August 2025
Ena Hartland, a long time resident of the Mill House In Piccotts End, had a wonderful 94th birthday tea last week with friends and neighbours from Riverbank, Pauline, Barbara, Melanie and Susanna. Lots of good memories were shared of Ena’s time living in the Mill House with her late husband Stanley. Ena now lives in St Mary’s care home near the Old Town. Many Happy Returns Ena! with very best wishes from everyone in Piccotts End.
August 2025
Village veteran Mary Wiedman is at it again! Never shy to express her forthright opinions, this time she has laid into the bedroom bores who discuss their sex lives in the pages of the tabloids. Mary, who has lived in the village for some 50 years, regularly features in the letters pages of the Daily Mail and Daily Express, on all matter of topics, from the Beckhams to Brexit. In her latest diatribe to the Daily Mail this week, she laments the empty lives of those who have nothing better to do than discuss their sex lives.
August 2025
The long-awaited decision on an appeal by developers to build 390 houses on the Leighton Buzzard road has been announced – and it’s not good news for the village. Fairfax, against whom Dacorum council and an alliance of residents and other parties mounted vigorous opposition, have been granted outline planning permission,
The Reds Kites that fly iso majestically over our skies are now becoming such a nuisance that residents have launched an appeal to discourage people from feeding them.
July 2025
Thumbing through the pages of a Sunday supplement this week, I was intrigued to come acoss an article about our esteemed, veteran village resident Val Corbett. Had Val just featured in the King’s Birthday Honours? Had she just swum the Channel? Or had she been picked for the England women’s football team? No, none of these. The article was about Val’s age, or lack of it.
Now in its 15th year, our Book Club meets every month in the convivial surroundings of a member’s home. All residents are welcome to join and the only qualification is an enjoyment of reading.
The village’s popular bi-annual autumn bash is a throwback to the Seventies, when dinner guests would move from house to house to enjoy a starter, main or dessert with the host willingly unaware of who would be knocking on the door.
A bi-annual event in which residents are invited to display their creative talents with funny, topical or just plain scary scarecrows in their front gardens.
April 2025
Plans for a raft of social events, including a Christmas carol party, were announced at the village AGM. Popular events like the Spring Coffee Morning (April 27th), the Safari Supper (September 20th) and the Fireworks Party (November 15th) will make a welcome return, along with a revival of the Scarecrow and Harvest Festival events which were successfully launched in 2022.
April 2025
Spring is in the air! Smell the scent and smell the coffee when we gather at the Marchmont Arms on Sunday 27th April. It’s the annual village coffee morning at the Marchmont Arms. Drop in any time between 11am and 1pm, See you there!