Walton Matters February 2021 by Village Matters

Walton Walton

Matters

Putting Local Business First

Putting BusinessTogether First KeepingLocal a Community

Keeping Keeping aa Community Community Together Together

February 2021

Issue 27

FREE to 9000 Homes and Businesses in Walton on Thames FREE to 9000 Homes and Businesses in Walton on Thames

Are you a Leaper? : World Book Day www.villagematters.co.uk

Please mention mention Walton Walton Matters Matters when when Please responding to to adverts adverts responding

Ple Are you a Leaper? :1 World Book Day www.villagematters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when

www.villagematters.co.uk to adverts Please Please responding mention Walton Matters when me 2 www.villagematters.co.uk www.villagematters.co.uk

Welcome!

Welcome to the February issue. 2020 has now long gone. It was a year that I personally will be glad to say goodbye to. 2021 has begun, and it appears that we are starting where we left off...another lockdown. There is some light at the end of the tunnel hope however. Vaccines are with us and I firmly believe we can now, over the next coming months return to some sort of normality. I hope that you are all keeping well and safe. A huge thankyou once more goes out to the both the NHS and all the keyworkers. In this issue we hear of the Festival of Britain in an article written by local resident John Taylor. We also hear of two local

February 2021 “Capability Brown” gardens. Stay safe and well. See you in March

Contents

Published by:

Village Matters Ltd Walton Director: Paul Chard Telephone : 07946 494288 Email : paul@villagematters.co.uk Website :www.villagematters.co.uk Cover Photo : Yours Truly

Festival of Britain Capability Brown Fat Tuesday Climate Change Are you a Leaper? The Rise of Athleisure World Book Day Recipe of the Month Garden View Dominic Raab Index of Advertisers

4 6 8 10 14 16 20 22 26 28 30

Send any photos (300dpi) for consideration to: paul@villagematters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

The Festival of Britain By local resident John Taylor Some readers, may recall with nostalgia the Festival of Britain, perhaps attending the main events at the South Bank London, or going to the funfair at Battersea. 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 civilization, past, present and future, in the arts, science and technology, and industrial design. Much of the city still lay in ruins after the war, and models of redevelopment were needed. The Festival was an attempt to give the country a feeling of recovery and progress. The Festival of Britain described itself as “One act of national reassessment and one corporate reaffirmation of faith in the nation’s future”. The first idea for an exhibition came from The Royal Society of Arts in 1943, which considered that a celebration should be held to commemorate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. Funded mostly by the government with a budget of £12 million, in 1947, cabinet member Herbert Morrison took charge, and a planning council was established. The main site was constructed on a 27 acre plot on the South Bank of the Thames in Lambeth, which had been left untouched since being bombed in the war. Old Victorian buildings and railway sidings were transformed into the new site. Following an official opening by King George V1, the festival opened for the public on the 4th May. The centre piece was the recently built Royal Festival Hall. The main ground site featured the largest dome in the world at the time, standing 93 feet tall, with a diameter of 365 feet. This held displays on the theme of discovery such as The New World, Polar Regions, The Sky, Outer Space, The Living, and The Physical World. Adjacent to The Dome was the Skylon, a vertical cigar shaped steel tower supported by cables. There was the Tele cinema,

www.villagematters.co.uk

which showed films in 3D, and other displays to be seen were The People of Britain, Homes and Gardens, Health, Sport, and The Seaside. The event showcased the principles of urban design that would feature in the creation of new towns. Other exhibits included The Land of Britain, The Natural Scene, Power and Production, and Transport. A Festival of Science, was held at the Science museum Kensington, and a Festival of Architecture at the Lansbury Estate in Poplar. The Pleasure Gardens Battersea, were created a few miles from the festivals main ground. This included an amusement park, a miniature railway, foaming fountains, a wine garden, a pavilion with a stage, and an amphitheatre, seating 1,250 people, which was later changed into a circus. The Battersea Funfair closed in the mid 1970’s. Although the main site was in the capital, events were also held nationwide, including an Industrial Power presentation in Glasgow, and the Ulster Farm and Factory Fair in Belfast. Throughout the summer months, the ship Campania toured the coast of Britain with a smaller representation of the festival experience. The occasion had been a success, and there were over eight million visitors to the South Bank during a period of five months. At the closing ceremony in September, massed bands of the Brigade of Guards played as the Union, and Festival flags were taken down for the last time. The 2,900 seat Royal Festival Hall, is the only feature to remain from the festival and is now a Grade 1 listed building. It is still hosting concerts and other events to this day, and is an enduring reminder of the events that were held beside the Thames in that bygone summer of 1951.

