By Nick Pollard On the night of 28th September 1932, a mysterious fire destroyed several of the stands at Kempton Park, which dated back to the opening of the course by Samuel Hyde in 1878. Mysterious, as it was the second time in a month that a fire had broken out at the racecourse, and […]
Disastrous Fire at Kempton Park 1932 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 John Taylor Some readers, may recall with nostalgia the Festival of Britain, perhaps attend-ing the main events at the South Bank London, or going to the funfair at Bat-tersea. It was in 1951, just six years after the end of World War Two, that the event was held to celebrate the British contribution to
The Festival of Britain 1951 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
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 Trust the Nordics to come up with another great idea which means you have no excuse NOT to sit outdoors, even during winter! Recent restrictions have meant we can meet other householders OUTSIDE, but not in the cosy indoors. That is fine for the warmer months, but is a bit on the
Enjoy the Great Outdoors. No Excuses! 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 »
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 »
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 »
Halliford School announced a 100% pass rate in LAMDA exams at the end of last year. 19 Halliford students took ex-ams in either acting, verse and prose, or mime, securing an impressive 11 distinctions, 7 merits and 2 passes. Halliford are so proud of Sixth Former, Robert Pleasance (pictured right with headmaster Mr Davies), who
Halliford excels in LAMDA examinations 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 »
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 »
We always love seeing local photos taken by you. Thanks to this months contributors. We are getting more and more images every month. Keep them coming and see them in print in Sunbury Matters: monica@villagematters.co.uk
By Kacie Thomson, SUEZ We would like to reassure the community that emissions from the Eco Park are mostly steam (the largest and only visible emission), with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and tiny amounts of pollutants that must comply with the Environment Agency’s (EA) permitted limits and strict EU regulations. Steam is an odourless, colourless
What is the Plume from the Eco Park? 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 »
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust This month we’d like to take the opportunity to share the story of Sean Fitzpatrick who was a pa-tient at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey and the Brad-ley Neuro-rehabilitation unit, which is run by Ash-ford and St Peter’s Hospitals, located within Woking Community Hospital. Before becoming unwell, Sean
COVID patient Sean – Home after 8 months 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?
