2018: A Review of the Year, part one

JANUARY

BUS companies are bidding to keep Henley’s town centre services running.

The town council, which currently subsidises the 151 to 154 routes, has put the contract out to tender and will be accepting sealed offers until Wednesday. Three bids have already been made.

The council has been trying to save the services since Oxfordshire County Council withdrew all bus subsidies as a cost-cutting measure in 2016.

PLANS to install a £100,000 lifesize statue of George Michael in Goring have been sent back to the drawing board.

Parish councillors say proposals put forward by fans of the late singer, which also include a two-day memorial concert, are not thorough enough. They have also warned that some villagers are against any large-scale tributes to the pop star, who died on Christmas Day 2016.

The fans, who call themselves “George’s lovelies”, want to install a bronze sculpture of Michael seated on a sofa or bench in High Street, possibly near Mill Cottage, where he had lived since 1999. The statue would be bolted to the ground to deter theft and could be chemically “aged” to colour it green.

TRIBUTES have poured in for a father-of-two from Henley who died after collapsing during a rugby match.

Simon Priestley, 46, was captaining Henley Rugby Club’s fourth team, the Bears, against High Wycombe on Saturday when he collapsed just before half-time. The club physio, the referee and players from both teams tried to save his life.

He was taken by ambulanceto the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading by ambulance with his wife Julie, who had been pitch-side, and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. The match was abandoned.

PATIENTS at the GP surgeries in Henley are being threatened by bailiffs over unpaid parking fines which should have been cancelled.

They have received letters from debt collectors demanding payments of up to £190 for tickets issued at the car park for the Bell and Hart Surgeries, off York Road. Some have even been threatened with court action and others have been warned that their credit rating could be affected if they do not pay.

The surgeries told the patients they would arrange for the fines issued by Smart Parking to be scrapped but now say they are being ignored by the company after cancelling its contract in November following repeated complaints.

A DISABLED woman who was left feeling isolated after being put into care 20 miles away from her family in Henley has finally come home.

Betty Thatcher, 85, was moved into the Chilterns Court care centre in York Road on Monday after 10 months away. She had been living in The Meadows care home in Didcot, where she was taken as she had been struggling to look after herself at home in Gainsborough Crescent and needed 24-hour care.

Her family was told she would be there for only a few weeks but she ended up staying longer because a place in Henley, where she has lived her whole life, was not available.

HENLEY’S newest town councillor says she is honoured to be chosen to serve.

Conservative Donna Crook won a by-election with 577 votes, beating Paula Isaac, of Henley Residents Group, with 484 votes and Jackie Walker, of Labour, with 131. The turnout was 28 per cent.

The trio were contesting the seat in the Henley North ward left vacant by the resignation of Conservative Simon Smith in November.

It means the make-up of the council is now eight HRG members, seven Conservatives and one Independent Conservative.

It also marks a recovery for the Tories after they lost two by-elections and control of the council in May last year.

FEBRUARY

OLYMPIC champion Will Satch has had heart surgery to fix a condition which threatened his rowing career.

He had an operation to stop him suffering episodes of atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular and abnormally fast heart rate that can last days.

Satch, 28, originally from Henley, had the three-hour operation at St George’s Hospital in Tooting.

It comes after he suffered two attacks during competitions last year. Once was during a race at the world cup in Poznan in June and the other was during the warm-up for a semi-final at the world championships in Florida in September.

A COMPUTER programmer from Whitchurch has won an Academy Award for helping to create a special effects system that is now used in all major films.

Jerry Huxtable, 56, is one of five people who will be honoured for developing Nuke, a piece of software which is now the industry standard.

He will fly to Los Angeles with his wife Denise to collect it with his colleagues next Saturday. The team will attend a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills where they will be presented with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ plaque. This is one step below the Oscar statuette, the academy’s highest accolade.

A BROTHER and sister won the first Henley’s Got Talent contest.

Felix and Didi Richardson were among 20 acts that performed in front of 100 people at the Kenton Theatre in New Street on Saturday.

The event was organised by the Mayor Kellie Hinton to raise money for the town’s four state primary schools, her chosen beneficiaries for her year of office.

The siblings won the year five and below category after performing Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks and Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes as the audience sang along.

Felix, 10, sang and played the guitar, while eight-year-old Didi was on the drums..

The children, who live in Deanfield Avenue and attend Sacred Heart Primary School, didn’t even know the event was a competition until they arrived at the theatre.

ONLY three out of 14 coffee shops and cafés in Henley offer fully recyclable takeaway cups.

