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VILLAGE NEWS
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH (NHW)
Local Crime.
Recent crime incidents have consisted almost entirely
of distraction burglaries (see below for more infor-
mation) and damage to, or theft from, vehicles. There
have been 5 incidents involving damage to vehicle
wing mirrors. These are almost impossible to prevent
but can sometimes be averted by parking in well lit
areas and as close as possible to occupied buildings.
Distraction burglaries
.
There has recently been a significant increase in dis-
traction burglaries which can often be associated with
‘cold callers‘. Most of these unexpected salesmen are
polite but there have been some instances of sellers
being persistent and a few aggressive. The following
precautions may help you to avoid becoming a victim
of a distraction burglary:
If you have a caller at your door whom you can-
not identify ensure that all doors on that level
other than the one in use are locked. This re-
duces the risk of an unseen accomplice at-
tempting an entry elsewhere.
should you wish to answer the door, attach the
chain lock before opening it. If possible, carry a
mobile phone with you.
do not allow any stranger to enter without ensur-
ing that he has a genuine reason. Public offi-
cials and workmen should have an identity card
which you should use to satisfy yourself (by call-
ing his parent firm if necessary) that he is enti-
tled to be there.
If you allow the caller into the house, close the
door after him and accompany him throughout.
If you become concerned with his behaviour
and refuses to leave, call the police (on 101 ini-
tially). If he does not leave, call 999. You should
also call 101 after any visitor has left if you were
unhappy with his behaviour.
Richard West 811467 and Clive Williams 811828
BUCKDEN VILLAGE HALL TRUST
Treasurer Wanted
I am sure we all agree that the Village Hall, the playing fields, the library, Village Club, tennis club and bowls club
are great assets for the village. All of them are either managed directly by the Village Hall Trust or the Trust owns
their premises. The Hall and its various rooms are let out to local people for events such as birthday parties and
weddings and to commercial users who often provide activities used by our community.
The Trust is a completely separate body from the Parish Council. The Council helps with the cost of maintaining
the playing field but otherwise the Trust is financially independent of the Council. It is run by volunteer trustees.
The Trust has to be run as a business, to meet the cost of paying staff, its general overheads and repairs and
maintenance.
Following the resignation of our Treasurer (see our monthly report) we need a new Treasurer. It is an entirely vol-
untary position, with no salary or honorarium. It needs someone familiar with accounts to do the monthly and an-
nual accounts, but also with a knowledge of small business management.
It is not particularly difficult, nor very time consuming.
If you have such skills, want to get involved with the community and can give a couple of hours a week to help the
Trust, please contact Jo Harvey on 01480 811101 or me on 07831 580625.
John Thelwall, Chairman
T
he
O
fford
P
layer
S
Need You
TOPS, working in partnership with The Friends of St
Peter’s Church, are planning an exciting production
of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to be staged in the lovely and
atmospheric setting of St Peter’s Church, Offord Dar-
cy, in January 2017.
Offord Village Hall is the usual venue for our shows
but we have staged a number of productions in St
Peter’s Church over the years, including The Wind in
the Willows, The Pied Piper and Fantastic Mr Fox.
Indeed we presented A Christmas Carol in the
church back in 1997 that featured on TV.
To help us get this new project up and running we
are looking for members to join us. There are many
ways in which people can be involved, from front of
house, on the boards to backstage. So as well as
finding the cast, we need help with all aspects of pro-
duction including staging and set building, design
and painting, lighting and sound, music, costumes,
front of house support and publicity.
If you are interested in meeting us and hearing more
about this exciting project please come along to an
informal get together at Offord Village Hall on
Sun-
day July 3rd starting at 7pm
. Refreshments provid-
ed!
Or in the meantime contact Sarah Hogben (811423)
or John Kirby (810049).
Great Drama!
Great Crowds!
Great Fun!
Come and join us
!