We have started to return to our normal Sunday morning services at 10 am in St John’s Church. The services are shorter than usual and slightly different in order to be Covid compliant – there is no singing, for example. It is lovely to see each other again!
You are most welcome to join us – numbers and social distancing permitting. If you would like to do so get in touch with Tim Yates tim.yates3@btinternet.com.
The Early Summer Show on 3 July in Trinity Baptist Church upstairs in the Baines Hall (to some extent dependent on Step 4 of the Covid roadmap going ahead as planned), open to the public at 2.30pm.
The Annual Show in Bellingdon Village Hall on 4 September (open to the public at 2pm).
Graham Owen, who has died aged 92, was a resident of Bellingdon for 43 years and will be particularly remembered for his 55-year presidency of Chesham 1879 Tennis Club, reputed to be the oldest in the country. 
Image: Graham with some of his many protégés
Playing well into his 80s, Graham’s greatest achievement was coaching generations of youngsters at the club, almost up to the end of his own tennis career. Countless players benefitted from his expertise, including his son Jeremy who played at county level. Members still compete for the President’s Cup, donated by Graham, in a tournament held in May each year. He was also a member of the Chesham, Amersham and District Sports Council.
Born at Ton Pentre in the Welsh valleys, Graham was employed for more than forty years by BT and its predecessors British Telecom and the General Post Office, retiring from senior management in 1989. He and his wife Frances (Fay) moved from Chesham to the village with Jeremy and his sister Sarah in 1978.
Graham will be fondly remembered by many for his endearing sense of humour which never failed to bring a smile to his friends and neighbours. The Owen family loved Bellingdon and took huge pleasure from their village surroundings, their garden and, over the years, a succession of Dachshund dogs.
A memorial service was held in the couple’s garden on April 25th, led by humanist celebrant Paul Woodstock. Tributes were read by family and friends from the worlds of tennis and amateur football, where Graham was a referee. He will be hugely missed.
With thanks to Fay Owen and Ken Ives
Printed newsletters will be delivered to all houses in Bellingdon & Asheridge over the next few days by our wonderful team of volunteers. If you can’t wait (!) or prefer your news online we’ll be posting the individual articles on the website plus more that we couldn’t fit in. We’ll also send out a newsletter this month after a few months’ hiatus which will contain broadly the same content.
The Community Association AGM will be on 13th July at 8pm. This year we’re hoping to go “hybrid”; that is have the option to be in the hall or to log in remotely via zoom for those who are unable to be there in person.
Every adult resident of Bellingdon & Asheridge is entitled to vote at the meeting, there’s no obligation to get involved (turning up doesn’t mean you’ll get lumbered with organising next year’s fete; unless you want to of course!) and its your annual opportunity to find out what BAACA has been doing, both to maintain and improve the hall and to foster a sense of community. Plus there will be drinks and nibbles!
Hall reopening according to government guidelines
As restrictions gradually lift, we are able to reopen more and more of the village facilities. The recreation ground, car park and playground are open already, during the daytime. Huge thanks to the team who give up their time to be on the gate opening/closing rota. The hall is accepting bookings in line with the guidance at the time. If you’d like to find out more or book the hall please see our dedicated pages on the village website.
Fete update
Given the proximity of the intended fete date (26th June) to the full easing of restrictions (21st June) the committee, after much discussion, felt it would be too risky to proceed with the fete in June. Plans are in progress for a scaled-back community event on 11th September, which the committee feels gives us the best chance of actually being able to run something. Stay tuned for more information or to volunteer to help please get in touch.
Ultrafast Broadband
You may be wondering what happened to the promise of Ultrafast Broadband. Well the wheels grind extremely slowly but we’re hopeful to be able to share good news by the time of our next newsletter (early September). Please cross your fingers and toes…
Help please!
And finally, if you’ve ever thought you could do a better newsletter (printed or e-news)…now is your chance. The current editor has been in post for five years and would be delighted to hand over the reins. Help also sought with the website and associated social media. Some experience would be an asset.
Please get in touch if you’d like to know more – all and any help appreciated to make this a really useful resource for our community.
The spring Chilterns Walking Festival run by the Chilterns Conservation Board will take place 21 May to 6 June 2021! The programme includes over 70 guided countryside walks, activities and events including routes centred around nature reserves, iron age hillforts, farms, churches and more.
See the full programme and book – but get your skates on it’s booking up fast! https://www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest
