SHERFIELD

COFFEE Club is this Friday, tomorrow February 21 at St Leonard’s Church Room. Talks and activities start at 11. £2.50 each towards venue hire and to include tea, coffee and biscuits. This is not exclusive to church congregation – all are welcome! Beyond the coffee club there are walks, a visit to Whitchurch Silk Mill and the Needle’s Eye Embroidery exhibition. All are daytime activities during the week or at weekends. Enquiries e.mail: sheenaarcher@btinternet.com or call: 01256 882099.

VILLAGE Market and Café: This is on the third Sunday of every month and last Sunday the hall was busy with Artisan foods, crafts, bacon butties, cakes and hot drinks. Next market is Sunday March 15 from 10.30 to 1pm at the village hall.

TOMORROW a group from Sherfield NWR will be visiting the Riseley Tea Room to enjoy afternoon tea in celebration of NWR’s diamond anniversary this year. Gill says: our next meeting is discussing the pros and cons of purchasing food items out of season and how far they have travelled. We will be examining packaging and that will doubtless bring up some surprises. One of our members recently discovered that the cabbage, which she assumed had been grown here, was in fact from Spain. That meeting is on March 12.

Chris Horton

Chineham

The Annual General Meeting of the Chineham Village Hall Management Committee will be held at Chineham Village Hall Committee Room at 8.00pm next Monday 24th February. The meeting will receive the reports and accounts for the year ending 31st December 2019, and will elect up to 10 members for the committee of management. Residents of Chineham who are aged 18 or over are entitled to attend the meeting and vote. Entrance to the Committee Room is via the Lounge Bar of the Village Club.

February is a great month to join Chineham Women’s Institute with its new programme of events. Membership for the whole of 2020 costs £43, which includes entry to the institute’s local monthly meetings, WI Life magazines and access to Denman College courses at a reduced rate. If you have recently moved to Chineham, it is a great way to meet new friends. So, don’t be shy, please go along to the Shaftesbury Room at Christ Church, Chineham next Monday 24th February at 7.30 pm. You are assured of a warm welcome!

Christ Church Activities: Luncheon Club will be meeting next Tuesday 25th February, from 12 noon. £5 adults, £3 children. Any special dietary requirements please let the church know. Also call if you would like a lift as the church may be able to arrange one for you. Contact Jan Markey on 01256 356829 or call the office on 474280. An Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service will be held on Wednesday 26th February at 10.30am. This special service is to mark the start of Lent and replaces the normal last Tuesday of the month Holy Communion service. Everyone is welcome.

Fiona Biermann

CLIDDESDEN

One way or another the weather has been relentless awful for some weeks now. Getting out and about in such hostile conditions - gales, incessant rain, hail - can be challenging, especially for older residents. A reminder then of the various regular events at the village hall that all, not just residents, are welcome to attend:

Monday: Zumba, 7.30-8.30; second Monday of most months - Coffee Morning, 10.30-12.00pm. Tuesday: Brownies, 5.00 - 6.16pm, term time; Art Classes, 10am-12pm. Wednesday: Art Classes, 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm; West Coast Swing Dance, 8pm-11pm. Thursday: first of each month, Film Club from 7.30pm; third of each month, Women’s Institute, 7.30-9.30pm. Friday: Pilates, 8.45am-9.45am; Farleigh Playgroup, 11-12pm term time.

More details of the above and more can be found on the hall website, cliddesdenhall.org.uk.

Rachel Beresford-Davies

Hatch Warren and Beggarwood

BEGGARWOOD SURGERY: The recent Patients’ Participation Group received a positive report about the surgery under the control of North Hampshire Urgent Care. The meeting was attended by Dr. Ashiga, the new Clinical Lead as well as the new, and very experienced, General Manager. A revised appointments system has been introduced which caters for same-day appointments as well as advanced bookings. Improved systems have been introduced for repeat prescriptions as well. The surgery continues to make increased use of on-line and text messaging services to improve communications with patients.

DIGESTER SMELLS: More ‘in flight’ changes have been made at the Digester in the hope of solving the problem of odour pollution. They centre around the supply pipes into the new biofilter. In response to the ongoing problems, the Environment Agency sent a national expert to the plant last Friday and a report is expected following that visit.

A30 CORRIDOR: £20 million has been included in Hampshire County Council’s capital budget to pay for improvements to the road into town, most especially the Brighton Hill roundabout. The roundabout is a bottleneck at peak times, and with new developments planned along the route, the investment is essential.

CAREERS FAIR: St Mark’s School has reported that its careers fair was a great success. The stall holders were impressed by the pupils and spoke to aspiring footballers, vets, doctors, teachers and even two budding chefs.

Stephen Reid

Ellisfield & Farleigh

VALENTINE’s Day came and went peacefully in Ellisfield, but the following day things got competitive! The Ladies Club Annual Pudding competition changed direction or, should I say flavour as the challenge changed tack to a ‘Starter’s competition.’ True to form there were half a dozen entries, all equally delicious but there can only be one winner and the favourite by only one vote was Maggie Heath. Regular readers may recall Maggie’s success in previous years; now she has been crowned not only ‘Queen of Pudding’ but also ‘Starters Supremo.’ Congratulations Maggie and many thanks to other competitors also to the committee who as always work tirelessly to arrange these thoroughly enjoyable events and also to those who produced delicious puddings and indeed raffle prizes to round off an excellent evening.

VOLUNTEERS have now been allocated to the 48 slots in Ellisfield’s grass cutting rota, ensuring the Burial Ground, Gravel Pits and Lower Common look their best during the summer months. Thanks again to the committee and all volunteers.

STORM Dennis, like his predecessor Ciara brought excessive wind and rain, once more turning roads to rivers; Ellisfield’s Flood Resilience scheme worked well although twice on Sunday, the large floodpit behind Lower Common overflowed across the common for a short period. Huge amounts of water from surrounding fields sped rapidly downhill to reach the lowest point along Axford Road; thankfully no homes were flooded but roads only passable with caution on Sunday.

Jacqueline Matthews

Tadley

I start this week with the very sad news that Mike Broad passed away last week, Mike was involved for a great number of years in Scouting in the 1960s and indeed he was one of my Scout leaders, he was also involved in teaching life saving and in recent years he was a Tadley Town Councillor serving on many committees one of which was the AWE Local Liaison committee. He leaves his wife Ann who also was involved in the Scouting movement for many years.

Shrove Tuesday (February 25): Parish Breakfast from 7.30 to 10 am at St Mary’s Church Newchurch Road all are welcome.

On 26, Ash Wednesday: 10am at St Mary’s midweek Holy Communion, 19.00 at St Paul’s on The Green and 19.30 at Tadley Common Methodist Church also in Newchurch Road. All are welcome

Barn Dance at the Link behind the Community Centre Newchurch Road, Tadley, March 14 tickets £15 per person including super, bring your own drinks. To purchase tickets contact Karen 07961 258 287.

David Leeks

Kempshott

If you missed Rising Stars’ open afternoon on Monday, you can always contact them at Old Down Hall, at the top of Kempshott Lane about their Easter Holiday Club, or indeed, their nursery.

Advance notice of a new activity at Kempshott Village Hall- a brand new Sunday Market on 8th March. It will be from 10.30 till 1 and will feature local food, produce and crafts. Entry is free and refreshments will be available. Kempshott W I meets in the Village Hall on Monday 24 at 2.30 with the intriguing title of “Kirtles, Corsets and Curtains”. The competition, in aid of the Associated Countrywomen of the World, is a handmade needle craft item.

Diana Manville