FULMER NEWSLETTER - Fulmer Village

FULMER NEWSLETTER 

DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE 50 www.fulmervillage.org

LIST OF ADVERTISERS 

Area Cars – Mark Roberts 07922 450766 

Chiropody, Adriana Rozek 01753 652754 

Cinema – Club 7 Pinewood, Dee Knight 01753 656217 

Computer Doctor – Paul 01753 889994 

Gardening – W&P Wilcox 01753 531742/07967 408124 

Hamptons Estate Agents, Gerrards Cross 01753 886464 

Ironing Service, Ivana 07967 408124 

PBFish.co.uk – free delivery in fulmer 07912 142539 

Restaurant – Palm Suite Iver, David Williams 01753 652100 

Security – Omega 01344 303606/07860 541931 

Skin Care – Larry & Jo’ 01753 664455 

Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens 01753 523744 

Yoga, Carolyne Billings 07738 264860 

Zumba Class, Georgia 07595 377933 

We are very grateful to our advertisers, many of whom have been 

supporting the Newsletter for a number of years. Please remember to 

tell any of the advertisers that you have seen their advert here. The 

advertising income helps us fund the Newsletter. 

If anyone would like to advertise in a future issue, please contact Susie 

Simkins on 662537 or by e mail to susiemsimkins@gmail.com

NOW WE ARE FIFTY! 

Yes, indeed – this is the fiftieth edition of the Fulmer Newsletter. We made our debut 

in July 1987 and have been recording what has been happening in the Fulmer 

community over the past 25 years and telling of the people who have made it all 

happen in a variety of ways, from the initiative taken by the Parish Council; the 

changes arising from the merger of our Church, after 375 years of independence, with 

St James Gerrards Cross; the fight to retain our Infant School in Fulmer with the 

celebration of its Centenary Anniversary and the visit of Princess Alexandra to open 

the new Wing; the continuing success of the Nursery Schools in the Village Hall; our 

many achievements in the Best Kept Village Competition and the contribution to these 

made by the Fulmer Conservation Volunteers; the protection provided by the 

Neighbourhood Watch Scheme which has helped to ensure a low crime rate; the 

building of the new Pavilion and the Recreation Ground enhancing the superb location 

of the Cricket and Football fields and the Tennis Courts with the Children’s 

Playground alongside, making possible the successes of our Cricket and Youth 

Football teams; Fulmer Day, the Family Activity Day, Bonfire Night, Christmas and 

Harvest Thanksgiving Parties; the Community and Remembrance Day Services with 

the never to be forgotten 400 th Anniversary celebrations of our Church; the activities 

at the Scout Hut and the interesting talks and social outings of the Women’s 

Fellowship; the focal role of the Black Horse in our community life, most especially in 

the nine years when it was run by Brendan and Kay and Paul and Di before them. 

Unrecorded, as they would wish to remain anonymous, is the work of those who care 

for residents who become elderly or infirm, but it is right to express our gratitude 

nevertheless. In 1996 we were still working hard to get the ‘Powers that Be’ to bring 

Main Drainage to Fulmer, which gave rise to so many problems, not least the 

prevailing stench when cesspools were being emptied into tankers. It was eventually 

installed in 1994. 

Nearly all the above has been achieved by voluntary work within our community and 

the Newsletter has been proud to be associated with it and we pay our tribute to the 

men, women and children who have made it all happen. But communities do not 

stand still and if the 100 th edition of the Newsletter in 2036 is able to show that the 

record of success through participation has been sustained, and hopefully emulated, it 

will need sustained determination on the part of those who have the courage to keep 

Fulmer great. The rural communities will have an increasingly important role in 

influencing the way British Society operates in the future. 

Following the introduction of the Fulmer Newsletter came Michael Saxby’s excellent 

history of Fulmer “Featuring Fulmer”, the Gazetteer and “Fulmer’s Fallen”, the story 

behind the nineteen sons from our Parish who lost their lives in the two World Wars, 

have all been published. At the same time a team was formed to complete the 

Archiving work in respect of Fulmer, which had been initiated some years earlier. 

This was carried out in two parts – collating the material, documents, minutes, 

photographs, maps, memorabilia of all sorts of event programmes and so on and then 

cataloguing what had been produced from a wide variety of sources. The team, 

operating out of Fulmer Gardens House Cottages, were amazed by the sheer volume of 

what was handed in. At first it was felt that it could be housed in the Village Hall, but 

exchange visits with the Bucks County Archiving team at Aylesbury convinced us that

we should take advantage of their professionalism and experience; specially designed 

accommodation and excellent reading room facilities for researching and eventually 

all was handed over to them. It was a happy co-operation and Fulmer’s past is now 

available for those wishing to look up family histories, happenings, environmental 

changes and so on. 

And what of the physical shape of Fulmer? In the past 25 years have we managed to 

sustain its character and many would say, its charm? Fulmer was fortunate that pre- 

World War II the families who owned most of the Parish agreed certain rules 

governing development and this was helped by the introduction of the Green Belt and 

subsequent Town and Country Planning Acts. Ribbon Development was seen as a 

great threat to the countryside and this form of control has survived throughout the 

period but may be subject to revision as some current proposals go through. The 

construction of the M25 and M40 had caused us some problems – do you remember 

Low Farm the ‘Quicksands’ Warning Boards on the unfilled gravel pits by Low Farm. 

Fly tipping on a major scale, most especially at the end of Hay Lane, gave rise to two 

Courts of Inquiry but we won and the restoration has worked well. The installation of 

the Main Drainage Scheme disrupted the Village for almost a year but there have been 

no lasting scars and the benefits have been enormous. Many of our buildings, private 

and public, have been well restored but we have lost the Village Shop and Post Office 

(in 1995) which had been such an important meeting place in our community life 

together. Our successes in the Best Kept Village Competition have bestowed on us a 

discipline and a pride in our houses, gardens, churchyard, roads and lanes. There has 

been a joy and satisfaction in maintaining a high standard. 

But the essence of Fulmer and its People, be they residents, Church congregation, the 

children in our schools and team members of the Recreation Ground. The tributes 

written for the Personalia section of the Newsletter remind us of some great and 

clever people whom we see no more but whose memories remain. By being part of 

the Fulmer Community they, in their time, have carried forward the Fulmer Torch. To 

their successors we wish a Very Happy Christmas and a confident look to the New 

Year despite the current prevailing economic gloom. 

EDWARD GUINNESS 

SPARKLING CELEBRATIONS IN FULMER FOR THE QUEEN’S 

DIAMOND JUBILEE 

ON FRIDAY 22 JUNE A WEEKEND OF CELEBRATION WILL 

OPEN IN FULMER VILLAGE WITH A FLOWER FESTIVAL IN ST 

JAMES’ church and AT 7.30PM THAT EVENING THERE WILL 

BE A REVUE OF 60 GLORIOUS YEARS, IN WORDS AND MUSIC. 

Following fulmer day on Saturday, 23 June ON 24 

june there will be a community service in fulmer 

church at 11.15am to which everyone is most 

welcome. if you would like to find out more about 

the jubilee weekend or take part in the revue, 

please contact :..: 

FIONA GRAY - 01753 885199, or 

SUSIE SIMKINS – 01753 663537

“Why is it that at sixteen women have better skin than men, but at sixty men 

have better skin than women? The answer can often be found in the skin care 

and cosmetics that women use where the ingredients can prematurely age the 

skin. Men don’t use them. 

True Touch has been especially formulated using safety conscious formulas 

that pamper and enrich, helping you master the art of healthy communication 

with your skin, at prices below those of the high street. 

Listen to your skin ~ it’s asking for True Touch 

Why not try a FREE skin care and cosmetics makeover 

at home or Apple Tree Cottage right here in the village 

Call Jo’ on 01753 664455 

Would you like a great second income? We are seeking people to help with 

our expansion. No capital needed and you choose your hours. 

Call Larry on 01753 664455 for an informal chat.

FROM OUR MP 

With Christmas coming thoughts turn to the New Year and with it anxieties 

about what it might have in store for us. The global economic situation 

remains extremely unstable and although we have, at national level, taken the 

first steps to stabilise the public finances, and thus avoid the economic 

consequences that have come to countries such as Greece and Italy, we also 

need economic growth. So, concerns over jobs and the financial wellbeing of 

families will be uppermost in the minds of many. 

We also know that the New Year will bring a decision on the Pinewood 

Studios’ Planning Application, which has generated so much local opposition. 

As the Planning Enquiry seemed to go very well from the point of view of the 

objectors, it is to be hoped that the outcome will be one that we can all 

welcome. 

However, at the turn of the year we should not allow ourselves to get too 

introspective. A season of good will when we can look to the needs of others 

and celebrate the links that bind us together is a good time for renewed 

optimism. One of the features of being the Member of Parliament for the 

constituency is witnessing the astonishing amount of voluntary and charitable 

work that is done locally. As Christmas approaches I find myself invited to 

many events, which illustrate this collective endeavour. So, just as we have 

much to do, we also have good cause for quiet celebration and to give thanks 

for our good fortune in a difficult world. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Fulmer residents a Happy 

Christmas and New Year. 

DOMINIC GRIEVE QC MP

PERSONALIA 

BIRTHS: We congratulate: 

Emma and Christopher Greenwood on the birth of their son, Noah William, a 

baby brother for Alexis. Emma is the daughter of Elaine and Mel Oldfield of 17 

Allhusen Gardens and grand-daughter of the late Joyce Oldfield. 

Ian and Liz Finan of Vine Cottage, Cherry Tree Lane on the birth of their granddaughter 

Orla Ruby, born on 28 April to Victoria and Stephen. 

William and Beatrice Ramsay on the birth of Holly on 24 September in Geneva. 

Holly is the first grand-child for Fiona Gray of Dukes Wood Avenue. 

George and Helen Morris of St Anthony, Hawkswood Grove on the birth of their 

grandson, Alexander James, on 30 September to Anneliese and David Brackin. 

WEDDINGS: We send good wishes for great happiness in their future lives 

together to: 

Ruth Marjorie Armstrong and Andrew William Brent who were married in 

Fulmer Church on 20 May. Ruth is the daughter of Marjorie and Jim 

Armstrong, the latter being one of our Lay Readers. She lived at Spring 

Cottage, Windmill Road. 

Jane Elizabeth Alexandra Sexton and Wayne Connor who were married in 

Fulmer Church on 4 June. Jane is the daughter of Valerie and Howard Sexton 

of Flat 7, Alderbourne Manor in Fulmer Lane. 

Angela Savage and Chris Denza who were married at Westminster Registry 

Office, Marylebone Road on 10 June. Angela and Chris live at Magnolia House, 

Windmill Road where a family wedding party took place in July. 

Clarie Louise Macmillan and Brendan Paul Dowd who were married in Fulmer 

Church on 18 June. Claire and Brendan live in Gerrards Cross. 

Kimberley Ann Annon and Howard Rogers Harris who were married in Fulmer 

Church on 25 June. Howard is the son of Yvette and Stephen Harris of Heath 

Lodge, Fulmer Common Road and grandson of Jean Bushnell of 1 Church Row. 

Shannon Harper and Guy Griffin who were married at Weybridge Registry 

Office on 25 June. Shannon is the daughter of Maria and Al Harper of 

Richmond, Virginia, USA and Guy is the son of Jane and Colin Griffin of Hay 

Lane Cottage, Hay Lane. 

Jacqueline Mary Hunter and Luke Blakemore who were married in Fulmer 

Church on30 July. Luke and Jacqueline now live in Denham. Luke‟s parents 

were married in Fulmer Church and the family farmed at Home Farm, St 

Huberts, for many years. 

Sonia Erica Marr and Francis Harvie Ward who were married in Fulmer Church 

on 5 August. Sonia and Francis live in Gerrards Cross and are regular 

attendees at St James, Gerrards Cross. 

Johnny Keane and Kate Barrett who were married on the 20 August. Johnny is 

the son of Brendan and Kay and Kate is the daughter of Lisa Barrett, formerly 

of Fulmer Common Road. The ceremony and breakfast took place at Cliveden 

and the party in the evening was held at Oakridge, Windmill Road. They live in 

Gerrards Cross. 

Michelle Marie Lewis and Philip Edward Brierley who were married in Fulmer 

Church on 26 August. Michelle and Philip live in Marsham Way, Gerrards 

Cross. 

Charlotte Jayne Vigor and James Raymond Sneedon who were married in 

Fulmer Church on 27 August. Charlotte and James live in Chalfont St Peter.

Joanne Tuesday Elliot and Ross James Stevens who were married in Fulmer 

Church on 10 September. The Stevens Family lived for many years in the 

Orangery, Fulmer Place. Joanne and Ross now live in Little Chalfont. 

Christal Victoria Forrester and Matthew Adam Kent who were married in 

Fulmer Church on 18 October. Christal is the daughter of the late Christopher 

Forrester, whose parents ran the Riding School at Low Meadow Farm, and 

daughter of Penelope (nee Prosser). The family lived at the Bungalow, Low 

Meadow Farm off the Windsor Road. 

Olivia Bridget Murphy and Jonathan Kinsey Field who were married in Fulmer 

Church on 15 October. Olivia is the daughter of Sir Leslie and Lady Joan 

Murphy. Sir Leslie was a former Lay Reader of Fulmer Church. 

DIAMOND WEDDINGS: We congratulate the following on the celebration of 

their 60 years together: 

Elizabeth and Edward Guinness on 2 June. 

Lin and Brian Basden on 30 July. 

Josephine and Derek Millis on 1 September. 

FUNERALS: We record with great sadness the deaths of: 

Andrian Yanni Theodoulou who died on 12 May and whose funeral took place in 

Fulmer Church on 24 July. 

Margaret Theodoulou who died on 8 September and who was interred in the 

family grave in Fulmer Churchyard alongside Andrian. 

BURIAL OF ASHES: 

John Stanley Beard of Western Australia. The Beard Family had a long 

connection with Fulmer and the ashes were laid in the family grave in Fulmer 

Churchyard on 4 July. John was the brother of Pilot Officer Richard 

Glendenning Beard R.A.F.V.R. who lost his life at the age of 20 on 12 April 

1942 while on Active Service and it was John‟s wish that his ashes should be 

buried close to Richard. The family lived at Alderbourne Arches. 

