Wendover News May 2024

BUDGENS WENDOVER – ALL CHANGE!

Big changes are afoot at Wendover’s largest food store. What we all know as Budgens, or strictly speaking Sweeney’s Budgens, will have been closed for a couple of days from Monday 22 April and will then re-open as just Sweeney’s, with a revamped stock that’s partly supplied by Morrisons.

As the name suggests, the store will continue to be owned by Dary Sweeney, who bought it 18 years ago. What’s changing is that he has left the Budgens umbrella, and entering a new partnership called “together with Morrisons.”

The Budgens operation is owned by wholesaler Booker, which had a big say in what was offered to its network of franchised store owners. After Booker itself was bought by Tesco in 2018 , the Budgens “own brand” label was called Jack’s and was based on Tesco’s own range.

Tring’s produce Culture Bakery will feature strongly in the new-look store as before, however, it only bakes five nights per week, so Sweeney’s will have stock from Wednesday to Sunday.

How will the new arrangement benefit customers? “That’s easy to answer,” said Dary. “The main reason for the change to a collaboration with Morrisons is that it offers us access to a much bigger range of products at much cheaper prices. We will have the full range of a Morrisons supermarket, but customers must be aware that our shelf space is a fraction of the size, so we will not be able to stock everything!

Interviewed by Wendover News, Dary stressed “we will remain, first and foremost , a local independent store stocking your favourite local artisan products: King’s Farm meat, ‘Cook’ frozen meals, Tims Dairy Yoghurts, Culture Bakery breads and Chiltern Brewery ales. The difference will be a bigger choice and lower prices.”

We can also price-match to supermarket prices, but this does not include all of Morrisons’ promotions. It is a very different model to a Morrisons Daily which offers a tight range of products at convenience store prices. We estimate that overall our customers will see a 16% reduction in our retail prices.”

Sweeney’s will be the fourth retailer in the UK to trade in this co-branded model. Dary says

of

the partnership shares similar values. Both Morrisons and Sweeney’s source produce, wherever possible, directly from British Farmers, when in season. The fresh meat, milk, eggs and cheddar cheeses are 100% British. The aim is for all farmers and growers who partner with Morrisons and thereby Sweeney’s, to achieve net-zero business models by 2030. Sweeney’s will continue to look out for more local or artisan suppliers, so please inform Wendover News or Dary Sweeney if you know of any tempting local innovators!

Another change will be the ability to source all Morrisons’ own-brand range. Due to food price inflation and competition from discount chains, more and more customers are choosing own-brand products. Dary Sweeney says “the shop will be able to offer Morrisons’ own ‘Best’ range at prices much lower than the leading brands. Overall, the range of items in the Wendover store will be bigger with competitive

Continued on page 15

Editorial Team: Simon Eccles, Wynne Byford, Jane Larkham, Rory Lavery, Lorna Archer & Richard Byford

Coordination & online: Wynne Byford

Production: Richard Byford, Simon Eccles

Accounts: James Harrington & Paul Hammett

Distribution and deliveries: Peter Albrighton and about 60 other sensational team volunteers!

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not necessarily the views of the editor. If you have a complaint or concern about content in Wendover News, please visit www.wendovernews.co.uk/complaints.

Postal address only – no visitors: 11 Manor Road, Wendover, HP22 6HL

Events

Local Walks and Cycle Rides

Simply Walk – Weekly walks on Tuesdays from Wendover Clock Tower, leaving 10am. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to register with the walk leader. You can socialise aftewards at Wendover Christian Centre.

Aylesbury Cycling UK: Easy Pace: every first and third week of the month, about 30 miles long. Newcomers: every second and fourth week and about 20 miles long. Email: aylesburycuk@ gmail.com.

Wendover Community Library

Tuesdays, 10-10:30am Bounce and Rhyme, Sat 18; a drop in Lego Session for ages 5+ (no booking necessary) Thurs 23; Reminiscences

Coffee Morning with a showcase of historic memorabilia from the 1930s and post World War II. 25–30; Elmer Treasure Hunt and Colouring. 30; 10-10:30am Storytime.

Cracklewick Morris

Tuesdays 8.15-10.15pm, Halton Village Hall

An all-inclusive mixed Morris side that meets most Tuesdays for dance practice. Email cracklewickmorris@gmail.com or call Squire Darryl: 07946 150380.

Compassionate Café Wigginton

Wed 1, 1.30-3pm, Sports Ground, HP23 6HH

A space for local people affected by bereavement to meet others on the first Wednesday of every month in the community café.

Tailored book-keeping and accountancy solutions to suit you and your business

e-mail: paul@ph-as.co.uk Tel:01296 621162 www.ph-as.co.uk

Chiltern Miniaturists Club

Wed 1, 7.30pm, Halton Village Hall

Annual General Meeting, followed by a talk and demonstration from one of the members on using a Cricut computerised desktop cutting machine. Contact Diane: arcadia96@ btinternet.com or 07899 090399.

Chilterns Light Network

Weds, 7.30pm Wendover Memorial Hall 1; Six pillars for healthy longevity 8; Plant medicine 15; tba 22; Dealing with Menopause 29; tba. Fun and friendly group. All welcome. £5 non-members.www.chilternslightnetwork. org or clnwendover@protonmail.com

Wendover Horticultural Society

Thurs 2, 2.30 pm, St Anne’s Hall, Wendover Speaker Franzi Cheeseman, head gardener of Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens. These meetings are becoming increasingly popular and visitors are welcome.

Two Tuesday afternoon coach trips; 14 May; Kingsbridge Farm, Steeple Claydon, an NGS Garden visit and tea, leaving 1.pm, cost £38. 25 June; “Harefield’s Secret Garden” – Church Gardens Harefield, coach leaves 2pm, cost £38. www.churchgardens.co.uk. If interested in the trips, contact Diane on 07966 155775

Poetry Please

Fri 3, 10.30am, Wendover Christian Centre

This month the theme will be ‘Holidays.’ Bring a suitable poem to read or go and see what others have found. Everyone welcome!

Florence Fete at Chiltern Way Academy

Sat 4, 12-4pm, Wendover Campus, HP22 6NL Spring fun for all the family. Cakes, raffles, games, dancing. Inflatables, craft and retail stalls, vintage car displays. Free entry as well as free, but limited, parking. Supporting Florence Nightingale Hospice. fnhospice.org.uk/florencefete

Cask Ale and Craft Beer Festival

Sat 4 & Sun 5, King & Queen, Wendover Enjoy live music and fayre from the food trucks as well as the cask ales, beers and ciders that will be available.

Sending in advertising artwork or content for the June edition? Email editor@wendover.co.uk with your plans as soon as possible, so that we can reserve space.

Email your artwork, copy and photographs during the week commencing Monday 6 May.

We may not be able to incude unexpected material or anything that is received after close of business on Friday 10 May.

Future dates:

W/C 10 June for July edition

We aim to have all copies distributed by the start of the month of issue, but we are unable to guarantee delivery in every case.

May Day, Day of Dance

Mon 6, 6.30-7.30am, Coombe Hill Monument Whitchurch Morris will perform by Coombe Hill Monument near Wendover, by kind permission of The National Trust.

Bank Holiday Cream Teas

Mon 6, Mon 20, 3-5 pm, St Mary’s Church Weston Turville All welcome.

Kimble & Ellesborough Horticultural Society

Tues 7, 8pm, Stewart Hall, HP17 0XN

Ornamental Grasses. George Lockwood trained at Capel Manor and is a passionate organic gardener and plantsman. He will explain when each of the plants shows flowers and what aspect and soil it needs. He also provides useful tips and a full list of the plants he shows, to help plan your garden. Sat 11, 10–11.30am Plant Sale – Ellesborough Village Hall, Butlers Cross. A great opportunity to buy locally grown perennials, vegetables, and annuals. Come early – everything will be sold by about 11am on past form.

