As work progresses we hope to keep you you well informed.

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Very Important - Housing in Henham and Elsenham

Uttlesford District Council have launched another consultation on housing requirements in our area starting on 20th January and finishing on 5th March.  Our previous efforts have been very effective in fighting the threat of an Eco town and the infamous Option Four.  UDC have moved towards a dispersal strategy which the Save Our Village campaign group have favoured from the outset.  Your continued support for this strategy is vital and we ask that all villages residents respond yet again in force.  In the next few days all houses in Henham and Elsenham will receive information packs asking you to respond and giving advice on the type of answers to the questions posed by UDC.  Please visit the Save our Village site at www.saveourvillage.co.uk for further information.

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OSCA BOOK SALE
Saturday 4th February - 10.00am - 4.00pm
If you have any books to donate please deliver them to Viv Goodvin (850 435) or Josie Redfern (850490) by Thursday 2nd February.
Books can also be left at OSCA when open
Village Hall Jumble Sale
Saturday 4th February - Doors open at 2.0pm.
The hall will be open on Friday 3rd from 5.30pm and Saturday 4th from 10.00am - 12.00 noon to accept your unwanted items.

For further information please phone Pauline on 850 610 or Sue on 850 488

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HUSCH IMPROVEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
 -
On-line Link
http://tinyurl.com/husch-survey

The HUSCH Committee is seeking your views as current or potential users of the HUSCH Hall on what additional facilities you might appreciate or need. They have worked tirelessly since the hall opened in 2004 to run it on our behalf and vibrant clubs, such as the Henham Dads' Football Team whose antics are regularly reported in the pages of The Dragon, have only been possible because of HUSCH.
 Fund-raising efforts, e.g. the biennial 10Km Run, have generated monies which HUSCH would like to put to good use but it will need to find matched funding through grant applications to make any significant enhancements possible. Their questionnaire really does only take a couple of minutes and a substantial response will be needed to provide the vital supporting data for those applications.
Please do make the effort to complete the survey by Monday, 20 February. Hardcopy forms are available as an insert in February's Dragon or from the village shop and school. If you prefer working on line, the questionnaire is also available electronically via the link above. Please complete it for each relevant member of your household. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Fiona Price

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Liz Quits as Editor

This month's Dragon will announce that Liz Griffiths-Jones is retiring after 13 years as Editor of the village magazine.  Personally may I thank her for her contributions and liaison to this web site and obviously for the sterling work as magazine editor over the years - Click here to see the Dragon Preview for February. BB

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Hi everybody

As expected the Uttlesford District Council Cabinet met last night (20th) and approved the papers for the upcoming Local Development Framework (L.D.F) consultation. This action abandons the old L.D.F options including the infamous Option 4 and recommends a policy of sharing the housing needs across Uttlesford.  An exact housing figure is not as yet given.

The consultation on the new L.D.F starts on the 20th January and runs until the beginning of March. The J.P.C.S.G is meeting on the 12th January to help prepare the community on how best to respond to the consultation. Please do not respond to the consultation until you have read the recommendations we shall offer you. We expect to get something through your letterbox by the end of January.

Nick Baker
Chairman JPCSG
Chairman Henham Parish Council
 

 

Post Office Update

The Parish Council, at it's December meeting, voted unanimously  to support the funding of the Post Office, by an increase in the precept. The Councillors had been forewarned of the vote at the November meeting when a position paper had been circulated setting out the various options.

The amount of precept required to meet the funding shortfall was £6000 meaning an increase in Council tax for Henham households of £11 per household per year. The Council felt that the Post Office and Community Shops were very important to the Village, and that the loss of the Post Office could have a serious impact on the Shop. A small increase in the precept will assure the survival of the Post Office.

Nick Baker

Chairman Henham Parish Council
13th December
 

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Henham Senior Citizens Lunch
 Wednesday 7th December 2011 at The Cock

(Maybe Father Christmas on the left perhaps)

Unfortunately I was not available to attend the lunch, so I asked my good friend Ken Sammons to take some photographs.  If you wish to see more of his efforts, please click here.
The Annual Christmas Lunch was held at The Cock and as usual it was a great success.  Many thanks to Pauline, Jane and all their helpers and to Mel, Steve the chef, all the staff (and to Ted for supplying the wine), for making it a very happy festive occasion.

