Mary Grove, deputy chair of Hambledon Parish Council, helps administer and maintain the various defibrillators available for public use in the village.

Having the knowledge of how to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) greatly increases the chances of someone surviving cardiac arrest. Mary has arranged for free training sessions on the evenings of November 2^nd and 9^th. Please consider taking part and help save lives. To register please contact Mary on 01483 415815 or email Sarah Stuckey at [email protected].

Mary also runs the village Community Speedwatch and campaigns on behalf of the council for speed restrictions.

New volunteers for the speedwatch are urgently required. This involves villagers being equipped with speed monitoring equipment to record the speed of vehicles driving through our village, which has a limit of 30mph in the centre and 40mph on the approaches. Speedwatch does not impose fines but offenders are sent a cautionary letter and evidence suggests that the existence of visible monitoring does encourage drivers to slow down.

The local group is at risk of folding unless new recruits can be found. Please contact Mary or Sarah using the contact details above.

Finally, many villagers are asking if a 20mph limit could be introduced in the centre of Hambledon and if you support this idea please sign a petition available at the village shop.

As you may have read in this month’s Parish Magazine, local MP Jeremy Hunt and his brother will be running the London Marathon on October 2nd to raise money for Sarcoma UK and the new Royal Surrey Cancer Centre.

Unfortunately the link given for the Just Giving page in the Parish Magazine article was incorrect. The correct link is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thehuntbrothers.

Hambledon residents paid their final communal respects in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II on the eve of her State Funeral, which took place amid great ceremony yesterday (Sept 19^th).

In fast fading light and with a dramatic sunset turning the western sky a deep purple, villagers gathered at the top of Church Lane to observe a Minute’s Silence on Sunday at 8pm.

A country-wide National Moment of Reflection has been announced by the Government and it will take place at 8pm this Sunday (September 18^th), the eve of HM The Queen’s State Funeral.

It will be observed by a one-minute silence. All are encouraged to participate to mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

This is a secular event not a religious ceremony. The Government’s website said it will be a communal gathering at a suitable location, either a meeting of friends or neighbours or at a locally-arranged event.

CPR  is a life-saving medical procedure which is given to someone who is in cardiac arrest and can double the chance of survival.  It is something almost anyone can do whilst waiting for a defibrillator or an ambulance to arrive.  

The village has now been offered the following dates for training sessions by local First Responders:   Wednesday 2nd November and/or Wednesday 9th November, during the evening (precise time to be confirmed).    The training is FREE – please contact Sarah Stuckey on [email protected] or Mary Grove on 01483 415815 to book your place.

The Hambledon Church Messy team are looking forward to welcoming everyone back and meeting new friends at Messy this Sunday – 4pm in the Village Hall. Each month this term will be about Jesus’s miracles, starting this Sunday with some of his GENEROUS miracles: water into wine and feeding the 5k. All welcome, including children!

For those that missed last Sunday’s church service for the Queen, the national anthem, a minute silence, prayers and appropriate hymns will be included at the 10am service at church again this week. The Hambledon church bell will be rung at 8pm to join in with the national tolling of church bells.

The State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will take place next Monday (September 19^th) at Westminster Abbey, beginning at 11am.

As a mark of respect Hambledon Village Shop will be closed and the Merry Harriers will not open until the early evening.

For shop customers who pre-order their newspapers, these can be collected from outside the shop in the cabinet from 8.30am.

The day of the funeral has been declared a national Bank Holiday.

At 8pm on the evening before (Sunday 18th) there will a minute’s silence at which the public are invited to “come together to observe a national moment…to mourn and reflect on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II”.

A small gathering of villagers took part in the tolling of the bell at St Peter’s Church at noon on Saturday, followed by a period of silence and then prayers in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Dudley Hilton, Derek Miller and Arthur Blackman are photographed (below) alongside Rev Simon Willetts shortly before the three of them shared in the ringing of the bell 96 times, one for each year of the Queen’s life.

The bell at St Peter’s, our village church, will toll at midday today as a mark of solemn respect following the passing of HM The Queen yesterday afternoon

It will toll 96 times, once for every year of the Queen’s life. She reigned as our Monarch for 70 years, the longest in British history. Cathedrals and churches around the country will all be tolling bells at this time in tribute, including Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s and at Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace has announced that Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully this afternoon at her Balmoral residence.

The National Trust has announced that Oakhurst Cottage, the preserved 16th Century farm labourer’s cottage on the lower corner of Cricket Green, will be closed for the rest of the year with immediate effect.

Hambledon villagers have played a vital role in keeping the little timber-framed cottage open to the public by volunteering as guides to show pre-booked visitors around the house and cottage garden. Inside it fittings and furnishings reflect how a simple land-workers cottage would have looked in the mid-19th Century.

It is one of the NT’s smallest properties and is a popular and unique attraction. However, recently NT staff discovered cracks caused by subsidence and investigatory work has been undertaken. It was considered safe to remain open while an engineers’ report was prepared. It is thought that underpinning is required.

It was due to be open on Thursdays and on Heritage Days later this month, with free entry and no booking required. It was hoped that more volunteers would be recruited to enable the cottage to remain open to booked visitors into October, so it is disappointing that it has been closed at short notice. The NT states the closure is because of “emergency works”.

Hambledon Parish Council and villagers involved in volunteering will be seeking further information and reassurances concerning its future from the National Trust.

For more information please visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/oakhurst-cottage

A lorry – possibly taking a diversion due to the road closure referred to in the previous news item – has caused extensive damage as it passed through the village this lunchtime (Tues Sept 6th), ripping down phone lines and tree branches and leaving a trail of debris behind.

The lorry photographed below was seen driving through the village at this time and a resident caught it on camera, apparently colliding with branches and overhead cables.

Hambledon’s Ward county councillor Kevin Deanus has sent the following to the village community Facebook board relating to the current road closure at Lane End to allow for emergency water main repairs.

Kevin regularly updates us with pre-planned road works and, when notified, of emergency works as well. The Facebook link to the community board can be found on this website and it is worth checking in with it for latest news concerning our village.

Thank you to Kevin, and his posting is repeated here:

There is special service taking place at Hambledon Church this coming Sunday evening (4^th September) at 6pm.  “Hymns and Pimm’s” is a little like Songs of Praise, but with the added incentive of a glass of Pimm’s before it all starts!  On arrival, the congregation get to nominate their favourite hymn – then enjoy the (free) Pimm’s and sit down and listen out to see if your personal favourite hymn makes the shortlist to be sung during the service.  The Pimm’s will start flowing at 6pm on Sunday with the service starting soon after; further details can be found on the attached flyer.  All welcome, this service is for everyone whether you’re a regular at church or not – just come along and enjoy singing some of the best-loved hymns you’ll remember from your childhood. 

Please note Hymns and Pimm’s replaces the 10am Morning Service on 4th September.  The single morning service at 10am resumes 11 Sep – less the Pimm’s, but with tea and coffee after.  Messy Church in the Village Hall is back on 18 Sep at 4pm.