Speen and North Dean News · this old cedar tree? And if you do, do you know who planted it? Answer on Page 33 ... Several members are visiting Waddesdon Manor for an evening in November

Issue 61Autumn/Winter 2014

Editor: James Hazeldine

Advertising: Tom Dent

Production: Jude Awdry

Committee:

Gloria Holmes - ChairMegan ChinnNick Wheeler-RobinsonJulie White

Printer: PK-Inprint LtdTel: 01494 452266

Speen and North Dean News

www.speenbucks.org.uk SNDN 61 3

Contents

What’s On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Ruth and Max Bloomquist . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

John & Pat Rogers’ Anniversary . . . . . . . . .6

Speen WI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Thank you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Speen and North Dean Golf . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Speen School and PTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Speen Photo-workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Speen Marquee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Speen Heritage Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Speen is going Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Speen Playing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Speen Helping Hospices . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

District Council News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Down on the Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Speen Pre-School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Speen Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Speen Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Wildlife Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Who’s Who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Index of Advertisers

Alchemille Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Allied Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Beechdean Farmhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

C.G. Tree & Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . .30

Chiltern House Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Coles & Blackwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Darvills Hill Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Fine & Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Fraser-Morgan School of Dancing . . . . . .30

Hamptons International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Heppelthwaite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Hughenden Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Ian Gray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Independent Living Consultants . . . . . . .20

JML Training Consultancy . . . . . . . . . . . .26

John Bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Judith A Newenham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Kevin Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

LJM Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Mix 96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

M.R. Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

MWH Interiors Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Nelson Electrical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Nick Higgins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Nicki Thomas Web Design . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Nordic Walking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Painted Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Paul Newman Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

PK-Inprint Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Premier Architectural Joinery . . . . . . . . . .24

Risborough Area Community Bus . . . . . .20

Risborough Carers Limited . . . . . . . . . . . .18

SB Professional Painting & Decorating . .12

Seasons Farm Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Speen Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Springline Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Taps UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

The Old Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Village Environmental Services . . . . . . . .24

NEXT EDITION

Copy for the next edition (62) is due byWednesday 1st April 2015.

The planned publication date is duringApril. Please send photos separately fromtext, together with captions and a consentform (download from the SNDN websitewww.speenbucks.org.uk) if any of thephotos are of children.Send to [email protected].

Speen and North Dean NewsDo you ever need an extra copy? Furthercopies are available at a cost of £1. Pleasecontact Gloria Holmes on 488420.

4 SNDN 61 www.speenbucks.org.uk

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Ruth and Max BloomquistRuth and Max Bloomquist played at the KingWilliam IV at the end of the summer. The duofrom Muskegon, Michigan, who were joined by

Dan Seabolt,fiddlerextraordinaire,entertained a smallgroup of

enthralled customers withtheir Rootsy AcousticAmericana Folk music. Ruthhas a pure sound veryreminiscent of Joan Baez.

See www.ruthbloomquist.com

Following a greatsummer we gentlyslide into winterwith the promise ofthe next threemonths being thewettest on record.Having now cheeredyou up, at least wehave Christmas tolook forward to.

Activities in the village have been as plentiful asever with the usual amounts of hard work put inby all those involved working on so many of thecommittees. This year’s firework display was asimpressive as ever. Whilst this one didn’t makethe national news, it was bigger and better thanever, was enjoyed by a huge audience (despite theweather preceding it) and made the Bucks FreePress.

Is it just me, but are the pot holes in the vergecoming up Chapel Hill getting worse? Perhapsit’s about time these were fixed!

Again, I make a heartfelt plea for more news andgood quality photographs representing life herein Speen. The magazine is in danger of becomingstale covering the same news and showingpictures of the same people. Come on, put fingersto the key board and surprise me!

Lastly, a request from our hard working Ad.Manager, Tom. If you reply to an advertisement,please mention where you saw it.

James Hazeldine

Photo Quiz

No prizes but do youknow the location ofthis old cedar tree?And if you do, doyou know whoplanted it?

Answer on Page 33



Congratulations to John &Pat Rogers - Celebrating60 Years of MarriageThursday 23 October 1954 – the date that JohnRogers and Pat Jackson confirmed their love ontheir wedding day at Speen Baptist Chapel,followed by the wedding breakfast at North DeanVillage Hall (with 74 guests).

Sixty years later, thehappy couplecelebrated in style atthe newlyrefurbished NorthDean Village Hall,on a sunny Saturdayafternoon - 25October 2014 (with65 guests).

Family, friends and neighbours were invited toenjoy a delicious lunchtime buffet, washed downwith a glass (or two) of wine.

Son Steve gave a speech as did the best manDavid Dorey. John then gave thanks to everyonefor attending and to all those who helped toorganise the event. Special thanks were given toniece Pam for the slide show which followed,depicting notable events of the happy couple’s 60

year journey. Acknowledgment was also given tothe amazing team who have – and continue to –help and support John in his recovery from arecent stroke.

The three bridesmaids – Sylvia Tanner, DorothyUpfold and Pam Bowell – were each presentedwith a bouquet of flowers identical to those usedat John and Pat’s wedding.

The ceremonial cake cutting (the perfect pictureopportunity) was the ‘icing on the cake’ to bringthe afternoon formalities to a close.

The party continued into the early evening withthe arrival of friends and villagers (30 guests)who joined the festivities to celebrate John andPat’s special day.

Julie WhiteFriend & Neighbour


Speen WIWe were all saddened by the death of MargaretEasom – a member of Speen WI for over fortyyears and a former president and secretary. Weshall all miss her, particularly as a regular on theWI Quiz team. She had such knowledge of somany things; not only was she expert at art andliterature and history, but had gleaned so muchscientific knowledge from George too.

