January 2009 Archives

Jim Graham, of Joiners Lane, Chalfont St Peter, has lived in the village for the past 41 years, having previously lived in Dunfermline. He talked to us about life in the village.

How has the village changed since you have been here?
The main changes have been the shops. When I came here there was a petrol station where Budgens is now and there was also a cinema at the top of the village where the leisure centre now is. There were a lot less charity shops as well. It seems as if the village is packed with them today.

Flooding victims put their experiences to water officials in a bid to solve the problems in Chalfont St Peter.
Residents questioned representatives of Thames Water, the Environment Agency, Chiltern District Council and Bucks County Council at a public meeting on Thursday.
The follows flooding in the village most recently on August 31 last year, when businesses and homes were damaged after a rain deluge which lasted for more than three hours.

The Poachers pub in Chalfont St Peter has applied to extend its opening hours, to the anger of people who live nearby.
The pub, in the village High Street, has asked Chiltern District Council (CDC) for permission to open for an extra half hour every day of the week and an extra hour on Sundays.
This would mean that it would stay open until 1am on Monday to Thursday, 1.30am on Friday and Saturday and midnight on a Sunday.

A patient at the National Society for Epilepsy is displaying his own art work for the first time.
Stephen Szanto, who came to live at the site in Chesham Lane in 1981, is hosting an exhibition of his own work at the centre for the next month.
Mr Szanto has been interested in art since he was given a painting by numbers kit at the age of 12 and he now works entirely from his own imagination.

Chalfont Concert Windband requires Drummer/Percussion and Low Brass players for regular rehearsals at Robertswood School every Monday evening from 8-10pm.
For details see www.chalfontwindband.co.uk or 01494 862 331.

This is a list of the latest planning applications registered at Chiltern District Council.
Representations should be made either in writing to the Head of Planning Services, Chiltern District Council, King George V Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5AW or by e-mail to planning@chiltern.gov.uk. If you use e-mail would you also include your postal address.

In his most extravagant clip ever the Chalfont St Peter Batman is back with his ninth Youtube clip featuring former Sky News anchor Christopher Morris and an audacious raid on Olivers Opticians in the village.
Entitled Identity Crisis it begins with an armed raider holding village optician Oliver Sansum captive while the caped crusader sleeps.
The superhero is then confronted with some scathing criticism of his work by members of the Chalfont St Peter forum and has to battle with the reality that he might not be as popular as he would like to believe.

Becoming Batman: Identity Crisis

Staff at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Chalfont St Peter are celebrating after winning a Healthy Schools Award.
Since September 2007 the staff, parents and pupils have been working towards the award and were delighted this week to have the plaque on their walls.
Acting headteacher Julie Stewart said: "We are extremely proud of all the efforts that our healthy schools team has made to gain this award. We are the first Catholic school in the county to get this status and we feel it reflects the high quality of care that we bring to our community."

Steer your kids away from alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs with help from charity Care for the Family.
Informative and relaxed six week course starts Tuesday, February 3rd at Chalfont St Peter Youth Centre, Tithe Barn, Chalfont St Peter from 10.00-12.30pm.
For parents or carers of children aged 8 through teens. Cost £30 including parent handbook, drugs presentation, refreshments. For registration or more information email dpkchlfonyt@live.com or call Deborah Elliott 01753 890 791.

The Environment Agency have agreed to reconsider a rescue package for the River Misbourne put forward by the Chiltern Society.
In December, the Chiltern Society submitted an action plan calling for two particularly leaky stretches of the Misbourne to be lined with sheet material, similar to that used to protect the bed in the Wendover arm of the Grand Union Canal.

Residents will get the chance to chat with police about their concerns on life in the village.
A police surgery is set to be held in Budgens in Market Place on Wednesday, February 4.
Villagers are invited to go along to the shop and chat with officers, who will be there all day.

Anyone looking to get away from the chilly British winter should pay a visit to the Village Hall pub in Chalfont St Peter.
The pub in Gold Hill West will be holding its own beach party on Saturday, January 31, which will include a hot tub inside the pub and DJs playing beach themed music.
Tickets are £5 and can be bought before the event or on the door.

