Local Capture
Thank you for this month’s photos. Do share your photos with us. Email monica@villagematters.co.uk.
LoSRA Says
The Thames: A Dire Warning from an Environment Agency Whistleblower In an exclusive interview for the River and Canal News, an (anonymised) insider from the Environment Agency sheds light on the alarming state of the Thames. It is not known whether the EA has responded. Should it do so, we will endeavour to publish their …
Spelthorne Business Awards
By the time this has printed, we will know who has been crowned Best in Spelthorne at the Spelthorne Business Awards 2023. And of course the winners in the 17 categories will be admiring their trophies and feeling a huge sense of pride. Quite rightly too! This competition run by Spelthorne Borough Council is a …
Lest we forget – November 12th
The cold, wet weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of all those who turned out to mark Remembrance Day in Sunbury on a slightly soggy November morning. Everyone played their part magnificently, and the organisers would like to thank all those who helped in whatever capacity, and all those who paraded, played, sang, and …
Spelthorne in Bloom winners
Another Spelthorne in Bloom has drawn to a close. Running since 1989, Spelthorne in Bloom encourages residents to garden and tend and encourages a sense of civic pride in our communities. It celebrates the work of the borough’s green fingered residents and is about making the borough beautiful. There is no doubt that gardening is …
A visit to The Academy, Shepperton
By Monica Jones At the far side of the Little-ton Recreation ground in Shepperton, sits The Academy. This is Shepper-ton’s very own boxing gym, with one difference. It is run purely by volunteers and is for youngsters from aged 10. Boxing gives them an outlet for energy, gets them off the streets and gives them …
World and European Successes for Spelthorne Gymnastics
World Tumbling Championships – Birmingham, UK Spelthorne’s most experienced female tum-bler, Megan Kealy, won an amazing individu-al silver medal and team gold medal at the recent World Championships held in Bir-mingham, adding to the 17 world and Europe-an medals she has already achieved in her career. In the team event, Megan and her three GB …
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Sunbury boy – Rugby World Cup Mascot
Arthur Williams who is in Year 6 at Hawkedale primary school, had the experience of a lifetime recently. He entered a Land Rover Defender competition back in February that was sent round by the premiership rugby clubs. They were looking for a ‘Defender of tomorrow’ amongst youngsters and the prize was to appear as a …
Congratulations to Ms GB Classic!
Well, she only went and did it! Congratulations to Gina Broadhurst of Just Shutters in Walton, who has been successful in her bid to become Ms GB Classic. She also scooped the Best Publicity award and the Best Interview award. Gina had been publi-cising her entry in advance of the gala night, by supporting two …
Sunbury Court and an early link to slavery
By Ken Battle It has recently been discovered that Sunbury Court (Sunbury Place before 1854), home of the Salvation Army since 1925, was owned between 1777 and 1793 by a married couple who also owned a Jamaican slave plantation during that period. The University College London (UCL) ‘Legacies of British Slavery’ online database was used …
Give the Gift of reading this Christmas!
Bookmark Reading Charity are looking for volunteers to inspire the ‘joy of reading’ and give every child the opportunity to succeed. How many words do you read a day? Now imagine if you couldn’t read at all. That’s what it’s like for one in four children in England who are unable to read well when they …
Christmas comes early to Sunbury
Thanks to the generosity of three borough councillors, Sunbury Christmas market will be a genuine community affair. Better Neighbourhood grants have been given by Buddhi Weerasinghe, Matthew Lee and Kathy Grant. This windfall for the Lower Sunbury Business Community (LSBC) will allow volunteers to put on the market, get insurance, make sure the lights are …
Help a child this Christmas
What could be a better gift than helping support a child to enjoy Christmas? Home-Start Spelthorne have launched a Christmas Gift Appeal. If you could spare a few pounds for a gift for a child this Christmas, please consider donating; www.justgiving.com/spelthornechristmas This will enable Home-Start to put together bespoke packages for the families they are …
Give the gift of a tree!
Now there is an ‘in-tree-guing’ idea! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Did you know that you can get a tree planted in your garden for only £40? Considering how long this gift would last, how sustainable and how much it would keep on giving, it is definitely worth a thought. The Spelthorne Tree Wardens do an …
The Watersplash, Sunbury
By Nick Pollard This postcard shows the watersplash at Sunbury, in the years before World War One. You may well be asking yourself where there is a watersplash in Sunbury, but the clue is in the name of Ford-bridge Road, which leads from Sunbury village towards Walton Bridge and Shepperton. The original name for the …
Support my Dad’s cancer treatment
Martin Green is a friendly, family man who spent 30 years serving in the London Fire Brigade. In April 2018 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Prostate cancer and has been battling the disease ever since. Treatment has involved rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy as well as three hormone replacement therapies and two clinical trial …
The Burlington Launches Dementia Friendly Cinema Club
What a great initiative. The Burlington’s Dementia Friendly Cinema Club was launched in October and will continue on the first Friday of each month from 14.30 to 16.30. This initiative promises to bring joy and foster connections among individuals living with dementia and their families. The Dementia Friendly Cinema Club will screen timeless classics and …
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Spelthorne Orchestra supports St Nicks
The Spelthorne Orchestra will be back to hold a fundraising concert at St Nicholas church, Shepperton at 4pm on 18th November when they will be performing their Eastern Promise concert of music from around the world. Tickets £10 adults and free for under 18s. This follows the successful concert at St Saviour’s in Sunbury (pictured …
Shepperton Village Conservation Group is thriving says RHS
Congratulations to the valiant group of volun-teers of SVCG. They entered the Lord’s Bridge garden and pond into the RHS “It’s your neighbourhood” scheme this year for the first time. A judge visited the site see how the work looks to date as well as to give advice and encouragement. The SVCG committee were thrilled …
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