Scene 1 Take 1 in Bell Street, Spoon in Duke Street and Leafi at the River & Rowing Museum are the only ones to sell cups made entirely from plant material and containing no plastic. The other 11 use takeaway cups which contain a plastic polyethylene lining which can only be recycled at specialist plants, of which the UK has just three.

The findings of a Henley Standard investigation come as the Government looks at options to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced by the hospitality sector.

HENLEY leisure centre is filthy despite undergoing a £150,000 renovation only two months ago.

Visitors have complained of dirty changing areas and broken equipment and staff failing to take action despite complaints.

It is a repeat of the findings of a Henley Standard exposé in February last year before the refurbishment carried out by South Oxfordshire District Council, which owns the centre in Gillotts Lane.

At the time, the council’s contractor Better blamed its former cleaning company and pledged to make improvements. Now one of the council’s own members has demanded immediate improvements.

SUE Ryder is planning to sell its hospice in Nettlebed in order to expand and care for more people.

The charity is to leave Joyce Grove after more than 35 years and open a new community hub as its base in South Oxfordshire.

It comes just over three years after it turned down an opportunity to move to the new Townlands Memorial Hospital complex in Henley.

The changes will begin in April and will include the introduction of a “hospice at home” service, incorporating the existing specialist nurses, which will provide planned and rapid response care to patients in the community 24 hours a day.

A Sue Ryder team will also help deliver a single point of access care service for end-of-life patients in conjunction with the 111 urgent care service.

These services will be run from the hospice as a pilot scheme and the charity will be seeking to move the 12 in-patient beds to other locations and then sell the building.

MARCH

AN artist has caused a stir by lighting Henley’s historic bridge.

Clive Hemsley has illuminated both sides of the Grade I listed structure with two strings of 8,000 white LED bulbs following the outline of its five arches and balustrade.

The lights were switched on unannounced at about 8pm on Tuesday and word quickly spread.

Mr Hemsley, of Hart Street, began attaching the lights on Thursday last week with a team of six workmen and a barge provided by Hobbs of Henley.

South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, has launched an enforcement investigation and could order the removal of the lights.

BUSINESSES in Henley were left counting the cost of Storm Emma after they were forced to close due to snow.

Up to 5cm of snow fell on Thursday and Friday as the UK was hit by sub-zero temperatures and blizzards that caused widespread travel disruption.

Rail services were badly affected and drivers were forced to allow more time for their journeys due to the slippery conditions.

Several cars were abandoned on Peppard Hill in Peppard and one lane of Remenham Hill on the entrance to Henley was closed due to snowdrifts.

All primary and secondary schools in the area closed on Friday except Rupert House School in Bell Street, which had a skeleton staff, while many also sent pupils home early the day before.

Several shops in Henley closed early or all day on Friday, as did the NatWest bank in Market Place.

Sports fixtures in Henley and the surrounding villages due to take place over the weekend were called off.

A GIRL who is fighting leukaemia has been decorating rocks and hiding them to cheer up people who find them.

Caitlin Donaldson was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a form of cancer that affects white blood cells, in September. She has been undergoing chemotherapy at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Caitlin, who lives in South Avenue, Henley, with her parents Nick Donaldson and Tammy Kelly and brother Lewis, nine, came up with the idea of decorating rocks after seeing others doing it online.

The colourful images include flowers, a strawberry, a ladybird and Spiderman. Caitlin has completed hundreds and hidden them in public places including Mill Meadows, Henley Bridge and the station.

RESIDENTS have formed a campaign group to stop dangerous driving by students from The Henley College in the surrounding streets.

It follows a crash last week in which a Ford Fiesta driven by a student overturned in Deanfield Road after colliding with two parked cars.

The residents plan to lobby the college, saying the problem has existed for several years and they are worried that someone could be injured or killed. They want staff to monitor the students’ driving and parking more closely.

THE family of a Henley chef who was killed when he was hit by a gritting lorry have paid tribute to him. Daniel James, 30, was struck by the vehicle as he walked along Marlow Road, close to the entrance to Swiss Farm, in the early hours of Saturday.

Mr James, who was also known as “Kermit” or “Kerm” to friends, only moved to Henley two weeks ago when he started work at the Bull on Bell Street pub.

In a statement, the family said: “It is with deep sadness that a much-loved son and brother has passed away. Although Daniel faced many challenges due to his autism spectrum disorder, he led a full and colourful life, possessed many special qualities that made him unique and a loving family that supported him in everything he did.”

