Ant Law’s love of guitar was kick-started by SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughn), bolstered by The Beatles and Stones, then shaped through classic blues, and the stadium rock and virtuosos of the 80s. It’s an unconventional route to jazz, but one that has imbued the composer, touring artist and author’s playing with a rare and captivating feel.

The recent release of his second album, Zero Sum World, confirms Ant Law’s place as one of the most original jazz-guitarists in a generation. Aside from writing, touring and recording with his own group, Law collaborates with a who’s who of the UK contemporary jazz scene and is also a published author.

He will be appearing at the Riverside Arts Centre on Sunday 11^th December with Terence Collie, piano; Richard Sadler, bass; Paul Cavaciuti, drums and special guests. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served to complete what should be a very enjoyable festive night out.

The performance starts at 7.30pm. Tickets at £10 may be ordered on line via the website: www.moodindigoevents.co.uk or £12 on the door.

With the party season approaching, Spelthorne Council is warning residents to take care and only use licensed cabs.

Licensed taxi and mini cabs drivers will have undergone a series of background checks. Unlicensed drivers could have criminal records and if you’re involved in an accident in an unlicensed vehicle you might not be covered by insurance. Look for a licence plate or sticker at the back of the vehicle.

Only taxis are allowed to wait at taxi ranks or stop when hailed in the street. Mini cabs must be booked in advance; they are not allowed to pick up unbooked customers. Unlicensed drivers sometimes hang-around busy areas hoping to pick up a customer but they may represent a danger to the public.

These are the Council’s top tips:

• never get in an unlicensed taxi or unbooked mini cab
• if booking a mini cab, check what the fare will be when you make the booking
• ask the driver who they are waiting for when the car arrives
• if you have any problems make a note of the vehicle licence plate number and report it to the Council

Those of you who have read the November edition of Sunbury Matters will know that a new dimension to the music scene in Lower Sunbury is being launched on Sunday 27th November with the first Sunday Lunchtime Jazz event at Sunbury Cricket Club, between 1pm and 4pm.

Performing at the inaugural gig are ‘A’ TRAIN, a quartet which features the fine vocalist Debbie Bracknell, who also works in the current incarnation of the British hit-making jazz funk band Shakatak. Also in the band is well-known local bass player Roger Harding, along with pianist Andy Walls and Drummer Alan Cottrell. There is full information about the band at www.atrainband.co.uk.

Tickets are £5.00 on the door (no advance sales), and for those wishing to have lunch, there will be a bistro-style lunch menu available before and during the show. The event is open to non-members, and the organisers are hoping that the presentation of top class accessible mainstream jazz during the winter months will attract sufficient support to make it a regular occasion.

The Environment Agency is holding small-scale residents' ’surgeries’ to update progress on the River Thames Scheme. These surgeries will be on a much smaller scale than previous River Thames Scheme public drop-ins you may have visited in the past. Your local community resilience adviser and one of the engineers working on the design of the scheme will be present.

Residents can come and ask questions, or simply find out the latest information. This includes the options being considered for the route of the flood relief channel in 4 areas of uncertainty: Wraysbury II Lakes, Thorpe Hay Meadow, Sheepwalk and Desborough Cut.

Maps will also be available showing the locations of enhancement opportunities that were suggested at various events. The River Thames Scheme welcome your thoughts and comments on these options and opportunities.

To see the schedule and locations of drop-in sessions click here

Those of us who are patients at the Sunbury Health Centre in Green Street will be fully aware of the difficulty in securing an appointment on the day and may well have resorted to queuing up outside at the crack of dawn.

We heard from Dr Gill at the LoSRA AGM of the many logistical problems they face providing health care services to a patient population of over 18,000 in a building designed to cope with a third of that figure. The annual patient survey confirms the high quality medical care and services provided by the dedicated staff at the Centre but the battle for better facilities will run for some time to come.

