|
Links to changing pages on this site |
|
Latest
PC Minutes | Latest
District Council News | Latest
Dragon | Henham
Dads |
|
Visit
www.saveourvillage.co.uk
to see the latest news 
|
|
Save Our Village Campaign 2010 |
|
Very important meeting on
Friday 12th March at 7.30pm at the Village
Hall regarding our response to the
latest Uttlesford consultation on the dreaded Option 4. Please do your
utmost to attend. |

|
|
Neighbourhood Watch |
|
Dear
All
Uttlesford has one of the lowest recorded rates of domestic burglary - if
you want the statistics we had 1.3 burglaries per 1000 households in the
last quarter.
That
is amazingly low and we are well placed when measured against the most
similar group of districts nationally that we are compared against.
Rather than be satisfied with that we are committed to continuing to reduce
the number of dwelling burglaries further because it is a horrible crime
that we are keen to have as few victims as possible suffering.
One
of the latest pieces of information that we have discovered is that many
recent burglaries have been committed by entering through UPVC back doors.
These doors have a number of different locking mechanisms – some can be
locked by simply lifting the handle; In others lifting the handle drives
across a closing bolt but a key is needed to lock the door. It is clear from
speaking to recent victims that they had thought they were locking their
doors when they were just closing them and actually if the handle was
operated from the outside their door would still open. This mechanism is
also available on conservatories and can be used with wooden doors so this
message is for everyone.
Please make sure you know how your locks operate and so when you are locking
up you are, in fact, locking up. If you need any assistance with door locks
or are confused about this message then please speak to our crime reduction
advisor, Peter Caulfield on 0300 333 4444 and he will be happy to advise
you.
Joe Wrigley
Chief Inspector
District Commander for Uttlesford
|

|
2010 OSCA Book Sale Makes Record Amount
Click here |

|

|
|
|
(For Latest Developments - See PC Minutes for
February -
Click here) |
|
Road Surface
Condition - Mill Road and Crow Street. |
|
These two roads
were thinly resurfaced, as far as I can recall in the latter half of last
year.
Prior to this
winter's bad weather it began to break up and it has worsened over the last
month or so. It is particularly bad around the War Memorial and in
Mill Road. Unlike other roads in the area it is my opinion that frost damage
played little part in the deterioration.

Opposite the War Memorial
I have received the following email from Oliver of Mill Road who echoes my
and many other resident's concerns
Hi
Bill,
I
live on Mill road and am appalled by the state of the road after it
has been resurfaced.
Not
only was it left in a terrible state after the initial resurfacing,
with loose stones everywhere, especially on the pavements – but
after this recent weather as well, most of the new surface has gone.
It certainly looks worse than it ever was, even before they decided
to repair it – or destroy it as the council have done!
I
like all of us am proud of where we live and having to go up and
down that road every day really upsets me. Not only this, but the
damage that the loose stones causes to cars and the stones also
hitting the kids as they walk to school is a big issue in itself.
I
have phoned the council on this on many occasions, but this has
failed to make an impact.
I am
not sure whether this is an issue for the Dragon, or whether anyone
else has raised this.
Regards,
Oliver
Nick Baker,
the Chairman of the Parish Council is very aware of the problem and the PC
have taken it up with the Highways Authority. We will await to see what
happens - BB

|
|
Reporting of Deaths of People in the Village
Over the years I have included many tributes
to village people who have died, including two recent ones, (see below).
Sometimes I am unaware/have not been informed that people have died and
therefore no tributes have appeared. However, on occasions I have been
aware of a death but relatives have asked, for various reasons that I do not
make mention of the person. I will always ask permission first.
I am aware of two deaths recently, one of which falls into the category
above and in the other I am awaiting contact from relatives. -
BB

|
|
Parking Problems in Uttlesford District |
|
Chief Inspector
Joe
Wrigley the
Uttlesford District Police Commander has written a document responding to
letters he has received about irresponsible parking in our area.
Click here to view. - BB 
|
|
Poor Condition of the pond opposite the shop (Thurs.
21st Jan) |
 |
|
Many of you have noticed that the water in
the pond opposite the shop has become very black smelly and in the last day
or so. This pond up till yesterday had been covered with thick ice and
has been for some weeks. Apparently, this has caused the water to
become stagnant due to the fact that gases have accumulated under the ice
and whereas under normal circumstance gases are released into the
atmosphere, the ice has prevented this from happening. The plants
which normally oxygenate the water have themselves become users of oxygen,
hence the stagnation. The smell comes from the released gases such as
hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg smell) and methane now the ice has melted.
The Parish Council are aware of and will monitor the issue, but it is one of
those cases that will take time to rectify naturally. We will need a
lot of rain to help this along. BB 
|
|
Neighbourhood Watch |
|
There have been a number of incidents lately
in the Henham area where prowlers have broken into sheds and outbuildings.
If you see anything suspicious please phone 999 at once. |

