lower kingswood residents association chairman: david ... · your local businesses need you we are...

VILLAGE NEWS

Welcome to our Spring 2009 issue of Village News and we would like to extend a warm welcome to all those new residents who have moved into the village over the past few months. Please remember that all residents of Lower Kingswood are members of the Residents‟ Association, if you have any concerns about the Village, the Residents‟ Association Committee is here to try and help you and represent your interests.

Unlike most other local Residents‟ Association there is no annual subscription payable – our running costs are met from the revenue from advertisements in our newsletter. So please help support our local businesses and advertisers. Please remember that, without the continuing support of local residents, our local businesses – both old and new – may find it difficult to survive.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM of the Lower Kingswood Residents’ Association will take place at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 7th April at the Church Hall in Buckland Road; it will be followed by the AGM of the Village Hall Trust. All residents are welcome to attend both meetings.

We hope to see as many of you as possible; please remember that this is your Residents‟ Association. As usual, we look forward to welcoming our Borough & County Councillors.

COUNCILLORS’ SURGERY

We were pleased to note that the meeting held in mid-November was well attended and members of the Committee have had positive feedback from this meeting. We should also like to thank all our Borough & County Councillors and Surrey Police representatives for sparing the time to attend and participate in “face to face” discussions with residents and we look forward to welcoming them at future surgeries.

We have scheduled the next meeting for Saturday 23rd May (between 11:00am and 12:00 noon) at the Church Hall in Buckland Road.

POLICE NEWS

We are fortunate that instances of criminal activity within Lower Kingswood remain low; but that is not to say we should be complacent. Unfortunately we have also lost both “our” PC (Kelly Thorne) & PCSO (Karen Hughes) and we wish them both well for the future. In the short term, Lower Kingswood is being covered as part of a “patch” which includes Tadworth, Walton, Kingswood, Hooley & Netherne. There is a longer term issue with regard to the

www.lowerkingswood.org.uk

Chairman's Report to Residents

Borough Council

report

2

Surrey Police report 2&3

Kingswood Primary

School

4

LK Village Fête 5

KW&T Horticultural

Society

7

Wisdom of God

Church & Church

Hall

8

Evangelical Church,

CAMEO Club & LK

Strollers

9

Scout Group 12

Rainbows & Brownies 13

LK Bowls Club 14

Buses 4 U, Gardening

Hints & Tips

15

Old Pheasantry

Children‟s Trust

16

Village Hall Trust 17

Inside this issue:

Lower Kingswood Residents Association

Chairman: David Patel Secretary: Bob Brown Treasurer: Faye Miles

March 2009

Spring Edition 2009

recruitment of officers by Surrey Police, given the proximity to the Metropolitan Police area (and the higher salaries paid by the latter); this is an issue that our Councillors are pursuing in their regular meetings with Surrey Police.

If you have access to the internet and would like further statistical information on the levels of crime, you can now access a “crime map” which allows information to be obtained for a given locality or even post code: http://surrey.crimemapper.co.uk/

Don‟t forget, any suspicious activity should be reported to the police.

YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES NEED YOU

We are increasingly bombarded by the media with the impact of the growing economic recession – and it seems clear that the worst is far from over. It is important that Lower Kingswood residents continue to support OUR local businesses and services otherwise we could find that the remaining ones will not survive.

You can help our local businesses by giving them the opportunity to provide a quotation for any goods or services that you may be contemplating ordering.

We are now including a Directory of Local Businesses in issues of Village News. We would like to invite all local businesses or services – whether or not they already have a “feature” advertisement – to contact us and we will arrange to include a FREE 2 or 3 line directory listing for all issues of Village News that we will be published during 2009 AND 2010. Such details can be forwarded via our Chairman.

VILLAGE NEWS

Once again a big thank you to all who have contributed articles and helped with both the production and distribution of this newsletter. Village News is distributed free to all households in (and around) Lower Kingswood, and this is only possible because of the assistance given by volunteers in its production, printing and distribution. If you can spare the time to help – particularly with distribution – please contact our Chairman.

Don’t forget - if you use the services of one of our advertisers, please mention that you saw their advertisement in Village News.

We would also like to acknowledge the continued support of Fidelity Investment Services.

Lower Kingswood Village News Spring 2009

FACING UP TO DIFFICULT TIMES

This year is going to be difficult for us all, including the Council. Just as you have to economise, we at the Council will have to do more for less.

These are unprecedented economic times for us all. We are hav-ing to look carefully at all of our plans. This year we shall finish many things which we have started, within our budget, just as we did last year. We completed the Priory Park refurbishment mainly paid for by a lottery grant and kind donations from Canon, Legal & General, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, and other smaller donations, for which we are most grateful. The new Redhill bus station was paid for by New Growth Point money from the Government, and we have just succeeded in obtaining another £5.3 million to improve our Borough

This year we are going to begin to fulfil another pledge, this time to Horley residents. They had the pain of 2,600 extra dwellings foisted upon them, and I promised that there must be gain as well as pain. To that end we are working in partnership with Surrey County Council to secure the purchase of land in Horley that will allow us to build the Leisure Centre and Pool, and other benefits that were promised to those residents.

