It’s such a challenging time for everyone right now, with so much uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The latest government figures show the UK’s unemployment rate rising to 4.8% in the three months to September and redundancies rising to a record high of 314,000 in the same period (Office for Na-tional Statistics). Surrey County Council’s latest […]
Chance to Reskill or Take up new Challenge Read More »
by Sarah Tune Its nice to have some colour near your front door during the winter and If you have the luxury of buying a few plants, there are many colour-ful types available this time of year, so why not choose something other than the winter flowering pansy on their own. Cineraria maritima with its
Festive front door colour Read More »
By David Young Christmas is a time of anticipation for the joy of Christ-mas and the new start offered by the New Year; but this December can we look for-ward with any great certainty ? more Covid ? more re-strictions ? Who knows ! What we do know is that the Riverside Arts Centre is
Notes from the Riverside Arts Centre Read More »
We all know the message about the im-portance of hand sanitising. But it is not al-ways practical to carry bottles of sanitiser in your pocket or bag and with an estimated 10 million empty sanitiser bottles due to end up in UK landfill this year, local business woman Beverley Boon has been developing an idea
Sunbury’s Neat Sanitising Solution Read More »
When Marie-Jose Zuurbier and Tess Town-send’s local am dram club went into lock-down, they got busy writing a series of virtual plays for performance on Zoom. These 30-minute follow the fictitious Watsons Amateur Theatre Club rehearsing plays, fund-raising, providing the town with entertainment and now trying to decide how to celebrate Christmas. The clever scripts
Lockdown Determination sees Local Theatre win Award Read More »
By Monica Chard This year more than any has been a challenge for most of us: job uncertainty, financial worries, ill-ness and death, family tensions, isolation and lone-liness to name but a few. Without going into detail, I have been through rather a lot of challenges my-self. But I find myself looking at this year
The Art of Resilience Read More »
By Monica Chard In these dark times, meta-phorically as well as factual-ly, we need to see the light. So how about lighting up our lovely village? Tracey and Stephen Lons-dale, who tirelessly create the stunning Christmas House on Green Street every year, are once again committing to taking on this mammoth task and work is
Lighting up Sunbury Read More »
The Boat Sheds Have Gone. A Good Time to revisit the cycle/footbridge Project Nick Pollard’s article on the demolition of Wilson & Sons boat sheds in the November edition provides a timely reminder of our cam-paign to install a cycle/footbridge connecting Lower Sunbury to the Thames National Trail at Walton. The River Thames is one
It’s been a weird old year. We’d all be forgiven for feeling more flat than festive. What we need are some simple ways to find fun in the time of COVID. The pan-demic will mean Christmas won’t look like it usually does, but with a bit of thought and creativity it’s still possible to celebrate
Fun in a Time of Covid Read More »
by Daphne Clement The Robin on the cover is a watercolour painting of a robin that visits our garden frequently. He has a way of looking at me that says ‘What are YOU doing here?’ : ‘How dare you have coffee out here again’ : ‘Haven’t you got work to do?’ or even ‘I need
My Robin (and how you can buy him) Read More »
We always love seeing local photos taken by you. Thanks to this months contributors Natasha Tait, Nathan Winch, Laura Harrison and Chris Lewis (and one from Monica Chard).
Spelthorne Borough Council has honoured 32 children as ‘Spelthorne Litter Heroes’ for taking part in litter picks across the Borough. The children, who were nominated by the group Spelthorne Litter Pickers, have been sent a certificate signed by the Mayor of Spelthorne, Cllr Colin Barnard. The Council are showing their support for litter picking groups
Spelthorne Litter Heroes Read More »
By Inspector Maxine Cilia Anti-social behaviour is a real problem in communities. Where others lack considera-tion for the wellbeing of others it violates the basic rights of another person to just be able to get on with their lives. We are currently dealing with youth anti- social behaviour in Sunbury Cross. This type of behaviour
Sunbury & Shepperton Beat Read More »
Last year I attended the Hawke-dale Christmas fair (remember those lovely days?). As I walked amongst the many and varied stalls, I did a double take at the decorations for sale at one of them. My mother was Danish, so I was brought up with many Dan-ish traditions, including the hand made decorations which Christ-mas
Authentic Danish Christmas Decorations ….from Sunbury! Read More »
By Rachael Leverton Rhubarb is a reasonably easy trouble-free plant to grow. It is also a handsome plant, with large leaves and striking red stems, and who doesn’t love a rhubarb crumble? The trick is to choose the right spot. Ideally it needs to be planted in full sun but if your garden is very
We love getting feedback from readers on some of our articles. Last month Des Mul-vany, who now lives in Manygate Lane, con-tacted us: Dear Monica, imagine my surprise when I arrived at page 4 of Shepperton Matters earli-er today. I had a career with Mobil (1953-1993) and following an appointment as sales representative in Hampshire/West
Memories of a Mobil Sales Rep Read More »
Quick pickling is the new big thing in the kitchen When I was a child, family get-togethers involved buffet lunches. One of the highlights were the big jars of ‘quick pickles’ that my father, aunts, and uncles had been taught to make by my grandmother. Quick pickles are vegetables pickled in a solution of vinegar,
By Francis Nitsch-Jones I’m a young tech enthusiast. I’ve always been fascinated with technology, so when I found out about 3D printing, my mind was blown! When I first heard about 3D printers I as-sumed that they were something that only rich corporations could afford, but after a quick internet search, I discovered that I
My 3D Printing Lockdown Adventure Read More »
Many of you will have known Edwin Genet, a big personali-ty in St Mary’s church, Sunbury, and a key figure in Probus and the Freemasons. Edwin was also the oldest delivery ‘boy’ for Sunbury Matters! He spent his lifetime building up a very successful business based in Chertsey and throughout his life he supported nu-merous
Edwin Genet Leaves Life Story for Charity Read More »
By Paul Hollingsworth Lichfields, contracted by the govern-ment, has identified an annual hous-ing need requirement for Spelthorne of 489 homes p.a., reduced from 606. This equates to a requirement of 1755 fewer homes over the 15 year period of the new Local Plan. Spelthorne Borough Council (SBC) stated previously that 1649 homes would need to
Protecting our Green Belt – Update Read More »
By Dawn East When I came home from a year’s travel sabbatical in July 2019, I found myself feeling a little lost. I was going to be re-turning to a job I’d fallen out of love with and I had no idea what I wanted to do next. From out of the blue, an ad
Join Action for Happiness Read More »