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'Edible Essex'
A talk by Christine Walkden of 'The One Show fame' on growing vegetables in the Country's driest county on Thursday 16th Feb 2012 - Click here for further info.

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CHRISTMAS BRING AND BUY

In aid of Carver Barracks Injured Soldiers Fund at Henham Village Hall on Saturday 19th November made a very creditable £300 (approx).  Well done Di, Rona, all the helpers and especially those who gave and bought.

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A Trip to London
On Tuesday 15th November Jill and I took a trip to London.  Click here to see what it was all about

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Save the Post Office Campaign
 
Henham Community Shop Our efforts to save our village post office from closure seem to be attracting considerable media coverage.  Anglia News featured us a few days ago and today, Wednesday 16th November, we are the subject of an article in The Daily Telegraph, (click here to view) and also on BBC Look East Click here to view and use the arrow to start and then place your cursor at the bottom of the screen and use the slider bar to move 16 minutes into the programme)- BB

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A Very Welcome Message Received from Rita and David Morson

Rita and David Morson would like to express their heartfelt thanks to all those who have kept them in their prayers and concern.    The result has been ‘miraculous’ in that Rita has astonished the medical staff both at Addenbrookes and Stanmore Hospitals by her rapid progress, enabling her to come home after over three months.   Prayers are still needed for Rita to make a full recovery so please keep up the good work.
David has travelled a three hour journey every day to Stanmore to visit Rita only missing on two occasions.   In this, as well as looking after Sophie so competently, is again due to the strong support he has received.   Prayers indeed have been granted so thank you deeply for this.

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Remembrance Service
Sunday 13th November 2011

An ' Act of Remembrance' service was held at the War Memorial at 11.00 am. The service, conducted by the Rev. Gary Townsend commenced with a reading from Romans 5 v 1-8. and was followed by the Last Post, (by Edward Brooks of the Air Cadets, The Silence and Reveille. 

Rev. Gary Townsend
Rev. Garry Townsend
Major Well laying the church  wreath
Major William Wells
Wreaths were placed on behalf of  St Mary's Church by Major William Wells of The Rifles, Mr. Nick Baker, OBE for the village and the British Legion, representatives of the Cub Scouts and Beavers for the 1st Henham and Elsenham Scout Group, Mrs. Jo Jeffreys for the Henham and District Garden Society and by District Councillors Elizabeth Parr and David Morson.

A service followed at St Mary's when the preacher was Major William Wells.

Nick Baker laying the Village wreath
Nick Baker, OBE
District Councillors Parr and Morson
District Councillors Parr and Morson
A cub and a beaver
1st Henham and Elsenham Scouts
Mrs Jo Jeffrey
Mrs Jo Jeffrey

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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(Laurence Binyon)

Edward Brooks
Edward Brooks

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Henham has loads of Talent
Children in Need Concert - Village Hall
Saturday 12th November 2011
A packed village hall was treated to a great musical evening in aid of the 'Children in Need' appeal.  Lasting for nearly three hours, act after act of rich talent entertained us with music, dancing and comedy.  I will not attempt to name all the people who took part and those who helped promote and organise the event as by previous experience I would inevitably leave out an important someone.  
Two Trevors' and Lee as the 'Dancing Dervishes'
Suffice to say, an exception must be made in the case of Alan and Ruth Green whose influence on the high standard of performance was evident throughout, to Norman Elson who compared the evening, to all those involved in producing an excellent meal during the interval and to all who generously donated raffle prizes.  The latest information is that the sum raised will be in excess of £3,600. A fantastic amount.

Click Here to view a selection of some of my pictures of the evening
If you have any more good ones, especially of performers I missed, please send them to me.

 

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Planning Application to Extend Boundaries of Quarry
Dear Residents

RE:  Planning Application No: ESS/50/11/UTT for extraction of sand as an extension to the existing quarry with restoration to agriculture (without landfill), including retention of existing access, office and weighbridge.

Bretts Aggregates have submitted the above application to Essex County Council (ECC) which proposes extending the current quarry as far as the houses in Pledgdon Green and across to the B1051.  This will bring the northern boundary of the quarry within a few hundred meters of those houses at the furthest point of Woodend Green.


