lt I

t, I I I I I I

Chalgrave Social Diary. Porish Council meet in the Villoge Holl 7.30pm, lostTues of the month

. Plough fnn - Quiz nights evetY other Tuesdoy 9.00pm

Dominoes Tues & Thurs evenings. Queens Heod - Live entertoinment eve?Y Fridoy 7.30pm

Dorts Weds, Dominos Tues & Thurs evenngs. Book Club meetings - weekdoys - contoct Lindo Hodden

. Christmos Lights competition - judged over the 12 doys of Christmos

. Fother Christmqs visits the Porish 2l December

. New Yeors Eve porty ot the Memoriol Holl

. New Yeors Eve porty ot The Plough

. Murder Mystery - Morch, dote to be confirmed

. Swing Night ot the Memoriol Holl - 7 Februory 7.30pm

The Chalgrave New's team produce The Chalgrave News in good faith and do allwe ('an to ensure that no olfence is caused to any individual or

organisation. We ulso reserve the right not to publish articles andcontributions submitted to us if these do not comply w'ith our policy.

2

fancied a game of darts with my mate. He said, "Nearest the bull goes

first". He went "Baah" and I went "Moo" He said "You're closest"

went into a shop and I said, "Can someone sell me a kettle." The bloke

said "Kenwood" I said, "Where is he?"

told my girlfriend I had a job in a bowling alley. She said "Tenpin'/", I

said, "No, it's a permanent job."

was reading this book today, The History Of Glue, and I couldn't put itdown.

Auntie Agnes's Problem PagePersonal problems resolved with a smile

Once again I find myself having to issue an apologlt for yet another typesettingerror in the last edition of the Chalgrave News.

To Mrs X -- I am very sorry that you appear to have not realised that there wasan error in my reply to your problem, and I am extremely surprised that you wentahead with my advice as set out in the last issue.

You wrote to me asking how you could rekindle the excitement and love that youand your husband shared in the early days ofyour marrI replied that the French word for love is amour but u rtunately due to atyping error this was printed as armour.

My advice should have therefore read - Why not start by taking the imitative andbook a weekend in Paris? There can be no better place in the world to get yourhusband to show an interest in amour.

As soon qs you are both in Paris show him that you have nothing more on yourmind.for the weekend but amour.

ll'hy nol buy something special to remind you over the coming years of thiswonderful weekend that you both spent in Paris?

I was very pleased to learn that you took my advice and booked a holiday forboth of you in Paris but I thought that you would have realised I did not mean

for you both to spend all your time visiting museums looking at historical suitsof armour! I am glad to hear that you bought a reminder of your weekend inParis although I am not sure that I meant for you to purchase an extremelyexpensive fifteenth century suit of armour even if it was worn qt the Battle ofAgincourt. It was extremely -foolish of your husband to try the armour on justbefore you were due to fly home and becoming stuck and makingyou both miss your Jlight. I am sure you will find an ertsomewhere in the UK who can advise him how, to get out of thearmoltr before he is due back at work!!!

Well until our next issue dear readers...

35

J+[t S+rn*r

More News -fro* your CounQ CouncillorThe "Ml Widening Debate"?

Unfortunately, there is insufficient "Weaving Distance" between junction l2 and the

Service Station on a "3 lane Motorway", so the safety issues on the new "4 lane" version

are of greater concem. The proper solution should be to relocate the service station north

of Jl2, or remove Jl2. So I hope you can understand my concem with the Highways

Agency proposal to build an expensive three island enhanced Jl2 capable ofhandling

much higher levels of traffic. Further more it would be totally unacceptable to try to

disperse this extra traffrc through the winding horse roads in the conservation areas of the

surrounding historical villages Harlington, Toddington and Tebworth. To remove the

jgnction would cause much of the traffrc from the east of the junction to negotiate the

dangerously blind hill summit on the way to Fancot and then sharp blind bend in Chalton.

So, on your behalf, I have suggested to the HA ways of increasing the weaving distance -

based on moving the entrances and exits to the Service Station as far south possible. This

enables me to suggest a simple longer replacement bridge immediately south of the

present one with weaving distances that are still better than in the HA solution. To keep

ihe traffic down, I have also suggested that the junction could be restricted to traffic to and

from the South when junction I la comes on stream. What ever Jl2 solution emerges, I'massured that the road furniture and signs will be directing traffic to Jl la. I am hoping that

most residents will give this support - even if the HA refuse to implement it. I am

encouraged to hear that the changes that I wanted to Jl la (to allow traffrc from Luton and

the new house build access to the Ml) are in line with proposals from County, District and

Luton and Chalton and that these changes are likely to be accepted'

The'New Housing Debate"?

Lack of infrastructure has led to a critical level of Grid locking in Dunstable, resulting in a

substantially reduced shopping experience both from the selection of shops and the time

spent on the journey. Other business has been affected too resulting in local job loss. The

Govemment inspector's decision to allow substantial building on adjacent to the

gridlocked 45 sites, that used to provide mass employment, will make the situation even

*or.". The fifteen year delay in building the Dunstable Northern By-Pass and widening

the M I means that there should be no build north of this stricken town. The problem is

that if building in South Beds is seen to fall behind the Government set rate, there could

be a developer "free for all" which would be disashous. Strange to say, members of all

parties have said over a six year period that in South Beds, in the main, those who can

uffiora to buy work to the South and those who cannot need to be where the jobs are which

is mainly to the south of the Luton/Dunstable conurbation. I hope all agree that any build

before the Bypass is operational should be in this area, because even building east ofLeighton is still really north of Dunstable!

This is the position that I have taken, I hope it has support, but again we are faced with a

Government which has its own Agenda - which could be very different to ours.

Rhys Goodwin

34

EditorialWell here we are and Winter has finally arrived with avengeance. So it is time for another fun fact filled edition ofyour favourite magazine. The Chalgrave Games seem a distantmemory now but the organisers would still like to thank all thehelpers and participants for their time and enthusiasm. We at theChalgrave News did our bit helping to run the Pimms tent amongst other things.Printer problems continue to plague us at the Chalgrave News printing plant, but weshall persevere, mainly because we can't afford to buy a new one, does anyone havean industrial strength printer lying around or do you know where we can get one at avery good price?

We hope you cnjoy reading your local magazine and if there is something you thinkshould be investigated and reported about then you must let us know, we wouldwelcome your input. All coneqpondence can be posted in the Memorial Hall post box.There are always some events to look out for in the Parish and this next few monthsare no exception. There is the annual Christmas lights competition, another fabulousBoogie Night at the Memorial Hall, and there is rumoured to be a Murder Mysteryplanned for the New Year. So keep your eyes open and your ears pricked for moreinformation.

Did you notice the front cover? Just who is that funny looking old duffer with KenDodd? I believe Ken was accosted by him during a performance in Dunstable andcouldn't get rid of him until he had had his photograph taken brandishing theChalgrave News. Well done that man!!

I know it seems a long time ago but the Best Kept Front Garden Competition waswon this year by Arthur and Carol of Toddington Road for a truly beautiful display.This is not to say that others were not just as good but on the day that we wentinspecting the sun was shining and the scent coming from their garden was fabulous,so congratulations to them.Another well deserved award The Community Award was presented to Sue Leuty atthe games it was also awarded to Ray Willis but he was in the toilet at the time of thepresentation so we don't know if he ever got it.

Finally, as always we are looking for more sponsors for the Chalgrave News so ifyou would like to contribute then please speak to one of the editorial team (numbersin the blue bit)

And very finally if there is anyone out there who does not wish to receive TheChalgrave News for any reason then please let us know because it costs about f,2:50for each copy and we could save a considerable amount if we were to print less copies.

What s happened in Chalgrave since the Last Chalgrave News

f St Mory's Closed with the oword forPorish. The oword

wos presented ot the CholgroveGomes.

We hove o new vicor ot All SointsChurch. See poge 13

kly bin collections nowightly

Overheod Electricity cobles in

Wingfield renewed

Droinoge works in Wingfield tostop further f looding but Bill's sogo

continues

Formers hit by lote horvest due tothe roin during summer

Car fire - believed to be on

obondoned vehicle

Smoking bon hos been brought inresulting in both the Plough ond

HEALTHY EATINGFor those of you who watch what you

eat, here's the hnal word on nutrition and

health. It's a relief to know the truth afler

all those contlicting medical studies.

Here are the facts:The Japanese eat very little fat and sufferfewer heart attacks than the Australians,British or Americans.Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewerheart attacks than the Australians, Britishor Americans.Africans drink very little red wine and

Queens Heod hoving to creoteoutdoor smoking focilities. ThePlough's plonning opplicotion for o

top of the ronge gazebo forsmokers wos turned down. The

Queens Heod smokers gazeboruined by roin ond high wind

Footpoth opposite the Old Wood

Yord hos been renewed

Doytime house robbery in

Tebworth resulting in elderlyhouseholder hoving to spend thenight in hospitol.

Successful seoson for the cricketteom who just miss out on winningtheleague title but toke the tO/tOcup competition

Fother Christmos visits Tebworthon Fridoy ?l December

suffer fewer heart attacks than theAustralians. British or Americans.

ltalians drink large arrrounts of red wineand suft-er fewer heart attacks than the

Australians. British or A,nfcans.Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots

of sausages and fats and suff'er fewerheart attacks than the Australians, Britishor Anrericans.

Conc[sion - eat and drink what you like.

Speakrng English is apparently wlrat kills you!

ChalgraveChurch

Welcome from All Saints Parish ChurchServices and special events at All Saints.

First and third Sundays of the month - 9.30am Parish CommunionSunday - Family Service llam

(For people of all ages, lasting about 35mins)liourth Sunday Farnily C]ommunion Ilam

The Christmas calendar is as follows:-

Saturday 16th Dec Carols by Candletight 19.30hrsSunday 23rd Dec Crib Services 15.00hrs

Monday 24th Dec Midnight 23.45hrs

No service at Chalgrave on Christmas morningJoint service with Toddington at St. Georges 10.30hrs

and no service on Sunday 30th Dec.Benefice service at St. Georges 9.30hrs

News From All Saints ChurchI am pleased to report that Anne crawford has been appointed as the new

Rector of the Benefice of Toddington and Chalgrave. Anne joins us from All SaintsLeighton Buzzard and her induction will be on wednesday 30th January.Anne is Married to Allan, a civil servant, and they have three daughters:

Rebecca who is 22 and works for a firm of loss adjusters in London;Helen who is l9 and at Portsmouth Univeristy studying psychology;

and Sophie who is 14 and at school in Harpenden.Prior to entering the Ministry Anne has worked for the library service

and in retail with Marks and Spencers and Waitrose.

Anne is looking forward to joining us and meeting people andI am sure you will join me in welcoming her to the Benefice

Everyone is sure to receive a btarm welcome

4

BOATFIRE I,{IGHT 2OO7Many of us in the

Parish celebrated

Bonfire night on

Saturday 3 Novemberwith the now famous

and free firework partyin the garden of The

Queens Head. In the

weeks leading up to the

event Paul "Slasher"Whitton and his gallant

band cleared huge

amounts ofundergrowth and

prepared the garden and Ron "Burger" Harris had the whole family involved in the

preparation of the B-B-Q and refreshments in general, so that on the night all we

had to do was turn up and enjoy what was a magnificent display of pyrotechnic skill

by the two shadowY figures in the

background.

Colin was seen to be mingling with the

crowd which must have numbered at

least 150 and he swears that the large

amount of complaints about bottom

pinching had nothing to do with him!

There was a voluntary firework fund

bucket passed round during the display

and although I don't know how much

was donated, Colin would like to thank

all of you who were kind enough to part

with your hard earned cash. We in turn

would like to thank Colin for the use ofhis garden for what is now an annual

event to look forward to.

Luton f oofuqll Club proposed New stadium

The saga that is Luton Town's proposed new stadium is about to have anotherconfusing turn with the announcement in early July made by Luton Airport's parentcompany TBI, that they have now dropped all plans to build a new runway nearJunction 10 of the Ml.

Just in case anyone is not aware of the background to all this - some years ago LutonTown Football Club found themselves in dire financial problems and to resolve thesethey came to an arrangement to sell their ground to Luton Council, who wanted to usethe site to build new houses. Luton Town were given a time scale to find themselvesa site on which to build a new stadium and after much delay eventually bought 55acres of land near junction l0 of the M I . However this brought with it considerableopposition from local villages and also government departments, who feared that thealready congested Ml would not be able to cope with the increased levels of traffic thenew stadium would generate. When Luton Airport then announced their own plans tobuild a new runway in this area there was no chance of Luton Town being allowed tobuild on this site. Some years later an opportunity arose to build the stadium on landowned by a former director of the football club near junction 12. The new stadiumwould sit around 25000 spectators and nearby were to be training pitches as well assome form of commercial development such as factories. Many Luton Town footballfans were unhappy with these new proposals as they felt that the junction 12 optionwould take the new stadium outside of Luton and so the football club could lose itsidentity with the town it represents. There is also a great deal of opposition to this planfrom local villages such as Toddington and Harlington who might be affected by thisdevelopment and if the proposals went ahead this would be a loss of green belt land.

With Luton Airports recent announcement there should now be no reason why the newstadium cannot revert back to its original site atjunction 10, especially as themotorway widening works are coming to an end south of that junction. we awaitfurther developments.

IWhat is known is that Luton Council wants to start building new houses on LutonTown's existing stadium site as soon as possible.

Latest news - Luton Town have now been placed in administration!

5

Ml WdeninsThe existing Ml widening work continues and is expected to be finished towards the

end of next year. An interesting report appeared in the Observer newspaper a short

time ago stating that new government figures detailing the revised costs of the Mlwidening scheme have now increased substantially to L2l million per mile. However

another article by an environmental pressure group have stated that according to their

interpretation of the government figures the actual cost per mile has risen to

f43 million!

The next stage in the Ml road-widening scheme will be to widen the motorway to

4 lanes north and south between junctions ll, 12 and I 3. This is a total of I 5 miles,

which should take around 3 years to complete with an anticipated start date towards

the end ofnext year.

It is also planned that the construction workers and plant and equipment etc. will be

sited at junction l2 during the road works.

Did you know that there is a proposal to relocate the junction 12 motorway access

bridge l60m north of its present site and to build a smaller bridge for cyclists and

pedestrians in place of the existing junction l2 bridge?

