News review, part two: Henley elects new MP, rowers win Olympic gold

FORMER Olympic champion Will Satch returned to the water at this year’s Henley Royal Regatta.

The 35-year-old from Watlington rowed for Star and Arrow Club as they beat A.K.R. Würzburg & R.G. Speyer in The Prince of Wales Challenge Cup for quadruple sculls by a length.

The former Leander rower, who retired after winning gold in the GB eight at the 2012 Olympics in London and in the pair at Rio in 2016, rowed with fellow former Team GB athlete Jack Beaumont as well as Sebastian Devereux and Sam Meijer.

The regatta went on to be one of the wettest on record as spectators watched much of the racing from under umbrellas.

HENLEY Bridge needs “early” repairs to prevent “substantial damage” to its structural significance. Oxfordshire County Council says the 238-year-old structure has suffered “severe weathering”.

The council, which is responsible for maintenance of the Grade I listed bridge, has applied for listed building consent to carry out the necessary repairs.

These would include removal of the black and white “H” graffiti tag that has been there for more than two years.

STUDENTS at Gillotts School in Henley are to be banned from using mobile phones during the school day.

From September 1, phones and similar devices will need to be switched off and in bags between 8.45am and 3.30pm unless explicit individual permission is given by a teacher to be used.

Any pupil caught using a phone risks having it confiscated for the remainder of the school day and an hour’s after-school detention.

NEW Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo says he is delighted to have helped “smash the blue wall” of Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrat won the new Henley and Thame parliamentary seat at last week’s general election, pushing the Tories into second place in the constituency for the first time in almost 120 years.

His party secured a record 72 seats across the country as Labour won the election by a landslide and left Oxfordshire without any Conservative MPs.

Mr Van Mierlo said: “I’m delighted that we’ve smashed the blue wall in the South-East. Henley and Thame is definitely one of the jewels of the blue wall and I’m delighted to have been a part of it.”

A VILLAGE near Henley was transformed into a set for the filming of a new movie starring Hugh Jackman.

Cottages in Hambleden were covered in fake ivy and wisteria with fake box hedges and flowers in their gardens. Other buildings in the village had neon signs such as “Tattoo” and “Butchers” and the film crew installed plastic graves in the churchyard.

The house next to the village store had a front extension made of black wood cladding and was decorated with fake flowers and a neon sign which read “Police Station”.

Street lights were also installed around the village, which was renamed Denbrook.

Hambleden is being used to shoot Three Bags Full, a sheep detective movie which is expected to be released in February 2026.

A GAS leak closed a restaurant for five days and caused traffic chaos in Henley.

Staff at the Giggling Squid in Hart Street first began to smell gas on Friday and reported it to Southern Gas Network. Engineers for the utility company were called out and detected the leak in the basement of the building and isolated it.

NICOLE Scherzinger wowed the crowd on the opening night of the Henley Festival.

Dressed in a glistening baby pink dress and fur shawl, the former Pussycat Doll triumphed at her only UK appearance outside of her West End theatre shows. The award-winning American singer brought the crowd in front of the “floating” stage alive as she performed classics like Jai Ho! and Prince’s Purple Rain.

The 45-year-old was one of five headline acts to perform at the five-day festiva, which was in its 42nd year.

A SCHOOL kitchen has been closed down due to a mice infestation.

The kitchen at Sonning Common Primary School was immediately closed by environmental health officers from South Oxfordshire District Council due to the imminent risk to the health of the children.

A hygiene emergency prohibition notice issued to the Grove Road school means the kitchen will remain closed until it is deemed the risk has been removed. The school remained open until the end of term and made alternative arrangements for catering.

A BOY from Stoke Row is to appear in the next Bridget Jones film.

Noah Alden-Court, 12, a pupil at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow, will appear as a schoolboy at a private secondary school in London.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the fourth in the franchise, will star Renée Zellweger as Bridget, a 51-year-old widowed single mother of two.

Noah auditioned for the part with the help of a family friend, who said he had the right look for the part and was the right age to be cast.

THREE Henley rowers won gold during an historic women’s quad sculls final at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Leander Club’s Georgie Brayshaw, Hannah Scott and club captain Lola Anderson were in the crew with Lauren Henry that beat the Dutch crew by just 0.15 seconds.

It is the first time in history that Team GB has won the event.

The women crossed the line first after a charge in the last 100m in which they overtook their rivals who had been leading by half a length.