A TOWN councillor has started fixing potholes in Henley himself after becoming fed up with the state of the roads.

David Eggleton bought bags of aggregate to fill the holes before using a blowtorch to melt Tarmac over the top. He did this in Gillotts Lane and on the Gainsborough estate in Henley.

He said many potholes had been properly reported to Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, via the Fix My Street website but no action was taken.

APRIL

WHEN you propose to your fiancée in enormous letters in a field, the pressure is on to pull out the stops for the wedding day. But Derek Cheriton didn’t disappoint after tying the knot with Louise Hatton in Henley on Saturday as he drove his new bride to their reception in a four-tonne crop sprayer.

Mr Cheriton, 59, from Christmas Common, runs a spray contractor and had proposed in September by spraying his message in a field in the Stonor Valley. He decided to use the same vehicle as a makeshift wedding car.

A SECOND referendum could be held on the revised Henley and Harpsden neighbourhood plan.

The original document, which names sites where about 500 new homes should be built by 2027, needs updating as Henley is expected to be asked to take another 350 by 2033.

Members of the town council’s neighbourhood plan committee hope to complete the process in months.

THE Mayor of Henley has condemned revellers who left a riverside beauty spot strewn with rubbish.

Hundreds of people visited Marsh Meadows on Saturday, April 14, to celebrate Vaisakhi, the Sikh new year festival, but left the area looking like a tip. They had also used it as an outdoor toilet.

There were also reports of residents remonstrating with the visitors in Mill Lane, where the car park was overflowing. Cars were parked on one side along the entire length of the road as well as on double yellow lines, which caused congestion. On Sunday morning residents and visitors were horrified to find piles of bin bags full of rubbish and litter all over the grass along with used barbecues, bottles and food as well as plastic drifting down the Thames.

SPARKS failed to fly when a Henley woman who has been single for 13 years appeared on TV’s First Dates.

Connie Butt says she was paired with a “boring” man who didn’t “light her candle” for an episode of the Channel 4 matchmaking show, which was broadcast on Wednesday night.

The 75-year-old, of River Terrace, shared dinner at the Paternoster Chop House in London with Gray, a 72-year-old jive dance instructor from Sevenoaks.

The pair, who were recorded by hidden cameras, struggled to find any common interests and Mrs Butt was stunned to hear her potential suitor didn’t have a “bucket list” of goals he wished to accomplish.

Gray was dismayed to learn that she smoked and lectured her on her habit after she declined to meet for a second date.

Mrs Butt, who has collected for the Henley Poppy Appeal for more than 25 years, was put forward for the show by her daughter Samantha Thirlby-Smith.

SHE’S known to her millions of fans as M in the James Bond films, but Dame Judi Dench has revealed that her first ever role was portraying a snail.

The actress revealed her humble beginnings on stage at school when she gave a charity performance at The Mill at Sonning theatre on Sunday afternoon.

She also sang Send In The Clowns from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music and received a standing ovation from the sell-out audience.

Dame Judi, 83, was in conversation with fellow actor Simon Williams, from Bix, who asked her about her life, loves and experiences in theatre and film.

The event raised £20,000 towards the refurbishment of Eye and Dunsden village hall from sales of the 217 tickets and a raffle.

MAY

A PAINTER had to leap to safety when the scaffolding he was on collapsed in a Henley street.

The 30ft metal structure was blown over by a freak gust of wind in New Street on Tuesday afternoon, just a day after being erected.

The metal poles smashed the windscreen of a parked car and the back window of another and the street was blocked by the wreckage, which led to traffic congestion throughout the town.

The painter, who had been on the scaffolding to paint the windowsills of a three-storey house, jumped from about 10ft and injured his foot as he landed.

Residents took him indoors to recover as he was said to be “shaken”. The street was closed for about 90 minutes while police redirected traffic and workmen dismantled the scaffolding,

THE parents of a 12-year-old girl who was injured in an accident at Henley skate park were given a parking fine when they rushed her to hospital.

Victoria Mcdonagh suffered a swollen lip, bloody nose and a cut to the inside of her mouth after falling off her scooter at the new facility in Greys Road, Henley.

Her parents Michael and Jo were horrified to see her covered in blood and drove Victoria to Townlands Memorial Hospital where they were told her injuries were severe enough to require treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The family immediately left for the second hospital, where doctors said Victoria’s injuries would heal naturally.

Days later, the Mcdonaghs received a £60 parking fine for using the car park at Townlands, where they had spent just 15 minutes. They are the latest in a string of patients to be unfairly penalised by Smart Parking, the enforcement company employed by the NHS.

