September 2014

Welcome to the September edition of Brookwood News. As we head into autumn it is a good time to discover the many great assets we have locally. Join a nature walk around the cemetery, admire the changing colours along the canal, view the successes of the allotment folk at their annual show or take a stroll up to Sheets Heath.

Thanks to all the contributors and to you for reading it. Please continue to give us your feedback and let us know your local news.

The evening will begin at 7.30pm for wine, cheese, chat and inspection of the items, with the auction at 8pm.
We will also be introducing our new chair and would be delighted if anyone would like to buy one at a cost of £95 each, to keep in the church. If you would like to buy a chair and cannot attend on the evening, please contact Yvonne Craven on 01483 480273 or email.

Following the pew auction, there will be a promise auction. If you have anything to offer for the auction, big or small, such as an hour’s gardening, a dinner cooked, a ride in a special car, a weekend in a holiday home, an evening of babysitting, then please get in touch. We will be taking these promises right up until 8pm on the day! Whether you are buying or just looking, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for an enjoyable evening. Admission is free and all are welcome.

FINDING THE SERGEANT MAJOR

Kindly contributed by Bob Price

It was in the 1790s that the navvies finished their Herculean work on the Basingstoke Canal. I am grateful. We’ve been left with a gem. Running behind Brookwood’s village street, the canal harbours kingfishers, moorhen, coot, dragonflies, blue damsels, gliding bream, sterling silver roach and some splendid perch. I creep here now, beside the lily pads, an old cane rod in hand. I have rigged a float and a wriggling red worm. I am hunting sergeant majors. Striped warriors, splendid, perky perch.

Across the canal the fish fry panic, scattering the emerald water, rupturing the reflections of trees. They leap into the air, swish and swish again! Ah… the perch are hunting. Gently now, I launch my offering into the limpid water. The worm drops beside the floating pads. I hear the satisfying ‘splosh’ of my float. I picture it diving momentarily before it climbs to the light once more. It is so simple, so hopeful, so delightful. ‘Will you be tempted Sergeant Major?’
Cyclists pass; a jovial neighbour wonders whether it’s fish and chips for tea? A family on scooters trundle by, sunlight, and shadows, and now the lilies move. My float quivers. I fervently wish it will disappear. BOB. Down it goes… then up. Bob again and I caress the old cane rod. For just this moment, my world resides atop a painted float. At last! It slides beneath and... with a gentle movement, I set the hook. There he is! Fine fellow, bristling fins, surging through the jungle stems.

I have loved this fish these fifty years. I steer him from the cover and slide my cradle net beneath his chainmail form. Lift, with care, now gently onto the lap he goes. Oh so special, or so bold! His cavalier eyes, red, are kissed as if by the setting sun. I check his flanks for pike wounds or sores, and there are none. He is perfect. There is no need for antiseptic. With a twist my hook is quickly drawn. He is just a pound in weight no more, but precious and released again to his domain. He rests awhile within the net, and then he sweeps away. The moment passes. Joggers stretch their leaden limbs along the tow path. Sunlight and shadows, just beyond your back door.

Bob’s book of hare folklore stories, ‘Maidens of the Moon’, is published by the Golden Hare Press (www.goldenharepress.com)
He has been an angler for fifty years.

Thanks to everybody who supported the Brookwood Club August charity BBQ and skittles evening. A total of £200 was raised on the night, which will be split between our two local charities of BAN and Woking Hospice. This makes a total of £405 collected since April for the joint charities, with a further £400 raised for Woking Hospice in memory of Dick Follett.

KEVIN’S COMMENTS
Our local councillor, Kevin Davis, gives updates on a number of issues. Follow his blog.

Great to see that Brookwood is the only village in the borough that managed to get the poppies round the right way on the lamp posts. Except for the one rogue poppy in the village. Have you spotted it yet? I have more poppies available and so if you would like to display one or two on your own property, please give me a shout.
Now that Wessons has moved from Brookwood, the work to decontaminate the site has begun. I understand there will be some disruption to the owners of the garages at the back of the site by Connaught Crescent starting early in September. My understanding is that nothing will be done to the garages, just that the road there will be dug up and cars will be unable to enter or leave the garages for at least a week. If you will be caught out by this inconvenience, WBC will ensure you can park in the road without fear of a ticket. However, you must make contact with the Environment Team up front.
Blackhorse Road has been resurfaced. It looks like a proper job has been done rather than the usual surface dressing. With luck it will last a good few years before pot holes start to come back. There is some anti-skid treatment due to be completed shortly.
If you want to keep your Council Tax as low as possible, don’t forget the Council collects not only regular recycling, but also small electrical appliances and textiles. The Council’s website spells out what can be collected and when.

The Neighbourhood Forum AGM in July included a lively discussion around the aspects that residents liked or disliked about living in Brookwood. Now that the Forum and plan area have received official designation from Woking Council, there will be a wider consultation project starting in the autumn. Check out our website at www.bbnf.org.uk for further information.

HEDGES AND GRAVEL!
Please spare a thought for those walking around the village, by keeping your hedges trimmed back from the pavement and keeping any gravel on your own drive.

BROOKWOOD CEMETERY SOCIETY
Nature Walk, Sunday 7th September
The next walk will be led by bee experts George Else and David Baldock. Meet at 2pm at the entrance to the Glades of Remembrance, adjacent to the Cemetery Office on Cemetery Pales. No need to book but a small donation is suggested. For further details call 01344 891041 or visit the website at www.tbcs.org.uk

If you are interested in an occasional email Community Update between newsletters, you can sign up through the Brookwood website: www.brookwood.org.uk (top right hand corner).

PETER MAHONEY
We report the sad death of Peter Mahoney. For many years Peter and his wife Bernadette ran the village off licence (now a hairdressers). They then moved to Byfleet and after his retirement Peter became heavily involved in Byfleet Care, a volunteers’ organisation providing support for the local community. Peter sadly died in April and his funeral was held at St John’s Crematorium in May. It was extremely well attended; a tribute to the high esteem in which a very kind and affable man was held.

SEPTEMBER DIARY DATES
 1st   Brookwood Memorial Halls reopen this week
 3rd   Brookwood School first day of term for all pupils except new Reception children
 6th   Goldsworth Park Allotment Society Annual Show, 3pm in Brookwood Memorial Hall
 7th   Brookwood Cemetery Society Nature Walk, 2pm from the Cemetery Office in Cemetery Pales
25th  Friends of Pirbright Surgery Open Meeting, 7pm in Lord Pirbright’s Hall on Pirbright Green
26th  St Saviour’s Church Pew and Promise auction, 7.30pm in St Saviour’s Church
30th  Will the Chinese takeaway be open?!

Are you a retired or senior person living alone in Brookwood? Did you know that Lunch With Others meets monthly for fish & chips, a chat and a chance to meet up with old friends and acquaintances as well as making new friends? Or, if you don’t fancy fish & chips you can bring your own lunch and join us. If you are interested, then call Sheila on 489053 for further details.

ANYONE FOR COFFEE?
You can pop into St Saviour’s Church for coffee on Fridays between 10am and 12noon to meet new people and have a chat.