Click on poster to see full size

As you can see, if this expansion were to go ahead it would have a huge impact upon the landscape and upon the residents closest to the proposed expansion area, and this is why Henham Parish Council will be opposing this application.

We are contacting you to ask you to support us by writing to ECC (details on next sheet) to oppose this application.  For your guidance, the Planning Authority can only take account of representations based on valid planning reasons such as traffic or landscape impact etc, but not, for example, perceived impact on local house prices.

This application will be judged against the ECC’s Minerals Local Plan 1996 and against UDC’s Local Plan adopted 2005.  However, it is worth noting that Essex County Council are currently working on their future Minerals policy, and earlier this year Elsenham Quarry was rejected at that stage as a ‘Preferred Site’ for future extraction due to the environmental impact of the proposed site. (It must be noted that this consultation in on-going and the final list of ‘Preferred Sites’ is not yet known.) 

If you require any further information, please feel free to contact Cllr Maureen Lohmeyer, Henham Parish Council (lohmeyer.family@hotmail.co.uk).

We do hope that you will be willing to support the local residents who are trying to protect our beautiful area from such an invasive proposal.

On a final note, a builder attending a job at one of the houses in Pledgdon Green recently described the area as a ‘hidden oasis’.  Let us try our best to ensure that it remains just this!.

Thank you for your support.

Cllr Maureen Lohmeyer

 
Henham Tree Survey

In July of this year the Parish Council commissioned a survey of trees is the village.
  Please click here to see the report.

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Henham Village Development Plan
Well attended meeting at OSCA On Tuesday 27th September at OSCA at 7.00pm a meeting was held to introduce the intention to produce a village development plan for Henham. 

The meeting was chaired by the Parish Council Chairman Nick Baker OBE, accompanied by Parish Councillors Simon Lee and Rory Gleeson.  Over 55 residents attended to hear Nick outline why we needed such a plan, particularly in combating the threat of a presumption of approval of future planning applications and the apparent conflict with the forthcoming 'Localism Bill'.

Nick stated that the Bill, which will probable come before Parliament in the early part of next year, was a central feature in the Conservative election campaign and was supposed to abolish the Labour Government's 'top down' housing figures and empower local communities to have much more say in the development of their communities.  However, in parallel with this concept, the coalition government  have produced a consultation paper on Planning Changes which abandons the requirement that 60% of new housing should be on Brownfield sites and scraps any protection for the wider countryside.  It precludes preventing development on the grounds of poor transport infrastructure, which has been one of our main objections to the infamous Options 3 and 4.

Nick then introduced Jan Cole from the Rural Community Council of Essex who explained the concepts of Village Plans, etc. which I will not attempt to reproduce here.  Essentially, in order to combat prospective inappropriate development we have to be proactive by producing a village plan in which we define what we need to take Henham forward in terms of development.

It was further explained that the Parish Council could not take responsibility themselves for producing the plan; it has to be the community at large and there has to be a consensus. To this end 38 people at the meeting volunteered to take an active part in its production and a meeting of these worthy people will scheduled for 20th October. 

Update

Click here to view details of the meeting held on 20th October 2011

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Neighbourhood Watch - Burglary in Henham

On Saturday 17th September in the early evening, (believed 6-7pm), an unoccupied house in Church Street was forcibly entered and personal items and a TV were stolen.  The suspects are believed to be two young men, both tall and wearing tracksuits.  One had dark hair.  They were seen carrying a green plastic petrol can which was abandoned on the premises. They possibly had a vehicle to carry the goods away.

 If you have any further information, please contact the local police as soon as possible.  Remember, if you see any suspicious characters please use 999 to call the police.

Nick B. Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator
 

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Open All Hours
In this age where nearly everyone has a mobile phone, the traditional telephone boxes, particularly in rural settings, have become almost redundant.  Indeed the box outside The Old School in Crowe Street Henham had apparently only seventeen calls made from it in a year.  Consequently BT removed the handset.  It is Grade 2 listed and the question was posed as to what to do with it.  After paying the princely sum of £1 (and a great deal of paperwork), BT agreed to pass ownership to Henham Parish Council. 