NEW RESIDENTS: We welcome into the Fulmer Community: 

Claire and Gavin Russell who with their twin boys, Finlay and Fraser, have 

moved from Great Missenden into Fulmer Cottage, Alderbourne Lane. 

Alex and Mark Armstrong-Cercontaine who with their three boys Aurele(15), 

Tarn (13) and Anam(12) have come to live at Wisteria Cottage, Fulmer Road. 

Chris Faust and Joanne Kettle moved into September Cottage, Hay Lane on 

November 15th from Iver. Chris is a plumber and heating engineer and 

Joanne works in Security at Heathrow Airport. 

LEAVERS: We have been sorry to say Farewell to: 

Roland and Michelle Hall who with Jonathan and Rafferty have moved from The 

White House off Windmill Road to live in the USA. Roland‟s father, Robert, 

bought the property in 1949 and set up the very successful Fulmer School of 

Equitation, probably the premier school for dressage in the UK. Roland‟s 

mother, Joke, represented the UK in three Olympics. Roland‟s departure has 

ended a 62 year connection with Fulmer. 

Lady Marian Laing who has moved in November from High Meadows, Windsor 

Road, to be close to her family in Scotland. A tribute is paid later in the 

Newsletter.

Valerie and Gary Hill who have moved from the Flat, High Meadows, to 

Sandwich in Kent. Both have been actively associated with so many events at 

High Meadows and as part of the Fulmer Church congretation. 

Elin and David Swain who with Bethan and Emily have moved from Wisteria 

Cottage, Fulmer Road to Windsor. 

ACHIEVEMENT: We warmly congratulate: 

Matthew Barham, son of Robert and Joan Barham of 11 Allhusen Gardens who 

has been selected to train in football at the Reading Development Centre. 

Have we a budding Beckham in our midst?! 

Valerie Taylor, daughter of the Rev Bill Taylor, who came to live with his family 

in 1966 at the Old Rectory, Windmill Road, when he was appointed Rector of 

Fulmer, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree in Health Science from 

York St John University in November 2010. The ceremony took place in York 

Minster before a congregation of 3,000 graduates and visitors. Valerie was 

awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding work 

in founding and sustaining the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in 

Savar, Bangladesh. 

Paul, son of Brendan and Kay Keane, who had been working as a solicitor, 

turned his back on the law and retrained as a junior school teacher. 

His wife is also a teacher. Paul now works at Millbank Junior School. 

I am sure many villagers will wish to join in wishing Greville Selby-Lowndes a 

very speedy recovery from recent surgery – we look forward to seeing him 

back home very soon – Editors. 

ANDRIAN THEODOULOU 

My husband was the first of four children born to Violet and Nicolas 

Theodoulou in 1932. His father purchased Fulmer Place Farm in 1954 

and moved his family on to the farm. We married in 1960 and lived in 

New Denham and later in Uxbridge. We have two girls and six grandchildren. 

Andrian worked alongside his brother, Victor, in the other family 

business, H G Timber Ltd, all his working life. 

We buried him in Fulmer Churchyard with his parents on his birthday 24 

July. We all feel very sad at his passing and miss him. 

PAMELA THEODOULOU

Margaret Theodoulou 

1935 - 2011 

Margaret was born in Falkirk in 1935. She grew up there and spent her summer holidays 

on her Auntie Nan's farm at Burmiston. Exceptionally for a young woman of her 

generation she went to Glasgow University and was awarded a degree in agriculture. In 

1957 she answered an advertisement in Farming Weekly and came to work on Nicolas 

Theodoulou's farm at Fulmer, near Gerrards Cross. It was there that she met Victor, and 

they were married on the 24th September 1960 at Stenhousemuir in Scotland. After they 

left the farm, she worked as an area manager for Goray Skirts, and later at Peter Knight in 

Beaconsfield. 

The most important thing in her life was her family, Victor, Alistair and Helen, and more 

recently her grandchildren. When Victor was working all hours, evenings and weekends 

to build up the business, Margaret always made sure that the whole family sat down 

together for Sunday lunch. Her scones and rock cakes were legendary, and she always 

made sure that her family was well fed with good food. She took Helen and Alistair 

swimming, helped them with their homework, and assisted at their school listening to the 

children reading. 

Margaret loved animals and they always had a dog, and when Helen had a rabbit, 

Margaret would walk round the house with the rabbit in the hood of her dressing gown, 

so that it wouldn't be cold outside in its hutch. She would take in injured animals, once 

finding a pigeon with a broken wing and making a splint for it from a lolly stick. It was 

given the name Walter after the actor Walter Pidgeon. She loved gardening, especially 

roses, and Victor was eventually banned from weeding because he pulled up the wrong 

plants. She always liked music. Some of her favourites were Queen and the Rolling 

Stones, and she introduced the family to music and they all went to a live concert one year 

when on holiday in at St Austell. Margaret always enjoyed a party, and with being 

Scottish, the whole street were invited to their New Year's Eve's parties, and Burns night, 

complete with haggis. 

Margaret enjoyed the simple things in life, her family around her, a good view, and a glass 

of wine. Cyprus came to be one of her favourite places, and half her ashes will be taken to 

one of her favourite beaches at Pissouri. The other half will be buried at the church at 

Fulmer. 

Margaret was a very selfless person. She never complained about her final illness, and 

had a faith, which made her unafraid of dying. She didn't know it, but in February her 

doctors said that she had only a few weeks to live. But her family and her grandchildren 

kept her going. She was determined to be there for Talia's birthday in September, and 

Talia and Archie's first day at school. They came to see her after school in their new school 

uniforms and she passed away quietly a few hours later. She had fought a very brave 

battle against cancer and never complained, her wish was to die at home which we as a 

family honored with as much care, dignity and love as we could. She was a much loved, 

wife, mother and grandmother and she will be sadly missed by her family and friends. 

Prayers: especially remembering: Victor, Alastair & Pippa, Helen and Matt, Archie and 

Oliver, and Talia, 

HELEN THEODOULOU

Lady Marian Laing 

Lady Marian Laing left Gerrards Cross for her home in Scotland in November this 

year. She will be missed by her many friends in Gerrards Cross and Fulmer. 

She tells the story that their love of Fulmer began when a Christmas was spent in 

Gerrards Cross and not in their home in Morayshire. The house in Scotland was 

being refurbished, so they came to a Christmas Service in Fulmer church when 

Rev. Bill Taylor was Rector. This began their regular support of Fulmer Church. 

With her husband (the late Lord Hector Laing) and three sons, she moved to High 

Meadows from Camp Road in Gerrards Cross in the early 60’s. When their sons 

were still at school and all the family were at home the family of five often filled a 

pew at Fulmer Church on a Sunday morning. Marian entered into village life in a 

number of ways. 

There was a monthly club for older village ladies (called Fulmer Evergreens) run 

by Mrs Audrey Dufour and Marian soon become a regular helper. At its height 

the club had some 40 members and all were kindly invited to High Meadows each 

year for tea. This became a highlight of the club year even when it rained. Almost 

as popular was the Christmas Party when Marian’s generosity was evident in the 

parcels given out to members. The club’s success was due to the organiser and 

helpers working well together. Marian Laing was a much valued member of that 

team, being totally unflappable and willing to do any task made her help 

invaluable. 

Marian’s love of her garden was evident in many ways. Marian and Hector were 

always very generous in their hospitality and a visit to High Meadows was always 

an enjoyable occasion. It often included a guided tour of the beautiful garden, 

with its wonderful collection of azaleas and rhododendrons. Much of the greenery 

for decorating Fulmer Church came from High Meadows, as did armfuls of 

daffodils and blossom at Easter. In earlier years Marian was an active member of 

the flower arranging team. Her decoration of the church font for Harvest Festivals 

was especially admired. 

John Hedley (with help from Enid Marsh and others)

From the Parish Council 

When I sit down to write this article I always start from the premise that you want to know 

what has your Parish Council been doing for you over the last six months? 

Six months ago the two exceptional issues taking up most of our time and effort were 

Project Pinewood and HS2. Project Pinewood has moved on, the Public Inquiry finished, 

the final traffic issues being aired in September in a very short hearing. The Inspector has 

now sent her report to Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State and we await his decision in 

January. Dominic Grieve, our MP, has expressed the view that he does not expect Mr 

Pickles to go against the Inspector’s recommendation. Similarly, the HS2 consultation has 

finished, although the national debate is continuing in the media, which I’m sure some of 

you are following. Speaking personally, I don’t think Project Pinewood will be over once 

the decision is made public. If the application is granted the communities have to decide, 

along with South Bucks District Council, whether we go to appeal, as I’m sure if it’s 

refused, Pinewood (now Peel Holdings) will do so. 

Last time I reported on the other national issue, which was affecting us locally; the closure 

of Public Libraries. I can now report that Gerrards Cross Library is up and running again 

as one of the first libraries constituted as a Charity, and managed by Trustees, in the 

country, with support from Buckinghamshire County Council. Your local representatives 

helping run this valuable resource are Tracey Evans and Francesca Hall-Drinkwater. If you 

think you would also like to help out in a voluntary capacity, however small, please contact 

either, details on the village web site www.fulmervillage.org . 

I also want to thank our County Councillor for not only helping to ensure the preservation 

of libraries locally, but also for providing the final funding we required for our second salt 

bin, and whilst we can’t believe yet that we’ll need it this winter I’ll let you know next 

Newsletter! The second bin will be sited at the junction of Alderbourne Lane and Cherry 

Tree Lane to help with the dangerous road conditions that result from the Watersplash icing 

on the corner during freezing weather. 

This year we have achieved the accolade of being the Best Kept Village in 

Buckinghamshire, the Sword of Excellence presented the Lord Lieutenant of the County, 

Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, is now on display in the Black Horse along with The Gurney 

Cup for being the Best Kept Village with fewer than 500 inhabitants. Not only was the 

Village kept immaculate by the Conservation Volunteers in the run up and during the 

judging, the judges were impressed by the ongoing restoration work on the Village 

telephone kiosk and the new planting in the form of hanging baskets, this year. As well as 

the exterior, the interior of the telephone kiosk is going to be restored to the look of the 

original 1935 Gilbert Scott designed kiosk that it is. Although the telephony will not be 

functional there is a market for original telephone kiosk interiors for filming work, so we 

will be listing the kiosk with set location finding companies, and expect to eventually 

recoup the cost of the restoration. How many of you knew that the design of the roof of the 

Gilbert Scott kiosk is based on the design of the top of the 18 th century architect John 

Nash’s (he of Regents Park and Regents Street and Buckingham Palace) mausoleum?

Next year we are looking forward to a ‘double whammy’. Fulmer Day will be held once 

again, this time, on Saturday June 23 rd . The Fulmer Day committee is looking for some 

volunteers to either help out on the day or in the run up. The Committee starts to meet in 

earnest in January, once a month in the BH, further details are in this Newsletter. It’s also 

Jubilee year so we are looking, not only for ideas on how you would like to see this 

celebrated, but again volunteers to step forward and help out, either in a small or large way. 

Please email me on pvahey@btinternet.com to let me have either your ideas or your help, 

thank you. 

As well as the positive there’s always a balance and this year the Parish finances were 

subject to a routine spot check audit resulting in an un-budgeted additional cost since both 

the Parish Clerk and Internal Auditor were involved in an increased workload resulting 

from the audit, which the Council passed with no hitches. Also in order to comply with the 

new HMRC PAYE Statutory Requirements for Parish Clerks, the Parish Council has had to 

appoint an accountant to provide a payroll service for Fulmer Parish Council and to take on 

National Insurance responsibilities for the employment of the Parish Clerk, all of which has 

proved a significant cost and was again unbudgeted for. 

Finally, I would like to thank the continuing efforts of our Parish Clerk, Peter Kelly for 

providing help and guidance, as well as the continued support all of our Parish Councillors. 

In addition thanks go to Anita Cranmer, our District Councillor with special reference to 

planning issues such as The Pickeridge, and Peter Hardy our County Councillor who 

represent Fulmer’s interests very effectively at a County levels whilst also having the new 

responsibility of mending the roads in the County, including the stretch of Windmill Road 

from Fulmer to Wexham, at last. 

PAULINE VAHEY 

I am pleased to report that Fulmer residents contributed £368.64 to the 

house to house Royal British Legion poppy appeal this year. An additional 

£467.25 was raised at St James Church, Fulmer. 

Marion & Brian Weild

Localism has arrived 

Everybody is talking, writing about Localism and in truth it is what we have done in 

Fulmer for a long time. It is in essence community spirit and there has always been 

plenty of that here in the village. The Localism Bill that has been talked about and 

written about now has Royal Assent, which means that we really do have more local 

power to make change. Let’s understand what we can do and then we can set about 

doing it! 

Firstly we have Community Rights. That means that we have a fair chance to take over 

land or buildings that are important to us. This does not mean that we can overthrow 

green belt or agricultural land and charge in to build but it does mean that we can 

identify buildings like the local shop (or shops), community centres, local pub or (not 

relevant in our case, library) and nominate them for inclusion on a list of assets 

maintained by the local authority (Parish Council or South Bucks District Council) 

Should any of these come up for sale the Community can trigger a pause for up to 6 

months in order to raise capital and bid to purchase the asset before it goes on the 

open market. For us in Fulmer it means that we can always have a village pub, Parish 

Hall and maybe, in the future, a shop. It means that the wishes of the Community will 

come before any other where village assets are concerned. 

Secondly we have neighbourhood planning rights. As it currently stands the planning 

system does not give local communities enough influence over decisions that make a 

big difference to their lives. It does not mean that we can turn down plans for building 

where there is no sound planning reason to do so. It does mean that we have some say 

over the structure of our village and the sale or changes suggested to any important 

village building. We can offer opinions now, and your parish council does, but 

according to these new rights we can be far more forceful and proactive where Fulmer 

is concerned. Neighbourhood planning also means that we have influence to ensure 

there are enough homes in community ownership, that green spaces are protected and 

that the regeneration of areas and protection of our local heritage is in our hands. We 

are a small village and it is not obvious where we could make change but at least we 

have the power to do so. Most important we have the power to hold up and prevent 

change if it affects the whole village adversely. Should the decision go against 

Pinewood at the end of January, that will be localism working at its best. The whole 

“Stop Pinewood“ movement has been a wonderful effort funded and fuelled by local 

interest. 

