On Saturday 9th September 10-4pm, as part of the Heritage Day scheme, the Friends of St Mary's invite you to come and browse their memorabilia plus the display by the Sunbury & Shepperton Local History Society - bring your questions and stories.

There will also be self- guided tours of the Church and Churchyard. The Middlesex Bell Ringers are holding their practice session 10-12pm - a chance to listen and perhaps 'have a go' yourself! ( Tours of the bells later, up 'til 3pm.)

Tea/coffee/ice cream to refresh. The FoSM Look forward to seeing you there.

Spelthorne Council has become aware of an email phishing scam which is using a spoofed (false) @spelthorne.gov.uk sender address

The email subject typically contains the word "Invoice"or "New Invoice" and the examples that we have been made aware of appear to have been sent by the leader of the Council (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), although other @spelthorne.gov.uk addresses may have been used.

The body of the email typically contains a URL link to click on, to see the supposed invoice.

Please be advised that this is a phishing email scam and it is not a message from Spelthorne Borough Council. If you receive this email you should not click on any of the links it contains and immediately delete it.

We can confirm that at no point have your details been obtained from our systems and any personally identifiable information we hold is secure.

Spelthorne Borough Council will never ask for credit/debit card information by email.

The next Music Night on Friday 25^th August promises to be every bit as much of a special occasion, when,  for the first time, the Club welcomes another great Texan blues band JIM SUHLER & MONKEY BEAT. Once again, it’s something of a coup to have secured these guys for a gig at Sunbury, and it’s one you ought not to miss – if you enjoyed Hamilton Loomis, you will love this one too.

When he’s not leading his own band, Jim Suhler is the guitarist with the celebrated and globally-acclaimed blues/rock band George Thorogood & The Destroyers – he has also performed with a variety of blues legends like Johnny Winter, AC/DC Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop and Buddy Whittington, and since joining George Thorogood has recorded, toured the world and written songs for the band.

He has been working with his own band Monkey Beat for many years, playing an uncompromising and highly entertaining brand of Texan blues/rock, and their publicity calls the band “blues-rockin’ bad boys with a take-no-prisoners” attitude. The band comprises Shawn Phares (keyboards/accordion) Beau Chadwell (drums/percussion) and Patrick Smith (bass). Buddy magazine wrote about them “Jim Suhler is not just keeping the Texan blues alive, but he’s expanding them with a style that appeals to fans of every music genre”.

The Club would not normally do a Music Night on an August Bank Holiday weekend, but this was the only time they could get them, and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. They are visiting Europe to play at the big SwingWespelaar Festival in Belgium, and the Club has been able to secure a date while they are here – it is believed that this is the first time the band has played the UK.

There’s plenty of info and videos at www.jimsuhler.com, and loads of videos on YouTube – check them out, and in particular the tracks on his “Tijuana Bible” album where there’s loads of great stuff that will certainly encourage you to come.

Note from organiser: Tickets are available in advance from the Club bar or by e-mailing me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you are definitely intending to come, I am also happy to reserve tickets and keep them in an envelope to pay for on the night, so just e-mail and let me know, and I will send a confirmation. That way I can keep track of how many people we are likely to have coming and can keep everyone updated with e-mails about ticket availability as the gig approaches. It will be another memorable night, and we look forward to seeing you there.

The following press release from Spelthorne Council relates to Surrey County Council’s consultation on shaping Surrey community recycling centres (CRCs) which was the subject of an extraordinary meeting of Spelthorne’s Overview & Scrutiny committee held on 31 July:

County Councillor Mike Goodman, Cabinet Member for Environment, and Richard Parkinson, Waste Operations Group Manager at Surrey County Council (SCC) explained to the committee that Surrey faces ongoing cuts to funding, rising costs and increasing demand for key services which has created the need for the County to find savings of more than £100m this year alone across its services.

The proposals for reducing the SCC waste budget include changes at CRCs across Surrey. The consultation about these changes, which closed on 7 August 2017, included options for reducing operating hours and days, stopping no charge allowances and closing some smaller CRCs.

Members of the Committee and Jackie Taylor, Group Head of Neighbourhood Services at Spelthorne Borough Council (SBC), raised concerns that reducing the access and allowances at Charlton Lane for residents created the risk of increased fly tipping which would have both a financial and environmental impact for both the County and the Borough Councils.

Cllr Ian Harvey, Leader at SBC, pointed out that as the Eco Park (on the site of the Charlton Lane CRC) would be operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week it was difficult to see how significant savings could be made from reducing access to residents.

The accuracy of the fly tipping data being presented at the meeting by SCC was also called into question.

Cllr Colin Davis, Chairman of Spelthorne’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee said: “A key concern for both councillors and members of the public who were invited to have their say at the meeting was how the proposed changes might impact residents using the CRC at Charlton Lane. There are also clear concerns about fly tipping. It is therefore important that the County works with the districts and boroughs to create a common framework assessment for capturing accurate data and measuring the impact of fly tipping”.

Hazelwood Drive are looking for volunteers in the community to help coordinate a new Park Run. A meeting will take place on Wednesday 30^th August at 7pm for local people to find out more about Park runs and sign up as volunteers.