This information together with other interesting details of the project is contained

in a report dated I2 June 2007 to be found on the District Councilb website site at

www.southbeds.gov.uk

Dunstable l{orthern BypassNothing more to report at the moment to add to the information already given in our

previous issues. It does seem that the construction of the bypass is still some years

away.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS COMPETITIONOnce again it is the time of year for us atl to beautify our houses to

cetebrate the festive period and as usual this years competition witt befiercely fought over by the usual few peopte who bother to make the effort

and pu.on a disptay that is both attention getting and uninhibited.So what are you going to do about it?

Are you just going to let them win again without a fight or are yougoing to make a stand and say 'ENOUGH"

It's about time someone etse got the gtory! lt's up to you.

Dis traction B urglaries .

Any crime that targets the elderly is particularly reprehensible.In the past rural areas such as Chalgrave have been targets fordistraction burglars.These offences has many guises, the most common being whenan offender pretends to be from the waterboard or other officialagency and uses this bogus authority to gain access to thevictim's home. However distraction burglars have a range of excuses ranging fromneeding a glass of water to looking for a lost dog and as the intended victim is elderlyand vulnerable they can come across as being very believable.These burglars rarely work alone and will have several accomplices searching thehouse whilst they distract the victim.Crime prevention advice can be given to the elderly but is readily forgotten and it isimportant that the message is reinforced by family and friends on a regular basis.

'l'he tbllowing points are simple measures that we all know but which are so oftenforgotten with disastrous consequences.

Always know who is at the door before answering it , use eye hole viewers or anappropriate window . Friends can be given a password.

Get into the habit of using the security chain when opening the door, once the door isfully open it is often too late .

Always check a caller's identity. Never make assumptions they are genuine from theirclothing. Fluorescent jackets are easily purchased or sometimes stolen from offrcialsrtes.

Ask for ID and if in doubt don't be afraid to check its authenticity by contacting thecallers head office or contacting the police.

Try and make access to the rear of the property as difficult as possible to preventaccomplices gaining access.

Make sure rear doors and windows are locked during the day,

For further advice please feel free to contact me atLeighton Brzard Police Station on 01582 473427.

PC 479 Martin Pennell

Chalgrave Community Police Officer

31

Nicola Wells - tel 877098Lyn Green - tel 874107We will be organising the gifts for Xmasand the Senior Citizens dinner and

entertainment for later on in the newyear. Ifanyone has now reached that ten-der age where they join the illustriousband of Senior Citizens, would theyplease let any member of the Committeeknow so they can be added to our list forinvites.Finally, the fundraiser for this year willbe a collection for the father Xmas float,scheduled to visit the parish between 6.00and 7.00pm on Friday 2l December.Volunteer collectors are welcome at the

Plough at 5.45 sharp. Please givegenerously.Roger Masters

Parish Council see pageg

Soorts Club

Cricket- 2fiI7 Season

heparation work on the sports gound startdvery early this year and by the erd ofApril allwas ready to start playing oicket Unfortunately

this coincided with the disappearance ofApril'sgood weather and the rain came down and down

and down...!!! The result being that only 4league games could be played throughout May,

June and July. Fornrnately tlre weatlrer was

good to us dning August ard September, whichallowed for both the rearranged and remaining

games to be completed Ttre last

game being played on 30s€ptemb€r.

The final league table sands as follows :-Team Points

Chalgrave CC 251The Mctoria CC 217

Dunstable Road Ruurers 190

Chalgrave CC were beaten by the nanowmarp of only 7 points but gained their revenge

by winning the 10/10 competition beating

Toddington CC in the final, on a fantastic day at

the end of the season with good weather, large

crowds, great food and drink - oh yes! and some

exciting cricket as well!One resrlt that we would like to highlight was

an amazing win in July for Chalgrave CC whenhaving bowled out Toddington CC for 173 wewent on to win with a score of 176 for l. Anincredible achievement as any run chase over120 for Chalgrave CC ustrally ends in disaster!!

The final event of the season was thepresentation night, which this yea, was again

incorporated wittr a race night Representatives

from all teams attended a highly enjoyable

evening.

We are always looking fornew players no

matter what your standard The main criteria isthat you enjoy playing cricket rattrer than

standard of cricket. If you are interested ingeting involved next season please contact anyof the cricket team or give your details to the

Plough. You can also ernail us via our website.

The club'sAGM willbe held in early

2008 - date yet to be arranged

Missed the league title by 7 points!

Ah well there is always next year!

\Ly! Goodwin From your County CouncillorWell that was a summer of mixed weather - I hope it didn't dampen your break andwe hope for more sunshine in this early autumn.I have had growing concerns over the increased A5 gridlocking - permanent inDunstable and creeping northwards all the time. Building on Waterlows and AC Delcodoes not help.Even now, if drivers travelling south see the A5 gridlocked before they reach theThorne Turn, they will divert through Houghton Regis. Soon the whole of South Bedscan become gridlocked. This is becoming more frequent and could be an every dayevent before the last house is built on the AC Delco site. This would threatenDunstable business and jobs!ln Any Questions the Minister strongly defended the Green Belt and spoke of thepossibility of releasing more MOD land. With the above scenario in mind - I hope weall oppose house building north of Dunstable and East of Leighton - at least until thelong overdue northern Bypass is in place and seen to work. The County haspromised me that they will be putting this on the Agenda for meetings with Beds MPs,The Highways Agency and discussions with Region.

What is the Unitary outcome for Bedfordshire?The Unitary question is really dragging out, with comments by the Minister that sur-prised many people in different places and levels. The Minister is inclined towards theBedford solution, but has concerns over the costs in the proposal and what happensto the rest of Bedfordshire. This proposal, unlike the Single Unitary Bid did not meetall the five essential criteria. Now all LG Authorities in Bedfordshire are supposed tomake contributions to both Unitary options and submit by the end of September. lnOctober the County scrutinised the two unitary proposal and the Districts the Singleone. By the end of the year we should know what is going to happen.Some of our current Members are likely to be called in by a Govt official to formshadow cabineUs to set things up when there will be new LG elections in 2009.So - lot's of change to be expected, and like you, I hope it will lead to better and morecost effective governance and no nasty surprises while local members attention isbeing distracted somewhat.l've had lots to say on the Ml Widening and the proposed super new three elevatedisland junction 12. lt's a total waste of money that should be spent on Junction 11awhich supports the proposed Dunstable/Houghton Regis Northern Bypass and theLuton one.Just for the record, I do not think I have missed any opportunities in the last ten yearsto speak up for the need for eastern bypasses for both Hockliffe and Dunstable. Thedelays on out top priority bypass (Dunstable Northern) just shows how deaf ears areto our pleas.Best wishes to all going to a new school or college - pick up all the knowledge andskills you can to help you to more rewarding life ahead and don't forget to have somefun as well! Happy XmasRhys Goodwin

loddington CC 258

30

LAVAng .... High Street Eggington.

..... Hindi meaning Clove. Aprominent spice

used in sub-continental cooking. Lavang has a

wann, sweetly pungent and a strong aromaticflavour. So reads the opening lines on the

menu.

Well for those of you who didn't know - the

Horseshoes is no more. So whilst perhaps youwill still mourn the loss and the XXXL Prawns

will soon be a dim and distant memory here is areplacement different in many ways but withsome similarities that we would hope for. "we(again I quote the menu) aim to provide the

perfect ambience with a refreshing atmosphere,

to meet the high expectations of our customers

and to create a restaurant of which we can be

proud". Again from the menu: "We aim to deliver high quality food every time at a

reasonable price in a social environment. We give great service and are committed to

engage with each guest". So with this in mind and an understanding of the

challenges likely to be presented by Chalgravians we went. Two of us.... Now we

are polite and easy to please but it was very very good. Actually too good! So

instead of doing a review we went again. This time with a real curry aficionados...so

three of us. Again clearly not challenging enough. The service was superb and the

food excellent. Some even said faultless.

So a further test, some would say an ultimate challenge (and they didn't even know).

Could they cope say with 5 or 6 what about 9. At 8pm on a Friday night. Yes one ofthe busiest times in the week for any restaurant. This would test them. ....or certainly

the other customers. Perhaps I should apologise to those other customers because

actually I would not have wished to experience the "merriment" ( always so

understated... raucous or what) of this group as a separate paying customer but

enough of that. So..........

The service:Exemplary! Nothing seemed too much trouble....not even our group.

The food: First class! Varied, flavoursome, as ordered and of course great portions.

Must try's are..... Haydar Grill Chop, Lamb chops soaked in yogurt with herbs and

grilled, Salmon Dudar marinated salmon with chilli herbs and spices and these are just

starters. Main courses of Roshni Chicken from the tandoor oven with a minced lamb

sauce with herbs spices saut6ed with tomatoes and peppers, my mouth waters just

typing about it. This restaurant achieves what it says it sets out to do.

Long may they do so. ........ You've gotta go try it.

her boss told her to send something to aMr. Jackson with complements. This she

did - but the complements were tellinghim what a nice man he was!!! Herwork for the equivalent of a very hipYves St.Laurent - having to wear clothesto suit the day and mood - added to the

fun.Later in the book we discovered the real

reason she was so keen to return to NewYork - which was to look for herhusband who had died in the car accidentshe was involved in. After attendings6ances and spiritualist meetings the bookended with her accepting her loss and

movlng on.

Next we tackled 'Relentless'by SimonKernick a very fast moving thriller. Thisopened with the main character receivinga phone message from an old friend he

had not heard from for many years. Themessage told him to 'go home', which he

did - only to discover he was a suspect ina murder and the old friend was also

dead. The next few days certainly wererelentless - he found out his wife had

been involved with his friend, there wereother deaths, and .. .. .. I won't tell youany more in case you decide to read thisvery exciting book that we all found verydifficult to put down.May I take this opportunity to thankeveryone who sent cards and good wishesto me while having my replacement hipop. I am improving daily and lookingforward to running up and down the lane

again with Rue (our dogl). Sherry is alsomaking progress; perhaps we shouldrename the book club to 'The hip op

club!' Merry ChristmasLinda Hadden

Chalgrave Memorial Hall

First of all, let me welcome our newmembers to the Committee.Sue Leuty from St Mary's CloseTebworth. Responsible for all the flowersoutside the Hall. I'm sure she will be agreat addition, and Debbie Hampson,not only new to the committee but hasvolunteered to take on the role ofbooking secretary. Debbie lives inWingfield.There are still some vacancies on theCommittee so if anyone is interested involunteering, please ring me on 873039.We are still concerned about the lack oflettings to the Hall so please use it as

much as possible. You will see elsewherein the magazine the updated fees andcharges and will note that charges forresidents ofthe parish have againremained unaltered so it's still as 'cheapas chips'to hire your village hall.Finally, you will shortly be receiving a

questionnaire through your doors askingfor your views on what you would like tosee in the village hall. This is for tworeasons. Firstly to encourage the use ofthe hall for disparate groups and activitiesand secondly to get your views onactivities that could actually raise ussome money. So please take some timeto respond to us. Merry XmasRoger Masters.

Senior Citizens CommitteeAt the annual meeting, a new streamlined

committee was formed consisting of:-Roger Masters - (chair) tel 873039Roger Fenwick - (treasurer) tel 873768Elizabeth Hall - tet872403

29

I

In\/

Around the Organisationsthat he had died during the heart aftack

Book Club and somewhere, somehow was living the

Members of The Book Club continue to life he wished he had!!! Others

find pleasure in reading selected books disagreed and interesting discussions

and discussing them at our meetings. followed. Read the book and see whatMost of us enjoyed'Northern Lights'by conclusion you come to!Phillip Pullman although some found the Next on our list:fantasy and idea of parallel universes 'ls There Anyone Out There?'

slightly unpalatable! by Marian Keyes.More about this next month.

Our homespun murder story, writtenby members, is FINISHED!!Chalgrave News get ready to printthe first chapter in your next edition!

We wish Sherry a speedy recoveryfrom her hip operation and hope toSee her at our next meeting.

FURTHER TO THE ABOVESummer now has been and gone - notthat we really noticed it - Rain wind and

storms with only the occasional burst ofsomething called the sun that frightenedthe children and the horses!!However on with the book club update:'Is There Anyone Out There?'Was an

easy summer read that was enjoyed bysome members but thought to be rathertoo light and frothy by others. Thecentral character was living with hermother and sister in England aftersuffering an accident in New York. Herfamily were rather dysfunctional and

when she returned to New York the

e-mails that passed between them werehilarious. As was the episode of her firstworking as a secretary and being told by

28

From the Parish CouncilYoung people.We want to involve and empower young people in our areaand give them choice and influence over the provision offacilities. However, we need the views of any age groupamong the under 18's in the Parish to find out what theywant and how they would like to be involved. There isfunding available but the ideas and initiative needs to comefrom the young people themselves.lf you have thoughts, ideas or proposals, we would like to hear from you.Don't wait for the next Parish Council meeting - please contact any of us atany time.PlanningWe are asked for our views about planning applications made within ourParish. ln reaching our view, the Parish Council will take into account yourconcerns about any application, maintaining the rural nature of our Parish,protecting the conservation area and protecting the green belt. Whereplanning permission has been granted we try to make sure that the rules andconditions are adhered to and are not flouted.Growth Area HousingYou will know that we are also concerned about proposed planning outside ofour Parish that we consider will have an impact on our area. This includesthe proposed development of 40,000 plus houses in South Beds., the use ofgreen belt land for the development, the lack of infrastructure to support thehousing, the impact of the increase population and the general lack of Joinedup thinking' between government departments. Additionally, there is thethreat of the proposed development at junction 12 of the M1 for a new LutonTown F.C. stadium and warehousing similar to that at Junction 13.On all of these issues, Cllrs. Frank Griffin, Ken Green and Roger Menceattend many meetings and exhibitions to voice our opinions.We are a member of GAPP (Growth Area Parish Partnership). This is anewly formed organisation made up of Parish Councils largely in the SouthBeds Area. GAPP will give a louder voice on the issues that concern us all.RoadsWe have had improvements to the condition of our roads, we want to keepthe repairs and maintenance going. We are also concerned about thefrequency and size of freight traffic coming through our Parish, we havewritten to the local and national authorities.AwardsWe now have two awards - the Millennium Youth Award and the Community

However I have since lent the twosequels to a couple of members so they

must have wanted more!

