Organisations

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New Manager Appointed For Hambledon Village Shop

A new manager has been appointed to take over the running of Hambledon’s community shop and post office.

She is Jo Jazeel, and she may be familiar to villagers because she has been running the farm shop operating at the Winterton Arms in neighbouring Chiddingfold since April of last year.

Jo will start on Monday (Feb 17) and will work a 26-hour week, continuing to operate the farm shop as well.

She has useful experience in the retail trade.  In addition to her successful venture at the Winterton Arms, she worked as a temporary sales assistant at Kirdford Community Stores between September 2012 and March 2013. Before that she was an account manager for a retail and supply company and a general manager for a book store. Her various roles included staff management, buying, marketing and distribution.

She also worked as a self-employed dog walker for 30 local clients when her daughter Annie-May, who is now 10, was younger. They live in Chiddingfold.

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Her appointment, which has been made in consultation with exisiting part-time shop managers and staff, results from a decision by Hambledon Village Shop Ltd, the company which operates the business, to appoint a single manager.

Of the previous managers, known as the “Three A’s”, Amanda Wright is reducing her hours to two mornings a week, Alison Wilson will continue with the same hours as before, and Alan Brien will leave after a gradual hand-over of his Post Office duties. Jo will have all managerial responsibility.

Of the part-time staff, Michelle, Cyril Netley and Helena Hockridge will continue as before, subject to any reorganisation of working arrangements that Jo may deem appropriate.

Volunteers will continue to be an integral part of the shop operation and have been informed of the changes.

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Milford Hospital Unveils Plaque – Galton & Simpson

June 1st saw a significant event for the history of Milford Hospital.  Two former patients returned to see a plague unveiled to mark their meeting in 1948.  Ray Galton & Alan Simpson met as 19 year olds suffering from TB.  They stayed for many years receiving treatment – but their time was well spent.  The started to write comedy sketches together, which were performed on the rudimentary hospital radio service.     They went on to become the foremost comedy scriptwriters – creating Hancock and Steptoe and Sons, and a huge catalogue of shows over the following decades.    The plaque was unveiled by their friend and performer Paul Merton.

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I had the privilege to meet the guys a few years ago, as part of my research for the Milford Hospital History Website.   They described to me in detail their years at Milford, and most interestingly, the location of the original laundry cupboard in which they built their radio studio – arguably the “Birthplace of the British Sit-Com.

You can find the story here.

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Continue reading →

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See the HCF Video & Presentation

WRITTEN BY KATHERINE EVANS

Last week, the HCF were asked to be guest speakers at the annual Parish Council meeting and we had the pleasure of rounding the evening off with a presentation and video update about our progress and latest news.

Hats off and many thanks to the talented Llewelyn family who put the whole thing together. James Llewelyn took time out from his busy A-level study schedule, to film local stars and numerous Hambledon sites. He then produced a superb Hambledon montage for all to enjoy!  His equally talented sister, Tash Llewelyn, helped create a wonderfully informative presentation for proud Mum, Julie Llewelyn to deliver to the audience.

To see the presentation and watch the wonderful video footage, please follow the following link – it may take a few minutes to download because it contains some large graphics and video clips (the video footage comes at the end of the presentation slides), but it’s well worth the wait!

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June 8th – 'A Night at the Opera'

Night at the Opera Poster‘A Night at the Opera’ , an HCF fund-raising event, will be held on the evening of June 8th and promises to be a really special night!

Gather your friends and family and come and enjoy some of the most famous Opera arias and West End musical hits, sung live in beautiful Hambledon gardens on Feathercombe Lane.

Tickets are on sale now in the village shop and selling fast – don’t miss out!

 

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Philip Underwood's Butterfly Supper – a wonderfully informative event!

HCF Butterflies - PU with audience - size adjustedWe wish to thank Philip profusely for treating us to such a splendid evening.

The proceedings got off to a super start with Philip’s generous supply of local sparkling cider, flowing freely with the pre-talk nibbles! Philip then shared his in-depth knowledge with an audience of nearly 50 people – delivering his light-hearted, yet extremely informative speech with alacrity, being the seasoned and expert speaker that he is. We learned of butterflies both near and far, of the history of butterfly collection, and of works in the Chiddingfold Forest to conserve local woodland species.

We all certainly now know how to recognise our Skippers from our Swallowtails, and left the village hall feeling not only more knowledgeable, but well sated, after a hearty meal of Julie’s delicious lamb shank shepherd’s pie!

With ticket sales and donations, the evening raised £750 for the Hambledon Community Fund. When matched by 50% under the government’s current charity scheme, this means that £1125 was put
into the HCF account, ready to be fed back into the community where it is needed.

Congratulations and thanks again to Philip for such a special evening. Our thanks must also go to Jon Tidmarsh for beavering away with chairs and trestle tables as we set-up and dismantled the hall after the event. The jovial audience who gave us their support also deserve a special mention – may you all have a wonderful spring, spotting (and identifying!) beautiful butterflies, with your newly learned skills as amature lepidopterists!HCF Butterflies - PU - size adjusted

 

 

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HCF reaches £100,000 target!

