February 2015

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VILLAGE NEWS
BUCKDEN WI
Ruth Nicholas welcomed
members to the first meet-
ing of her Presidency and
introduced Sheila Flavell
as our new Treasurer.
Our speaker was Ann
Scott, her subject ‘A Polish Spring’. With excellent
slides she showed us a part of wild Poland where
her friends still live the life of the last century whilst
caring for the wildlife around them.
The next meeting is on the 3 rd of February when our
speaker will be Bob Harding-Jones who will tell us of
‘Laughter in the Village’. The competition will be for
a favourite joke and our sales table will be offering
Blue items.
Enquiries Judith Armitage 01480 811717.
Save the Date - Buckden Vil-
lage Festival
Buckden Village Festival will be back in
2015 - please mark 4th July in your calen-
dars. There will again be a parade and we
hope to build on the success of last year
with even more people joining in with an
American theme. This will be followed by a
fete in the afternoon – whilst we cannot
guarantee hot sunshine I think we can safe-
ly guarantee less rain!
If you would like to be involved please con-
tact us on
r contact
Philip Miles on 810027.
LOCAL CHOIR SEEKS NEW CONDUCTOR
Founded more than 25 years ago, The Aragon Sing-
ers are a 40 strong mixed choir based in Buckden.
We practice on Monday evenings at the Methodist
Church, and usually perform 4 or 5 major concerts
in the local area each year.
Our Musical Director/Conductor Gren Gutteridge
retires in the summer and we are looking for a suc-
cessor to take over the choir in September.
Expressions of interest please to Rick Wilcox
01480 890902 or
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A1 BY-PASS
Fact: It is difficult to get out of Buckden due to A1
traffic. This seems to apply to going to work time.
Solution: By-pass supported by our MP.
Question1: How many people are inconvenienced
by the hold up? 100 / 200?
Question 2: The proposed by pass will cost millions.
Are we seriously suggesting that millions of pounds
are going to be spent for the convenience of a few
Buckden residents?
Question 3: Could this be part of the plans for re-
gional expansion? Why not make this clear ? There
are questions as to how regional planning fits in with
national targets for Green House Gas reduction and
wider sustainability. There is evidence the plans and
targets are incompatible. This means questions
about future quality of life in the area.
I have asked Mr Djanogly to discuss growth, popu-
lation numbers and sustainability but he "does not
require a meeting" (e-mail). I thought MPs looked at
constituents issues. I invite him again. I suggest
care and questions over the by pass.
John Davies
Population Matters
(Patrons include Sir David Attenborough, James
Lovelock and others)
,
New Features on the Roundabout website
We are continuing to develop the Roundabout web-
site with the aim of making it a valuable asset to the
village. As you know, you can read the current edi-
tion of the magazine on-line or download it for read-
ing on tablets or PCs. We also have an on-line ar-
chive of past editions.
However, we want the Roundabout website to pro-
vide more than just an on-line edition of the maga-
zine, and we have recently added two features.
First, we have added a Letters section to the web-
site forum where we plan to post Letters to the Edi-
tor, which are also published in the magazine itself.
You can add your voice to the debate by replying in
the forum, and you don’t need to register on the fo-
rum to do so. To read and reply to Letters to the Edi-
tor go here:
forum/letters-to-the-editor
We have also recently added a directory of clubs
and societies in Buckden with contact details and
links to their own websites. Go here: http://
If you run a village organisation and you’d like to add
your details, or if you don’t have a website and you’d
like us to host a web-page for your organisation,
please contact us.