|
|
Freda Doris May DIXON 1930 - 2010 |

A lovely picture of a young Freda |
Mrs Freda Dixon, wife of the late Don Dixon died after a long illness on
Thursday 7th January 2010. Her funeral service was conducted by the Reverend
John Richardson at St. Mary's on Thursday 14th January to a packed
congregation.
A bible reading was given by Martyn Fiddler
followed by another reading from Freda's niece Julie Hollingsworth and a
tribute by her long-time friend and neighbour Jo Jeffrey. I will not
try and summarise the kind words said about Freda's life because they are
adequately and concisely contained in Jo Jeffrey's tribute (click
her to view)
Freda was later buried at Henham Cemetery in Chickney Road.
Henham will sorely miss her.
Donations, if desired, can be made payable
to ACT (Lewin Stroke Unit)
c/o DC Poulton & Sons Funeral Directors
2 Chapel Hill, Stansted CM24 8AG |

|
|
Save Our Village Campaign |
|
Please see
Latest District
Council News from Cllr.
David Morson regarding the next Consultation on the proposed housing plans
of U.D.C. due to start on 15th February. As with previous
consultations, The Joint Parish Council Steering Group ask residents to hold
back on responding until they have taken advice from their consultants.
They will update you as soon as possible. |

|
|
Neighbourhood Watch |
|
Church Vandalism
There have been three separate incidents of church vandalism recently. At
Ickleton Church on 4th January car windows were broken in the car
park and Christmas flower arrangements thrown around. The Church had also
suffered vandalism to its church doors in mid November, when swastikas were
painted onto the church doors.
The
second incident was at Strethall Church where swastikas and obscene words
were spray painted onto walls and floor in white spray paint. Pages were
also torn from the Church bible.
On
Tuesday 12th January at some point between 9am and 4pm, St.
Mary’s Church in Newport was vandalised with various items being damaged and
notices being ripped and strewn around the church. There was no graffiti on
this occasion.
We’d
like to ask for your help in keeping a close eye on your local church and if
possible ask your friends and neighbours to do the same. If you see
anything suspicious going on at, or around your local church, please dial
999 immediately.
If
you saw any suspicious or unusual activity around any of these locations or
have any information which you think might be of help, please call Essex
Police on 0300 333 4444.
Many thanks,
Lindsay Baillie - Essex Watch Administrator, Uttlesford. 01376 556 232 /
07837 341 683

|
Henham in the Snow
(Pictures kindly sent in by Lorraine Grove) |
|
Click on the thumbnails to view full
pictures 
|
Vera
Isabel Leader
14th August 1919 - 24th December 2009 |
 |
On
Wednesday 6th January 2010, Vera Leader was buried at Henham Cemetery in
Chickney Road. At 11.00am a well attended Memorial Service was held at
St. Mary's. Please
click
here for a copy of the tribute to her life. She was an important
part of Henham and will be sadly missed by all her family and friends. |

|
|
A Likely Computer Scam |
|
Hi Bill,
This might be another
one of those scammers trying to get access to people’s computer. I was
called on Tuesday 5th.Jan. 2010 by a foreign sounding gentleman purporting
to be connected to Microsoft saying that they had received a number of
complaints in the area from people experiencing issues with their windows
software. He kept asking me to confirm my post code saying that there was an
issues with opening and using windows within this area.
I asked if he was
licensed by Microsoft to carry out this type of support and he confirmed
that they were. I did ask for the company name, but couldn't understand him.
He then asked if my PC was switched on and connected; it was, but I told him
it wasn't as I was very suspicious at this point. He asked me to go and
switch on my PC. At this point I said thanks but I am not interested in
continuing this any further. I then switched off my PC which was using a
wireless connection at the time.
Having worked within IT
for the past 40 years, as far as I am aware windows is loaded onto one's own
PC and apart from using Microsoft explorer to access the internet I can't
see this being an issue other than if you own PC is causing problems. I
believe this guy wanted to monitor my PC remotely so he could pick up my IP
address to gain access at a future time to possibly skim details from my PC
such as passwords or on-line banking information. This is one reason for not
retaining passwords on your PC however convenient this might be.
Hope this is useful to
other PC users and would advise others to never allow external people to
access their PC's remotely unless they know who they are.
Kind regards
Les |

|
|
Old Mead Road -
Dangerous Snow and Ice |
|
In the last couple of weeks there have been a
number of accidents in Old Mead Road on the stretch leading down to the bend
just before Toot-Toot bridge when cars have lost traction on the slippery
surface and ended up hitting the barrier in front of the ditch outside The White House. This is a notorious Henham 'black spot',
(or white spot at this time of the year). |
 |