It was a photo finish as the two boats crossed the line at the end of the 2,000m course but the GB win was confirmed shortly afterwards.

A MAN from Henley has qualified as a doctor — 24 years after he nearly died from meningitis.

Luke Jones, 28, of Elizabeth Close, graduated from Sheffield University after suffering several setbacks while trying to get into medicine.

He believes it may have been his near-death experience as a child that made him pursue his chosen profession.

Dr Jones was four years old and living with his parents, Danny and Justine, in Upton Close, Henley, in June 2000 when he contracted bacterial meningitis, which is inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord.

A DRY cleaner has told of his surprise when American film star Kirsten Dunst came in with some laundry.

Andy Andreou, who runs Lilly Dry Clean & Ironing Service in New Street, Henley, didn’t recognise the 42-year-old actress at first.

He said: “A young lady came in and I said to her, ‘You look just like Kirsten Dunst’ and she goes to me, ‘I am Kirsten Dunst’. I said,‘Oh wow, come in’ and we just started chatting. I said to her, ‘I love your films’. I have been a fan from the very beginning with films like Interview with the Vampire .”

ROWERS from Leander Club in Henley returned home from Paris this week after Team GB secured eight medals, its best ever haul in an overseas Olympic regatta.

Thirty-six of the 42 competing athletes secured a podium place during the eight-day regatta, which ended on Saturday with the men’s eight winning gold.

This was an incredible turnaround since the Tokyo Games three years ago, which was the first time Team GB had not won a gold rowing medal since 1980.

Overall, the team won three gold medals, two silvers and three bronzes. This easily bettered the silver and bronze won in Japan in what was Britain’s second lowest medal haul since Atlanta 1996.

A BUS was destroyed in a fire believed to have been caused by its brakes overheating.

The Oxford Bus Company vehicle was engulfed in flames in the incident, which happened on the B480 in Cuxham.

The driver was able to get out before the fire took hold and raised the alarm. There were no passengers on board the bus, which had been stationary at the side of the road.

FAMILIES revived their friendly rivalry as they added to their medal tallies as they took to the water at this year’s Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta.

More than 1,000 people watched 340 races across Friday and Saturday with competitors ranging in age from four to 80.

There was a wide variety of boats, including skiffs, canoes and punts, that went head-to-head on a 400-yard stretch of the River Thames between the two villages.

Caroline Simmonds, 44, from Wargrave, secured her 32nd and 33rd medals in the ladies’ skiff race with sister Amy Goodall-Smith and Charlie Spencer and in the ladies’ dinghy.

THE owners of three pub-restaurants are set to open a new hotel in Henley next month.

Alex Sergeant and David Holliday have taken over the rooms above the Piccolino restaurant in Market Place.

The Tavern Townhouse, a Grade II listed building, will offer guest accommodation in six bedrooms set over three floors. It is the fourth business Mr Holliday and Mr Sergeant will run, alongside the Hart Street Tavern in Hart Street, Henley, the Bottle and Glass Inn in Binfield Heath and the Stag and Huntsman in Hambleden.

THOUSANDS of Eighties pop fans filled Temple Island Meadows at the weekend for the 15th Rewind South festival.

Twenty-two acts performed on Saturday and Sunday, including Kim Wilde, Heather Small from M People, Jason Donovan, Peter Hook and The Light, Nik Kershaw and the Earth Wind and Fire Experience by Al McKay.

The most highly anticipated performances came from the two headliners and Rewind regulars Billy Ocean and the Jacksons.

DESPITE Saturday’s rain there was no soggy bottom for a retired Emmer Green GP whose entry in a cake competition was judged a showstopper by former Bake Off star Dame Mary Berry.

Julie Lee won the cake competition at the 75th anniversary of the Binfield Heath Flower show. Special guest judge Dame Mary, who lives in Henley, spent about half an hour deliberating over the six cakes entered into the competition in the produce tent and described Julie’s cake as “sheer perfection.”

STATE schools in the Henley area performed well as nationally the GCSE pass rate fell for a third year running.

Most pupils would have started in year 7 in September 2019, six months before coronavirus gripped the country and pupils had to learn from home. They are the first to have spent every secondary year either in the midst or the wake of the pandemic. At Gillotts School in Henley, 85 per cent of pupils achieved five or more passes at grade 4 and above, including maths and English, up from 80 per cent last year.

A COX from Henley continued her unbeaten record at major championships by winning gold at the Paralympics in Paris.

