Winter Weather – Some Useful Advice and Emergency Numbers

Winter is with us – and with it the re-introduction of restrictive Covid-19 measures – so this is a good time to take the necessary precautions in case of severe weather, power cuts or any other disruption that could affect daily routines.

The medical science indicates that the virus benefits from colder weather, so an extended lock-down in the months ahead could be very different from the first, which started in the early spring and with good weather and lighter evenings.

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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. 

Winter Weather Advice and Emergency Contacts

This is a timely reminder that this website has a section containing advice and emergency contacts and this has been updated for the 2019/20 season.

This information can be found clicking the snowflake icon in the right hand column headed Winter Weather Advice or by clicking on this link. 

Here you will find practical precautionary measures and details of how to contact service providers such as electricity and water companies.

The village has a team of volunteers who will do their best to assist residents if in need, and their  contact details can be found on the above link.

Join The Hambledon Village Shop Choir

The Hambledon Village Shop Choir traditionally performs outside the shop on Christmas Eve and at the biennial Hambledon Midsummer Festival event on the Friday evening (the next being Friday 19th June 2020).

The choir is very relaxed and a great way to meet other villagers, new members are always welcome. In December there will be a couple of practice sessions. If you would like to join us please click here to send an email and you will be added to the choir email distribution list.

Celebrating 80 years of Citizens Advice…

Jane Woolley is responding to Citizens Advice’s challenge to walk 10 miles to celebrate its 80th birthday and she would like your support. Her last challenge was a half marathon to celebrate her 80th birthday, which raised over £3,000 for improvements to Hambledon Village Shop.  This one is for an equally worthwhile cause.

As a past Citizens Advice advisor, Jane is very aware of the huge range of practical advice and support which the charity can provide for people from every sector of the community. It covers a range of problems that most of us don’t realise exist – until, whatever our circumstances, we suddenly come face to face with them and don’t know where to turn for help.   That’s when Citizens Advice can make all the difference – either by pointing people in the right direction to help themselves or by putting them in touch with those who have the relevant professional expertise to provide the guidance that, hopefully, will lead to a successful resolution of the problem.

So please sponsor Jane. A pound a mile would be fantastic; anything more would be even better!  If you are lucky you will never be a beneficiary of your generosity but, if you aren’t, the fact that Citizens Advice is just around the corner could help you turn a potential disaster into a solvable problem.

You can donate on-line here , or you can put your contribution (either cash or a cheque, payable to Citizens Advice Waverley) in an envelope with the accompanying form and hand it in at the shop counter.

Thank you very much.

Training offered in Hambledon for use of life-saving defibrillators

Training in the use of defibrillators (AEDs) is being offered to residents following the installation of one inside the former telephone kiosk at the Hydestile Crossroads.

This takes the number of defibrillators in the village area to five; outside the village shop, on the exterior wall of the Merry Harriers, at St Peter’s Church, at Hambledon Football Club’s ground at Badger Park, and now at Hydestile.

Alison Martin, a Busbridge Parish councillor who helped arrange for the AED (automated external defibrillator) to be installed in the traditional red kiosk – which has also undergone renovation in the process – has arranged for a training session to be held in the meeting room at St Peter’s Church, Church Lane, Hambledon, on Saturday September 28th.

The training will be given by an expert from the London-based Barts City Life Saver organisation, a charity that teaches life saving skills and originated from St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The session begins at 11am with basic life saving training, then AED training at 2pm followed by baby and child resuscitation at 3pm. Participants can opt to attend the whole session, or part.

AED’s are used on people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest and, along with Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, can greatly increase survival rates.

Training will be free to the Hydestile volunteers on the Busbridge Parish Council-sponsored rota, but to all others there will be a nominal cost of £20 per person to cover the costs of the trainer travelling to and from London and a donation to the charity’s work.

Anyone in the village can register to attend. Please contact Alison Martin at email amtillies417@gmail.com or by phone on 01483 893619.

If you would like to know more about the work of the charity please visit www.bartscitylifesaver.org

 

 

Hambledon Village Shop End of Summer BBQ – Saturday 31st August 12:30pm to 3:30pm

Tickets now available on-line at hambledonfestival.co.uk or from the Shop.

There will be live music, a licensed bar serving Pimms, wine and beer and The Vann Lane Gin Bar. Tickets include BBQ food, wonderful salads and an ice cream or strawberries & cream dessert. Come along and enjoy the party while supporting the Shop at the same time.

Don’t forget to visit the Village Show before or after the BBQ!

£12.50 for adults
(Burger & hot dog plus salads and a glass of wine or soft drink and dessert)

£5 for children (under 18)
(Burger or hot dog plus salads and a soft drink and ice-cream)

Vegan food options will be available.

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).