Hambledon Cricket Club

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SUNDAY REFLECTION

Life is slowly getting back to something like “normal”. But we know that many things will have changed forever. There is, therefore, some comfort in reflecting on the past. In this week’s Reflection, Jane Woolley reminds us that our little village has a rich heritage. On this website, and within the Heritage archive that Jane keeps at her home, much can be discovered.

Ever wondered what your house used to look like?   The chances are that it was one of Hambledon’s many small cottages, probably with no modern utilities, before it was “developed” to create a fair-sized family home complete with wi-fi and superfast broadband.    Ever imagined what the noise must have been like when the empty expanse of what is now “Nutbourne Park” was a thriving brickworks?  Ever been curious to know whether The Hydons and Hambledon Park always looked the way they do to-day?

Well, thanks to the Hambledon Heritage archive, it’s easy to find the answers to these and many more questions about the village, its activities, its inhabitants and its institutions.   By charting the development of the village over the best part of 200 years, the archive also demonstrates how much the Hambledon of to-day owes to the Hambledon of the past:  there’s nothing new about Hambledon’s community spirit.

The material in the archive has accumulated gradually over the last 60 or so years.  It’s a real social  history, in words and pictures, of families from all walks of life, their homes, their workplaces, their farms;  of the village hubs – the shop, the Post Office (they weren’t always the same thing and the village had more than one shop in the past), the Village Hall, the church and the pub;  the changing landscape; the sporting and social clubs, past and present;  and the institutions (including the Hydestile Hospital and the Hambledon Institute, the predecessors of The Hydons and Hambledon Park respectively – and the Institute was originally the workhouse). 

Disasters (from bombing raids to storms) are recorded;  so are successes such as winning best-kept village competitions and saving the village shop and the school (now the Nursery School).  Village fetes and celebrations of national events ranging from VE Day to jubilees are chronicled in detail.   There are scrapbooks, booklets written by villagers, photographic albums, press cuttings and numerous individual contributions.  On the whole they paint a picture of an ideal village – but don’t be fooled:  less than 10 years ago the Surrey Advertiser reported that “A village regarded by police as one of the safest places to live in Surrey has proved to be the ideal base for two cannabis factories” – which led to the arrest of six people under the Misuse of Drugs Act.   Never let it be said that the archive is a dull read. 

When my mother bought Cobblers, little did she (or I) realise that the two outbuildings that go with it were almost more spacious than the cottage itself.

  This means that I have been able to provide a home for the archive in the sun room.  Anyone is welcome to visit and browse.  You can find a list of all the documents with, in some cases, a list of their contents, on the village web site:  just click on history/historical village documents/the Hambledon heritage albums.  And do please consider whether you can add to this invaluable village resource:  although everything that happens now is media-recorded, that used not to be the case.  Our history is still dependent on paper documents and photographs. 

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Sunday Reflection

It all feels strange but due to the Covid-19 virus the Cricket Club, under the instructions of the English Cricket Board (ECB), is under suspension with no matches or gatherings taking place for senior and junior players. The suspension, it would appear, will be for the foreseeable future and maybe for the whole cricket season. However, coaching on a 1 to 1 basis is now allowed under the safety guidance of social distancing etc. So there maybe some small 1 to 1 coaching activities taking place in June.  Hopefully full local cricket may start up in late summer.

The cricket senior league XI side having won the league title for the 2019 season was raring to go to try and repeat their success for 2020, but now, if team cricket does start up again this season, it will have to be on a friendly or knock out game basis. The friendly XI had a full fixture list. Also we had a full junior take up which may have to be abandoned for this year.

So what is happening with the Cricket Club and the cricket green during the suspension?  The CC is still holding its monthly committee meetings via telephone conference calls to ensure that we can continue with club business. These virtual meetings are to review our financial position, to cover only necessary expenditure, keeping it to a minimum as we have no income at present coming into the club. Also we need to keep the maintenance of the cricket green in good order. Our volunteer ground keepers, self isolate in the work to be undertaken, ensuring that safe working procedures are adopted. You can see from the photograph at the beginning of this post that the square and outfield are in fine condition and ready for the re-commencement of cricket.

Seniors: The CC has to take into account the possibility of recommencement of local cricket this year, maybe in late summer? But present signs are still not looking good at this time. The club however, is still keen to welcome new players of all ages to the club, even in this situation of suspension, so please mention it to any of your friends or contact our captains.

Juniors: It looks like the current suspension will not be lifted in time for this year’s full group training sessions. We are looking into restarting some junior coaching on a 1 to 1 basis using the nets etc. There may be a possibility of some full junior training, possibly in July/August, but again, the present situation does not look too helpful. Lets hope we get back soon to scenes shown in the previous year’s photo below.

If Junior team training/coaching does happen, we will need help and support this year. Please email, Caroline Tristem on tristem@btinternet.com or call Alexander Wood (07753 832323) for more/latest information.

For further information about the club, please call the Club Captain, Mark Burton (07722 752465)  Friendly Captain, Andrew Dunn, (07973 748861); Secretary, Sion Griffiths (07775 516448).

In the absence of cricket, we hope that the people of Hambledon will use and enjoy the Cricket Green outfield space for their controlled recreational use during this uncertain time.