The horrendous fire at the Waitrose store just before Christmas was a blow to traders and shoppers alike. My officers are work-ing very closely with Waitrose and a planning application is al-most ready for councillors to consider. We shall do all we can to get Waitrose up and trading as soon as we can, and in the mean-time they have moved into the old Woolworths store. Special thanks are due to Fire, Police and Reigate & Banstead officers who did so much on that fateful night and after to get the High Street up and running again.

The Council is not exempt from financial hardship, it costs over £55million to provide our services, and we receive just £6.8 mil-lion in government grant. That equates to £52.93 per head as

opposed to Harrogate who receive £68.32 per head! We rely on fees and charges and investment income to make up the shortfall, and like all of us the Council has seen its investment income plummet to the lowest ever since bank-ing records began. Reigate & Banstead keep just 13p from every pound of council tax you pay. The rest goes to Surrey County Council and Surrey Po-lice. Both of these bodies have suffered severe cuts and under provision from government for some 9 years.

My Executive and Senior Officers are working hard to find other ways to deliver services and to save your money. My pledge to you is that we shall continue to provide quality services to keep this Borough „Clean, Green and Safe‟. Clean and Green we can do alone, Safe is in close partnership with the Police, a relation-ship which I value and nurture. I further promise that every penny of your money will be spent wisely and carefully. We are well versed in that, having just shaved £!.9million off our budget.

Things will improve, life will get easier. Let us be grateful that we live in such a wonderful place, and do all we can to keep it that way.

Joan Spiers

Leader of the Council

e-mail: [email protected]

telephone: 01737-833590

Editor’s note:

On behalf of the Residents’ Association, we should like to thank our

Reigate & Banstead Borough Councillors for their very recent donation

towards the printing costs of our quarterly newsletter ‘Village News’.

As announced in the last issue, PC Kelly Thorne has already left Surrey Police to join another force and, more recently, PCSO Karen Hughes has joined Surrey Police itself. Lower Kingswood is thus being covered by PC Ed Ferris and PCSO Laura Johnson – along with Tadworth, Walton, Kingswood, Hooley & Netherne. Their contact details are as fol-lows:

PC Ed Ferris FIN: 3029 Email: [email protected] Phone: 0845-125-2222 PCSO Laura Johnson FIN: 12543 Email: [email protected] Phone: 0845-125-2222

BREAKING NEWS

Lower Kingswood Street Surgery - Wednesday 1st April 2009 from 8:30 to 9:30am outside Lower Kingswood Primary School, Buckland Road.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council report

Surrey Police report

mailto:[email protected]


Spring 2009 Lower Kingswood Village News

BURGLARY

Burglaries and vehicle crime in the Kingswood area is a top pri-ority for the Safer Neighbourhood Team. Due to the affluent nature of Kingswood Warren, it is an inviting target for thieves and burglars within Surrey and from neighbouring counties such as London and Sussex.

Residential and building site burglaries as well as vehicle crime in Kingswood and the surrounding areas have been identified as a concern for local residents. Your Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) has been actively patrolling those areas worst affected and conducting stop checks. We are committed to identifying possi-ble suspects for these crimes and reassuring residents by our presence. We are also aware of regular offenders for these types of crimes and working with our Local Intelligence Office and Proactive Investigation Team (PIT) based at Reigate. Burglaries are often the work of opportunists and we urge resi-dents to assist our hard work by:

Securing their homes, keeping windows locked so they can‟t be opened from the outside, locking front and back doors and vehicles even while at home.

Improving home security, having CCTV systems which are obvious and recording 24 hrs a day.

Use the „STOP CHAIN CHECK‟ routine be-fore deciding whether or not to allow callers into your home.

Notifying Surrey Police IMMEDIATELY of any suspi-cious callers or persons loitering in your area, any vehicles which are foreign to the area or to a particular address or of any suspicious activity at neighbouring properties.

Telling neighbours when you go away, having key holders at neighbouring premises, getting to know your neighbours and their frequent callers/vehicles and setting up neighbourhood watch schemes.

Crime has been relatively low however complacency is our worst enemy and the criminals‟ best friend. We will continue to run patrols at random and alternating times of the day in the hope of disrupting that element of persons who might take advantage of this. A recent stop check on a vehicle in Kingswood during burglary patrols resulted in one person being arrested for having offen-sive weapons and drugs within the vehicle.

SPEEDING

Speeding has been raised as a particular issue in Buckland Road, Lower Kingswood and Tadworth Street around the area of the primary schools.

