Jubilee joy - Hinxworth and Edworth Village Website

July 2012 for Caldecote, Edworth, Hinxworth and Newnham No.130 

Sign up for better broadband 

I have received the following update from Jennifer Williams on May 

31st, unfortunately too late for inclusion in the June Edition of the 

Village Voice. 

register at www.superfastforherts.org 

‘I am pleased to say HCC’s superfast broadband project website is now 

up and running at www.superfastforherts.org so you can register your 

interest in superfast broadband and start to spread the word. The website 

will be officially ‘launched’ on 18 June when press releases will be sent 

out to local papers and an article will appear on the front page of HCC’s 

website www.hertsdirect.org. ‘ A PDF poster will be available for you to 

download from the website which can be placed in your front window 

and on community and work notice boards.’ 

So everyone please get on line as soon as possible! I’ll update you all 

as and when there is further information available. 

Wendy Kitchener Clerk to the Parish Council 

Fast broadband NOW 

When moving to Hinxworth from Letchworth I was aware that 

swapping our Virgin Media 50Mbps cable connection to the information 

superhighway, with the ADSL service on offer in the village, was 

going to be a shock to the system. Ambling along at 955KB at best is 

more like a drunken wander around the information slow lane; start 

stop YouTube and BBC iPlayer videos, together with the excitement of 

watching web pages develop like prints in an old fashioned darkroom, 

all contribute to the frustration. 

Why wait? 

There is a solution available now, and that is Satellite Broadband. If you 

have considered this before and dismissed it, do take another look, the 

price has come down since I first investigated it prior to our move. The 

bottom line is that the start up cost is now £119.00 (self install). This 

buys the equipment and covers the first months subscription of £24.99. 

This is for a 6Mbps download and 1Mbps upload speed. The current 

weekly quota of this tariff is 8GB, if you require more there are other 

packages at higher prices (exceeding the quota leads to the company 

throttling back speeds until the next subscription period). 

What is the catch? 

For the average user, browsing the web, emailing, watching BBC iPlayer 

and YouTube videos it would appear there are none. However, it must 

be noted that the time it takes to send a signal from your computer to 

the satellite in the sky can frustrate online gamers. 

There are plenty of details about satellite broadband on the web. I 

have been looking at www.bentley-walker.com/tooway/. I have no association 

with any satellite broadband company but I thought it worth 

investigating further, a space age service, that will get us back on the 

“faster” lanes of the information superhighway. 

Colin Bone 

Party in the Park cancelled 

I am sorry to have to say that this event has been cancelled due to lack 

of interest. Sorry to disappoint those who were looking forward to it. 

Sylvia Scales 

Don’t miss copy deadline 

Please send all copy and pictures for August’sVillage Voice to Annie Cullen, 1 Christy’s 

Yard Hinxworth, Herts. SG7 5EH. villagevoice3@gmail.com by July 20th. Village 

Voice, published by Forbes Services Ltd, can be read at www.hinxworth.info 

Jubilee joy 

more Jubilee pictures inside 

Farrowby Farm Tea Party July 1st 

Come and join in the “Great Big Blooming Tea Party”. Farrowby 

Farm is holding the tea party as part of a nationwide event to raise funds 

for MarieCurie Nurses. It takes place on Sunday the 1st of July from 

2:30 - 4:30pm. Enjoy tea and cakes, a raffle, tractor rides and animal 

cuddling. All are welcome to join in including well behaved four legged 

friends on their leads. All donations received on the day will be much 

appreciated. More information about the charity can be found at www. 

mariecurie.org.uk/ 

Ashwell Summer Dance 

Saturday 7th July 2012 in St Mary’s Church, Ashwell from 7.30pm 

until midnight. Live Music, DJ, Pimms on arrival, Bar and Canapés. 

Dress to impress. Tickets £15 from Rhubarb & Mustard, Ashwell. 

Caldecote Fuchsia Festival 

The Beds and Herts Fuchsia Society will hold a Fuchsia Festival on 

Saturday-Sunday 14th - 15th July, 10am – 4pm at St Mary Magdalene 

Church, Caldecote. Admission is free and refreshments will be available. 

Johannes Brahms “Ein Deutsches Requiem” 

This major work, newly arranged by Iain Farrington for chamber ensemble 

and piano, will be performed in St Mary’s Church, Ashwell at 7.30 pm on 

Saturday July 14th. Louise Alder, Stuart Young and the Goldfield Ensemble, 

will be conducted by Stephen Bullamore. There will be a Cava and canapé 

reception before the performance. Tickets £17, £15 concessions, £12 for 

those in full time education, from 01462 433393 and Ashwell Post Office. 