In the meantime, the Health Centre staff, supported by the Patient Participation Group (of which LOSRA is an active member), have been working hard to make changes to the appointments system to obviate the need for queuing to get an appointment on the day. The new changes will come into effect from the 28th November and relate to how and when 'on the day' appointments are released for booking.

In essence, on-line booking and automated telephone booking will be available from 6am Monday to Friday and will be the best way to book. Reception will not open until 8am. The changes will be fully detailed on the Health Centre and PPG websites and in leaflets to be made available in the surgery.

To see an advance copy of the leaflet, click here

Readers will remember the article published on this website concerning an application by the London Irish Amateur RFC to install a 50 seater stand at their Hazelwood Grounds (See entry for 30th September). Following objections received by the local planning authority, Mr Richard Ryan (LIARFC) has now written to our Chairman; and the following self-explanatory extract from his email is posted here for the attention of any resident who wishes to accept the invitation described:

"We have become very aware of the level of distrust / misinformation that has built up locally over our planning application for the 50 seater stand. We have taken up an offer to have the stand for a trial period so that people can come and see for themselves what we are trying to achieve. We are hopeful that once people realise the insignificance of its size then some of their fear people are feeling may be alleviated.

"I have  written to the planning office to advise him and awaiting his reply. We are aware we do not have planning permission for the stand so hence the trial period. We are also aware that should the Council decline our application the trial period will have to be cut short."

If you wish to be kept updated with regular news bulletins from Hazelwood please contact Sophie Lynch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask to be put on her mailing list.

Willmott Dixon, the construction company currently contracted by Elmbridge Council to do the remediation works at the sports stadium on the Walton side of the Thames has now submitted a new planning application -this time in their name and not that of Elmbridge Borough Council - which is available to view at www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning Application ref: 2016/3371. Objections to the application may be made by simply going on to the yellow comment bubble.

The proposal is not materially different from the planning application that local 'Save our Thames Side' campaign group has been fighting for the last 4 years and which is currently under judicial review at the High Court.

Objections do not need to involve in-depth analysis but must be confined to planning reasons which, for those of us who live north of the river, would include: building on the green belt; light pollution; noise pollution (especially over water); or environmental damage.

The next Music Night at the SCC falls on Friday 11th November and it sees the welcome return of The Dave Kelly Band. Dave has been a leading figure of the UK blues scene for 40 years, and is one of the country’s finest slide guitarists. During the ‘60s blues boom he joined The John Dummer Blues Band as vocalist and guitarist alongside his late lamented sister Jo-Ann Kelly, and toured the UK backing John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf, before he and Jo Ann formed Tramp with Tony McPhee. In 1979 he founded The Blues Band with Paul Jones, Hughie Flint & Tom McGuinness, former members of Manfred Mann and McGuinness Flint, and they are still the UK’s top blues attraction.

His own band is quite a family affair, with Pete Emery on lead guitar – husband of Dave’s late sister Jo-Ann, and another Dummer Band veteran – along with Dave’s son Sam Kelly on drums. Sam often deputises for Rob Townsend in the Blues Band. Homer Kelly-Tarrant is on bass guitar – he tours regularly with Dave & Christine Collister. Keyboard player Lou Stonebridge was with Glass Menagerie, Paladin and McGuinness Flint, and produced the first two Blues Band albums.

An evening of absolutely top class blues is guaranteed, and the Club is fortunate to welcome an artist of Dave’s stature to Sunbury once again. For more info and great YouTube videos just Google Dave Kelly.

Readers of the Sunbury Facebook page will already be aware of the petition to save this and other Abellio services.

These services include access to Heathrow as well as schools colleges and towns around Surrey, and, critically, St. Peter's Hospital.

You are invited to add your name by the closing date of 7th November by clicking on this link

Our Autumn newsletter, currently with the printers, will be distributed to all households during the first couple of weeks in November.

Alternatively, you may read it on line by clicking here