Many suggestions were made as to possible use, including a mini History of Henham site, a village notice board and so on.  The decision finally reached after consultation with the community, was to open the box as an annexe to the nearby Old School Community Association (OSCA) free library. I believe that the inspiration for this idea came from 'The Archers'.

The box had been sadly neglected by BT and required a lot of work to refurbish it to a high standard. This has now been accomplished, and  the box now stands very proudly with its shiny new paintwork. It has been fitted out with shelving and villagers can now swop, or just take, a  book at their leisure. Nick handing over the box to Carol
On Friday 9th September the new library was formally handed over by Nick Baker OBE, Chairman of Henham Parish Council to Mrs. Carol Eaton of the OSCA committee.  Very well done Nick and Henham PC and to Carol and OSCA for taking on the responsibility for running it.  - BB

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Super Fast Broadband

The following is a copy of and email to our Parish Clerk

In your role as Parish Clerk I am writing to update you on the innovative plan to bring a new Super Fast Broadband service to your area.

The project was approved by Uttlesford District Council during the spring and is now close to launch:
http://www.saffronwaldenreporter.co.uk/news/rural_uttlesford_to_get_fast_broadband_1_834217

The service is provided by FibreWiFi and carried on the Buzcom Radio Network. No telephone line is required to receive the service and it is due to go live on Wednesday 31st August 2011. Full details of the service can be found at
www.fibrewifi.com

As I am sure you can appreciate demand has been considerable and we will be contacting people to arrange installation in the order in which they registered their interest with Uttlesford District Council or via FibreWiFi.com

It is estimated that it will take 8-10 weeks to work through the several hundred people who have registered interest before we can return to our normal fourteen day lead time for installation. Patience is appreciated.

We provide a similar service to Maldon District and worked through the same initial backlog of customers when that service launched in the spring of 2010. The customers in Maldon felt it worth the wait and we hope that the residents of Uttlesford will feel the same.

Customers will receive an email during the next 8-10 weeks (depending on when they initially registered) asking them to click the, "Buy Now," button on the FibreWiFi.com website so that they can purchase the service and receive an installation date. They should not click on the, "Buy Now," button until they have received an email from us inviting them to do so.

In the meantime updates will be posted on the FibreWiFi.com website and the coverage maps will be updated.

We're excited about the new service and looking forward to bringing our Super Fast Broadband service to Uttlesford.

Should you have any questions we would prefer that you email us at:
info@fibrewifi.com however if that is not convenient we can be called during office hours on 0845 363 2053.

Kind regards

Gary Disley
Managing Director
FibreWiFi Ltd

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HENHAM POST OFFICE AGAIN UNDER THREAT

 

By now, hopefully a questionnaire will have been delivered through your door regarding your use of the Henham Post Office.  Below is the message from Chris Swain on that questionnaire.  If you do not receive the form or another member of your family wishes to complete one, please click here to find a copy.  BB

 

"Our post office is dependent on financial support from the County Council.  This arrangement is due to end in December.  We hope that some new arrangement may be possible, but it will be important for us to show how much the post office is valued by the village and to be able to back up our plea for continued support with some hard data.

Please spend a few minutes completing the questionnaire below and drop it in to the post office/shop or to me, at 55 Vernons Close or to Trevor Ellis-Callow at Badgers Cottage, Wood End Green."

Christopher Swain

Chairman - Henham Village Shop Association Ltd

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See District Council News from David Morson

 

Proposed Changes in Waste Collection Services
(This is a copy of an email received on 10.8.2011 from Uttlesford District Council)

I am writing to all parish councils about several changes proposed to the recycling and waste service from Uttlesford District Council. These changes may well affect your parish.

The council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve a package of improvements at its meeting on Thursday, 8 September. If approved, these changes will come into effect from Spring next year.

I have attached a press release to this email (click here to view) which sets out the improvements being planned, including the introduction of kerbside glass recycling, replacing the current brown-lidded bins with smaller kitchen caddies and a subscription-based kerbside garden waste collection service.

There is also an explanatory section on our website which you can read by clicking the link below:

http://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/recycling

In light of the proposed introduction of the garden waste collection service, we have reviewed the provision of the current weekend garden waste skip service, which is used by 21 parishes. This service is operated at a significant cost to the authority and under the proposed new service arrangements we would not be in a position to continue offering it for free.