We have again had some interesting speakers at ourmeetings recently, including helping to understandthe work of the RNLI and of a paramedic. DoreenKempton helped us to make decorative flowers andgift-tags from floral ribbon although many feel thatthey need a little more practice!

The WI has its own college, near Marcham,offering a wealth of opportunities to learn newskills and improve old ones. Daphne Westray andJean Morris attended a weekend Indian CookeryCourse making bahjis, naan bread and deliciouscurries and rice; the result was a stocked freezerand a store of good ideas. Other members havebeen for courses in beading, silk painting andfamily history.The cheese and wine evening was well attended

and many visitors expressed surprise at theopportunities afforded to WI members and also atthe size, scope and influence of the organisationthroughout England and Wales.

Several members are visiting Waddesdon Manorfor an evening in November and seeing aproduction at the Wycombe Swan Theatre inDecember.

At the Annual meeting in November, the workand finances of the year were reviewed and JeanElder was re-elected President for the comingyear. Members, including four new ones, thenenjoyed a delicious pot-luck supper. Theprogramme for next year is booked and againlooks to be informative and entertaining.

2015 will be a very busy year as it is theCentenary of the formation of the first WI inEngland and Wales, on Anglesey. There will bemany celebratory events and also televisionprogrammes marking this very special WI year.We are all looking forward to a busy andinteresting year. (See 2015 programme on page 4.)

Jean Morris488529

[email protected]

Speen WI members show off their artisticexpertise making ribbon flowers

Daphne Westray and Jean Morris try their hand atIndian cookery at the WI Cookery School

Jean Whitehouse (centre) with visitors Bron Davies(right) and Rosemary Speight (left) at

the cheese and wine evening


Thank you. . . from the Rogerson and Chiverton families forall the support we received from everyone inSpeen since Jenny’s death in April. We were sopleased to see so many friends, both from thevillage and more widely, at Jen’s memorialservice in July – she seemed to be with us in spiritat the church and at the KWIV afterwards onwhat was a perfect balmy summer’s evening.

So many of you have asked how the boys are andwe felt this would be good opportunity, inaddition to saying thank you for yourunderstanding during the early days, to let youknow how life does inevitably move on withoutforgetting those memories of Jenny which willcontinue to be with us forever.Sam has moved into the sixth form at PrincesRisborough School and is studying BusinessStudies, Sociology and Forensic Science in a joint

‘A’ level/BTec course. He was 17 in Septemberand will be taking to the roads around Speenshortly having just received his provisionaldriving licence. Jake is at the moment grapplingwith his two major presentations for his dramaexam and is aiming to move on to anapprenticeship course after this year. Aaron stillhas football as his major interest, both playing forPrinces Risborough Rangers, watching any matchhe can find on television and visiting Chelseawith Grandad when he can. Noah is just takinghis first steps and visits us all regularly – he is avery happy, noisy little boy and full of mischief.

We were so very proud of Sam and Jenny on 11thSeptember when Sam received his mum’sposthumous BSc (Hons) Social Work degree fromthe Vice Chancellor of Bucks New University.

Jill & Paul Rogerson

Speen v North Dean GolfOn 15th October 25 locals between Speen & NorthDean travelled to Temple Golf Club to thrash outtheir Autumn annual golf competition.

It was a dry day – fantastic course and wellorganised by Peter Keen and Charlie Pearson, andI am pleased to say that Speen won – it was veryclose though, so watch out Speen next time.

Winner: Greg CookNTP: James Kent

The next Spring game has been fixed for 13thMay at Beaconsfield in the afternoon – andperhaps you would be kind enough to put thisdate in your diary now.

Peter Keen

Peter Keen congratulates Charlie Pearson



Speen School and PTAFun, fish and chips and first term! Returning refreshed after great summer holidaysthe children were raring to go, happy to be backwith their friends and make new ones as SpeenSchool welcomed many new children and theirfamilies.

The year kicked off with the AGM, parents hadthe chance to meet the Governors and hear theirpriorities for the year which was really useful.During the subsequent PTA meeting I was happyto be voted in as the new chair. I follow in thefootsteps of Zoe Baker who did an amazing jobfor the school. Thanks to Zoe for all her time andefforts. I am also delighted to say the othercommittee members, Helen Davies as Vice Chair,Libby Luckett as Treasurer and Louise Lucas asSecretary were happy to continue and so a bigthank you to all of them as well. The focus thisyear is on organising more fun activities forchildren and adults, and raising funds for thelibrary project, outdoor learning and to resourcethe new National Curriculum. So please supportas many of the activities as possible!

In September, the PTA was delighted to receive avery generous donation from the Speen ShopCharity Committee towards new library books.This was a brilliant start to the school year andvery much appreciated.

Harvest Festival took place on 29th September at StJohn’s Church. Rev James Tomkins had the childrencaptivated and the new Y2 children did brilliantlywith their readings and prayers. The generous giftswere taken to Saunderton Lodge, a hostel forhomeless families.

The children love the fundraising events and thePTA organised the annual Macmillan CoffeeMorning at the end of September. It had to be heldinside this year due to rain but it certainly didn’tdampen your spirits or generosity. The morningraised an impressive £215. The children have alsojust taken part in the Rotary Club Shoe BoxAppeal and had a mufti day and decoratedPudsey biscuits on November 14th for Children inNeed.

Book Week early in October was a fun packedweek organised by Mrs Hayman, there was a guessthe staff’s favourite book competition, Scholasticbook fair and a ‘design a theme for our new library’homework and competition. Congratulations toHarry Williams who won with his Mad Sciencedesign which will be implemented soon.

