As with any other local neighbourhood, the policies and actions which affect the character and future of Lower Sunbury are generally framed and implemented by a combination of local and national government, along with the vested interests and market forces which operate within those frameworks. Lower Sunbury is by no means unique in being under threat from a creaking infrastructure brought about by rapid urban development, the growth of traffic, and other pressures affecting the quality of life and the character of the area.
Working with the local authorities, we see it as the responsibility of residents’ and amenity groups such as LOSRA to address the underlying issues which fundamentally affect their members’ lives, as well as the minutiae of everyday life with which such groups are often concerned.
Please sign up to receive our regular e-bulletins by subscribing via the facility at the top left hand of this page. It goes without saying that, without your continued support we would cease to function so we urge you to join, or renew your membership now Subscriptions (£5 per household) for 2024 are now payable.
Matinee and evening performances to be held at the Riverside Arts Centre, 59, Thames Street.
Many thanks to all our supporters who have contributed to keeping this vital Association viable; whether through membership, donations, newsletter distributors or simply helping us to keep our focus on things that matter most to the Lower Sunbury community.
The Chairman and Committee extend our very best wishes to all our supporters for a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Stanley William Turrentine was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion during a stint on CTI in the 1970s. He was described by critic Steve Huey as "renowned for his distinctively thick, rippling tone earthy grounding in the blues."
Dave O'Higgins, who is paying a tribute to Turrentine is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. He has been a popular figure on the UK and international jazz scene for 30 years now, with 19 albums as leader under his belt’s tenor and soprano sax sounds are highly personal and recognisable, with a clear sense of melodic development and adventure.
A popular performer with the public, with an excellent sense of pacing and presentation, he has a wide palette from Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Joe Henderson through to Stanley Turrentine and Michael Brecker. He has relentlessly pursued artistic and sonic exploration, and enjoys the learning process which is a constant advancing flow.
Venue: The Riverside Arts Centre, 59, Thames Street at 7.45pm
The Amateur London Irish Club at Hazelwood will again be hosting a New Year’s eve party.
The cost of admission is £15 per head with a reduced rate of £5 for children.
Call 01932 750 190 to purchase tickets in advance.
It is emphasised that all profits will be returned for the benefit of the amateurs.
The Christmas Jazz Special at the Riverside Arts Centre will welcome Art Themen, the saxophone-playing orthopaedic surgeon who has been an appealing presence on the British jazz circuit for over 40 years.
He will be joined by the Terence Collie trio featuring:
Terence Collie – piano; Stuart Barker – base; Rha Stranges – drums
Complimentary mulled wine and mince pies will be provided.
Venue: Riverside Arts Centre, 59, Thames Street, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 5QF.
Starts 7.45pm, Tickets £15 on the door or £12 via the website: www.moodindigoevents.co.uk
The next Friday Music Night at the Club, and the last one of the year, is on Friday 7th December with the Club’s now traditional early Christmas party night when they welcome back THE MERSEY LEGENDS for their customary beat era rave-up to kick off the festive season.
The Mersey Legends are led by Yanni, born in Liverpool and who played at The Cavern with his band The Seftons in the heyday of the beat boom – the band were top of the bill when the Cavern re-opened in 1967. He has been true to his Liverpool roots ever since, creating a band and a brilliantly honed act specifically designed to celebrate the great sounds of the Mersey Era. As ever, we will be guaranteed a rip-roaring evening of wall-to-wall Mersey Era classics just like we’ve had for the last five years. There’s more info at www.themerseylegends.co.uk.
Food will be available as usual, so put together a gang of friends for a fun night out to finish the year with a bang. The Club looks forward to seeing you.
Venue: Sunbury Cricket Club, Lower Hampton Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 5PS
Starts 8.30pm
All patients of Sunbury Health Centre are invited to this Open Meeting of the Patient Participation Group (PPG).
One of the doctors and other Practice staff will give an overview of the many positive developments taking place as well as highlighting the challenges faced by the Practice in our ever expanding community.
There will also be an opportunity for general comments, suggestions and questions from patients. Please note that this is NOT an opportunity to discuss individual cases or issues, these should be passed to the Practice in the normal way.
Sunday Lunchtime Jazz returns to Sunbury Cricket Club with a very special show featuring one of the most illustrious personalities on the British jazz scene, the cornetist, bandleader, broadcaster and author Digby Fairweather.
Digby has been playing jazz at the highest level for 40 years, and has been associated with many major names, as well as leading his own band The Half Dozen.
The late Sir John Dankworth called him “one of our most articulate jazzmen in both his words and his music”, and Jim Simpson, publisher of The Jazz Rag magazine wrote: “One of our great jazzmen, and the UK’s leading man-about jazz, he has assuredly taken the place vacated by Humphrey Lyttelton as Britain’s leading jazz personality”.
There is full information about him at www.digbyfairweather.com. He is appearing with a quartet featuring an important up-and-coming name in British jazz, tenor saxophonist Duncan Eagles, along with Stephane Booroff (drums), Nick Cooper (piano) and Phil Berry (bass).