Should any parish council wish to continue with, or start using, the weekend skip service, then it will still be available at an hourly rate of £50.52. We can provide a quotation to any parish council currently using the service if they wish to continue with or amend their current service level. We can also discuss potential levels of use with parish councils not currently using the service.

However, if there is not sufficient demand it may not be possible to continue providing the service at all so if your parish council is interested it is important you let us know.

In addition, because of the proposed changes we will be discontinuing the village civic amenity skip service from Spring next year, subject to the proposals being approved by Cabinet in September.

With the introduction of a kerbside collection of glass, there will be less demand for bottle banks in the district. Therefore we plan to remove the majority of council-owned bottle banks. We will however, not necessarily remove those bottle banks located in pub car parks. These will be subject to review.

If you would like a quotation on the cost of continuing with, or starting to use, the weekend garden waste skip service, please email the Waste Team at greenwaste@uttlesford.gov.uk or call 01799 510456.

I am happy to speak to any parish council with queries about these proposed changes – please use the greenwaste@ email address or the phone number above and I will get in touch.

Regards,

Ron Pridham

Head of Street Services

Uttlesford District Council

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Option Four

Dear Residents of Henham.

I thought it is probably time to update you on the infamous 'Option 4' and the latest position on the housing development.  As you know the attempt by U.D.C to rid us of the 'top down' housing figures failed, after a developer took the Government to Court and successfully argued that, until the figures were revoked by law they should stay.  So, until the Government pass the Localism Bill, the top down housing figures remain with us.  The Bill is expected to become law in April 2012.

However, we are now faced with the Government's new planning rules, published last week.  In an effort kick-start the economy, the Government is creating a presumption in favour of development. Yes, the Government has ended the hated top down targets that imposed estates on unwilling parts of the countryside.  Yes the Localism Bill will push power down to local people.  But, the Government's national planning policy framework says that local authorities must approve all proposals wherever possible, changing the default on development from "No" to "Yes" or if not why not?

  For the first time since the 1980's, this will make it harder for local people to oppose the schemes.

It is not yet clear what will actually be built.  Architects and developers, like all of us, are confused by the conflicts within government policies.  The Government has simplified 1,000 pages of planning policy down to 52.  The 52 pages are open to wide interpretation and the balance between developer, local authority and residents is likely to be thrashed out in appeal hearings, case by case.

Ministers clearly hope to encourage growth, placate the building trade and convince enlightened communities that they are 'empowered'.  Well we know what we want in this community and we will not hesitate to fight any suggestion of this development returning under these new planning changes.  The formulation of neighbourhood plans where the community articulates the housing needs was the backbone of  election promises.

Our fight continues

Nick Baker

Chairman JPCSG.

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Recent Power Cuts

Dear All

Ray Gaubert has been very active on behalf the village in chasing EDR regarding recent power cuts.
Mark Methven of EDR has given him the following information
(click here) in response to his ‘Mr Grumpy’ phone call.

Mr Methven identifies the causes of the cuts, explains some misunderstandings concerning the presumed higher failure rate of overhead power cable supplies and a immediate review for the Henham area.

Ray has highlighted the more important points in red. He has praised Mr Methvin for his quick response.

Thanks Ray

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Odd Bits
Recent Power Cuts

Regarding the latest round of power cuts - Ray Gaubert has found out by phoning the Ch Exec. of the company that the cuts on Wed. 6th were due to  thingies/gremlins, which is my translation from Ray's technical description of the fault and the two and a half hour one today (8th July) was apparently a tree/branch on a cable in the Pledgdon area.

 

Email received from a chap named Dennis Owen who has written a book about his evacuation to Henham

"I have recently come across your webpage on the Henham website and have read some of the contents of the past.  I have recently had a book published about my evacuation to Henham from London's East End during the Second World War. I stayed on a farm and went to the local school.  My two sisters, who were older than me were also in the village and went to the local school.  The first 12 chapters of my book are about Henham, the people who looked after me, the Italian prisoners of war that worked on the farm, the land army girls also on the farm and a local dalliance with one of the Italians." 

