November 2008 Archives

The Savill Garden in Wick Lane, Englefield Green, is offering free entry throughout December.

The gardens host numerous plants with ripened berries and the specially planted New Zealand garden has a range of textured grasses and evergreens.

The newly-refurbished Queen Elizabeth Temperate House will also have special Christmas displays including red and white poinsettias.

For more information, visit www.theroyallandscape.co.uk

He asked if I would mention on my blog a word of warning about the season of Christmas.

This is the time of year that we should be very careful not to issue an open invation to the villians. The perfect Christmas scene of presents under the Christmass Tree the curtains drawn and, so that the villians can get a good view, we leave the lights on.

.........The number of empty homes in England is increasing because of the downturn in the housing market and a sharp rise in repossessions.We are told the reason why our countryside is being developed to death is due to the shortage of houses. HMG are urging local councils to grant permission to build houses without too much close inspection. Local councils are not inclined to be involved with expensive court costs if they refused developers permission to build. In effect local planning is in the hands of developers, Developers are responsible to their shareholders. Shareholders are not interested in the loss of local amenities, they demand good profits or they invest elsewhere. It is very interesting to read the latest report of the Empty Homes Agency. Their report states over 750,000 houses are, for various reasons, standing empty. The Agency claims that two million people could be housed in these units. David Ireland the charities chief executive, said "At the very time people need more homes, record numbers are falling empty". Subject to the agreement of the Residential Property Tribunal, Local authorities have the power to take empty houses over and rent them out for seven years. Figures from the rest of the UK show there are 78,000 vacant homes in Scotland, 50,000 in Wales and Northern Ireland.

St Jude's Players will be performing Aladdin at the Social Hall in Englefield Green next month.

The amateur dramatic group will be staging their 31st pantomime, at the venue in Harvest Road on December 5, 6 and from the 11-13.

The traditional style pantomime is set in ancient Egypt and old Peking and features favourite characters such as Widow Twankey and the villainous Abanazar.

A residents group has compiled a detailed study on the present state of Englefield Green and how villagers would like to see it develop in future.

Englefield Green Village Residents Association (EGVRA) has handed its document to Runnymede Council and hopes to work closely with the local authority to achieve its objectives.

Comedy in the Green continues this month with top notch stand-up comedians appearing at the Social Hall, Harvest Road, on Tuesday, November 18, at 7.45pm.

Headline act willl be upcoming talent Barry Castagnola, with support from Hackney Empire finalist, Robert White and compere for the evening is Leicester Comedian of the Year 2007, Carl Donnelly.

Tickets are £7 in advance, or £10 on the door and are available by calling Keith Pullen on 01784 464132 or by email on keith_pullen@msn.com.
There is a licensed bar on the premises, show starts at 8.30pm.

The reconstruction of a serious sexual assault on a Royal Holloway student for BBC1 programme, Crimewatch, will now be shown on December 15, not Wednesday, November 19, as published in last week's Herald & News.

This is due to a change in the running order of the programme.

For more information on the event, call 01784 451898.

Comedy in the Green continues this month with top notch stand-up comedians appearing at the Social Hall, Harvest Road, on Tuesday, November 18, at 7.45pm.

Headline act willl be upcoming talent Barry Castagnola, with support from Hackney Empire finalist, Robert White and compere for the evening is Leicester Comedian of the Year 2007, Carl Donnelly.

Tickets are £7 in advance, or £10 on the door and are available by calling Keith Pullen on 01784 464132 or by email on keith_pullen@msn.com.

There is a licensed bar on the premises, show starts at 8.30pm.

My first thoughts on President-elect Barack Obama when he appeared on TV, was that he has something of the style of the late President Jack Kennedy, something that made him seem different.

It's a feeling you get when you recognise new talent on the sports field, the Theatre or TV. You know instantly that this person is special.

At the very start of the season of good will - a very disturbing news item has raised its ugly head.

Well to be honest it is not an official announcement by HMG, its one of those items that starts life in the spinner's corner at the Red Lion.