Erin Kennedy, 32, who lives in Station Road, led the Great Britain PR3 mixed coxed four to victory on Sunday, more than three seconds ahead of silver medallists the United States in a time of six minutes 55 seconds and 30 milliseconds.

The crew eased to gold and in doing so continued their unbeaten record which stretches back to 2011.

HENLEY’S MP has joined councillors and walkers in voicing dismay that repairs to a public footbridge on the Thames Trail which has been closed for more than two years may not happen until 2026.

Freddie van Mierlo has waded into the row over the Marsh Lock Horsebridge, near Henley, which was shut by the Environment Agency in May 2022 over safety fears. Repairs were originally expected to take two months and a 2.7-mile diversion was put in place from Lower Shiplake to Mill Lane in Henley that takes an hour and a quarter and involves crossing the busy A4155 twice.

But now fears have been raised the bridge will not be fixed until at least summer 2026, and repairs could cost about £1.3m.

A FAMILY were triumphant at this year’s Olympic-themed Remenham Fayre on Sunday.

Dubbed the Paris(h) Olympics, the Cleaver family took home six certificates and two cups across three categories at the produce and art show.

Kelly Cleaver, 33, a housekeeper, entered eight classes and won five for her mammoth vegetable, bouquet garni from homegrown herbs, an arrangement from the hedgerow, tallest sunflower and a knitted animal.

She received a cup prize in the fruit and vegetable and floral display categories.

Her husband Russell, 42, a drone pilot, won in one class in the arts and crafts category, with a photograph of Remenham. His aerial image showed Remenham Church at around 4am during a summer’s sunrise.

HEALTH chiefs have pledged that services delivered at Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley are safe and could be enhanced.

Dr Ben Riley, managing director of primary and community care at the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust which runs the hospital, said that it wanted to “re-commit” its support for Townlands.

This comes after health campaigners and residents in Henley had accused the trust of not being straight with them after a staffing shake-up.

Doctors were worried that this could amount to managing decline but the trust said if there were any changes to services, the public would be engaged.

SINGER and musician Mike Hurst rolled back the years in performing two sold-out shows at the Kenton Theatre in Henley.

Accompanied on stage by some of his famous friends, the gigs on Saturday and Sunday night raised more than £30,000 for Parkinson’s UK.

Mike, 81, organised “Mike Hurst — with a little help from his friends” to raise money for the charity after he was diagnosed with the disease about three years ago.

The guest start included Shakin’ Stevens, Sir Tim Rice, P P Arnold, Mike d’Abo and Jane Asher and they performed a mix of hit songs and anecdotes from their careers.

Mike, who lives in Bix Bottom, dedicated the shows to his oldest son Tim Peers, the estate agent, who died of a brain tumour in July.

AN entrepreneur from Henley has suggested installing a “walk of fame” to increase footfall and boost tourism.

Michael Hodges believes more should be done to celebrate notable residents past and present as well as the plethora of stars of sport, film and TV the town is known for.

He has contacted Henley Mayor Rory Hunt with the idea of embedding five-pointed star-shaped brass plaques into the pavement in Market Place.

This, he says, would create a Hollywood-themed walkway that would attract visitors and act as a boon for the local economy.

THOUSANDS of spectators lined the banks of the River Thames in Henley to watch the town’s third annual Illuminated Boat Parade.

Motorboats of different sizes, paddleboarders, kayakers, sailing boats and pedalos were all decorated with lights for the display.

They travelled on the water from Fawley Meadows to Henley Bridge as darkness fell, completing two circuits as the crowds looked on.

Many boats were decorated with different themes, including “Yellow Brick Road”, “Jurassic Park”, “Ratatouille” and “Popeye”.

Houses in Wharfe Lane, where parade founders Chris Taylor and Penny Palmano live, were also lit up to help line the parade route and add extra colour. The judges were based at Leander Club, which was open to the public for food and drink.

Once the parade had ended, many of the participants went to the club to celebrate and this was where the list of winners were announced.

Winner Luke Breen, who lives in Friday Street, won best in parade with his Popeye-themed boat, which was the idea of his son, Rupert, five.

POURING rain failed to dampen the spirits of celebrations to honour the return of Henley’s Olympic and Paralympic rowers.

Hundreds of people huddled under umbrellas and cheered the Team GB athletes as they paraded through the town centre on an open-top bus on Saturday.

