Leckhampstead NewsMarch 2020Issue no 65 www.leckhampsteadvillage.co.uk

VE DAY 75 YEARS

Leckhampstead is looking much smarter thanks to the annual litter pick.

Over two recent Saturdays, a 15-strong team of volunteers aged from almost two to 70-plus hit the lanes with great fortitude, filling half of a horse box with bags of finds from hedgerows and lanes.

“We are a lucky village with a strong community,” said litter pick leader, Anthony White.

“We are indebted to the help from Annabelle, Hugo and Lara Style, Richard Jones, Niamh and Noel Seacole, Chris and Wendy Blackham, Tim Lowe, Simon Krelle, Thelma and Laurie Spragg, Chris Osborne, Jane Lawes and Tessa White.

“Thanks also to those who regularly tidy Wicken Road, including Lesley Smith, Keith and Beth King and Matt and Gillian Adams.

“Please enjoy the beauty of our litter free lanes and enjoy our road signs which have been cleaned so beautifully.”

There’ll be no rationing of food and fun when Leckhampstead steps back to 1945 to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Everyone is invited to the village party on the green to celebrate the end of the war in Europe with dancing, games and 1940s music against a backdrop of World War 2 military vehicles.

The celebrations begin at 2pm on Saturday, May 9 and will be free to enter, thanks to a £100 grant towards the cost from the parish council and a further £100 from Aylesbury Vale District Council. The military vehicles will be provided by villager Tobin Jones.

Everyone is asked to bring food and drinks of choice to add to the picnic and there will also be tea, coffee and soft drinks available at a small cost.

In the spirit of the times, come dressed in wartime style – such as servicemen and women, munitions workers, land girls, Dad’s Army members and civilian ‘ration book’ fashions. (This is optional!)

There will be games and stalls with prizes galore, plus a cake sale and raffle to raise money for SSAFA, the armed forces’ charity.

And there’s more! A display of memorabilia and other exhibits reflecting Leckhampstead during the war years will be running in the church throughout the bank holiday weekend, with a special service on Sunday, May 10, at 10.30am.

A flyer with more details will be coming round nearer the time.

There will be lots to do, so if you would like to help in any way, or have items for the display, please email events@leckhampsteadvillage.co.uk or call Helen Seacole on 860531 or Lizzie Krelle on 860087.

l The parish council is also considering buying a commemorative bench for the village green to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Many months of hard work, volunteering and physical effort saw Emily Krelle at St James’ Palace to receive the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

The award, presented by Prince Edward, came after 18 months of volunteering at a local care home, a year of skills achievements – completing grade 8 piano and A-level music – and 12 months’ training and playing netball with MK Netters.

Emily, of Steadwell House, Church End, also spent a week volunteering at a centre offering respite holidays for disabled people and their families.

Now a medical student at the University of East Anglia, she worked for her award while a pupil at the Royal Latin School and says the highlight was experiencing the Devil’s Kitchen during a four-day expedition to Snowdonia.

Congratulations Emily!

Emily’s golden moment

PARTY TIME FOR VE DAY!

Spring clean-up

DON’T FORGET...it’s time for afternoon tea this Sunday, March 15, in the village hall. No need to book, just turn up between 4pm and 6pm for sandwiches, cream scones and cakes. The cost is £7 for a full afternoon tea (sandwiches, cream scones, cakes and tea), £5 for afternoon tea (cream scones, cakes and tea) or £4 for cream scones and tea.

The church was floodlit on...November 10 – ‘In Remembrance’ on the evening of Remembrance Sunday.

November 30 – in memory of Gladys Mansfield on what would have been her birthday.December 15 – in memory of Henry Thomas on the evening of the carol service.

Generous donations were made to the church.If you would like the church to be floodlit to mark a special date, just contact Beth King on

860657. There is no charge, but donations are always welcome.

News from St Mary’sThe Mothering Sunday breakfast will be in the village hall on March 22 from 10am. Bacon baps, boiled eggs, toast and marmalade will be served, with fruit juice, tea and coffee. This will be followed by a short time of words and music, with flowers given to mark the celebration. There will also be an activity table with a variety of things for the children to do. Everyone, of all ages, will be very welcome.

The Easter service will be Holy Communion on Easter Sunday, April 12, at 10.30am. Drinks and nibbles will follow the service and the children can have fun hunting for Easter eggs.

On April 26, St Mary’s will be celebrating all things English, as it is near to St George’s Day. This will be a short, informal service at 10.30am with something for all ages.