Hinxworth Concert for Amnesty 

Tim Ridout - viola, Simon Marlow - piano will play works by Bach 

and York Bowen and The Temple Jazz Trio with Lucy Woodward will 

play jazz standards and works by Tom Marlow at this concert for Amnesty 

International on Sunday July 15th at 3pm at Hill Cottage, Arnold’s 

Lane, Hinxworth. £10 donation, children free. Details 01462 742268. 

Get your tickets for the best lunch of all 

The Newnham Parish Lunch Party will be held at Newnham Hall Cottage 

on Sunday July 15th at 1 pm. Tickets adults £12, Children under 12 £4, available 

from Audrey Whalley on 01462 742517 and Sue Bain on 01462 742284.

Edworth Jubilee Party... 

pictures by Richard Floyd 

The majority of those living in Edworth arrived at the Manor for a Jubilee Garden Party on the 4th of June 

only to find it far too wet to be outside, so the contingency plan went into action and we all headed inside. 

There we found tea, cakes decorated with the Union Jacks, sandwiches and lots more besides, all made by the 

villagers. David proposed the toast to the Queen, with Queen Victoria looking on from a piece of bunting 

used for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. The rain held off long enough for a village photo to be taken outside the 

house. A good time was had by all despite the weather. 

Rosemary Smyth 

...Hinxworth’s Jubilee Lunch 

Around 85 villagers piled into the Three Horseshoes for the Big Jubilee 

Lunch on Sunday June 3rd. They brought all manner of delicious dishes 

to share with others, and despite the grim weather, everyone had a great 

time. Your editor spotted Andy Hartree taking photographs and asked 

if he would take some for Village Voice, we have printed just some of 

them above and on page one. We felt we couldn’t do justice to them, and 

those from Edworth without printing them in colour and Richard Floyd 

kindly agreed to print this edition. We are most grateful. 

Thanks too to Margaret and her amazing staff who made us, as usual, 

so welcome. Fund raising for the Alzheimers Society included a pot of 

gold, which will be filled in time for us to print the result before we go to 

press. Given the choice of shivering by the Thames or being in the Shoes, 

which I wasn’t, I know I was grateful to be in the latter. 

pictures by Andy Hartree 

WI renews seat 

On a damp evening, June 

14th, we met in the village hall 

to dedicate the new seat at the 

end of Francis Road, bought by 

the WI to replace the original 

seat which had fallen to bits. Mrs 

Jean Curl, one of our WI County 

Advisers and a long time friend 

of our WI had been invited to 

do the honours. We all trooped 

under our umbrellas to the seat. 

Mrs Curl dedicated the seat and 

read out the plaque stating that 

this seat was to commemorate 

the 75th Birthday of Hinxworth 

and Edworth Women’s Institute 

and also the Diamond Jubilee of 

her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

After tightening the screws on the 

plaque with a screw driver suitably 

embellished with red, white and 

blue ribbon she sat on the seat with 

the WI members around her. This 

was followed by tea, sandwiches 

and cake in the hall. 

royal catering 

Mrs Maggie Bedford, one of our 

members then gave us an interesting 

insight into her family’s catering 

business and the royal personages 

she and her firm have catered 

for over the years, the firm having 

been started by her husband Bob 

and herself in 1948. Then several 

of us who remembered the day 

of the coronation shared their 

memories. Every one who could 

remember it all agreed that it had 

been another extremely wet day. 

Danish Camp 

Next meeting: Garden Meeting, - 

The Danish Camp and Moat Tour 

at Willington. 7pm Thursday July 

12th- members £5 to be paid to 

Edna Keep before the 12th, Non 

members, husbands and partners 

welcome - £10.00 on the night. 