The Quiz night on Saturday 11th October was agreat success with the hall packed with parentsand locals. Well done to Miss Bound’s team whowon (again), but only by 1 point. Thanks toeveryone who supported the night, we raised afantastic £336. While lots of people helped makethe night possible, I would like to particularlythank Speen’s very own Magnus Magnusson,

Matt Davies, and Mel Nagele and Helen Daviesfor all their support.

The varied sports programme at the school thisterm has included street dance, karate and apremier sports club after school in which thechildren have had a chance to try out juniorarchery, tag rugby and handball to name but afew. The other after school clubs have been ourgreen fingered Garden Club, French, Mad Scienceand just premiering last week was Film Club.Thank you to all the parents who work so hard tomake these possible.

I should highlight how successfully the school hascoped with the introduction of hot lunches. A bigthank you goes out to Karen Woodward and MrsChandler, all the midday supervisors and the staff.

And now the lead up to Christmas begins, a visithas been organised to Wycombe Swan Theatre tosee Joseph & His Amazing Technicolour Coat, alovely treat for the children. The PTA are payingfor the coach travel and subsidising the ticket costso the funds we raise really do go a long way. Wehave our annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 7thDecember 12-3pm which is always a firmfavourite with the children and really puts you inthe festive spirit. There will be a Secret Santa,delicious lunches and many different craft stallsfor the children to get creative.

As always, Speen School would like to thankeveryone in the village for their invaluablesupport and interest. From the hard work of theBoard of Governors safeguarding and directingthe school’s future, the lovely ladies who come inand hear the children read to the general supportof PTA fundraising events.

Dates for your diary:Safari Supper – Saturday 7th March 2015Summer Ball – Saturday 27th June 2015

Becky KhairaChair


A note from Speen School Governors:

It was good to meet so many parents at theAnnual meeting for governors and parents inSeptember. After the recent retirement of twolong-serving governors and as part of our regularreview and refreshment of the governing body,we are very interested in talking to parents andothers in the village who might be interested injoining us. It’s a rewarding way to support yourcommunity! We would welcome a variety ofskills and backgrounds, but two areas where wefeel the governing body would benefit from moreinput at present are: a) IT/Communications; andb) property management (to help deal withpremises and health and safety). Since we are aChurch of England school, we are also veryinterested in potential candidates who have beenbrought up in the Christian faith: local authorityand Diocese regulations require that theGoverning body has a majority of “Foundation”governors who have this background.

If you are interested in learning more, EamonnBarrett (Chairman), Mrs Moore in the schooloffice or any of the other governors will be happyto tell you more. We look forward to hearingfrom you – many thanks in advance for yourinterest!


Speen photo-workshop; abrief history

The Speen photo-workshop came into being inJune 2009 and was prompted by an idea by KateLaughton following the Speen Festival; Kateapproached Martin Hart who together with hiswife Glenn, had helped put together a secondsuccessful photography competition for thefestival, suggesting to him to run a photo/cameraworkshop, which he did. ‘It’s popularity wasapparent’ said Martin, ‘a number of contestantswere extremely enthusiastic with the idea’.

The philosophy of the group is to meet with like-minded enthusiasts on a regular basis, and toundertake projects which allow thephotographers, not only to extend theirknowledge of the camera and photography ingeneral, but to begin to question what makes agood image, and the power of composition andbalance. Each project has a subject or task that isapproached creatively. There are no competitionsand no divisions based on ability.

Some of the original group members havedropped out and changed over the years; atpresent there are nine regulars. Each memberbrings to the group an original and personal viewof how they see images, and this is apparentwhen we see such divergent images of the sameproject.

Christine Dunnington

Free beer!Yes this article really is about free beer so read onand get in contact. The village marquee was usedto great effect again this year supporting all theusual events, the school ball, the fete, the craft fair,the village ‘funday’, the North Dean fete and oneprivate party. The upshot is a healthy financialreturn which continues to support the plan for areplacement marquee in about 5-8 years’ time.

Last year the number of uppers and downersdwindled so we had to take steps to encouragesupport for the upping and downing of themarquee. Our genius idea was to coincide themarquee upping and downing with the openinghours of the King Willy. The result you may havenoticed was on a few Friday nights, the small bandof regular helpers could be seen toiling on theplaying field and subsequently quenching theirthirst at a rather convenient watering hole. Wetook the decision to treat the first drink as ajustifiable expense to reward the endeavours of allinvolved. The lure of a single drink proved to be avalid reason for turning up and aiding the erectionor downing events so we will continue this in 2015.

.A huge thank you to all those who supported thesuccess of each of the village events by turning upand drinking free beer. Your support enabled usto run the marquee not only as a financial successbut to contribute to the success of the ball, thefete, the craft fair and funday. Without yoursupport for each upping and downing the eventswould not be delivered in the same manner orthey would have the considerable expense of anexternal marquee hire.

The Free BEER will continue in 2015 so pleasekeep an eye out for dates.

My thanks to the committee: Ashley Cooper, JemSymondson, James Entwisle and Roger Anderson(Treasurer).

But most importantly my thanks to all of you wholike FREE BEER!

Greg CookMarquee Chairman


Missing Names. In issue60 of the SNDN we saidthat, in 1918, nine men fromSpeen were serving in theLabour Corps or itsequivalent. We gave thenames of the two whoserved on comparable duties,but not those of the seven in themain Corps. They were all Privates: JosephBowler; Dudley Frank Bristow; Arthur JohnBrown; Alfred and Lawrence Harry Gibbons;William Janes and Cecil Ridgley. Most of thesemen had brothers in the front line Regiments,why did they not join them? They might havebeen selected for the Labour Corps because oftheir physique - or for a more interesting reason.The pre-war Army tried hard to put brothers intothe same Regiment, but, after the catastrophe ofthe Somme, the policy was changed. Brotherswere still enlisted into the same Regiment butwere put into different Battalions - so thelikelihood of a family losing several sons in thesame engagement was greatly reduced. Later, theArmy often went even further and dividedbrothers between different Regiments.