Regarding housing those of you who are anxious about your family’s inability to 

purchase property in these very hard times may have heard of the new” assist to 

purchase scheme” rolled out by SBDC. In essence it is possible to get both a deposit 

and a mortgage through South Bucks up to the value of £300,000, depending on 

income, if you some connection with the District, work, family or similar. Another 

scheme is aimed at those in affordable homes who might wish to downsize now that 

the family have left. A reasonable sum of money is offered as an incentive to make that 

move and free up extra space for a growing family. You can find all these schemes and 

more on the SBDC website or you can call me and I will pass you to the right person.

There are many other points to the Localism Bill, many of which apply to cities. There 

are also new powers of efficiency given to the local councils. All Councils have to cut 

costs; you may have heard that black bin bags are no longer supplied (that saves 

£70,000), the local magazine has gone and each department has to make a 25%saving. 

The cost of planning applications and advice has gone up and fees for services cost 

more. You may also have read that the Council has joined with Chiltern District to share 

a Chief Executive, which makes a salary saving each year and be assured that that is the 

extent of the union between us. We do not plan to merge; it makes no sense at this 

point. 

No one can predict how long our economic struggles will last and whether all the plans 

that the government rolls out will work. One thing is for sure though, the more 

control we have over our own lives and our own spending the more careful, more 

attentive to outcomes we will all be. Fulmer is our home and it is in our interests to 

protect it. The Localism Bill gives us at least a start on what democracy is all about, 

taking care of our own for our own and making decisions to that end. 

Anita Cranmer District Councillor 

ac@thecranmers.com 

01494 261186 

News from South Bucks RDA 

Several riders from South Bucks RDA qualified for the National RDA Championships in 

July. The young teams came away triumphant, with Katy winning overall championship 

cup for the highest score of the weekend in the Countryside Challenge on Bonnie. They 

hardly put a foot wrong in the windy obstacle course. The groups’ riders were also part of 

the winning regional teams for the Countryside Challenge and Dressage competitions on 

the Sunday. 

The para-dressage riders have continued to train hard and competed successfully. 

Unfortunately Sophie had to miss out on defending her European Championship title as her 

mount went lame at the last moment. This is one of the most difficult things being an 

athlete who has to work in partnership with another living being. Sophie is now training 

and competing hard with a new partner Rio. Like all hopefuls for the 2012 games she has 

to continually show that she can maintain very high percentage scores in the competitions 

that she enters. 

By the time you read this we will have had a visit from HRH The Princess Royal. She will 

have spent the morning at the group, presenting awards to volunteers, looking at the horses 

and most importantly meeting as many of the young riders as possible. As a memento of 

the occasion she was presented with a mounted, burnished shoe belonging to Lambrusco 

who was ridden to Gold medal position by Sophie Christensen at the Beijing Paralympics 

in 2008. 

To enable so many young disabled people pursue therapeutic or sports riding we continue 

to need volunteers both during the week and on Saturday mornings. It is a great way to stay 

fit, be a member of a dedicated team and importantly have fun. If you are interested in 

volunteering please visit our website for more information www.southbucksrda.org or 

phone us on 01753 662796. 

Theresa Drake Instructor and Trustee

The Fulmerites meet the Pre-Raphaelites 

A new village community project to celebrate the 

beauty of Fulmer village and the talent of its residents. 

We're recreating some of the most loved Pre- 

Raphaelite paintings using photography rather than oil 

paints. The final photographs will then be exhibited in 

Fulmer village Hall December 2012 and sold for cancer 

research. 

We're therefore calling upon all villagers to help make 

the photographs something Rossetti would be 

impressed by. 

We need: 

Pre-Raphaelite maidens to model for us 

Photographers (amateur or anyone with a good creative eye) 

Costume assistants (anyone that can sew) 

Flower ladies (Amateur florists or those with a love for flower arranging) 

Sponsors to help cover the cost of costume materials and prop hire 

Hair and make up assistants 

Creative brain storming minds with great ideas 

Location scouts 

Project coordinators (anyone with good organisational skills) 

Anyone that has research materials we can borrow (books, prints etc). 

We will be having a meeting in The Black Horse Pub at the beginning of January so 

please check the website for the next meeting date or contact Project Manager 

Harriet Matthews. 

www.fulmerites.co.uk 

Email: info@fulmerites.co.uk 

Tel: Harriet Matthews 07739 122915 

This is a lovely initiative from Harriet and we really hope Fulmer residents will get involved in this 

project - Editors

FULMER’S PHONE BOX 

Earlier this year I received a circular email from Pauline Vahey notifying 

us that the old phone box, which had been decommissioned by British 

Telecom, was in danger of disappearing from the village forever. The 

village had the option to buy it for a pound, but they needed volunteers 

to take care of it. After walking past it on a daily basis and seeing what 

a sorry state it was in, I volunteered...it was something my lungs and 

kidneys will never forgive me for. 

For those who don't know, the K6 phone box was designed in 1935 by 

Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V. 

They have become an iconic part of England. I have begun to notice 

what a terrible state the majority are in in this country and there are 

very few left nowadays. In fact Fulmer lost its K6 in the early 80's and 

it was replaced with a modern version, which looked totally out of place 

in this lovely little village. The villagers kicked up a fuss back then and 

it was duly reinstated. It had several makeovers over the years, the old 

lamp was replaced with a flourescent light box, the glass windows had 

been replaced with perspex, which had become tired and milky. The 75 

years worth of paint was flaky and dull and rust was coming through. It 

really was in a bad state. 

After one drunken night down at the Black Horse I managed to press 

gang a fellow Fulmer resident Adam Rowlands into helping out.... 'it will 

just need a quick lick of paint and some new windows' I told 

Adam....see you at 9am in the morning....!! Oh how we were wrong..... 

After surveying it for half an hour we decided there was no option but to 

strip the whole thing back to bare metal inside and out and start from 

scratch; if it was to last another 75 years there was no other way. I had 

rebuilt many classic cars over the years, so we saw it as a reasonable 

challenge. We thought, let's put it back to how it would have looked in 

the 1930's. Out came the grinders with wire wheels attached and about 

8 full days of stripping followed. There was easily 15 layers of paint on 

this box...! I read after finally stripping the box that the paint was lead 

based, so if you are reading this and Adam and I have since died, you 

know why! 

We then gave it a total of 2 coats of red primer followed by 3 top coats 

of official BT paint. Luckily there are specialists who deal in these 

telephone boxes so the parts were readily available. The box was fitted 

with brand new 6mm safety glass with grateful thanks to Stef from 

Cherry Tree Lane. The door was rebuilt in the workshop at the Heather 

and Alvars farm, a very special thanks to them both, and to Bob and 

Marcus for their generous help and advice and to Karen for letting us 

plunder the village halls power supply! We then fitted new leather door 

straps, fitted new telephone signs to the roof, fitted a vintage light

fitting, repainted the crowns on the roof in the correct gold paint, 

repainted the black base. The floor was then pulled up and we found 

about £20, which was quickly invested down at the Black Horse. We rescreeded 

the floor, then made good around the outside with new 

tarmac. All in all it took about 2 months and we are all pretty pleased 

how it has turned out. It seems people have begun to notice it and 

appreciate it once again. The Parish Council are keen on the idea of 

fitting it out with 1930's fittings as a reminder of what these British 

institutions once were. Hopefully this will all be done by Christmas. 

Only a few weeks ago I bumped into an old friend I had not seen for 

maybe 10 years. We chatted and I said I was living in Fulmer, she said 

it was so beautiful and she got married in the church a fortnight before. 

She said 'we had some lovely wedding photos taken in the beautiful 

phone box outside the church...' At least someone has got some 

pleasure out of it I thought... A big, big thanks to Adam Rowland who 

was tireless and saw this through from beginning to the end. We are 

hoping to do the post box outside the pub early next year if there are 

any volunteers!! 

Richard Walker 

We are all hugely grateful to Richard and Adam for their sterling efforts in 

making our iconic phone box so beautiful again. Thank you so much on behalf 

of Fulmer – Editors

The Annie Russell-Jones Cup 

Once again we were fortunate to have Eric Price as our chief 

judge on July 9th when the judging of the Fulmer allotments 

took place. Mr Rodgers was the winner of the Cup with a very 

worthy 36 points, from a maximum available of 40. The 

runner-up was Dr Adrienne Leon with a very good score of 33 

points from what was previously John Mundie’s plot. The 

Annie Russell-Jones Cup was awarded to Mr Rodgers at the 

Stoke Poges, Wexham and Fulmer Horticultural Show on 

Saturday, July 30th. 

Overall this year, although there were some very good 

allotments, there were also a number that did not appear to 

have been worked recently or at least not to any great 

extent. This is a great pity as we do have a waiting list of 

people who would love to have their own allotments. 

Ronnie Lamb 

Fulmer Village Hall 

The Village Hall is even more popular than ever for parties and family celebrations, having 

been booked solidly since the summer, right up to Christmas. It is also used nearly every 

weeknight for a number of different education and exercise classes. 

As a result it has maintained a healthy financial position; thanks go to our new treasurer 

Angie Bass who has worked very hard on her first Annual Return to the Charity 

Commission in reconciling the accounts. Also having not increased the hire rates for five 

years we have reluctantly decided to do so this year, albeit modestly, principally to help 

meet rising utility prices and charges. Not only are the oven and dishwasher now working 

properly again but also the big dip in the driveway has been repaired to the relief of 

everyone who has had to drive over it very carefully in the last two years. 

So please don‟t forget if you know anyone who is looking for a venue for a family party or 

similar event please let them know about Fulmer Village Hall, it‟s one of the best available 

locally. Call Karen Nelmes, our Lettings Secretary on 01753 662928 for further details. We 

look forward to seeing you. 

Pauline Vahey 

Chairman, Fulmer Village Hall Management Committee

HOW AND WHY THE FULMER NEWSLETTER WAS STARTED 

Up to 1986, when the two St James’ Churches were merged, Fulmer Church had been 

independent for 375 years with its own incumbent Rector and its own Parochial Church 

Council. The mouthpiece of the Council was a magazine called ‘Fugelmere’ which 

enjoyed a wide circulation within our Parish and among members of the congregation 

who lived outside its boundaries. Merrie Rushton was the Editor over a considerable 

period and she felt it important and appropriate for the Church members to be aware of 

what was happening in the environment in which the Church was situated. I was the 

Chairman of the Parish Council at the time and warmly endorsed this view. 

Consequently, for each issue I wrote a page entitled ‘Notes from the Parish Council’ 

highlighting the main issues facing the Council at that time and the steps being taken to 

deal with them. In this way Fulmerites were constantly informed on what was going on in 

their midst. When the merger took place, ‘Fugelmere’ was discarded and in the first issue 

of the new combined magazine, Fulmer received little notice. This was a matter of great 

concern to the Parish Council as over many years Fulmer had built up an identity of its 

own which was very precious to it. For a small Parish it sponsored a surprising number of 

organisations, be they religious, educational or social in which the pub played a major 

part, sporting, Scouts and Girl Guides, humanitarian and so on. Out of these had come a 

high level of community spirit which shared itself in the many successes in the Best Kept 

Village Competition, Fulmer Day, the Silver Jubilee Celebrations, Remembrance Sunday 

and other events. Was this identity to be lost because it no longer had a mouthpiece? 

I discussed this with my colleagues on the Parish Council and we decided that the 

appropriate response would be to initiate a twice-yearly Newsletter to be circulated to all 

residents in Fulmer Parish giving organisations and individuals the opportunity to report 

on their activities. We hoped that the majority of articles would be written by Fulmer 

people or those involved in the activities and report from the Church, our County and 

District representatives, Parish Council itself, the Schools and the Sports’ Clubs – all 

regarded as essential for each issue. There would be a Personalia Section covering Births, 

Weddings, Deaths and in the case of the latter we would encourage next of kin to write 

tributes to the dear ones they had lost. 

So the first issue of the Fulmer Newsletter appeared in July 1997. It was not launched with 

a fanfare of trumpets – between us we had little experience in magazine editing but we 

were anxious not to engage professional expertise (even if we could have afforded it!), as 

essentially the Newsletter had to be home-spun as it has remained. To some extent we 

were being experimental – a survey of some newsletters indicted that they were in tabloid 

form with tabloid prose, giving facts but none of the background, which had given rise to 

those facts. Within reason in terms of length, we have not inhibited our contributors and a 

wide variety of articles and reports have resulted, at times, being moving, and often 

humourous. The first Editor was myself, assisted initially by Valerie Foa; it passed to 

Ronnie Lamb and now Susie and Ronnie Simkins who have introduced an excellent new 

format. To all residents I would say that the Fulmer Newsletter is the story of the 

community life of Fulmer – Your Story. For a small population, it is a rich story but it can 

only be sustained through the next 25 years if everyone is prepared to play their part in 

enriching it further. 

EDWARD GUINNESS

Fulmer Day 2012 

After missing 2011, Fulmer Day is back in full swing for 2012 and is planned to be a great, 

fun filled family day with new stalls and events for everyone to enjoy. Following in the 

footsteps of so many well known names in the village, I have agreed to chair this year’s 

Committee and I am calling on all our readers to help in any way you can. This is primarily 

a day to celebrate village life and our community. A time to make new friends and renew 

acquaintances with folks you may not have seen for a while. An opportunity for the whole 

family, parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren to spend fun time together and 

at the same time help raise important funds for worthy local causes such as the Scouts, 

Brownies, the Village School and more. 

I am delighted to announce that the Black Horse Pub has 

become the Sponsor of Fulmer Day and the whole event 

will once again focus around the pub and the car park. 

In addition we will be holding an Awards Dinner on the 

Saturday night to honour the initial winners of Fulmer’s 

own Civic Awards. 

Do you want to nominate someone who has made a 

positive contribution to village life? 

Send an email to fulmerday2012@gmail.com with their 

details and reason for nomination. 

Would you or your company be interested in becoming the Sponsor of the Civic Awards? 

The winner’s photographs will hang in the bar of The Black Horse – great publicity for your 

Company. This year we are producing one thousand programmes in colour to be 

distributed for free in Fulmer and all the surrounding areas. I am actively seeking a 

sponsor for the programme– can you help? Do you have local business you would like to 

promote? Why not take a stall or place an advert in the programme – colour spots are 

available from just £20! 

If you wish to be considered for a stall then please send an email to 

fulmerday2012@gmail.com and I will send you full details and an application form. It is 

sure to be oversubscribed so get in quickly. 