The annual Walkabout service is on Sunday, June 14, meeting at the church at 10.30am. This special service includes a short walk within easy distance of the church, stopping at various places to think of our surroundings and the things for which we are thankful. The service will end with drinks and biscuits – all welcome.

Come and join in some family fun at a free Messy Church event in the village hall on Wednesday, April 8 from 2.30pm to 4pm.

There will be Easter-themed crafts, songs and a story, followed by tea, sandwiches and cake.

Messy Church is suitable for all children from pre-school age upwards. Children need to be accompanied by an adult please.

If you would like to know more, please contact Lizzie Krelle on 860087 or email: lizziekrelle@live.co.uk.

The Poppy Appeal collection around the village raised £441.90. Poppy seller Peter Hay thanks all who contributed so generously.

A sincere, if belated, thanks to everyone who came carol singing in December, and to all who gave so generously to the collecting boxes. As a result, £270 was sent to The Night Shelter at Milton Keynes.

A cleaner is needed for the village hall. The hall trust can pay up to £20 an hour, with an average of one hour a month, depending on the use of the hall.

If you are interested please contact Laurie Spragg at laurie@spra.gg

Make a date for Paella on the Green, St Mary’s big fundraiser of the year, on

Sunday, July 19 at 12.30pm. More details soon!

2020 got off to a great start for the 18 people and two dogs who joined in the New Year’s Day walk.

The route took them along the brook and up to Long Row, then down and across to Barrett’s End. From there they strolled up to Middle End and back to the village hall, where they enjoyed food and drink that everyone had brought along.

With so much else going on in spring and early summer, the next walk will be the annual summer walk and barbecue, on Sunday, August 9 meeting at the village hall at 4pm. So please put it in your diary now. Check out the village website nearer the time for full details.

If you have any queries, please contact Keith and Beth King on 860657.

Stepping out for new decade

Clean job

Carol cash

Poppy day

Eight teams battled it out at the annual quiz on November 9. Winners were team Playing for Laughs and second were the Leckhampsters.A delicious hot supper was enjoyed by all. Many thanks to everyone who organised and supported this event which made a profit of £400.

Profitable quiz night

The District Church Council (DCC) welcomed new member Annabelle Styles at its meeting at St Mary’s this month.

The DCC ensures that the church is in good repair and has regular services.”

New to the DCC

Saturday, May 30 will be a time to discover more about the village in days past.

Following an article in the last newsletter, there has been interest in meeting up for a day of memories and finding out more about Leckhampstead back in the day.

The idea is that those who used to live here, or had connections to the village, will share their rich store of memories. What was the village like then? What sort of things happened here? Who were the people who made the village tick?

If you know anyone who has connections to the village, please let them know about this and ask them to come along. Old photographs or bits and pieces about the village in the past would also be very welcome to add to other items from village archives.

Pop along to the village hall on Saturday, May 30 at 2.30pm to chat about the old days over a cup of tea and slice of cake. Any queries, contact Keith and Beth King on 860657 or email: beth133@btinternet.com

The seeds are being sown for the Leckhampstead Garden Awards 2020 – but the shoots could wither and die if there are insufficient entries.

The awards, which have been running since 1998, are due to take place on Sunday, June 21. This year sees a new addition to the existing eight classes, with a special category just for weekend gardeners. There are also plans to run a

Could you be a voice for others in the village and make a difference to the community?

This is election year when who fills the five seats on the parish council is decided.

Ideally each councillor would represent a different part the village – although there has been no representative from South End for many years.

If you are interested in local current affairs, want to get involved in making decisions and contribute to the area in which you live, then this is the position for you!

If more than five people put themselves forward, villagers will

get to vote on who is elected. However, if the only candidates are the four existing councillors who are standing again, they will be deemed elected and will co-opt the fifth member.

Cllr Richard Gurney is standing down due to work commitments.

“Richard has been instrumental in leading the installation of the leaky dams for the village, spending many hours liaising with local government departments over the past two years,” said council chair Lesley Smith.

“He is going to be greatly missed by his fellow councillors for his endless support and knowledge

and we wish him well for the future.”

To stand for election, you will need to attend six council meetings a year plus other ad hoc meetings, such as to consider planning applications.

You must be on the electoral roll and have lived within a three-mile radius of the parish for the whole of the last 12 months.

For further information on the election and an application form, email the council clerk, Pat Old, at leckhampstead69@yahoo.com or phone 0775 9035609.

Applications must be returned by 31 March 2020.