Local 'gritters'
Di and Jill putting ash on the road. |
At 5.0pm on Wednesday 6th January a local man
ended up in the ditch with his car upside down. Fortunately he was not
hurt. This was closely followed by another car which slid into the
driveway of the house.
Please be very careful driving down this part of the road. Select a
low gear, drive slowly and avoid heavy use of brakes.
(Pictures by our roving reporter Ken S.) |
|
|
|
Recovering the vehicle the next morning |
 |

|
 |
OSCA Second-hand Book Sale
Saturday 6th February 2010
10.0am - 4.0pm
Donated books may be left at OSCA
when open
or call Josie on 850 490 |

|
|
The beach at Clacton on New Year's Day |

(thought I would share it with you - BB) |
|
|
A Henham Wedding |
 |
A dull rainy day was brightened by the
wedding of Captain Chris Thoms until recently a Henham resident and Miss
Natalie Huber at St Mary's on Wednesday 30th December.
Click here for more pictures
We wish you every happiness for your life
together. |

|
|
Email Received re the Yew Tree |
|
Regarding the
Misguided, Concerning the Yew Tree in the Church Yard:
Dear Henham
News,
The Yew
tree was planted to keep away the devil. The devil may appear in many forms.
Who wants to cut down the tree?
My
ancestors will not be pleased, beware, those who carry the axe.
Best
regards,
John
Richard Hayden.
Germany.
PS: I
propose the Council makes this tree and others as Listed. It then becomes a
criminal offence to damage the tree(s). Of course the weak minded may call
upon the Health and Safety Act as a back-up measure to achieve their ends,
but so far the legislation does not include risk due to vanity.

|
Yew Tree in Churchyard
Re the article below - On Thursday
3rd December the Parish Council decided to keep the Yew Tree, but trim it in
the spring. There are also three other mature Yew Trees in the Churchyard
|
|
Re the appeal from Jane Tofts below -
apparently the dog also frequented the Mill Road area. It does not seem
vicious, but just wary of people. The council 'dog catcher' has been
informed but she has said that she does not have a humane cage big enough to
catch it in. Lets hope the Henham Dragon does not reappear! |
|
|
Message from Jane Tofts - Henham Grapevine |
|
Can anyone help? There is a stray dog that
lives in the woods opposite Smiths Farm on the road to Thaxted. It appears
to be a white German shepherd and has been in the area for months. My
husband has tried to catch it without success as it seems to have gone
completely wild. We are now going to leave some food for it. Please will you
e mail round it must have belonged to someone,
Thanks - Jane Tofts, Springfield

|
Yew Tree - Henham Churchyard
See Parish Council Minutes for 5th November -
Click here |
 |
I write this letter on
behalf of myself, Mrs D Hewitt, Mrs B Haydon, Mrs V Dunn ,Mr and Mrs Ellis
Callow, Mrs S Traer Mrs P Botterill and possibly many more people of the
village who are as incensed as we were to think the yew tree maybe
cut down just because you cannot see the church from the road. |
|
If the said tree was in
any way in danger of falling down or damaged because of a disease, the case
for maybe thinking of what to do may be different. But if anyone has the
thinking to look up on the website the significance of a yew tree in a
churchyard they are there for a purpose, no church throughout history has
been built without a tree in the grounds to ward of spirits A yew tree will
also live for many thousands of years without coming to any danger.
We would also like to
know who has suggested this idea and possibly it is someone who is out to
make a quick buck from cutting trees down?
I know one or two of us
no longer actually live in the village but probable had done so for more
years than those making decisions now, and some of us are still members of
Henham church and various other groups.
If a decision is to be
agreed upon I think it should be put to the residents before doing such a
drastic measure. I live right next to Chickney church it cannot be seen from
road, rail or even aircraft in the sky it stands in a small wooded area, but
still has a yew in the grounds Should we take it down also.
I could go on, but I
won’t.
Yours faithfully
Sheena Simmonds
Chickney Hall