Peter Hill. In the same article we said thatHarold Stanley Austin and Leslie Walter Austinwere both serving in the Royal Navy. They gavetheir address as "Peter Hill, Speen". We asked ifanyone knew where that was. We are grateful toIan Menzies-Conacher; he lives in St Peter’s Closeand his original conveyancing documents ( beforethe modern development ) refer to the site as'land adjacent to St Peter’s Hill'. Bravo Ian.

Weavers andSpinners.People haveasked us if weknew whathad happenedto the SpeenWeavers andSpinners sign.We had noidea, but, bychance, one ofus met thenew owner ofthe cottage onStudridgeLane. Heconfirmed thatthe repair andrestoration ofthe sign was

well under way but that the workshop had saidthere was no point in rushing the job as the sitewas not yet ready to receive it. As you can seefrom the photo, this much-loved feature of ourvillage was in need of some TLC.

The hand at the top reflects the symbol that iscarved on the gravestone of Eric Gill. Presumablythere was some association with his artists'community at Pigott's Hill. Does anyone knowabout that?

Pigotts Hill. In August,we organised a walkaround the house and grounds at Pigotts in NorthDean. Nick Wheeler-Robinson kindly took 21 of uson a fascinating tour of the woods. He pointed outvarious natural features such as swallow holes,venerable trees - and evidence of squirrel damage -and also artefacts of man such as charcoal pits,ancient boundary ditches and a copy of an Eric Gillcross. Returning to the farm, he told us about thehistory of the house with particular reference to thetime of Eric Gill - such a colourful character. This isthe second Pigotts tour that we have arranged andtheir popularity is undiminished; perhaps you wouldlike to join us if we repeat it? (This paragraph is setin Perpetua, one of Eric Gill's most successfultypefaces; it is named after his eldest daughter.)

"Best of Speen". We are running a "Best ofSpeen" photographic competition. We are lookingfor pictures that record the heritage and characterof Speen; this could include landscapes,buildings, architectural features, gardens, wildlife,activities or people - anything that reflects well onthe village. Ideally, the best twelve photos wouldbe incorporated into a calendar for 2016. Pleasesend as many images as you wish [email protected].

Speen Heritage Group. Our aim is to protectand enhance the heritage of the village andpromote awareness of its history. We have beenestablished for several years and have organisedtalks, walks and displays and have researchedand recorded articles on a variety of subjects. Thegroup is currently working on a number of newprojects; would you like to join us? Anyone fromthe village with an interest in local history andheritage is welcome to join the group. In the firstinstance, please contact Peter Symonds (01494488016) for more information.

Clive Rainbow01494 488658

[email protected]



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Speen is going GreenThe greatest contributor to energy costs in anaverage household is heating & hot water, thisaccounts for around 89% of energy consumption.With escalating fossil fuel prices it’s veryconcerning how much our bills will continue torise, however since the Government’sannouncement of the Renewable Heat IncentiveScheme there is no better time to replace your oldoil heating system.

Local Installation - The Laurels, ChapelHill, Speen.The RHI is a financial incentive to encourage theuptake of renewable energy solutions to heathomes in the UK, which residences of Speen andsurrounding areas are taking full advantage of.

Several home owners in the area have used theservices of local company Heppelthwaite GreenBuilding Solutions to convert their oil firedcentral heating system to a high performanceBIOMASS system. This very modern, automated,high quality, renewable energy system providesannual cash returns, fuel cost savings and reducesthe carbon emissions for the home.

One of the installations took place at The Laurels,Chapel Hill in Speen where recently they held anopen day inviting local residence to view the systemand discover the benefits. Heppelthwaite were onhand to demonstrate the systems performance andprovided further details on Biomass.Properties that currently use an oil heating systembenefit the most by changing to biomass, which isgreat news for residence of Speen andsurrounding areas. Anyone can apply for theDomestic RHI scheme from homeowners, private,landlords and people that build their own homes.

What’s Biomass?Biomass heating systems work by burningrenewable fuel such as wood pellets, chips orlogs. These boilers are designed to replaceexisting oil boilers and use an existing ‘wetsystem’ (eg through radiators) and provide hotwater to a home. Quite literally home owners arenow being paid to go green in an effort by theGovernment to ensure the UK reduces the Carbonfootprint to meet EU targets.

At first glance the idea of burning wood does notseem like a “Green” solution, however burningBiomass fuel creates a carbon cycle and removesthe need for burning Fossil fuels. This is a majorstep forward in creating a greener planet, ensuringwe progress away from fossil fuels and into a newera. There has never been a better time to go green.

You can find out more details on theHeppelthwaite website or by contacting localrenewable energy specialist Jamie Howard.

www.ecogreenbuildingsolutions.co.uk /[email protected]

(Note to readers: Paid for Editorial)



Speen Playing FieldsWe have not yet recovered from another year’sextravaganza Bonfire Night. The Building was thebest and most ambitious yet. The brainchild of

our very ownvisionaryChristian ‘TheArsonistExtraordinaire’Nagele; designedin 3D by Pete‘Design’Symonds; Builtto scale byDuncan ‘KiwiBuilder’ Wilson;completed byJohn ‘The Roof’Mulry; (thankgoodness Gregand these boysare all taller thanme!), aided andabetted in trueSpeen tradition by a two daywork party of 10 on theFriday and about 30 on theSaturday, with the help ofJohn Holmes’s tractor.