Craft Group

Weds 8 & 22, 10am-12 noon, Wendover Christian Centre Craft Group provides time, space, and friendly company to work on any kind of craft project. Take your own materials or just go along to see what others are doing. Coffee is served at about 11am.

Board Game Café

Thurs 9, 2-4pm, Wendover Christian Centre

A monthly get-together for lovers of board games! Enjoy a variety of games old and new or take your own to play with others. Open and free of charge for all.

Wendover Art Club

Thursdays 7.30pm, St Anne’s Hall, Wendover, HP22 6GJ 9; Creative Evening – Finding the abstract. We’ve all got loads of

WENDOVER MUSIC

2024 Season of Concerts

We are delighted to announce that Wendover Music is back for 2024! We very much look forward to seeing you again at St Mary’s Church.

15th June (10am & 11am) Mini Mozart

7th July (7:30pm)

Guy Johnston (cello) and Ensemble Renard (wind quintet)

Proud Sponsors

Sarah Routley BSc (Hons)

Max Rogers ANAEA

LEGACY FAIRS

Antiques & Collectors Market

Wendover Memorial Hall

Thursday 16 May 9am-2pm (Trade 8am)

For updates Tel: 07503 465532 or email: peterphillips39@yahoo.com

Entrance by donation to Charity

WENDOVER MEMORIAL HALL

Great for Children’s Parties

Ideal for Weddings & Functions

Excellent kitchen facilities

Enquiries : 07804 671445 angelawmh@aol.co.uk

BBOWT

Plant and Produce Market

Saturday 18 May 11.00am - 1.00pm

photos of scenes, people, pets, flowers etc, that at some point or other we were going to paint. Get those out, magnify them and see what shapes and hidden depths you can find. An explanatory example will be available with more information nearer the day 23; DVD and Social Evening. wendoverartclub.co.uk

Chiltern Alpine and Rock Garden Group

Fri 10, 7.30pm, the Village Hall, Great Kingshill, HP15 6DW

Speaker: Anthony Goode. Switzerland – Vaud and Valais through the Seasons. Call 01296 613577 or visit chilternalpinegroup.org.

Cholesbury-cum-St Leonard’s Local History Group

WAVUS Music at Tres Corazones

Sun 12, 7pm, Pound Street, Wendover Featuring Yuriy Soroka, accomplished violinist Buffet selection of delicious tapas. See p10 Festival of Music, Tring

Mon 13, The David Evans Court Theatre

Tring Music Partnership will be performing as part of the week long “Festival of Music.” There will be an evening of eclectic jazz featuring the Tring Phoenix Big Band, made up of local students and musicians, Big Band Swing, and supported by The Zebra Jazz Collective. Tickets from www.courttheatre.co.uk.

Wendover Evening WI

College Lake Reserve HP23 5QG

Admission Free

Fri 10, 7.30pm, St Leonards Parish Hall, Jenkins Lane, HP23 6NW

AGM followed by Cricket Ramblings: famous players and funny incidents in local cricket. With Eleanor Phillips and Keith Fletcher, Local historians. See www.cholesbury.com.

ST ANNE’S HALL to hire

All enquiries to Angela German 07423 266713

stanneshallwendover@hotmail.co.uk

Grass Cutting Service

Regular or one off cuts

For free quote call Ian Whittome 01296 682361 07885 031431

Liz Brown Yoga

Tuesday evenings: Wendover Memorial Hall

Friday mornings: St Anne’s Hall Wendover Groups, 1:1s, workshops, retreats Online & Face-to-Face

www.lizbrownyoga.co.uk 07941 425187

Repair Café

Sat 11, 9-12 noon, St Michael’s church, Aston Clinton, HP22 5HW

Bring along your broken household items. Refreshments are available and all donations are given to St Michael’s church.

Lindengate Spring Open Gardens

Sat 11 May, 1-4pm, Wendover HP22 6BD

Explore the gardens and nature reserve, enjoy nature-based activities for all the family, purchase plants and wildflowers for your garden and most importantly eat cake! www.lindengate.org.uk

Real Magic Books events

2, Kings Head Parade, High Street, Wendover 11 ; 5pm, The Debate Parlour, a salon session discussing “What is the Future of Feminism?” with Sangeeta Fairweather and Andreea Carlan. 15; 7pm Real Magic Fiction Book Group. 17-19; Real Magic Weekend (see p10) 22; 7pm Real Magic Non-Fiction Book Group. 26; 2pm Pinch Perkins and the Midsummer Curse (children’s book event) with author Cathy FitzGerald.

Tues 14, 7.30pm, St Anne’s Hall, Wendover Speaker, Kate Favell from Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research. She will explain the work of this independent national charity, which seeks to promote quality of life in people with spinal cord injury through research. Contact Margaret on 01296 582318. See also p20.

Cake Party with Tracey and Debbie

Tues, Wed, – two locations

Wed 15, 7pm; Ice cream sundae cake, The Five Arrows, Waddesdon. Tues 28, 7pm; Vintage cupcakes, Dukes Wine Bar, Princes Risborough. www.cornelli.co.uk/cake-party See Cornelli advertisement on p6.

Book Club

Sat 18, 10.30am, Wendover Christian Centre

Whatever you enjoy reading, you’ll be welcome at Book Club. There’s no set book. Just go and see what others have read and, if you choose, talk about something you’ve been reading yourself.

BBOWT Events

Plant & Produce Market

Sat 18, 11am – 1pm, College Lake, HP23 5QG Please leave gifts of plants to sell at the blue hut in the car park during the week before or bring on the day. Email richard.catton1@ ntlworld.com Sun 21, 2pm A guided walk at Dancers End, led by warden Mick Jones. Early booking is essential. Visit www.bbowt.org.uk/ events to reserve a place. See ad p4 and p20.

ROZELLE SCHOOL OF DANCING

Classes for children from 2 years Tap Classes for adults

Wendover Memorial Hall Wharf Road HP22 6HF

For more information Telephone 01296 622001

email: suerozelle@gmail.com www.rozelleschoolofdancing.co.uk

Aylesbury Vale Stitchers

Sat 18, 2.30pm, Wendover Memorial Hall

Margaret Temperley is a lacemaker from a local group, Risborough Lacemakers. She will be explaining all about this beautiful craft. aylesburyvalestitchers@gmail.com

Wendover Choral Society

Sat 18, 7.30pm, St Mary’s Church, Wendover Together with Amersham Band, Wendover Choral Society will present Sounding Brass and Voices. See ad front page and p10

Wills and Estate Planning Surgery

Thurs 23, 12-2pm, Wendover Library (See ad below) To book, call 01296 415700 or email iain@wanstallconsulting.co.uk.

Wendover Community Car AGM

Fri 24, 6pm, Scout Hut Clay Lane Wendover Wendover Community Car, run by Wendover Action Group, is holding its Annual General Meeting. A review of the year to which all residents of Wendover are invited. This is the 27th year of the car’s operations.

Mentmore Arts Festival 2024

Sat 25 -Bank Holiday Monday 27, 11am - 5pm

Showcasing over 60 artists. Painters, ceramicists, glassworkers, textile artists and jewellers. In aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind and MK:Act – a domestic abuse intervention service. A family day with refreshments including light lunches, tea, coffee and cakes. There will be a bar selling local beer and Pimms, plus a raffle with some great prizes.

Wendover Dementia Support Tea Dance with SWING Dance MK

Sat 25, 2-4pm, St Mary’s, Wendover HP22 6NL

An afternoon of dancing, singing and refreshments for all in the Wendover Community. See ad p2 and p6

Angling Spring Farm open garden in aid of Scannappeal Thurs 30, 2-4.30pm, Whitefield Lane, Great Missenden HP16 0BP

This working farm offers stunning views across the Missenden valley. The landscape includes a winding woodland garden, a formal courtyard with cloud trees, garden sculptures, and a vibrant wildlife pond. Tickets £10 incl. tea and cake. Visit: scannappeal.org.uk/event/ angling-spring-farm-open-garden-2.