We need volunteers to help with programme distribution and setup on the day as well as 

being that all too important ‘spare pair of hands where needed.’ Would you run an 

attraction, perhaps a Go Kart Time trial or Beat the Goalie? Do you have an idea for a fun 

addition? 

Don’t be shy – call me and let’s talk. 

I have been a resident now for seventeen years and Jo and I are proud to be a part of a 

community that wins the Sword of Excellence and Best Kept Village. Now I want to see 

Fulmer Day in all its’ glory but it needs the village to help. If you are willing to contribute in 

any way then please contact me on 01753 664455 or by email at 

fulmerday2012@gmail.com and I will be delighted to talk with you. 

Larry Brooks – Apple Tree Cottage

FULMER SCHOOL REPORT 

I have had a wonderful first term here at Fulmer Infant School watching the 

children having fun learning. In Reception the children have been learning 

about „marvellous me‟. They have been painting self portraits and 

investigating their family trees. The role play area has been a very popular 

baby care centre, but the star of the term has to baby Amelia, just a few 

weeks old. The children were enthralled to learn from Amelia‟s Mother all 

about how to raise a baby. 

Year 1 have been learning about how to keep fit and thoroughly enjoyed a visit 

from the school nurse who talked about how to stay healthy. Their role area 

has been transformed into a hospital where they have been busy with 

bandages and slings! They have also learnt about our senses and had fun 

smelling a variety of foods and choosing their favourite smell – yes chocolate 

was very popular! 

Year 2 have been learning about healthy eating and the highlight was a trip to 

the local Pizza Express at Beaconsfield. The children designed and baked their 

own pizzas and then had fun eating them. In keeping with our Eco school 

status the children entered a competition organised by Buckinghamshire 

County Council entitled „Love Where You Live‟. The media were impressed by 

the children‟s efforts at weeding and sweeping away the leaves and we had a 

double page spread in the Slough Observer, we also star on YouTube (go to 

YouTube and type in Fulmer Infant school). See below for more on this - E 

We are getting ready to join in with the Olympic fever and have already made 

links with a team in China. The children are also busily engaged with the 

„Olympics Go for Gold‟ project, the children make an extra effort to walk to 

school, not only does this save our planet but also keeps them safe and 

healthy. And on the subject of staying safe all Year 1 children have completed 

stage 1 of the „footsteps training‟. This teaches the children to safely use our 

pavements and roads – such a vital skill for them to have and a big thank you 

to Mrs Dorling for overseeing this. We are also delighted that the „hatching‟ at 

the end of Alderbourne Lane has now appeared and we hope that this will 

discourage cars from parking there. We are also thrilled to have a 100% 

response for the parking permits from our new Reception parents who have 

pledged to park considerately. 

And we are also doing „our bit‟ for local and national charities. The children 

wore home clothes for „Genes for Jeans‟ day raising £62. After the Harvest 

Festival there was a retiring collection which raised £105 for our local Riding 

for the Disabled charity and l took several bags of donated vegetables and fruit 

to the local homeless centre in Slough. As well as celebrating Harvest the 

children have learned about Rosh Hashanah and Diwali from local mothers. 

The children delighted in tasting the traditional Jewish dish of apples dipped in 

honey and were amazed to see how long a sari is! And l have had a 

thoroughly wonderful time meeting all the children, parents, governors, 

neighbours and members of the parish council who have made me feel so very 

welcome and have helped me with advice and practical help, thank you. 

Mrs Cathy Hunt – Headteacher

ALL CHANGES IN EDUCATION 

In November the County Council launched a consultation on introducing charges for home to 

school transport. School transport has been a big budget item for the council for a long time, 

and there has been a struggle to contain costs which have been running at over £20m p.a. 

Free transport is currently provided if you live three miles or more from the school and the 

school is a catchment school. Seven years ago new, more tightly drawn catchment areas were 

introduced partly to reduce transport costs. Three years ago Bucks outsourced the 

management of school transport and this has resulted in annual savings of £3m. So why the 

need to seek further savings? Partly it is the old story of diminishing resources. More 

significantly the Council is concerned at the potential effect on costs of the huge changes 

taking place as a result of government reforms. In the last year all of the grammar schools in 

the county except one and many of the upper schools have become academies. It is very likely 

that in the next year or so all secondary schools in Buckinghamshire will have become 

academies. Academies have control over their admission rules and catchment areas, yet the 

council will retain responsibility for the funding of school transport. With current rules but 

freedom for the school to set catchment areas, there is a danger that transport costs will 

escalate out of control. Hence the proposal to charge for transport if your child does not go to 

the nearest school. The possible options in the consultation are actually a lot more 

complicated than that, and if you are likely to be affected please look at the consultation 

document on the bucks website (www.buckscc.gov.uk). Whichever option is chosen, 

however, it must put a ceiling on the potential transport liability to the council. The move to 

academies also affects the future of Buckinghamshire as a selective authority. Academies can 

decide their own admission rules. One upper school in Wycombe is considering admitting 

pupils in attainment bands. It will be open to grammar schools to devise or source their own 

testing procedures. The County Council will only operate the 11-plus if the grammar schools 

wish it to do so, and if individual schools were to start opting out the county-wide system may 

well collapse. It will be ironic if a Conservative education secretary ends the 11-plus in 

Buckinghamshire as an unintended consequence of allowing schools more freedom. 

PETER HARDY, 883057, phardy@buckscc.gov.uk 

FULMER SCHOOL PRIZE WINNERS! 

Steve Barnes, a Governor of Fulmer School has sent the following message: 

The School are delighted to have won the Pride Of Buckinghamshire - Love Where You 

Live - Youth Pride Award at an awards ceremony in Aylesbury. The website 

www.bucksinfo.net/recycleforbuckinghamshire/love-where-you-live 

will give you a better understanding of the award, which is sponsored by the Keep 

Britain Tidy Campaign and focuses on recycling. For those of you who may not have 

seen it on "you tube", there is a link through to a video of the children (at the bottom 

of the page) which features along with the children, Mrs Hunt and Mrs Harrod showing 

some great recycling skills.Simon Wheeler from UPM (United Paper Mills) who 

presented the award to the school, was very impressed with the video and our efforts 

as were all the judges and councillors alike that I spoke to on the evening. Mrs 

Harrod and I collected the award and £100 on Thursday evening, a very proud 

moment for the pair of us and our school to have such BCC recognition, and reinforces 

the eco agenda at our school. My thanks to Cathy, the team and all the children that 

supported the initiative. 

We welcome the new head, Cathy Hunt, to Fulmer School and send our congratulations 

on this award to all involved - Editor

Fulmer Parish Council Planning applications 03/2011 – 11/2011 

Property Proposal Result 

Fulmer Infant School 

Alderbourne Lane 

11/01726/FUL 

Outdoor teaching pavilion and 4m flagpole 

Pickeridge Farm Change of use to residential care home, Refused 

Stoke Common Road 

11/01147/FUL 

involving various extentions and alterations 

Fulmer Cottage 


11/01595/CAN 

Fell 2 cherry trees and 1 birch Granted 

The Birches 

Demolish existing extensions and build new Granted 

Windmill Road 

11/01531/FUL 

single storey extension 

Fulmer Cottage 


11/01497/LBC 

Internal alterations to listed building 

Fredith, 

Fulmer Common Road 

11/01292/FUL 

3 rear facing dormer windows Withdrawn 

Fulmer Hall 

Conversion to single dwelling house, inc Permitted 

Windmill Road 

11/01342/FUL 

11/01343/LBC 

listed building consent. 

Fulmer Common House Replacement of red clay roof tiles with Granted 


11/00991/FUL 

natural slate 

St Georges Lodge Conversion of garage to habitable 

Granted 


11/00975/FUL 

accommodation with pitched roof 

White House 

Windmill Road 

11/01080/FUL 

Replacement dwelling and garage Granted 

Fernacres Farm Extension of 2 properties and replacement Granted 


11/00887/FUL 

of 2 further properties 

Fulmer Place Farm 

11/00710/FUL 

Mobile Phone mast Refused 

Little Durrants 

Double garage with wider vehicular access Granted 


11/00511/FUL 

onto road 

The Birches 

Windmill Road 

11/00570/FUL 

Single storey extension to front Withdrawn 

Alderbourne Arches 

Hawkeswood Lane 

11/00659/FUL 

Outbuilding Granted 

Alderbrook, Certificate of lawfulness for long standing Granted

Fulmer Lane 

11/00266/CLUED 

April Cottage 


11/00201/FUL 

Yew Tree Cottage 

Hay Lane 

11/00116/TPO 

FULMER HALL 

agricultural equipment store 

Rear conservatory Granted 

Thin yew tree by 10% Granted 

ALAN GODLEMAN 

We understand that Fulmer Hall has been sold and that the new owner intends 

restoring the main house and stable block whilst knocking down the offices and 

other outbuildings. The Hall will continue to be accessed from Windmill Road 

whilst the new house, which is to be built further up the site towards Stoke 

Common Road, will be accessed from Hay Lane. 

THE PICKERIDGE 

There has been little or no activity on site over the last six months. We are told by 

Anjid Faquir, on behalf of the owners of the site, that South Bucks District Council 

are satisfied with the reduced Application for a smaller Care Home to replace the 

existing buildings at the Pickeridge. However, the Wildlife Trust are now objecting 

on the basis that there are bats on site and nothing can therefore happen on site 

until March, after the breeding season. Meantime the existing buildings are 

deteriorating further and the grounds and woods surrounding the site are in a very 

poor state. Finally, what was the lodge is now disintegrating. Whilst the lack of 

activity on site is very disappointing, should the current owners decide to cut their 

losses and sell the site, we may find the gypsies back on site again. 

Vacant Allotments 

Ronnie Lamb 

For several years we have had a waiting list but no free allotments whereas we now 

have two vacant half allotments. The particular allotments are numbers 10 and 11. If 

anyone is interested they should contact Peter Kelly, the Parish Clerk on 01753.854984. 

The annual rent will be £ 15.00 for each half allotment.

HIGHWAYS NEWS 


The hatching at the side of the road (to deter parking at its beginning) has been 

implemented, at last. Seems to take a lot of pushing to get even small jobs done. 

Alderbourne Bridge 

The extension to the footway by the bridge was effected a year ago, except for a couple 

of feet. Frequent requests for completion have got as far as the order being placed. 

Even the Highways engineer is feeling vexed at the delay. 

Salt Bins 

Both submissions have been approved - one outside the school, the other (thanks to 

our County Councillor's funding) at Langley Corner, which is at the junction of 

Cherrytree Lane and Alderbourne Lane. 

Local Team Leader 

Si Kahn has replaced Chris Schweir at the County's highways office at Amersham. 

Chris departed somewhat abruptly, causing a bit of confusion, but all has settled down 

now. 

Local Transport Plan 2011-16 

Among the objectives is the improvement of vehicle journey times on key routes; 

ensuring local transport adapts to shocks such as snow and flooding; reducing 

disruption by better maintenance. Apart from the longwindedness of the report, the 

County's intentions seemed mostly reasonable and we responded accordingly. 

Heathrow Noise 

Our response to the new, improved, mitigation measures was favourable. Fortunately, 

there is not a major problem with such noise affecting Fulmer, but we have to be wary 

of any proposed changes. 

Windmill Road 

There was a request to consider a footway from opposite Stoke Common Road to 

opposite the footpath access to Stoke Common. This would be an alternative to the 

footway contemplated for Stoke Common Road. This had been investigated some 

seven years ago and was then adjudged to be impractical. The County agreed to take a 

fresh look. They found it possible, though expensive, in some parts, but tricky in 

others. so this may be a non-starter. 

Michael Saxby

HIGHWAYS DEFECTS 

If you see something wrong, call the following, as appropiate: 

Telephone"Highways on Call" - 0845 2302882 - to notify Bucks CC of highways and 

footway defects. 

Fax: 01494 586617 

Email: hoc@buckscc.gov.uk 

Telephone South Bucks DC - 01895 837200 - for street name defects. 

Fax: 01895 837214 

Street lights - first take note of the identification number on the lighting standard, 

then telephone Peter Kelly, the Parish Clerk on 01753 832112 

Michael Saxby 

Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens 

Non denominational; adjoining Church of St Giles (Gray’s Elegy); plots 

available in a variety of settings; Grade II listed Gardens 

For an informal chat or to view available options please telephone 01753 523744 

Church Lane, Stoke Poges, SL2 4NZ

NEWS FROM ST JAMES, FULMER 

Congratulations to the Fulmer newsletter! 25 years of faithful service to our community, 

bringing insights, updates and news as well as chronicling the life of Fulmer Village over all 

that time. Chronicling; telling our story to each other and future generations, is a very 

biblical thing to do. The bible is full of encouragements to pass on to future generations the 

stories and accounts of God"s activity, faithfulness and love. 

The book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament chronicles the words of God to Moses 

after he has received the 10 commandments. 

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on 

your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, 

when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind 

them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NIV) 

Telling the story gives us a sense of continuity and belonging. Telling the story reveals the 

hidden truths of life. Hindsight is a great gift to humanity. And as we tell our stories we see 

so clearly that God is the grand weaver, it is God who is at the heart of our stories; giving 

us life, prospering us, upholding us in times of difficulty and pain. When we tell our story 

we see God and we are moved to praise and thank him for what he has done. Have you 

ever taken the time to sit and write down the story of your life so far? Not a two volume 

autobiography but the main events and themes of your life? It is a vey interesting and 

revealing exercise. It shows us what has been important, what has been forgettable, what 

has formed and shaped us, and what has made us the people we are now. 

Over this Christmas and New Year season why not take some quiet time to chronicle your 

life. And as one wise person once suggested to me "as you write, trace God's hand in your 

life...give him the benefit of the doubt and see where he has been at work in and through 

you". You may be surprised to discover how, in telling your story, you are also seeing the 

hand of God on almost every page. The bible tells us that God is the one in whom we live 

and move and have our being. He is eternally interested in us even if we are oblivious of 

him. Because it is he who made us and he providentially participates in the adventure of 

our lives. When we recognise and acknowledge his abiding presence; we discover the 

meaning of life itself. The westminster confession says; "the chief end of man is to glorify 

God and enjoy him for ever". The simple act of telling our story can be the first step on that 

extraordinary journey. 

