The Hungerford Victorian Extravaganza was another very successful evening. Everybody was in good spirits and despite the cold weather there were still a lot of people out to enjoy the evening. There was some very minor Anti-Social Behaviour that occurred outside of the main High Street but it was dealt with very quickly and effectively.

Just before Christmas there was a series of incidents involving criminal damage to a number of vehicles on Fairview Road, Priory Avenue and Hillside Road. It would seem that not all of these incidents were reported to us however we have still had a number of people make us aware of the circumstances. The vehicles targeted had the wing mirrors broken off and others had windscreen wipers broken off. It would appear that this happened some time between midnight and one o clock in the morning. If anybody has any information then please contact the Hungerford Neighbourhood Policing Team on 0845 8 505 505.

I am glad to report that the time over Christmas itself was nice and quiet with no problems with Anti-Social Behaviour. Working until midnight on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve myself, I can say that there was hardly a person to be seen in Hungerford during the bulk of the festive period and there was a great friendly atmosphere.

That is all as it has been such a quiet month. I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and if anyone is wanting to get in contact with us then please do so on 0845 8 505 505.

PCSO Debbie Randall 08458505505 or mobile 07970145703
Neighbourhood Policing TeamHungerford
deborah.randall@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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LIBRARY NEWS

DO-IT-YOURSELF AT THE LIBRARY

A new self-service system has recently been installed and is proving a success with our borrowers. It has a touch-screen which is easy to use and clear instructions to follow. To return books, simply place in a pile under the screen and press return. To borrow books, you will need your Library Card and you will be asked for your password, which is actually your PIN number which staff at the counter will be pleased to give you. A receipt is issued with a list of items borrowed and date due for return. At present it is not possible to return or borrow chargeable items such as DVDs this way.

We are also planning to install another machine where it will be possible to access your library account for renewals, or requesting books from the Library Catalogue. This again will save queuing time, but the staff will always be available to help as usual at the counter or with these new services. Do come along and try it for yourself!

S.L.

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Community Action for Savernake Hospital

The cogs are grinding away slowly towards the Judicial Review of the decisions taken to close the Day Hospital and Minor Injuries Unit at Savernake Hospital. There is a Directions Hearing booked into the High Court for February 12th and then we will have news of the date for the JR. That's the plan so far....... will keep you updated. …..…. www.friendsofsavernake.org/ ......

Val Compton

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THE HUNGERFORD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
- monthly lecture, January 2009

'The South West Coastal paths - a legacy' David Stubbs

A large and appreciative audience gathered at Hungerford Corn Exchange on 21 January to hear David Stubbs, a well known local historian, on what he described as 'the pleasures of long distance walking' - in his case a decision to take a sabbatical in 1984 , spending it on a solitary 630-mile hike around the south western peninsula on the coastal path. It took him 46 days, carrying something like half a hundredweight in his backpack - iron rations, small field cooking stove, dry clothing, a pair of trainers for evening wear, a radio, and a camera, spending most of the nights en route in a small bivouac tent. At his start point on the Bristol Channel he was undaunted by a signpost bearing the legend '500 miles to Poole' ;(it turned out to be rather more).

This odyssey involved 16 river crossings , mostly via bridges but on one occasion a rickety ferry over the Helford river. All along the route he came across memorials, some well known, others commemorating long-forgotten disasters; world war 2 tragedies such as the young and inexperienced crew of a Wellington bomber whose navigation failed them, lifeboat crews, and mariners wrecked on the notorious Cornish coast, where at Poldhu he encountered the memorial to Marconi's first transatlantic wireless link. Land's End, a significant waypoint was where the walker exchanged the head-on western gale for the welcome tailwind that accompanied him for the rest of his journey.

Along the south Cornish coast he found the route punctuated by the remnants of a great tin-mining industry - chimneys and ruined winding houses still standing on cliff tops, marking mines that frequently ran far out under the sea. On Slapton Sands, beyond Dartmouth, he gazed with some awe at a Sherman tank, recovered from the sea some years ago marking the scene of a disastrous training exercise shortly before D Day in 1944.

The end of this walk came at Poole, after what had been a type of spiritual experience, living close to the earth -meeting strangers who became friends, and a strenuous but highly effective way of losing two stones in weight!

M.H.

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Gardening

Nursery Children and Parents Take up their Spades as Budding Young Volunteers look for Local Gardens to Tend.

Parents of children at Hungerford Nursery School are working with nursery staff to identify local residents in need of help in their gardens and allotments.

The aim of the nursery’s gardening project is to identify people within the local Hungerford community, who may require assistance in their gardens and match them to teams of parents and children who will happily work in their garden on a voluntary basis.

It is hoped that a number of gardens will be found so that the nursery children can learn more about gardening and growing different types of fruit, vegetables and flowers throughout the year.

Staff at the nursery believe this project will be a very rich and valuable learning experience, but it would also teach the children the importance and value of getting involved in the local community.

The gardening project is only one of several other projects which have been funded by the local council to improve educational performance through parental involvement.

If your vegetable patch is in need of some TLC or you would like to revive a flagging flowerbed, please contact Harriet Coles, a parent involved in the Parent Partnership Project on 01488 683 506 to find out more.