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Lancelot “Capability” Brown Died 6th February 1783

Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (b. 1716, d. 1783) is Britain’s most famous landscape designer, who codified the English landscape style and worked at over 250 sites, for a client list that included most of the House of Lords. Born in Northumberland in 1716, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown rose through the ranks of Georgian society through a combination of professional talent and excellent connections to become King George III’s royal gardener in 1764; complete with the grace-and-favour Wilderness House at Hampton Court.

Wilderness House

This was an important appointment as it raised his status amongst the nobility. He is thought to have planted the great vine in 1768, which is still producing a crop of sweet grapes today (you can buy them from the shop in early September). Hampton Court Palace is of unique historical and horticultural importance. The park covers 750 acres of land, set by the River Thames. Stroll around the 60 acres of beautiful formal gardens where you will see The Privy Garden, Tiltyard Walls, Rose Garden and The Great Fountain Garden. But do not get lost in the maze! Another local garden laid out by Brown is Claremont Landscape Garden. It provides a

www.villagematters.co.uk

wonderful hideaway from the rush of modern -day life. With nearly 300 years of history to its name, the gardens were once the countryside retreat of the aristocracy and even the royals. Queen Victoria stayed with her Uncle Leopold at Claremont and delighted in the rare chance of freedom, away from the public eye. The estate has been created and shaped by many of the key influencers in landscape design throughout the years. Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles Bridgeman, William Kent, and ‘Capability’ Brown all put their own distinctive stamp on the pleasure grounds, making it into the gardens that visitors enjoy today. There is plenty to discover on a walk-through Claremont, whether it is the lake, the amphitheatre, the Camellia Terrace, or the Belvedere Tower. Brown’s landscapes were simple, uncluttered, and restrained. They comprised sweeping pasture bordered with tree clumps, perimeter shelter belts and screens of trees. The landscape was designed to encourage eighteenth century leisure pursuits including hunting, shooting, and carriage-riding. Lancelot Brown, nicknamed ‘Capability’, due to his habit of describing the great ‘capabilities’ of his clients landscapes, was the most successful landscape gardener of the eighteenth century. What Shakespeare has done for English letters, so Capability Brown has done for English landscape. His landscapes look so natural that it is hard to see the hand of the artist at work. Post lockdown and as we go into better weather both a worth a visit. Source: Various

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

The Stylish Way to Reduce Your Energy Bills February is often cold and bitter. Saving money on energy bills through reduced usage is both kind to the environment and your pocket, but is it achievable this month? Here are ways you can start saving: Draft Excluders Draft excluders have evolved from the old days of floppy sausage dogs made from old curtains! Choose from a host of materials; such as wood, aluminium or fabric; in a dazzling array of colours, textures & designs. Thermal Imagery Thermal images provide a detailed visual display which shows the amount of infrared energy (heat). This is an excellent way of detecting the areas in your home from which heat escapes. Once located, you can plug those gaps! For more info visit www.energy.gov Shutters Typical homes in Britain lose around 10% of their energy through the windows, more for those with large feature windows. Stylish shutters are an attractive and cost-effective way to reduce heat loss. This is because shutters provide an extra layer of insulation, as the air between the shutter and the glass creates an air pocket which acts as a barrier against draughts and prevents heat transfer. Air Drying Tumble dryers are a significant drain on your home’s energy so if you can dry your washing inside on a clothes rack instead you could save around £100 per year. Appliances You may be carefully monitoring the thermostat and donning extra jumpers, but are your appliances as energy conscious as you? According to Which?, fridge-freezers account for a massive 20% of the electricity used in our homes, so making sure yours is energy efficient will save you money in the long term. Georgina Broadhurst, Just Shutters. For a design visit Call 01932 500 270 or visit

JustShutters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Fat Tuesday

It’s pancake day this month I grew up near Olney, in Buckinghamshire. It’s a pretty little town with lots of lovely independent shops and a strange claim to fame; it is the home of the pancake race.On Shrove Tuesday, in a 500-year -old tradition, many of the Olney women (and the odd bloke in a dress), don aprons and head coverings, and race through the streets to the church tossing a hot pancake in a frying pan! It’s an entertaining afternoon, but how did it all come about? Legend has it that in 1455 a woman cooking pancakes heard the shriving bell summoning her to

Ingredients 115g (4oz) plain flour Pinch salt 1 large egg 285ml (half a pint of milk) 115g (4oz) butter, melted Juice from 2 lemons, strained Caster or Demerara sugar to taste.