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Parish Magazine Pays Tribute To Two “Great Lives” in July Edition

The families of Mic Coleman and Pat Williams have expressed their gratitude to the people of Hambledon following the funerals of both, held in the past month.

They were much loved and respected residents and both contributed enormously to life in the village.

Mic’s funeral was held at Guildford Crematorium, followed by a gathering at the Merry Harriers. In a message afterwards, his family said: “We would like to thank all those who attended the service at the crematorium and those who sent condolences and thoughtful messages”

Pat’s funeral was held in Hambledon at St Peter’s Church and her sister Margaret Romney said that the love and friendship in the village had been “overwhelming”.

The lives of both have been celebrated in earlier articles on this website. The July edition of the Parish Magazine carries the tributes paid to both at their funerals. It will be on sale at the village shop from tomorrow (Saturday June 29th).

                                                               

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Annual Village Meeting Will Hear From Police Commander And Discuss Speeding

Hambledon’s Annual Village Meeting, hosted by the Parish Council at the Village Hall this Thursday evening,  is to be addressed by Inspector Gary Smith, Waverley Borough Commander for Surrey Police.

He will give an overview of policing in the borough as well as deal with concerns about speeding traffic in the village.

The Parish Council has been exploring various road traffic initiatives and has held meetings with police and Surrey County Council highways engineers in recent months. However, it has been made clear that no traffic calming measures are likely to be introduced.

Budget restraints and a lack of statistical evidence to indicate that Hambledon has a speeding problem have been cited as reasons why the village can expect little in the way of new measures. The council had been exploring a proposal for a 20mph speed restriction in the centre.

The Annual Meeting will provide an opportunity to ask questions of our borough commander as well as hear more about what the Parish Council has been trying to achieve.

There will also be an opportunity to consider whether Hambledon wants to set up a Community Speed Watch where volunteers, with police training, use detection devices to check on the speed of vehicles in the village. Those caught above the limit are sent warning letters.

This would also be a means of determining whether speeding is a real issue and not just anecdotal and would help reinforce the case for traffic calming measures.

The scheme would have to be run by villagers and without sufficient volunteers it will not happen.

Those interested in taking part will be asked to sign their names at the end of the meeting, which will also hear annual reports from the Parish Council and village clubs and organisations.

Refreshments will be served from 7.30pm and the meeting starts at 8pm. (See previous news item for more information)

Details will also be given about taking part in the annual village clean-up, which takes places on Saturday (April 27th) followed at around noon by a parish barbecue outside the village shop.

All are welcome at the Annual Meeting, the clean-up and the barbecue.

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Annual Village Meeting and Parish Clean-Up and Barbecue – All Welcome

Hambledon’s Annual Village Meeting takes place on the evening of Thursday April 25th and all are welcome to come along.

This is an opportunity to hear a round-up of the past year’s activities from all of the village organisations, clubs and groups as well as a report from the Parish Council, which hosts the meeting.

Refreshments including wine, tea and coffee will be available from 7.30 and this is a chance to chat to village friends and neighbours before the meeting itself starts at 8pm at the Village Hall.

There will be a short presentation concerning the efforts made by the Parish Council to address concerns about speeding in the village and other local traffic issues.

Residents may like to consider whether they want to form a Community Speed Watch Group. A minimum of six volunteers would be required. Speed detection devices would be provided by Surrey Police together with appropriate training.

Full details of this scheme can be found here: www.communityspeedwatch.org

Further details will be provided at the meeting. Mary Grove, a parish councillor, can be contacted in advance for those who wish to register at grovemum@aol.com

Although the parish council can make the necessary arrangements with Surrey Police and register the speedwatch group, it is for villagers to step forward and volunteer if they want this initiative to succeed.

Despite widespread concerns across the village about speeding, both Surrey Police and Surrey County Council Highways engineers have stated that there is no gathered evidence to support this belief. It is highly unlikely that any traffic calming measures can be introduced in Hambledon until there is data to support the proposal. Community Speed Watch is one way in which such evidence may be gathered.

The Village Meeting is followed two days later – on Saturday April 27th – with the parish clean-up ending with a community barbecue outside the Village Shop at noon. Volunteers are asked to collect litter in designated areas for which they can register at the Village Meeting. Bin bags and litter grabs will be provided and all rubbish will be removed by the local authority.

 

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CHRISTMAS GREETINGS – AND A SPECIAL HAMBLEDONIAN 90th BIRTHDAY

Hambledon residents  turned out in large numbers at noon on Christmas Eve to join in the community singing of carols and seasonal songs outside the village shop.

A big thank-you goes to the organisers, the shop choir and to David Kirby and his musician friends for a wonderful and harmonious festive gathering.

The day before, Mic Coleman, who for so many years has been a stalwart of village activities, celebrated his 90th birthday. He and Sylvia had a busy day as friends dropped by to pass on their best wishes before a large family gathering later in the day. Mic has worked tirelessly for the village football and cricket teams, becoming president of both. He has been involved in the running of the village hall, the village fete and the produce show. He is also a former chairman of Hambledon Parish Council.

In 2012 he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honors “for services to sport and the community in Hambledon”. Mic has done so much for the good of the village and its residents and we all wish him the very best for the future.

And the Web Team sign off by sending its best wishes to all.