Chalfont St Peter could lose its free hour parking because not enough people are using it.
In July year, the parish council managed to secure a free hour for people parking in Church Lane car park, which had previously charged for its use.
The village's council and chamber of commerce joined together to produce the £17,556 annual fee needed to ensure that people could park for free for an hour.
It was hoped that this would prove to be a boost for businesses in the area and that it would encourage people to use the village's shops at a time when the economy is struggling.

Paul Osborn, 25, has been running Chalfont Video in Chalfont St Peter for the past seven years. He talked to us about how the business is changing and how things are going.

How is business at the moment?
It's been getting a lot quieter over the past year. I think that it's because downloading films is becoming much more common now. Things like the Apple Box, which allows you to download films straight onto your TV for about £2.50, are making things very, very difficult for film rental companies.

A nursery group has been partying after reaching the milestone of its fifth birthday.
The Minnows group, which is run by Michelle Warden, was set up in early 2004, and so this year they are been celebrating their fifth anniversary.
The class is for children between one and two years old, and was set up by Ms Warden because she felt that there were no groups that catered for children of a very young age.

Residents of a road plagued by vandalism made a plea to Chalfont St Peter parish council to leave street lights on in their road overnight to stop crime in the area.
At the parish council's meeting on Monday, Allan Murrell asked the parish council if they would consider leaving the lights on in the road all night so that residents are able to see who is hanging around on the streets at night.

An animal welfare organisation has offered a £1,000 reward to catch the yobs who shot dead two ducks in Chalfont St Peter.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has hit out at the people responsible for the shocking incident which happened in Layters Green Pond two weeks ago.
They are offering the cash on top of £500 already being offered by Brian Rance, who helped clean up the pond last summer and who found the ducks after they had been killed.

Police in Chalfont St Peter took dramatic steps to stop the anti-social behaviour that has plagued the village in recent months by calling in a team of officers mounted on horses.
On Wednesday last week, the team patrolled areas of the village including the Vale and Pennington Road, where serious crime has been a problem for residents over the last year.

Thames Valley Police have moved to reassure residents that last week's kidnap attempt in Chalfont St Peter was "extremely rare".
On Wednesday, January 14, at 11am a 23-year-old woman was waiting for a bus when she was forced into a small, black, hatchback style vehicle in Chesham Lane, Chalfont St Peter.
She was driven along Chesham Lane where she managed to escape after struggling with the driver.

At the end of last year, we published an article about the Chiltern Society's concerns that the River Misbourne will run dry unless the Environment Agency takes action to restore its flow.
The society, based in Chesham, is angry that the agency refused to accept its plan to line portions of the river below Chalfont St Giles Mill with clay to stop it disappearing into the ground.
The agency's reasoning was the loss of biodiversity that would result from the clay lining.
While part of the upstream flow problem in Amersham was solved by reducing abstractions, downstream around Chalfont St Peter and Gerrards Cross, the problem remains.
The article prompted one Chalfont St Peter man to write in with his memories of when all of the river was flowing strong.

Police have launched a manhunt after a woman was kidnapped in broad daylight in Chalfont St Peter last week before managing to escape.
At 11am on Wednesday, January 14, the woman was forced into a small, black, hatchback style vehicle in Chesham Lane.and was driven along Chesham Lane where she managed to escape after struggling with the driver.
The man is white, aged in his mid 30s, tall and of medium build.
DC Natalie Golding, the investigating officer, said: "I urge anyone who witnessed the incident, or who was in Chesham Lane between 10am and midday on Wednesday to contact me at Amersham police station on 0845 8 505 505.
If you don't want to talk to police and don't want to leave your name call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

A man dressed as The Riddler - a famous comic book enemy of Batman - has responded to the Youtube Becoming Batman series by challenging the Chalfont St Peter superhero to try and solve one of his conundrums in his own video clip.
The four minute clip, entitled The So-Called "Bat" Man, sees the supposed villain (also using the alias Edward Enigma), launch a tirade against the man turning himself into the Batman the village of Chalfont St Peter called for to stop anti-social behaviour in the area.
In a separate clip he poses the first teaser to the superhero. See the clip and then read the teaser below and see if you can answer the riddle yourselves by leaving a comment below.