This is obviously a high priority since children going to and from school are often distracted and likely to run across roads or step out without warning. The government is constantly aware of this issue as the recent spate of media attention attests to.

Young people are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured as a result of being struck by a car and are further at risk from people exceeding the speed limit. A lot of the areas we are fo-cusing on already have 20 MPH zones enforceable during school pick up and drop off times and we would like to take this oppor-tunity to remind people that 20 MPH (or 30 MPH in most town areas) is the MAXIMUM limit and should not be exceeded, par-

ticularly during peak hours.

Speed monitoring is taking place in the area and a Community SpeedWatch scheme is being discussed. This will encourage local residents who are available at those peak hours to be in-volved in recording drivers' speeds. Warning notices are dis-patched via the Safer Neighbourhoods Team. In appropriate areas, officers will be visibly checking drivers' speed and enforc-ing other minor traffic law such as seatbelt offences, inconsider-ate parking and unnecessary obstructions. A number of enforce-ment tickets have already been issued.

Please make sure you leave enough time to get your children to and from school to prevent being tempted to go a little quicker. Also remember the test the TOP GEAR guys did a couple of years ago which proved that speeding and changing lanes doesn‟t actually get you there any faster!!

TOP TEN TIPS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF

BURGLARY:

1. Lock doors and windows

2. Check gates and boundaries

3. Keep desirable items from view

4. Switch on the lights

5. Install a burglar alarm

6. Consider a door entry system

7. Don't hide a spare key outside

8. Secure garages and garden sheds

9. Look out for each other

10. Stay alert to suspicious behaviour


This half term already seems to have flown by. Our younger Reception children are now full time and have settled into the longer school day, whilst our older children will be going on their residential trips. The Year 5 children will spend 3 busy days at an activity centre near Tonbridge Wells and the Year 6 children are spending a few days in France, in Le Touquet. They will visit a traditional village boulangerie, a small chocolate factory and then have an opportunity to try out some of their French in a local market.

In March we are having our environment week and a wide range of activities have been organised for the children. We will be continuing to work on our garden and we are hoping the children will be able to start planting in our sensory area of the garden. Other activities include designing and making a mosaic

out of recycled materials, sculpturing, a recycled fashion show and flower pot painting. The aim is for this area of the school to be transformed over the next 3-4 months so children can use it to enhance their learning and for it to provide a tranquil area for the children at playtime. The school has also established an eco-committee involving a group of children who are looking at ways we can ensure the school is recycling, saving energy and generally taking care of our environment.

The school would always welcome any additional help or advice especially with regards to the outdoor

environment. If anybody has any items in garden sheds that are rarely used or are taking up space such as trowels, spades and terracotta flower pots, the school would always make good use of them!

Finally, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Kingswood‟s new deputy head teacher, Julia Waterson, who has spent the last 10 years teaching in Croydon. She has already settled in very quickly and I have no doubt the school will benefit from her skills and experience.

Duncan Steele Headteacher

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Meetings have been taking place on a regular basis to arrange the 2009 Village Fête. It will take place on Bank Holiday Monday 4th May. The time will be 1:30pm – 4:30pm. The Recreation Ground will be the venue and we hope that again this year the sun will shine. Please make a note in your diary!

The Committee has been working hard to find attractions but to keep expenses to the minimum.

Many of the usual enjoyable events will take place – the Fête will start with the parade from the Church Hall of the children from pre-school with their Prince & Princess, then the uniformed groups. The children from Kingswood School will be running some stalls, including the stocks – what fun!!!! The Parent & Toddler Group are running a Children‟s Corner with toys, there will be the dog show, Beer Tent, BBQ together with teas etc.

We are hoping to enjoy a steel band this year. On display will be some classic cars – if you have your own „Pride & Joy‟ and would like to join in please ring for more information.

There are many other stalls for you to enjoy with the Old Pheas-antry holding their Bric-a-Brac and plants stall. It is hoped to have the Owls in attendance again – these were so admired last year. There will be the cake stall and again this year a Cake Competition – posters about this will be displayed around the village. The W.I are hoping that again this year anyone who would like to bake a cake for sale will bring it along, in the morn-ing of the Fête.

The children from Kingswood School will be taking part in a painting competition organised in school by local artist Sandra Summers.

Raffle tickets are on sale – so please help the Fête by purchasing some.

Please come along and enjoy this annual village event – we shall be delighted to see you!

Village Fête - Bank Holiday Monday 4th May

Lower Kingswood

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exclusively to all members at very competitive rates

of hire for parties and functions

♦ Live Music ♦ Caberets ♦ Discos

♦ Barbecues ♦ Quiz Nights ♦ Sports Sections

♦ Pool ♦ Darts ♦ Crib ♦ Dominoes

♦ Football ♦ Bowls ♦ Sky TV/Sky Sports

Parking for Members

Members and their guests always welome

Telephone: 01737 832609 for details

or email: [email protected]

Or visit us on our website at

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SPRING SHOW

Saturday 11th April – open to the public at 2:00pm – at the Church of the Good Shepherd Hall, Tadworth

Hosts of golden daffodils, colourful camellias and the heady scent of hyacinths await you along with tulips, violas, hellebores and other Spring flowers. Don‟t miss the „Arrangement using yellow, blue and white flowers‟ and „Days gone by‟ in the decora-tive section while the arrangements in liqueur glasses are sure to catch your eye.