Arts Society Ballinger

Thurs 30 , 7.30 for 8pm, Ballinger War Memorial Hall, HP16 9LQ Lecture: the Fall into Knowledge: The story of Prometheus and how his plight captivated and influenced writers and artists over the years. with expert lecturer Mary Sharp. Email: ballinger@theartssociety. org or see www.theartssocietyballinger.org.uk.

Weston Turville Historical Society

Fri 31, 8pm, Weston Turville Village Hall

Speaker – Liz Woolley on “Rose Hill: Oxford.”

Entrance - £2 members, £3 visitors

SAVE THE DATE!

1 June, 1pm-4.30pm – St Leonards Village Fete. See ad p2

1 June, 10am-12 pm.– Table-top sale, Great Missenden, for Macmillan Cancer Support. Contact Jill York on 07846 534301

2 June , Coombe Hill Run/Fell Race organised by Tring Running Club, www.tringrunningclub.org.uk

8 June, 2pm-11pm, Love Fest, The Black Horse, Gt Missenden 8 & 9 June, Open Garden, Japanese inspired garden in Wendover 9 June Leaf Open Farm Sunday, Buckmoorend Farm. See ad below

15 June, Wendover Music Mini-Mozart. See ad p3

28 June, grand opening of the new canal towpath

7 July, 7.30pm, Wendover Music Concert, St Mary’s. See ad p3

I am a Wendover based Wills & Estate Planning Consultant, having previously spent over 20 years as a private client solicitor.

My next FREE Wills and Estate Planning Surgery is at Wendover Library on Thursday 23rd May from 12 – 2pm and Thursday 6th and 20th June from 12 – 2pm

I can help you with Wills, Powers of Attorney, Estate and Later Life Planning, Probate, and related matters. Is it time for a review of your Legal Affairs? To book

9th June 2024

Buckmoorend Farm

Butlers Cross | HP17 0UT 11am to 4pm

COME ALONG TO ENJOY A FUN FAMILY DAY AND LEARN ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES AT BUCKMOOREND FARM!

DISCOVER the world of animals, crops and machinery

TASTE our delicious produce in our farm shop and kitchen

ENJOY some great produce from our local suppliers

TAKE part in fun activities for young and old MEET our amazing animals

Caring for a loved one with dementia: practical tips and resources

Caring for a family member or friend with dementia can present unique challenges, but with the right strategies and support, it can also be a deeply rewarding experience. Here are some practical tips and resources to help navigate this journey:

1. Communication Strategies:

Use simple and clear language, and speak slowly.

Maintain eye contact and use non-verbal cues to enhance understanding. Be patient and give them time to process information.

Avoid arguing or correcting them if they are confused or disoriented.

2. Creating a Safe Environment:

Remove hazards such as loose rugs or electrical cords.

Install handrails and grab bars in bathrooms and other high-risk areas.

Consider using locks or alarms on doors and windows to prevent wandering. Ensure medication is safely stored and administered as prescribed.

3. Accessing Local Support Services:

Reach out to local dementia support groups, such as Wendover Dementia Support, for guidance and emotional support.

Explore respite care options to give yourself a break and prevent care-giver burnout. Consider enrolling your loved one in adult day programs for socialisation and stimulation.

Investigate home care services for additional assistance with daily tasks.

Remember, caring for someone with dementia can be overwhelming at times, but you are not alone. Utilise the resources available in your community and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it. By implementing these practical tips and accessing support services, you can provide the best possible care for your loved one while also taking care of yourself.

Please visit wendoverds.org.uk for more information and resources.

See advert for Wendover Tea Dance on p2.

LIVE IN CARE

THE ALTERNATIVE TO A CARE HOME

Make a change for the better:

Choose the option that lets your loved one receive full-time care at home, avoiding the need to sell the family home and move to a care home.

Get in touch to talk through the options available 01494 917 344 or email care@ashridgehomecare.co.uk

Local singer-songwriter

Matilda Florence

In this edition, we are pleased to introduce Millie Glazier, a new writer at the start of her career. Our first conversation was some time ago when she said that she wanted a career in media and communication – possibly as a music journalist. We also knew of a bright singer-songwriter, Matilda Florence, who was already showing signs of being a rising star. When we suggested Mille might like to interview Matilda, there was a big grin. The two were already friends...

At 18 years old, Matilda Florence is among a cohort of local artists in Buckinghamshire who believe that passion plays a pivotal role in cultivating a vibrant buzz of entertainment within our town. Drawing inspiration from musical icons such as Fleetwood Mac and Elbow, and infusing her compositions with storytelling qualities akin to the likes of Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, Matilda’s folk-style repertoire can be found online in leading streaming platforms. Nevertheless, she advocates for the importance of local and accessible live music.

Matilda compliments the ‘tight community’ she shares with her fellow artists and consistent crowds, as well as expressing a desire for it to expand and grow for others to enjoy. As a lover of music myself, the notion that I could see an artist within walking distance of my own home is a truly exciting prospect.

Raised in Wendover, Matilda Florence epitomises the spirit of local artistry. Writing since she was a child, and performing when even younger, Matildas’ passion for music and performance couldn’t be stronger. She is currently pursuing her musical journey at Amersham College, while performing in local venues such as The Legion, The King and Queen and Tring fest, as well as getting noticed further afield at festivals like Standon Calling in Hertfordshire – at which she has been performing from the age of 16 and attending since she was four. You can listen to her singles on all streaming platforms.

Make sure to pay attention to her new single released next month by following her Instagram account @MatildaFlorence_Music September Matilda will carry a bit of Wendover with her to Salford University, to study music performance. Before then, you can watch her perform her new single and guitar based ballads at in the Park on 5 May

Matilda says that much of her hope of breaking into the industry is inspired by the successful local artists that she is a fan of. Knowing these artists were once teenagers in Buckinghamshire too, helps her life goals of one day headlining the festivals she now attends as an audience member.

So what would she say to inspire young singersongwriters five or six years younger, who are just starting to write? Matilda recommends just believing in yourself and going for it!

“Otherwise you’ll never know if you can succeed,” she says, “and always try and take inspiration from lots of different aspects in your life.”

We should be passionate about local entertainment as a town, Matilda says. She believes that with an emphasis on funding and participation from Wendover citizens we could be striving towards an even more vibrant entertainment future, with even more artists like her!

• Loose covers

• Curtains

• Re-Upholstery

• Tracks & Poles

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For personal, helpful service, please call Tel: 01844 261769 Mob: 07801 182400 gblakefurn@gmail.com www.grahamblake.com

Making learning enjoyable

Jim and Karen Lucas

Aylesbury Vale Tutors

BA (hons) Education, Science, Maths, SEND 01296 613582 07908 460 133

Email: aylesburyvaletutors@gmail.com

All ages and abilities catered for

Millie Glazier

Local News

From the Editorial Team

When we relaunched last month, we were confident that we would be supported by the community – but had our fingers crossed that the support would also come in a practical form. We shouldn’t have worried. As well as the huge number of positive messages about what we are doing, we have also started to pick up new volunteers, new advertisers and people who want to write.

In this edition, we welome a father and daughter who have both written for us. Millie Glazier has written an article about Wendover singer-songwriter Matilda Florence. And her dad has a story to tell on page 16!

We are also experimenting with new design elements, so some pages will appear very different to what you have seen in Wendover News in the past. If you have been reading this in page order, you will have noticed our new way of flagging ‘Music in Wendover’ articles. This time, it was a guitar – if the next article is classical, then we might have a member of the violin family. For Jazz, we could have a saxophone. We are not looking forward to lifting a grand piano onto its side for a piece about a piano recital...