Wanted: voices for the community

Gearing up for garden awards

The parish council is to press Bucks County Council Highways department to clear the ditches and

culverts in Wicken Road verges. It is hoped this will stem the flow of water that runs

continuously down the hill.The parish council will also ask for the road drains

at Church End bridge to be cleared.A day of discovery

Big hair and ‘80s fashions set the style for a disco night celebrating the era. It was a great night of good music and lots of

fun, with a bar, nibbles, a quiz and a raffle with ‘80s style prizes.

Noel and Helen Seacole (pictured) were among those who took up the opportunity for a photo to remember the occasion.

Many thanks to all who helped to make it such an enjoyable event.

special outdoor workshop for children to get them started on their entries.

Flyers with full details will be going out to every home in April, followed by a personal visit from a parish councillor at the beginning of May.

But, warned council chair Lesley Smith, for the event to continue many more gardens are needed.

“It is hoped with the addition of the weekend gardener category,

residents who do not have the time of the ‘retired’ gardener, will take up the challenge.

“Many of the classes do not require you to enter your whole garden,” she added.

“A particular flower bed, a tiny well attended

vegetable plot, containers – there are so many gardens which have interesting areas which are overlooked and of course new ideas are always welcome.”

As well as the flyers, details on the 2020 awards will be posted on the village website.

Sort out those ditches!

Big hair night fun

Dates for your diarySunday March 22 Mothering Sunday breakfast Village hall 10amWednesday April 8 Messy Church Village hall 2.30pmSunday April 12 Easter Service St Mary’s 10.30amSunday April 26 St George’s Day service St Mary’s 10.30amMonday May 4 Parish Council Village Hall 7.30pmSaturday May 9 VE Day party Village Green 2pmSaturday May 30 Village memories Village Hall 2.30pmSunday June 14 Walkabout Service St Mary’s 10.30amSunday June 21 Garden Awards judging starts 9am

Contributions to the Newsletter are always welcome. Please submit copy to the editors, Deb Boyce tel: 860343 email: debsb1949@gmail.com or Beth King tel: 860657 email: beth133@btinternet.com

1st (£25) 2nd (£15) 3rd (£10)November Hugo & Annabelle Styles Wendy Blackham Jackie GrahamDecember Eddie Cash Christine Davis Bimbi Fernando January Leah & Toby Lawes Wendy Blackham Anthony WhiteFebruary Richard &Yvonne Gurney Ann Freeman Charlotte Fernando

Cash prizes for latest lucky 100 Club winners

Roger Bidgood has been honoured for introducing others to a more relaxed way of rowing.

He was voted Club Person of the Year for his recreational rowing initiative at Milton Keynes Rowing Club.

Roger, of Church End House, took up the sport as a young man in Bristol, but had a 45-year break after moving to this part of the world.

“I didn’t take it up again until I was 70 because until then, I didn’t realise there was a club that close,” he explained.

Now 81, he is an active and competitive member, rowing for the club in doubles, fours and eights. But it was the recognition that others could take part in something less strenuous that led to the award.

Ben and Stef Sampson and their baby son, Oliver who have moved into 14 South End...

and to Sarah Miles, her son, Lewis and daughter, Lara, who have moved into 20 South End.

We hope that they will be very happy living here.

Rowing reward

Roger (front, at stroke) with a crew of recreational rowers.

A fund-raising quiz night has taken Naomi Krelle a step closer to India.

Naomi, 17, has to raise £2,900 for a trip to Kerala in Southern India where she will help build amenities for tribal communities.

The quiz night that she organised in the village hall gave her fund an impressive £750 boost.

She will be joining the Planet Kerala Community Project – a network of individuals and organisations that are helping to improve the lives of people in the region. This includes improving access to clean drinking water, building

latrines and creating playgrounds for local schools.

Naomi, of Steadwell House, Church End, is taking part through the Royal Latin School and is due to leave for India on July 9. If you would like to help her get there, all donations, however small, will be gratefully received!

She’s on her way to India

Naomi and dad Simon, quizmaster for the night.

Welcome to...

Congratulations to Oliver and Jade Holland on the birth of their baby daughter, Zion, on October 18.

The family lives at 16 South End.

Baby news

“A few people said they wanted something to do now they had retired, so I suggested starting a weekday recreational group – not just for retired people but also others such as shift workers and mums with young families.”

The group launched with just two or three people, now there are 23 who take to the water at Caldecotte Lake, finishing with tea and cakes at the clubhouse, joined by partners who go along to watch or take a stroll around the lake.

“Many people don’t realise that rowing is a low impact sport, you can even do it with arthritis, and you can do as much or as little as you want,” said Roger, who is also a qualified instructor.

If you are interested in joining the recreational rowers or in any other opportunity, Roger is happy to help. There is no upper age limit!