The re-creation of PuddingLane on the Playing Field ofSpeen was amazing as youcan see, particularly the wayit was built to scale 5.5 metersto the top gable, each house,pub and shop being 2.8meters wide, 11.2 meters intotal: so that the dressing of

the front fitted perfectly. Every detail wasattended to. The two carts out front; the signagefor the pub and shop; the beams and brickwork,beautifully painted by the school children (someof whom totally immersed themselves in the job!);

and especially Pete’s gallows builtto life size, complete withswinging guys, silhouetted againstthe flames until they toosuccumbed.

The evening was completed by abring-a-guy competition, our usualgreat firework display, thanks toKeith Jones and an excellent BBQand Chilli, prepared by Alex Allenand the pre-school Mums. Therain in no way deterred over 500people attending and the eventwas once again a huge success.Many, many thanks to all who

helped; it was ahuge amount ofwork but muchappreciated andone of the mainfundraisers forour playingfields.

We really dohave somethingspecial in thisvillage, not sureif it is sanity, butit certainly is fun!

Tony BobroffChair

Speen PlayingFields


Our services to Princes Risborough run on Tuesdays and Saturdays

Depart Risborough High Street 0850, arrive Speen 0905, arrive Risborough High Street 0929

Depart Risborough High Street 1135, arrive Speen 1150, arrive Risborough High Street 1215

On request pm service on Tuesdays only depart Risborough 1605, depart Speen 1625, arrive Risborough 1649

The bus is available for Group Use evenings and weekends for up to 14 people. Our unique door to door service can be used for clubs, families & friends; for your own events or for sports,

shopping, theatres and parties. Ring Georgina on 07941 963097 for information and bookings

We also run regular outings to places of interest including Garden Centres, Bicester Village and tours of the Chilterns. See http://www.bucksvoice.net/racb/ or call 07941 963097

RISBOROUGH AREA COMMUNITY BUS

I nPr int L imited


Speen Helping HospicesAnnual Christmas MarketSpeen Group has changed its name to SpeenHelping Hospices. The committee are in theprocess of registering with the CharityCommission and felt their name needed to bemore meaningful.

SHH held their 6th Christmas Market in The KingWilliam IV pub/restaurant, which creates awonderful atmosphere for the market. Owner andLandlord David Hill, very generously, allowsSHH to fill the pub for two days with the work ofmany exciting local artists and designers injewellery, ceramics, art, quilting, glass, candles,cakes, game and other festive foods. Alsoavailable were the Charity Christmas Cardssupplied by Florence Nightingale House, Helen &Douglas House, Iain Grove Hospice at Home andSouth Bucks Hospice, the four hospices supportedby SSH.

The Market was a great success with a recordnumber of people attending who found uniquegifts and enjoyed a drink or the special menuwhilst helping to raise £3,077 of vital funds for thelocal hospices.

SHH would like to thank everyone who to cameto the event for their support and for theirhelping to make the two days such a success.

Cardiac Arrest in Rural VillagesThe Rural Community Defibrillator Group hasbeen recently set up with the aim to provide anaccessible defibrillator for those villages whereaccess to early intervention would significantlyimprove the chances of recovery from cardiacarrest. Villages such as Speen and Saundertonhave been identified through recent tragic eventsbut it is felt that others such as Lacey Green andHampden would also benefit. At present the

nearest accessible defibrillator for Speen is sited atthe Hughenden Valley Surgery with nothingavailable outside surgery hours.

Rural locations such as Speen and Saunderton aresometimes difficult for ambulances to respond toa patient within the target time of 8 minutes.Statistically with the use of CPR together with adefibrillator, chances of survival from cardiacarrest improves from 1 in 10 to 4 in 10. It is theaim of the project to provide defibrillators instrategic locations so that on ringing 999 theAmbulance Service can assess the situation and, ifappropriate, give the location and access code ofthe device to the caller, staying on the phone togive support and full instructions.

It is hoped that this initiative will meet with localapproval as none of this can be done withoutyour help. Each machine costs in the region of£1,400 so funding is very important. The group isalready approaching the relevant Members ofLocal and District and County Councils forfunding but individual help will also be neededwith fund raising appeals. If you can help thenplease let Christine Symondson 488654 or PaulRogerson 488315 know.

Without these facilities no change is possible;with them lives may be saved.



District Council News -November 2014

By the time you read this, everyone should havereceived and hopefully enjoyed the latest editionof Wycombe District Times, which provides atimely update on all of the schemes beingimplemented across the District – of which thereare many! I can take no credit at all, but it wasgreat to see the 2015 Speen Festival mentioned onPage 11.

Although it is too early to release any details,very positive discussions are taking place with anumber of companies who are keen to occupy thenew office facilities planned for the wider HandyCross site, some of which will occupy the spacevacated by the current sports centre when it isdemolished. This is excellent news as thesedevelopments will create even more local jobsand further stimulate the District economy.

In the last issue of SNDN, I outlined theimplementation of the new Automatic NumberPlate Recognition (ANPR) system for parkingacross the District. I know many local people usethe car parks in Princes Risborough and therehave been some initial teething problems, such aswith the cameras missing some vehicles and alsomore recently some glare issues with the screen.These are all being worked on and WDC isconfident that these early hiccups can be resolved:operation in the various other car parks across thedistrict is now running smoothly.

One key change which requires some gettingused to is that with ANPR, payment is made asyou leave the car park (if you want to pay thereand then instead of online, for example) ratherthan when you arrive. This has caused a littleconfusion at first, but experience from around theDistrict and elsewhere in the country suggeststhat people quickly adjust.