His book (which I have not read yet) is called
"E're, This'll Make You Laugh"
(isbn  978-1-4520-1130-1)
It Is available through Amazon at about £10 plus postage

 
Farewell Gathering for Marion and Dennis

On Thursday 7th July at 3.30pm, a very impressive gathering of Henham residents assembled at OSCA to show their appreciation to Marion and Dennis Camps for the service they have provided the village over an astonishing 41 years of delivering milk to our doorsteps.

Marion and Dennis at work

   
Nick thanking Marion and Dennis Nick Baker OBE, Chairman of Henham Parish Council said it gave him great pleasure to say a few words to honour the couple on their retirement. 

He explained that the Camp family had delivered milk to Henham for over 100 years.  Originally it was delivered by horse and cart from churns, three times a day, from a dairy herd at Lovecotes farm.  Later it came from Jim Smith's farm at Henham Lodge and milk was bottled at Yarrow Cottage for some years.  When Dennis and his father Bill took over in the 1970s milk cost the equivalent of 4p a pint.

   
On a typical day, Marion and Dennis got up at 2.30am and finished after 7.30am. 

An amazing fact that the couple have never failed to deliver, although they have on occasions had to resort to a tractor and trailer in bad weather.  A tremendous achievement.

All milk was British rather than imported.

 

Some of the friends of Marion and Dennis
   
Nick talked about some of the sights Marion and Dennis had seen over their time, (leaving out the embarrassing ones), especially early morning wildlife, including 76 roe deer in one viewing, badgers walking down a footpath and on one occasion a grass snake curled up in an 'empty'.  Particularly important was that the couple were the unofficial the eyes and ears of the police service as they traversed the village.
   
In appreciation of their services, Marion was presented with a bouquet of flowers and to both a cheque for £1200 as a result of a collection in the village. The presentation
 
Dennis responded with thanks to all who organised and attended the event and who had donated to their retirement present.  He told an anecdote about an early morning when a certain Mrs. Bentley had fallen in her home and broken her leg.  The Camps answered her call for help only to be greeted by a complaint that they were half an hour late.  The reason was they had to repair a puncture.  No pleasing everyone.

Marion and Dennis, may you both have a long and happy retirement.  You were a very special part of our village of Henham in your working life and may you continue to be as you relax into a less hectic lifestyle.

 
Our new milkman Our new milkman will be 'young' Steve Davies and this is Nick introducing him to everyone and informing him his contract is also for 41 years.

 

On behalf of everyone, special thanks to all involved in organising the event, in particular Ros and Sheila.

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Charity Dinner and Auction
In Aid of Carver Barracks Injured Soldiers and Welfare Fund
Henham Village Hall - Saturday 2nd July 2011
A really splendid evening which began with champagne and canapé's on arrival.
   
As last year, the organisers were Di Sammons, Rona Savident and Sue Ellis-Callow.  John Savident was Master of Ceremonies and guests from Carver Barracks were Lt Col. Chris Barratt, Lt. Col. Simon Bell, Captain Andy McCran and Major Dickie Hawkins and their respective ladies.

The evening meal was cooked by Army Chefs from Carver Barracks

   
During breaks in the early evening we were entertained by The Helena Romanes Dancers who danced splendidly to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B"
   
Vanda Collins gave a great solo interpretation of "Lilli Marlene" ........
   
....... and Tony Turner, Trevor Judd and Trevor-Ellis Callow  were very funny in their rendition of "Pukka Sahib" by Reginald Purdell
   
Unfortunately, my picture of Natasha Devon singing (with the help of everyone present) did not come out.  Apologies Natasha - you have an excellent voice.
   
Having already compared the raffle, at the end of the meal John and Rona conducted the auction of numerous donated items, the list being too long to mention.

However, one special mention must be extended to Jane Brinkley who single-handily organised the prizes for the raffle.

   
Here we see Lt. Col. Chris Barratt introducing a surprise item for auction at the end whereby he auctioned his three colleagues for an evening with the winning bidder 'To do with as they wished'.  This brought in a frantic flurry of bidders, mainly from ladies in the audience and they were sold for I believe £700.

This is Lt. Col. Bell being told that one suggestion was that he and his two colleagues might be required to pose naked for the Henham Ladies Art group. Notice the concern on his face and the smile (or which some might describe as a smirk) on Lt. Col Chris Barratt's.