The domestic section will be tempting you with such goodies as marmalade, Easter biscuits, blackberry jelly and a wholemeal loaf cooked and exhibited in a flower pot.

Remember to bring some small change to vote for your favour-ite photograph, as the photography competition is judged en-tirely by the public. Subjects this time include „Winter flowering shrub‟ and „You beauty!‟

The craft competition is also judged by the public – more small change required. With classes as varied as knitting/crochet, painting/drawing and woodwork, there‟s sure to be something to interest everyone.

Enter the junior section at your peril – they‟re making vegetable and fruit animals to guard their gardens! Other classes include homemade cookies and computer-designed posters to advertise the next show.

Members, before you leave, don‟t forget to pick up your plug plant. Grow it on at home, before bringing it back – dead or alive - to the Summer show in August. Juniors can also take home a packet of seeds to grow.

The raffle, teas and plant sales will all take place as usual.

GARDENER’S DELIGHT

Saturday 13th June and Sunday 14th June 2009 – 2:00pm to 6:00pm each day

A popular annual event when several local gardens are opened for your pleasure throughout the weekend for a single, very rea-sonable, admission charge. Yes, you only pay once and can visit them all!

Teas, ice creams and plants on sale at various venues.

Kingswood, Walton & Tadworth Horticultural Society

Lower Kingswood

Residents’ Association

A.G.M. Church Hall,

Buckland Road

7.30pm Tuesday 7TH APRIL 2009

Invited guests include: Borough & County

Councillors


The Wisdom of God Church

View from the Vicarage

“We are a Church Family that seeks to share the love of

Christ with the community here and worldwide.”

A time for new beginning. The New Year grows older and the people of the USA have a new President, yet the recession bites and times are tough. This is, in the words of the prophet Ecclesiastes contained in the song 'Turn, turn, turn', “a time to break down, and a time to build up”. As we are forced back to basics and reorder a shattered society let us strive for spiritual values and the principles of justice, righteousness and peace. God bless,

Garth Barber

Priest-in-Charge,

St. Andrew’s with the Wisdom of God, Kingswood

You are invited to attend the following Spring Events:

The Variety Jazz Band Saturday 28th March

Tickets: £6 Village Hall, Lower Kingswood

Doors open 7.30pm

H o l y W e e k

Palm Sunday 5th April Holy Communion with Long Gospel - 9:30am in the Wisdom of

God; 11:00am in St Andrews Devotional Service for

Holy Week in St Andrew’s, 4:30pm (note new time) Monday 6th April Compline St Andrew’s, 8:00pm

Tuesday 7th April Compline Wisdom of God, 8:00pm

Wednesday 8th April Compline St Andrew’s, 8:00pm

Maundy Thursday 9th April Last Supper Service in

The Wisdom of God, 8:00pm

Good Friday 10th April Meditational Service,

St Andrew’s, 1:00pm-3:00pm

Easter Saturday 11th April Service of Light,

St Andrew’s, 8:00pm

Easter Sunday 12th April

8:00am Holy Communion (BCP). St Andrew’s

9:30am Holy Communion, Wisdom of God

11:00am Holy Communion, St Andrew’s

Annual Parochial Church Meeting – Sunday 26th

April at 11:00am – Church Hall, Buckland Road

Following a Joint Parish Service at 9:30am in the

Wisdom of God. Refreshments.

Pentecost Sunday 31st May - Churches Together Service, St Andrew’s 6:30pm

ART WORKSHOPS in St Andrew’s Room Friday 27th March JOHN YARDLEY “Water Colour” 10:00am to 3:30pm Cost £22.50 Friday 17th April TONY JACKSON “Abstract using a ruler and vanishing point” 10:00am to 4:00pm Cost £22.50

Friday 29th May ADRIENNE PARKER “Animals in Water Colour” 10:00am to 4:00pm Cost £22.50 Friday 19th June GEOFF THORPE “Oil landscape using Palette Knives” 10:00am to 3:30pm Cost £25

Advance notice:

Grand Parish Fete Sunday 28th June

12 noon – 4pm Vicarage Garden

Information on all Parish Events available from our Parish Administrator: Lindsay Cole: 01737-

830167

Once again it has been a fairly quiet period at the Hall. Odd bits of damage have been noted and dealt with. The Council re-sponded quite quickly to our request for a new rubbish bin out-side the Hall, as the previous one suddenly disappeared just be-fore Christmas – never to be seen again! Many villagers missed the bin, as they find it useful when they have picked up rubbish in the area. The usual complaint is about dog fouling, which is so unpleasant, many dog owners use the rear of the hall grounds to access the Recreation Ground - please clear up after your dog!