Some readers may know that I have beencampaigning to secure funds for an improvedbroadband service – specifically from theHampden Row exchange – and it now looks as ifaround £900,000 should be available across theDistrict. This is unfortunately around half whatwe were hoping for, as Buckinghamshire CountyCouncil, who originally intended to contribute,had to withdraw funding.

Sadly, I can’t make any promises about whenHampden Row will be upgraded: the amount wehave for the entire District is quite small, andbelieve it or not, there are areas where thebroadband is even worse than here, so I amworking the process to see what we can achieve. I

will provide a further update when I can.

Although not a District Council matter, severalpeople have mentioned to me the large number ofsmall power outages we have suffered recently.Recipients of the “Village Messenger” email mayalready have noted that when there are powercuts, there is no point calling the company youpay for your electricity, as the supplyinfrastructure is the responsibility of UK PowerNetworks in our area. They can be contacted on0800 783 8866 to report a fault, the majority ofwhich are caused by stormy weather or bybranches coming into contact with overheadcables.

Power cuts, even short ones, can be quite disruptivebut unfortunately there is not a great deal that canbe done to avoid them, although if you are aware ofany issues with overhanging branches or otherpotential hazards to the supply network, call UKPower Networks and let them know.

One final point which might help – if you don’talready have one, get hold of an “old-fashioned”corded phone. Modern cordless phones generallydon’t work if you have a power cut, whereas evenwith no electricity, a corded phone should do.

Mel [email protected]

01494 488905



Down on the Farm As you might guess, being a dairy farm, we havebeen hit hard by the average 20% drop in theprice of milk. At last the government are takingsome notice and have asked one of their manycommittees to look into the problem but fewfarmers have any confidence in the outcome. Thecurrent situation will force many smaller dairyfarmers out of business, which is of course not inanybody’s long term interests. All thesupermarkets admit they are selling milk as a lostleader. This devalues milk as a product, but noneof them are willing to be the first to raise the priceto a realistic level.

On a global scale, there have been no catastrophicweather events anywhere in the world this yearwhich has enabled dairy farmers worldwide toincrease production dramatically, creating animbalance between supply and demand. Thesanctions on Russia have resulted in the loss of amajor cheese market, and the Chinese havestopped buying milk powder as they havealready built up large stocks of it. Industrialistscan turn production off at times like this, butsadly we do not have this option, as cows will notstop milking and then start again just whenrequired!! We monitor costs very carefully, butnearly always come back to increasing productionas the only way to cover the reduction in income,which just prolongs the problem!

Politics is at the root of another of the problems offood producer’s (particularly in Europe). HerrJuncker has just dismissed his chief scientificadvisor, Prof. Anne Glover, because she is in favourof the use of genetically modified crops. Being “proGM” is not accepted by many of the non scientificcommunity, but to feed the 9 billion peopleexpected on our planet in 2050 we have to acceptwe have to use all the tools that are available whichwill include GM, sprays and fertilisers. Nearly allsprays and fertilisers are products of fossil fuels inone form or another, the supply of which is finite,so by adopting its current position (ie anti GM) the

EU risks entering ascientific back waterand reducing theiroptions for the future.The majority of therest of the world ismaking use of GMcrops, but noFrankenstein foodshave appeared andthere have been noprosecutions for sideeffects in the decadessince they were firstintroduced.

Have any of you havenoticed the poor stateof many of ourhedgerows? Old Man’sBeard is rapidly becoming a worse problem thanJapanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam.Cattle and sheep enjoy eating this Wild Clematis,and in doing so controlling its growth, but sincegrazing animals have largely disappeared fromthe fields, our hedgerows are being strangled;Clematis is very difficult to kill as it roots downwherever it touches the ground and it seems veryresistant to the usual sprays. We would bedelighted to hear from anyone who has a remedy.

Gill Kent

Breeza I have recently startedhelping out a couple inSpeen, called Wally andJill. It’s hard for them towalk their dog, a lovelyborder collie calledBreeza, so I do it forthem when I can. This ismy volunteering for theDuke of Edinburghbronze award. I walkBreeza every weekendfor about an hour and ahalf, either in Speen or at Hughenden Manor.

I enjoy it so much. Partly it’s because we don’thave a dog and Breeza is such a friendly one andeasy to take for walks. But also it’s great to beable to help people in the village and have fun atthe same time.

Hannah Dent

Cows relaxing on bank in North Dean

Old Man’s Beard onLacey Green to Princes

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Speen Pre-SchoolI am writing this during my first term as the newchair of Speen Pre-School’s voluntary managementcommittee. So far things have got off to a good startand our new children have settled in very well.Thanks primarily to a great handover from mypredecessor and a good staff team!

One of the things that is important to Pre-Schoolis how much the local community supports us.The Playing Fields Committee continue to openup Ridgley’s Field for our weekly Forest Schoolsessions and we would like to thank the workingparty that helped clear the field in September, wehave opened up a wonderful woodland space forthe children to explore.

This leads me on to thanking the Speen Shop Fundwho recently gave us a grant to invest in ouroutdoor play areas, we have purchased a new swingseat for the rope at Forest School as well as a diggingpit. We have also been able to invest in a woodenoutdoor kitchen and play table for the courtyard atPre-School providing much opportunity forimaginative play and mud pie cooking! The childrenhave also enjoyed much imaginative play inside atPre-School with our hairdresser’s, doctor’s surgeryand shop set up.

Just before half-term we held our Harvest Festival atSpeen Church where the children and staff expertlyperformed ‘Handa’s Surprise’ to an audience ofseveral parents and grandparents as well as childrenfrom Speen Infant school.

We are looking forward to being part of the VillageHall’s annual Christmas Fayre on Saturday 6thDecember with our Santa’s Grotto. Children will beable to write their Christmas wish list and post themin our special Santa post box as well as visit the manhimself.