A WOMAN fractured her pelvis when she tripped on a dangerous manhole cover in Henley that was first raised as a hazard nine months ago.

Elaine Williams, 85, has spent most of the three weeks since the accident in bed and has been prescribed morphine for her pain.

Mrs Williams, of Sedgefield Close, Sonning Common, was shopping with her friend and housemate Margaret Moola on April 19 when she tripped over the sunken manhole on the exit from the Waitrose (King’s Road) car park, off Bell Street.

The same manhole was highlighted as a danger in letters published in the Henley Standard in September and November when Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, said that it would investigate.

HUNDREDS of people gathered to celebrate the life of Sir William McAlpine.

A memorial service was held at the Fawley Hill railway museum in the grounds of his home, where he was laid to rest in March following his death.

There were readings, performances and speeches by family, friends and colleagues while guests were able to take rides on a carriage pulled by No 31, his old McAlpine works engine.

The footbridge over the tracks had been decorated with red, heart-shaped balloons while the stage received the same treatment as well as pictures of Sir William, flowers and a metal sign with his name on it.

THE new Mayor of Henley says he wants people to work together to make a difference in the community.

Glen Lambert was sworn in at the town’s annual mayor-making ceremony, which took place at the town hall on Monday.

The 42-year-old software developer, who lives in Greys Road with his wife Anna and children Syd, 17, and Julia, 11, succeeds fellow Henley Residents Group councillor Kellie Hinton, who handed over the chain of office in front of about 100 people.

Councillor Lambert said he hoped for a smoother relationship between his party and the Conservatives following a series of spats in the council chamber.

JUNE

TEENAGE boys have been told they can’t wear shorts at school if they’re too hot — but they can put on a skirt.

Chiltern Edge School in Sonning Common says that shorts are not part of its new uniform and that students must stick to the rules, which state that only trousers or skirts can be worn.

But a parent who queried this was told that the uniform policy was “gender neutral” and that if a boy didn’t want to wear trousers in hot weather he could put on a skirt instead.

The secondary school in Reades Lane introduced the uniform in September.

It was part of a drive to improve the school after it was rated “inadequate” by Ofsted in April last year.

THE managing director of boat hire firm Hobbs of Henley has been appointed a royal waterman to the Queen. Jonathan Hobbs is one of just 18 people to hold the position and is the only representative of the Upper Thames.

He was chosen from the ranks of Thames watermen and follows in the footsteps of his father Tony and colleague Colin Hinton, who are both former royal watermen.

Mr Hobbs, 46, lives in Stoke Row and has worked for the family firm for about 25 years.

A GIRL found a fossil in her garden that is about 100 million years old.

Ottilie Jenkins, six, was searching for rocks to paint when she came across a spherical one in a flowerbed at her home in Reades Lane, Sonning Common.

She showed it to her mother Becky who noticed the rock was hollow and Dr Hazel McGoff, an expert in the preservation of microfossils, confirmed it was a flint which probably contained a sponge or sea urchin from 100 million years ago during the Mesozoic era.

THREE new solid silver trophies will be presented at this year’s Henley Royal Regatta.

The Town Challenge Cup, the Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup and the Stonor Challenge Trophy will be awarded to the winners of women’s events that were introduced last year.

All three trophies were made by Ottewill Silversmiths in Kent, which has previously restored several regatta trophies and built a new base for the Grand Challenge Cup in 2014.

Regatta chairman Sir Steve Redgrave said: “The new events give us an equal number of events for men and women and while the Olympics are rightly making moves towards gender parity, we wanted to get there beforehand.”

A MAN who was attacked by two dogs at Stoke Row Steam Rally says the animals should be put down.

Peter Entwisle, of Nicholas Road, Henley, suffered four deep wounds in his legs after being bitten by two Jack Russells belonging to a fairground ride operator.

The 78-year-old spent five days in hospital having treatment following the incident on Saturday, June 9. He was one of 10,000 visitors to the two-day annual rally, which takes place in Whitchurch Hill.

Mr Entwisle was walking around the showground at about noon when he was set upon by the dogs, which were tied to the ride.

He said the attack lasted two or three minutes before the dogs’ owner realised what was happening and stopped them.

His trousers were ripped by the dogs’ bites and covered in blood from his wounds.

Mr Entwisle said: “I walked past them without realising they were there. When they came at me, it was like I was breakfast and they were picking at me. The dogs were encouraging each other and beat me up. If I was a toddler I would be dead.”