The ghost of Piccotts End and a trip down memory lane

Editors

August 2013
It’s always fascinating to hear about the comings and goings of your home’s former owners. A chance meeting in a Devon car park has put us in touch with someone who lived in our house back in the1950s. In our case we were on the trail of the Mrs Inglis who lived at Marchmont Cottage between 1951 and 1973.

We wanted to know about the house’s early history, and about stories that it had a secret underground passage and a ghost! Hearing that she had moved to Branscombe in Devon,

Phew! What a scorcher

Editors

July 2013
Mingling with guests at the Piccotts End summer garden party on another scorching hot day  I was amazed to learn just how many boffins inhabit the village. We have professors, doctors, scientists and IT experts, not to mention a clutch of  lawyers and media luminaries in our midst. My latest ‘discovery’ is that one of our committee members,

Is it the White Lion or the Red Lion?

Editors

July 2013
My journey to work through the leafy lanes of Gaddesden always provides some points of interest. Last month I spotted two men planting hundreds of saplings in the hedgerows. John and Nathan of JHP Services told me they had been contracted by the Gaddesden Estate to fill in the gaps in the hedgerows with some 4000 hawthorn, hazel, holly, dog rose and dogwood.

It’s part of a Government-subsidised scheme to revive a quintessential feature of the English countryside.

A burnt-out case at the Attic!

Editors

March 2013
No, this is not about a Graham Greene novel, just the good old Attic Cafe in Berkhamsted high street. We usually go there for Sunday lunch but last week we tried something daringly different: Saturday tea! Fancying a toasted tea cake with a pot of Earl Grey I placed my order and settled down to the read the paper. Before long the delicious aroma of

The view from the Shard but alas no sign of Piccotts End!

Editors

February 2013
Here we are at the end of Feb and it’s been such a drab month I have little to report. On the few occasions when the weather did relent, we managed a trip up the Shard and a visit to York for the Viking Festival. York is one of my favourite cities with its medieval streets, its magnificent Minster and its Jorvik Viking Centre. The centre’s underground

Hemel Cricket Pavilion

The cricket pavilion that should have been given out first ball

Editors

January 2013
Happy New Year! Apart from resolving to eat less bread and more rice, this year I plan to go about and about in the Dacorum area, picking out examples of the good, the bad and the ugly. One building that constantly catches my eye, and for all the wrong reasons, is the cricket pavilion in Hemel. First of all it’s out of all proportion to its setting. How did that get past the planners?

Does Anyone Live in Hemel Hempstead?

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December 2012
Enjoying a cappucino and a croissant at Hemel station (top marks to the ladies from Puccinos on Platform 4) my ears pricked up at the following exchange. Lady customer: ‘Where do you live?’ Puccinos lady: ‘Harrow. Where do you live, Hemel Hempstead?’ Customer: ‘No, Boxmoor’. It was only when we moved to Hemel that we realised the important

picots end fireworks party

All the Fun of the Fireworks Party

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November 2012
One of the perks of running a fireworks company is that every year I get to put on a display for the village. This has become a regular feature since we moved here in 2003 and every year it attracts a large audience. Everyone chips in with offers of help, from hot soup and hot dogs to delicious pork and apple rolls. This year is another big success.