What's On

A talk on the history of Ashford will be given at a meeting of the Spelthorne Archaeological Field Group on Thursday February 4.

The organisation, who are affiliated with the Friends of Spelthorne Museum, will see Bob Calder talk about 'Old Ashford.'

He is the author of a few books on the town's history.

The event will be held at 8pm in Staines Methodist Church, in Thames Street.
Admission is £1 to non-members.

A vintage Victorian helter skelter and 46 themed Christmas trees were two of the festive frolics going on in Spelthorne at the weekend.

On Saturday November 28 in St Matthews Church, Ashford, the 11th annual Christmas tree festival took place, which saw schools, brownie and scout groups, and shopkeepers decorate trees to their own theme.

The Royal British Legion will be hosting a 'Help for Heroes' event in Sunday November 22.

The Ashford branch will meet at St Hilda's Church, in Woodthorpe Road, at 9.30am.
Mayor of Spelthorne Caroline Spencer will attend.

People from all over Spelthorne turned up to pay respects for the fallen at this year's remembrance services.

Scouts, air cadets, and brownies from all over the borough attended services in Staines, Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Stanwell, Sunbury, and Littleton, along with councillors, veterans, the police, and members of the public.

Police officers cordoned off Thames Street and Clarence Street, in Staines, while a brass band moved through the High Street, which was followed by the two-minute silence and a sermon by the reverend Rachma Bush.

In Ashford, Mayor of Spelthorne Caroline Spencer took the salute as a parade walked down Church Road by the Brigade of Guards Association Band.

An extremely rare brown shrike was spotted on Staines Moor prompting thousands of birdwatchers to drop everything and flock to the beauty spot over the last ten days to catch a view of the small brown spectacle. Herald & News reporter Russell Butt donned his wellies and grabbed his binoculars to see what all the fuss was about.

There's not many things more frustrating than when your holiday plans go awry.
So imagine the surprise of one small, brown bird who should be heading from Siberia to South East Asia for the winter, but has found himself perched atop a hawthorn bush in Staines.

Imagine its further surprise to instantly achieve celebrity status on arrival, with more camera lenses being pointed at it than Kate Moss gets stumbling out of a Soho nightclub.

The date has been set for Ashford on the Map's Christmas market.

It will be held in Church Road's lower ground floor car park and will see stalls, concerts, craft displays, and a Santa's grotto on Wednesday December 2.

Anyone interested in having a stall should call Pat Amos on 01784 241673

An Ashford based band are due to release their second album next week with the help of an Ashford based music company.

Eskimo Project, which is run by Paul Bassett, are releasing 'Once Around the Sun' on Monday September 7, and are in talks with HMV in Staines to get the album sold there.

The annual Ashford on the Map summer fun day will take place on Sunday June 7 on the playing fields of Brooklands College in Church Road, Ashford.

Anyone interested in holding a stall should call Pat Amos on 01784 241673 or Barry Muggeridge on 07759 619884.

The spring round of Spelthorne Council area forums has been cancelled.

The meetings between residents and councillors arranged for March 19 at Matthew Arnold School in Staines, March 31 in Stanwell village hall, April 8 at the Salvation Army Centre in Ashford and April 28 at St Paul's College in Sunbury have been axed due to lack of interest.

The council is considering ways to boost attendance and a recommendation will be presented to the executive committee at its meeting on Wednesday, March 18.

They came, they saw, they conquered as Latin pupils at Echelford Primary School in Ashford beat off competition from private schools to win the Guildford Classical Association's Latin competition.

The six Latin dynamos were awarded certificates and bronze Roman statues for their winning performance of a classical version of Three Little Pigs in the 15-school competition last month.