A Plea for the Summer Evenings

Well here we are again. It appears summer has arrived and we are able to enjoy evenings in our gardens - or are we ?

Call me Mr Grumpy, I have certainly been accused of worse in my time, but could some people show a little more consideration to others. Now I enjoy listening to music as much as the next person but does it really have to be at such a volume as to drown out conversation at anything other than shouting levels. There appears to be someone living on the Chesham Road who is under the impression that the entire neighbourhood wants to listen to his music when he has a party. Well actually, it may come as an immense surprise to you that some of us dont especially at gone midnight, having been subjected to it since before 6.00 pm. Would you please show a little consideration to others and maybe turn the volume down a bit and allow us all to enjoy these summer evenings.

Also, I am sure that the bonfire brigade will soon be at it. We all know that the bins provided by the council for garden rubbish are way too small. But if you coud bag up your garden refuse rather than burn it i am sure many people would be very grateful. The question is, what to do with the bags of rubbish. Well one suggestion I have heard is to find the address of your local counciller and maybe leave the bags outside his or her house. I could not possibly comment.

Now on to the question of Tesco's. At a recent parish council meeting, the floor was given open to members of the community to give their opinions. Of all the people who spoke, only one person had the guts to stand up and say he was in favour of Tescos. As the chairman rightly pointed out - had anyone else chosen to do so, they may have been lynched. For my own personal opinion however, I have to say that I am leaning in favour of Tesco's coming here. Some people said that we already have a good selection of shops in the village. Well I am sorry but I have to say that in my opinion the Co-Op is uselss. They never seem to have any stock of the very few lines that they carry and should you wish to purchase a bottle of wine the display is frequently hidden behind boxes of ine bottles so you cannot find what you want. I also think that the Wine Shop is over priced. Sure if you want to purchase 3 bottles of wine its not bad with buy 2 get 1 free, but for this of us who just want one, their prices are way over the top.

Anyway, thats all for now. As usual, any comments will be gratefully received

The New Look Co-Op

Well I popped into the Co-Op on the day of their grand re-launch.   From what I could see, once my eyes got used to the glare from the very bright lights, not a great deal has changed apart from the smart new uniforms being worn by the staff.

One side of the store still seems to be completely devoted to the sale of wine and beer.  I am sure this is a good for profits but to devote about 20% of the total selling area to booze seems a bit excessive.   The number of lines that they carry seems to have increased but it is nowhere near the choice that you get from CostCutters.  

When i was in there on day one, there was a young mother with a child in a buggy in the shop.  It seems that the aisles have reduced in width as it proved difficuly to get round her.   Even though the place is very clean and bright, it has a very cramped feel to it

Today (Saturday) I went in there again.  It seems that they are having the same supply problems that they had pre refurb,  as there was very little fresh produce available and large empty spaces on the shelves, especially meat and vegetables.

Talking about supply issues.  According to the latest minutes of the Parsh Council meeting, point 7.1 states that deliveries to the Co-Op are scheduled to take place between mid-morning and 3:30 pm.  Well I guess my watch must be running very slows ince on many mornings when I  am trying to make a right turn out of Old Dean into the high street, the view is completely blocked by the Co-Op delivery lorries.

I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed with this refurb.  I think, if Tesco's do eventually open up on the site at the top of the village, the Co-Op will need to smarten up its act otherwise, they will not survive.

As always, your comments on this are welcome.  Any reply from the Co-Op would be especially welcome.

Welcome to 2009

Hi All





Firstly an apology for the delay in updating this blog. I could say that it has been down to pressure of work, hectic social life etc but alas that would be a lie - just pure laziness on the side of the author.



First on the list is a belated welcome to Hope Vets, We have needed a vet for a long time in the village and they are a welcome addition and I wish them all much success.