I p s t o i t To make the batter: sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. t

Beat in the egg and a little of the milk until smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining milk and add 4 L tablespoons of the melted butter. Coverc the bowl and leave to stand for one hour. In a small non-stick frying pan heat some of the butter until sizzling, but taking care not to let it burn. Pour enough batter into the pan to coat the base evenly. Cook over a moderate heat until the pancake is light golden-brown underneath and looks dry on top. Flip over (try to do this with style!) and cook the other side until golden. Continue until all the batter is used. The recipe should make 10-12 pancakes. confession. In her Christian haste she ran to the church, wearing her apron and still clutching her frying pan, complete with hot pancake, and so the tradition was born. The reason this 15th Century woman was cooking pancakes in the first place was due to a Christian dictate; that through the 40 days of Lent no person should eat milk, eggs, or butter. This was a pre-fridge era, which meant that if a housewife had stocks of these foods they would go off before the fast ended on Easter Sunday, so she had to use them up. The solution was to make pancakes and they became a symbol of self-indulgence before the fast. Indeed Mardi Gras, as the ritual is called in France and the USA, literally translates as ‘Fat Tuesday.’ Over the years I’ve tried my pancakes with fruit, maple syrup, and a variety of savoury fillings but I keep coming back to fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar...irresistible. Here is my own recipe for perfect pancakes.

www.villagematters.co.uk

You can keep the pancakes warm in the oven (Gas mark 1 / 140C) until they are all cooked, but in our house they’re barely out the frying pan before they’re scoffed. Serve with the lemon juice and sugar...Enjoy! By Sarah Davey

c c f t w d o

T h o h c Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts b c

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Surrey councils working in partnership to tackle climate change ambitions A joint application by Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council to this year’s Design in the Public Sector programme (DiPS) was successful. The DiPS is delivered in partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Design Council and equips councils with design skills and methodologies to apply to local challenges and ambitions. This year’s topic is climate change. A multi-disciplinary team from Elmbridge Borough Council, Surrey County Council and the Orbis Shared Services Partnership, with commissioning, procurement and climate change expertise, is going to explore ways to consistently take into account sustainability (i.e. environmental, social, economic) within their procurement processes. Both councils are committed to become carbon neutral organisations by 2030 and share ambitions to become a net zero carbon county by 2050. The DiPS launched in November and will run for the next six months. There will be four phases of the programme: exploring the challenge, defining the challenge, creating a solution and testing the solution. Councillor Mary Marshall, Portfolio Holder for the Environment at Elmbridge Borough Council said: “Through our close partnership with Surrey County Council we will look at the pressing climate change challenges we are facing in the county. Our spending decisions can be influential and so we must find ways to reduce their associated carbon emissions.

www.villagematters.co.uk

This project will help explore and find solutions to this challenge and we are looking forward to the work ahead.” Councillor Natalie Bramhall, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change at Surrey County Council, said: “We make a huge number of purchasing decisions every day as council organisations. The products and services we buy can have a considerable impact on the environment. Working closely with Elmbridge and our other key partners will help us understand how we can reduce these impacts through our procurement processes. I am very interested to see how this significant piece of work develops.”

A C y (

T t a w t t

A B t c c Please mention Walton Matters when c responding to adverts

To advertise email paul@villagematters.co.uk

Or call Paul on 07946 494288

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Are you a Leaper? Imagine only having your birthday every four years or so? Yes, you would age chronologically just like everyone else, but if you are a “leaper”, aka someone born on February 29th, you rarely get to celebrate your real birthday on the date of your birth. In the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, when a person born on February 29 turns 18, they are considered to have their birthday on March 1 in the relevant year. In New Zealand, a person born on February 29 is deemed to have their birthday on February 28 in non-leap years. But what is a leap day or year? February 29, is a date added to most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. The statistics behind the number are surprisingly simple: Four years is equal to 1,460 days, and the leap year rounds it up to 1,461. Assuming the odds of being born are the same for every day, your chances of being a “leaper” turn out to be one in 1,461. A leap day is observed because the Earth's period of orbital revolution around the Sun takes approximately 6 hours longer than 365 days (8,760 hours). A leap day compensates for this lag, realigning the calendar with the Earth's position in the Solar System; otherwise, seasons would occur later than intended in the calendar year. Since 1988, Anthony, Texas, has championed itself as the Leap Year Capital of the World: In 2012, the town’s three-day celebration included a car show, an ice hockey game, and a