Arguably the greatest story ever told is the story of Christ himself. His miraculous birth, his 

wonderful life of love, and then his untimely sacrificial death and extraordinary 

resurrection. That story has captivated generation after generation. Perhaps that is 

because it is in the story of Christ that we see our own story most clearly. As God, in Jesus 

Christ shares our humanity so we see how much he loves us and how much he 

understands us. 

May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendour to their children. May the 

favour of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us---yes, 

establish the work of our hands. 

Psalm 90:16-17 (NIV) 

MARTIN WILLIAMS – Rector

St James’ Church, Fulmer – the 401 st year 

Last autumn after our very successful 400 th celebrations, highlighting the uniqueness of 

St James, our Rector Martin Williams, held a consultation meeting to consider ideas for 

worship and outreach over the next few years. We wanted to share St. James as a place 

to worship and pray, also bringing the Church outside its walls and into the community. 

A year on we are glad to have brought some of our ideas to fruition. Those of you in 

the Village on a Thursday morning will have noticed our ‘Coffee for Parents’ initiative 

which we began after Easter and is featured in a separate article by Anne Marie Dickson. 

We offer coffee and conversation to anyone passing on Thursday mornings with an 

opportunity to go into the church for prayer or just to look round and learn something of 

its history. It was a particular joy to welcome some of the parents we have met on 

these occasions with their children from Fulmer Infant School to our Harvest 

Thanksgiving Service on 2 October. 

During the first week in November we held another prayer week, the third this year. 

The church was open for prayer from 9.00am to 9.00pm every day with led sessions at 

the beginning and end of the day and lunchtime. As before individuals and groups came 

in at different times throughout the week. On Thursday morning there was a group of 

mums and young children praying in the belfry and a service of Holy Communion for All 

Saints day happening in the Chancel – lovely to witness and be part of. 

Whilst writing we have just welcomed the 9.00am service from St James, Gerrards Cross 

to St James, Fulmer on Sunday mornings whilst the church there is brought up to date 

for 21 st century mission. Much planning has gone into making this a smooth transition for 

a bigger congregation. We are very grateful to the Black Horse and the Infant School for 

making much needed parking spaces available. So there are now three opportunities for 

worship in Fulmer on Sunday morning either at 7.45 am, 9.00am or 11.15am. 

Back to the summer months we had a very well attended Community Service on 12 June 

when Martin Williams, our Rector, dedicated all the 400 th gifts to the church and Pauline 

Vahey, Chair of the Parish Council, gave the address at the reception afterwards. The 

previous weekend on 5 June we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the King James 

Bible with a special service including a history tracing the development of different 

versions of the Bible, music from the four centuries as well as selected readings from 

the KJV, in some cases with a modern version read alongside the traditional words. 

Harvest Supper on 30 September brought a new form of entertainment to the village 

with a presentation of ‘Much Ado about Something’ a murder mystery from the Royal 

Shake-Up Company! There is a separate report by Edward Guinness about this unique 

event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who came. Thanks are especially due to Ken 

Peters who wrote the script, to Fiona Gray who directed, to a very talented cast of 

actors from the congregation and to Kay Keane and her chef who provided a wonderful 

three course supper with much needed supporting help from Brendan, Gordon 

Macfadyen and Tracey Evans. 

On 30 October we said a fond but sad farewell to Lady Marian Laing who has been part 

of the congregation for over forty years and is going to Scotland to be closer to her 

family. Leaving at the same time were Val and Gary Hill who have worked for the 

Laing’s for several years and who are moving to live in Sandwich, Kent. These departures 

break a long connection between St James, Fulmer and High Meadows where many 

lovely Parish Picnics have been held over the years. The following evening, October 31 st 

we held a ‘Celebration of Light’ service for the children, organised this year by our

curate Tom Holbird. More than 60 children and their parents came into church to mark 

an alternative to Halloween and had much fun with a number of different children’s 

activities. 

2012! As we look forward to celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2012 over the 

weekend that Fulmer Day returns on 23 June, there are some key St James diary dates 

to note:- 

Friday 22 June – an Evening of Words and Music. 

Flower Festival over the weekend from Friday 22 June to Monday 25 June. 

Community Service and Reception on 24 June. 

Before then we look forward to welcoming you to St James, Fulmer for one of the 

Christmas services highlighted in the leaflet enclosed with this Newsletter and into 2012, 

where we hope you will find it a place of worship and tranquility. 

Jacky Hughes and Francesca Hall-Drinkwater - Churchwardens 

BELL-RINGING 

There is now only one Fulmer resident available to help ring Fulmer’s Church Bells on a 

regular basis, so there is an urgent need for volunteers to come and learn the ancient and 

enjoyable art of bell-ringing. There are six bells, so the ability of St James Fulmer to meet the 

demand for all of them to be rung before the Sunday Service and at Weddings has become 

entirely dependent on getting help from other Churches. If any of you would like to join us at 

one of our Thursday evening practices to see what it is like to ring a bell, please phone me, 

Geoffrey Cooper, on 01753 644273. The practices start at 7.30 pm - on most Thursdays. 

Thankfully we have the support of an experienced teacher and other Guild members to make 

the practices well worthwhile and our numbers are being increased during the winter months 

by ringers from Stoke Poges. You would be more than welcome to have a go! You will find it is 

never too early or too late to start, for ringers include young and old, men and women, boys 

and girls, bright . . . . . and the not-so-bright! You will find companionship in the belfry, a sense 

of team spirit, a musical and rhythmic satisfaction, a useful form of exercise (though never 

really exhausting), a physical and intellectual challenge, and many other rewards as well. In 

my retirement I found I was getting aches and pains in my shoulders, but these were soon 

swept away by the exercise provided by handling the ropes. Ringing is a physical exercise 

which will keep you fit, and a skill which just might keep you young by co-ordinating your ear, 

eye, hands and brain. And you will appreciate the opportunity to participate in savouring the 

history of bell-ringing - the treble bell (No. 1) came from the medieval church and dates back 

to 1540, the four and five were added in 1617, only a few years after the church was built, the 

two was cast in 1741 and the three and six were the last to be added in 1884. Those bells have 

been ringing out over the village for all those years. Let's keep them ringing. 

How long does it take to learn? Initial teaching takes place on a one to one basis and most 

learners will be able to control their bell and be ringing with a band in about six to twelve 

weeks. But like learning a musical instrument there’s always more to learn even if you’ve 

been ringing for 40 years. Could I be a ringer? Almost certainly. You don’t have to be 

particularly strong or mathematically minded to ring. You don’t even need to know anything 

about music. But it helps to have a sharp eye, a keen ear, a sense of rhythm and a sense of 

humour. Am I needed? YES. A ringing chamber is a friendly place; those of us who ring can all 

remember how much support we received when we were learning, so we are pleased to be 

able to hand on our skills to new ringers. 

Geoffrey Cooper, Tower Captain

THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN 

You might wonder, when seeing this headline, what relevance this has to life in 

Fulmer today; an unpopular war that no one wanted, in a country thousands of miles 

from here. To us as a nation it has every relevance, because our soldiers are there 

being killed and wounded on a daily basis serving their country and we therefore have 

a duty to support them, however unpopular the war may be. A look at the British 

Army website www.army.uk will give you an overview of 

current operations and makes an attempt at explaining “Why are we in Afghanistan”. 

Of the 9000 or so, soldiers sailors and airmen currently serving there, roughly 7/8000 

of them are in 20 Armoured Brigade which is currently relieving 3 Commando 

Brigade Royal Marines. 

The relevance to life in Fulmer today is very much in the forefront of the minds of one 

family in Fulmer as their eldest son Brigadier Patrick Sanders DSO OBE, is now in 

Afghanistan commanding 20 Armoured Brigade until next May. This is not new for 

him as he has already served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq (twice) and 

for the past year he and his men have been training hard for this challenging task. For 

the families of the soldiers left behind it is an anxious and trying experience not 

helped by the fact that communications are not brilliant. Steam post works, the 

internet for emails is intermittent, mobile phones are taboo (for security reasons), 

there is always a long queue for the welfare landline and Skype is not available. The 

worst scenario for any family is the knock on the door and two grim faced officers 

with bad news, and it happens far too often. 

For any of those reading this article who have served in the forces you will no doubt 

be surprised at the size of 20 Brigade (almost 3 times the size of the old Brigades). 

There are 2 Cavalry Regiments, 6 Infantry regiments, elements of 6 Artillery 

Regiments, Royal Signals, Royal Engineers, REME, Army Air Corps, Royal Logistic 

Corps, Royal Military Police, a Field Hospital, and a host of smaller units including a 

dog Regiment, made up to this size and divided into a number of Battle Groups for the 

Operations in Afghanistan. It is the equivalent of an old Army Division usually 

commanded by a Major General (the full composition of 20 Armoured Brigade with all 

the units listed is too long to be published here but for those interested a copy is 

available from the Editor). 

Apart from the relevance this subject has to one family in Fulmer it could be of 

considerable interest to other families in the area who may also have sons or 

daughters, grandsons or granddaughters, other members of their families or friends of 

friends who have just flown to Afghanistan to be part of 20 Armd Bde and who need 

our prayers and support. Two of the Regiments currently there are 2 and 5 Rifles 

elements of whom made up the old Greenjackets some of whom were from the old 

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry a locally recruited regiment. It 

would be surprising if there was nobody who is affected and with the help and 

support of our local vicar it would be helpful if we could all get together at Fulmer 

Church on the occasional Sunday to meet, to pray for the soldiers and share our 

common experiences. 

This is an excellent proposal by the author and any readers interested in pursuing the idea, 

please contact the Editors

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NEWS FROM THE REC 

Paul Colloff, the general manager at King Georges Field, otherwise known as the Rec. 

or the cricket club is currently on a four month break and Kay and I doing our best to 

cover for him. The cricket season, which was fairly successful has obviously ended 

and the football season is well underway. Training takes place each evening Monday 

to Thursday mainly on the all-weather surface and on Saturday mornings with 

matches on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays. The all-weather courts are available 

for hire at certain times for five a side sessions. 

The Pavilion is also available for hire for parties, christenings and the like. We are in 

the process of planning a refurbishment and there may be opportunities for local 

companies and organisations to advertise their wares for a small consideration. 

We had a very successful Bonfire Night on Friday 4 November. James Keen provided 

the Bonfire, John Hargreaves supplied the fireworks and Paul Spittle of Hire 

Intelligence the sound system, Rob Hillier the music, The Cricket club did the bar, 

while the bbq and most of the setting up and taking down was done by the Football 

clubs led by Phil Mooney and Andy Wait. Fine teamwork indeed! 

KAY & BRENDAN KEANE

FULMER SPORTS & COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 

The FSCA remains in a relatively strong financial position before making any 

allowance for any future major capital expenditure. At the 30th of September 

FSCA had net assets of £16,613 with almost all of that in cash. The consolidated 

balance sheet for the FSCA, the three Clubs and the bar would show net current 

assets of £ 39,130 at the same date. When Paul Colloff returns from New Zealand 

at the end of January he will produce, for discussion, a four year rolling programme 

for the redecoration of the pavilion. In the meantime the verandah needs attention 

and the Club room and kitchen re-decoration. A plan for the redecoration of the 

bar is expected shortly. Externally the barbecue has been dismantled and in its 

place there are two mobile barbecues, which are available for hire. It was decided 

that, after some cleaning, painting and renovation, the play area did not require a 

complete replacement, at least not at the moment. 

Bonfire Night on November 4th was once again a great success, with good 

weather on the night. Like the previous year, we would hope that the surplus from 

the evening overall will be in excess of £ 2,000. Our thanks should be extended to 

John Hargreaves, who organised and controlled the great firework display, but also 

to the marshals on the night, Ian and his helpers in the bar, Paul Spittle for the 

music and many others who made it a night to remember. 

The Fulmer Conservation Volunteers have again played their part in keeping the 

boundaries, the areas around the tennis courts, play equipment and pavilion clear 

and tidy. Paul, until he went overseas, and Brendan as his stand-in, along with 

others have kept the playing fields and pavilion in a good condition. Sadly the 

tennis club has not got re-started and a leader is still required to generate more 

interest and play. The courts, however, are used extensively by the football club 

and other footballers. The cricket club had a good season as have the majority of 

the football teams. There should be detailed results for both in their own reports in 

the Newsletter. Overall the Fulmer Sports and Community Association is in good 

heart in spite of there being no tennis club. 

BONFIRE NIGHT 

Ronnie Lamb, Chairman 

In spite of a rather dismal weather forecast and light showers between 6.00 and 

7.15pm, the rain held off during the firework display, although due to the earlier 

rain, the crowd was not as great as last year. However, the smaller crowd meant 

that we could all move around and that there were not long queues at the bar and 

the barbecue. As the light drizzle stopped, James Keane lit the bonfire, adorned 

with two guys, and we awaited the firework display. The display planned and 

carried out by John Hargreaves and his assistant was, as always, excellent, aided 

by the skies clearing and the moon appearing. The sustained applause at the 

conclusion of the display showed how much the crowd had enjoyed the firework 

spectacular. On an evening such as this our thanks goes to all who assisted but In 

particular to Andy Wait, the Organiser, Phil Mooney, Ian Fisher, Paul Spittle and 

Brendan Keane. The next morning saw a small band of Volunteers clearing the 

grounds and securing the remains of the bonfire - RONNIE LAMB

Gerrards Cross & Fulmer Football Club 

For those of you who are not familiar with our club I thought I would start this year‟s 

entry with a brief snapshot of your local football club. The club was founded in 

2005 with one team and has quickly grown in to a large and thriving youth football 

club with 12 squads from U6‟s to U 18‟s and some 180+ registered players playing 

in 4 different leagues. Following the FA guidelines teams up to the age of U10‟s 

play mini-soccer with 6 or 7 players a side on a small format pitch with most age 

groups fielding 2 teams from their age group. The only exception is the U8 age 

group where we currently do not have any representation. 

At the U11 age group the format changes to normal 11-a-side games on full size 

pitches with a more competitive edge; results and league tables are published, all 

games have an independent qualified referee and yellow and red cards can – and 

are – awarded for foul play. 

