Brookwood Village News

Volume 23   Issue 11   September 2003

•	Our Scout Group - 64 of them - attended the Woking District Scout and Guide Camp at Stoney Castle. Over a thousand Rainbows, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Guides, Ranger guides, Explorer Scouts and their Leaders had a smashing time.
•	The WI had a race night which was fun for everyone even those lucky enough to lose their shirts in the hot weather.
	The Traffic Lights went through a few changes as the SCC technicians tried to find a happy compromise between the four intersections. (If you live at the western end of Connaught Road and travel east during the morning rush hour - take sandwiches and a drink!).
•	And the gardens grew and grew and were judged.

•	W.I. Autumn Jumble Sale on September20th Small Memorial Hall 10.30 am.
•	Join the Autumn Club on Tuesday 7th October for a visit to Denbies Vineyard. Cost £9 includes Coach, Indoor tour and tasting. Meet at the Station at 1.30 pm. Phone Barbara Graves on 830187 to book your place.	2003 will be a vintage year due to the hot weather according to the bon viveurs!
•	Charity Whist Drive on 7th November in aid of Woking Multiple Sclerosis Society. Be there! Details next month.	Spades are trumps! Oh dear! You've got none!
•	BVA AGM Tuesday 19th November 2003	Vote for her! Vote for him!

We asked for sponsors for the Newsletter and would you believe it we had a call from an anonymous Scotsman - with Aberdeen connections! He has a great sense of humour and is sponsoring a whole issue! Any more sponsors welcome, anonymous or otherwise, any nationality, any amount. If you would like to help out, contact Mac on 473246. As a special treat, you have TWO sheets to devour this month. That's what comes of having a month off!

Now we are off into the countdown for Christmas! Who is going to be the first to fill our vision with Christmas decorations, our hearing with endless playing of Carols and will there be room on the shelves for the Christmas cakes and tins of biscuits or will they just have to stop pushing Hot Cross Buns at us?! Lots of good things ahead as we get closer to the festive season no doubt. Let's try not to forget what it is really all about.

Pirbright Branch of the Royal British Legion is arranging an outing to the National Maritime Museum Greenwich on Wednesday 1st October at a cost of £16 per person. This covers the coach to Tower Pier, boat to Greenwich and the return journey. Admission to the Museum is free! The coach leaves at 1000 hrs from Pirbright car park and gets back at about 1730 hrs. There will be a couple of hours to look round and refreshment facilities for those who need them or just want to sit and admire the view! A number of residents went to Kneller Hall Army School of music in August with the RBL and had a smashing evening! If you want to go to the Maritime Museum, call Mac Fryatt on 473246 PROMPTLY and he will try to fix you up!

Is there anybody in the Village whose child is starting at Shepherd's Hill Nursery (Guildford Children's Centre) when it reopens on its new site in November and who might be interested in a transport rota for the morning session? If so, please call Kate Lopez on 01483 487301.

Brookwood Memorial Halls Management Committee has applied for a tripartite grant to enable the long awaited landscaping project to go full steam ahead. Tripartite means that, if successful, Woking Borough and Surrey County Councils will each put up one-third of the total project cost with the Hall providing one-third as well. Preliminary estimates indicate a total cost in the region of £35,000 so they're not talking peanuts! A full detailed explanation of the proposal will be made available as soon as the finer points of that detail have been agreed. At this stage, the Hall is quite clear that; it will not go ahead unless the tripartite grant is forthcoming; that all residents will be kept informed of what is going on; and the environmental aspects of doing anything to the grounds will be seriously observed.

Distraction burglaries are always a threat especially to the older generation and a few golden rules will help protect you. BEWARE of STRANGERS knocking and asking for a drink of water; asking for the telephone directory to check a neighbour';s address; asking for change; pretending to be from Gas Electric or Water authorities or even offering to give a service "we're working in this area and can do it at a special price" ALWAYS ask to see a proper identification card from Gas, Electric or Water personnel (it will usually have a photo on it and NEVER LET ANYONE YOU DON'T KNOW into your house without making sure they are genuine authorised people.. NEVER agree to buy services from a doorstep caller. If you didn't know you needed it - you probably don't need it! If you know you need the service make your own arrangements in your own time with advice from a friend or relative NOT with an unexpected caller and NEVER part with any money "up front". If a caller worries you, call the Police.