Riddle One
I have kept your secrets,
Have guarded your ideas,
I'm the vessel of your nightmares,
The protector of your fears,
I'm smiling when you're weeping,
And will still smile when you're dead,
I'm with you when your sleeping,
I'm the horror in your head. What am I?

Click add comment below to have a go yourself.

This is a list of the latest planning applications registered at Chiltern District Council.
Representations should be made either in writing to the Head of Planning Services, Chiltern District Council, King George V Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5AW or by e-mail to planning@chiltern.gov.uk. If you use e-mail would you also include your postal address.

John Long has lived in Ninnings Road, Chalfont St Peter for the past 35 years. He talked to us about his thoughts and opinions of life in the village.

How has the village changed over the year?
It's changed a lot, mainly because it is now a lot bigger than it was. There are much more houses in the village than there were when I first came here. There are a lot more houses as well, which is very convenient for elderly people.

The National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) is aiming to make disabled people know hat activities are available for them in the area.
The centre, in Chesham Lane, will be holding its Can Do Days on January 28 and 29 between 10am and 2pm.
The event will offer people the chance to find out in opportunities in sport and fitness, as well as art therapy.

A pensioner has been left distraught after sick yobs shot dead a group of ducks that he had helped to look after, and has offered a £500 reward to whoever turns the culprits in.
Brian Rance, 67, had built a shelter for three Aylesbury ducks that lived in Layters Green pond in Chalfont St Peter, but was appalled last week when he discovered that a group of youths with an air rifle had managed to kill two of the animals by shooting them through the head.

Guides did their bit to help poor people across the world by sending boxes of food and equipment to them.
Girls in the First Chalfont St Peter Guides and the Second Chalfont St Giles Guides worked together with the Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter rotary club to fill eight Aquaboxes to send to countries such as Albania, Zaire and India.

The National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) has been given the go ahead to build two new care homes at its site in Chalfont St Peter.
The new buildings will replace existing ones which fail to meet current government standards.

People wanting to enjoy a Highland fling should pay a visit to the Village Hall in Chalfont St Peter next weekend, when the pub hosts its annual Burns night.
The event will include a three course Scottish dinner including haggis, a piper and a ceilidh dance.
Tickets to the popular annual event are £20.

Police in Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter are joining Neighbourhood Watch in a new year appeal to the public to be more willing to report crime.
PCSO John Webb said that police and residents are concerned about the number of recent incidents involving criminal damage and anti social behaviour that have gone unreported.

Reader Rosalind Russell has sent us these pictures of the three Aylesbury Ducks who made Layters Green Pond in Chalfont St Peter home before two of them were killed by single shots to the head by an air rifle last week.
Send us your pictures and we guarantee to publish all suitable content. Simply click here and follow the instructions.

This is a list of the latest planning applications registered at Chiltern District Council.
Representations should be made either in writing to the Head of Planning Services, Chiltern District Council, King George V Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5AW or by e-mail to planning@chiltern.gov.uk. If you use e-mail would you also include your postal address.

Chalfont St Peter's very own Batman has returned after a festive break with his eighth installment of his Becoming Batman series of Youtube clips.
The clip, entitled Introduce a Little Anarchy focuses more on the caped crusader companion who is becoming disullisioned with his superhero friends efforts to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the village.
In the seven minute film he takes to the streets of Chalfont St Peter scanning the security in the area as he begins to morph into Batman's arch enemy The Joker.

Becoming Batman: Introduce a Little Anarchy

A popular village event is set for a comeback in 2009 after having been cancelled last year.
The Feast of St Peter, which is celebrated in the village every year, is to return this summer after it was scrapped last year due to a lack of organisers.
This year's event is set to take place over the weekend of June 27 and 28 at Gold Hill Common, and is being run by various community organisations, including the parish church and the village chamber of commerce.

A car was found on fire at the National Society for Epilepsy at the weekend.
At 8.43pm on Sunday night, firefighters were called to the site in Chesham Lane to extinguish a fire in a car left dumped there.
The team used a hose reel and breathing apparatus while making the scene safe.
It is not yet known if arson was the cause.