Carol Cheney 

Dates for your diary 

July 1st Tea Party Farrowby Farm, Hinxworth 2.30 - 4.30 pm see page 1 

July 5th Hinxworth Parish Council, Village Hall 7 pm 

July 6th Soup Lunch Hinxworth Village Hall 12.30 pm - 2 pm 

July 7th Summer Dance, St Mary’s Church, Ashwell 7.30 pm see page 1 

July 14th-15th Caldecote Church Fuchsia Festival, see page 1 

July 14th Brahms Deutsches Requiem, St Mary’s Church Ashwell 7.30 pm 

July 14th 2012 Masquerade Ball in Edworth Barn 

July 15th 11.30am Chamber Music Concert, Radwell Church, see this page 

July 15th Newnham Church Lunch, Newnham Hall Cottage 1 pm, see page 1 

July 15th Concert for Amnesty 3 pm Hill Cottage Hinxworth, see page 1 

July 20th Copy deadline for Village Voice 

July 25th Village outing to Norfolk, all places taken 

September 22nd Logan Diggle concert in St Nicholas Church see page 3 

November 17th Memphis Jazz Band concert in St Nicholas Church 

November 24th Village Supper Hinxworth Village Hall

CD recording at St Nicholas 

Musica Donum Dei, a 

period instrument ensemble 

has recorded a programme 

of music for Christmas to 

be available on cd later this 

year. The recording was 

made in St Nicholas Church, 

Hinxworth over three days 

in the middle of June. 

I asked ensemble member baroque violinist Julia Black from 

Biggleswade why the ensemble had chosen St Nicholas Church as a 

recording venue. “It has the ideal acoustic, it’s in an accessible place. It 

has two separate rooms, one for the recording equipment, and one into 

which we can retreat if it rains. The cd will be available at the end of 

November. There will be music by Pez, Manfredini, Torelli, Schiassi and 

Antonacci. Not well known names but they all wrote pastoral symphonies 

with movements depicting the shepherds with their flocks. There will 

be carols, some of them medieval, some accompanied some not, a solo 

harpsichord piece and some tunes published by Playford.” 

hear their hornpipe 

“The group was formed by people who had been to Nottingham University. 

The original five who formed the group are still members. I was 

the sixth, becoming a permanent member in 1991 as 

the then second violinist was becoming too busy with 

other work. We do summer and winter concerts, we 

play in churches, we accompany choirs such as the 

North Herts Guild of Singers.” You can find out 

more about Musica Donum Dei and hear a snatch 

of Purcell’s hornpipe from the Fairy Queen on their 

website at www.musicadonumdei.org 

Yet more music at St Nicholas 

One of the reasons for re-ordering the interior of St Nicholas Church was 

to make the space more flexible. Last winter’s concert by the Letchworth 

Community Choir was a great success. Since then two more concerts have 

been arranged, the first of these on Saturday September 22nd. This will 

feature local musicians, JJ Diggle - clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones, 

Lizzie Diggle – ‘cello, Sue Logan Diggle – keyboard, Simon Marlow – 

organ and keyboard and Andy Hartree - tenor. 

Beethoven to Bilk 

The programme will include classical, light classical and jazz items from 

composers as varied as Finzi, Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Charlie Parker, 

Gershwin, Brahms, Handel, Elgar and Acker Bilk. 

Lizzie Diggle will be 21 on the day after the concert and will have just 

begun her final year reading music and drama at Hull University. JJ Diggle, 

19, plays jazz at Ronnie Scott’s club in London and regularly in several local 

venues. Both he and Lizzie gained distinctions in all their grade eight exams, 

accompanied by our own Simon Marlow! Copies of JJ’s CD recordings will 

be available at the concert to help boost our funds. Andy Hartree and Simon 

Marlow will be known to those who come to Hinxworth’s Village Suppers. 

On November 17th Peter Chapman’s Memphis Jazz Band will play 

in St Nicholas Church. Tickets for both of these concerts will be available 

at the beginning of August. Make sure the dates are in your diary. 

pressing need for loos 

One of the great needs at Saint Nicholas is for a kitchen and toilet and 

washing up facilities. Members of Musica Donum Dei had to trek round 

to Norman Zirnis’s garage at Dewmead to use his loo. The next phase 

of improvements at St Nicholas will involve the provision of toilet and 

kitchen accommodation on the site, without disturbing our fine medieval 

building in any way. This will cost money, and while proceeds from 

the concerts will be applied to this end, I would be delighted to hear of 

bright ideas and offers of help for raising some few thousand pounds for 

this work from any reader. 

Patrick Forbes 

Hinxworth Parish Council 

Notes of a meeting held on June 7th in the Village Hall. Present: Mr 

L. Whitfield, Chairman; Mr D. Osmond. Mr E. Sore. Mrs W. Kitchener, 

Clerk. Apologies: Mr A. Cullen. Mr P. Watler. 

The minutes of May 3rd meeting were accepted as a correct record 

and signed by the Chairman. 

