February 2012
Very sad to learn of the death of PERA chairman Robin Corbett. As Lord Corbett of Castlevale and Hemel’s former MP he was one of politics’ most influential characters but to all of us in Piccotts End he was plain Robin, always friendly, helpful and concerned. When we first moved here nearly 10 years ago he was among the first to give us a warm welcome and we became firm friends. He will be sadly missed. Our condolences to his wife Val.

Meanwhile, six inches of snow, minus 14 degrees, abandoned vehicles & burst pipes. Welcome to freezing February! Unlike last year, when the snow fell on a Saturday afternoon and brought Hemel to a complete standstill, this time it came on a Saturday night. There were plenty of abandoned vehicles but by Monday the roads were back to normal and despite the Arctic temperature most schools, shops and offices were unaffected.

A van advertising a Hemel eatery has been parked by the Leighton Buzzard road for the past few weeks. It’s by the junction with Gadebridge Lane. At first glance it appears to have someone sitting in the passenger seat. On closer inspection this turns out to be a rather sinister looking dummy. I wouldn’t want to eat somewhere which uses such slightly dodgy tactics to  win my custom. In any
case since the advert for Gullivers doesn’t make it very clear, I have no idea where it is. How long it takes Dacorum council to get the vehicle moved remains to be seen.

Well done to Hemel’s Old Town Hall Theatre for an excellent spring programme. I’ve already booked Fever Pitch, Sense and Sensibility and an intriguing production called Love on the Tracks, a  comedy drama about three passengers on a train in 19th century Russia. Sounds wonderful. Despite all the cutbacks it’s good to see the OTH bringing good quality productions to the town.