All this is to make Wendover News easier to read and navigate, add interest and entertain. Last month we started to run short of copies, as demand has increased and we began to deliver to more addresses. We may need to increase the number printed, from the current level of 5,000 and recruit more deliverers.

Is your garden starting to smile yet?

By now you should have had time to pick up your sunflower seeds. If you haven’t, there may be time to get a free small packet of seeds from a number of shops in Wendover High Street. If you go in enough of them, you are sure find one that has some left! You can still sow them, but the sooner, the better. Don’t forget to put them in a heavy pot or one that has something heavy in the bottom – they grow up to 3 metres tall.

The birds will love seeking out the seeds when they appear in late summer. Our friends at Climate Action Wendover are also keen that we look after all the bees and pollinating insects as well. They cover this subject on page 15.

Talking of bees; have you seen page 16 which is about local designer Ben Glazier and his commission from the King to design some bee stamps? He will also be back –with other contributors – in the next edition of Wendover News to talk about his work with Lindengate, in a major feature about bees and all-things buzzy.

The editorial team

Access problems at Weston Turville reservoir

Recent changes to access at the Reservoir have caused some concerns. We received this email recently from two local residents.

“Visiting the reservoir at the end of March we have been surprised and upset to find that the paths to the east shore beyond the dam have been blocked by locked gates. This path is shown on the BBOWT nature reserve map at the Worlds End Lane entrance, but when we

and

The path is the best point from which to watch birds on the lake and to enjoy the warblers arriving in the spring to nest in the reed beds.

“Being Wildlife Trust members and regular visitors to the reserve we have notified BBOWT and await their response. Meanwhile we urge other local people who enjoy the reservoir to use the CRT website to complain about this denial of access.

The Canal and River Trust own the site and lease the area to BBOWT to look after as it is a SSSi. No yellow ‘planning notices’ have been seen at the site so we have also alerted the planning authority reporting a probable breach of the regulations requiring permission for this construction work. Some years ago, similar work on the west shore blocked access to that as well.”

Richard Birch and Susanna Allford

Local optometry student raises funds for eye clinics in Malawi

Annabel Thorndike writes: “ This summer, myself and three other optometry students from Cardiff University will spend three weeks in Malawi, where we will set up temporary eye clinics in rural villages, providing sight tests and ocular health checks to the locals. We will also be taking several thousand pairs of glasses and sunglasses to prescribe and hand out, donated to us by the local people in Wendover.

On April 5 my family and I hosted a quiz evening at the Memorial Hall to raise the funds needed for my trip. I am delighted to have raised £2,150 which covers all costs and donations to the eye hospital to help them carry out life changing eye surgery.

About 85 people attended and competed in teams of 6. The quiz was accompanied by a silent auction which alone raised £942. A huge thank you to the generous donations from local businesses and residents and to everyone who came along and supported us.

Local Elections Thursday 2 May 2024

The only local elections taking place this year in Buckinghamshire are for a Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police Area. The names of persons nominated were confirmed on Buckinghamshire

clarity@debooks.co.uk

www.double-entry-bookkeeping.co.uk 07841 427832

Local News

County website on Friday 5 April and can be seen on www.tinyurl. com/34934bx Don’t forget to take photo-ID with you. There’s an article about that in our last edition on P9. You can see that online at wendovernews.co.uk

Wendover and Villages Ukranian Support

WAVUS will be holding a music and social evening at Tres Corazones, Pound Street, Wendover on Sunday 12 May starting at 7pm.

Andrew Burnett writes: “We are delighted to welcome Yuriy Soroka, an accomplished violinist who has graced some of Europe’s prestigious stages like the Berlin Philharmonic and Geneva’s Victoria Hall. Having performed in over 20 countries with more than 2000 international concerts, his strings have sung tales of beauty and harmony. He is an artist with the chamber orchestra ‘Lviv Virtuosos’ and a professor in Lviv.”

“There will be a buffet selection of the delicious tapas for which Tres Corazones is well known. Everyone is welcome for what promises to be a fun evening. All proceeds will go to support the work of WAVUS helping Ukrainians in our area. If you are interested in coming please let us know as soon as possible by email at info@wavus.uk and we will let you have details of how to book tickets (£20 each). We will also have ticketing details on our website www.wavus.uk.”

Real Magic Books announces the first ‘Real Magic Weekend’ Real Magic Books are real friends to Wendover News. If it were not for them accepting the bulk delivery of our magazine, we wouldn’t

be able to distribute the print edition through letterboxes in the area. They are also real friends to the community, launching their novel mini-festival in Wendover on the weekend of 17-19 May!

They say the event will be a magic ‘mini-festival’ and celebration of books. “Taking place in the shop and around the village, there will be live music, talks and readings, a special record fair, magnificent poetry performances, children’s authors, workshops, plus food, the Real Magic bar and the inaugural Real Magic Dog Show!”

“Watch out for announcements of the full line up. Tickets will be available for individual talks and events after that but at the time of going to press there were a limited number of full festival tickets on sale which will get you into everything over the weekend. For updates go to realmagicbooks.com/real-magic-weekend”

Wendover Choral Society

Sounding Brass and Voices, on Saturday 18 May at 7.30, looks like being another great musical event for Wendover. For this concert, Wendover Choral Society is delighted to be collaborating with the Amersham Band, who, under the stewardship of Paul Fisher, have moved from the fourth section to the Championship section and the musical community of the band now takes in 10 ensembles each week and over 200 members. WCS is also very much looking forward to welcoming Rochester Cathedral organist, Adrian Bawtree, and trumpeter, Sasha Canter, winner of the Brass Category Final of the 2022 BBC Young Musician competition.

Due to an unfortunate clash of commitments, Peter Bassano, Wendover

Choral Society’s Music Director, is sadly unable to conduct the choir in this May concert. WCS says it is enormously grateful to Kenton Brigden, Director of Music at St Mary’s Parish Church, Aylesbury, who stepped in at extremely short notice to re-design the programme and work with its guests the Amersham Band plus overseeing the majority of its rehearsals and conducting the choir for the concert. The programme will include works from MacMillan, Byrd, Finzi and many others. Wendover Choral Society looks forward to seeing another bumper audience on 18 May.

Wendover Music and Mini-Mozart

Wendover Music is thrilled to be able to bring Mini-Mozart sessions to St Mary’s, Wendover on Saturday 15 June at 10am and 11am. The sessions are suitable for preschool and primary aged children and have proved popular with infants, parents and grandparents featuring orchestral instruments up close and personal with the children. Usually a nursery rhyme is explored with appropriate musical interventions; classical to pop with every genre in between. To buy tickets, go to www.wendover-music.org or pop into JUST, 11 High St, Wendover HP22 6DU.

Don’t forget that Wendover Music will bring you this season’s classical concert on SUNDAY 7 July at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church.

Alex attempting 78 triathlons for charity

A Wendover-based businessman, Alex Davis, has set himself the awesome challenge of running an Olympic level triathlon in 78 UK cities over the course of nine months this year. He hopes to raise at least £15,000 for three charities that are close to his heart: National Paralympic Heritage Trust, Auto Raise and Oxford Hospital Charity.

His first triathlon was due to take place on 15 April in Oxford, at Leys Pool & Leisure Centre.

By the time he finishes the 78th he expects to have covered 117km (73 miles) swimming; 3,120km (1,939 miles) cycling; and 780km (485 miles) running.

Alex’s job is sales director at Equate Group, a national IT telecoms and cybersecurity specialist that’s based in Station Approach, Wendover. Although not a professional athlete, he has always loved sport and trained hard. Each triathlon in this challenge will push

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Alex to his limits, physically and mentally with swimming, cycling, and running in succession.

He says “I’m very lucky to have close ties to these three charities through family, friends and work. At their core they are all passionate about people. Why 78 triathlons in nine months? I say why not? Sport is a shared experience and I know it’s not going to be straightforward with the weather, health and logistics, but I’m supported by an amazing family at home, colleagues at Equate Group, customers and my business networking groups around the UK who will be with me all the way.