Generous Hambledonians help us reach our initial target of £100,000!

Hambledonians were certainly in good spirits over the festive season and responded generously to our fund-raising pleas by raising over £35,000 in one month!

A huge thank you to those who helped us raise such large amounts – donations of all sizes were made by many, and together you made it possible for us to reach this first target.  Hambledon now has a sizeable nest egg and permanent, sustainable supply of dividends for grant-making.  This should go a long way to help us continue to support its many groups and residents, both now and in the future.

How you did it!

You may remember that in our last magazine article, we announced the start of an exciting new government scheme called the Community First Programme. This programme allows any donation to local, permanent funds like the HCF, to be government matched with a further 50% of funding.  In addition, we had an offer from an extremely generous, anonymous donor, to match (like-for-like), the first £8,000 worth of any donations received whilst the Community First matching programme was in effect – for us, this is until the end of June 2013.  On top of all that, the usual Gift Aid would give us a further 25% of any pre-matched amount.

It was therefore an extremely good time to donate. Locals responded rapidly with donations of around £12,000 and this grew quickly (when matched, and matched again), in to the £30k+ we needed to reach our first target.

Thank you to everyone for all your support. For your donations, your purchase of second-hand books and HCF merchandise, and your attendance at HCF fund-raising events. It all helps. Together we will work to keep Hambledon and its community strong and in good shape!  

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Surviving Winter Campaign

Following a successful appeal last year, the nation-wide Surviving Winter 2012 Scheme, of which HCF was a part, has now launched again to support older and more vulnerable people through the winter months.

Thanks to your kind donations last year, and this, we now have funds ring-fenced within the HCF to support the elderly and more vulnerable people within our community.  Indeed an individual grant to help with the purchase of fuel has recently been made.

If you receive your winter fuel cheque from the government this year and are fortunate enough to be able to offer it to the Surviving Winter scheme, please follow directions on our  ways to donate page.

Equally, if your group supports older or vulnerable people within the village and you require funding, or you know of any individual in need of support, please contact us.  We act in confidence and grants of this kind are not publicised.

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Hamblerock III

February 2nd 2013 – HambleRock III – a resounding success!

Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 13.39.43Roger Matthews and his band, One Night Stand, raised the roof for the HCF last night in Hambledon Village Hall!

Roger and his team kindly offered to raise funds for the Hambledon Community Fund * by organising a rock and roll night in aid of the local charity. The incredible band played hit after hit and had rockers and rollers from near and far, grooving the night away on the dance floor!

Julie and Kath from the HCF would like to say a huge thank you to Roger, his band and their helpers for treating us to such a special night. Thanks must also go to the fun-loving crowd who bought tickets and helped  to make it such a success. All proceeds from ticket and bar sales are being donated to the fund and we can assure everyone that money raised will be put to good use within the community.

A special mention must also be made to Alison Martin, the Blackmans, Millers and Vickerys for all of their help with the organisation of HambleRock III. They beavered away tirelessly in the background; planning, setting up, feeding the masses and then tidying away at midnight after a hard night on the dance floor! They have amazing energy and wonderful community spirit!

We are now looking forward to two other HCF fund-raising events which are being organised by other fellow  Hambledonians, generous with their time. Details of the Conservation Supper in March and the Garden Party in June are to follow – keep an eye out in the Parish Mag, on the website, and in the shop for details!

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Village Shop Celebrates 20 Years as a Community-run Venture

Hambledon Village Shop and Post Office has reached the significant milestone of 20 years since it was reopened as a community-run business.

A celebratory party was held in the village hall on Friday (Nov 16) attended by many of those involved in setting up the shop two decades ago together with the current management team and volunteers.

Virginia Bottomley, who as local MP was asked to reopen the shop in 1992, returned to the village to toast its continued success, paying particular tribute to the villagers whose vision, hard work and generosity got got the shop reopened and the many volunteers who have kept it going since.

“If Britain is a nation of shop keepers then Hambledon is a village of shopkeepers,” she said.

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Hambledon has had a village shop since at least 1850. It closed in March 1991 as, like so many other small shops, it lost out to supermarkets. It was a grievous loss to a rural community like Hambledon and older people in particular missed the convenience of a general provisions store and Post Office.

Two things happened that were to galvanise a team of villagers to take matters into their own hands. The Rev Christopher Blissard-Barnes, then vicar of St Peter’s Church, preached a sermon on the value of community spirit, saying that it would be wonderful if the shop could be reopened.

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£99,999 Grant For Hambledon FC Clubhouse

A grant of £99,999 from the Football Foundation means that Hambledon Football Club will be able to start work on its much-needed new pavilion and changing rooms at its Badger Park ground in the New Year.

The award of the grant has been greeted with delight by The Dons as it makes the long-awaited new facilities a reality rather than an aspiration. Planning permission has already been obtained but work could not start until significant funding was obtained on top of that already raised.

The grant, made by the Foundation under its “Grow The Game” fund, means that the club has a good chance of having the new club house ready for the 2013-14 season.

