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Memory of Queen’s visit

A friend from Kansas (Julie Hunt), who lived in Wargrave for some time, sent this message and photo via our WhatsApp group.

I thought it was just the loveliest of stories and wonder whether the elderly gentleman is still alive and what he did with the photograph of the Queen. Perhaps he might reply?

“Thinking of you all on the passing of the Queen. She was a remarkable lady and undoubtedly will forever be England’s longest-reigning monarch.

“I took this photograph of her when she came to Henley for the opening of the River & Rowing Museum.

“The kids and I took the train from Wargrave to Henley (fearing traffic gridlock) and got there early enough that we were able to park ourselves right in front of the doors of the museum.

“You may recall that the Queen came upriver on a barge. The Thames was terribly swollen and quick, murky and less than picturesque. It was a brisk misty day, adding to the bleakness of the river.

“The crowd was largely old age pensioners anxious to see their Queen in person, most for the first time, and a large number of school children, who were given small plastic flags to wave (I still have them, plus several I picked up off the ground).

“She was out of view when she disembarked from the barge, yet a message came echoing through the crowd: ‘The Queen is wearing a rust-coloured coat and matching hat.’

“It flowed to me and I passed it on to the lovely gentleman standing next to me. It was followed by another report: ‘The Queen is wearing black gloves and is carrying a black bag.’

“I again helped along the important news of the Queen’s attire.

“The old man next to me lamented that he’d waited all his life to see the Queen and to his dismay, in his haste to arrive early, he’d left his camera at home.

“I replied that I would get my film developed at Boots and they always gave double prints so if he’d give me his address, I’d send him my duplicates. He was ever so grateful.

“A couple of weeks later I did as I had promised and sent the duplicate prints to the gentleman I’d met. Days later I received the most gracious thank-you note from him. I believe he told me he was quite chuffed.

“I can’t look at the photo without thinking of that man. I wonder what became of his copy. Did he frame it, put it in an album or maybe it ended up in the bottom of a drawer?

“I have mine framed and displayed in my house as it has been for more than 20 years. Now it has become even more special.

“It’s the end of the second Elizabethan era. The Queen and Prince Philip are together again. God save the Queen.” — Yours faithfully,

Fiona Boyd Thorpe

Henley

Day I had to apologise

I hope I might be able to share with Standard readers my personal recollection of a meeting with our late Queen Elizabeth. So much has properly been said about her ability to put people at their ease and put other people’s needs before her own.

In 1986 it fell to me as a railway manager to welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their arrival at Liverpool Street station in London after what should have been a routine journey from Sandringham to Buckingham Palace in a coach attached specially to a scheduled morning service to the capital.

Unhappily, the train was delayed by 90 minutes on this particular morning and it was my responsibility to welcome the royal couple on arrival and escort them from the arrival platform to their official car.

I had met the Queen previously on duty but that helped me little to prepare in these embarrassing circumstances. Of course, I did my very best to apologise for and explain the delay.

The Duke of Edinburgh had (rightly) a pithy observation or two about the experience.

We then had to walk the platform along the full length of the train with commuters and other visitors to the capital locked into the train for security reasons.

As we passed the faces peering out from the coaches, the Queen turned to me with a smile and, gesturing regally towards the imprisoned onlookers, said: “You really shouldn’t worry about me… it’s these poor people I feel sorry for.” — Yours faithfully,

Colin Hall

Market Place, Henley

Fitting departure

Sir, — The Queen was last seen smiling, wearing a lovely Balmoral tartan kilt and standing in front of a roaring log fire in her favourite residence, as she appointed our new Prime Minister.

Duty done, her final duty, she literally lay down and died 48 hours later, thus she was spared the agony, pain and indignity suffered by so, so many people at the end of their lives. What perfect timing.

Her 70 years of continuous duty and service were completed. — Yours faithfully,

Enid Light

Wargrave Road, Henley

My ode to Her Majesty

Sir, — Here is a poem about the passing of the Queen. — Yours faithfully,

Lucas Jones

Ancastle Green, Henley

Platinum the service
Your country asked of you.
And you gave yourself entirely
Since 1952.

Platinum the standard
Every day you reigned
With dignity and devotion
Our love for you was gained.