We then read'Interpretation of Murder'by Jed Rubenfeld. This is a veryinteresting book about Freud's first and

only visit to the United States (which he

disliked intensely). It explores the

relationship between Freud and Jung and

it was fascinating to learn of the waypsychoanalysis was used in those earlydays. The other storyline was about the

investigation of a murder of a youngwoman - this took many twists and tums

and certainly held our interest. A veryenjoyable and thought provoking book.

'This Book Will Change your Life'byA.M. Homes came next, and contrary tothe title has nothing to do with self-help.The central character is a rather intro-spective, lonely middle-aged man whohas a reality check after suffering a heart

attack. When he comes out of hospital

he decides to live for the moment and

this leads to hilarious accounts of his

bizane life in Los Angeles. Imaginationswere severely stretched and we all had

different theories - my personal one being

1

L-

Award for the over !8's. The awards are for service to the community or foran achievement. We will be asking for nominations for the 2007 award.DogsThere have been a couple of complaints. We want responsible dog owners.Please clean up after your dog.Other mattersWe were able to repair the war memorial at Chalgrave Church through a verygenerous and anonymous donation. We continue to liaise with our beatofficer PC Martin Pennel on issues of fly tipping, speeding, etc. as well as thevery serious issue of distraction burglary. There have been improvements tothe footpath opposite Woodlands, and new streetlights to fill the gap alongWingfield Road. There is now a hard standing area for the Wingfield noticeboard. We have applied for a grant to create a Heritage Trail through ourParish and for improvements to the pond. We are also looking into saferways of crossing the busy Toddington Road in Tebworth.As always, you are welcome to any of Parish Council meetings - usually thelast Tuesday of the month. Alternatively, contact any of the Cllr's with yourissues or concerns. Minutes of our meetings are posted on the notice boardor can be viewed on our website - Chalgrave.org

Finally, merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Phil Parry Chairman of the Parish Council

Whatis in o lVame?

The three wise men arrived to visit the child lying in

the manger. One of the wise men was exceptionally

tall and bumped his head on the low doorway as he

entered the stable. 'Jesus Christ!'he exclaimed.

Joseph said, "Write that down, Mary; it'sbetter than Kevin!'

Glowworm ramming the German Heavy Cruiser Admiral Von Hipper before sinking.HMS Glowwonn was part of a British battle fleet sent to search and engage a Germanfleet comprising of the Cruiser Admiral Von Hipper transporting 2000 German alpinetroops to Norway and 5 supporting destroyers. On board HMS Glowworn were HarryKeen and his brother (who was one of only 27 survivors out of a total crew of 147).On 6 April 1940 HMS Glowworm reported a man washed overboard and were orderedto detach from the battle fleet and return to look for him but without success. Thefollowing day another man was washed overboard and although found he died of hisinjuries. On 8 April HMS Glowworm spotted an enemy destroyer while trying to locateand rejoin the British battle fleet, which she engaged. HMS Glowworm chased theenemy destroyer, which headed offtowards other ships seen on the horizon and whichCaptain Roope thought was his missing British fleet. As he came closer to these shipshe discovered they were the German battle fleet who opened fire on him and HMSGlowworm retumed fire. Totally out gunned by the vastly bigger German HeavyCruiser never mind the supporting destroyers, HMS Glowworm could have turned awayto escape but Captain Roope decided to continue his attack launching his torpedoeswhich unfortunately missed and firing all guns as the range closed. HMS Glowwormtook heavy damage from many shells that hit her but also hit the German Cruiser onseveral occasions. Finally with all guns apart from the rear turret damaged and out ofaction and still under heavy enemy fire, now added to by close range machine guns,Captain Roope rammed HMS Glowworm into the side of the Admiral Von Hippercausing so much damage that the German cruiser after picking up survivors had toreturn to port where it spent avery long time undergoing repair. Survivors said that oneor more British sailors kept the Glowworm's rear turret firing even as the ship was goingunder the sea! The German Captain of the Admiral Von Hipper was so impressed bythe bravery of the British ship and crew that he sent a message through the IntemationalRed Cross recommending that Captain Roope be awarded the Victoria Cross for hisaction. It is the only time in British history that the V.C. has been awarded on therecommendation of the enemy. There were also several other bravery medals awarded.

West CharityApplications to the Trustees are required bi-annually, before December and

July. Make sure you apply in good time and supply with receipts.

Further information and grant application forms are available from the Clerkto the trust :-

Mr Norman Costin, Heath Farm, Wingfield, LU7 9QH.

10

rt l.

,1,l,

27

At The Going Down of the SunWe Will Remember Them

This year the Chalgrave News has decided to honour those brave men whofell in battle and whose names are listed on our parish war memorial

by giving some background information we have obtained.

Albert Bird - Age 36. Private 9th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. (Prince ofWales's Own) Killed in action Gallipoli Turkey on Sunday 22nd August 1915.

Penrose Frank Coles -Age 19. Rifleman sth Battalion London Regiment (Post Office

Rifles). Killed in action the Somme France Saturday 23rd March l9l8Albert Oliver Emerton - Age 21. Private l6th Battalion Manchester Regiment. Killed

in action Arras France Monday 23rd April 1917.

Leonard Fensome - Private lst Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment. Killed in action

Zonnebeke Belgium Tuesday l6th April 1918.

James Wesley Foster - Age 19. Rifleman l4th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in

action Zonnebeke Belgium Thursday l6th August 1917.

Arthur John Kingham - Private 7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action

the Somme France Thursday 28th September 1916.

Albert Rickett - Age 23. Pivate l2th Battalion The Kings (Liverpool Regiment).

Died of wounds received at the Somme France Sunday 25th November 1917.

Harry Walter Keen - Age 39. Able Seaman HMS Glowworm R.N. Killed in action

Monday ath RpAt tl+0.Peter Ronald James Kingham - Age 19. Sergeant Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve.

Died Surrey England Friday 8th June 1945.

Frederick Higgs - Age 23. Trooper 13th713th Royal Hussars R.A.C. Died Hanover

Germany Tuesday 20th August 1946.

Vivien Prudent - Age 19. Marine R.M. Group. M.N.B.D.O.l Royal Marines. Died

Devon England Sunday lst June 1941.

George Mawson Holmes - Age 29. Fusilier lst Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died

Sango River Italy Thursday 2nd Decemb er 1943.

The incredible story of HMS GlowwormOn Monday 8 April 1940 the British destroyer HMS Glowworm and her Captain Lt.Cdr. Roope and crew fought a heroic sea battle against all odds which ended with the

Chalgrave Proposal for

Chalk Arc Community Grants Fund

Two Green Infrastructure workshops were held recently which highlighted someenvironmental improvements the parish of Chalgrave would like to see. Amongstthese were creating a heritage trail and improvements the pond.

we now have the opportunity to apply for a chalk Arc community Grant for thefollowing :-

Cutu;atyo Hzntrtct Tu ttTo create a circular route with information boards at various spots to indicate thenatural heritage and distinct landscape features, historical features and to provide arecreational trail for both people ofChalgrave Parish and visitors to enjoy andappreciate in years to come.Improve the aspect of the Tebworth pond and habitat creation by clearing thesouth-west side of pond to create an area for a bench and to carry out habitat work onthe pond with volunteer conservation work party.

we particularly want to involve as many people as possible including young peopleand

children in these projects if our grantapplication is successful.

If you are interested in supporting us or assisting in any way or if you have anyquestions please contact any parish councillor or Lesley Smith our Parish clerk

Chalgrave Parish Counc il

Santa is visiting Tebworth,Wingfield and Hockliffe on

Friday 21 December.The Round Table are organizing

but the Senior Citizens Committee willget 50% of the takings.

Last year over t200 was collected.

1126

si

Andrew Selous MP

FIXING SOCIAL BREAKDOWN

There are three separate events that have been reported in

the last few days that have greatly shocked me as I'm surethey have shocked people across Britain. They are the deathof four year old Leticia Wright in Huddersfield from injuriesinflicted by her mother and her partner; the murder of 15 year old Jessie James

from Moss Side in Manchester for refusing to join a gang [he told them he wanted

to be everyone's friend and just be Jessie), and the murder of 47 year old Garry

Newlove while trying to protect his property by a gang of teenage youths. lt isimportant not to over dramatize individual incidents when drawing wider

conclusions about the state of British society today. So too however, I believe that

it is right that we should not lose our sense of shock and outrage at these incidents

and they should prompt us to see where we are going wrong as a society and what

needs to be done about it. You may be thinking that these three murders all tookplace a long way from South Bedfordshire, and are therefore not relevant to us as

horrific incidents like this do not take place in our area. You would be wrong to do

so however as just over a year ago, a nine year old South Bedfordshire boy was

burned with a cigarette and lighter. He was attacked by boys not much older thanhim and over a month later the police were still appealing for witnesses to come

forward. Only on Tuesday this week I was talking to two ladies in my surgery

whose lives are being made a misery by on-going anti-social behaviour around

their homes. One of them is trying to move way, in desperation, from a home she

loves and the other told me she no longer feels proud to be English given the

worsening behaviour she has witnessed in her hometown over the last thirty years

So what is to be done? First of all for the culprits of all these horrific crimes, I want

to see tough sentences, which are served, that deter others from copying this

desprcable behaviour. I believe that we need to go further than this however. I

think that all of us, private citizens, MPs, Councillors, schools, the police, churches,journalists and the media need to recognise the scale of social breakdown that we

are facing. Just as Britain tackled the economic breakdown at the end of the

1970s, so Britain has reversed social breakdown following the Wesley revival and

in the second half of the nineteenth century through a combination of parliamentary

action and philanthropy. Crime actuallyfell between 1850 and 1900 in some of the

toughest communities such as the East End of London. So, we should be opti-

mistic that we can turn around today's social breakdown, of which these threerecent murders are symbols. Part of the solution will be to reduce the real level ofunemployment from the current 3.8 million by a greater focus on literacy, numeracy

and practical skills training. 1.1 million young people, not in education, work or

training, more than in 1997, is too high and we know that the devilcan make workfor idle hands.lt is also the case however that we learn, ....,.continued on page 14

12

WHAT YOUR FUTUREHOLDS...???By Madam Zola...

Astrologer and Dream Analyst to the Stars......and to the parish!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23-Dec 22)Change is in the air. The New Year bringsfresh opportunities to grow and expand.

Perhaps your world has become too small and

confining........Time to spread your wings.

CAPRICORN (Dec23-Jan20)Be careful around money. You have a

generous nature and are prone to overspendon others. How about taking time out for

yourself? You're worth it !

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb l9)You may find you have to be the diplomat

around feuding friends or family. Pouring oilon troubled waters pres€nts its own diffculties.

Try not to get drawn into the conflict.

PISCES (Feb 20-March 20)Why do you not trust your own judgement?

Ifit feels right....do it!!

ARIES (March2l- April 20)

Some minor health concerns are resolvedshortly. Eat well, exercise and get plenty of

rest. Remember laughter is indeed the bestmedicine.

TAURUS (April 2l-May2l)You find yourself wondering about past

events and thinking...what ifl Concentrate onthe things that are going on in your life at themoment. We cannot change the past...try as

we might. Your future is looking brighter.

GEMINI (May 22- June 2l)You have reached a crossroads. Consider

carefully all your options. Do the same, getmore of the same. It might be time to do

something different!

CANCER (June 22- July 23)Family feature very strongly for you at the

moment. Try and get everyone together if youcan, even those who don't get on. lt will be

worth it in the long run.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)There is something going on around travel or

change. A holiday, house orjob move liesahead. The coming yearbrings many surprises.

VIRGO (Aug24 - Sept 23)You have a dream. You think it is

unachievable. But, if you allow yourself thetime and space to think it through, you will

find there are many possibilities.

LIBRA (Sept 24 - Oct 23)Next year is an important year for you.

Either you or someone very near to you willbe making a huge change. t f it is not you,you may have to lend support. [f it is you,then ask those close to you for all the help

you need to get things going.

SCORPIO (Oct24 - Nov 22)Crikey, you've been doing a bit of worryinglately...... money, health, family! Remember,there are some things which are out of your

control. Let them go. Give that brain a

a rest...you'll feel so much better!

25

entitlement would be available in the first three years when parents mostwant to spend time caring for their children.

Support family cohesion post separation by providing practical support asAustralia does to help achieve good contact arrangements as well asproviding help to prevent subsequent marriage or partnership breakdowns.

Local Councils should actively use the powers in the Statistics and

Registration Bill to ensure that Registrars [who marry two thirds of couples]publicise and promote relationship support programmes. I am talking to ourcouncils in Bedfordshire about this.

Pay housing benefit quarterly in advance [with subsequent adjustments ifnecessary] to help families avoid rent arrears.

Expand 'supported housing' projects to work with young families who mightotherwise fail in their tenancies. Homestart in South Bedfordshire andBromford Housing in Warwickshire are good examples of this.

So, whenever the Prime Minister calls an election, in addition to bold policieson controlling immigration, making the police more accountable, improvingliteracy, providing locally sensitive housing and health policies, allowingEnglish votes on English laws and a referendum on the EU constitution, I

believe we will have the best policies to help the poor and tackle socialbreakdown which costs us all over t100 billion per year.

Andrew Se/ous is MP for South West Bedfordshire and can be contacted on01582 662 821 or on selousa@parliament.uk.

Rev. Anne Crawford is appointed as new Rec rOn Sunday 23rd September the following announcement from the Bishop of St Albans wasmade at the I l.00am Parish Communion Service.

"It is with great pleasure thst we arrnounce the appoinlntent oJ'Anne Crawford as the new

Rector of the Benejice ol Totld ton and Chulgrave,subject to I procedures",

Messagefrom Rev. Anne Crawford:-

At last the news is out and I can officially say how delighted I am to have been appointed as

your new Rector. I am looking tbrward very much to mecting all of you and discovering howbest I can serve you and the people ofToddington and Chalgrave. There will be challenges tobe met and new pathways to discover as we work togcthcr to makc Christ visiblc and thcChurch relevant to the people around us, and I will work hard to ensure that everyone will beable to play their part. I'm looking forward to making lots of new friends and to having funalong the way as our relationship with God deepens and as we as individuals, and as a churchcommunity, flourish and grow.