This term we started to use Bucks County Council’sLibrary Services to expand our reading materialsrelevant to topics being covered at Pre-School. Thechildren have really enjoyed choosing books to takehome to read and then returning to discuss them withstaff helping to develop literacy and listening skills.

Speen Pre-School has now entered ‘the digital age’and moved all children’s learning records to anonline portal called Orbit. Staff upload photos,observations and assessments of children to thesecure website and parents receive an email alertwhenever a new piece of information is sharedabout their child on the site.

As several children moved on to big school last termwe have spaces available in many of our sessions forimmediate start. Prospective parents are mostwelcome to pop in and visit us at any time.

Speen Pre-school is open to children age from 2 to 5years. To enquire about a place or receive aprospectus please contact our Admissions Officer,Antonia Winson, on 01494 489848 or call Pre-Schoolon 01494 489160 during term time.

Alex AllanChair, Speen Pre-School

www.speenpreschool.org.uk



Play it again Sam!Did this September seem somewhat lacklustre? Didyou feel that there was something missing? Well I’lltell you what was missing, itwas the Speen Festival! Fearnot, the Laughtons have notleft the village and there willbe another great Festival, 6-20September 2015; put it in thediary, you won’t want to missit. Thanks Sam & Kate, weknew you had another one inyou!

Our festival celebrates localtalent and is created by andfor our local community; it isnot too early, or late, to stepforward with your skills,ideas or sponsorship. We areparticularly keen to learn ofpeople with new ideas andthe energy to make themhappen. But we will of courseinclude many perennialfavourites, with somethingfor everyone from wildlife tomusic, and from science tosurvival skills. Our flagship

musical theatre show will include a productionweek between 29 August and 5 September so allchildren and adults in the show will need to keepthis free. And of course we will finish once again

with Speen’s own Prom inthe Playing Field, this time inglorious sunshine!

And if you have offspringheading to Uni in Oct 2015 orkicking around after ‘A’Levels this summer, we havesome great opportunities forwork experience and CVcredits for a host of skills:marketing, event planning,PR, social media, theatricalproduction and design, filmproduction, e-commerce,photography, sales and evenchair-stacking. Do get intouch and they could belearning from a professionalor filling a vital skills gap.

All thoughts, ideas,contributions or suggestionsto Sam & Kate Laughton [email protected]

Show us your home and we will show you the buyer. Because it’s important to you.

01494 611382www.hamptons.co.uk

Beyond your expectations



A busy Autumn season at the Chapel

We celebrated the wedding in September of Willand Amy Blackburn, who now live in one of theSportsmen’s Cottages in North Dean.

October is not usually a barbecue month but awell attended gathering marked nine years ofmore or less singlehanded devotion by NickBaker in strimming and mowing the five acreplot. I’ll be taking my turn riding the mower nextspring but I would welcome some morechurchyard lovers to sign up for some turns as wecut the grass fortnightly in the growing seasonand hold occasional fun working parties.

At the end of October the Speen Pre-school came tothe Chapel for their harvest gathering, which alsosupported OneCan Trust, the local food bank.

During this period we have been privileged toconduct five funerals and thanksgivings:

Barbara Payne, widow of John Payne, a pillar ofthe chapel community in the 1960s-80s inparticular;Peter Dawson, whose life career was at Equityand Law in Hazlemere and who was a renowneddog breeder;Margaret Easom, WI member and bookclubpoetry reading afficionado;Poppy Ellis, longtime Speen resident from 1950 inthe then King George pub, whose tributes spokeof her generosity in helping others;Peter Johnson, who worked for many years at G-

Plan but was better known locally as an expertgardener – and Speen school caretaker.

There have also been interments of ashes of:Jean RolfeTony RedrupEdwin KeepMargaret EasomJoseph Haynes

As Christmas approaches, come and be part of acapacity crowd for the 6pm Christmas Eve carolservice where the mood will be subdued,colourful lighting and traditional music recallingthe wonder and mystery of the nativity of Jesus.Later on Christmas Eve there will be a quiet,reflective service around the communion tablewhere we welcome anyone who loves the Lord toshare in a simple Chapel celebration of HolyCommunion to focus on the presence of the risenLord at the centre of all the busyness ofChristmas.

Rev Ian GreigMinister of Speen Church

01494 488585

Chapel member and OneCan coordinator Kate Valetelling the story of Billy, the tin of corned beef from

Argentina, who had been sad while sitting on the shelfbut then felt so proud to be helping a family

who were in pressing need.



Wildlife WatchThe late summer period tends to be relativelyquiet from a wildlife point of view. However inmy own garden my bird table is suddenly comingback to life after several very quiet months andoverhead autumn movements of large numbers ofbirds are apparent. Huge flocks of Woodpigeonshave passed over and winter Redwings andFieldfare from Iceland and Scandinavia have beenseen on migration. The autumn crop of berrieshas already been significantly depleted and theapple crop that many of these birds depend onhas been very poor this year. In village gardensand the orchard in Moses Platt Lane where thesebirds usually feed very few windfalls areapparent. It is likely they will fly further south asa result.