“I’ll be sharing the challenge in person and online. The funds raised will be going to very worthy charities, so please give generously!” You can find about more about the three charities and donate to Alex’s challenge at JustGiving (https://bit.ly/4axtjlx), or scan the QR code on the right.

Wendover News will be following Alex’s progress throughout this year, so watch out for the heading ‘Where’s Alex?” You’ll also be able to follow him on all popular social media channels: search for #TriathlonEveryUKCity

Towpath celebration

Friday 28 June 2024, 10am to 3pm You may have seen the banners and posters appearing near the canal and around Wendover and Halton inviting you to the opening of the

fabulous all weather towpath giving an easy, level walk (2.7km, ie 1.7 miles) between Wendover and Halton. TV personality Robbie Cumming, presenter of ‘Canal Boat Diaries’ and a patron of Wendover Canal Trust, will cut the ribbon.

Local schoolchildren can learn about Canal Heritage, local geology and ecology, but this event is open to all, so save the date and join in the fun! The venue is Walnut Tree Meadow, which is accessible by foot from Wharf Road, Bryants Acre, Walnut Drive, Mercers Meadow, the Pursell Path and via the towpath from Perch Bridge in Halton Lane Wendover and the road bridge through Halton Village. See also wendovercanal.org.uk/

At Halton, the Village Hall will provide refreshments and conveniences (including accessible).

Street Trading- Proposals by Buckinghamshire CC Buckinghamshire County Council have begun a consultation process with a view to regulating street trading throughout the County. As part of this consultation, drop in events were arranged in Buckingham and Aylesbury on 9 April and High Wycombe and Amersham on 23 April 2024. The consultation process ends at midnight on 28 April 2024. The draft policy states that it has been written in consideration of four key priorities, namely-

• Strengthening our communities;

• Improving our environment;

• Protecting the vulnerable;

• Increasing prosperity.

In addition to these key priorities, the draft also states that it supports the Council’s strategy to reduce child obesity and contribute to an approach to a healthy weight.

Regulation of street traders may well be a welcome and laudable

proposition. However, there are concerns within the community that it may simply be a way of raising revenue. Street is defined in the draft as any road, footway, beach or other area to which the public have access without payment, and therefore includes private car parks for pubs and restaurants. Consent will be required for trading on any such “street.”

The policy as drafted will therefore affect local pubs in Wendover that allow food trucks to trade from their car parks. It will of course also affect local traders, who will be required to apply for a licence for each and every venue where they propose to trade. The draft document does not provide any indication as to the fee payable, but if a trader works at various different locations throughout the year, it could well amount to a significant annual expenditure.

One vendor with whom we spoke regularly trades from pubs and other private locations which will fall within the new regulations. They indicated that they may need to change the locations from which they trade if the fees are too exorbitant.

A further concern expressed by a landlord to whom we spoke is that the 28-day timescale for processing an application for consent will mean that he will lose the flexibility to engage a food truck at short notice, for example if he is let down by another trader. He also expressed a view that since he already pays business rates for his premises, which includes the waste disposal generated by the occasional food

trucks, it is unfair to require further payment from a third party for the same services.

If this new proposal is not simply a new way of raising revenue but is indeed intended to promote the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Buckinghamshire, might we have seen the last of the burger van, fish and chip truck and even the ubiquitous ice-cream van, which all fall within the draft regulations?

Stephen Ellis-Jones

Proposed Wendover Library Extension

An update on the proposed development of the library has been passed onto Wendover News from Friends of Wendover Library (FOWL).

At present, the project is awaiting a decision on funding, to be made between Bucks Council and the Arts Council. This is necessary to ensure the continued financial support of the project in light of changes to the original redevelopment plans. While mostly unchanged, the new plans do not, unfortunately, include the original proposed extension, and Friends of Wendover Library have advised that although they do not foresee any further significant changes to the plans, they will provide regular updates, should this prove to be the case.

FOWL remain optimistic that the outcome of the meeting will be favourable and, following the anticipated approval of funding, they foresee a fairly rapid thaw on the current activity freeze, which would allow work to flow at a greater pace; as activity increases, the library will look to hold several public engagement events - as well as other opportunities - for staff and volunteers to refamiliarise themselves and re-engage with the project.

Ron Melville

www.cpjfield.co.uk

Photo: Rhys Ellis-Jones

Local News

Looking ahead - June D-Day started on the 6th of June eighty years ago. We will be doing a piece on, it sharing stories of people from Wendover and the surrounding areas and what was happening

in the area at the time. Can you help us fill in the detail? Email editor@wendovernews. co.uk if you have any snippits.

That week coincides with National Volunteering Week and we will be talking about the benefits of being a volunteer –not just for the community, but for you and your family. Watch out for the announcement of a community led Volunteering Festival for families and individuals.

Wendover HS2 and the Parish Council are holding a Public Meeting in the Wendover Memorial Hall on 21 June at 7pm. This is a follow up to the meeting held in December

11+ COURSES

last year and will review the current state of the construction and what both organisations are doing to make the best of the HS2 impact. Further details available at whs2.org.

We are trying to get ahead in the production cycle. If you are a contributor or advertiser, please let us know what you are sending in as soon as possible in the first week of May for the June edition. Knowing what we have coming in makes planning the pages so much easier...

STOP PRESS!

Our last piece of news has come in from Wendover Parish Council, announcing the winners of the Wendover Community Awards. Congratulations to all the winners –many of whom are regular contributors.

It seems appropriate that Sweeny’s Budgens gets an award for the work that Dary and his team have put into making it the Business of the year – the very month that our front page announces even further improvements .

Murray’s name is always very prevalent on these pages through his excellent work with the HS2 Mitigation Action Group, but also his wealth of knowledge in other areas.

We hope to bring you profiles of these and other winners in the June edition of Wendover News.

lower pricing,”. The ‘Jack’s’ brand will no longer feature, neither will the Budgens-only brands.

Dary Sweeney bought this Budgens in Wendover some 18 years ago, and says he feels a definite sadness in leaving the Budgens brand, with its long trading history in Wendover. “But the grocery industry is moving onwards quickly, so it is important to modernise and offer the best shopping experience possible, so Dary hopes his innovations are a step in the right direction.

The process of switching over to “Together with Morrisons” involves a lot of work, integrating the EPOS (electronic point of sale) technology with Morrisons, so that it can download product files. This is necessary to generate pricing and re-order. Stock levels of a lot of products will need to be run down to accommodate new ranges, so don’t be surprised if there are more gaps on the shelves

at first. Dary explains “The shop will have an almost endless range of products available, however, the product has to be right for the people of Wendover.”

Therein lies the skill, though technology helps and a system called ‘planograms’ is providing detailed plans of every product on every shelf! This will all take time to fine tune. During the three day closure the shop will be filled with the new stock, a very big task which involves a lot of additional workforce.

All the signage internally and externally will also be new. Further investment in technology is set to make a big difference to sustainability. A new app called Gander will help to reduce wasted food by alerting customers to bargains in store, with real-time alerts of any yellow label reductions.

My final question was personal: will the dark chocolate Brazils reappear?

Lorna Archer

A wildflower meadow in your garden?

We have recently had the pleasure of seeing the daffodils and cowslips on the verges along the London Road, with the advantages of wildflowers for their visual and as a food source for insects.

There are currently real concerns about dwindling insect numbers and how that affects pollination, as well as their value for other species. However, wildflower planting does not have to be limited to large open areas: it is possible to turn spare ground or a lawn into a smaller version of a wildflower meadow. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) suggests that most meadow

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seed mixes can be sown in mid-spring as well as early autumn, so it is possible to sow now for the summer with easy and minimal preparation of the soil, even on small areas. Converting a lawn to a wildflower meadow may take several years, but it is possible to encourage flowering plants by reducing the height of the cut to encourage low growing species such as clovers or primroses, or by adopting a ‘no mow’ strategy from May until the summer. It is important to avoid adding fertiliser, which encourages the dominant grasses instead of meadow flowers, and to eliminate weedkiller.