Finance: A copy of the annual accounts for 2011/2012 was passed 

to the Councillors. These have been audited by the internal auditor. The 

Councillors agreed unanimously to adopt the accounts. 

Planning: The Ground at the rear of the War Memorial: The licence 

for this parcel of land for the new owner of Mole End is now updated. 

Planning Application 11/01347/1 Land at the Rear of the Cottages High 

Street, Hinxworth, SG7 5HQ. (Amendments). Planning permission 

has been refused. 

Highways: New Inn Road and Francis Road: Potholes along New 

Inn Road and in Francis Road have yet to be repaired. Hedges New 

Inn Road: These have not been cut back.The Footpath from the High 

Street past Gate Cottage and to the rear of the Three Horseshoes: This 

area has become overgrown from the end of Gate Cottage garden to the 

back of The Three Horseshoes. Hertfordshire Highways will be notified 

of these three items. 

Village Hall: Hard Standing by the Plastic Refuse Container: The 

Parish Council has been advised they need to contact the Electricity 

Board to obtain the plans for cabling in the area before the work can be 

undertaken. Recreation Ground, The Tennis Court, Allotments: nothing 

to report. 

Any Other Business: Hinxworth Archers: A cheque for £300.00 

from Hinxworth Archers has been received by the Parish Council as a 

contribution towards their use of the recreation ground. 

Date of the Next Meeting: Thursday July 5th 2012 at 7.00 pm in the 

Village Hall. The meeting closed at 7.40 p.m. 

Wendy Kitchener, Clerk, Hinxworth Parish Council 

A right royal occasion 

We were thrilled, filled with a sense of the occasion during our visit 

to Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee picnic and 

concert. Over 9 million applied for only 10,000 places. Awestruck at 

representing Edworth at such a prestigious event, we were escorted to 

Constitution Hill. We waited just a few hours before starting the slow 

series of security checks and scans, before finding ourselves at the gates 

of Buck House, Wow! Showing our royal invitations, we were in and 

staring back at the gates from the inside. Once in the inner courtyard we 

were handed a big wicker basket containing our picnic. Then the magic 

began as we were ushered by palace staff into the palace. There we were, 

just yokels from Edworth. 

freezing lager or a glass of Moet 

Upon opening the hamper the first item found was a beautiful embossed 

wet weather poncho, just in case the weather was bad, which we unfolded 

and used as a picnic blanket. There was a voucher for a free drink either 

a pint of freezing cold lager or a large glass of the old Moet. I sorted 

through the contents of the hamper; coronation chicken, smoked salmon, 

cold “garden” soup, two large chunks of cheese, bread rolls, strawberry 

dessert, chocolate cake, lemon cake and even hand wipes, all bearing 

the Diamond Jubilee logo. We toasted Her Majesty, then ate our lunch. 

Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne walked amongst the 

people ensuring they spoke to as many people as possible. 

five rows in front of royalty 

Later we made our way to our seats, which were pre-allocated. Imagine 

our further surprise at finding we were five rows in front and to the left 

of the Royal box, with the stage being bang in front of us. We watched 

heads of state and other dignitaries arrive, followed by Prince Charles and 

the rest of his family. A short time after the concert started the Queen 

arrived and again we could see and hear everything. 

The Concert? Excellent and the crowning glory of what will be one 

of the most memorable memories we will cherish forever. 

Graham & Julie Drury,The Dells, Edworth

On the beat 

with PC 431 Paul Marina 

Mark your property 

I have always thought that it is a good idea to 

mark all property and in the past we constantly 

get major problems with identification. If stolen 

goods are recovered and they are marked up we 

can contact you directly and tell you we have found property. We can 

also then look at recent incidents of thefts which may, in due course, 

lead to arrests being made. 

If Police find a vehicle with items of metal etc on board, but the items 

are not marked, there is no proof of who they belong to or that they have 

been taken without consent. 

Property Identification 

• Note down the make, model and serial number of your property. 

• Take photographs of your property – it will benefit any investigation 

if that property is stolen. If items are small, photograph them next 

to a ruler to indicate scale. 

• Register your property for free on the Immobilise website – a free 

database used by police to help locate stolen property. To register items 

visit www.immobilise.com. 

