April 2025
I am so annoyed! I hadn’t had a bet on the Grand National for many years. But today I thought I’d have a flutter. A tenner each way on any horse that took my fancy. I scanned the runners and riders. Around 35 of them with the usual array of colourful and amusing names. One I remember from years ago was called
April 2025
Being low down in the Gade Valley means we don’t often get the best of sunsets. But last week, Talip Karamahmutoglu of 118, happened to be in the right place at the right time: passing the Boars Head at about 7.30pm. There he captured this beautiful shot that looks more like a painting than a photo.
March 2025
The village AGM will take place on Wednesday March 26th at 110, Piccotts End, 7.30pm. The agenda, and the minutes of last year’s AGM, are listed below.
February 2025
Our village book club has proved a big hit since it started some 15 years ago. In that time we have read more than 100 novels and short stories, ranging from classics like Moby Dick to amazing short stories like The Time Machine. But few have given us more pleasure than one written by one of our members.
January 2025
Enjoying a Christmas drink and chat with PERA chairman Simon Lillystone I was amused by his story of an unexpected encounter with Sir Stephen Fry. Simon was attending an awards ceremony in London. On entering the venue he was surprised to be greeted by the polymath and comic. ‘How wonderful to see you,’ said Sir Stephen,
January 2025
Villagers are being warned to watch out for a lethal hole in the road. Piccotts End resident John Baldwin re-posted these photos of the missing manhole cover in the middle of the village. They were taken by passer-by Dave Hicks,
You can’t miss Jordan’s Antiques. It’s in the middle of the high street, next to Yalla Yalla. You can’t miss it because most days, the owner Michal (no ‘e’ he tells me, like in the bible) puts a lot of his wares out in the street. China bric-a-brac is his stock-in-trade, knick-knacks ranging from a fiver to £50. Is this the
December 2024
Joyce Lear, resident in the village since the 1970s, has written her life story, and what a glamorous life it has been! Joyce arrived in London from Newcastle aged only 22 and got herself a job as one of Fleet Street’s youngest female reporters. From the Daily Sketch she progressed to the dizzy heights and glamorous world of glossy magazines where she famously launched the first ever UK edition of Cosmopolitan magazine.
December 2024
Festive greetings to all residents and beyond from 140 Piccotts End. I’m pleased to say that we have had a very wonderful year in Piccotts End [all agree and sing our anthem “PERA for ever!”]. We’ve already had some snow, and I hear there’s more to come in bucketloads. However, come sun or snow, the views over the Gade (currently) remain as
December 2024
From leaping deer at Piccotts End House to festoons of colourful lights adorning Riverbank, residents have switched on in style this Christmas.