I expect that after waiting so long for a new incumbent you are eager to know a little bit moreabout me and my family, and so

I am married to Allan and we have three daughters: Rebecca who is 22 years old and works inLondon for a firm of loss adjusters; Helen who is I 9 and studying psychology at PortsmouthUniversity; and Sophie who is 14 and at school in Harpenden.

I was born in Yorkshire where I spent a very happy childhood. My Dad was a miner but heleft the coal board when I was 10 years old and the family moved north to live in Bridge ofAllan, a village just a few miles north of Stirling in Scotland. lt was while I was at secondaryschool there that I met Allan and we were married 26 years ago in Harpenden, a year aftermoving south with my family.

Before moving back to live south of the border I worked for the library service in Stirling,often going out to branches in Dunblane, Doune and Callender, as well as travelling aroundthe Trossachs with the mobile library van. Once I moved to live in Harpenden I took up amanagement training course with Marks and Spencer and worked at Marble Arch in Londonand at their store in Bristol. When the girls were bom I took some time out and eventuallywent back to work part time for Waitrose in Harpenden and then full time as Administratorfor the Education Centre at the Cathedral in St Albans. It was while I was working in StAlbans that I began training for ministry on the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course, andthe rest is, as they say, history.

One of the joys and privileges of ministry is getting to know people and to be involved in allthe ups and downs of life. I am thrilled that God has called me to join you in the life andwitness of your parishes, and I look forward, along with my family, to getting to know you alland to sharing in all that life has in store for us.

Sikirnny Dflppring

An elderly man in Florida had owned a

large farm for several years. He had a

large pond in the back, set up nicely withpicnic tables, horseshoe courts, a volleyballcouft, and some apple and peach trees. The

pond was large and suitable for swimming.One evening the old farmer decided to go

down to the pond and look it over, as he

hadn't been there for a while. He grabbed a

large bucket to bring back some fruit. Ashe neared the pond, he heard voices

shouting and laughing. As he came closer,he saw it was a group of young womenskinny-dipping in his pond.He made the women aware of his prcsencc

and they all scuttled down to the deep end.

One of the women shouted to him, "We'rcnot coming out until you leave!"The old man frowned, "l didn't come downhere to watch you ladies swim naked or tomake you get out ofthe pond naked."Holding the bucket up he said, "l'm here tofeed the alligator."

Old men can still thinkfast!

24 13

It

Chalgrave Memorial Hall PLAYING FIELD

There have been some rumblings of discontent amongst people of the parish about the

use of the football field at the Memorial Hall. It appears that some young children have

been asked to not play on the football field and are naturally aggrieved by this.

A spokesperson for The Memorial Hall Committee is quoted as saying "The only time

we have asked young parishioners not to play on the football field is when we filled and

re-seeded the goal mouth at the field end. We stated that they could still play at the road

end without damaging the new grass they accepted this without any problems".

The spokesperson added "This whole situation has arisen because there are a group ofyoung adults who are mostly from outside the parish using the football pitch several

times a week, thereby forcing the younger kids of the parish to find somewhere else toplay.Not only do they leave rubbish behind, they also shout, swear and generally cause a

nuisance to the people who live close to the hall and normally don't finish until about

9:30pm. They have been asked on several occasions not to play so late and to keep the

noise down but to no avail. They were also asked not to play in the goal mouth that had

been re-seeded but completely ignored this and took down the protective ropes and the

grass is now very patchy as a result.

It is known that the majority of them come from outside the parish but if any of them

are from Chalgrave then we would ask them to please be a bit more responsible and

think about their neighbours and the younger kids in the parish.

Just for the record, The Memorial Hall and associated playing field and the swing/slideareas are private properties and whilst we welcome people using the facilities they are

generally for the use of parishioners. If the equipment is being abused and damaged then

it will have to be replaced at the expense of the Parish.

continued from page 12. or not as the case may be, what Frank Field MP call thethree premier social virtues of politeness, consideration and thoughtfulness at homefrom our parents. A focus on rebuilding family stability to enable these values to be

re-established, (a concern that our behaviour should not cause upset to others), islong overdue. Should we perhaps think of front loading child benefit to give parents a

real financial choice to look after their own children in the vitally important first threeyears of their lives as happens in Finland?As part of my contribution to renewing oursociety locally I have worked with others to establish South Bedfordshire CommunityFamily Trust to strengthen family life in South Bedfordshire. lt aims to provide a widerange of family support courses - a Living Together course for married couples startson 28september locally - call 01525 372 419 for details or email-mail@twointune.org.Andrew Se/ous is MP for South West Bedfordshire and can be contacted on01582 662 821 or on selousa@parliament.uk.

Andrew Selous MP

EVERY FAMILY MATTERS

Following the previous article,about the social breakdownthat had lead to the horrific murders of four year oldLeticia Wright, 15 year old Jessie James and the marriedfather of three daughters, Garry Newlove, I want to suggestsome positive policies to end the costs of social breakdown lookingparticularly at the family.

Educational failure, worklessness and economic dependency, addictions andindebtedness all also contribute to social breakdown and weaken family life.It is also true however that the healthier our family relationships, the betterchance we all have of coping with all these difficulties. I know from my ownsurveying of the opinions of young people in South West Bedfordshire overthe last 4 years, that 80% believe that family breakdown is a major problem inthe UK today. So what could we do differently?

Here are 10 suggestions from lain Duncan Smith's excellent'BreakthroughBritain' report on ending the costs of social breakdown.

Develop family services hubs with enhanced roles for health visitors insupporting parents in their children's' first three years to help their cognitiveand emotional development.

Provide relationship and parenting support to 800,000 families a year locally,through the voluntary sector as well as working with schools.

Establish a new Marriage and Relationships lnstitute to champion andadminister a major series of preventative initiatives, thus getting away fromthe current view that widespread family breakdown is inevitable.

Reduce the brutal discrimination against couples in the tax and benefit byproviding more help to low income couples, some of whom lose up to f8,500a year if they openly live together.

Allow childcare tax credit to be paid to grandparents, other relatives andtrusted fiiends to expand the informal care of children that many parents prefer.

Make child benefit flexible, so that a larger proportion of the child's total

14 23

Queens Head (Ipdate

Life at the Queens Head continues to improve with the newdarts season under way and your local team playing at home

every other Wednesday, the domino season also starting well,meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Thursday nights are still busy with the dyslexic quizmaster taking centre stage (domino's permitting)sometimes the assistant quizmaster takes oveq now he can atleast read the questions, he just can't finds it diffrcult todecipher the correct answers!Friday Night is the Live Music Night and the musical expertisethat is displayed is quite astonishing.

As always Colin will give you a memorable evenings entertainment and some of the musical

talent booked for the near future are:-

Friday Dec. 7 Steve Jones Friday Dec 14 Merv

Friday Dec 2l Lenny Monday Dec 24 Keith West

Wednesday Dec 26 Steve Burton Friday Dec 28 Jim TurnerMonday Dec 3l Snip

So come along and enjoy the hospitality of The Queens Head, open every day momings and

evenings (except for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday momings).

Important Notice Regarding the Finances of the Chalgrave News Magazine

How green is our pleasant land?

England is not alone in becoming increasingly dependent on imported gas and oil.

We are one of 27 oil producing nations who reported declining output in 2006.

In an era of vanishing cheap oil, the best gift any individualof this generation is likelyto be able to make to his or her children, will not be the extended loan. It will be

proof of not having used natural resources entirely selfishly. Passing on a home and

lifestyle which contributes positively to a low carbon community may be just the giftthat tomorrow's children will be looking for.

So, how do we move towards low carbon living? Well, first things first.

85% of the energy we use in our homes is used on space and water heating.

The most cost-effective way to reduce this consumption is to better insulate our

homes. For information on insulation grants and discounts, contact the

Energy Efficiency Advice Centre 0800 512 012.

HBLP! HELP! HELP!"Or in other words we are passing around the

begging bowl and seeking your help!

As with any organisation the most importantfactor for continued operation is funding, and

the Chalgrave News is no exception.

We are a totally self-funding magazine and

although some residents believe we receive

funding from the parish council this is not the

case. Not because the parish council will not

provide a gtant but from outset we decided

that we would raise our own funds in order toremain independent and so have never appliedfor a grant from the parish council.We have however applied and received a

couple of grants from the National LotteryFund which were used, in the main, topurchase a printer, but other than this we relyon income from events we organise plusdonations from residents and income fromadvertisements you see placed in the

Chalgrave News.

It costs around €2000 to be able to deliver 4issues each yeat - a high proportion ofthesecosts goes on printing ink, which is veryexpensive.

Unfortunately over the past l2 months or so

we have had unexpected problems with ourprinter and this has cost us approximatelyf 1200 in repairs, which has made a huge dent

in our finances and so we are having to lookat other ways of fund raising.We have therefore decided that in addition toour advertisement section in the magazinewill be a donation based facility. Why thechange and how will this affect our funds?Well there are a number of reasons but themain one is that we know there are plenty ofpeople living in the parish who run their ownbusiness but who feel that there is little point

placing an advert in the Chalgrave Newsbecause their business is not based in oraround the parish or is not the type ofbusiness that needs to seek new clients byadvertising. We also believe that a number ofyou in this situation would like to help yourlocal magazine and now you can do this byoffering us a donation and in refurn we wouldlike to place a notice or advert on our newdonation pages acknowledging you and yourfirms'support.If you would like to do this please contact usfor details.

1 Alternatively if you as an individual wouldjust like to make a donation without a printedadvert please forward this to any ofthe team(contact details below).In recent years our parish has lost a numberofservices such as the post office, school,mums & tots group, youth club and annualvillage concert etc. and it would be a realshame if the Chalgrave News was to be addedto this list, particularly as many people havetold us they look forward to receiving theircopy each quarter as it informs them of whatis happening in and around the parish.Yes we know that there is another localmagazine being delivered to the parish butthis is mainly Toddington news based. TheChalgrave News concentrates on publishingevents that have taken place in our parish ornews articles on subjects that will affect ourparish. So whether you were bom in theparish or have moved into the parish there isalways something of interest in each issue ofthe magazine.Ifyou are able to help us please see thecontact details below. Any donations,however small, please forward to any of theChalgrave News editorial team.One last point. Everyone involved with theChalgrave News are volunteers and receiveno payment for their services - in fact it isjust the opposite and everyone gives both

1522

t,

time and money in the production of yourparish magazine!

Please please please help us ifyou can!

lf we cannot raise the monies to produce the

magazine then sadly the magazine will have

to close and this will be added to the ever

increasing list oflocal facilities lost and gone

forever.

The Chalgrave News kam Letters to the EditorTony Cornes

Roger Masters

Lyndie Lothian

tonycomes@clara.co.uk01525 87460sroger.masters@bti nternet.com0r525 873039lyndie@ic24.net01525 874166

To be Ken Green or not Ken Green ?

Someone has written two letters to theSouth Beds Planning department aboutbuilding work at 2l Hockliffe Rd withmy name and address and a signaturepurporting to be mine.

To my mind it is not only an outageors and

cowardly act but also extunely stupid!

The planning inspectors wrote to meregarding these letters and I expressedmy amazement and the matter is now inthe hands of the police.The complaintswere very specific pointing out internalchanges and things that can only be seen

from the rear of the building so that

narrows the field somewhat!

I trust everyone understands that Parishcouncillors can follow any concerns thatpeople may have about planning matterswithout mentioning names. AIso theplanning department will follow upphone calls where the person wishes towithhold their name. So if someonewishes to remain anonymous there areways.. .. ... . . but not this way please !!!

If anyone has any information pleasecontact me or the Dunstable Policequoting reference URN 244 lll0l2007If the perpetrator wishes to apologiseplease do so and as far as I'm concernedthe matter will be closed.Ken Green

Homewatch Part Two

During the last 2.5 weeks there has been an increase in

crimes reported in the Houghton Regis, and Dunstableareas, particularly for Burglaries. 24 burglaries have beenreported in the area.These crimes have taken place on all days of the week, and

at all times of day.The majority of Burglaries have involved a smashed window or patio door to the rearof the property.The offender has used garden tools, garden furniture, and even paving slabs takenfrom the victims gardens, or sheds.As a result the area has been designated a Hotspot and a policing priority for the next2 weeks. The police, PCSOs, and special constables will be undertaking additionalpatrols in the local area.Bedfordshire Police ask residents to review their home security, paying particular

attention the back garden, to be vigilant, and report anything suspicious immediately.

Four people received a combined sentence of more than 13 years for drug dealing, atLuton Crown Court, on Friday the 2nd of November.All 4 were convicted of drug offences in the Leighton Buzzard, and Dunstable area.Faisal KHAN, born 4/06/84, of Medina Road, Luton, and Liam SMITH, born 31/07/85,of Loftus Close, Luton, each admitted one count of conspiracy to supply crack cocaineand one count of conspiracy to supply heroin and were sentenced to four years each.They appeared with Saqib QAMAR, born 25104181, of Kingsway, Luton and AttifHUSSAIN, born 09/02186 of Dunstable Road, Luton, who were sentenced to threeyears and 27 months respectively. They each admitted one count of conspiracy tosupply crack cocaine.Dl Mark Lay, of the specialist and Economic Crime Unit, says this year his officershave arrested more that 40 offenders in unconnected, operations across Bedfordshire.We ask the public to have the confidence to continue to supply any information whichmay be important.Anyone with information about a drug crime, can contact the specialist and EconomicCrime Unit, in confidence, on (01582) 40'1212, or Grime Stoppers on (0800) 555111.

There have been 2 known great battles in our parish in years gone by.

The first was a large battle between Britons and invading Saxons for the town ofLygean-Burgh (or Luton as it is known today). Whilst historians knew of this battle theydid not know where it took place until in l8l9 some labourers found human bones andremains of weapons and iron arnour in a field they were working on in our parish.Further investigation found many more remains and military artefacts over severalfields indicating that this was a great and important battle which resulted in defeat forthe Britons.

The second battle came during the English Civil War and took place at Chalgrave Field(does anyone know where this is in the parish?) in June 1643. The royalists under theleadership of Prince Rupert fought and defeated a detachment of troops from the armyof the Earl of Essex.

One further item of interest is that during the Second World War, Wingfield was oncebombed and a number of properties were destroyed or damaged but fortunately no onewas killed. It is thought that the German bomber had missed his target over Luton orDunstable and released his bombs so that he could return home.

If anyone could udd more detail to any of the above please let us know so that we canpublish a more comprehensive report in future issues of the magazine.