We recently were granted the renewal for 2012 of our FA Charter Standard Club 

status by the Berks & Bucks FA; ensuring that the club manages itself to the 

highest standards and that amongst other items all of our coaches and other 

volunteers fully meet the FA‟s Criminal Record Disclosure, Safeguarding Children 

and First Aid certification criteria and that all our head age group coaches have at 

least the FA Level 1 certificate in Football Coaching. Under new regulations from 

the FA we now have to renew our status on an annual basis, rather than the 3 year 

period that was in force up to 2010. 

I am glad to report that the reputation of GX&F FC has steadily grown over the 

recent past and this in turn helps improve the performance „on the pitch‟. Two of 

our 11-a-side teams top their respective divisions with two more in the top 3 while 

only two are in the lower half of their divisions. It also manifests itself in the steady 

number of young people wanting to join the club; on average we get some 2 or 3 

enquiries a week, with the majority being in the younger age groups. 

All of our squads are now full and while we don‟t like turning youngsters away who 

want to play football we are limited by the availability of pitches, we currently use 

two locations: our main home ground is at King George‟s Field with our other pitch 

on West Common in Gerrards Cross (outside the Wildwood restaurant). Any 

significant increase in players / teams would mean we would have to look for 

additional playing capacity. It is only the excellent „husbandry‟ of KGF that allows 

us to cope with the amount of football that is played every week. 

As we look forward into next year, the club Executive Committee intend to draft 

and publish an outline 3 year Development Plan for the club, we also are looking at 

ways to improve communication and community with our players, their parents and 

guardians, external stakeholders and local communities. This is no small task, as 

you can appreciate our 180+ players range from 5 to 17 year old, and together with 

their parents that quickly totals up to over 500 interested parties! 

KEITH GUPWELL 

Chairman

Fulmer Brownies 

As leader of 1 st Fulmer Brownies, I have been asked to keep Fulmer Village upto-date 

with how we are thriving and developing. I took over as leader of 1 st 

Fulmer in September 2010, following Susan Brassy-Edward‟s retirement. 

Susan had been Brown Owl for many years and no doubt there are many girls 

in the village who fondly remember their time as a Brownie with Susan. I am 

pleased to report that membership of Fulmer Brownies is very popular and we 

now have 18 girls in the pack. We have undertaken many fun and exciting 

activities in the past year, including a trip to Buckingham Palace to see the 

wedding dress of the Duchess of Cambridge, visits to the theatre, sleep-overs 

and a pack holiday. We will be visiting the BBC in December to tour the 

studios after which we will meet up with parents for a Christmas celebration 

supper. The girls have also worked to gain Girlguiding proficiency badges in 

First Aid, Fire Safety, Disability Awareness, Agility and Healthy Hearts. 

I have been very busy seeking funds to update and repair the Fulmer Guide 

Centre. We held a quiz night earlier in the year, and the funds raised enabled 

us to decorate the kitchen. This has allowed us to undertake cooking activities 

in a clean and safe environment. I have also applied for grants to the local 

authority and other sources so that we can undertake much needed work to 

replace and lag the ceiling, replace the old electric heaters, and decorate the 

main hall and toilets. Whilst waiting to hear whether these have been 

successful I am pleased to report that South Bucks District Council has given 

us a grant towards the cost of the work. I am also hoping to replace flooring 

and curtains in the Guide Centre, in the next six months, but need to find 

funds to do this. Historically, „The Friends of Fulmer Guiding‟, has supported 

leaders to raise funds for repairs and improvements to the Fulmer Guide 

Centre. Until recently Gary Blinco kindly continued to act as Treasurer, 

although parents and friends to run the organisation are currently thin on the 

ground I have therefore undertaken fund-raising initiatives myself, as well as 

running the pack, and running my own business full-time. I am pleased to 

report I have found a new Treasurer, but I would be very happy to hear from 

any Fulmer villagers would be willing to join „Friends of Fulmer Guiding‟, to 

help us raise funds and any funding donations would be much appreciated. 

Local girls wishing to join Fulmer Brownies should contact me via email 

(ahurlstone@hotmail.com), and any volunteers who wish to help with 

fundraising for the works to Fulmer Guide Centre should also contact me at 

this address. 

Angela Hurlstone 

Leader – 1 st Fulmer Brownies 

Division Commissioner – Burnham Beeches Division

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FULMER CRICKET CLUB 

The 2011 season was a good one although not quite as successful as last year. From 

48 fixtures we won 21, drew 1, abandoned 7, 6 games were cancelled and lost 13. As a 

result, we had a 63% success rate with those finished. Whilst not as good as 2010 we 

should still be pleased. We generally had strength in our batting which gave our 

skippers the confidence to bat first whenever we won the toss. The tactics generally 

worked very well with very few opposing sides being able to chase down what was 

usually a healthy score. Certainly earlier in the season we had a very good win/loss 

percentage. Over the middle of the summer and towards the back end of the season 

the opposite on proved more challenging. 

We would like to thank all the people for their on field performances. The spirit on 

the ground was very good – an improvement on last year. We welcomed the following 

new players during the season: Will Voaden, Manan Kapila, Sukhi, Manu Sharma, Paul 

Smith, Tam, Danny Lavin, Pete Milne and Tom Burness. 

President’s Day 2011 

One point of satisfaction for the club this year was a win against the President’s XI. 

Following last year’s exciting tie, it was good to go one better and win. This is the first 

time the Club has won since Edward Guinness created the fixture some 16 years ago. 

The day was again a tremendous success, despite experiencing damp conditions for 

the first time in the match’s history, and the Club’s thanks once again go to Edward, 

Peter, Kiki, Will and the rest of the clan. They provided a tremendous spread for both 

the lunch and after game BBQ. Huge thanks also to Tansy and Sue for doing the lion’s 

share of the Club’s contribution to the food end of proceedings. 

Off the field we would like to express a special thank you to Tony, Del, Paul and Julian 

for their efforts in getting the sides together for the matches. This proves to be a very 

difficult task and this year there were a number of Saturday matches that we had to 

call off for lack of players. Perversely, for some Sunday fixtures we had as many as 15 

to 18 players available. 

For more news, download the latest Fulmer CC Newsletter: 

(www.fulmercricketclub.com) 

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THE BEEHIVE AND HONEYCOMB NURSERY 

We are very pleased to be part of this 50th edition of the newsletter and congratulate 

everyone who has been involved with it since its inception. 

The highlight of our summer term was, of course, the Royal Wedding. The children 

were very interested in the occasion and joined in our adaptation of the event with 

great enthusiasm. They painted paper triangles to make bunting and we had a 

number of flags for waving when the couple walked by! Some of the children came 

into nursery dressed as a Princess or Superhero, and many lovely paintings and 

drawings were created. Our theme for the term was Actions and Movements. When 

we covered facial expressions we talked about feelings and the children made puppets 

depicting a happy or sad face. We moved our bodies in different ways during Musical 

Movement and outside play: stretching, sliding, and moving fast and slow. Our tank of 

snails was a good example of how creatures moved slowly and was very popular. At 

the end of term we had our annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic at the recreation ground and 

on the last afternoon of term our Leavers’ Tea. Some 29 children left us to go to a 

number of different schools, including Fulmer Infant. 

The present term seems to be going very quickly. We have had topics on our senses 

and Divali. During the week that we covered our sense of hearing, we were fortunate 

to have another visit from Mrs. Sillett, a former parent, who works for the Hearing 

Dogs for the Deaf. She introduced the children to her new puppy that she is training: 

a chocolate brown Labrador called Bertha. She said that her family wasn’t too 

impressed with the name, but that was the name that was given to her before they had 

her! Now we are talking about Autumn. The children have enjoyed painting leaves to 

print; some have been cut out and placed on a large collage that will be displayed at 

the Christmas Concert. They have listened to Autumn poems, learned about 

hibernation, and have carefully chopped up a variety of vegetables for a soup. We 

have just started making Christmas cards and practising songs for our Concert. On the 

final morning of term we shall be having a Christmas party for all the children. 

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the residents of Fulmer a very 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Lorraine Chapman 

A plea from the Beehive to the village – we understand they are having problems with 

dogs fouling in the grass area outside the hall, as you can appreciate it is unpleasant and 

a health hazard with young children running about. As a result of this the school have put 

up two signs on the railings saying "Dogs not Allowed." – Editors

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THURSDAYS! MAKE A DATE FOR A COFFEE 

(tea or chocolate too!) 

As you know St James‟ church is at the very heart of Fulmer village and has been 

for 400 years now. Recently an open invitation has been extended to all those 

passing the churchyard to drop in each Thursday morning at 9.00am to enjoy a half 

an hour of friendly chat and a hot drink in the grounds. Frazzled parents rushing 

back from the „just-in-time‟ drop off at Fulmer Infant school or the Beehive nursery, 

those lucky enough to be enjoying a welcome day off work or passers-by 

admiring our quaint little village; all are welcome to come and join in the convivial 

atmosphere in the grounds of this beautiful and ancient building. 

Of course, there are rival temptations: to rush back home to make a start on the 

ironing and clear the breakfast dishes away, or to dash off to the gym, or to head 

Slough-wards to shop, but why not choose to take Thursday mornings a little 

easier and meet with like minded souls and stop for a free drink, delicious biscuits 

and a chat. A small but growing contingent have made this a regular date and it 

would be lovely if more could join in. So give Costa a miss each Thursday and 

enjoy a free drink in beautiful surroundings and a chat with other members of your 

community. Hope to see you there. 

Anne-Marie Dickson 

Footnote: 

An enthusiastic team of volunteers from the church set up and man the coffee table 

and provide familiar faces and points of contact each week, and it is a delight to 

see parents and younger siblings gathering round the church door to meet old 

friends and make new ones and to make time to chat. A member of the church 

leadership team is usually present and this is an invaluable way of bringing the 

church into our every day lives. We even have one child who regularly goes inside 

to see „my church‟! We offer a warm welcome to all friends, neighbours, parents, 

carers and passers-by. 

Francesca Hall-Drinkwater & 

Isobel Dorling 

Light Party, 31st October 2011 

St James Church Fulmer played host to over 70 children for this year‟s 

'Light Party'. The dress code was 'an explosion of colour'. The church 

was transformed with flashing lights and a big video screen and was 

packed to the rafters. The children showed off their dance skills before 

rotating around activity stations which included glow in the dark face 

painting, apple bobbing, cake decorating and painting. There was a talk 

inspiring us with Jesus example of being bright shining lights in the 

world. At the end everyone spilled out of the church waving their glow 

sticks. 

Tom Holbird - Curate

FULMER CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS (FCV) 

As predicted in May 2011, Fulmer Conservation Volunteers spent most of their 

time and efforts on matters concerned with the Best Kept Village competition. 

We were expecting that the judging would take place throughout June with two 

unannounced visits of the judges. This meant that we decided that FCV should 

turn out on each Saturday throughout June, so as to present the village in the 

best condition that we could. In fact it would appear from the letter that 

announced our success, that we were judged on just one occasion in the first 

week of June. 

How things change!! One minute I‟m busy analysing past history to try to 

identify the secret to winning and the next it is announced that we have 

achieved the double success of winning the Gurney Cup for communities up to 

500 people and the Sword of Excellence for being the 2011 winner with the 

highest number of marks. I would like to think that our success was in part 

due to analysis and taking note of judges‟ comments in previous years. The 

children‟s play area was criticised regularly, so we cleaned it up and applied a 

coat of paint. Also we made sure that there were no gaps where hanging 

baskets should have been in the village centre. Most of the houses had 

wonderful hanging baskets of their own, but in other cases where there was an 

empty house, for example, we have provided and watered the baskets 

throughout the year. Though the grass verges are not supposed to be judged, 

as they are usually considered not to be the responsibility of the village, we 

owe a vote of thanks to Peter Kelly, our clerk to the parish council for choosing 

a very efficient contractor to get them under control and looking good. There 

was a time in April/May when Fulmer Road verges were looking dreadful, but 

since Peter fixed the arrangement with his contractor, they have been kept in 

excellent shape. 

I also think that the work-in-progress on the telephone box was a positive 

from a community point of view, in that it was preserving what is now a 

historical feature, which has disappeared from many villages. Together with 

the church, village hall and pub, we still maintain some typical village features. 

Having won however, and to coin an appropriate phrase, “we must not rest on 

our laurels”, as in 2012 we will compete for the Tindall Cup-essentially a cup 

winners cup where we will compete with other 2011 winners of the different 

population categories. Following other Gurney Cup wins we have competed for 

the Tindall Cup before and in 2012 we will compete against Great Brickhill 

(2011 winner of the Morris Cup-population of 500-1500), Stewkley (2011 

winner of the Defraine Cup-population 1500-3000), Chalfont St peter (2011 

winner of the Pushman Cup-population over 3000), and with Buckingham 

(2011 winner of the Michaelis Cup for a small town). This is a tough cup to win 

as the line-up of winners are as keen as ourselves to achieve another award. I 

hope the BKV Press Release can be included in this Fulmer newsletter. 

Further activities of FCV. 

Usually after the judging of the village has taken place, we have a bit of a rest 

and the weeds start to grow again, but knowing we had won and would receive 

the presentation committee on 10 th September, the volunteers turned out on a

couple of weekends to spruce up the village centre in particular. I was unable 

to attend the presentation on 10 th September, but I understand there was a 

good turnout of around 50 villagers to receive the judges and presentation 

party. During October and November the volunteers have made some 

concerted efforts on three occasions at the Recreation Ground. We have helped 

to tidy up after the fireworks, and used the remains of the fire to dispose of 

rubbish that day and the week after. In particular we have made a further 

progress to clear the edges at the far end of the field, to assist the FSCA 

people with their objectives to bring more of the field into use for football 

practice. They had already started, but we have continued and will have at 

least one further effort on 26 th November to finish this work. Some unsafe or 

rotten trees have been removed together with some of the gorse broom and 

blackberry bushes. The latter will we hope quickly grow back, but at the field 

margins away from the pitch areas. We are making efforts to leave some cut 

and fallen branches under the trees to provide habitats for invertebrates and 

fungi and encourage birds and other wildlife. 

We have not paid recent dedicated attention to the footpaths, but I hope we 

will rectify that soon. Certainly I intend to take a walk round and there will be 

something to include in the May newsletter. Otherwise I encourage all, 

residents to enjoy the paths and shout out if there is something to be done or 

bring to the attention of FCV so we can take some action if it is within our 

capability. On that note of capability, FCV relies on a group of young at heart, 

but getting older volunteers belonging to “the last of the summer wine genre” 

and really would appreciate the help of some new people. 