www.villagematters.co.uk

golf tournament. At the website of the Honour Society of Leap Year Day Babies (“spreading Leap Year day awareness” for 19 years), fellow “leapers” share tales of woe: children who thought their birthdays were taken away, parents begging and bribing doctors to fudge kids’ birth certificates to February 28 or March 1. A leap year conundrum is used in the plot of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. As a child, Frederic was apprenticed to a band of pirates until his 21st birthday. Having passed his 21st year, he leaves the pirate band and falls in love. However, since he was born on February 29, his 21st birthday will not arrive until he is eightyfour, so he must leave his fiancée and return to the pirates.

Im ye ca “l yo on do Fe ha ye ru The last leap day was February 29, Fe 2020. The next will be February le 29th 2024. to 20 20 Any readers who have a birthday on h T February 29 , Molesey Matters would love to hear from you! Howhi do you celebrate? When do you celebrate? ar si ye Source: Various 1, Please mention Walton Matters when th responding to adverts ro th

Crossword 1

Solution on Page 19

Across 1 Celebrity, headliner (4) 4 No longer in use (8) 8 Teaching period (6) 9 Libretto, dialogue (6) 10 Pockmark, healed wound (4) 11 Single spot of precipitation (8) 13 Persistence, tenacity (13) 16 Going to ground (5,3) 19 Belongs to you and me (4) 20 Frail, ailing (6) 22 Joined (6) 23 Long-handled frying pans (8) 24 Effortless (4)

Down 2 3 4 5

Wilful betrayal (9) Set aside, save (7) Proprietor (5) Period of sustained drinking (informal) (7) 6 Enticed (5)

7 Apex (3) 12 Without scent (9) 14 Small glamorous white dog (7) 15 Defeat decisively (7)

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

17 Prizes awarded for peace, physics, literature etc. (5) 18 Home of Snowdonia National Park (5) 21 Large deer (3)

www.villagematters.co.uk

The Rise of Athleisure Fashion for the COVID era

It's stating the obvious to say that COVID has changed everything. It's even changed the way we dress. With so many of us working from home there has been a surge in demand for comfy clothes, that don't constrict or constrain, but which still allow us to look professional on Zoom calls and in Team meetings.

petitive. Athletic brands have to stay ahead of the game by developing high-tech fabrics, with better performance and more comfort. The fashion industry, on the other hand, has always focused more on trends and less on comfort and functionality.

It ch w

But who doesn’t want to be comfortable in their clothes? We feel most naturally confident when our clothes are comfortable, and we know we look good. This is the beauty of athleisure wear – it isn’t just for sport; it can be worn anytime and anywhere. For this reason, it has attracted new fans during the age of COVID and homeworking. We can wear athleisure while lounging, walking the dog, hosting a meeting, or cooking supper. It's comfortable, durable, odour-resistant, and wrinkle-free. It’s becoming so popular it’s beginning to eat into the usually stable denim market: in recent surveys in the UK and the US more people now claim to prefer athleisure aesthetics over denim for their casual wear.

W ha cl w Z

Enter athleisure wear Athleisure wear is a combination of sports, urban, and fashion wear, but it's more than the sum of its parts. It has grown as a trend because it blends the aesthetics from both the sports and fashion industries, with fashion offering credibility to the sports aesthetic, while the sports provides some functionality to the fashion. Athletic brands are always looking to improve the performance of athletes. This forces them to innovate. Comfort and feel are top priority for most athletes. The goal is to create better fabric and form to improve athletic performance. But parallel to the innovation brands are also looking to get the most out of their investment and being at the front of fashion allows them to reach a wider market.