Platinum the leadership
Exemplary through the years
A beacon for our sovereignty
In times of joy and tears.

Platinum the character
Your mark upon the world
Personality with purpose
Your legacy unfurled.

Platinum the constancy
Or so we came to think
For your presence among us
Seemed indelible as ink.

Alas, platinum is not
permanent.
But now that you have passed
Platinum are the memories
And they will always last.

So where can we park?

After 22 years of living in harmony with Henley’s parking situation, there is now a total turnaround.

The previously co-operative attitude has vanished now Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for enforcement.

When a person purchases a product which is offered for sale, surely the seller must by law have the product for sale?

We as residents pay for the privilege of parking in designated parking places, so surely the purchaser has the right to have what they have contracted to purchase?

Then why do residents buy a parking permit, in order to park, but find tourists and visitors have taken most of the parking places, when they can park in the parking facilities provided, which also ensures revenue for the town? At River Terrace there are 75 residents. Obviously not everyone has a car but why are the spaces not dedicated to just residents?

This was discussed a few years ago and a petition was gathered in order to make the space “residents only” but this was disregarded and now most of the places are taken by visitors/tourists taking a walk by the river.

At least when the town council was responsible for parking there was a sensible attitude and a lenient attitude because of the ridiculous situation.

I was given two parking fines for parking in a place I have used for more than 22 years without problems.

The contravention was “parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours”.

Please, please rectify this situation and at least have some understanding of the situation so that we as Henley residents who pay for parking can be fairly treated. — Yours faithfully,

Lynda Thornton-Hunt

River Terrace, Henley

Not such good trains

Sir, — It is perhaps no surprise that Neil Gunnell enthuses so much about the Elizabeth Line and its trains, having been given the opportunity of a cab ride over the central section, including the 1.5-mile section not yet open for public running (Standard, September 9).

I don’t argue that the trains are very impressive underground trains.

And the journey from Paddington to Abbey Wood is quite a pleasant experience compared with some of London’s older Underground lines.

But that is where my enthusiasm for these trains ends because they lack various passenger facilities, particularly toilets, so are totally inadequate for the journey time between Twyford and London.

In many respects they take us back more than 60 years to the time before all mainline local trains serving Twyford had toilets. And they compare very badly with Great Western Railway’s Electrostar trains despite the fact that you have to pay the same fare to travel on them.

I know from my many years of railway management experience that passengers care about various things but these vary from person to person.

For older people and those with small children a toilet on the train is usually regarded as essential.

For those seeking connections through, or working in, London, journey time will always be important and GWR’s peak hour services from Twyford and connecting to/from the Henley branch line will get you to/from London in less than half the time the Elizabeth Line trains take.

In the morning peak you can leave Twyford later by GWR and have plenty of time to transfer to an earlier Crossrail train at Paddington than the one you would have joined at Twyford.

Off-peak passengers, including those from our branch line, have an even better situation because they can travel to/from Ealing Broadway on a GWR Electrostar train with toilets and tables etc (and it doesn’t stop at every station on the way) and change there to/from an Elizabeth Line train without having to change platforms.

Because of its simplicity as an interchange I will definitely use Ealing Broadway to join the Elizabeth Line (if I have to) because it means I’ll avoid the awful journey on its train all the way from Twyford. It’s a pity that option won’t also be available in the peak hours.

So maybe a few more passengers will tolerate these trains after through-running starts but I bet I’ll still see passengers on the platform at Twyford doing the same as me and deliberately avoiding an Elizabeth Line train to wait a bit longer for a more comfortable GWR train. — Yours faithfully,

Mike Romans

Cromwell Road, Henley

Disgraceful affront

Sir, — It is regrettable that the views of David Orpwood (Standard, September 9) are so widely shared. These should not go unchallenged.

Like so much of what we read about Boris Johnson’s premiership by his supporters, the claim that he “got the big calls right” is mere unsupported assertion.

To claim that he was right about Brexit is, at the very least, not proven and the idea that he “got it done” is simply preposterous. As Liz Truss will shortly find out.

And it is simply insulting to claim that Johnson’s handling of covid was acceptable.