For further information about volunteering please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to find out more about park runs visit www.parkrun.org.uk

Full address:

Hazelwood Community Company

Hazelwood Drive

Sunbury on Thames

TW16 6QU

London Irish have advised LOSRA that the Hazelwood Ground will be hosting a pre-season friendly match between London Irish RFC and Harlequins on Saturday 12th August at 3pm which, coincidentally, is also the date of the Sunbury Regatta.

The Club will be deploying car parking attendants but experience tells us that such events attract large numbers of vehicle owners who pay scant regard to the L.I attendants and even less to the convenience of residents living nearby.

If you experience problems, please get in touch with London Irish Amateur RFC at: www.hazelwood-centre.co.uk as the Club is always looking at ways to mitigate the effects of big events on the local community.

Congratulations to Sunbury cricketer Toby Roland-Jones, who has made a stunning Test Match debut for England at the Oval against South Africa in the Third Test. He made his One Day international debut against South Africa in May. In South Africa’s first innings at the oval Toby took the wickets of five out of the top six batsmen to post excellent bowling figures of 5-57. He then made a significant contribution in South Africa’s second innings, taking the prized wicket of their star batsman Hashim Amla for the second time in the match. It is a notable achievement for bowlers to achieve the distinction of a Test Match five-wicket haul in their debut innings but even more remarkable to have finished with match figures of 8 - 129 (becoming the first England bowler since James Kirtley took 8 wickets against South Africa at Trent Bridge in 2003).  Although primarily selected as a bowler, Toby has also made a handy contribution with the bat, scoring 25 and 21 not out in England’s two innings. batting at No. 9.

Toby started playing cricket as a junior colt at Sunbury Cricket Club when he was about five years old, and played in all the colts age group teams, representing Middlesex throughout his colts’ career. He played for Hampton School and then for the Bradford/Leeds Universities Cricketing Centre of Excellence when he was at Leeds University. He was a regular member of Sunbury’s 1st XI and, after successful season at the Club in the Surrey Championship, signed a contract with Middlesex in 2010. Last season, he legendarily took a hat-trick in the final game of the season, taking the last three Yorkshire wickets to secure the County Championship for Middlesex for the first time in 23 years.

Toby is the second Sunbury player to play Test Match cricket - another fast bowler Richard Johnson, who is now a coach at Middlesex, also played for England.

Sunbury Regatta Chairman's statement:

I look forward to welcoming you all to the 2017 Sunbury Amateur Regatta on 12th August 2017.

This year will be the 140th year that the Regatta has been held. I do hope that you will enjoy yourselves watching the skiff, punting and dongola races, wandering around the stalls and the taking part in the entertainment on the lawn.

As the evening begins, please stay on the island to watch the final of Has Sunbury Got Talent, listen to live music, watch the illuminated sail past and our famous fireworks.

Everything that makes the Regatta the day it is, is the result of the hard work of a dedicated set of volunteers who give up their spare time to plan, build and run the Regatta each year and that planning is already underway. 

The agenda of the Regatta is:

0900 - Racing starts
1100 - Gates open
1200 - Bar opens
1830 - Final of Has Sunbury Got Talent
2100 - Illuminated sail past by the Mid Terms Yacht Club
2130 - Fireworks

We are always looking for new committee members to help run the Regatta and helpers on the day, Please contact us via our website  if you would like to help continue the largest family day out in the Sunbury calendar.

http://www.sunburyregatta.com/

There has been a number of burglaries in  Sunbury-on-Thames lately

We would like to remind all residents of a few simple steps to prevent burglary and protect your home

Criminals look for a number of signs to detect an empty home. How can you protect your property from intruders?

Make your home secure

There are a variety of ways to make your home more secure for the future. While some security measures can be expensive, there are other things you can do that cost much less:

• Leave lights or a radio on when you go out.
• Break up packaging for electrical goods (TVs, laptops etc) and put it all in your recycling box. Leaving it outside will alert a burglar to your new purchase.
• Keep ladders out of sight.
• Don’t leave accessible windows open at night.
• Don’t leave side gates open and make sure they’re secure.
• Check that all doors and windows are properly closed and locked even if you are just 'popping out' for a short time.

If you need to Report a Crime

Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger, or if the crime is happening right now.

To report non-emergency crime:

Online - Visit report.police.uk

TextPhone - 18000

• This is a new service. We are gathering feedback and making regular improvements.
• If the crime happened in Surrey or Sussex you can report it using our new online service
• All reports are reviewed by the police and, if necessary, we'll respond by email or phone within 24 hours
• You will need to provide an email address or phone number.

Report anonymously - CrimeStoppers are an independent charity helping to find criminals and help solve crimes. They run an anonymous 0800 555 111 phone number that you can call to pass on information about crime. Alternatively people can pass them information anonymously via their website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Following the recent news item on a failed parking company at Gatwick Airport you may find the following tips useful for ensuring secure airport parking:

• Choose an airport approved operator for Meet & Greet
• Choose police-approved Park Mark Award car parks
• Ensure the price is not too good to be true
• Check out user reviews
• Ensure the company has a physical address, not just a registered office (look on the website)
• Pay by credit card for extra protection, as any damage to your vehicle may not be covered by your insurance