Beyoncé and Rihanna were among the first celebrities to bring athleisure into the mainstream. We've all secretly enjoyed seeing 'behind the scenes' glimpses into celeb lives during lockdown. COVID has been a great leveller, and we feel that even though they are celebs, they've been on the same journey as us, not dressed in their usual sequinned designer gowns or skin-tight jeans and stilettoes but wearing laid-back and comfy athleisure wear. Dressing like our favourite influencers has never been more achievable. So, before your next Zoom meeting pull on those yoga pants and your oh-so-soft bamboo top, add a slick of lip gloss, and channel Beyonce like never before.

The sports clothing industry is fiercely com-

www.villagematters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

February hasn’t always been a part of the calendar. In fact it was added much later, almost as an afterthought, and was considered as the last month of the year. The name of this month comes from ‘februare’ a word in Latin that means “to make pure”.February also gives more meaning to the festival dedicated to Lupercus, the God of Fertility, celebrated at the same time. The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC),

www.villagematters.co.uk

The occasion too upholds the same concept of making life pure. February was named Sprout -Kale in Old English because cabbage would start appearing around the same time. Later the name was changed to Solmonath.

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

S T R L E A S C H D E R L Y

A R O B S O E W E S S O N S C E E S A R R A I N V O T E R M I N A A I N G L O W O T A F E E B L E L I L E S E S K I L L E T S

L E T E U O R I P T E D R O P D T I O N R U O U R S U L N K E D C S E A S Y

Solution to February Quick Crossword

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

World Book Day Thursday 4th March

By Sarah Davey

They are also well equipped to deal with the explosion of constantly changing information available through the internet and social media. TV and computer games take up so much of our children’s leisure time that the simple pleasure of reading can be overlooked. Yet reading is the only entertainment medium which is also a life skill and it’s one of the best gifts you can give to your child. So let’s all support World Book Day and...celebrate the power of a story.

Every Saturday morning after we’d endured the weekly shop my mother took me and my brother to the library. We’d flop down in the children’s section and skim the titles, our heads tilted at ninety degrees. Our card limit was three books each and it never seemed enough. My mother was an avid reader and instilled in both of us the love of a good story. It’s why I’m delighted that World Book Day is here again, and that it's working even more closely with libraries. For the first time in our lives libraries are seriously under threat. Yet libraries level the playing field for families who can't afford to buy books. They are gateways to a world of information and imagination. World Book Day is the annual event supporting books and reading in the UK. Schools, libraries and bookshops will be holding book related events, activities and parties. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to get involved. The aim of World Book Day is to encourage children to explore the pleasure of reading. Your child will be given a book token which can be exchanged for one of ten specially published World Book Day books. The theme this year is storysharing. Research has proven that keen readers: Read, write and concentrate better Process new information more easily Have many interests and do well in a wide variety of subjects Are more flexible thinkers and are more open to new ideas Deal with personal problems better without their schoolwork being affected.

www.villagematters.co.uk

Share a few of your childhood favourites with your own children. If your memory needs a jog here are a few to start you off… Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Grandpa's Great Escape by David Walliams How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell The Gruffalo By Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

How will it work during Lockdown? World Book Day will continue to work with schools and nurseries to distribute the £1 book tokens. We’re working with teachers to provide the printed token (for those children still in a school setting) and a new single-use digital version, that can be printed at home or shown to booksellers on a phone or tablet screen. If you are a school or nursery/pre-school and would like to register for the digital token, this option will be available from 1st February. Please visit worldbookday.com/digital-book -token for more information. The token will also be on McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes through February and March, and in some children’s magazines.   Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Recipe of the Month Valentine Jammy Dodgers

Preparation time: 30 minutes + chilling time

Preheat the oven to 170C / gas mark 3. Divide the chilled dough into two equal portions. Place one portion between two pieces of lightly floured greaseproof paper and roll the dough to approximately a 4mm thickness. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Remove the top sheet of paper.

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes Makes 6-8 Ingredients 175g plain flour Pinch of salt 75g icing sugar 125g unsalted butter, diced 1 egg yolk 1 tsp vanilla extract 75g raspberry jam 75g apricot jam

With a large biscuit cutter, cut the dough into an even number of discs. Using a small heart cutter, cut out and remove the centre of half the biscuit discs. Place all the discs on the baking sheets. Bake for 15–20 minutes until just firm and barely coloured. Don’t fully bake yet.