16 21

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time and money in the production of yourparish magazine!

Please please please help us ifyou can!

lf we cannot raise the monies to produce the

magazine then sadly the magazine will have

to close and this will be added to the ever

increasing list oflocal facilities lost and gone

forever.

The Chalgrave News kam Letters to the EditorTony Cornes

Roger Masters

Lyndie Lothian

tonycomes@clara.co.uk01525 87460sroger.masters@bti nternet.com0r525 873039lyndie@ic24.net01525 874166

To be Ken Green or not Ken Green ?

Someone has written two letters to theSouth Beds Planning department aboutbuilding work at 2l Hockliffe Rd withmy name and address and a signaturepurporting to be mine.

To my mind it is not only an outageors and

cowardly act but also extunely stupid!

The planning inspectors wrote to meregarding these letters and I expressedmy amazement and the matter is now inthe hands of the police.The complaintswere very specific pointing out internalchanges and things that can only be seen

from the rear of the building so that

narrows the field somewhat!

I trust everyone understands that Parishcouncillors can follow any concerns thatpeople may have about planning matterswithout mentioning names. AIso theplanning department will follow upphone calls where the person wishes towithhold their name. So if someonewishes to remain anonymous there areways.. .. ... . . but not this way please !!!

If anyone has any information pleasecontact me or the Dunstable Policequoting reference URN 244 lll0l2007If the perpetrator wishes to apologiseplease do so and as far as I'm concernedthe matter will be closed.Ken Green

Homewatch Part Two

During the last 2.5 weeks there has been an increase in

crimes reported in the Houghton Regis, and Dunstableareas, particularly for Burglaries. 24 burglaries have beenreported in the area.These crimes have taken place on all days of the week, and

at all times of day.The majority of Burglaries have involved a smashed window or patio door to the rearof the property.The offender has used garden tools, garden furniture, and even paving slabs takenfrom the victims gardens, or sheds.As a result the area has been designated a Hotspot and a policing priority for the next2 weeks. The police, PCSOs, and special constables will be undertaking additionalpatrols in the local area.Bedfordshire Police ask residents to review their home security, paying particular

attention the back garden, to be vigilant, and report anything suspicious immediately.

Four people received a combined sentence of more than 13 years for drug dealing, atLuton Crown Court, on Friday the 2nd of November.All 4 were convicted of drug offences in the Leighton Buzzard, and Dunstable area.Faisal KHAN, born 4/06/84, of Medina Road, Luton, and Liam SMITH, born 31/07/85,of Loftus Close, Luton, each admitted one count of conspiracy to supply crack cocaineand one count of conspiracy to supply heroin and were sentenced to four years each.They appeared with Saqib QAMAR, born 25104181, of Kingsway, Luton and AttifHUSSAIN, born 09/02186 of Dunstable Road, Luton, who were sentenced to threeyears and 27 months respectively. They each admitted one count of conspiracy tosupply crack cocaine.Dl Mark Lay, of the specialist and Economic Crime Unit, says this year his officershave arrested more that 40 offenders in unconnected, operations across Bedfordshire.We ask the public to have the confidence to continue to supply any information whichmay be important.Anyone with information about a drug crime, can contact the specialist and EconomicCrime Unit, in confidence, on (01582) 40'1212, or Grime Stoppers on (0800) 555111.

There have been 2 known great battles in our parish in years gone by.

The first was a large battle between Britons and invading Saxons for the town ofLygean-Burgh (or Luton as it is known today). Whilst historians knew of this battle theydid not know where it took place until in l8l9 some labourers found human bones andremains of weapons and iron arnour in a field they were working on in our parish.Further investigation found many more remains and military artefacts over severalfields indicating that this was a great and important battle which resulted in defeat forthe Britons.

The second battle came during the English Civil War and took place at Chalgrave Field(does anyone know where this is in the parish?) in June 1643. The royalists under theleadership of Prince Rupert fought and defeated a detachment of troops from the armyof the Earl of Essex.

One further item of interest is that during the Second World War, Wingfield was oncebombed and a number of properties were destroyed or damaged but fortunately no onewas killed. It is thought that the German bomber had missed his target over Luton orDunstable and released his bombs so that he could return home.

If anyone could udd more detail to any of the above please let us know so that we canpublish a more comprehensive report in future issues of the magazine.

16 21

Queens Head (Ipdate

Life at the Queens Head continues to improve with the newdarts season under way and your local team playing at home

every other Wednesday, the domino season also starting well,meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Thursday nights are still busy with the dyslexic quizmaster taking centre stage (domino's permitting)sometimes the assistant quizmaster takes oveq now he can atleast read the questions, he just can't finds it diffrcult todecipher the correct answers!Friday Night is the Live Music Night and the musical expertisethat is displayed is quite astonishing.

As always Colin will give you a memorable evenings entertainment and some of the musical

talent booked for the near future are:-

Friday Dec. 7 Steve Jones Friday Dec 14 Merv

Friday Dec 2l Lenny Monday Dec 24 Keith West

Wednesday Dec 26 Steve Burton Friday Dec 28 Jim TurnerMonday Dec 3l Snip

So come along and enjoy the hospitality of The Queens Head, open every day momings and

evenings (except for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday momings).

Important Notice Regarding the Finances of the Chalgrave News Magazine

How green is our pleasant land?

England is not alone in becoming increasingly dependent on imported gas and oil.

We are one of 27 oil producing nations who reported declining output in 2006.

In an era of vanishing cheap oil, the best gift any individualof this generation is likelyto be able to make to his or her children, will not be the extended loan. It will be

proof of not having used natural resources entirely selfishly. Passing on a home and

lifestyle which contributes positively to a low carbon community may be just the giftthat tomorrow's children will be looking for.

So, how do we move towards low carbon living? Well, first things first.

85% of the energy we use in our homes is used on space and water heating.

The most cost-effective way to reduce this consumption is to better insulate our

homes. For information on insulation grants and discounts, contact the

Energy Efficiency Advice Centre 0800 512 012.

HBLP! HELP! HELP!"Or in other words we are passing around the

begging bowl and seeking your help!

As with any organisation the most importantfactor for continued operation is funding, and

the Chalgrave News is no exception.

We are a totally self-funding magazine and

although some residents believe we receive

funding from the parish council this is not the

case. Not because the parish council will not

provide a gtant but from outset we decided

that we would raise our own funds in order toremain independent and so have never appliedfor a grant from the parish council.We have however applied and received a

couple of grants from the National LotteryFund which were used, in the main, topurchase a printer, but other than this we relyon income from events we organise plusdonations from residents and income fromadvertisements you see placed in the

Chalgrave News.

It costs around €2000 to be able to deliver 4issues each yeat - a high proportion ofthesecosts goes on printing ink, which is veryexpensive.

Unfortunately over the past l2 months or so

we have had unexpected problems with ourprinter and this has cost us approximatelyf 1200 in repairs, which has made a huge dent

in our finances and so we are having to lookat other ways of fund raising.We have therefore decided that in addition toour advertisement section in the magazinewill be a donation based facility. Why thechange and how will this affect our funds?Well there are a number of reasons but themain one is that we know there are plenty ofpeople living in the parish who run their ownbusiness but who feel that there is little point

placing an advert in the Chalgrave Newsbecause their business is not based in oraround the parish or is not the type ofbusiness that needs to seek new clients byadvertising. We also believe that a number ofyou in this situation would like to help yourlocal magazine and now you can do this byoffering us a donation and in refurn we wouldlike to place a notice or advert on our newdonation pages acknowledging you and yourfirms'support.If you would like to do this please contact usfor details.

1 Alternatively if you as an individual wouldjust like to make a donation without a printedadvert please forward this to any ofthe team(contact details below).In recent years our parish has lost a numberofservices such as the post office, school,mums & tots group, youth club and annualvillage concert etc. and it would be a realshame if the Chalgrave News was to be addedto this list, particularly as many people havetold us they look forward to receiving theircopy each quarter as it informs them of whatis happening in and around the parish.Yes we know that there is another localmagazine being delivered to the parish butthis is mainly Toddington news based. TheChalgrave News concentrates on publishingevents that have taken place in our parish ornews articles on subjects that will affect ourparish. So whether you were bom in theparish or have moved into the parish there isalways something of interest in each issue ofthe magazine.Ifyou are able to help us please see thecontact details below. Any donations,however small, please forward to any of theChalgrave News editorial team.One last point. Everyone involved with theChalgrave News are volunteers and receiveno payment for their services - in fact it isjust the opposite and everyone gives both

1522

t,

Chalgrave Memorial Hall PLAYING FIELD

There have been some rumblings of discontent amongst people of the parish about the

use of the football field at the Memorial Hall. It appears that some young children have

been asked to not play on the football field and are naturally aggrieved by this.

A spokesperson for The Memorial Hall Committee is quoted as saying "The only time

we have asked young parishioners not to play on the football field is when we filled and

re-seeded the goal mouth at the field end. We stated that they could still play at the road

end without damaging the new grass they accepted this without any problems".

The spokesperson added "This whole situation has arisen because there are a group ofyoung adults who are mostly from outside the parish using the football pitch several

times a week, thereby forcing the younger kids of the parish to find somewhere else toplay.Not only do they leave rubbish behind, they also shout, swear and generally cause a

nuisance to the people who live close to the hall and normally don't finish until about

9:30pm. They have been asked on several occasions not to play so late and to keep the

noise down but to no avail. They were also asked not to play in the goal mouth that had

been re-seeded but completely ignored this and took down the protective ropes and the

grass is now very patchy as a result.

It is known that the majority of them come from outside the parish but if any of them

are from Chalgrave then we would ask them to please be a bit more responsible and

think about their neighbours and the younger kids in the parish.

Just for the record, The Memorial Hall and associated playing field and the swing/slideareas are private properties and whilst we welcome people using the facilities they are

generally for the use of parishioners. If the equipment is being abused and damaged then

it will have to be replaced at the expense of the Parish.

continued from page 12. or not as the case may be, what Frank Field MP call thethree premier social virtues of politeness, consideration and thoughtfulness at homefrom our parents. A focus on rebuilding family stability to enable these values to be

re-established, (a concern that our behaviour should not cause upset to others), islong overdue. Should we perhaps think of front loading child benefit to give parents a

real financial choice to look after their own children in the vitally important first threeyears of their lives as happens in Finland?As part of my contribution to renewing oursociety locally I have worked with others to establish South Bedfordshire CommunityFamily Trust to strengthen family life in South Bedfordshire. lt aims to provide a widerange of family support courses - a Living Together course for married couples startson 28september locally - call 01525 372 419 for details or email-mail@twointune.org.Andrew Se/ous is MP for South West Bedfordshire and can be contacted on01582 662 821 or on selousa@parliament.uk.

Andrew Selous MP

EVERY FAMILY MATTERS

Following the previous article,about the social breakdownthat had lead to the horrific murders of four year oldLeticia Wright, 15 year old Jessie James and the marriedfather of three daughters, Garry Newlove, I want to suggestsome positive policies to end the costs of social breakdown lookingparticularly at the family.

Educational failure, worklessness and economic dependency, addictions andindebtedness all also contribute to social breakdown and weaken family life.It is also true however that the healthier our family relationships, the betterchance we all have of coping with all these difficulties. I know from my ownsurveying of the opinions of young people in South West Bedfordshire overthe last 4 years, that 80% believe that family breakdown is a major problem inthe UK today. So what could we do differently?

Here are 10 suggestions from lain Duncan Smith's excellent'BreakthroughBritain' report on ending the costs of social breakdown.

Develop family services hubs with enhanced roles for health visitors insupporting parents in their children's' first three years to help their cognitiveand emotional development.

Provide relationship and parenting support to 800,000 families a year locally,through the voluntary sector as well as working with schools.

Establish a new Marriage and Relationships lnstitute to champion andadminister a major series of preventative initiatives, thus getting away fromthe current view that widespread family breakdown is inevitable.

Reduce the brutal discrimination against couples in the tax and benefit byproviding more help to low income couples, some of whom lose up to f8,500a year if they openly live together.

Allow childcare tax credit to be paid to grandparents, other relatives andtrusted fiiends to expand the informal care of children that many parents prefer.

Make child benefit flexible, so that a larger proportion of the child's total

14 23

entitlement would be available in the first three years when parents mostwant to spend time caring for their children.

Support family cohesion post separation by providing practical support asAustralia does to help achieve good contact arrangements as well asproviding help to prevent subsequent marriage or partnership breakdowns.

Local Councils should actively use the powers in the Statistics and

Registration Bill to ensure that Registrars [who marry two thirds of couples]publicise and promote relationship support programmes. I am talking to ourcouncils in Bedfordshire about this.

Pay housing benefit quarterly in advance [with subsequent adjustments ifnecessary] to help families avoid rent arrears.

Expand 'supported housing' projects to work with young families who mightotherwise fail in their tenancies. Homestart in South Bedfordshire andBromford Housing in Warwickshire are good examples of this.

So, whenever the Prime Minister calls an election, in addition to bold policieson controlling immigration, making the police more accountable, improvingliteracy, providing locally sensitive housing and health policies, allowingEnglish votes on English laws and a referendum on the EU constitution, I

believe we will have the best policies to help the poor and tackle socialbreakdown which costs us all over t100 billion per year.

Andrew Se/ous is MP for South West Bedfordshire and can be contacted on01582 662 821 or on selousa@parliament.uk.

Rev. Anne Crawford is appointed as new Rec rOn Sunday 23rd September the following announcement from the Bishop of St Albans wasmade at the I l.00am Parish Communion Service.

"It is with great pleasure thst we arrnounce the appoinlntent oJ'Anne Crawford as the new

Rector of the Benejice ol Totld ton and Chulgrave,subject to I procedures",

Messagefrom Rev. Anne Crawford:-

At last the news is out and I can officially say how delighted I am to have been appointed as

your new Rector. I am looking tbrward very much to mecting all of you and discovering howbest I can serve you and the people ofToddington and Chalgrave. There will be challenges tobe met and new pathways to discover as we work togcthcr to makc Christ visiblc and thcChurch relevant to the people around us, and I will work hard to ensure that everyone will beable to play their part. I'm looking forward to making lots of new friends and to having funalong the way as our relationship with God deepens and as we as individuals, and as a churchcommunity, flourish and grow.