|
|
Nick's Drive-In. |
|
At the Annual General Meeting of Saffron
Walden Golf Club on Friday 27th November, Nick Baker OBE the Chairman of the
Parish Council was unanimously elected Captain of Saffron Walden Golf Club
for the year 2009-2010. |
 |
|
|
 |
On Sunday 29th November he took part in his
'Drive-In' ceremony and considering the weather he hit the ball just over 195 yards in front of a large gathering of members
and past captains. This is the
third longest drive in 22 years by an incoming captain. Congratulations
Nick and hope you have a enjoyable and successful year.
(The Nick Baker range of golf clothing
will be available in the village shop in the new year and is expected to outsell the rather
conservative Ian Poulter selection) |

|
|
Neighbourhood Watch Warning - Received 27/11/09 |
|
One of the Church Wardens phoned me to say a suspicious
vehicle (large dirty white transit van) pulled up by the Great Hallingbury
Church and three large 'blokes' in front said "they were here to pick up all
the man hole covers as they were faulty, and they would then be replaced".
Luckily the man hole covers in the Church yard are plastic! Unluckily the
church warden did not get the registration. This was this afternoon, two of
the occupants were wearing fluorescent jackets, and they were then seen
pulling out of another driveway in the village later.
If you
do see a suspicious white van and / or anybody taking up manhole
covers who is not accompanied by a marked vehicle of a Water Supplier who
you recognise, please dial 999.
Kind
regards,
Lindsay

|
|
Senior Citizen's Christmas Lunch at The Cock |
|
Took place this year on Wednesday 25th
November. A great success thanks to Mel (who hid from the camera again)
Karen, Sue, Jane, Ruth, Pauline Di, Sylvia, Chef, the washeruperers and
anyone else who I have forgotten. Special mention to Dave Brinkley who
supplied the wine. (Not sure whether Jane has told him yet) |
 |
|
|
 |
 |

|
|
The Race Night at Henham Village Hall on Saturday
21st November made a magnificent £952 towards the Village Hall fund.
Well done everyone! |

|
|
Village Flagpole |
 |
For the foreseeable future, in recognition of
our troops in Afghanistan, it has been decided to keep flying the Union Flag
on the village flagpole. |

|
|
Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2009
An
' Act of Remembrance' service was held at the War Memorial at 11.00 am . The
service commenced with a reading from Simon Pilchard followed by the Last
Post, The Silence and Reveille. Wreaths were placed by Captain Chris
Thoms, Jo Jeffreys and representatives of the Cub Scouts. A service followed
at St Mary's when the preacher was Group Captain Mark Bunting. |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
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.
-
Laurence Binyon |

|
|
With Reference to the above |
|
Bill
It was
a very nice service at War Memorial today (Sunday). I was impressed by the
number of "younger " people (not only children, but "younger" people) who
had turned out - this to me meant a significant feeling in current
involvement in troubles abroad with feelings about Iraq & Afghanistan -
without being political. But it was disappointing to notice that many (in
fact not one) motorists (cars and vans) did not bother to observe even the
basic common courtesy and respect to stop for just 2 minutes out of their
"busy" lives to remember those who are still giving up their lives for our
freedom! One would have thought that just a moment to stop was not too much
to ask
"Very
Cross" Henham Resident

|
|
Neighbourhood Watch - Telephone Scam |
|
On Tuesday 27th
October one of our villagers at Henham received a phone call from a man
saying he was from BT. He said he was going to cut the phone off for non
payment of a bill. The amount was £36. The villager said that she always
paid her bills and was up to date. However her husband felt that it was not
an issue and gave the guy his credit card number, however he got suspicious
as he was giving the details and asked for some proof of the fact the guy
was from BT, 'give me the details of my last 4 bills' he said. With that the
guy rang off and the villager cancelled his credit card.
Obviously a clever scam.
Nick Baker (Co-ordinator)

|
|
Another very special occasion at the village
hall on Saturday 26th September saw Ruth and Alan Green together with family
and friends celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary. It was a tremendous
evening. Once again the hall was superbly decorated, the food
excellent and the entertainment (Alan and Clifford) of the usual high
standard. On behalf of those who attended may we thank you and all
your helpers for a wonderful evening and may you have many more happy years
of marriage. |
 |
|
Click here
for more pictures |

|
|

Click here to visit the charity web site |
'Help For Heroes' Charity Day
Sunday 23rdAugust 2009
at The Cock Inn |
|
Blessed by very good weather, the Charity Day
organised by Mel and Paul in aid of the Help for Heroes Charity proved
to be a great success. Personally I have not seen a such a turnout at
The Cock for a very long time. It is anticipated that in excess of
£1600 cash was raised to provide 'practical and direct support' for wounded
service men and women and when the final figure is calculated I will let you
know. However, already a great effort from everyone. |
 |
|
Shoe box parcels and other donated items to
be sent to our troops |
 |
 |
|
An exhibition of restored
army vehicles and their proud owners |
 |
 |
|
|
|
All the money from the
barbecue, auction, raffle and the sale of wristbands will go to the charity. |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Guest auctioneer, comedian and writer John
Mann in full flow |
Why would Paul Donnelly buy an imitation
sheep for over £200 and then try to stop it giving an interview. |
 |
 |
|
The Downside |