The RHS has more detailed information at: www.rhs.org.uk/ lawns/creating-wildflower-meadows and the Sussex Wildlife Trust provides information about management at https://bit.ly/4cZqonA

Volunteer of the month:

Stephen Ellis Jones

Stephen came to live in Wendover in February 2023 and immediately wanted to be part of the community. One way was to talk to people in our friendly pubs, another was to join U3A.

He responded to a talk about Wendover News, recognising the publication and liking everything he had heard and seen. He agreed to become a volunteer as he had some

relevant expertise to offer as an executive editor. He also filled a vacancy on the board of trustees for the new Community Interest Company (CIC).

More recently, he was invited to join the merry throng of volunteers who deliver copies through doors. He covers South Street.

Thank you to all our volunteers who fulfil numerous roles within the organisation. If you would like to be in the team, why not email (getinvolved@wendovernews.org). Volunteers will be informed of date, time and venue of the social get-together as soon as possible by email.

The rebranded ‘Sweeney’s Wendover – together with Morrisons’ shop front

Local beekeeper designs ‘The Life of Bees’ Stamp Collection

Wendover resident and local beekeeper Ben Glazier, and his team at Glazier Design, have created a set of stamps for the Isle of Man Post Office. The set celebrates the life of honeybees and the 150th anniversary of the British Beekeepers Association. HM King Charles III gave royal approval to the set recently; it was launched at the BBKA spring show in Shropshire on the ‘first day of issue’, 12 April.

The stamps feature worker bees (female), a drone bee (male), a queen bee, honey and a beekeeper. Ben’s designs incorporate photographs taken by several amateur beekeepers. Text to accompany issue of the stamps was written by Harry Owens BEM, the Isle of Man Chief Bee Inspector. Explore the full collection at http://glazierdesign.com/bees

Ben started his marketing business Glazier Design 25 years ago. The company provides branding, graphic and digital design services to a wide range of companies and charities. Ben thrives on creating branding that has meaning. The company created the brand for The Stephen Hawking Foundation; during Professor Hawking’s lifetime the

Foundation funded space camps and other educational programmes.

His work with the Foundation included another set of stamps and his proudest design moment was presenting a book of the ‘Gravitational Theory’ stamps to Professor Hawking. After Hawking’s death, Ben’s company created all the collateral for his memorial service at Westminster Abbey, including minting a coin; the first one was placed in Professor Hawking’s grave where it will rest forever. His company motto is ‘Give More, Get More’, which is based on the concept that if you give more than people expect, it will always benefit you in the long run.

In the June edition of Wendover News, we will be covering Ben’s work with our local charity Lindengate, and his view on the vital role of bees in the ecosystem. He will also explain how the Mid-Bucks Beekeepers collect swarms from gardens and public spaces to rehome them – and how you might be able to help as a volunteer or supporter. If you can’t wait until June to read about them, information can be found at mbbka.org.uk

Stamp 1: Worker Bee . Fertilised eggs laid by the queen bee become worker bees, the vast majority of the hive population. Worker bees are all female; they do all the work in the hive; in their six-week life they clean the hive, raise brood, feed and care for the queen, ventilate the hive, make wax comb, guard the hive, and then in their final three weeks they leave the hive to collect nectar and pollen. In the winter, longer-lived worker bees cluster around the queen, keeping her alive until spring.

Stamp 2: Drone Bee. Drone bees are male, and they come from unfertilised eggs. A drone’s sole purpose is to mate with a queen during her mating flight; when he is successful, it is his last act, and he falls to the ground dead. Drones are fed by worker bees and at the end of summer when the mating season is over, he and his brothers are all ejected from the hive.

Stamp 3: Queen Bee. The lone queen’s role is to lay up to 2,000 eggs a day. She is fed and groomed by the worker bees and is queen in name only, with her fate decided by the colony. Queens develop from fertilised eggs laid by the previous queen in special cells; the larva is fed royal jelly, causing her to grow larger. A single mating flight is enough to fertilise every egg she will lay in her lifetime.

Stamp 4: Pollination . Bees collect high-protein pollen to feed to developing larvae. From the earliest days of spring worker bees collect pollen, packing it into the pollen baskets on their legs. Bees fertilise many of the plants and trees that give us food; along with other crucial pollinators they are responsible for much of the biodiversity we see around us. Farmers encourage local beekeepers to place hives on their farms to improve pollination rates.

Stamp 5: Honey. Bees collect nectar to make honey. Nectar from different flowers produces honey with different flavours, colours, and textures. A hive can produce an excess of up to 50 kg of honey in a good season; and still leave enough for the colony to eat in winter.

Stamp 6: Beekeeper. In the wild, bees live in trees and caves; historically, collecting honey meant raiding a wild colony. Over thousands of years, beekeepers have developed ways of providing the perfect home for a honeybee colony.

Each colony is like an individual being; to reproduce, bees swarm, making new colonies, and through careful management of this behaviour the beekeeper can increase populations, benefitting us all.

HS2 in Wendover

We are pleased to report that following the completion of utility works at the end of March, Ellesborough Road is now operating on the new alignment. Our team have so far constructed and resurfaced the tie in points, installed safety barriers and worked with our partners to redirect utilities. The newly diverted road will be temporarily under traffic management to safely remove a high voltage cable.

From 22 – 28 April, a small section of Dobbins Lane will be closed to carry out works to connect the water main to our Wendover Green Tunnel site. This connection will decrease the number of deliveries to our site, reducing the number of vehicles in the Wendover area. For more information on the works around Wendover, please see the full advance works notice on the HS2 website.

We are always looking for ways to support the community, so we were delighted to get involved in a project with the 14th Vale of Aylesbury Cub pack to contribute towards earning their Community Impact badge. The Cubs learned how HS2 and archaeology can coexist and took on the challenge of competing against each other within their groups to build the tallest free-standing structure with limited resources. We hope the group enjoyed the session and we wish them all the best on their journey towards gaining their Community Impact Badge.

Later this month, we will be hosting a community drop-in session in Wendover to discuss upcoming works. Anyone can sign up to the mailing list and view the HS2 events page to find out where you can meet your community engagement team and find out more about the project.

Please note, dates above may change. Please refer to the HS2 website regularly to check for any changes and updates or to view the detailed Advanced Works Notification.

If you would like to read more about the works and view the advance works notices and maps, then please go to HS2 website www.hs2.org.uk and click the ‘in your area section’ to view the interactive map, or simply scan the QR code on the right.

All words and information provided by EKFB, the HS2 construction joint venture.

Cutting remarks: HS2

inally the Ellesborough Road diversion section has opened to traffic, although not yet quite as planned. There are still traffic lights that control a temporary single lane in the last few tens of metres approaching the lower end of the junction. This is due to ongoing delays in repairing an underground cable and moving an electricity substation to improve road safety.

Otherwise the new diversion section is complete. It’s a 30mph clearway (ie you can’t stop to admire the view), with pedestrian pavements. At the Wendover end, it starts just before the cottages, then turns sharp right off Ellesbororough Road and left onto a new girder bridge. From there it goes up the hill to re-join Ellesborough Road, where it eventually turns right in the direction of Butlers Cross and Ellesborough itself.

The remaining cottages can be accessed by a small spur junction to the left. Soon there will be a temporary access road for Bacombe

Lane residents from this section.

EKFB has placed a pair of benches beyond the bridge, with what would be a lovely view of the Vale of Aylesbury to Waddesdon and beyond, except for the huge scar carved out by HS2. Eventually this will disappear under the green tunnel, but by then the diversion road will be surplus to requirements. Its eventual fate is unclear.