I would like to thank all volunteers who have helped whether just once or 

many times, and I would like to thank all residents and contractors who have 

contributed something tangible to the appearance of the village by picking up 

the incessant stream of litter, by having a tidy garden and a smart house, by 

providing hanging baskets and window boxes, by looking after the grounds of 

the church and the village hall and planting and maintaining flower boxes at 

the ends of the village. 

Seasons greetings and good fortune for 2012 

Richard Marshall 

Congratulations and thanks to Richard and his helpers whose efforts 

ensured Fulmer won the Gurney Cup and Sword of Excellence. 

The judges wrote “We were impressed with the smart new notice board because it showed 

the considerable number of activities going on in Fulmer. We liked very much the flowers and 

the shrubs in the churchyard, which was in thoroughly good order. We were also impressed by 

the care taken with the planted containers on the side of pavilion.” - 

Editors

FEATURING FULMER – NEWSLETTER AT 50 

Here's a plug, based on the 'Featuring Fulmer' entry, to commemorate this 

Jubilee edition. 

The Newsletter was originated by the Parish Council with Edward Guinness as 

editor. The first edition was a modest seventeen page stapled A4 document, 

subsequently enlarged to some seventy pages, give or take, and has been 

published twice a year every May and December. All the writing of articles, 

editing, typing and distribution to over two hundred households in the parish 

and other interested parties, has been undertaken by volunteers. Printing was 

provided by the Guinness Company, thanks to Edward's association with them. 

Company developments brought an end to the freeride. The addition of 

advertising has offset costs and the Newsletter continues to be offered without 

charge to parishioners. 

Edward Guinness retired as editor in 2000, but still contributes. 

He had expressed the aims as: 

1. Keeping residents informed. 

2 Ensuring that reported activities are pertinent. 

3. Promoting harmony within the community. 

4. Encouraging constructive proposals to improve the community. 

Ronnie Lamb took over as head of the editorial team, including Susie Simkins, 

who became joint editor with Ronnie Simkins in May 2010. In recent times the 

format has changed to A5 size with a striking, well-illustrated cover. Production 

costs are met by the Parish Council but helped by advertising income. The wide 

coverage continues with undiminished quality. 

RNLI NEWS FROM FULMER BRANCH 

Michael Saxby 

We have held one event since the May Newsletter – our annual Tennis Day 

where we entertained 65 players to a morning of tennis and lunch at The 

Spinney thanks to Susie Simkins. We had a most successful event raising 

£2,000 with proceeds from our raffle and a sale of Jamie Oliver cookware. 

Our next event is our annual Quiz Night, a terrific evening being held at the 

Colston Hall, Gerrards Cross on Saturday, 4 February from 7.30pm. It‟s 

always a very popular event with people making up tables of 8 and enjoying 

a fish and chip supper and then pitting their wits with some tough questions 

on all subjects. Please let Susie Simkins (662537 or 

susiemsimkins@gmail.com) know if you would like to join us. We have held 

our annual Bridge Drive again at the Colston Hall – again another very 

popular event with our legendary tea being served with sandwiches, scones 

and lots of cake and we raised a magnificent £950! Let me know if you 

would like to be on our mailing list for the next drive. 

SUSAN FAGAN 

662193 sahfagan@lineone.net

Mrs ADRIANA ROZEK BSc .Hons M.Ch.S. S.R.Ch. 

STATE REGISTERED CHIROPODIST/PODIATRIST 

Iver Medical Centre, High Street, IVER, SL0 9PJ 

01753 652754 

Also at: Chiropody Clinic & Footcare 

1b Oaklands Grove Shepherds Bush 

Tel: 020 8749 3456 

Authorised Stockist of

WHODUNIT AND THE HARVEST THANKSGIVING 

RSC 

The Harvest Thanksgiving Supper took place in the Village Hall on 

Friday, 30 September. It was the prelude to the Thanksgiving Service 

in Fulmer Church on Sunday, 2 October. On this latter occasion the 

Church was beautifully decorated with a profusion of colours and a wide 

variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables. It must be many years since 

the majority of Fulmer‟s congregation ploughed the fields and scattered 

and how different it was when the importance of a good harvest meant 

so much to the prosperity of a very rural community. But if the 

thanksgiving of today is of a different nature, the fact that when society 

moves from one economic crisis to the next, our local fields and gardens 

testify to the fact that Dame Nature has an agenda of her own which 

defies the vagaries of the Stock Markets. For this we can join John 

Milton‟s „gladsome mind‟ in thankfulness. By and large we had a 

bumper summer in the garden and I hope you did too. 

From the moment of entering the Village Hall to a warm welcome, one 

sensed it was going to be a fun evening. It was a full house and 

particular praise was given for the delicious supper provided by the very 

capable Brendan and Kay Keane (and very grateful thanks too to Tracey 

and Gordon for all their assistance). The piece de resistance, however, 

was to be the performance by the Royal Shakeup Company in their first 

production in two Acts of “Much Ado About Something”, possible the 

Bard‟s last masterpiece performed in Thirties‟ evening dress. In fact it 

had been written by Ken Peters, reasonably fresh from his own historical 

masterpiece in celebration of the 400 th Anniversary of the consecration 

of our Church, which had been staged eleven months earlier. We began 

with a disappointment and were horrified to learn that Ken and Jennifer, 

his wife, had been involved in a car crash in Hertfordshire while on 

holiday. As a result they could not be with us and some hasty 

adjustments had to be made to the cast as Ken was due to play the part 

of Major Blunder. Tom Holbird stepped in to play Ken‟s role and Phil 

Mann helped out too by playing Tom‟s son, Minor Blunder. 

I once had the privilege of sitting next to Dame Agatha Christie at a 

Dinner and I am sure she would have been delighted by this spoof of 

one of her murder mysteries. The drama was in two parts – after the 

first act we ate (and drank) our supper and then rejoined the household 

of Lady Virginia for the second act. The stage was peopled by such 

celebrities as Sir Cumference Blossom, Mr Minor Blunder MP and Mrs 

Cheri Blossom QC. There were occasional echoes of Downton Abbey but

the sole representatives of Downstairs were Marion the Maid 

(delightfully dotty!) and Herring, the butler (a very servile cameo 

performance by Ian Trott). 

There was an hilarious moment when Maid Marion (Rosie Lamb) 

appeared in the dress of the early lady competitors at Wimbledon and 

called out „Who‟s for Tennis?‟ followed by „Sorry, - wrong play‟, as she 

ducked out again. 

Fiona Gray had directed her cast magnificently, Diana Mann and Susie 

Simkins were faultless in their production and Peter Dorling and Anne 

Trott had set the scene well. Mention must also be made of the witty 

programme notes (another Peters‟ touch, one suspects) and Paul Spittle 

was very versatile with the sound effects. 

After being fortified by the excellent meal, we returned for the unveiling 

of who had committed the dastardly crime and each table was asked to 

put forward their nominee for the guilty party. Poirot, where wert thou 

at this vital hour? In fact, and much to our surprise, our table were 

proved correct in nominating the Butler. Our only basis for 

condemnation was that everything Herring said sounded „fishy‟ but 

stronger motives were revealed. Poor Herring was left to reap what he 

had sown which was a fitting climax to a Harvest Thanksgiving Supper. 

Dare we ask for an encore? 

EDWARD GUINNESS

FULMER WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP 

Just what we needed on a wintery February day! – Isobel Dorling came to talk 

to us about some of the experiences she had while accompanying Peter on his 

lecture cruises. On some she had memories of warm, sunny, calm days and 

on others just the opposite – storms and sickness. Her main „job‟ on board is 

usually as a courier, assisting with organisation and with checking people on 

and off the cruise ship and the transport to the tour locations on land. Isobel 

recounted many „tales of tourists‟, which entranced us all. 

Again this year, we had an excellent Easter lunch in the St. James Centre, 

always a perfect opportunity for members to mix and chat together. After the 

meal, Jill Roth talked to us, linking the concept of our meal with other meals 

and especially with “Babette‟s Feast” where ordinary villagers are invited to a 

banquet. They eat together and share together, and their friendship and 

fellowship grow as the meal progresses – just what we had all experienced 

during our lunch together. 

It‟s always interesting and informative – and relaxing – to watch a 

demonstration of flower arranging, and Anne Middleton gave us a wonderful 

afternoon, making the arranging look so easy, and at the same time explaining 

about the flowers and how to treat them. She told us that flowers were very 

scarce at the time of her demonstration because of the very dry weather. And 

she also entertained us with thoughts on various topics including the flowers 

for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton – and the 

novel idea of trees for the wedding in Westminster Abbey. 

Our two social events went very well – neither with the summer weather we 

had hoped for - but nevertheless most enjoyable. The first was to the Savill 

Gardens in May when we were able to walk round the gardens whilst 

discussing the flowers – among other things – and then back to the centre for 

tea and cakes. The tea and cakes theme was carried onto our June meeting, 

which as last year we held in the WEC headquarters at Bulstrode. Unlike last 

year, when the weather was hot and sunny, this year it was definitely 

preferable to stay indoors, and after our excellent tea, provided by many of 

our members, we moved into the chapel and enjoyed some „community 

singing‟ while Liz Basden played the piano. Two most enjoyable afternoons. 

We are always happy to welcome new friends at our meetings. Do pick up a 

programme from church or get more details from 

Ann Arthur (887636) or Fiona Trigg (890520)

STOKE COMMON 

Terry Cork 

Restoration work on the heathland at Stoke Common has continued apace in 2011 

and is set to continue at a similar rate in 2012. The City of London has again worked 

with volunteers to clear smaller areas of scrub and small trees; a total in excess of 

1700 hours have been worked by volunteers during 2012. Most of the volunteer work 

was carried out by the Friends of Stoke Common group (FOSC) and Burnham Beeches 

Volunteers, but there was continued success in attracting corporate volunteers from 

Price Waterhouse Coopers, Honda and British Airways. As usual, the bigger tasks 

required staff and contractors using machinery. During 2011, 0.5ha of scots pine has 

been felled, chipped and sent as fuel to the power station at Slough. This cleared area 

was then mulched in late October to remove stumps and encourage heathland 

regeneration. 3ha along the Frome Wood boundary was cut with the cut material 

being stacked to create habitat piles for reptiles and soil, which had been scraped to a 

depth of 100-150mm from a further 0.3ha, was deposited on top. The scraping and 

mulching were both aimed at exposing the considerable seed bed of heather and other 

heathland plants which lies dormant in the soil. An additional 3ha of young birch 

regeneration was mown as part of the continuing program to cut and deplete the 

birch whilst allowing other species to remain undisturbed. The cattle were again on 

both parts of the common and have started to make a significant impact in controlling 

the growth of scrub and increasing the biodiversity. Cattle need to be contained so as 

part of the on-going maintenance programme, new fencing will be installed along 

Stoke Common Road from the lay-by to the traffic lights. 

There will always be plenty of work to do so if you want more information, or would 

like to join FOSC or the Burnham Beeches Volunteers, please call the Burnham 

Beeches Office on 01753 647358. - CHRIS MORRIS, Senior Ranger

Not a member of Neighbourhood Watch! 

Why not join – it‟s free 

The purpose of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme is to alert Fulmer residents to 

crime in the village and to raise the level of awareness, so that measures can be 

instigated to reduce the possibility of attack. I do this by circulating e-mails to 

members of the scheme alerting them to crimes or the threat of crime in Fulmer. 

This is a two-way communication system, so if members have any information that 

they think would be of interest to their neighbours or other members, they e-mail 

the information to me and I circulate it to all the other members. 

I do not name the persons from whom information is received, I merely refer to 

them as 'watch' members. Neither do I identify exact addresses relating to 

incidents unless specifically asked to do so by the victim, in order to protect their 

privacy. 

Also to ensure members privacy I circulate all messages as „blind copies‟ so that 

members‟ e-mail addresses are not visible to others. 

Some of the messages that I circulate are 'Ringmaster' messages. These are 

messages received from the police at Amersham. They tend to be of a more 

general nature than the messages that I circulate and include crime prevention 

advice. I also circulate information concerning local events that may be of interest 

to residents. 

To join the scheme please e-mail me with your name, address and telephone 

contact and I will add you to the circulation list. 

weild@btinternet.com 

Brian Weild 

Fulmer Neighbourhood Watch Convenor. 

01753 662509 

Mobile 07766 587 459

ERICE AND ST MARK’S BASILICA 

What a multitude of happy memories - the outstanding shore excursions, the smiling 

efficiency of the crew, sailing at first light into Valetta and Venice, relaxing drinks with 

new friends by the Lido bar, the concerts and Alison’s recitations, the lectures (James 

Morwood on the Normans in Sicily, Ili Nagy on ancient temples, Eric Lindgren on the 

oceanography of the Mediterranean), the comfort of our cabin, the Mediterranean sun 

on our backs, so many highlights. On the plane home from Venice my wife was sure 

that our Aegean Odyssey cruise had been our best holiday ever. 

Amid the many highlights two in particular stand out. One was literally high, the town 

of Erice in Sicily. From the port in Trapani our bus took us up a series of hairpin 

bends to reach the medieval town, perched on its pinnacle nearly 2500 feet above sea 

level. The town itself was charming - early Gothic church and bell-tower, ancient 

monasteries and wobbly houses, and cobbled streets which led up through the old 

square to a craggy double citadel which seemed to grow out of the vertiginous cliffs. In 

the plain far below little figures could be made out working the fields under the 

blazing sun. So there we were like Olympian gods, just as Homer described them in 

the Odyssey, looking down on the toils of men. Unforgettable! The sea itself was on 

two sides to the north and west, Mediterranean blue in the afternoon sun, and there, 

little more than a speck, was our ship safely moored in sickle-shaped Trapani. To the 

north Monte Cofano stood out, a triangular peak falling almost sheer into the sea. 

From it we suddenly noticed a wisp of afternoon mist drifting inland. Soon it 

developed into a white cloud threading its way across the fields below our parapet. 

My lasting memory of Erice’s citadel is of seeming to float on a tide of cottonwool, 

clear sunlit skies above, looking across at Monte Cofano pushing its head through the 

mist like Bali Hai in South Pacific. We seemed to be on the proverbial Cloud Nine. 