On the bird table Great Spotted Woodpeckers,Nuthatches, Bullfinches, Goldfinches and varioustits have re-appeared. Our resident birds of preyhave been noted regularly. As well as the Red Kitesthat are constantly visible Buzzards have been seenregularly and Sparrowhawks have been recordedoverhead and also at kills in several gardens inAbbotswood. A small male made a successful killat our bird table in July taking a juvenile Blue Tit.The female Sparrowhawk is however significantlylarger than the male and will concentrate on largerprey like Woodpigeons and Collared Doves. KeithRosling sent me photographs of a female rippingapart a Woodpigeon in Abbotswood and JeanWhitehouse has reported the same from hergarden. (If you witness a kill I would appreciate aphone call to try to come and photograph it. Ifundisturbed the birds will regularly stay with theprey for 15-20 minutes.) Tawny Owls have beenseen and heard regularly in the woods calling bothat night and during the day. Young birds wereheard in Flowers Bottom calling for food near theOld Plow in late summer. Unfortunately one of ourlocal birds was found dead by Leslie Thompson onHampden Road in late October. (They are oftendazzled by headlights and are not fast flyers soallow them time to move if you spot one at prey onthe road.)

The local Mandarin Ducks which have bredsuccessfully in the area seem to be doing well.Some of these birds winter on our woodlandponds. I have recorded 6-7 together whilst JeremySymondson has reported 13-15+ of these birds atone location. What is remarkable is how difficultit can be to spot the glamorously coloured birdson the woodland floor. The bold juvenile Heronthat was mentioned in my last report is stillvisiting gardens right in the heart of the villagewith the most recent report being from AnneFoster next to the shop.

Some interesting local records have been made byBucks Bird Club members around GreatHampden. Four Ravens were recorded in lateAugust and these have also been noted in

Prestwood. The same recorder also noted 4Firecrests and 2 Siskins in Great Hampden on thesame visit. (Firecrests are similar to the tinyGoldcrests that are seen regularly but are lesscommon and have a pronounced white stripeabove the eye.) Another observer had a flock of 90Linnets in September.

Local wood mice and other mammals will soon beseeking out local lofts for the winter. Local Glis glis(Edible Dormice) spend much of the year in ourlofts in the village but many residents never seethese animals. A visit to the barns at Piggotts inNorth Dean provides a good opportunity to seethese mammals. During an evening HeritageGroup tour several appeared overhead on therafters quite unconcerned about the audience belowand came down beams to within a few feet ofpeople. Meanwhile in our own kitchen at homeCorinne found one eating at our fruit bowl at about9.00pm, one night in October. Other residents oflocal lofts, which cause no damage, include variousbats. Pipistrelles are probably the most commonlyfound species but we also have Long Eared Bats.Alastair Blundell found a dead specimen outsidehis house in Moses Platt in late September. Imentioned in my previous report about losses oflocal Roe deer in road accidents and it takes a timefor the population to recover from these incidentsso numbers remain very small at present.

My main garden pond has gradually recoveredfrom the impact of having Mallard with 7-11chicks present during the breeding season.However the young ducks became very adept atcatching newts and other pondlife. The GrassSnake who was present for the early part of theyear was not seen after the summer and mayhave moved away to seek more food. Jane Ourycalled to say that she had a large snake outsideher front door in the late summer. It sounded as ifit was a Grass Snake that had been resting aftercatching a large frog, which then disappeareddown a drain at the front of her cottage, near thechapel, when it was disturbed.

Please let me know of any interesting sightings inboth Speen and North Dean.

Peter Symonds01494 488016

[email protected]

Photo Quiz (on page 5)

The cedar tree is beside the stile as you enter thewoods at Great Hampden, next to the old villageschool which has been for sale for some time. Itwas planted by Doris Redrup (recently moved tothe new care home in Stoke Mandeville) who wasgiven the honour of doing the planting while atthe Great Hampden village school in 1930.


Who

’s W

ho in

Spe

en a

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n Bucks County Council - Member for Lacey Green Carl Etholen 01494 564771

Hughenden Parish Council - Chairman Roger Beavil 01494 715296

Lacey Green Parish Council - Chairman Cathryn Davies 01844 342800

Lacey Green Parish Council – Councillor for Speen Ward

Roger Craft 01494 488343

North Dean Village Hall – Bookings Secretary Jez Wicks 01494 563517

North Dean Village Hall - Fete Jez Wicks 01494 563517

North Dean Village Hall - Secretary Robin Hughes 07920 748580

Piggotts 7 ‘48’ Musical Evenings Nick Wheeler-Robinson 01494 562167

Police Contact Non emergency Emergency

101 999

Riding for the Disabled Gloria Holmes 01494 488420

Speen & North Dean Good Neighbours Pat Richardson 01494 488627

Speen & North Dean Guides Pauline Hall 01494 488372

Speen & North Dean News - advertising Tom Dent 01494 488943

Speen & North Dean News - Chair Gloria Holmes 01494 488420

Speen & North Dean Toddler Group Helen Davies 01494 488847

Speen Baptist Church Rev Ian Greig 01494 488585

Speen Festival - Secretary Sarah Rogers 07771 534234

Speen Fete - Chair Amanda Dobbs 01494 488887

Speen Fete - Secretary Nicki Pitt 01494 488713

Speen Helping Hospices - Secretary Maureen Laing 01494 488397

Speen Marquee Greg Cook 01494 488939

Speen Playing Fields Chairman Tony Bobroff 01494 488688

Speen Pre-School - Chair Alex Allan 01494 489838

Speen School - Head Denise Nayna 01494 488321

Speen School PTA - Chair Becky Khaira 07815 134330

Speen Stores Alison Templeman 01494 488258

Speen Tennis Court - Secretary Philippa Lane 01494 488453

Speen Village Hall - Bookings Sue Taylor 01494 488500

Speen Village Hall - Chairman Bill Groves 01494 488180

Speen WI - Secretary Jean Morris 01494 488529

Wycombe District Council - Member for Lacey Green & Hampdens

Mel Foster 01494 488905

Documents

Speen and North Dean News · this old cedar tree? And if you do, do you know who planted it? Answer on Page 33 ... Several members are visiting Waddesdon Manor for an evening in November