I expect that after waiting so long for a new incumbent you are eager to know a little bit moreabout me and my family, and so

I am married to Allan and we have three daughters: Rebecca who is 22 years old and works inLondon for a firm of loss adjusters; Helen who is I 9 and studying psychology at PortsmouthUniversity; and Sophie who is 14 and at school in Harpenden.

I was born in Yorkshire where I spent a very happy childhood. My Dad was a miner but heleft the coal board when I was 10 years old and the family moved north to live in Bridge ofAllan, a village just a few miles north of Stirling in Scotland. lt was while I was at secondaryschool there that I met Allan and we were married 26 years ago in Harpenden, a year aftermoving south with my family.

Before moving back to live south of the border I worked for the library service in Stirling,often going out to branches in Dunblane, Doune and Callender, as well as travelling aroundthe Trossachs with the mobile library van. Once I moved to live in Harpenden I took up amanagement training course with Marks and Spencer and worked at Marble Arch in Londonand at their store in Bristol. When the girls were bom I took some time out and eventuallywent back to work part time for Waitrose in Harpenden and then full time as Administratorfor the Education Centre at the Cathedral in St Albans. It was while I was working in StAlbans that I began training for ministry on the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course, andthe rest is, as they say, history.

One of the joys and privileges of ministry is getting to know people and to be involved in allthe ups and downs of life. I am thrilled that God has called me to join you in the life andwitness of your parishes, and I look forward, along with my family, to getting to know you alland to sharing in all that life has in store for us.

Sikirnny Dflppring

An elderly man in Florida had owned a

large farm for several years. He had a

large pond in the back, set up nicely withpicnic tables, horseshoe courts, a volleyballcouft, and some apple and peach trees. The

pond was large and suitable for swimming.One evening the old farmer decided to go

down to the pond and look it over, as he

hadn't been there for a while. He grabbed a

large bucket to bring back some fruit. Ashe neared the pond, he heard voices

shouting and laughing. As he came closer,he saw it was a group of young womenskinny-dipping in his pond.He made the women aware of his prcsencc

and they all scuttled down to the deep end.

One of the women shouted to him, "We'rcnot coming out until you leave!"The old man frowned, "l didn't come downhere to watch you ladies swim naked or tomake you get out ofthe pond naked."Holding the bucket up he said, "l'm here tofeed the alligator."

Old men can still thinkfast!

24 13

It

Andrew Selous MP

FIXING SOCIAL BREAKDOWN

There are three separate events that have been reported in

the last few days that have greatly shocked me as I'm surethey have shocked people across Britain. They are the deathof four year old Leticia Wright in Huddersfield from injuriesinflicted by her mother and her partner; the murder of 15 year old Jessie James

from Moss Side in Manchester for refusing to join a gang [he told them he wanted

to be everyone's friend and just be Jessie), and the murder of 47 year old Garry

Newlove while trying to protect his property by a gang of teenage youths. lt isimportant not to over dramatize individual incidents when drawing wider

conclusions about the state of British society today. So too however, I believe that

it is right that we should not lose our sense of shock and outrage at these incidents

and they should prompt us to see where we are going wrong as a society and what

needs to be done about it. You may be thinking that these three murders all tookplace a long way from South Bedfordshire, and are therefore not relevant to us as

horrific incidents like this do not take place in our area. You would be wrong to do

so however as just over a year ago, a nine year old South Bedfordshire boy was

burned with a cigarette and lighter. He was attacked by boys not much older thanhim and over a month later the police were still appealing for witnesses to come

forward. Only on Tuesday this week I was talking to two ladies in my surgery

whose lives are being made a misery by on-going anti-social behaviour around

their homes. One of them is trying to move way, in desperation, from a home she

loves and the other told me she no longer feels proud to be English given the

worsening behaviour she has witnessed in her hometown over the last thirty years

So what is to be done? First of all for the culprits of all these horrific crimes, I want

to see tough sentences, which are served, that deter others from copying this

desprcable behaviour. I believe that we need to go further than this however. I

think that all of us, private citizens, MPs, Councillors, schools, the police, churches,journalists and the media need to recognise the scale of social breakdown that we

are facing. Just as Britain tackled the economic breakdown at the end of the

1970s, so Britain has reversed social breakdown following the Wesley revival and

in the second half of the nineteenth century through a combination of parliamentary

action and philanthropy. Crime actuallyfell between 1850 and 1900 in some of the

toughest communities such as the East End of London. So, we should be opti-

mistic that we can turn around today's social breakdown, of which these threerecent murders are symbols. Part of the solution will be to reduce the real level ofunemployment from the current 3.8 million by a greater focus on literacy, numeracy

and practical skills training. 1.1 million young people, not in education, work or

training, more than in 1997, is too high and we know that the devilcan make workfor idle hands.lt is also the case however that we learn, ....,.continued on page 14

12

WHAT YOUR FUTUREHOLDS...???By Madam Zola...

Astrologer and Dream Analyst to the Stars......and to the parish!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23-Dec 22)Change is in the air. The New Year bringsfresh opportunities to grow and expand.

Perhaps your world has become too small and

confining........Time to spread your wings.

CAPRICORN (Dec23-Jan20)Be careful around money. You have a

generous nature and are prone to overspendon others. How about taking time out for

yourself? You're worth it !

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb l9)You may find you have to be the diplomat

around feuding friends or family. Pouring oilon troubled waters pres€nts its own diffculties.

Try not to get drawn into the conflict.

PISCES (Feb 20-March 20)Why do you not trust your own judgement?

Ifit feels right....do it!!

ARIES (March2l- April 20)

Some minor health concerns are resolvedshortly. Eat well, exercise and get plenty of

rest. Remember laughter is indeed the bestmedicine.

TAURUS (April 2l-May2l)You find yourself wondering about past

events and thinking...what ifl Concentrate onthe things that are going on in your life at themoment. We cannot change the past...try as

we might. Your future is looking brighter.

GEMINI (May 22- June 2l)You have reached a crossroads. Consider

carefully all your options. Do the same, getmore of the same. It might be time to do

something different!

CANCER (June 22- July 23)Family feature very strongly for you at the

moment. Try and get everyone together if youcan, even those who don't get on. lt will be

worth it in the long run.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)There is something going on around travel or

change. A holiday, house orjob move liesahead. The coming yearbrings many surprises.

VIRGO (Aug24 - Sept 23)You have a dream. You think it is

unachievable. But, if you allow yourself thetime and space to think it through, you will

find there are many possibilities.

LIBRA (Sept 24 - Oct 23)Next year is an important year for you.

Either you or someone very near to you willbe making a huge change. t f it is not you,you may have to lend support. [f it is you,then ask those close to you for all the help

you need to get things going.

SCORPIO (Oct24 - Nov 22)Crikey, you've been doing a bit of worryinglately...... money, health, family! Remember,there are some things which are out of your

control. Let them go. Give that brain a

a rest...you'll feel so much better!

25

At The Going Down of the SunWe Will Remember Them

This year the Chalgrave News has decided to honour those brave men whofell in battle and whose names are listed on our parish war memorial

by giving some background information we have obtained.

Albert Bird - Age 36. Private 9th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. (Prince ofWales's Own) Killed in action Gallipoli Turkey on Sunday 22nd August 1915.

Penrose Frank Coles -Age 19. Rifleman sth Battalion London Regiment (Post Office

Rifles). Killed in action the Somme France Saturday 23rd March l9l8Albert Oliver Emerton - Age 21. Private l6th Battalion Manchester Regiment. Killed

in action Arras France Monday 23rd April 1917.

Leonard Fensome - Private lst Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment. Killed in action

Zonnebeke Belgium Tuesday l6th April 1918.

James Wesley Foster - Age 19. Rifleman l4th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in

action Zonnebeke Belgium Thursday l6th August 1917.

Arthur John Kingham - Private 7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. Killed in action

the Somme France Thursday 28th September 1916.

Albert Rickett - Age 23. Pivate l2th Battalion The Kings (Liverpool Regiment).

Died of wounds received at the Somme France Sunday 25th November 1917.

Harry Walter Keen - Age 39. Able Seaman HMS Glowworm R.N. Killed in action

Monday ath RpAt tl+0.Peter Ronald James Kingham - Age 19. Sergeant Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve.

Died Surrey England Friday 8th June 1945.

Frederick Higgs - Age 23. Trooper 13th713th Royal Hussars R.A.C. Died Hanover

Germany Tuesday 20th August 1946.

Vivien Prudent - Age 19. Marine R.M. Group. M.N.B.D.O.l Royal Marines. Died

Devon England Sunday lst June 1941.

George Mawson Holmes - Age 29. Fusilier lst Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died

Sango River Italy Thursday 2nd Decemb er 1943.

The incredible story of HMS GlowwormOn Monday 8 April 1940 the British destroyer HMS Glowworm and her Captain Lt.Cdr. Roope and crew fought a heroic sea battle against all odds which ended with the

Chalgrave Proposal for

Chalk Arc Community Grants Fund

Two Green Infrastructure workshops were held recently which highlighted someenvironmental improvements the parish of Chalgrave would like to see. Amongstthese were creating a heritage trail and improvements the pond.

we now have the opportunity to apply for a chalk Arc community Grant for thefollowing :-

Cutu;atyo Hzntrtct Tu ttTo create a circular route with information boards at various spots to indicate thenatural heritage and distinct landscape features, historical features and to provide arecreational trail for both people ofChalgrave Parish and visitors to enjoy andappreciate in years to come.Improve the aspect of the Tebworth pond and habitat creation by clearing thesouth-west side of pond to create an area for a bench and to carry out habitat work onthe pond with volunteer conservation work party.

we particularly want to involve as many people as possible including young peopleand

children in these projects if our grantapplication is successful.

If you are interested in supporting us or assisting in any way or if you have anyquestions please contact any parish councillor or Lesley Smith our Parish clerk

Chalgrave Parish Counc il

Santa is visiting Tebworth,Wingfield and Hockliffe on

Friday 21 December.The Round Table are organizing

but the Senior Citizens Committee willget 50% of the takings.

Last year over t200 was collected.

1126

si

Award for the over !8's. The awards are for service to the community or foran achievement. We will be asking for nominations for the 2007 award.DogsThere have been a couple of complaints. We want responsible dog owners.Please clean up after your dog.Other mattersWe were able to repair the war memorial at Chalgrave Church through a verygenerous and anonymous donation. We continue to liaise with our beatofficer PC Martin Pennel on issues of fly tipping, speeding, etc. as well as thevery serious issue of distraction burglary. There have been improvements tothe footpath opposite Woodlands, and new streetlights to fill the gap alongWingfield Road. There is now a hard standing area for the Wingfield noticeboard. We have applied for a grant to create a Heritage Trail through ourParish and for improvements to the pond. We are also looking into saferways of crossing the busy Toddington Road in Tebworth.As always, you are welcome to any of Parish Council meetings - usually thelast Tuesday of the month. Alternatively, contact any of the Cllr's with yourissues or concerns. Minutes of our meetings are posted on the notice boardor can be viewed on our website - Chalgrave.org

Finally, merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Phil Parry Chairman of the Parish Council

Whatis in o lVame?

The three wise men arrived to visit the child lying in

the manger. One of the wise men was exceptionally

tall and bumped his head on the low doorway as he

entered the stable. 'Jesus Christ!'he exclaimed.

Joseph said, "Write that down, Mary; it'sbetter than Kevin!'

Glowworm ramming the German Heavy Cruiser Admiral Von Hipper before sinking.HMS Glowwonn was part of a British battle fleet sent to search and engage a Germanfleet comprising of the Cruiser Admiral Von Hipper transporting 2000 German alpinetroops to Norway and 5 supporting destroyers. On board HMS Glowworn were HarryKeen and his brother (who was one of only 27 survivors out of a total crew of 147).On 6 April 1940 HMS Glowworm reported a man washed overboard and were orderedto detach from the battle fleet and return to look for him but without success. Thefollowing day another man was washed overboard and although found he died of hisinjuries. On 8 April HMS Glowworm spotted an enemy destroyer while trying to locateand rejoin the British battle fleet, which she engaged. HMS Glowworm chased theenemy destroyer, which headed offtowards other ships seen on the horizon and whichCaptain Roope thought was his missing British fleet. As he came closer to these shipshe discovered they were the German battle fleet who opened fire on him and HMSGlowworm retumed fire. Totally out gunned by the vastly bigger German HeavyCruiser never mind the supporting destroyers, HMS Glowworm could have turned awayto escape but Captain Roope decided to continue his attack launching his torpedoeswhich unfortunately missed and firing all guns as the range closed. HMS Glowwormtook heavy damage from many shells that hit her but also hit the German Cruiser onseveral occasions. Finally with all guns apart from the rear turret damaged and out ofaction and still under heavy enemy fire, now added to by close range machine guns,Captain Roope rammed HMS Glowworm into the side of the Admiral Von Hippercausing so much damage that the German cruiser after picking up survivors had toreturn to port where it spent avery long time undergoing repair. Survivors said that oneor more British sailors kept the Glowworm's rear turret firing even as the ship was goingunder the sea! The German Captain of the Admiral Von Hipper was so impressed bythe bravery of the British ship and crew that he sent a message through the IntemationalRed Cross recommending that Captain Roope be awarded the Victoria Cross for hisaction. It is the only time in British history that the V.C. has been awarded on therecommendation of the enemy. There were also several other bravery medals awarded.

West CharityApplications to the Trustees are required bi-annually, before December and

July. Make sure you apply in good time and supply with receipts.

Further information and grant application forms are available from the Clerkto the trust :-

Mr Norman Costin, Heath Farm, Wingfield, LU7 9QH.

10

rt l.

,1,l,

27

Around the Organisationsthat he had died during the heart aftack

Book Club and somewhere, somehow was living the

Members of The Book Club continue to life he wished he had!!! Others

find pleasure in reading selected books disagreed and interesting discussions

and discussing them at our meetings. followed. Read the book and see whatMost of us enjoyed'Northern Lights'by conclusion you come to!Phillip Pullman although some found the Next on our list:fantasy and idea of parallel universes 'ls There Anyone Out There?'

slightly unpalatable! by Marian Keyes.More about this next month.

Our homespun murder story, writtenby members, is FINISHED!!Chalgrave News get ready to printthe first chapter in your next edition!

We wish Sherry a speedy recoveryfrom her hip operation and hope toSee her at our next meeting.

