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EASTER SUNDAY REFLECTION

 
It’s Easter Sunday so the normal introduction to this week’s Reflections would be “Happy Easter”.
 
But these are unusual times and for far too many people there can be no happiness. We’ve thought for far too long that we were secure in our mastery of the world; but we’ve suddenly been made aware of the fact that nature remains well and truly beyond our control.
 
Last Sunday brought us the most perfect spring day – we all revelled in the warmth of the sunshine and the beauty of our surrounding countryside. But it also strengthened the worldwide presence of Covid-19 and took away from us one of the best-known and best-loved members of our community. Mary Caroe, pictured below, died peacefully at Mount Alvernia Hospital in the early hours of 5 April.
 
 
Neither Vann nor the village will be same without her. In sending our deepest sympathies to her family, all of us in Hambledon will be mourning an amazing lady.
 

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Hambledon Village Shop – Update Thursday 9th April

It’s amazing how quickly the unusual can become the norm. Just a few weeks ago we were welcoming all to the shop, for a natter, a coffee, a paper, a fishing license and even some to do a bit of shopping. Dogs got free biscuits; now we find ourselves occasionally barking at people to keep their distance as they approach the shop, for our safety and theirs. But we’re all adapting.

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Photo Competition!

Here is a challenge and maybe a slight relief from the lockdown – a photography competition. It is open to all Hambledonians, young or old. The photographic subject categories are broad but offer a creative challenge within the constraints of living in a lockdown world. So be creative and submit your best photographs to our competition.

For full details of the rules, how to submit and how to vote for your favourites, simply follow this link.

Lockdown needn’t be a constraint on your creativity.
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Bron’s recipes

Hambledon Shop’s very own Bron from the Deli (she’s so much more than that, but that’s where you are most likely to find her when the shop is open!) has cooked up some delicious recipes to make sure we ‘Eat the Rainbow’ during our time at home. 

Recipes below (and you can find all the ingredients in the shop!)

  1. Ratatouille bake 
  2. Harrisa tomato tarte tatin with feta
  3. Spaghetti, garlic, lemon, olive oil and chilli
  4. Baked Hasselback sweet potato jackets, rocket, feta and chilli flakes 
  5. Bangers and mash
  6. Flageolet stew with cod 
  7. Grilled haddock charred cabbage and peppercorns 

Find the full recipes here.

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Sunday Reflection

An early-flowering bluebell on Hydon’s Ball, caught on camera this week by Mary Grove. Many more will follow in the glades and woodlands in and around Hambledon in the next few weeks.

Now please read on…

When speaking to anyone (and yes, we still are – whether talking on the phone or shouting, at a social distance, of course, across the road or over the garden fence), the first comment is always “Isn’t the Shop doing a fantastic job!”.  What an understatement.  On any one day, up to 50 households, which is well over 10 per cent of Hambledon, are now taking advantage of the on-line delivery service.  This doesn’t just involve the volunteers who put the orders together and deliver them.  Suppliers that are still in business have to be sourced;  goods have to be taken in and categorised;  methods of remote payment (including from all of us shoppers) have had to be devised.  And, on top of all that and the many other behind-the-scenes tasks, there’s a detailed (and regularly up-dated) on-line Shop Product List on the website.  Does any other village have it so good?

Several villagers have responded to the challenge set by the web team to take our minds off lock-down.  Various videos have been posted during the past week, ranging from how not to waste food to a live quiz.  Plus a to-do list to remind us of the chores that need doing (and which most of us continue to put off).  

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Stir crazy? Need a family orientated distraction?

The Hambledon Village Hall Quizes have been stopped for the forseable future but there is a way to keep your quiz brain active. How about a live quiz? Nick Heath has started running live quizes from his home in Tooting and streaming them live on YouTube. Anyone can play along and there is no need to sign up to play. If you watch on the Youtube site there is an interactive chat function. It has become a 8pm ritual for families to virtually join Nick of a Wednesday evening. You can play along with this recording of his second Quiz from a few day’s back. Or Subscribe to his channel to be notified when his next live stream is scheduled.