A pedestrian crossing gives access to Coombe Hill and the benches from the other side of the diversion road and the Ellesborough Road pedestrian path, with speed bumps to slow traffic.

Why is all this disruption necessary in the first place? The route of HS2 will take it under Ellesborough Road, so a cutting needs to be excavated. Eventually this will be roofed and grassed over to form the “Green Tunnel.” Several cottages on that section were demolished where the cutting will go.

Originally HS2 wanted to close Ellesborough Road for the duration. However, pressure from Wendover Parish Council prevailed and EKFB built the expensive diversion route. The girder bridge will allow traffic to flow while the cutting is excavated below it.

The cutting will also allow massive dump trucks to transport the vast hills of excavated chalk built up from the Great Missenden cutting, past Wendover to where it’s needed to form the Stoke Mandeville embankment.

Words by Simon Eccles, with thanks to Murray Cooke from Wendover HS2 Mitigation Group for information and photograph.

The benches have a view over the Vale of Aylesbury. Photo: Simon Eccles

Temporary traffic lights. Photo: Murray Cooke

n 15 April the path between Dobbins Lane and the Station Approach Business Park, and from there to Wendover Station, reopened after 21 months. It had been closed to install a water supply pipe for the HS2 concrete works beside the Wendover bypass. While the works were originally only expected to take eight weeks, the job turned out to be more complex.

There may be a few future days of closure to allow Thames Water to connect the pipe to its water main, but in the meantime commuters and dog walkers will be happy that this well used right of way is available again.

Although the path up from Dobbins Lane has been gravelled, the linking path down to the business park was still completely overgrown and impassible as Wendover News went to press.

This linking path is built on the remains of the embankment that once took the RAF Halton supply railway from the former station goods yard sidings (now the Business Park site), and was never laid with a hard surface.

The path from Dobbins Lane also connects to the Folly Bridge over the railway and bypass. For the time being this remains closed and

walkers cannot get any closer to Folly Bridge than the turning for the path down to the Business Park.

Before HS2’s works started, the path over the bridge connected to footpaths between Ellesborough Road and Nash Lee including the Aylesbury Ring route, which was also popular with dog walkers and joggers. The diversion at the entrance at Dobbins Lane says that section of the footpath is likely to remain closed until “summer 2026,” although the fact that the path has been gravelled all the way to the bridge holds out some hope that it will be opened that far before long. It would be a good viewpoint from where to watch the HS2 works.

This is as close as you can get to the Folly Bridge for now. Photo: Simon Eccles

The Dobbins Lane end of the path. Photo: Simon Eccles

The path to the station was impassible on 15 April. Photo: Simon Eccles

Club Corner

Volunteering at Wendover Swimming Pool

Do you have a child who is looking for somewhere to complete the volunteering portion of the Duke of Edinburgh Award? The Wendover Swimming Pool can offer students working on DofE positions, helping at the front desk during public lane swims or family splash sessions. Training is provided.

The Pool is also planning to run a NRASTC lifesaving course in June, near the end of the month. Training costs are covered by the Pool if you’re able to commit to covering at least two sessions per month for the two-year duration of the certification. Due to operational requirements, lifeguards at Wendover Swimming Pool must be 18 or over.

Interested? Email mel@wendoverswimmingpool.co.uk or contact the Pool’s page via Facebook Messenger.

Wendover Evening WI Spring Stall

Sandra Borns reported that on Saturday, 16 March, Wendover Evening WI held their spring stall at the local produce market. Members had created a wonderful array of homemade cakes and jams, plants, Easter themed gifts, cards and crocheted bags. There was even an Easter Egg tombola. The stall proved to be extremely popular… stocks ran low very quickly as the tasty treats and clever crafts were snapped up!

BBOWT

Richard Birch writes: “May is a great month to see the best our local reserves have to offer, and a great way to do this is to book yourself onto a guided walk. Numbers are kept small so everyone can see what the leader is showing the group. On Sun 21 May we have one

at Dancersend, led by the warden Mick Jones at 14.00. Early booking is essential for this and the next local one which is on Bacombe Hill with the warden Paul Niddler on Sat 10 June.” Go to www.bbowt. org.uk/events to reserve a place.

College Lake Reserve and Visitor Centre is open from Tuesday to Sunday every day from10 am to 4pm. This is the venue for the Plant Market on Saturday 18 May from 11.00 till 13.00. More details online as above or email richard.catton1@ntll world.com. Please leave gifts of plants to sell at the blue hut in the car park during the week before, or bring on the day. See ad p4

Wendover Bowls Club

Don Knight writes: “That is it for our indoor season until next autumn. We now know the winners of the various club trophies, well done to all of you. There is just the little matter of putting the mats away and then getting the green ready. Both of which involve a lot of furniture moving.

I did my first cut of the grass a few days ago. It was more like driving a jet ski than a lawnmower, with a bow wave of water squirting out from under the roller. The electric fence has done a good job keeping Mr Fox away. I just hope he stays away when the fence has gone. We already have our fixture list for matches against other clubs and it will be good to renew friendships again, but before we can get down to that we will enjoy one of the main social events of the year… the Pre Season Dinner.

As mentioned in the last issue, we will have open evenings on every Friday throughout May at 6.30. Come and try this most enjoyable, and also most frustrating, game. All we ask is that you wear flat-soled shoes and we will provide the rest.”

Photo: Wendover Evening WI

Wendover Cricket Club

Club Corner

Jonathan Seabrook writes “The club’s new season has now started outside and will cope with the weather’s impact as best it can. There is a full programme of cricket – two teams in the Mid Bucks League on Saturdays, a Sunday team, a Village Cup with 10 local teams playing at weekends at Witchell from May to July and a full junior programme.

Junior mixed (boys/girls) squads range from U9 to U15 with older ages taken into the senior squads. All age groups are at capacity and before taking on new recruits, we need more volunteers willing to help regularly with the training and management of those age groups they would be joining; the same applies at U8.

The one group with capacity is the Girls Section, now in its fourth season. With limited numbers, it has joined forces with Ballinger Waggoners this season to run 2 U13 girls only teams. Girls in school years 5 to 9 are welcome to come along and try a session or for the season. The club would like to hold a women and girls event later in the summer, but is there sufficient interest?” If you’re interested, contact Jonathan Seabrook (details below).

Key contacts are Viral Patel (Juniors Manager) 07930 360495 & wccjuniorscontact@gmail.com and Jonathan Seabrook (girls /women

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Jonathan adds: “Progress on the new ground remains slow due to HS2 and we’re waiting to hear when we can start the actual cricket ground construction. This will determine if the club will be able to fully use the ground in 2026 or have to wait until 2027.”

With over fifty years of gardening experience, our family has been transforming gardens. We are happy to come and talk and offer advice on what your garden might need from simple tidying repairs to fencing, replanting to a complete garden redesign. Call Ben on 07922 845371 or email: benjaminthegardener@gmail.com for a free no obligation quote Landscaping, Paving, Turfing, Hedging, Fencing, Tree pruning, Replanting, Garden Clearance etc.

Health and wellbeing

UPF: Inexpensive convenience food, or habit-forming hazard?

Wendover is well placed to access a wide range of unprocessed food compared with inner city dwellers. Why does this matter? The effects of Ultra-Processed Food [UPF] on our bodies are well documented in recent studies, for instance; rapid weight gain, loss of the natural satiety signals (ie fullness signals), raging thirst, poor sleep, constipation, stomach pain, to name but a few! UPF is designed and developed to be overeaten!

There have also been plenty of concerns in recent media coverage about the poor health implications for us all, when our diet contains a majority of ultra-processed food. The British Medical Journal in 2022 showed a typical adult in the UK gets almost 57% of their calories from ultra-processed food.

Ultra-Processed Food is making us ill and overweight! There is growing evidence that it is doing incalculable harm to our bodies. Roughly 64% of the population is now overweight or obese. Check your waist, is it more than half your height? If so, you are at risk of diabetes and other weight-related illnesses, such as heart disease, premature ageing, cancer and dementia, and the deadly quartet of the metabolic syndrome: raised blood sugar, high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and high cholesterol.