From time to time, Mac Fryatt receives calls from our local Police advising him of incidents in our area which might be of interest to local residents. Unfortunately, these do not always fit in with our Newsletter publication date and it is difficult to give the information a wider circulation. It is put into the next available Newsletter but in more general terms as above. It would be possible to pass any such information (it doesn't identify people or addresses) via e-mail. A few years ago, the Woking Crime Prevention team talked with the Neighbourhood Watch organisers about the possibility of passing information about incidents in localised areas by e-mail. This didn't really get off the ground as so few people had access to the e-mail system. But it's all going on now! With the spread of home PC's and families joining the Internet and using e-mail this might be the time to give it another chance. But let's be clear about it - it is not going to supersede all other forms of communication e.g. the Newsletter or meeting up with our Community Policemen at their surgeries. The majority of families do not use the Internet and conventional means will continue to be the main information flow. If you would like to be on such a circulation, send Mac Fryatt an e-mail subject NW and he will do the necessary. Mac will make sure John Crook gets any information and he will pass it round Sheets Heath if relevant.

In the meantime, you can always use the Internet to look up the Surrey Police website which gives general information on Police activity. Hit "In your area"; and then hit Craig Matthews who has a page for us!

Our Scout Group is looking for more Leaders, in particular a Group Scout Leader and a Cub Scout Leader. Bob White who became GSL a couple of years back is now more heavily engaged in his teacher training and can no longer spare the time. Just the job for someone who is perhaps more admin minded than "hands-on". Apply to Roger James, Group Chairman (476379) or to Bob himself (481883) if you can help. Susan Thornton has decided to retire at Christmas after several years as CSL. A really worthwhile activity for either sex and any age group.. As with all Scouting appointments, there is an abundance of training awaiting applicants with loads of backup within the District. And a couple of assistants are needed too as Sarah James heads for Uni in September and Karen White feels a break is due. It isn't just the Cubs who benefit from their time in Scouting - the Leaders do too! Again, contact Roger or Susan (829926) if you're up for it!

It's me again! FOB's Christmas Fair Provisional date 6th December

We are hoping to publish fixtures of the Brookwood Football and Cricket teams in due course. We will happily publish other Clubs events and appeals for Members etc. IF YOU TELL US! Contact Mac Fryatt 01483 473246

Congratulations to all our youngsters who did well in their GCSE's and A Level exams. Good luck in your next schooling session be it Sixth Form College or University. If you didn't do so well never mind, have another bash - you will make it.
We also hope all the younger ones who are starting school for the first time or are changing schools settle in quickly and go on to get even better results than their predecessors!

There was a very unusual Birthday Party in late August. Heather Lea celebrated her 100th Birthday with a BBQ in her grounds! Never heard of her, never seen her in the Village? 'Course you have! It's Number 160 Connaught Road which reached 100 years of age and the present occupants, Diane and Malcolm Fellowes-Freeman thought they should have a party for this occasion. Now this leads to the question of "Which is the oldest house in Brookwood"? Short odds are offered on the "Station Master's house" but do you know better? And who has lived continuously in the same house in Brookwood longest? Mac thinks he knows the answer to that one but ……

Whatever you start from, Wherever you want to go, Consult with

GEOFFREY SABATINI FCSD Interior Designer Tel: 01483 828292 A small practice specialising in domestic interior design projects, including: · House Extensions Drawings for Planning Permission. · Bathrooms and Kitchens Designs. · Interior Improvements. Professional and affordable quality design service.

We await with much interest the outcome of the planning application submitted to WBC for permission to create a site for caravans on the land between the smallholding and the Nursery on Brookwood Lye Road. It hardly seems the appropriate place for travellers to come to rest as it is deemed Green Belt, has no facilities for Sewage or Water let alone gas or electricity. Access to the road is also being sought - just what the crossroads needs! The applicants jumped the gun and set about creating the site without planning permission and WBC made them withdraw from the site and remove the access entrance. There seems no case for permitting this development especially as WBC has such sites available in the Borough that will be properly maintained. Where will it all end?

Want to try something new?! Lightwater Short Mat Bowls Club have moved to the Lord Roberts Centre at the NSRA Bisley. They meet on Thursday evenings 7 - 9.30 pm. The season opens on Wednesday 25th September through to April 2004. New Members are always welcome so why not turn up and have a go! For more information, call J.E.Jopson on 01276 475771.
Come on! Bend it like Sir Francis Drake!

We'd like some more sponsors please so if you have a birthday, an anniversary, a business or just feel generous, book your entry with Mac Fryatt - ring 473246. A tenner reaches all of Brookwood and a few places beyond!