If you like the thought of live quizzes then there is an idea to run a Hambledon Quiz Night in similar style. The plan would be to run it live on YouTube and invite Hambledon residents to form family teams and play along live. Or maybe we could also make it North Hambledon versus South Hambledon, with a Vann faction. After each round the family scores can be tabulated via the YouTube chat function. The winners would be crowned champions of the Parish. We could entitle it “Quiz of Thrones”. If you think this would be a good event and you could muster a team then do post a comment or send me an email and I’ll work on the logistics. Paul Osborne

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Help For Those Who Are Struggling

Waverley Borough Council can offer advice and assistance, including information about Winter Support Grants and links to other benefits. Please look at its Coronavirus Advice section here: https://www.waverley.gov.uk/coronavirus

Waverley Citizens Advice can also offer advice of employment, benefits, paying bills, housing issues and relationship breakdowns. Its office is closed under the new lock-down but its website has a full list of contact details for help by phone or email. https://waverleycab.org.uk/

The Godalming Foodbank can be found at St Mark’s Church Community Centre. Details are here: https://www.parishofgodalming.org.uk/our-church-of-st-marks/food-bank/

The Godalming and Villages Community Store can be found at https://godalming-tc.gov.uk/community-store/

The Rotary Clubs of Godalming have established a support fund, and it will consider applications from groups and individuals. For more information and an application form please see here: www.rotaryc19fund.org   

The Hambledon Community Fund, which operates under the umbrella of the Community Foundation for Surrey, will consider applications for help from within the village. Please see the following statement: 

“HCF is an endowment fund which villagers have generously donated to over the last decade and it generates funds which are used to support our community making the village a better place to live in. To date over £30,000 has been generated and given to village organisations including the shop, village hall, church, football club, cricket club, heritage society and festival association. The Covid 19 pandemic will have a big impact on many villagers and HCF is ready to help village organisations get through the coming months and also financially support the wonderful initiatives started to help those in need. HCF will now consider requests for core costs support for village organisations as well as supporting their specific projects. Grants are not huge but they can make a big difference in tricky times supporting the existing village organisations and wonderful new initiatives helping through the Covid 19 outbreak.  If you would like to discuss a possible grant or send a donation to HCF please do get in touch [email protected]”

Hambledon and Busbridge churches also operate a charity that exists to give financial support those in hardship. Please visit https://www.bhcgodalming.org/

Hambledon Parish Council administers a small fund received annually from the Henry Smith Charity. This may be of help. Please contact, in confidence, either the Parish Clerk [email protected]   
or 01428 683903; Mary Grove – [email protected] or 01483 415815, or Sean Sinnott [email protected] or 07767 481282  We will do our best to help.
 

Help and advice is available from Surrey County Council. Details of its Surrey Crisis Fund can be found here: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/people-and-community/surrey-crisis-fund

Or visit https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/ and insert the words I Need Help in the search bar.

The Community Foundation for Surrey launched a county-wide Coronavirus Response Fund at the start of the first lock-down and has kept it going ever since.

On application, the fund can be used to give financial assistance to Surrey charities and local voluntary groups as they face up to the demands and challenges relating to the Coronavirus pandemic.

More details can be found here: https://www.cfsurrey.org.uk/surreycoronavirusresponsefund/

 

 

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Hambledon on the BBC

The BBC show this painting, but where is this in Hambledon?
Ian Hislop presents

William Westmore, a National Trust Volunteer at Oakhurst Cottage, sent us this link to BBC iPlayer. It is a 2014 TV programme that features Hambledon (from around 4 minutes in) and it may be of interest to Hambledonians. The painting above is a wonderful illustration of a quieter time in our village… (well maybe not as quiet as it is now)

Click the box to go to BBC iPlayer:

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The To Do List – a resident view

The time has come, there is no getting away from it. All those jobs that you have been putting off, are too busy to do, forgot or plain just don’t want to do. At this time of ‘Self-Isolation’ you no longer have an excuse, so, hem that skirt that’s held up with staples, give the car a really deep clean, fix the curtain rail, de-moss the lawn, these are just some of those jobs that will take on a whole new level of satisfaction when they are done. I personally am quite looking forward to having time to teach my kids, I am not sure they agree, but maybe this is our window as parents to get to know our kids a little better, learn together, do ‘stuff’ together, answer and ask questions of them and ourselves. A chance to reconnect with them, the world around us and what it means to live in the wonderful place we do.

Gavin Clutterbuck

Editor’s note: If you have any comments on this article then please do click “Leave a comment” or post in the comment section at the bottom. If you have observations or insights on our current predicaments then how about putting pen to paper and forwarding to the webteam?