Two Aylesbury ducks were killed after being shot in the head on an icy pond in Chalfont St Peter yesterday.
The ducks, along with one other who survived with injuries to his back, were found by a local resident found them both on Layters Green Pond as he attempted to break the ice for them.
It is thought the birds had been shot during Tuesday night or the early hours of Wednesday morning with the use of an air rifle and the RSPCA removed the bodies for further veterinary examinations.

Robb Judd has run Meat at Judd's butchers in Chalfont St Peter for nearly four years. He talked to us about his business and life in the village.

How is business going at the moment?
It's good, I can't complain. When I first came here, it took a little while to become established, but now I have a lot of regular customers and a lot of people know of the shop. In a small village like this, word gets around quickly when a shop opens and people soon start visiting.

A Chalfont St Peter resident has become so tired of anti-social behaviour in the village that she has taken matters into her own hands to improve the mood of people in the area.
Christina Zealey, 22, has lived in Chalfont St Peter all her life but has become disillusioned with the increasing crime in the village over the last year.

Chalfont St Peter suffered some major burglaries over the Christmas period, with expensive items being stolen.
Although the number of incidents was relatively small during the festive season, burglars still managed to steal a car, a games console and a safe containing a substantial sum of money from a business in the village.

A barman at the White Hart pub in Chalfont St Peter celebrated Christmas by shaving his head for charity.
Mark Galatola, who works at the pub in the village High Street, had been growing his hair for a year, before having his locks shorn in order to raise money for charity.
On Christmas Eve, customers at the pub gathered to watch as Mark had his head shaved, and raised more than £2,000 in the process.

Brand new African dance classes are set to start in Chalfont St Peter this month.
The West African Dance sessions will begin on Wednesday, Janaury 14, running during term time between 10am to 11am at Horn Hill Church Hall, in Rickmansworth Lane.
This story and picture was sent directly to our website by Jean Quaife. It is so easy to do simply click here follow the instructions and your story could be published.

This is a list of the latest planning applications registered at Chiltern District Council.
Representations should be made either in writing to the Head of Planning Services, Chiltern District Council, King George V Road, Amersham, Bucks, HP6 5AW or by e-mail to planning@chiltern.gov.uk. If you use e-mail would you also include your postal address. Your comments should be received by 5 December 2008.

A blanket of snow continues to come down on south Bucks after settling overnight and we want you to send us pictures of your views of the snow.
There is arguably no better sight in England than south Bucks covered in snow and with many children across the district still enjoying a day off school hundreds are taking to their gardens and local parks to enjoy the rare occasion.
We want to see your pictures. Send us snaps of you and your children enjoying the snow or simply a picturesque shot of the area by clicking here and following the simple instructions.
We will print all of your pictures and your names along with the photos our photographers are out taking this morning.

Colleagues said that Christmas came early for Chalfont St Peter police when a new Police Community Support Officer joined their team on December 22.
PCSO Mike Burnham, 22, who has just left Sulhamstead police college near Reading, lives in Holmer Green, where he was a pupil at Holmer Green senior school before attending sixth form at John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe.

Four youths aged between 13 and 16 have been served with acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) as part of a new drive to get tough on troublemakers in Chalfont St Peter.
The four teenagers, who have been identified by police as being responsible for most of the recent anti-social behaviour in the village, were presented with the ABCs in the presence of their parents and anti-social behaviour officer PC Vicky Kerr.

Christmas Day celebrations were spoiled for several families in Chalfont St Peter when they woke on December 27 to find that their cars had been damaged.
Residents of The Vale, Pennington Road and Laurel Road discovered that their cars had been targetted by yobs during the night of December 26, just weeks after police promised to up their patrols in the area.
The road has suffered from serious crime in recent months, and in October, a couple awoke in the early hours of the morning to find that their £18,500 caravan had been set on fire by yobs.

Pop star Sarah Harding could be swapping the bright lights of London for a new home in Chalfont St Peter according to reports in the national media.
The 27-year-old member of Girls Aloud is a regular on the London party scene but an article in The Sun newspaper has claimed she has bought a home in the village with her boyfriend Tom Crane.