There have been more than 160,000 deaths according to the Government’s own figures and it seems improbable that the inquiry will take a benign view of a government that presided over a loss of life on that scale.

When apologists for the former prime minister make the “big calls right” claim, can they not see that this mirrors the only semi-serious defence offered for Mussolini: “At least he made the trains run on time”?

Arguing that Johnson’s handling of Brexit and covid and his support for Ukraine demonstrated his sound judgment on the big issues was surely intended to divert our attention from his disgraceful behaviour.

It won’t wash. Even if Johnson had got everything right, we do not elect governments for their ability to focus only on their chosen specialist subjects but to deal competently with all the problems that beset the country and its people.

Johnson’s deeply unserious approach to his responsibilities was an affront to decent people and the partying Conservatives disgraced themselves when they chose him as their head. — Yours faithfully,

Andrew Robertson

Woodcote

Protect the green belt

Sir, — In December 2021 permission was granted by South Oxfordshire District Council for a 250-acre solar farm at Nineveh Farm, Nuneham Courtenay, in the green belt, facing Oxford.

An officer had failed to tell the planning committee that the application must be decided according to the policies in the council’s own local plan.

That plan, while approving renewable energy in principle, says that a number of places would be unsuitable for such a development, including where it would cause “a significantly adverse effect to the openness of the green belt”.

It is hard to imagine a more damaging application than this, on slopes highly visible from the city.

Nevertheless, it was passed, albeit narrowly, by the committee.

Now the applicant is requesting a further five years on the 35 years already granted.

Hopefully, South Oxfordshire District Council will this time remember its duty and the requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework that this application must be judged according to the local plan and be refused because of the obvious adverse effects it would have on the green belt.

This application is critical as it sets a precedent.

Solar farms must be somewhere but they don’t have to be everywhere — Oxfordshire needs a proper county-wide strategy to plan sites.

Renewable energy is vital but mustn’t jeopardise other critical factors such as food production, biodiversity and landscape.

The Pathways to a Zero Carbon Oxfordshire report states that only one per cent of the entire land surface of the county needs to be used for solar energy.

This could easily be achieved by using existing roof space and therefore the use of green belt land cannot be justified.

If readers feel strongly that the green belt should be protected, please speak to your local councillor. — Yours faithfully,

Dr Geoff Botting

Chair, South Oxfordshire district, CPRE, the Countryside Charity

I object to school fence

Sir, — I am a former pupil of Gillotts School in Henley and am writing to object to its proposed boundary fencing (Standard, July 22).

I find it very sad that we now live in a day and age where security must be considered and implemented.

The reasons I object are multiple and as follows:

• The impact on the local community and the amenity of the area around the school.

• The potential impact on the wildlife corridors and local biodiversity.

• The proposed application doesn’t appear to comply with the Department for Education’s site security guidance.

I will elaborate. As a child, I very much enjoyed having access to the school playing fields to play.

It meant that I and other children in primary and secondary school could get easy access to playing fields without having to cross major roads.

It is very sad that this access would no longer be maintained with this proposal.

It is also sad the impact this proposal would have on the public footpath that runs between the school and the local houses.

With a high-wire fence one side, the nature of a footpath which makes a nice walk would be impacted.

I feel it may raise people’s levels of feeling unsafe by having the fencing rather than the trees and bushes and undergrowth that they currently enjoy.

I am concerned that by fencing off the woodland and green corridors in such a robust manner means that they will no longer work and there will be a net loss of functioning biodiversity.

The Government’s site security guidance states that ground cover cannot be allowed to grow more than 1m high and tree canopies must be kept above 2m.

The boundaries have been allowed to become wild spaces, which are highly valued by wildlife.

If the guidance is followed the school will need to constantly maintain and disrupt the wildlife using these areas to maintain compliance.

I would suggest that a study may be required to determine the impact of this development and if there would a net loss of biodiversity as a result.

The proposed application doesn’t appear to comply with this guidance.

The placement of the fence means that it would not be able to be checked easily or seen from the school grounds due to the vegetation and tree growth.

The guidance states that clear lines of sight will not be able to be maintained unless this is cut back and the land partially cleared to generate those clear lines of sight.