The show will start at around 1pm. Tickets at £10 are available on the door, and you can reserve them by e-mailing the address below. A lunch menu will be available from about 12.15, at £13.95 for 2 courses or £16.95 for three courses. It is a real privilege to have an artist of Digby’s stature playing in Sunbury, and it will be a great occasion.
Sunbury Cricket Club, Lower Hampton Road, TW16 5PS.
The Lower Sunbury Business Community brings you the Sunbury Christmas Market on Thursday 6th December from 5pm – 8pm in Avenue Parade outside the shops.
The Market will have 30 stalls from which to stock up on gifts, treats and enjoy hot food. As in previous years, the Salvation Army will be in attendance for all to come and sing carols at 6.30pm.
Santa’s Grotto will be open at Laura’s Hair & Beauty salon (5-7pm); and there will be an opportunity to take part in the Big Community Raffle with tickets available from Laura’s, Van Wonderen or Skinners Post Office in The Avenue and Tony’s Hair Salon in Vicarage Road.
Readers may have seen details of this campaign on the Sunbury-on-Thames Facebook page.
If you are, or have been, a user of the unmade road that connects School Walk to Hazelwood Drive by the London Irish Training Ground, you are urged to complete a questionnaire form intended to have this road designated as a public right of way.
For further information, please visit and scroll down to article dated 13th November here
The Woodland Trust has announced the availability of free trees for planting:
“We want to make sure that everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So we’re giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities.... Every sapling that we provide is UK sourced and grown to minimise the risk of importing and spreading tree pests and diseases. Seeds are collected and stored in the UK, and they are all coded and batched so that we can track an individual tree.”
The next Music Night at Sunbury Cricket Club falls on Friday 16th November when the Clube welcomes back PAUL COX with his special “WE REMEMBER JOE COCKER: UNCHAINED – THE BEST OF JOE COCKER ‘LIVE’” SHOW, marking the 50th anniversary of Joe being at No. 1 in the UK charts with his legendary version of The Beatles’ song “With A Little Help From My Friends”, which reached the top of the charts on 6th November 1968.
Paul first performed this show at the club a couple of years ago, and has put the presentation together again this year for a commemorative round of gigs during the autumn. It was a stunning evening’s entertainment with a full house last time around, so we can expect another special occasion. Paul has appeared at the club many times with his bands and headlined last year’s Beer Festival with Fire & Water; and he is one of the great showmen on the circuit – Radio 2’s Paul Jones cites him as one of his favourite singers, and says he is “one of the best voices in Europe”.
Along with Paul the band features his familiar line-up, comprising Mike Summerland (guitar), who has worked over the years with Blodwyn Pig, Georgie Fame, William Bell and others, Dave “Munch” Moore (keyboards) who was with No Dice, Mainsqueeze, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Pete Brown, Nigel Hardy (bass), Peter Stroud (drums), plus Stephanie Whitelock & Karen O'Connor (vocals). We can guarantee that this will be a hugely entertaining evening featuring hits like “Delta Lady”, “The Letter”, “Marjorine”, “Unchain My Heart”, “Up Where We Belong” and many more to mark a special occasion.
The Club looks forward to seeing you there – food will be available as usual.
Venue: Hawkedale Primary School, Stratton Road, Sunbury, TW16 6PG
Hawkedale School warmly invites you to come and join in the fun and support your local school.
We have a fantastic programme for the whole family; Come and meet Mr & Mrs Claus, get in the festive mood with mince pies and mulled wine, join in with games and craft activities.
You will find home baked cakes, the raffle, a selection of stalls from local traders, tombolas along with good simple food and a licensed bar for the whole family to enjoy.
The fair is open to everyone. Admission £1 for adults, children go free. Please note it is cash only.
We look forward to welcoming you there.
Dear colleague,
We are writing to update you on a change to the urgent care facilities at St Peter’s Hospital. From today - 1 November 2018 - the current Urgent Care Centre (UCC) has become a GP-led Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC). UTCs are being rolled out nationally, in line with best practice, and St Peter’s Hospital is in the first wave of Trusts to transition over to this new model.
The UTC is housed in the same building as the current UCC and operated by Greenbrook Healthcare. The UTC model aims to standardise a confusing range of options for patients – e.g. walk-in centres, urgent care centres, minor injury units - and simplify the system so patients know where to go and are clear which services are on offer where.
The first point of contact for anyone requiring out-of-hours urgent care should remain NHS 111, who will be able to book appointments in the UTC if required. The UTC is staffed by GPs and experienced Emergency Nurse Practitioners, who are equipped to diagnose and deal with many of the most common ailments people attend A&E for. This will ease pressure in A&E by ‘ring fencing’ staff in the main A&E department to see and treat the most serious cases.
Benefits for patients
For further information about the UTC at St Peter’s Hospital please see the attached FAQs. We will also be producing an information leaflet for patients that will shortly be published on the Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital website.
If you would like to become more involved in the wider work taking place across North West Surrey to shape out of hospital care please visit The Big Picture web page.
Kind regards
Suzanne Rankin, Chief Executive, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Tom Smerdon, Director of Operations (Unplanned Care), Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Charlotte Canniff – Clinical Chair, NHS North West Surrey CCG
Karen Thorburn – Managing Director, NHS North West Surrey CCG