The Hall continues to be used for a variety of classes: including Yoga; Pilates; Musical Movements; Art; Sequence Dancing; Tap Dancing; Children‟s Dancing; Children‟s Drama (Encore); flower groups and of course Parent & Toddler; Rainbows; Brownies; Guides and Junior Church. It is also a popular venue for children‟s parties - we do offer good rates for the hire of the Hall. Please contact Marianne & Laurie Kaye on 01737-832848 for bookings.

Once again I would like to thank the Committee for their con-tinuing hard work.

Church Hall


The one thing that the Lower Kingswood Strollers have not done much of during the winter months is strolling! In November we did venture down to Reigate Heath, an area which offers a variety of walks on generally fairly level ground, although land adjoining golf courses can be quite hummocky! It was a dry and fresh day and quite invigorating.

In December we tend to meet up for a lunch followed by a short stretching of the legs. The weather was so inclement that even the LK Strollers thought better of it, though the meal was most enjoyable. Come January, although it was neither raining nor snowing, the conditions underfoot promised to be treacherous – one of our couples had gone for a walk on the preceding Saturday and had ended up ankle-deep in swampy farm land!

We have therefore to admit to being defeated by the winter weather so far – but 2009 beckons, with fresh opportunities for explorations. With the change in the weather anticipated at the time of writing, February‟s stroll should be on, even if a couple of Damarts or a windcheater will be needed. If you are free, why not join us on one of our gentle expeditions. Sometimes, like a favourite bear, we might end up going round in circles, and the likelihood of making any ground-breaking discovery is remote, but we always return refreshed and relaxed, even if slightly puffed! You would be most welcome. We meet at about 2:00pm on the fourth Monday each month.

Lower Kingswood Strollers

By the time you read this, Spring will probably have arrived, a time of new growth, new life, new warmth and sunshine. Seasonal variations can sometimes be extreme, but the pattern is there and is secure, as long as this blue planet of ours remains in orbit around the sun.

Life itself also brings great changes: we are born at an early age, grow through what seems nowadays to be an ever-shorter childhood to become adults. By the time we have begun to come to terms with what being an adult really means, we reach “the prime of life” (whenever that is) and then begin to find limitations asserting themselves so that we realise we are no longer so young as once we were.

Such changes are not confined to individuals. As the church meeting in Smithy Lane celebrated its 86th anniversary in February, we reflected on the ups and downs and extraordinary year we have passed through. We realise that although people have worked hard over many years, the real reason we are still here is the faithfulness of God through all the uncertainties: He has His purpose for both church and people in Lower Kingswood.

We do have links with other churches, and among them we have grown increasingly close to Tollgate Evangelical Church – just the other side of Redhill and of which our Moderator is Pastor. Last year the two Churches agreed to work together in several areas with a view to strengthening the work here in Lower Kingswood. To us it is significant that the development of the relationship with Tollgate came just as we were wondering how we could possibly use the new building effectively: God says that He answers prayers before they have been prayed, and that is what He did. This has already been a great support and encouragement to us in practical ways and we look forward to the possibilities ahead as we seek to continue to work in Lower Kingswood.

The core of that work is sharing the Christian Good News by what we say and do, Good News which is focused in the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth. It is unchanging and does not need to change. This is the Good News we are here to share with anyone who will listen.

Like so many other local events in the area, we had to cancel the first meeting planned for CAMEO members due to the very cold snow and ice. We know that many members were disappointed to miss the R.N.I.B. Male Choir; but we have been able to re-book them to come along on 6th April.

By the time this issue of Village News goes to press, we will have had the March meeting when Robin Radley will have told us of his work and visits to a Children‟s Home in India. Then in April we will have the RNIB Choir. On 11th May we are looking forward to a well-know local speaker Bob Ogley whose subject is “The Great Storm”.

Many new members have come along to CAMEO recently who have read about us in the Village News. We welcome both men and women of all age groups to our informal meetings, which finish with a light tea. If you are looking to make new friends or to renew old acquaintances this is the meeting for you. Newcomers to the area are given a special warm welcome and an invitation to join us at CAMEO. Just come along at 2:00pm and join with us in our new premises in Smithy Lane.

CAMEO Club – „Come And Meet Each Other‟

Lower Kingswood Evangelical Church


NHS DENTAL SURGERY IN THE VILLAGE

Dr I. M. Karas B.D.S.

THE FRIENDLY NHS DENTAL PRACTICE

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Margery Lane

Lower Kingswood

KT20 7BT

Telephone: 01737-221145

Surgery Hours

Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 8:00am to 5:00pm

24 hour answer-phone

Ample free parking off road

You can book appointments by telephoning:

01737-221145

Recycling The recycling area in Stubbs Lane has now been improved and is “up & running”.