   
On a more sober note, the purpose of the evening was to raise money for the injured Carver Barracks soldiers and their relatives.  Here we see Lt. Col Barratt explaining the nature of the fund and how vital it was in providing immediate aid where required.  Quite terrible to hear of some of the horrific injuries suffered and the bravery of the soldiers in coping with them.  In the last 13 months the fund has spent £95,00 alone.
   
On an optimistic note, it is believed that the auction thus far has raised more money than last year as did the raffle.  There are still some items which did not reach their reserve on the night and it is hoped they will be sold on the internet.

Special thanks must go to Di, Rona and Sue for organising the event and their band of helpers, to John Savident our Master of Ceremonies, to Jane for the raffle, to the Army chefs for preparing the meal, to those who entertained us between courses, to the young people who waited on our every need, to Bob and Pauline in the bar, to all those who donated prizes and auction favours and most especially to all who generously successfully bid at the auction and donated money in a variety of ways to the fund.

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Serious Thatch Damage to Henham Cottage
At about 11.40 am on Saturday 2nd July, fire broke out in the upper floor/attic area of Bury Cottage, a detached and thatched listed cottage in High Street, Henham.  Fortunately the occupiers were present and nobody was injured.

Getting the fire under control

   
At least 8 Brigade appliances from all over Essex and one apparently from nearby Bishop Stortford attended with a number of support vehicles, including a control van.  The fire fighters quickly brought the fire under control, but it took quite some time to remove the smouldering thatch. A long line of fire appliances
   
Removing the thatch
   
Well done chaps The cause of the blaze is yet to be established but the most likely an electrical fault.
   
It is interesting to note that Essex Fire Service apparently still attack thatch fires whilst, other counties  may leave a fire to burn out rather than endanger life. After the fire
   
In this instance, because of the prompt, efficient and professional way our fire fighters  tackled the blaze, the cottage was saved.  Our thanks to them for a job very well done and to those people of Henham, and in particular the Community Shop, who rallied round to provide tea coffee and cold drinks for the fire men and women.

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Dub Gannon's Ordination
Many of you will remember that just under a year ago Dub was ordained as a deacon at Chelmsford Cathedral which was the first part of a two-stage process.  The second part took place on a sunny  evening on Sunday 26th June at St. Mary's, Henham. 

This was to ordain him as a 'presbyter' which is derived from the old word 'preost' meaning priest.  Unfortunately I could not be present, but I am reliably informed that the ceremony conducted by The Right Reverend, Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS was a joyful occasion before a large congregation of Dub's family, colleagues, friends and parishioners.

Dub is a grand chap and on behalf of everyone I wish him every happiness in his chosen calling. BB

Dub outside St Mary's

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Textiles Recycling Collections

Dear All,

We are pleased to inform you that a trial of kerbside textiles recycling will be commencing across the district shortly.  Some of you may have already received recycling bags and an explanatory leaflet.  If you haven’t yet received this it should be arriving shortly.

The trial is being run in partnership between Essex Textiles and Uttlesford District Council and will run for 1 year as agreed by the Environment Committee in November last year.

Essex Textiles are offering two services to residents.  Those residents living in urban areas will receive a fortnightly collection of textiles on the same day as their recycling collection, and those resident living in more rural areas will receive a “call and collect” service, whereby they can call Essex Textiles if they have any items for recycling and book a collection.

The bags will be collected by Essex Textiles in their own vehicles which will be fully liveried with the Essex Textiles logo.

Any residents who have problems with missed collections, or do not receive bags or a leaflet should contact Essex Textiles on their free phone number: 0800 787 9071

This new service will be an improvement to the waste and recycling services offered to residents and will help the authority to improve on the already excellent recycling and composting rate of 55% which was achieved in 2010/11.

Catherine Auckland

Waste & Recycling Officer, Uttlesford District Council

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Morris Men Come to Henham

On Saturday 4th June 2011, four different groups of Morris Men came to Henham to demonstrate their skills outside The Cock.  Before a large crowd of villagers and visitors and blessed with a warm sunny afternoon, each group gave an excellent display of the English traditional ritual of Morris Dancing and then enjoyed a meal of bangers and mash and an odd pint of beer.
To view more about each group please click on the group name below the pictures.  To view more pictures, please click here

 

Westminster Morris Men Cambridge Morris Men
The Westminster Morris Men The Cambridge Morris Men
   
Stafford Morris Men Standon Morris Men
The Stafford Morris Men The Standon Morris Men

To view a promotional picture of The Cock's brand new facilities, click here.