FURTHER TO THE ABOVESummer now has been and gone - notthat we really noticed it - Rain wind and

storms with only the occasional burst ofsomething called the sun that frightenedthe children and the horses!!However on with the book club update:'Is There Anyone Out There?'Was an

easy summer read that was enjoyed bysome members but thought to be rathertoo light and frothy by others. Thecentral character was living with hermother and sister in England aftersuffering an accident in New York. Herfamily were rather dysfunctional and

when she returned to New York the

e-mails that passed between them werehilarious. As was the episode of her firstworking as a secretary and being told by

28

From the Parish CouncilYoung people.We want to involve and empower young people in our areaand give them choice and influence over the provision offacilities. However, we need the views of any age groupamong the under 18's in the Parish to find out what theywant and how they would like to be involved. There isfunding available but the ideas and initiative needs to comefrom the young people themselves.lf you have thoughts, ideas or proposals, we would like to hear from you.Don't wait for the next Parish Council meeting - please contact any of us atany time.PlanningWe are asked for our views about planning applications made within ourParish. ln reaching our view, the Parish Council will take into account yourconcerns about any application, maintaining the rural nature of our Parish,protecting the conservation area and protecting the green belt. Whereplanning permission has been granted we try to make sure that the rules andconditions are adhered to and are not flouted.Growth Area HousingYou will know that we are also concerned about proposed planning outside ofour Parish that we consider will have an impact on our area. This includesthe proposed development of 40,000 plus houses in South Beds., the use ofgreen belt land for the development, the lack of infrastructure to support thehousing, the impact of the increase population and the general lack of Joinedup thinking' between government departments. Additionally, there is thethreat of the proposed development at junction 12 of the M1 for a new LutonTown F.C. stadium and warehousing similar to that at Junction 13.On all of these issues, Cllrs. Frank Griffin, Ken Green and Roger Menceattend many meetings and exhibitions to voice our opinions.We are a member of GAPP (Growth Area Parish Partnership). This is anewly formed organisation made up of Parish Councils largely in the SouthBeds Area. GAPP will give a louder voice on the issues that concern us all.RoadsWe have had improvements to the condition of our roads, we want to keepthe repairs and maintenance going. We are also concerned about thefrequency and size of freight traffic coming through our Parish, we havewritten to the local and national authorities.AwardsWe now have two awards - the Millennium Youth Award and the Community

However I have since lent the twosequels to a couple of members so they

must have wanted more!

We then read'Interpretation of Murder'by Jed Rubenfeld. This is a veryinteresting book about Freud's first and

only visit to the United States (which he

disliked intensely). It explores the

relationship between Freud and Jung and

it was fascinating to learn of the waypsychoanalysis was used in those earlydays. The other storyline was about the

investigation of a murder of a youngwoman - this took many twists and tums

and certainly held our interest. A veryenjoyable and thought provoking book.

'This Book Will Change your Life'byA.M. Homes came next, and contrary tothe title has nothing to do with self-help.The central character is a rather intro-spective, lonely middle-aged man whohas a reality check after suffering a heart

attack. When he comes out of hospital

he decides to live for the moment and

this leads to hilarious accounts of his

bizane life in Los Angeles. Imaginationswere severely stretched and we all had

different theories - my personal one being

1

L-

LAVAng .... High Street Eggington.

..... Hindi meaning Clove. Aprominent spice

used in sub-continental cooking. Lavang has a

wann, sweetly pungent and a strong aromaticflavour. So reads the opening lines on the

menu.

Well for those of you who didn't know - the

Horseshoes is no more. So whilst perhaps youwill still mourn the loss and the XXXL Prawns

will soon be a dim and distant memory here is areplacement different in many ways but withsome similarities that we would hope for. "we(again I quote the menu) aim to provide the

perfect ambience with a refreshing atmosphere,

to meet the high expectations of our customers

and to create a restaurant of which we can be

proud". Again from the menu: "We aim to deliver high quality food every time at a

reasonable price in a social environment. We give great service and are committed to

engage with each guest". So with this in mind and an understanding of the

challenges likely to be presented by Chalgravians we went. Two of us.... Now we

are polite and easy to please but it was very very good. Actually too good! So

instead of doing a review we went again. This time with a real curry aficionados...so

three of us. Again clearly not challenging enough. The service was superb and the

food excellent. Some even said faultless.

So a further test, some would say an ultimate challenge (and they didn't even know).

Could they cope say with 5 or 6 what about 9. At 8pm on a Friday night. Yes one ofthe busiest times in the week for any restaurant. This would test them. ....or certainly

the other customers. Perhaps I should apologise to those other customers because

actually I would not have wished to experience the "merriment" ( always so

understated... raucous or what) of this group as a separate paying customer but

enough of that. So..........

The service:Exemplary! Nothing seemed too much trouble....not even our group.

The food: First class! Varied, flavoursome, as ordered and of course great portions.

Must try's are..... Haydar Grill Chop, Lamb chops soaked in yogurt with herbs and

grilled, Salmon Dudar marinated salmon with chilli herbs and spices and these are just

starters. Main courses of Roshni Chicken from the tandoor oven with a minced lamb

sauce with herbs spices saut6ed with tomatoes and peppers, my mouth waters just

typing about it. This restaurant achieves what it says it sets out to do.

Long may they do so. ........ You've gotta go try it.

her boss told her to send something to aMr. Jackson with complements. This she

did - but the complements were tellinghim what a nice man he was!!! Herwork for the equivalent of a very hipYves St.Laurent - having to wear clothesto suit the day and mood - added to the

fun.Later in the book we discovered the real

reason she was so keen to return to NewYork - which was to look for herhusband who had died in the car accidentshe was involved in. After attendings6ances and spiritualist meetings the bookended with her accepting her loss and

movlng on.

Next we tackled 'Relentless'by SimonKernick a very fast moving thriller. Thisopened with the main character receivinga phone message from an old friend he

had not heard from for many years. Themessage told him to 'go home', which he

did - only to discover he was a suspect ina murder and the old friend was also

dead. The next few days certainly wererelentless - he found out his wife had

been involved with his friend, there wereother deaths, and .. .. .. I won't tell youany more in case you decide to read thisvery exciting book that we all found verydifficult to put down.May I take this opportunity to thankeveryone who sent cards and good wishesto me while having my replacement hipop. I am improving daily and lookingforward to running up and down the lane

again with Rue (our dogl). Sherry is alsomaking progress; perhaps we shouldrename the book club to 'The hip op

club!' Merry ChristmasLinda Hadden

Chalgrave Memorial Hall

First of all, let me welcome our newmembers to the Committee.Sue Leuty from St Mary's CloseTebworth. Responsible for all the flowersoutside the Hall. I'm sure she will be agreat addition, and Debbie Hampson,not only new to the committee but hasvolunteered to take on the role ofbooking secretary. Debbie lives inWingfield.There are still some vacancies on theCommittee so if anyone is interested involunteering, please ring me on 873039.We are still concerned about the lack oflettings to the Hall so please use it as

much as possible. You will see elsewherein the magazine the updated fees andcharges and will note that charges forresidents ofthe parish have againremained unaltered so it's still as 'cheapas chips'to hire your village hall.Finally, you will shortly be receiving a

questionnaire through your doors askingfor your views on what you would like tosee in the village hall. This is for tworeasons. Firstly to encourage the use ofthe hall for disparate groups and activitiesand secondly to get your views onactivities that could actually raise ussome money. So please take some timeto respond to us. Merry XmasRoger Masters.

Senior Citizens CommitteeAt the annual meeting, a new streamlined

committee was formed consisting of:-Roger Masters - (chair) tel 873039Roger Fenwick - (treasurer) tel 873768Elizabeth Hall - tet872403

29

I

In\/

Nicola Wells - tel 877098Lyn Green - tel 874107We will be organising the gifts for Xmasand the Senior Citizens dinner and

entertainment for later on in the newyear. Ifanyone has now reached that ten-der age where they join the illustriousband of Senior Citizens, would theyplease let any member of the Committeeknow so they can be added to our list forinvites.Finally, the fundraiser for this year willbe a collection for the father Xmas float,scheduled to visit the parish between 6.00and 7.00pm on Friday 2l December.Volunteer collectors are welcome at the

Plough at 5.45 sharp. Please givegenerously.Roger Masters

Parish Council see pageg

Soorts Club

Cricket- 2fiI7 Season

heparation work on the sports gound startdvery early this year and by the erd ofApril allwas ready to start playing oicket Unfortunately

this coincided with the disappearance ofApril'sgood weather and the rain came down and down

and down...!!! The result being that only 4league games could be played throughout May,

June and July. Fornrnately tlre weatlrer was

good to us dning August ard September, whichallowed for both the rearranged and remaining

games to be completed Ttre last

game being played on 30s€ptemb€r.

The final league table sands as follows :-Team Points

Chalgrave CC 251The Mctoria CC 217

Dunstable Road Ruurers 190

Chalgrave CC were beaten by the nanowmarp of only 7 points but gained their revenge

by winning the 10/10 competition beating

Toddington CC in the final, on a fantastic day at

the end of the season with good weather, large

crowds, great food and drink - oh yes! and some

exciting cricket as well!One resrlt that we would like to highlight was

an amazing win in July for Chalgrave CC whenhaving bowled out Toddington CC for 173 wewent on to win with a score of 176 for l. Anincredible achievement as any run chase over120 for Chalgrave CC ustrally ends in disaster!!

The final event of the season was thepresentation night, which this yea, was again

incorporated wittr a race night Representatives

from all teams attended a highly enjoyable

evening.

We are always looking fornew players no

matter what your standard The main criteria isthat you enjoy playing cricket rattrer than

standard of cricket. If you are interested ingeting involved next season please contact anyof the cricket team or give your details to the

Plough. You can also ernail us via our website.

The club'sAGM willbe held in early

2008 - date yet to be arranged

Missed the league title by 7 points!

Ah well there is always next year!

\Ly! Goodwin From your County CouncillorWell that was a summer of mixed weather - I hope it didn't dampen your break andwe hope for more sunshine in this early autumn.I have had growing concerns over the increased A5 gridlocking - permanent inDunstable and creeping northwards all the time. Building on Waterlows and AC Delcodoes not help.Even now, if drivers travelling south see the A5 gridlocked before they reach theThorne Turn, they will divert through Houghton Regis. Soon the whole of South Bedscan become gridlocked. This is becoming more frequent and could be an every dayevent before the last house is built on the AC Delco site. This would threatenDunstable business and jobs!ln Any Questions the Minister strongly defended the Green Belt and spoke of thepossibility of releasing more MOD land. With the above scenario in mind - I hope weall oppose house building north of Dunstable and East of Leighton - at least until thelong overdue northern Bypass is in place and seen to work. The County haspromised me that they will be putting this on the Agenda for meetings with Beds MPs,The Highways Agency and discussions with Region.

What is the Unitary outcome for Bedfordshire?The Unitary question is really dragging out, with comments by the Minister that sur-prised many people in different places and levels. The Minister is inclined towards theBedford solution, but has concerns over the costs in the proposal and what happensto the rest of Bedfordshire. This proposal, unlike the Single Unitary Bid did not meetall the five essential criteria. Now all LG Authorities in Bedfordshire are supposed tomake contributions to both Unitary options and submit by the end of September. lnOctober the County scrutinised the two unitary proposal and the Districts the Singleone. By the end of the year we should know what is going to happen.Some of our current Members are likely to be called in by a Govt official to formshadow cabineUs to set things up when there will be new LG elections in 2009.So - lot's of change to be expected, and like you, I hope it will lead to better and morecost effective governance and no nasty surprises while local members attention isbeing distracted somewhat.l've had lots to say on the Ml Widening and the proposed super new three elevatedisland junction 12. lt's a total waste of money that should be spent on Junction 11awhich supports the proposed Dunstable/Houghton Regis Northern Bypass and theLuton one.Just for the record, I do not think I have missed any opportunities in the last ten yearsto speak up for the need for eastern bypasses for both Hockliffe and Dunstable. Thedelays on out top priority bypass (Dunstable Northern) just shows how deaf ears areto our pleas.Best wishes to all going to a new school or college - pick up all the knowledge andskills you can to help you to more rewarding life ahead and don't forget to have somefun as well! Happy XmasRhys Goodwin

loddington CC 258

30

Ml WdeninsThe existing Ml widening work continues and is expected to be finished towards the

end of next year. An interesting report appeared in the Observer newspaper a short

time ago stating that new government figures detailing the revised costs of the Mlwidening scheme have now increased substantially to L2l million per mile. However

another article by an environmental pressure group have stated that according to their

interpretation of the government figures the actual cost per mile has risen to

f43 million!

The next stage in the Ml road-widening scheme will be to widen the motorway to

4 lanes north and south between junctions ll, 12 and I 3. This is a total of I 5 miles,

which should take around 3 years to complete with an anticipated start date towards

the end ofnext year.

It is also planned that the construction workers and plant and equipment etc. will be

sited at junction l2 during the road works.

Did you know that there is a proposal to relocate the junction 12 motorway access

bridge l60m north of its present site and to build a smaller bridge for cyclists and

pedestrians in place of the existing junction l2 bridge?

This information together with other interesting details of the project is contained

in a report dated I2 June 2007 to be found on the District Councilb website site at

www.southbeds.gov.uk

Dunstable l{orthern BypassNothing more to report at the moment to add to the information already given in our

previous issues. It does seem that the construction of the bypass is still some years

away.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS COMPETITIONOnce again it is the time of year for us atl to beautify our houses to

cetebrate the festive period and as usual this years competition witt befiercely fought over by the usual few peopte who bother to make the effort

and pu.on a disptay that is both attention getting and uninhibited.So what are you going to do about it?

Are you just going to let them win again without a fight or are yougoing to make a stand and say 'ENOUGH"

It's about time someone etse got the gtory! lt's up to you.

Dis traction B urglaries .

Any crime that targets the elderly is particularly reprehensible.In the past rural areas such as Chalgrave have been targets fordistraction burglars.These offences has many guises, the most common being whenan offender pretends to be from the waterboard or other officialagency and uses this bogus authority to gain access to thevictim's home. However distraction burglars have a range of excuses ranging fromneeding a glass of water to looking for a lost dog and as the intended victim is elderlyand vulnerable they can come across as being very believable.These burglars rarely work alone and will have several accomplices searching thehouse whilst they distract the victim.Crime prevention advice can be given to the elderly but is readily forgotten and it isimportant that the message is reinforced by family and friends on a regular basis.