Our other great highlight was physically low, in fact sometimes literally below sea 

level though fortunately not on this occasion. It was Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. As 

an experience it was the highest. The clever people at Voyages to Antiquity had 

somehow arranged for all the passengers to make an evening visit and have the whole 

Basilica to ourselves - an exclusive in one of the world’s top dozen buildings of all 

time. Following dinner on the ship we boarded water buses for Saint Mark’s Square, 

and in the dusk we sailed past the twinkling lights of some of Venice’s great churches 

and palazzi. Our guides led us in our groups to the Basilica’s side door. Our first stops 

were in the loggias to admire the astonishing ceiling mosaics in the mini-domes 

behind the great west door, all beautifully lit, each telling a story from the Old 

Testament (including a memorable depiction of a drunken Noah), the figures 

contrasting with the gold of the background mosaics. And then through the inner 

doors into the main nave with its five mighty domes. Wow, mosaics everywhere, 

hardly a surface uncovered. Our guide again helped us ‘read’ the stories, this time 

from the New Testament. She also explained the craftsmanship of the luminous 

gilding; the many thousands of golden tesserae were glass and to prevent the gold leaf 

peeling off each mosaic comprised two pieces of glass with the gold leaf laminated 

between them. She then had us sit down in the nave and as we waited for the other 

groups I again reflected on how we had the whole place to ourselves and wondered by 

what magic Voyages to Antiquity had managed to give us such a privileged treat.

Suddenly we were plunged into darkness. All the lights had been turned off. Our eyes 

slowly adjusted to the gloom and we could just discern the huge mass of the building 

and its soaring domes. After a while, far above us, a single light came on. It was high in 

the dome above the altar, illuminating Christ Pantocrator seated in glory. The reds 

and blues and blacks of his figure stood out against the brilliant gilding of the 

background mosaics and the sepulchral gloom of the nave. Then two more lights came 

on, illuminating the disciples and gospel-writers. Then another light, and another, and 

another. We held our breath as the full panoply of figures and stories emerged from 

the darkness to left and right and above. I was reminded of Keats’s sonnet ‘Much have 

I travelled in the realms of gold’. The atmosphere was numinous. 

As we returned to the Aegean Odyssey we were on a high, a high at sea level. Thank 

you, Voyages to Antiquity, for making such a rare experience possible. And thank you 

for the whole voyage. 

FULMER MEMORIES FROM PETE YOUNG 

Nicholas Barber 

As some readers may remember, Pete played the part of his father in the 400 th Anniversary 

play, Marmaduke, last October 2010, in St James Fulmer. Since then he has provided us 

with detail of his life in Fulmer in the 1940’s and onwards. It is lovely to include this piece 

especially as in this 50 th issue we are especially looking back in the past. If anyone can 

shed light on the two residents Pete mentions please let us know - Editors. 

The Watersplash was our Seaside when we were kids. We used to catch sticklebacks, and 

redthroats, in the little ditch on the Gerrards Cross side, and build a dam at the back of the 

Footbridge to make the water deeper. That really was our seaside as many of us had never 

seen the sea. The first property on the left inside the gates to Fulmer Rise was occupied by 

an Indian Prince; he would come to the village, sit on the seat, and quite often would 

produce sweets or a block of Ice Cream to be shared between the children. Mabel Rodgers, 

or my Mum,would share them out. This was during the war when sweets and ice cream 

rarely could be obtained. The word soon got around if he was seen near the village seat. 

The other item of interest about him, he had a ovely large gold ring on his little finger with 

a large sapphire stone, and he would light a match, so the reflection would shine like a star 

in the stone. He would tell us, ‘It is the Star of Bethlehem’. Joyce Howard the film star 

lived in the house at the bottom of Cherry Tree Lane 

This was all before Fulmer Rise was secured off, no M40, no traffic and the woods were 

loaded with wild flowers, which Villagers would walk to see - snowdrops, primroses 

yellow and pink violets, wild daffs, Loads of bluebells, and in the fields either side of the 

water would be cowslips, milkmaids not forgetting the clusters of Garlic.

Stoke Poges, Wexham & Fulmer Horticultural Society 

Our next season opens on Wednesday, 14 March, 2012 with the Members Spring 

Social at Stoke Poges School, Rogers Lane, at 7.45 pm. We wish to extend a 

particular welcome to new gardeners and those who would like try to grow more 

home produce, vegetables, herbs or flowers. There will be a buffet supper, an 

illustrated talk on “Flowers of Crete” given by Graham Patterson, and a table show. 

The table show allows members to exhibit whatever is seasonable and is of 

interest to all. The evening is free for members but there is a charge of £2.50 for 

the buffet for non-members. If you join that evening there will be no charge. Annual 

Membership costs £6, or £8 for two people who live in the same household. In 

addition, this will give you free entry to our Annual Flower Show in July and a copy 

of the Show Schedule. What a bargain!! 

The next event will be our Annual Spring Market, a Plant Sale, to be held in the 

Village Centre on Saturday 21 April, 10 am – 12 noon. At the beginning of the 

following week on Wednesday, 25 April at 8pm in the Hastings Room, St 

Andrew’s Church Centre, we will be holding a Novice Gardeners Evening 

Workshop to help all those who have bought plants at the sale who would like 

further advice on nurturing their purchases and hopefully having something ready 

to exhibit in the Show. People who pass St Andrew‟s Church and Centre may 

have noticed a tall single stemmed tree planted at the front. This is a Paulownia 

Tomentosa, a beautiful and unusual tree, sometimes called the tulip tree. It has 

been planted in memory of Jim Ireland, who many will remember. Once its leaves 

come back in the spring, a commemorative plaque will be dedicated at a suitable 

time. A further notice and details will be made available in due course. 

Alphabets! A Bit of Nostalgia? 

RUTH ROOLEY – ruthrooley.com 

While buying an Alphabet poster for my grandson the other day I was reminded of the following 

(Cockney?) version – which I‟m sure many of you know. Do any of you have other variations? I 

remember some other definitions such as: C for th‟ Highlanders (Seaforth Highlanders); E for 

Adam (Eve or Adam); I for Novello (Ivor Novello) and I certainly don‟t remember S for Rantzen as 

my memories stem from long before she became well-known! 

A for 'Orses ('ay for 'orses) N for Lope (Envelope) 

B for Mutton (Beef or Mutton) O for The Garden Wall (Over the Garden Wall) 

C for Miles (see for miles) P for Relief (??) 

D for Ential (Differential) Q for a Bus (Queue for a Bus) 

E for Brick ('Eave a Brick) R for Mo ('alf a Mo) 

F for Vessence (Effervescence) S for Rantzen (Esther Rantzen) 

G for Get It (Gee, forget it!) T for Two (Tea for Two) 

H for Bless You (Aitsshfa! A sneeze) U for Me (You for Me) 

I for The Engine (Ivor the Engine) V for La France (Vive la France) 

J for Oranges (Jaffa Oranges) W for the Winnings (Double you for the Winnings) 

K for Restaurant (Cafe or Restaurant) X for Breakfast (Eggs for Breakfast) 

L for Leather ('Ell for Leather) Y for Husband (Wife or Husband) 

M for Sis (Emphasis) Z for Wind (Zephyr Wind) 

Happy memories? ISOBEL DORLING

A CLASSIC TALE 

It was a warm and sunny day along the Messina Straits without a tourist in 

sight – but then this was a long, long time ago so neither they nor Thomas 

Cook had yet been invented. Nevertheless the world, as we never knew it, 

was a very pleasant place for the few inhabitants who had the means to enjoy 

it so, in one respect, the year Dot B.C. wasn‟t so different from today. 

Charybdis was well settled by the sea, though a trifle hot. While this name is 

widely known, even now, few scholars are aware that it is actually two names 

run into one – possibly due to some careless Greek chiseller. So it was that 

hot weather notwithstanding, Bdis was chary about putting a toe in the water 

lest the close neighbour, Scylla, might suddenly go into a spin and drown him 

in an overwhelming embrace. Certainly he did not want to get so deeply 

involved for she was always in such a whirl, you understand; at least it is 

hoped that you do, otherwise, where is the point – as the dragon enquired of 

St George just before flame-out. 

Scylla‟s normal greeting to a passing man-of-the-sea was “hello Sailor”, but of 

late the jolly tars had jacked in getting too close, having realised that this was 

a clear invitation to a quick twirl then a long goodbye. Bdis, however was just 

about to risk a dip when there was a sudden shout and a blinking Pluto, 

unused to daylight hove up from Hades. 

“I say Bdis”, he barked, “Can you tell me where to find that ghastly boatman? 

I‟ve got to look lively and get the help I can‟t get on this side of the Styx”. 

“But”, said Bdis, “Charon only runs a one-way service, as you should well 

know, Pluto. Always in at the death so to speak, not a lively chap at all, doubt 

he‟ll agree to change his ways. His nick-name is Hades Corpus, by the way”. 

“Oh, I‟ll collar him” said Pluto, “It‟s not much good being a God as well as a 

Hollywood icon if I can‟t get what I want. I just have to hop over to Sicily to 

get help from Ma Fiosa”. 

“Pluto”, said Bdis, “you need to be very careful having dealings with The 

Family, and for heavens sake don‟t cross that Rubi Con. He‟s renowned as an 

ethnic confidence trickster and can get very nasty. Anyway, why on Earth do 

you need help from The Family”?. 

“Well”, said Pluto, “Right now I‟m caught between a rock and a hard place”. 

“True”, murmured Bdis, casting his eye over at Scylla, “But what‟s the 

problem? You already can do just whatever you like in the underworld”! 

“That is precisely the problem; I can‟t do whatever I like anymore. I‟ve even 

had to let Eurydice live despite Orpheus looking at her against my express 

instructions”. “How in Hades did that happen”? asked an astonished Bdis. 

“It‟ll ruin the legends”. “It‟s all because of some bloke, there‟s no other 

description, that Charon brought over to me. He‟s called Bob and crows about 

how he is going to run the Underground now that he‟s been dropped in it – 

curious phrase”.

“Well tell him to shut up” said Bdis. 

“I did”, said Pluto, “He told me that no one had ever said that to him and I‟d 

better be careful. “Rot” I said, but he wouldn‟t and then threatened me with a 

stroke. Everyone is petrified down there. That‟s why I need some heavy 

muscle, Bdis”. 

“Gods” said Bdis, “But I can‟t see the Capo letting his „soldiers‟ come on a 

dead-end trip just to eat crow”. 

“Well, he had better said Pluto, “otherwise we‟ll both end up in a home for Old 

Bdis”. 

KEN PETERS

FINALE 

I don’t suppose villagers had any idea 25 years ago that the mouthpiece of the village – this 

Newsletter – would be continuing to provide information and, we hope, entertainment, 

twice a year. If our funding from the Parish Council continues (the advertising only 

contributes part of the printing costs) then the Newsletter’s future will be assured. If there 

are any villagers who would like to advertise in future issues or can suggest companies we 

could approach, please let us know. 

We are, as usual, very grateful to our regular contributors and the band of helpers who 

deliver the Newsletter. 

2012 will be a significant year for Fulmer; as reported by Pauline Vahey, the outcome of 

the Project Pinewood Inquiry will be announced early in the New Year and we are all 

aware that whatever this outcome will be, both sides will inevitably wish their own fight to 

continue and I’m sure as a Village we are hoping we will not have the development and it 

will go elsewhere! On a more positive note we look forward to the Jubilee Celebrations 

during the weekend of 22-24 June combined with Fulmer Day, especially as the latter was 

much missed in 2011. 

We look forward to Festive celebrations this month and wish all our readers a Happy 

Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 

Ronnie and Susie Simkins 

Editors

LIST OF ADVERTISERS 

Area Cars – Mark Roberts 07922 450766 

Chiropody, Adriana Rozek 01753 652754 

Cinema – Club 7 Pinewood, Dee Knight 01753 656217 

Computer Doctor – Paul 01753 889994 

Gardening – W&P Wilcox 01753 531742/07967 408124 

Hamptons Estate Agents, Gerrards Cross 01753 886464 

Ironing Service, Ivana 07967 408124 

PBFish.co.uk – free delivery in fulmer 07912 142539 

Restaurant – Palm Suite Iver, David Williams 01753 652100 

Security – Omega 01344 303606/07860 541931 

Skin Care – Larry & Jo’ 01753 664455 

Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens 01753 523744 

Yoga, Carolyne Billings 07738 264860 

Zumba Class, Georgia 07595 377933 

We are very grateful to all our advertisers, many of whom have been 

supporting the Newsletter for a number of years. Please remember to 

tell any of the advertisers that you have seen their advert here. The 

advertising income helps us fund the Newsletter. 

If anyone would like to advertise in a future issue, please contact Susie 

Simkins on 662537 or by e mail to susiemsimkins@gmail.com

Gerrards Cross Community Library 

You will recall the article in the Newsletter in May, when Peter Hardy gave an 

update on the formation of a Working Group from Gerrards Cross Parish Council, 

to assess the viability of establishing a Community Library outside of the County 

Council authority. He had invited a Fulmer Parish Council member to join this 

group, representative of Fulmer and the many of us who use the Library. I offered 

to help and was very pleased when Tracey Evans, who is a Strategic Information 

Officer by profession, also offered to join the team and give her valuable advice. 

We have had many meetings and a number of fundamental objectives have been 

achieved. These include the setting up of a website www.gxlibrary.org and the 

approval of the business plan by Bucks County Council which delivers funding for 

rental, books and computers. The job description and advertising copy for the 

Community Librarian has been written and posted in various places. Applications 

are under review. A leaflet, which you will find on our own website, 

www.fulmervillage.org has been circulated widely, asking for volunteers to 

contribute perhaps only a few hours a month to help run the new Community 

Library. 

On October 24 th , a public meeting was held to update volunteers. Representatives 

from Chalfont St. Giles, a neighbouring Community Library, came to tell us of 

their activities and successful results since their County Library was closed. At 

that meeting plans for an Executive Committee to be run by Richard Griffiths were 

initiated. This Committee will run the Community Library. Members of this team 

have skills in finance, managing volunteers, education, and IT systems. 

We hope the Community Library will switch to the new format early in the New 

Year. If you wish to get involved you will be welcome. Just fill in the form on our 

website. 

Francesca Hall-Drinkwater

FULMER NEWSLETTER - Fulmer Village

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