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Henham Village Shop
Now unbelievably in its 13th year of trading, the AGM of the Village Shop was held in the Village Hall on Thursday 19th May.  Click here for a report from Linda Peake.

May I extend many thanks to all involved in the running of the shop for such a valuable village asset.  To all residents, please give all the support you can.

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Henham 10K Fun Run

Apologies yet again for not being in the village on Sunday 22nd May when I think for the second year running I missed the Fun Run. (My brother's 65th Birthday this time)

However, all is not lost as this year the organiser's have their own web site which can be accessed by clicking here.

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Henham Fete - Sunday 8th May 2011

Click here for a link to a video of the classic car display gratefully received from Dan Kodesh

Many, many thanks for the numerous excellent pictures of the event. 

Click for Dave Cutts pictures |Click for Isaac Rice pictures |Click for Norman Elson pictures

Herewith is a report I have thankfully received from
Julie, Karen, Gerry, Clare and Karen
 

Sylvia presenting Martin's Trophy
Sylvia Nicholson presenting the Martin Nicholson Trophy to the Rounders Winners, Henham Dads
Just a HUGE thank - you to everyone who helped and came along to the Henham fete. I think we are all agreed that it was our most successful to date, helped obviously by the beautiful weather.  Early indications show that we have raised more than last year, check next month’s Dragon for final figures and what we hope to spend it on.  All monies from the rounders going to the still needed ‘Save Our Village’ funds.
 

Special thanks must go to our vicar, Gary Townsend, for opening proceedings, John Fox - his contribution and P.A. system made a huge difference, and also to Carol and Norman Elson for organizing the rounders.  If anyone saw Gerry and Sheena Bigland pacing Woodend Green in the days before, they were marking out the pitch, and making sure that there was room enough for all the many stalls. 

It was a great shame that Tonto lost a shoe on the morning of the fete, so we were unable to offer pony and trap rides, but a big ‘Thank-you’ to the Hayden family for their donation, and also to the cider club for adding to the choice of beverage and donating the proceedings-thanks Dan! Thank you to all of you who had a stall and to the gymnastics, karate and Junior Zooky & Freaky Frogs and Sam Tier for entertaining us. Thanks to everyone else who contributed in any way – too numerous to mention by name, but you know who you are!

For the record, in the Wedding-themed cake competition, judged by Amanda Mower, Maybelle Townsend’s splendid three-tiered chocolate and smartie confection gave her the winning edge over her sister Evie’s equally marvellous two-tiered cake.

The nine entries in the fancy dress were; Alice and Molly Churchouse, Kevin Dunphy, Pia Gowin, Gracie and Jessica Robertson, Jessica McGorrell, Jolie Murrill and Emily Shaw.

Everyone was a winner, but for sheer originality in her wedding cake costume, Alice Churchouse was judged grand winner.

Winning numbers of the lucky programme have been posted in the shop.

Results of the rounders are as follows;

Round 1- Vernons Close beat Simon’s Sloggers 4- 1.5

Round 2 - Henham Dads beat Tennis Juniors 3.5 -3

Round 3 - School beat The Inbetweeners 5.5 -2.5

Round 4 -Dunmow Pinks beat The Misfits 4 - 2.

Semi1 - Henham Dads beat Vernons Close 3.5 -2.5

Semi 2 - School lost to Henham Pinks

Grand Final - Henham Dads beat Dunmow Pinks 4-1.5.

So at last! After four years, we have new winners - well done!

If anyone has any ideas for how we could improve upon this for next year - please speak to one of us. Thank-you to everyone for helping to establish this as an important and enjoyable day in the village calendar!

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Painting Donated to the Village
The village shop c.1901 This painting of the village shop is one of three kindly donated to the village by the Barr-Sim family who lived in Henham from 1962 - 1989.  It is believed that the artist, a Mr. Ward lived in the village in 1901.

Together with a view of The Mill and another of Church Street it will be displayed in OSCA

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Bill Bates