Roads were temporarily closed to traffic as the beige double-decker made its way slowly from Leander Club, over Henley Bridge and through the streets to the town hall.

Supporters of all ages cheered and some waved Union flags and took pictures on their phones as the bus passed them, before walking behind and alongside it.

There were 28 rowers on board from the Paris Games and they laughed and joked and took pictures and selfies and while on the top deck. Earlier in the day there was also a row-past.

AN ex-paratrooper has set up a car racing team to support retired service personnel.

Adam Knights, from Hambleden, and his friend Harry Kerbey, a mechanic based in Cockpole Green, have built a car to compete in the upcoming Porsche Club Motorsport Boxster Cup 2025 race series.

The team, Thoroughbred Motor Racing, will be sponsoring the Pilgrim Bandits, a small military charity that helps and supports servicemen and women who have been injured or wounded.

TRUSTEES of the Kenton Theatre in Henley want to raise £2million to help safeguard its future.

They hope their Spotlight on the Kenton campaign will raise the money over the next five years which will be used to modernise the New Street venue to keep it viable.

This will include the building of a new sprung stage, an enlarged orchestra pit, new seating and changes to make the building more accessible. The insulation of the building would also be improved and the stage lighting system would also be upgraded.

Staff and volunteers at the theatre have been working with an architect to see what areas need improving and have created a “shopping list” of requirements.

They are hopeful that they can secure a £1.5 million grant from the National Lottery heritage fund and expect to raise the rest through fundraising.

TRIBUTES were paid to Dame Maggie Smith on the opening weekend of this year’s Henley Literary Festival.

The actress, who passed away last Friday aged 89, was best known for her performances in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter films. Gyles Brandreth gave a heartfelt tribute to his dear friend on Saturday at Phyllis Court Club, describing her as “irreplaceable”.

A NEW vicar is leading the congregation at Holy Trinity Church in Henley.

Rev Sam Brewster, who joined the church six years ago, has succeeded Rev Duncan Carter.

Rev Carter has now taken on a supporting role ahead of his retirement in May after 35 years with the congregation.

The pair will continue to work together until then to enable a “smooth transition” between ministers.

DRIVERS have been issued with parking fines for using the sports facilities at the YMCA in Henley.

David Edwards and Marian Senegeac are victims of a fault with the new parking system that has been introduced at the car park in Lawson Road estate.

The charity had automatic number plate recognition cameras installed last month to crack down on abuse of the car park by people who do not use the facilities there.

The new system is run by Creative Car Park and the cameras record the number plates of the vehicles as they enter the facility.

Mr Edwards has been fined four times since September 18, totalling £240, which could rise to £400 if unpaid. Prior to this date, the payment system, which was installed at the start of August, was not causing issues.

CELERIAC grown by the owner of a garden nursery in Wargrave has set a new Guinness World Record. The specimen, weighing just over 14.55lb (6.6kg), was grown by Curtis Leach, who runs the Wargrave Plant Nursery Centre in New Bath Road.

This comfortably beats the previous record that was set by Graham Barratt, from Gloucester, at last month’s Malvern Autumn Show with his 13lb celeriac.

A MAN who transformed the site of his childhood home into an eco-friendly house has been featured on Grand Designs.

Tony Searby, of Stoke Row, appeared on an episode of the long-running Channel 4 architectural design show which aired on Wednesday evening.

He has spent the last five years building his house on the same plot where his late father built their family home in the Sixties. The six-bedroom house is built in a horseshoe shape, set in a woodland clearing, with large windows that look out on to the surrounding nature.

A GIRL from Middle Assendon has been awarded first place for her research into moths at the largest entomological fair in the UK.

Eve Chater, 14, who is in year 10 at Gillotts School in Henley, entered the Amateur Entomologists’ Society annual exhibition and trade fair held at Kempton Racecourse in Sunbury.

She was presented the Ansorge Award in the senior category for 13- to 18-year-olds by entomologist Beulah Garner, who is a senior curator at the Natural History Museum in London.

A COUPLE from Henley say they are being treated unfairly by Thames Water after receiving bills totalling thousands of pounds.

Joyce and Roger Turner, of Makins Road, have been sent four invoices by the water company in the last six months demanding more than £1,200.

The problem first surfaced in April this year when they received an invoice for £1,271.30, an increase of almost seven times their previous bill of £184.02 in October last year.

The Turners then received a revised bill informing them that they had nothing to pay. But six months later, on October 9, the couple were billed £1,742.78, with the billing period being backdated to March 2020.