I do wonder if the school could be approached and asked to consider moving the boundary to a sensible distance from the edge of the playing fields instead, such that it isn’t visible from the public footpaths and did not interfere with the wilder spaces and wildlife.

This would mean that there would be a clear line of sight for the school to ensure its security, the local community wouldn’t be faced with a barrier and a feeling of division, the local fauna, flower and wildlife would not be interfered with and green corridors would be maintained. — Yours faithfully,

Erik Johnson

Larkdown, Wantage

Unfortunate animals

Further to your story about dead sheep in the River Thames (Standard, September 9), on August 31 I and other paddlers from the Phyllis Court Club canoe and kayak group paddled down the St Patrick’s stream, which links the Thames and the Loddon.

About halfway down we stopped to picnic at a friend’s garden.

There were sheep on the opposite bank and our host said they were imports from one of the Baltic countries that were being acclimatised before being sold on as British lamb!

The banks of the stream are very steep and numerous sheep, trying to drink, had slid down into the river and were unable to climb out and subsequently drowned.

Our return to the club was via the Hennerton backwater and I noticed what I thought was dead sheep in the branches of a fallen dead tree. I hope this explains the source of the bodies. — Yours faithfully,

John Whiting

Please help poor dogs

Sir, — I was sent a leaflet by the Network for Animals about the “brutal dog meat trade” in Africa asking me to donate money to help stop this cruelty.

As a devout animal lover, this distressed me.

How human beings can treat these lovely dogs like that is beyond me.

I am 84 and read your paper every week so could you please make people aware of the animal cruelty going on in the world? Barbaric is the word.

Perhaps some of your readers will offer homes for the dogs.

I cannot bear to imagine the pain and fear the animals are suffering.

Please bring this to the public’s notice. They can find out more information at www.networkforanimals.org

God bless you and thank you for the dogs and all the other animals. — Yours faithfully,

Jean Corper

Warren Road, Woodley

Excellent treatment

Sir, — I would like to share the experience of my stay at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

I called the Bell Surgery in Henley as I was suffering from sickness and stomach pains.

A doctor saw me immediately and suggested I go to the accident and emergency department at the Royal Berks.

Late that evening I felt much worse so decided to call 999. The ambulance came in just 12 minutes and I was admitted to hospital for a couple of days for tests.

I’m sure I couldn’t have had better treatment at a top private hospital in London. The nurses were so very caring and dedicated; nothing was too much trouble.

The toilets were spotless, the food was very good and the beds were changed every day. All in all, a first class service.

I know there is so much criticism of the National Health Service but I would like to thank the Royal Berks for the fantastic treatment that I received during my short stay. — Yours faithfully,

Eileen Ball

Baronsmead, Henley

Thank you to kind lady

Sir, — I would like to say a very big thank-you to a lovely young lady called Tamara.

Having seen my purse fly off the roof of my car as I drove around Henley town hall, she made the journey to my home address to return it to me.

How very kind and considerate to have made the effort to personally return it to me. Thank you, Tamara. — Yours faithfully,

Barbara Phipps

Badgemore, Henley

Declutter and do good

Editor, — As we approach Recycle Week (September 19 to 25), the British Heart Foundation is encouraging everyone to support its declutter campaign by having a good clear out and donating good quality preloved items to the charity.

We’re all pretty good at separating our household rubbish so donating goods to charity shops should be just as routine. It’s a really easy and convenient way to give a new life to something you no longer want or need.

You can drop your donations into the BHF shops in Duke Street, Henley, or Broad Street, Reading, or you can post your items to us using our free downloadable label. For bigger items like furniture or fridges, you can book a free collection.

In a year, the charity saves more than 57,000 tonnes of goods from going to waste, including 103,000 sofas and 13,000 items of preloved clothes.

We can all do a little more to help make a difference and by donating your preloved items to the BHF, you’re also helping make a difference to those living with heart and circulatory diseases.

Every day, heart and circulatory diseases cause 460 deaths in the UK and currently around 7.6 million people are living with them.

For decluttering tips, to book a collection or find out more about the campaign, visit bhf.org.uk/declutter — Yours faithfully,

David Roman

Sustainability manager, the British Heart Foundation