Method Sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it lightly into the flour mix, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and vanilla extract lightly together. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix. Add the egg and vanilla and work together to form a soft, smooth dough. (You can use a food processor if you have one). Place the dough in a polythene bag and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

www.villagematters.co.uk

Remove from the oven and place a teaspoonful of jam in the centre of each whole biscuit round. Spread to 1.5cm from the edge. Place the heart cutout rounds on top. Return to the oven and cook for a further 5–6 minutes by which time the biscuits will be evenly cooked and the jam sufficiently hot to stick the two halves of the biscuits together. Leave the biscuits to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Walton to Sunbury Footbridge? Surrey County Council is giving local communities up to £100m over the next five years to spend on projects that improve their local area. A footbridge between Walton and Sunbury has been put forward to be considered for some of this funding. For many years local residents have been talking about this concept and the project has universal support. It would open up great opportunities for walkers and leisure cyclists alike, and offer a visit to walkers on the Walton bank to visit the village of Lower Sunbury and its Walled Garden, embroidery gallery as well as the many cafés and pubs (life will return to normal one day!) But the problem has always been the cost. So is this the best chance of getting funding? Please show your support by voting for this proposal. It is easy to do.

Scan this QR code (simply aim your phone’s camera at square code). Scroll to bottom of page and click AGREE. The council will take these votes of approval into account when deciding where to spend the money, so every vote counts! Let’s do this!

An NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Centre Has Opened in Walton-on-Thames.

The former H&M for Kids store in the Heart opened as an NHS Vaccination Centre on Thursday January 14th. This is not a walk-in centre. Only those who have received an invitation from NHS and subsequently made an appointment at this centre can attend.

www.villagematters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

Your home. Your care. Your choice. Home care gives you reassurance and helps you stay independent. Our quality care is provided by our trained and compassionate carers. Whether it’s regular visits or a live-in carer, we’re here for you.

Call today: 01932 901222

Email: walton-on-thames@alinahomecare.com

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

alinahomecare.com

www.villagematters.co.uk

Garden View

This month - Heavenly Hellebores I fell in love with Hellebores a few years ago after an early spring visit to the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge where there are some beautiful displays. They provide a spring garden with elegant colour, and I admit to being quite excited when they appear. They are poisonous plants so are probably best avoided if you have young children. They have a somewhat magical history. A mytho-

logical physician named Melampus was said to have observed the cathartic effect of hellebore on goats who munched on the plants. Melampus allegedly then used the milk of the same goats to cure the daughters of the King of Argos of their madness. The plant was used for its purgative properties into the Middle Ages and beyond. Personally, I would recommend growing them only for their attractiveness! The original species originated in the northern parts of Greece and Turkey, but they grow incredibly well in British gardens. Having said that, I was disappointed when my first hellebore plants didn’t thrive initially. They seemed to succumb to disease quite easily. I subsequently learned this this was black rot. Then I heard Alan Titchmarsh’s advice to

www.villagematters.co.uk

By Rachael Leverton

carefully cut the large fingered leaves from the plant at ground level in January, taking care not to damage the buds. This somewhat brutal treatment has worked a treat and myI hellebores are now flourishing. a

Hellebores like well-drained soil in sun orG dappled shade. My clumps are happily increasing in size year-on-year. The stems shootb up to 25-30cm high between late January andd February and the flowers appear at the top. Colours tend to beq subtle: green-tinged white, yellow, oxblood red or dull purpleT but they glow in the more sub-b dued light at this time of year. They would certainly appearh washed-out in the bright sun of late spring and summer. The flowers are rich in nectar so provide food for early bees. There are many varieties of hellebore, with single or double flowers. Just note that not all of them are easy to grow. I have struggled to get the Christmas Rose Helleborus niger to survive, never mind flower, but I’ve had much more success with the Green hellebore, Helleborus viridis, the pretty pink Lenten rose Helleborus x hybridus, which self-seeds quite nicely, and also the Helleborus x hybridus Ashwood Garden hybrids, which come in a variety of colours but don’t seem to self-seed as freely, at least in my garden. Dig in plenty of mushroom compost before planting, and mulch after you’ve cut the leaves off. Dust with a blood, bone and fishmeal mix after flowering and mulch again with well-rotted leaf mould or compost. Dig up any small self-seeded plants and use them as gifts, or to increase your own colony. Happy gardening, Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

l t b M

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Dominic Raab Our Local MP

In recent weeks, I have been encouraged by how Walton residents have once again shown great resilience and community spirit during the national lockdown. As residents will know, these restrictions became necessary due to the impact of a new variant of Coronavirus that spreads 50-70% faster. Rising case numbers put hospitals under more pressure from the virus than at any time since the start of the pandemic, leaving no choice but to take firm action to save lives and safeguard the NHS.