New facilities have been installed so that you can now recycle plastic bottles and clean foil. The previ-ous facilities for glass, card, paper and clothing have also been ex-tended.

When using these facilities please be considerate of nearby proper-ties and do not leave litter lying around.


A new year…

After the Centenary of Scouting in 2007 and our Group‟s 70th Anniversary in 2008 we are already under-way in a new year of Scouting. All 3 sec-tions, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts have ex-cellent programs planned with a wide vari-ety of exciting and fun activities.

We have recently been compiling our an-nual census figures and again our Group shows steady development. One particu-lar point to note is that we now have girls actively participating in all 3 sections. Scouting opened to girls many years ago, but many Scout Groups, including ours, did not take that on board until more re-cently. We are now geared up to offer the fun of Scouting to all young people – boys and girls!

Our need is real…

However - in each Village Newsletter you see something I have written asking for adult help in our Group. That is not just a hopeful request – our Leadership problem is real!

The annual census showed that whilst we have about 50 youngsters in the Group, we only have 4 warranted leaders. That is in no way enough (we do majorly rely upon Val and Geoff Dunstan - who technically are not part of our Group as they hold District and County positions in Scouting).

To continue to grow and provide a high level of Scouting activity in the vil-lage we really do need more help. Without your help our activities will have to reduce and sections could have to close down.

We will fight to avoid that – but we do need your help. If you or anyone you know could help us - please contact me.

Our efforts are rewarded …

As you will have read in the last newsletter, in September 9th Reigate Scout Group took part in the 'BIG TIDY UP', part of Britain's biggest ever litter pick. We spent a day helping to tidy up the area around Lower Kingswood village. All our efforts did not go unrecognised – recently Jon, our Scout Leader called me to say we were to be rewarded as part of Reigate & Banstead

Borough Council‟s “Love Where you Live” campaign 2008.

So Jon and some of our Scouts went along to the Harlequin Theatre where they were pre-sented with special certificates by the mayor of the council. Pictures of this event appeared in the „Surrey Mirror’.

Here you see 3 of our Scouts proudly showing off their cer-tificates:

Mike Buzwell Group Scout Leader - 9th Reigate (Lower Kingswood) Scout Group Phone: 0844 415 2215

9th

Reigate Scout Group Lower Kingswood


Rainbows is a member of the Girlguiding group for girls aged between 5 and 7 years. Upon reaching 7, they would then hopefully move onto Brownies.

We meet in the Church Hall, Buckland Road, during term times on Thursdays between 4:30pm & 5:30pm.

Each week we have a varied programme of activities including arts & crafts, baking, games and working towards badges, all of which the girls love and have lots of fun.

We recently completed our Roundabout Rainbows badge and earlier this term we celebrated Chinese New Year and Valentine‟s Day. Some of our girls took their Rainbow Promise, which was a very proud moment for them and we will be having lots of pan-cake fun when we celebrate Shrove Tuesday.

Lower Kingswood Rainbows

Lower Kingswood Brownies re-started just before Christmas under new leadership. We hope that we are living up to the high standards set by our predecessors!

As we had many Brownies that had not yet made their Promise the first half term concentrated on working towards our Promise and ended with 11 Brownies and 2 new Guiders making their Promise in a special ceremony, under the light of a disco ball.

We have also celebrated Chinese New Year and Australia Day cooking and eating Chinese Noodles with chopsticks, and trying the Australian tradition of drinking a hot drink through a choco-late Tim Tam.

The Brownies are currently working towards their Circus Skills Badge which has involved making juggling balls and will be

attending a Circus Skills workshop.

The run up to Easter will include celebrating World Thinking Day and communicating with Brownies in the United States of America as well as a bowling evening and joint Easter activity with Lower Kingswood Rainbows.

We will also have 5 new Brownies joining us and the current Brownies are looking forward to welcoming them for fun learn-ing, activities and games.

1st Lower Kingswood Brownies

Having fun with vocals and drama!

Catering for boys and girls 6 to 16 years, Encore Arts vocal and drama group differs slightly from others in the area. It enables all children, from those who love music and drama to those who thought it would never be for them, to take part in fun activities.

The group is wide-ranging and most importantly very affordable. The aim is to give children confidence and life skills focusing on creativity and fun rather than a career in showbiz.

With a degree in music and other qualifications in the arts as well as being a working singer, Sarah Locke, as proprietor of Encore Arts, provides a service to the village as well as other local youth communities.