Matt Kiley, club secretary and first team player, said: “This money, along with grants already awarded from Waverley Borough Council, Surrey Community Fund and the Surrey Playing Fields Association, together with the club’s own fund raising efforts, enables us to put our building plans into place. Exciting times area ahead for the club.”

However, fund raising will continue as another £10,000 is still needed.

Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: “I commend Hambledon FC and the Surrey FA for working tirelessly to secure this funding and I look forward to seeing the end result in the near future.

Hambledon FC will be presented with its grant cheque at a ceremony attended by club members, the Football Foundation, Waverley Borough and Hambledon Parish councillors and local MP Jeremy Hunt.

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Repaint for Village Shop Phone Box

The red phone box outside Hambledon Post Office and stores has been given a repaint by BT, with the Crown picked out in gold in this Queen’s Jubilee and London Olympic year.

The kiosk, which is of the iconic K6 design, was given listed status by English Heritage in October 2010. Recently the paint had peeled and faded and the parish council requested a repaint, which was carried out two weeks ago. The interior has also been repainted.

BT had proposed removing the kiosk three years ago because the number of calls made from it had declined with the widespread use of mobile phones, but this was resisted by the council and others. The parish council asked English Heritage if would consider listing it and an inspection was carried out.

The kiosk is of the classic design by Giles Gilbert Scott and was first introduced in 1935 on the occasion of King George V’s Silver Jubilee. English Heritage concluded that the Hambledon box, situated in a picturesque landscape next to a pond and post office, within a conservation area and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, “contributes to the exceptional rural setting in which it stands”. It was given Grade II listed status.

It now looks splendid with its fresh coat of paint.  Although the box cannot now be removed, BT may remove the phone apparatus, subject to further consultation, sometime in the future. So please pop in and use it. It makes a pleasant change from a mobile phone. But remember: you will have to buy a phone card from the village Post Office as the kiosk no longer accepts coins.alt

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Hambledon selected for National Archive Project

altAt the start of the year Surrey History Centre chose our website as one of three Surrey websites to be part of a new archiving project in association with the National Archives.  I am pleased to say that the project is now completed.   This is a super feather in the cap for Hambledon.

A page on their website gives further details and also includes a link to the archived version of the Hambledon Village site.   More information is also available on the National Archives website. 

http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/recreation-heritage-and-culture/archives-and-history/surrey-history-centre/surrey-website-archiving 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/web-archiving-pilot.htm

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Walk the Village To Raise Money For Community Fund

Image The Hambledon Village Community Fund is organising a “Hamble Ramble” to raise funds for its work in supporting the needs of the community.  The walk around the village, taking in places of historical interest, will start at 2.30pm on Sunday June 12th, beginning and ending at Hydon End, Feathercombe Lane.

 

Tea and Pimms will be served at the end. There is a Garden Ramble for those who do not wish to take part in the village walk, suitable for the very young and the very senior. And a quiz will be held for those who would like to test their knowledge.

Entrance is £5 per person. If you enter as a team of five or more the fee will be capped at £25.

The Hambledon Village Community Fund (HCF) is a local initiative to benefit local projects. It is a charitable fund to which people can make donations or leave a legacy and has been set up with the support of the Community Foundation for Surrey.

Once a capital fund has been established, the HCF can award funding from the interest it has gained to local projects; approximately £6,000 a year in perpetuity.

More details on the fund can be found in an earlier news items on this website.

The Hambledon Ramble is an opportunity for villagers to show support for the work of the fund and enjoy a gentle walk in company at the same time.

Tickets are available at the Village Shop or directly from Julie Llewelyn at [email protected] and can also be purchased on the day at Hydon End, which can be found about half way up Feathercombe Lane on the right-hand side.

Please arrive at 2pm so that the walk can start promptly at 2.30pm.

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HAMBLEDON HERITAGE LIVE!

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The Hambledon Heritage Society is developing a series of guided walks encouraging the exploration and understanding of Hambledon and its historic landscapes.

The first in this series will follow the footpaths and bridleways through part of the Hurst. This guided walk will enable us to become aware of layers of geological and archaeological time and discover the history revealed in the landscape.

Join us on Sunday  26th June at 11:00am. We will meet at the entrance to the disused Nutbourne brickworks. The walk will take circa 2.0 hours with pauses for observations, briefings & questions.

A small, minimum donation of £2.00 per adult is requested but children will be free as part of the Society’s philosophy of encouraging our younger villagers to better understand, enjoy and become enthusiastic about,  OUR  VILLAGE HERITAGE.

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English Heritage "Lists" Village Phone Box

ImageThe traditional red phone kiosk outside Hambledon Village Shop has been given a Grade II listing by English Heritage on the grounds of its architectural and historical significance.  The listing gives the box protection from removal at a time when British Telecom is reducing the number of public phone kiosks across the country.

 

In 2008 Stewart Payne asked English Heritage to consider listing the kiosk on behalf of Hambledon Parish Council, giving reasons why the kiosk should be protected.

English Heritage informed him this week that its criteria had been fulfilled and BT and Waverley Borough Council would be informed of its listing. Continue reading →