Secondly - the old Chiltern Jag site at the top of the village. Does anyone have any news on it. It is becoming an eyesore and soon, no doubt, the metal shutters will attract the spray paint artists. We are still none the wiser as to if Tescos are going to develop the site. Update - see below



Number 3 - The saturday market. As you may guess, I am very anti the market. This is not just because of the general 'crap'that seems to be on sale there but also cos of the traffic it brings into the village on a Saturday. Trying to drive down Bov High Street on a saturday morning is like trying to complete an obstacle course. It would be interesting to know from the shop keepers in the village, if the market has a positive effect or a negative on their trade. So please let us know. I did hear a whisper that there are plans afoot to look at turning the airfield site into housing. Well I guess that has to be better than the market, but how would the village cope with an influx of new residents, if it happens.

Number 4 - A huge thank you to all the local shop owners who generously donated prizes to the Bovingdon History Group's Raffle. My one regret is that neither myself nor my good lady wife managed to purchase a winning ticket. The mini hamper donated by Stanleys looked choc-a-bloc full of goodies.

TESCO UPDATE

I received a leaflet thru my door from Tesco telling of their plans for their new mini store on the old Chiltern Jag Site. Does this sound the death knell for other shops in the village. It seems to me that it most certainly will have a big affect on the Co-Op and maybe on CostCutters. I do wish that the Co-Op devoted a little less of their space to the sale of beers and wine and added a few additional lines and products

I personally am not totally against the store being there. I hope that if it does open, there will still be room for shops like Stanleys. My personal concern is what will this do to traffic in the village. Anyone who tries to turn right out of Old Dean in the mornings is confronted with having to make the turn blind cos of the delivery lorries for the Co-Op.

Anyway this blog is meant for personal comment so please feel free to add your opinions.

The Royal Oak

As reported on here earlier, the Royal Oak has been taken over by new leaseholders. A warm thank you from all the regulars to Jemma, Den, Phil and all the rest of the staff. You ran a really welcoming and happy pub. You will be sadly missed.

Now I may not be the greatest businessman on the planet, but I would have thought that the new people in at the Oak would not close the place on day one for 'refurbishment'. I would have thought you would have considered staying open for a few weeks, getting to know some of your regulars, built up a residue of good will etc. Lets face it, from what I have been told, you have not even popped in to meet some of the regulars since the deal was on the table.

Now I am sure that you are experienced in the running of a pub, but I think maybe you missed a trick here. It takes a long time to build up a decent group of regulars but a very short time to lose them. It looks like the Royal Oak's loss is gonna be other pubs' gain

Well thats about it for now - more soon

New Ownership at The Royal Oak

A little bird informs me that the Royal Oak in Bovingdon Green is about to undergo a change of ownership.

If the new owners do half as good a job as was done by Jemma, Dennis and the rest of the current team then the pub will remain in good hands. Here's hoping for the best.

That Puddle

I noticed that the puddle at the Flaunden Lane crossroads is now beginning to take on the charactarestics of a small lake. By this time next week there may be ducks swimming about on it. Who is responsible for this and more to the point when are they going to do something about it. Lets face it, it has been at least 6 months since they have dug up the Chipperfield Road so its high time they did it again.

I want to pass on my thanks to Mr Phillips from the Pharmacy for his robust defense of the new pharmacy in the village and also for notifying us of the opening hours. I have still to work out quite why it would take 4 days to fill a prescription, but lets just let it rest.

Now on to a particular bug bear. Would those of you who park your car right on the corner of Old Dean please use your brain and try and park it just a little further down the street. I know this means that you may have to walk another 20 metres, but parking right on that corner is so dangerous.

The Bin Men and Other Matters

Well its time to complain again - I really should audition for 'Grumpy Old Men' on TV ! This time I just want to comment on the bin men. Now I have to say that I am very grateful for them coming around every week and picking up my rubbish, but is it beyond their capablities to stack the boxes back neatly. Each week, we play the game of hunt the lid. Its not so bad in the summer, but in the darkness of winter mornings it is a pain in the ass !

On my first blog, I asked if anyone had any firm news on the old Chiltern Jag site at the top of the village. Well all I do know is that Tesco's have bought the site, so I have been reliably informed (well not so reliably, it was after the 5th pint). I sthis genearlly welcomed by villagers ? Will it sound the death knell for the Co-Op and Costcutters ? Will there be a petrol station there or will it just be a Tesco Metro ?

Any contributions and comments greatly received