Why is Wendover well placed to avoid this? Because there are so many local food producers, with clear provenance and traceability of food production. Fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables are readily available from local suppliers and the market. There are plenty of local meat producers too, without air miles and with clear knowledge about sources. Quality food which retailers take great care in sourcing. (See Sweeney’s article front page and p15)

What to look for when shopping? Learn to scan labels – if some of the ingredients are unfamiliar of chemicals, then it is likely to be UPF. Imagine if you are cooking for the family, would you rush to the larder to add the ingredients mentioned on the label? If not, then it’s been ultra-processed. UPF almost always contains palm oil, another signpost to UPF and visible on the ingredients list. In his excellent book ‘Ultra-Processed People’; (available locally at

Real Magic Books), Dr. Chris Van Tulleken conducts an investigation into living on UPF. He unearths the facts and concludes the problem may not be our fault, but the food we are eating. Ultra-processed food is designed to be addictive and to by-pass the satiety signals in the brain, so it’s more difficult to stop eating this highly modified food. In other words, it isn’t food that’s addictive, but UPF is!

Quitting UPF is surprisingly difficult. The body craves the addictive substances making up UPF. In Dr Chris Van Tulleken’s four week experiment with an 80% UPF diet, he gained 6kg (just under a stone). He experienced disrupted nights, inability to get to sleep and constipation, while his inflammatory markers had doubled. His appetite hormones were completely “off-beam,” with the hunger hormone sky-high just after eating! Ever had a burger and soft bun (UPF) at a fast food outlet, or a doughnut, only to want another straight after eating it? This is the effect of UPF bypassing the normal signals of fullness.

Probably the best route to quitting UPF is to go “cold turkey” and expect a reaction. Rather like giving up smoking, it takes determination and effort, but the benefits to your long-term health are multiple. Perhaps consider batch cooking family meals, having some in the freezer for the times you’re too busy to cook from scratch. Also, when buying food, consider the “no unfamiliar additives approach,” then you are in control of the process and know exactly what you add to your food. Food prepared in this way is almost a medicine in itself, it will certainly produce a myriad of health benefits.

Over the next few months Wendover News will look for outlets, restaurants and pubs which adopt the fresh produce ethos, whose retail outlets avoid ultra-processed food, and stick to cooking from scratch. Let’s hope the result is a much healthier and happier community. Lorna Archer

Did you know that Wendover has a swimming pool on the schools campus at Wharf Road? It’s a volunteer-run charity and has public swimming sessions every day here are free and paid memberships available, and bookings are fully online. ore information, membership and booking at www wendoverswimmingpool co uk

Tribute: Ron Smith

Ron Smith died on 7 March 2024 after having lived in Wendover for almost 60 years. He survived his wife Pat Smith by 5 years.

Ron was born in Rickmansworth on Sunday 12 July 1931 at the home of the local midwife. His father was the local village policeman at Stanborough. He was brought up in the village, living in the police cottage and attending the local village school until aged eight when the family moved to Barnes in London. When the WWII started he was evacuated to Reading with his younger sister Audrey and the rest of their school and his mother moved to Berkhamsted with his baby sister Kathleen, to stay with his grandparents.

When the blitz was mainly over the family were reunited in London, living in Westminster where his brothers Geoffrey and Brian were born in 1942 and 1944. Ron won a scholarship to Westminster City School close by the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace and spent his school years there - leaving at 18 to join up for National Service.

Back in civilian life he joined the Sun Insurance Company, later Sun Alliance, and spent the

whole of his working life in London’s West End in various roles with insurance and property companies. Insurance was to gift him more than a living however. Up in Birmingham for an inter company table tennis tournament he saw a young woman on the opposite team who, as he said to his mother that evening, was the girl he would like to marry. They met in January 1956, were engaged in March 1957 and married in August 1958.

Initially living in London they moved to Chesham in 1960. By the time they arrived in Wendover in 1965 they had two young children with them, Julia and Graham. Clare, Caroline and Stephen were all later born in Wendover. After 60 years of marriage, 53 of them in Wendover, Ron and Pat received a congratulations card from the Queen but Pat sadly passed away soon after. She is buried in the churchyard of St Mary’s in Wendover where our father was churchyard secretary and treasurer. He joined her there on April 8.

He leaves five children and seven grandchildren, Ayla, Esme, Emily, Anna, Evie, Jayden and Liam and is sadly missed.

Graham Smith

HS2 Update Meeting

Wendover Parish CouncilView from the Clock Tower

The Parish Council will be looking to approve and support the Wendover HS2 Mitigation Action Group to hold a meeting to update the Parish on current challenges faced by Wendover as a result of the works.

We are still challenging HS2 and their contractors to minimise disruption and making a difference but there can be no doubt that this project is having an impact. For those who attended the last meeting we will follow up on the issues you raised and have invited EKFB who are building our section of the route. They are hoping to attend to answer questions and talk about future works.

1940s-themed Local Produce Market

With the D Day 80th Anniversary coming up on 6 June the Local Produce Market on 19 May 2024 will feature a 40s theme with a 40s band doing a set at 11am and 1pm so come on down to swing the mood. The market is open from 10am to 2pm on Manor Waste

Parish Council Meetings

Tuesdays 7 May, 7:30pm St Anne's Hall

Aylesbury Road HP22 6JG

Information about upcoming meetings: www.wendover-pc.gov.uk

Wendover Local Produce Market

Saturday 18 May, 10am to 2pm Manor Waste

We're looking for new traders! Contact estates@wendover-pc.gov.uk

www.facebook.com/wendoverparish/

Sunday Church Services in Wendover

• St Anne’s: 9am Mass

• St Mary’s: 9am and 10.45am

and with all other shops, cafes and venues it makes it a nice stroll out as well as supporting local businesses.

Local Vandalism

It seems to be that we are now regularly having to deal with the outcome of vandalism around the village, and this is now a set of established behaviours for some people. We are now having to consider removing our bus shelter at Ashbrook Park or spending a good few thousand pounds to replace it – all of which we end up paying for. Anyone with evidence relating to anyone who engages in any acts of vandalism in the area should forward to the police or us.

Streetlight Switch Off

The Parish Council are a little behind on a consultation to look into turning of street lights on side roads between 12 midnight and 6am but we will be publishing a questionnaire and information on the switch off in May and are keen to hear your views.

Annual Parish Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting took place at Wendover Youth Centre on 18 April and it was great to welcome the community to discuss the work of the Parish Council. The Chair, Cllr Julie Williams kicked the presentation off with a report highlighting the work we have done in the last 12 months including our local impact and some of the big pieces of work we are planning to do in the coming year. We would like to thank the Wendover Community Car (Wendover Action Group) for their presentation on what they are doing for the community and their plans.

The theme of a Parish Council looking to better represent the residents in local issues and making changes for the broader community came across well, along with the discussion of how the Councillors are working in a collaborative culture to make a difference. However, the highlight of the evening was the awards and it is a huge congratulations to all our winners, shown below.

Wendover Community Award Winners!

Service with a Smile Eileen’s of Wendover

Volunteer of the Year Robert Duggan

Business of the Year Sweeney’s

Wendover Lifetime Achievement Alan Myers

Outstanding Young Person Hebe Mast-Hughes

Wendover Parish Council Award Murray Cooke

Parish Council, The Clock Tower, High Street, Wendover HP22 6DU www.wendover-pc.gov.uk clerk@wendover-pc.gov.uk 01296 623056

• Wendover Free Church: 10.45am

St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church – 07753 633713 stanneswendover.uk

St Mary’s Church of England – 01296 696136 / 623123 stmaryswendover.org

Wendover Free Church – 01296 622354 wendoverfreechurch.org.uk

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