THE River & Rowing Museum in Henley suffered another heavy loss in the last financial year.

The 25-year-old museum in Mill Meadows recorded a deficit of £911,374 in the 12 months to March 31 this year.

But this was £311,965 less than was expected and director Steve O’Connor said the result shows the progress that the museum, a charity, has been making in turning around its fortunes.

The deficit included the cost of the remaining building works associated with a £1.1 million refurbishment project which began in October 2022 and shut the museum for nine months.

A YOUNG mother who was the first woman home in the Henley half marathon revealed that she had been struggling to sleep all week due to her child.

Chantal Sainter, 33, of Ancastle Green, Henley, finished in one hour and 28 minutes and was 22nd overall.

Mrs Sainter, a director of a software company, and former professional Ironman athlete, was supported on the sidelines by her husband Edward and daughter Arielle, one.

A WOMAN who co-owned a café in Henley has lost her fight against cancer.

Sandra Cunningham, 49, ran Spoon in Duke Street with her husband Steve. Friends and colleagues said they will miss her warmth and “beautiful smile” while customers have dropped off flowers and cards.

Fellow independent retailers paid tribute to her positive nature and how she would encourage them during difficult periods.

A STRIKING commemorative red poppy has been painted on the grass in Mill Meadows, Henley, to mark this year’s Poppy Appeal.

The poppy is about 20m wide by 30m tall and is best seen from the air. It has been positioned to represent an eight next to a zero, with the dates of the D-Day anniversary above it. The outline was drawn by a pre-programmed robot and then filled in by hand using a knapsack sprayer.

CAMPAIGNERS from Henley joined thousands of activists to call for tougher action on keeping the UK’s rivers and seas clean.

Open water swimming group, the Henley Mermaids, organised a coach to transport more than 20 protesters from Market Place to Albert Embankment ahead of the walk to Parliament Square.

TWO men from Henley raised a few eyebrows when they won a rowing race while wearing top hats. Matt Richardson and Bill Pollard, both 58, won the masters E double sculls category at the Henley Sculls.

It was the first time that the pair, who met at University of York Boat Club in the Eighties, had raced together in 33 years.

A GIRL’S drawing of Santa Claus on a boat on the River Thames sur rounded by swans has won this year’s Henley Mayor’s Christmas card competition.

Clemmie O’Hanlon, seven, was one of more than 100 children who entered the contest. Her bright blue design features Henley Bridge in the background adorned with candy canes alongside Christmas trees dressed in colourful lights.

IT was a special moment for the family of a boy from Binfield Heath, who was a mascot for the England rugby team.

Ollie Ewens, six, was one of four to be selected to walk out on the pitch with the players ahead of the match with Australia as part of the autumn series of fixtures.

He is the great, great, great, great nephew of England player Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Mobbs, who died at Passchendaele on July 31, 1917 and the countries were competing for the Ella-Mobbs Cup.

A FARMER said his family faces a “cruel choice” to avoid facing a £2 million inheritance tax bill. Andrew Ovey, 53, runs Hernes Estate, a 400-acre farm, off Greys Road, which has been owned by his family since 1880.

His parents Gillian, 82, and Richard, 85, have owned the property since 1959, where they still live. In October, the Government announced that from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20 per cent, half the usual rate.

MORE than 200 people braved this year’s Henley Santa fun run despite strong winds from Storm Darragh.

Families, including babies in prams, dressed in their best festive outfits and hats, including Christmas jumpers, elf costumes, Father Christmas beards, elf costumes and reindeer onesies.

About six dogs were also brought along, including one unruly cocker spaniel, Rufus, who jumped in the river during the course and had to be dragged out by owner Brian Walmsley.

THE secretary of the Henley fundraising branch of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is stepping down after almost 50 years. Helen Woods Ballard, 85, from Shiplake, joined the charity in 1977 after a committee member suggested she join up.

FORMER Henley MP John Howell is optimistic that he will walk again following a stroke last year.

Mr Howell, 69, is back home in Benson following almost eight months of rehabilitation to help him recover his speech and restore some mobility.

He said: “I’m encouraged that I can stand and move my feet, which is the first stage of walking, and that’s what I want to do — get my mobility back.”

A FRESH bid to illuminate
Henley Bridge will be submitted in the spring.

Make Henley Shine, a group of businesspeople, wants to attach 456 mini LED lights to the Grade I listed structure, which it says will revitalise the town.