Dom meeting with Inspector Bert Dean, Elmbridge Borough Commander at Surrey Police

I am acutely aware of how difficult these restrictions are, particularly for businesses in Walton which have endured so much disruption. With this in mind, after the lockdown announcement the Chancellor announced new

www.villagematters.co.uk

grants of up to £9,000 per property for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, and a further £594 million for councils to support other businesses. In addition to the existing grant I support, this will help local businesses through the lockdown. h

g Looking ahead, the accelerating vaccination programme offers a route out of the ret strictions, and over 2.9 million people had been vaccinated at the time of writing. Vaccinations are proceeding at pace locally. We A now have 25 vaccination sites in Surrey, inc cluding the Emberbrook Health Centre and The v Heart Centre in Elmbridge, and a mass f vaccination centre at Epd som Racecourse. You don’t need to ask about t getting a vaccine – you n will be contacted when you can receive one. a Away from Coronavirus, it was good to catch up virtually with Inspector Bert Dean, the Elmbridge Borough Commander at Surrey Police, in early January. The local police have done an exceptional job in difficult circumstances during the pandemic, so I am grateful for their efforts. I was encouraged to hear that we’ve seen a 50% reduction in burglaries locally and that government funding boosts have seen 6 more officers joining the Elmbridge team. This is good news for Walton residents, with extra officers on the streets keeping crime low.

Please mention Walton Matters when responding to adverts

www.villagematters.co.uk

Index of Advertisers Building Building Aldridge and Sons Aldridge and Sons Cars Cars Surrey Car Maintenance Care Car Maintenance Surrey Adelaide House Care Alina Homecare Adelaide House AmilyHomecare Homecare Alina Estate Homecare Agents Amily HarmesAgents Turner Brown Estate Feet Harmes Turner Brown FootHelp Feet Finance FootHelp Access Equity Release Finance Harvest Financial Mgmt Access Release FuneralEquity Services Harvest Financial Mgmt Alan Greenwood Funeral Services Furnishings Alan Greenwood John Miller Furnishings Garage Doors John Miller Garolla Garage KitchensDoors Ashford Kitchens Garolla Pharmacy Kitchens Trio Ashford Kitchens Plumbing Pharmacy

Trio Plumbing

Response Plumbing PropertiesPlumbing 29 Response 29 Properties Tennay Properties Properties Schools/Education 5 Tennay Halliford School 5 Schools/Education 23 Halliford Surrey Adult Learning School Sell forAdult CashLearning 25 Surrey 23 J C Stamps 18 Sell 25 for Cash 18 JShutters C Stamps Just Shutters 33 Shutters WillShutters Writing 33 Just Harvest Wills 29 Will Writing Windows/Doors 29 Harvest Wills 21 House of Surrey Village Windows 29 Windows/Doors

21 House of Surrey 29 27 Village Windows

31 17 31

17 8

Future Issues

Future Issues March 2021 March 2021

Copy Deadline

Copy Deadline February 14th

February 14th

paul@villagematters.co.uk

paul@villagematters.co.uk Or call

25 2

07946 494288

2 19

07946 Or 494288 call

27 25 25 23 11 23 15 11

Disclaimer: Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information included in this publication, neither the publisher nor the editorial contributors can accept any liability to any party for loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause. Walton Matters does not endorse any advertising material included in this publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval systems or transmitted in any form without prior permission of the publisher.

Disclaimer: Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information included in this publication, neither the publisher nor the editorial contributors can accept any liability to any party for loss or damagePlease caused by errors or omissions from negligence, mention Walton resulting Matters when accident or any other cause. Walton Matters does not endorse any advertising material included in this publication. No part of this www.villagematters.co.uk responding to adverts publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval systems or30 transmitted in any form without prior permission of the publisher.

Please mention Walton Matters when Please mention Walton Matters when

www.villagematters.co.uk

Please mention Walton Matters when

Walton Matters February 2021

Articles inside

Dominic Raab

Garden View

Climate Change

World Book Day

Recipe of the Month

The Rise of Athleisure

Fat Tuesday

Capability Brown

Festival of Britain