'l'he tbllowing points are simple measures that we all know but which are so oftenforgotten with disastrous consequences.

Always know who is at the door before answering it , use eye hole viewers or anappropriate window . Friends can be given a password.

Get into the habit of using the security chain when opening the door, once the door isfully open it is often too late .

Always check a caller's identity. Never make assumptions they are genuine from theirclothing. Fluorescent jackets are easily purchased or sometimes stolen from offrcialsrtes.

Ask for ID and if in doubt don't be afraid to check its authenticity by contacting thecallers head office or contacting the police.

Try and make access to the rear of the property as difficult as possible to preventaccomplices gaining access.

Make sure rear doors and windows are locked during the day,

For further advice please feel free to contact me atLeighton Brzard Police Station on 01582 473427.

PC 479 Martin Pennell

Chalgrave Community Police Officer

31

BOATFIRE I,{IGHT 2OO7Many of us in the

Parish celebrated

Bonfire night on

Saturday 3 Novemberwith the now famous

and free firework partyin the garden of The

Queens Head. In the

weeks leading up to the

event Paul "Slasher"Whitton and his gallant

band cleared huge

amounts ofundergrowth and

prepared the garden and Ron "Burger" Harris had the whole family involved in the

preparation of the B-B-Q and refreshments in general, so that on the night all we

had to do was turn up and enjoy what was a magnificent display of pyrotechnic skill

by the two shadowY figures in the

background.

Colin was seen to be mingling with the

crowd which must have numbered at

least 150 and he swears that the large

amount of complaints about bottom

pinching had nothing to do with him!

There was a voluntary firework fund

bucket passed round during the display

and although I don't know how much

was donated, Colin would like to thank

all of you who were kind enough to part

with your hard earned cash. We in turn

would like to thank Colin for the use ofhis garden for what is now an annual

event to look forward to.

Luton f oofuqll Club proposed New stadium

The saga that is Luton Town's proposed new stadium is about to have anotherconfusing turn with the announcement in early July made by Luton Airport's parentcompany TBI, that they have now dropped all plans to build a new runway nearJunction 10 of the Ml.

Just in case anyone is not aware of the background to all this - some years ago LutonTown Football Club found themselves in dire financial problems and to resolve thesethey came to an arrangement to sell their ground to Luton Council, who wanted to usethe site to build new houses. Luton Town were given a time scale to find themselvesa site on which to build a new stadium and after much delay eventually bought 55acres of land near junction l0 of the M I . However this brought with it considerableopposition from local villages and also government departments, who feared that thealready congested Ml would not be able to cope with the increased levels of traffic thenew stadium would generate. When Luton Airport then announced their own plans tobuild a new runway in this area there was no chance of Luton Town being allowed tobuild on this site. Some years later an opportunity arose to build the stadium on landowned by a former director of the football club near junction 12. The new stadiumwould sit around 25000 spectators and nearby were to be training pitches as well assome form of commercial development such as factories. Many Luton Town footballfans were unhappy with these new proposals as they felt that the junction 12 optionwould take the new stadium outside of Luton and so the football club could lose itsidentity with the town it represents. There is also a great deal of opposition to this planfrom local villages such as Toddington and Harlington who might be affected by thisdevelopment and if the proposals went ahead this would be a loss of green belt land.

With Luton Airports recent announcement there should now be no reason why the newstadium cannot revert back to its original site atjunction 10, especially as themotorway widening works are coming to an end south of that junction. we awaitfurther developments.

IWhat is known is that Luton Council wants to start building new houses on LutonTown's existing stadium site as soon as possible.

Latest news - Luton Town have now been placed in administration!

5

What s happened in Chalgrave since the Last Chalgrave News

f St Mory's Closed with the oword forPorish. The oword

wos presented ot the CholgroveGomes.

We hove o new vicor ot All SointsChurch. See poge 13

kly bin collections nowightly

Overheod Electricity cobles in

Wingfield renewed

Droinoge works in Wingfield tostop further f looding but Bill's sogo

continues

Formers hit by lote horvest due tothe roin during summer

Car fire - believed to be on

obondoned vehicle

Smoking bon hos been brought inresulting in both the Plough ond

HEALTHY EATINGFor those of you who watch what you

eat, here's the hnal word on nutrition and

health. It's a relief to know the truth afler

all those contlicting medical studies.

Here are the facts:The Japanese eat very little fat and sufferfewer heart attacks than the Australians,British or Americans.Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewerheart attacks than the Australians, Britishor Americans.Africans drink very little red wine and

Queens Heod hoving to creoteoutdoor smoking focilities. ThePlough's plonning opplicotion for o

top of the ronge gazebo forsmokers wos turned down. The

Queens Heod smokers gazeboruined by roin ond high wind

Footpoth opposite the Old Wood

Yord hos been renewed

Doytime house robbery in

Tebworth resulting in elderlyhouseholder hoving to spend thenight in hospitol.

Successful seoson for the cricketteom who just miss out on winningtheleague title but toke the tO/tOcup competition

Fother Christmos visits Tebworthon Fridoy ?l December

suffer fewer heart attacks than theAustralians. British or Americans.

ltalians drink large arrrounts of red wineand suft-er fewer heart attacks than the

Australians. British or A,nfcans.Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots

of sausages and fats and suff'er fewerheart attacks than the Australians, Britishor Anrericans.

Conc[sion - eat and drink what you like.

Speakrng English is apparently wlrat kills you!

ChalgraveChurch

Welcome from All Saints Parish ChurchServices and special events at All Saints.

First and third Sundays of the month - 9.30am Parish CommunionSunday - Family Service llam

(For people of all ages, lasting about 35mins)liourth Sunday Farnily C]ommunion Ilam

The Christmas calendar is as follows:-

Saturday 16th Dec Carols by Candletight 19.30hrsSunday 23rd Dec Crib Services 15.00hrs

Monday 24th Dec Midnight 23.45hrs

No service at Chalgrave on Christmas morningJoint service with Toddington at St. Georges 10.30hrs

and no service on Sunday 30th Dec.Benefice service at St. Georges 9.30hrs

News From All Saints ChurchI am pleased to report that Anne crawford has been appointed as the new

Rector of the Benefice of Toddington and Chalgrave. Anne joins us from All SaintsLeighton Buzzard and her induction will be on wednesday 30th January.Anne is Married to Allan, a civil servant, and they have three daughters:

Rebecca who is 22 and works for a firm of loss adjusters in London;Helen who is l9 and at Portsmouth Univeristy studying psychology;

and Sophie who is 14 and at school in Harpenden.Prior to entering the Ministry Anne has worked for the library service

and in retail with Marks and Spencers and Waitrose.

Anne is looking forward to joining us and meeting people andI am sure you will join me in welcoming her to the Benefice

Everyone is sure to receive a btarm welcome

4

More News -fro* your CounQ CouncillorThe "Ml Widening Debate"?

Unfortunately, there is insufficient "Weaving Distance" between junction l2 and the

Service Station on a "3 lane Motorway", so the safety issues on the new "4 lane" version

are of greater concem. The proper solution should be to relocate the service station north

of Jl2, or remove Jl2. So I hope you can understand my concem with the Highways

Agency proposal to build an expensive three island enhanced Jl2 capable ofhandling

much higher levels of traffic. Further more it would be totally unacceptable to try to

disperse this extra traffrc through the winding horse roads in the conservation areas of the

surrounding historical villages Harlington, Toddington and Tebworth. To remove the

jgnction would cause much of the traffrc from the east of the junction to negotiate the

dangerously blind hill summit on the way to Fancot and then sharp blind bend in Chalton.

So, on your behalf, I have suggested to the HA ways of increasing the weaving distance -

based on moving the entrances and exits to the Service Station as far south possible. This

enables me to suggest a simple longer replacement bridge immediately south of the

present one with weaving distances that are still better than in the HA solution. To keep

ihe traffic down, I have also suggested that the junction could be restricted to traffic to and

from the South when junction I la comes on stream. What ever Jl2 solution emerges, I'massured that the road furniture and signs will be directing traffic to Jl la. I am hoping that

most residents will give this support - even if the HA refuse to implement it. I am

encouraged to hear that the changes that I wanted to Jl la (to allow traffrc from Luton and

the new house build access to the Ml) are in line with proposals from County, District and

Luton and Chalton and that these changes are likely to be accepted'

The'New Housing Debate"?

Lack of infrastructure has led to a critical level of Grid locking in Dunstable, resulting in a

substantially reduced shopping experience both from the selection of shops and the time

spent on the journey. Other business has been affected too resulting in local job loss. The

Govemment inspector's decision to allow substantial building on adjacent to the

gridlocked 45 sites, that used to provide mass employment, will make the situation even

*or.". The fifteen year delay in building the Dunstable Northern By-Pass and widening

the M I means that there should be no build north of this stricken town. The problem is

that if building in South Beds is seen to fall behind the Government set rate, there could

be a developer "free for all" which would be disashous. Strange to say, members of all

parties have said over a six year period that in South Beds, in the main, those who can

uffiora to buy work to the South and those who cannot need to be where the jobs are which

is mainly to the south of the Luton/Dunstable conurbation. I hope all agree that any build

before the Bypass is operational should be in this area, because even building east ofLeighton is still really north of Dunstable!

This is the position that I have taken, I hope it has support, but again we are faced with a

Government which has its own Agenda - which could be very different to ours.

Rhys Goodwin

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EditorialWell here we are and Winter has finally arrived with avengeance. So it is time for another fun fact filled edition ofyour favourite magazine. The Chalgrave Games seem a distantmemory now but the organisers would still like to thank all thehelpers and participants for their time and enthusiasm. We at theChalgrave News did our bit helping to run the Pimms tent amongst other things.Printer problems continue to plague us at the Chalgrave News printing plant, but weshall persevere, mainly because we can't afford to buy a new one, does anyone havean industrial strength printer lying around or do you know where we can get one at avery good price?

We hope you cnjoy reading your local magazine and if there is something you thinkshould be investigated and reported about then you must let us know, we wouldwelcome your input. All coneqpondence can be posted in the Memorial Hall post box.There are always some events to look out for in the Parish and this next few monthsare no exception. There is the annual Christmas lights competition, another fabulousBoogie Night at the Memorial Hall, and there is rumoured to be a Murder Mysteryplanned for the New Year. So keep your eyes open and your ears pricked for moreinformation.

Did you notice the front cover? Just who is that funny looking old duffer with KenDodd? I believe Ken was accosted by him during a performance in Dunstable andcouldn't get rid of him until he had had his photograph taken brandishing theChalgrave News. Well done that man!!

I know it seems a long time ago but the Best Kept Front Garden Competition waswon this year by Arthur and Carol of Toddington Road for a truly beautiful display.This is not to say that others were not just as good but on the day that we wentinspecting the sun was shining and the scent coming from their garden was fabulous,so congratulations to them.Another well deserved award The Community Award was presented to Sue Leuty atthe games it was also awarded to Ray Willis but he was in the toilet at the time of thepresentation so we don't know if he ever got it.

Finally, as always we are looking for more sponsors for the Chalgrave News so ifyou would like to contribute then please speak to one of the editorial team (numbersin the blue bit)

And very finally if there is anyone out there who does not wish to receive TheChalgrave News for any reason then please let us know because it costs about f,2:50for each copy and we could save a considerable amount if we were to print less copies.

Chalgrave Social Dia. Porish Council meet in the Villoge Holl 7.30pm, lostTues of the month

. Plough fnn - Quiz nights evety other Tuesdoy 9.00pm

Dominoes Tues & Thurs evenings. Queens Heod - Live entertoinment every Friday 7.30pm

Dorts Weds, Dominos Tues & Thurs evenngs. Book Club meetings - weekdoys - contoct Lindo Hodden

. Christmos Lights competition - judged over the 12 doys of Christmos

. Fother Christmas visits the Porish 2t December

. New Yeors Eve porty ot the Memoriol Holl

. New Yeors Eve porty ot The Plough

. Murder Mystery - Morch, dote to be confirmed

. Swing Night at the Memoriol Holl - 7 Februory 7.30pm

The Chalgrave New's team produce The Chalgrave News in good faith and do allwe can to ensure thot no olfence is caused to any individual or

organisation. We also reserve the right not to publish articles andcontributions submitted to us if these do not comply with our policy.

2

1 fancied a game of darts with my mate. He said, "Nearest the bull goes

first". He went "Baah" and I went "Moo" He said "You're closest"

went into a shop and I said, "Can someone sell me a kettle." The bloke

said "Kenwood" I said, "Where is he?"

told my girlfriend I had a job in a bowling alley. She said "Tenpin?", I

said, "No, it's a permanent job."

1 was reading this book today, The History Of Glue, and I couldn't put itdown.

Auntie Agnes's Problem PagePersonal problems resolved with a smile

Once again I.find myself having to issue an apologt for yet another typesettingerror in the last edition of the Chalgrave New.s.

To Mrs X -- I am very sorry that you appear to have not realised thqt there wasan error in my reply to your problem, and I am extremely surprised that you wentohead with my advice as set out in the last issue.

You wrote to me asking how you could rekindle the excitement and love that youand your husband shared in the early days of your marriage.I replied that the French word for love is amour but unfortunately due to a

ry^ping error this was printed as armour.

My advice should have thereft,tre read - Why not start by taking the imitative andbook a weekend in Paris? There can be no better place in the world to get yourhusband to show an interest in amour

As soon as you are both in Paris show him that yott have nothing more on yourmind Jbr the weekend but amour.

Why not buy something.special to remind you over the coming years of thiswonderful weekend that you both spent in Paris'?

I was very pleased to learn that you took my advice and booked a holiday forboth of you in Paris but I thought thatyou wouldhave realised I did not mean

for you both to spend all your time visiting museums looking at historical suitsof armour! I am glad to hear that you bought a reminder of your weekend inParis although I am not sure that I meant for you to purchase an extremelyexpensive fifteenth century suit of-armour even if it was worn qt the Battle ofAgincourt. It was extremely foolish of your husband to try the qrmour on ju.stbefore you were due to fly home and becoming ,stuck and makingyou both miss your Jlight. I am sure you will find an ert.somewhere in the UK who can advise him how, to get out of thearmour before he is due back at work!!!

Well until our next issue dear readers...

35

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