Hughenden Valley

I have decided to close down this website.  I find that I am no longer getting all the news out and, since becoming Chairman of Hughenden Parish Council, feel that my views on this site will inevitably be taken as the views of the council.

I had hoped that some budding journalists would offer their services, but none came forward, in spite of several requests.  It would therefore seem that there is little interest in keeping this site going.

We are fortunate in having a website for the village run by the Residents Association.  It has always been my belief that we have one portal for the village, so this will now be it.

At the parish council we are working to make the parish council website relevant and topical, rather than just official.

There should be now no need for a voice outside the Residents Association or the parish council as both are keen to hear views of residents.

Remember that there is always a need to have volunteers for community projects, whether this be a regular donation of time, such as working in the village shop or being a road rep for the Residents Association, or spasmodic, such as joining in litter blitzes or helping in Village Day.  Without lots of people contributing to the community, the community ceases to exist and life becomes poorer.  If you think your life is lacking something at present, it could be that you are not doing enough for the community.  It has been proven that becoming part of the community leads to a healthier and longer life.

Thank you all for reading the ramblings on this site over the years and thank you to those who contributed.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I had a problem with this yesterday afternoon while watching an iPlayer episode of The Killing.  The one hour programme took nearly two hours to view as the broadband line tried to keep up with the action.

I made a complaint via email and was contacted this morning by an “engineer” who was unable to listen to the symptoms I was retelling, being convinced that the problem was with the extension line I was using and only slightly affected by the peak demand time.  (I get a fantastic service at 2am.)

I did try putting the wireless router directly into the main socket and ran a test on the BT address he gave me.   Because BT for some reason don’t let you run more than one test an hour, I could not run a comparative test on the extension line until later.  (I cheated and used another speed test, found courtesy of Google.)  This showed an improvement in speed on the main socket, but a similar speed on the extension socket.   Why BT doesn’t allow two tests to be done within a reasonable time frame, so that conditions are similar, is beyond me.

I was expected to evaluate the performance of this “engineer”, but perhaps I could not hide the tone of my voice that perhaps indicated I was less than impressed with his abilities, for I never received that email.

BT is almost a monopoly supplier in this area and seems to be unwilling to upgrade the Naphill exchange and associated lines to run fast broadband, so we are stuck with a service that is minutely better than dial-up.

There I was, with armfuls of heavy shopping, on the bus back to the Valley.  Phone call to other half – can you met me? Be there is five minutes – and then the lady in the front seat slumped and was spotted by the lady opposite.  Quick diagnostics followed with the result that the lady was unconcious and doing shallow breathinng.  The driver stopped the bus by Hughenden Avenue and I called the ambulance, followed by a call to the other half to warn of the delay.  The ambulance arrived and I got off the bus to await other half’s arrival.   Another delay to the bus that would not be made up.  We did see a double decker come along a few minutes later, so plenty of room for the double load it would have to carry.  Whether this was by design or accident, I don’t know, but suspect it was by accident.

I don’t know what the solution is, but buses need to be reliable.  The service offered by http://nextbuses.mobi is a fantastic tool, providing that the bus carries a GPS device, which, it seems, is becoming rarer. 

Meanhile, the new operator of the 333/334 route is running a reasonable service.  It runs at 11am from the Harrow to town and comes back at 1:30 from Wycombe, but only on Tuesdays and Fridays.

All 497 pages of the Localism Act are now available to view.

The Parish Council website has several links to synopses via the News and Events section of the home page.  The parish council would appreciate any comments on the Act from residents.

The Parish Council has embarked upon a Strategy Plan exercise and will be fully consulting parishioners when the basic spadework is complete.  This should help us determine what we all would like to see in the parish in ten years’ time.

Today (Sat 19th November) is the annual Christmas Bazaar at the Village Hall.  A fabulous event, where yiou can get low-cost Christmas presents, win on the tombola, have tea and cakes and…..see Father Christmas in his grotto.  Opens 2pm.

I (along, I suspect, with many others) had a detailed response from our MP David Liddington on the Transport Select Committee’s findings.  I have reproduced the email, which is very detailed and lengthy, here.  There is a link to the full report of the TSC.

The TSC summary of its main findings appears to be considered and balanced.  What does come through is that this project has not been properly assessed and that more work needs to be done.  To disregard the findings of the TSC would be a blatant political move ad be seen as a means of pursuing an agenda that is not in the interests of the British people.

If this ill-advised project goes ahead, then it will put the career of David Liddington and the other 27 Tory MPs along the HS2 route in jeopardy at the next election as they will be seen to be part of a government that is acting in direct opposition to their electorate’s interest.  Given the dissatisfaction of the electorate with the three main political parties and Europe’s autocracy, this will strengthen the appeal of parties such as UKIP.  Some Tory MPs might defect to UKIP, especially if they are Euro-sceptic, but David will find this difficult, given his European associations.  It will be interesting to see whether constituents value dedicated work over the Party’s opposition to their views.

From next week, there will be a new contractor to run the Tuesday and Friday 333 and 334 services between Wycombe and Speen.  The County Council subsides this route so that villages along the route are not isolated.  It also subsidises the 300 route in the evening.   Arriva currently run the 333/334 service and it will be a loss to see the end of their generally genial drivers.

Wrights have some snow shovels in stock.  If you haven’t got one, then you should seriously think about getting one.

Wrights and Hildreths have salt and grit in stock.  You should keep a bag in the garage.

Have you checked that anything that could get damaged by frost is in good repair?  Gutters, loose cement, drains unblocked, ect.  Get it done now.

Have you got suitable boots for snow?

Have you insulated outside taps?

The list goes on.  With all of this late summer/autumn sun, it is easy to forget that winter could be just round the corner.

I often get emails from people wanting to warn others about the latest scam.  The advice to whatever you are being asked to do is

NEVER

Phone an 09…… number – it will cost you dear

Click on a highlighted link in an email, unless the email is from someone you know and trust – it will probably unleash a program designed to do you, or your computer, harm.

Just coming back from holiday, where we decided to get a bit fitter. So we attended stretch classes, Aquagym and Aerobics each day. So as not to lose it, we decided top keep the regime going as long s possible, so I have taken to walking up Cardiac Hill (behind the Harrow straight past South Maundin) on the way to the shop. At the top there is a convenient gate to lean on and look over a vista of the Chilterns. It is a magnificent view. It is why we live in this part of the world. It takes under an hour to do the circuit, returning on Valley Road. I suggest you find time to do the walk and enjoy this area. It is too easy to work, eat and sleep your way through life and not take the time to stand and stare!!