|
|
A
Surprise Birthday Party for Bessie |
 |
On Saturday 15th August, Bessie, our
postmistress and long time resident of Henham, celebrated a surprise 75th
birthday party at the village hall. It was a brilliant evening. I have
never seen the hall looking more splendid, the food was excellent, the music
from Alan Greene just right. Thanks to Mel and Wendy, Sue, Trevor,
Jane and Doreen and everyone else who had a hand in the organisation.
Happy Birthday Bessie and thank you on behalf
of all who were privileged to be there
Click here
to see more pictures |

|
|
Memories of an
Evacuee |
|
Every now and again I receive an email out of
the blue from somebody who has a connection/memory of our Village which they
wish to share. This week a very interesting one arrived from Mrs. Ann
Carter (nee Middleton) now living in France who talks about the time she and
her sister were evacuated to Henham during WWII. It is a long email so
I have created a separate page for it. Thank you Ann. Henham still has
many residents who were here at that time and will remember the people you
mention.
Click here to view |

Ann's parents; seated her aunt,
Ann, Mrs Willet, and Ann's sister |

|
|
Henham
Village Hall Refurbishment |
|
Saturday 25th July saw a very well attended
barbeque and disco at Henham Village Hall to celebrate the opening of the
refurbished bar and kitchen areas. Over the past three years the hall,
built by villagers in 1928, has already seen some major improvements
including new toilets, drainage system and redecorating.
This time, thanks to the fund-raising
efforts of the Village Hall Committee, chaired by Trevor Ellis-Callow, both
the kitchen and reception/bar area have been radically improved and the
floor re-sanded.
The evening was a great success and may I,
on behalf of the village thank Trevor, Sue, Pauline, Jane, Dawn, Kay and
Vanda and Keith for all their efforts in making the hall a great venue for
all types of occasion. It is believed that well over £1,000 was
raised on this occasion, but more money is still needed before the next
stage can commence. |

Bessie Hayden (whose husband Jack helped to build the hall all those years
ago) formally opening the new kitchen |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
For more about the hall,
and how you can hire it for your function
please click here. |

|
Henham 10K Fun Run
Sunday 21st June 2009 |
|
I know it was a few weeks ago, but I have
received a few more pictures that are well worth publishing. |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Click here to
view more pictures and the results 
|
|
Henham Fun Day |
|
A really splendid afternoon was had by all at
Woodend Green on the afternoon of Sunday 10th May. The weather was
very kind to us and literally hundreds of people of all ages came out in
support of the Save Our Village Fund and other charities and good causes.
There were over 20 stalls and activities including an
Inflatable Slide, Bouncy Castle, Coconut shy, Tombola, Penalty
shoot-out, Face
painting, Tennis game, Ball-in-a-bucket, Name that dog, Guess the
Cake Weight, Books, Crafts, Ice Cream, Animal Shelter, Put the tail on
the Pig, Labrador Rescue, Henham History, BBQ, Tea/cakes, Beer tent, and
Pony & Trap Ride courtesy of Guy and Bessie Hayden. There was also
a
demonstration arena for a Dance Display by pupils from Henham School and
children from Saffron Walden. (Apologies to any
people I have missed).
We saw a repeat of last years Rally
Rounders Tournament, competing this time for the Martin Nicholson Shield.
Fiercely contested and umpired by Norman and Carol Elson, it was eventually won by the 'Tennis Juniors' who beat
the Henham Dads in the final. (click here
to see a report from the Henham Dad's perspective from John Bawden).
The shield was presented by Mrs. Sylvia Nicholson who had donated it in
memory of Martin who sadly died at the end of last year.

picture courtesy of Monica Sutherland
Organised by a small committee of
Gerry Bigland, Julie Churchouse, Karen George-Lafferty
and Clare Robertson and supported by many, many other helpers, the Fun
Day was a brilliant success and much money was raised. I have it on good
authority it will be an annual event. On behalf of everyone who
attended may I thank you all for your efforts. The community spirit of
our village really showed through.
Final figures show £775 for S.O.V. and £525 for the Fete Fund -
Brilliant
(Some pictures below - again apologies if
your stall/event is not featured) |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Looking
forward to next year |

|