“I wasn‟t a child that had great amounts of confidence. When asked to speak in school plays or other school events I would worry uncontrollably about it; I didn‟t have confidence in my own ability. I attended several stage groups as I enjoyed singing, but being in a group like that, for me, felt too pressurised and made me feel worse about myself. Luckily my parents encour-aged my singing skills through a private singing teacher. This was a comfortable environment for me and I excelled, gaining confidence, qualifications and skills. My focus for the vocal and drama group was that not all children do well in huge group situations but are very talented, and some don‟t want to pursue a career in musical theatre or become singers or actors. The thought of being in a group that puts on huge productions at big local theatres could put some adults off, let alone a child – En-core Arts caters for those that love vocals and drama and those

who may never have thought they would like it.”

Unlike other groups Encore Arts deals in light entertain-ment rather than musical thea-tre, with an emphasis on the overall development of skills, encouraging those who are self conscious and shy to boost their self-esteem with the all round objective of building their confidence and having lots of fun in the process. Enthusiasm and commitment is all that is asked.

In a weekly session the children take part in lots of creative ac-tivities that encourage the use of their imagination and build confidence; with their own ideas being used when teaching and to improve the group, but most importantly the group is ex-tremely fun!

Encore Arts is a vocal and drama group with a difference, come and see what we’re all about!

For more information please call:

Sarah Locke: 07941 36 88 60 or www.encorearts.co.uk

Main Venue: Lower Kingswood Church Hall, Buckland Road, Lower Kingswood.

Enhanced CRB clearance, Full Liability Insurance, First Aid Training.

Encore Arts


I can report that the Race Night held on 22nd November 2008 was a very successful evening and enjoyed by all who attended (with a profit in excess of £400).

Congratulations to all the winners & commiserations to all the losers !

The final race (an Auction Race) proved very popular, with the joint owners (The Toters) walking away

with £86 as the winners’ takings! Congratulations to all the winners.

Lower Kingwood Bowls Club

Thanks are given to our race sponsors

The 2009 outdoor season will soon be upon us and our members would like to extend a welcome to anyone who would like to join us for our first Club Night/Practice evening of the season on

Tuesday 5th May 2009 (6:00 pm for 6:30pm start)

at The Recreation Ground, Buckland Road

(Beginners welcome - but flat shoes essential)

Afterwards we adjourn to the bar of the local Village Club to socialise, taking advantage of their extremely rea-

sonable prices.

New Members always welcome

We are a mixed club, which arranges friendly & league matches against other clubs in the area for most weekends and some mid-week afternoons and evenings, as well as organised internal competitions and

invitation matches.

CONTACT THE CLUB CAPTAIN FOR FURTHER DETAILS

Discotronics – computer sales, upgrades & repairs We also advise on and can install wiring for com-puters, networking, telephone, CCTV, digital TV & satellite. Telephone: 01737-833254 or email: [email protected] Pooch Parlour – dog grooming Over 30 years experience; we groom / bath / clip. Telephone: 01737-841010 or 07831-621227

Stoneman Funeral Service – 5th generation family funeral director Local offices at Redhill (01737-763456), Reigate (01737-243164) &Tadworth (01737-814406)

Attention Local Businesses!! Why not feature your local business or commercial organisation in this space – FREE OF CHARGE?

Please contact our Chairman for further information.

Business Directory



We are grateful to one of our residents, Audrey Tarrant, for pointing out that our „Dial A Ride‟ information is very much out of date and that the facilities have been replaced by „Buses 4 U‟.

Buses 4 U is a completely flexible type of local bus service that has no fixed timeta-ble. The route of the bus is determined by the requests from passengers. This type of service is often referred to as "demand responsive transport" or DRT. Buses 4 U also operates some fixed route services. Buses 4 U are operated by the East Surrey Rural Partnership (ESRTP) based in Ox-ted, Surrey and principally operate within the local council areas of Mole Valley Dis-trict, Reigate & Banstead Borough and Tandridge District.

Within the Reigate & Banstead Borough Council area there are two distinct services specifically aimed at people who do not have their own transport and do not live near or cannot use existing public trans-port.

The daytime service (Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm) covers the whole Bor-ough but is restricted to members of

Buses 4 U; membership currently costs £15 per annum. The registration form can be downloaded from the Buses 4 U website or you can request a form to be sent to you by telephoning 01883-732791.

You do not have to be a member to use the evening service (Monday to Saturday 6:30pm to 11:00pm), which is funded by Surrey County Council. This operates in that part of the Borough north of the M25 (i.e. including Lower Kingswood) and journeys can be booked to destinations such as Banstead, Coulsdon, Epsom, Ewell, Redhill & Reigate.

As Audrey Tarrant comments: “Bookings can be made up to 14 days in advance and up to (preferably, at least) 1 hour ahead of travel, by calling the booking line on 01372-204540 (Monday-Saturday). There is an annual membership fee of £15.00 plus a fare per trip based on a zone sys-tem. There are also lists issued bi-monthly giving details of various excur-sions which offer good value to garden centres, pub lunches, seaside trips and other places of interest.”

