Last August it became clear that driving through France would not be possible, so we sold the car, fin-ished packing up the house and took a plane from Heathrow to Pisa. Freight was still allowed so our belongings ar-rived three days later, just time enough for us to paint a room. Getting to Coreglia before […]
By Monica Chard It was 1950 when Terrick Fitzhugh started a couple of projects. His hobby was historical research and he had decided to write a history of Shepperton, at the same time as considering starting a magazine for fellow history enthusiasts. It was while he was mulling these projects over, that the idea of
Sunbury & Shepperton Local History Society Celebrates 70 Years Read More »
It’s that time of year again, when the season’s change to give nature a chance to re-cover its strength, renew re-serves, and get ready for the dawn of a new season in a couple of months. The picture shows the pond just after the rains resulting in a minor flood around the site. Part of
Winter at Laleham Pond Read More »
Keep these lovely photos coming. They brighten our day. We live in a beautiful place and the sunrises and sunsets over the river are definitely favourite scenes. Thanks to this months contributors. Do send any photos to monica@villagematters.co.uk
By Inspector Maxine Cilia The past month has seen a decrease in dwelling burglaries, however, on the other hand, an increase in vehicle crime. The main types of vehicle crime we are seeing are the theft of Catalytic Converters. This crime takes only about a minute to commit and usually the offenders are well prepared
By Spelthorne Borough Council In October 2020, Spelthorne Council announced that it intended to revise downward the housing needs figure for its new Local Plan, following heavy criticism of the Government’s original formula for calculating the number of new homes needed in local authority areas. This was derived from the Government’s plans to change the
Government U-turn on housing numbers for Spelthorne’s new Local Plan Read More »
By Monica Chard A book has recently been published which will be of immense interest to residents. Plotlands of Shepperton by Stefan Szczelkun is a charming little book, focusing on the river communities of Shepperton, and a little on Sunbury. It puts into historical and social context how these riverside dwellings came about. Many of
History of Plotland Dwelling Read More »
By Monica Chard Nourish our Nurses is a campaign which was set up back in March 2020, right at the beginning of the first lockdown. It’s objective was to supply NHS staff and community nurses in Surrey with boxes of sustenance, full of fresh fruit, veg and pasta, enough to last a week. We can
Please Help Nourish the Nurses Read More »
By Monica Chard Last year, more than any, was an immense challenge for most of us: job uncertainty, financial worries, illness and death, family tensions, isolation and loneliness to name but a few. Without going into detail, I have been through rather a lot of challenges myself. But I find myself looking at 2020 with
The Art of Resilience Read More »
By Andy Wilmott I have recently taken on the role within Spelthorne Borough Council of town centres manager for Ashford, Shepper-ton and Sunbury and I am really look-ing forward to meeting and working with the people and businesses that make these towns ‘tick’. My role is to act as a focal point to as-sist in
Invigorating the High Street Read More »
By Monica Chard The Eco Park has had an effect on many of us in one way or another, whether a blight on our view, the traffic or the smells. But noise has apparently been having an impact within the immediate area of the site. The Charlton Vil-lage stables had been an area of peace
Sun to set over Charlton Stables? Read More »
By Monica Chard Performing arts has been signifi-cantly hit during the Covid crisis. The double whammy is that in addition to loss of income, per-formers have been thwarted in doing what they love – namely playing for an audience. So thank goodness for both modern day tech and ingenuity and determina-tion! Molesey based single mum
Lockdown Sundowner Sessions Read More »
By Laura Hedges, Hot Club Yoga 2020 not quite the year you had in mind? We were-n’t expecting it either, but with everything that happens there are lessons to be learned! If this year has taught us anything (we actually have 3 things) it is that resilience, health & wellbeing have never been more important.
2021: The Year of You Read More »
By Nick Pollard This month’s picture, taken from a postcard of c1910, shows the ferry just downstream from Shepperton Lock, and the sharp bend (as it still is today) where Ferry Lane meets the Towpath. Be-side the ferry boat, punts and skiffs for hire, be-longing to Dunton’s boatyard, can be seen moored along the bank.
The Shepperton Ferry Read More »
By Squire’s Garden Centres We are a nation of bird watchers. From the red breasted Robin to the resident Great Tit, Blue Tit, colourful Goldfinch and Chaffinch, Black-bird, Starlings, Sparrows and more, we can’t get enough of these wonderful creatures. Small garden birds need to eat regularly, par-ticularly during cold weather when they use up
Feeding the Birds this Winter Read More »
Who could not have noticed the disgusting stink from the Eco Park last month? Walking across the beautiful Sunbury golf club during lockdown was a delight, but the choking stink from the chimney really spoiled it. So many people on social media commented on it from all around the area. So, did you report it?
By Bill Cunningham Romance Fraud and its coercive control is currently very prevalent. Likely aligned to social isolation. However, it’s not just in lock-downs that lonely people of all ages can be ideal targets for defrauding. Huge amounts of money are lost in this way. £70m reported in the last year. Plus there is an
ScamWatch – A Fine Romance? Read More »
The Spelthorne Borough Council’s annual Capture Spelthorne photographic competi-tion attracted 300 entries. 15 shortlisted photographs were published in the Spelthorne Bulletin in December and the winners have now been announced and informed. Winners of the categories are as follows: My Spelthorne: Monica Chard (yes….me!) Spelthorne in Action: Joanna Ginger Through the Seasons: John Harris Spelthorne
Walled Garden to host Capture Spelthorne Winners Read More »
This rather fancy bike rack was put up in Shepperton in July. We are all being encour-aged to leave the car behind and use our own feet or cycle. So this sounds like a good idea in principle. But the double decker bike rack outside the village hall remains empty. Why? Perhaps we all want
Bike Rack in Shepperton Read More »
At the start of the pandemic we reported on a young man from Sunbury who had the brilliant idea of offering tutoring free of charge. Jacob Kelly’s Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative drew on the resources of 4000 volunteer university students who pro-vided 25,000 hours of free online 1:1 tutoring for school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds across
Corona Tutoring Initiative Rewarded Read More »