• Plant can also be registered on the National Plant and Equipment 

Register at www.ter-europe.org. 

beware burglar alarm crooks 

There are some extremely good burglar alarm installers out there who 

provide a professional service at a reasonable price. However, there are 

also some unscrupulous companies who pray on people’s fear of crime 

to sell their products at extortionate prices. These companies usually 

use telephone ‘cold calling’ as a way of making contact. They will offer 

free surveys and even free alarms but, those taking up their offer, always 

end up with a very large and unwarranted bill. In order to further their 

credibility, reports suggest that they will say that they are crime reduction 

officers from the Police or allege that they are in some way working with 

the Police or the Home Office. 

Of course, when this is put to them they deny all knowledge of using 

these tactics. The problem is that when these incidents are investigated, it 

is their word against the customer’s. Any prosecution against them fails 

because there is no evidence. 

I am aware that many people now have answer phones with a speech 

record facility on them so that you can record a conversation even if you 

answer your phone. 

help us to thwart these villains 

What I would like you to do in an attempt to thwart these companies 

is………..if you receive and answer this type of call and you have the 

record facility I have mentioned, press your record button and keep 

the caller speaking about their product for as long as you can. Then, of 

course, refuse any offer they make. Legitimate companies won’t mind 

this because they have nothing to hide but you may be able to record 

false claims from unscrupulous companies that could be used in evidence 

against them. Then let me know so that we can listen to the conversation. 

These unscrupulous companies are tricking elderly and vulnerable 

Herts residents out of thousands of pounds every year. We must do all 

we can to stop them and we can do that with your help. 

contact us 

July’s surgery will be held in the Parish Room, Ashwell 10.30 am until 12 

pm on Saturday July 7th. Ring 101 if you have suffered a crime or need 

Police within a couple of hours. 999 for immediate response if you have 

just suffered a crime and for hare coursing. 

PC 431 Paul Marina. North Herts Rural. 

paul.marina@herts.pnn.police.uk 01438 757924 

chris.brabrook@herts.pnn.police.uk 01438 757935 

Amy.Pettitt@herts.pnn.police.uk 01438 757935 

Bedfordshire Police Contact 

For readers in Edworth, in emergency dial 999, otherwise ring 01234 841212, 

Bedfordshire Police HQ switchboard, manned around the clock. 

Church Services 

July 1st 10.15 am Family Service St Nicholas, Hinxworth 

July 8th 9.15 am Parish Eucharist St Nicholas, Hinxworth 


July 22nd 9.15 am Parish Eucharist St Nicholas, Hinxworth 

9.30am Holy Communion, St. Vincent, Newnham 


Soup Lunch 

July’s Soup Lunch will be on Friday 6th in Hinxworth Village Hall from 

12.30 pm until 2 pm. 

Laptop batteries 

I fully understand your readers’ laptop battery woes. The latest batteries 

are lithium Ion and of these Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) 

are the most efficient. They do not suffer the ‘memory effect’of Nickel 

Cadmium or Nickel Metal Hydride ones. Exhaustive information on 

this can be found at:http://batteryuniversity.com/ 

The best solution is next time you buy a computer get a Mac! Not 

only are their LiFePO4 batteries less than half the price of PC ones, this 

will immediately inure you to all Microsoft® based irritations! 

Dylan Mills 

Exercise class 

I am going to try to get a class for 

Wednesdays about 7pm from September 

in the village hall. Watch 

this space for further info but please 

also contact me on 01462 742505 

if you are interested. Thanks. 

Sylvia Scales 

Help needed 

Village Supper November 

24th. Entertainment is needed 

- please get in touch if you are 

willing to do a turn! We also need 

hostesses so if you would like to 

organise a table please let me know. 

Sylvia Scales 01462 742505. 

Thanks from Barry 

Barry Huber would like to say a big thank you to everyone for all 

their support and best wishes following his operation. 

Allotment stall raises £85 

picture by Simon Marlow 

Allotment holders in Hinxworth have seen their lovingly tended crops 

being eaten by rabbits and muntjacs. They decided to raise money to 

fence the whole site and set about raising money for the work. North 

Herts District Council made a generous grant of £365, Hinxworth Parish 

Council contributed £150 from forfeited deposits. Betty Thorn arranged 

for a charity stall to be used in Baldock market on June 13th and all 

manner of books, DVDs, bric a brac and other goods were donated, 

and after quite a slow morning the sum of £85 was raised. Look out for 

a sales table and a quiz evening at the Three Horseshoes. 

plots available 

There are still some plots for adults and children available. Contact 

Betty Thorn on 01462 742858. The committee is now designing machine 

gun nests to deal with the predatory birds!

Jubilee joy - Hinxworth and Edworth Village Website

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?