“I became aware of the Buses 4 U service

after my accident last year, when I realised it was not possible for me to travel by usual public transport. The buses are adapted with lifts and are able to cope with wheelchairs etc. if needed, and the drivers are most helpful to everyone who travels with them.”

“May the service continue to serve our community for a long time, offering door-to-door facilities to everyone.”

Writing this looking out at a wet dismal garden I find it difficult to get enthusiastic about summer! However, there will be lots of new spaces after the snowy winter, all those borderline tender plants will probably have died after prolonged cold and wet. Although the climate is obvi-ously warming up we still get wet cold winters, and it is the wet that kills the ten-der plants more than the cold. I prefer to stick to the hardy perennials and shrubs to create the backbone of the garden and use the more exotic tender ones as interesting fillers that may or may not last a winter. Large specimen shrubs and small trees are very expensive and would represent a con-siderable loss if killed in a winter like the last one, so use the smaller more colourful plants like Salvias - not the red one! - Os-teospermums, and Pelargoniums as sum-mer bedding, and grow larger shrubs in pots that can be placed in amongst the border plants in summer and taken near the house for protection in winter.

Felicia amelloides is a bushy shrub with blue daisy flowers, Prostanthera rotundifo-lia has tiny bell shaped flowers on a rounded evergreen bush, and Cestrum elegans has arching stems with tubular red flowers. All three would grow in a con-tainer, need winter protection, but would add colour and interest to a border or patio. It is time to get the vegetable patch dug over and ready for the first early potatoes, shallots should be in, onions in from the beginning of March, and cabbages and sprouts seeds either in or germinating in pots. Don't get tender vegetables like beans and tomatoes ready too early. They cannot go out until late May, when all frost risk is over, and plants that are kept in check in pots indoors are not healthy. It is much better to wait and grow them on strongly at their natural pace, timed to be ready to plant out unchecked.

Seed potatoes, onions and shallots are in at the Allotments shop in Smithy Close, as are the vegetable seeds. We are open every Sunday morning from 9:00am to 12:00 noon.

Buses 4 U Gardening

Hints & Tips


The Old Pheasantry Children’s Trust

The Old Pheasantry, Merrywood Grove

Mogador, Surrey, KT20 7HF

Tel: 01737 247426

Email: [email protected]

The Old Pheasantry Children's Trust -11th Annual Golf Day

On WEDNESDAY 13th MAY, 2009, the Trust will hold its Golf Day at Surrey Downs Golf Club, Outwood Lane, Kingswood.

The Trust maintains a holiday home and recreation centre for disadvantaged children. Each year more than a thousand boys and girls visit The Old Pheasantry, some of whom have never had a visit to the countryside in their lives.

The Golf Day is designed to cater for at least 20 teams of four players. It is played under Stableford rules, with the best score to count at each hole. Teams will assemble at 11:30am, for registration, and be served tea or coffee, with bacon rolls.

At 12:30pm play will commence from the first and tenth tees. Every effort will be made to accommodate preferred times.

At 18:30pm, there will be a three-course dinner, followed by an auction and prize giving. A raffle will also be drawn.

Non-playing partners will be able to have dinner with the players at a cost of £25.

Lady golfers will be most welcome to participate in teams of four, or in mixed "fours". Appropriate prizes will be awarded to them.

The total cost for the day will be £62.50 per person, ie. £250 per team. Anyone who wishes to play in a team, but who is on his or her own, will be found a team.

Prizes will go to the first and second winning teams, the first and second winning players, the longest drive for ladies and men, and nearest the pin.

Finally, the aim is to have an enjoy-able day for a most worthwhile cause.

If you are interested please contact the manager, Claire Larbey using the information above.

Patrons: Sir Michael Coleman, The Lady Hayter MBE, Michael Manser PRIBA, Lord Moynihan, Baroness Serota, Neville Shulman OBE, Sir Richard Thornton KCVO OBE JP. Registered Office: The Old Pheasantry Children‟s Trust is managed by The Old Pheasantry (Registered Charity 297225); The Friends of the Children (Registered Charity 208506) and The Land and City Families Trust (Registered Charity 291740)


The Trustees wish to remind residents within the Parish of Kingswood the existence of the above fund.

The Village Hall Fund is a charitable trust set up in 1964 with a capital sum being the proceeds of the sale of land first purchased with a view to building a village hall in 1938. Time and circum-stances changed the original intention and the capital was in-vested by the Charity Commissioners and a scheme was set up for the administration of the income from this for the benefit of local groups and organisations. This is allocated by the Trustees within the terms of the Trust and where other provision is not made through public funds.

Please apply for consideration by the Trustees.

Village Hall Fund Village Hall Trust

A.G.M. Church Hall,

Buckland Road

Tuesday 7TH APRIL 2009

Will commence immediately

AFTER the Lower Kingswood

Residents’ Association A.G.M.

Now what was that about “Global Warming” ?

lower kingswood residents association chairman: david ... · your local businesses need you we are...

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