February 2023

16 Buckden Roundabout February 2023 Village News Bookings Update This month, alongside all our lovely regular hirers, we are delighted to have several corporate bookings, a kid ’ s party and the pantomime!! Pantomime 10 th – 12 th February 2022 Melodramatics return to Buckden Village Hall with another fabulous pantomime for all the family. This year is Beauty and the Beast. Come and be entertained on one of the five showings over the weekend (7:45pm Friday, 11am, 3pm & 7:45pm on Saturday and 11am on Sunday. To buy tickets please call the Box Office on 07875 200237 or visit melodra- maticspanto.com/tickets A big thank you! The Trustees would like to thank everyone who has very kindly donated to the Valley Giving Fund via PayPal. We will put a monetary update in the next article. If anyone else would like to donate please visit: www.gofundme.com/f/buckden - valley - drought - relief - project Vandalism There has been a spate of mindless behaviour recently in- volving throwing items into the Valley. This is not only in- convenient as then someone has to fish them out again, but these items can be dangerous to the wildlife we are trying to encourage and can also potentially block up the weir. If anyone witnesses vandalism taking place around the Hall building, playing field or Valley, please report it directly to 101 or online at www.cambs.police.uk. Please report any damage to the Hall Manager on ad- min@buckdenvillagehall.co.uk Pedestrian safety Please can everyone take care when walking around the Hall building and the Valley. Jo Harvey, Hall Manager Email: admin@buckdenvillagehall.co.uk Tel: 01480 811101 Please call or email to arrange any face - to - face appoint- ments Office hours: 9am – 2pm Burberry Road, Buckden, Cambridgeshire, PE19 5UY Tel: 01480 811101 www. buckdenvillagehall.co.uk email: admin@buckdenvillagehall.co.uk Fred Day memorial On 31 st December 2022 Jean Day, Allotment holders and past Councillors gathered to mark the planting of a red hawthorn in Fred ’ s memory. Fred ’ s wife, Jean, had decided to give up the allotment that she and Fred tended for so many years, so it seemed a fitting moment to mark his contribution to both the Al- lotments group and the Par- ish more widely. There have been many tributes to Fred Day since his death, it is often only after people die that all their contributions are drawn together and celebrated. Thanks to Tony Mulvaney and Terry Hayward for details of Fred ’ s many achievements and contribution to the village. In no particular order these are: • Fred was a stalwart member of the Parish Council.As a councillor he was Chair of the Allotments group, he was a long term allotment holder and helped to man- age the site for a very long time. • He was also part of the footpath and trees working group, helping to clear footpaths and maintain the trees, indeed he was responsible for planting many trees around the village. • He was an active member of the Village Club committee during the busy years leading up to the rebuild of the Village Hall. • He was absolutely vital in ensuring the continuation of the Buckden Gardeners Association. When it was in danger of shutting down, he stepped up and saved the day. This demonstrated what a helpful and generous nature he had towards both people and clubs in need of assistance. His support meant the gardening club went on to celebrate its Centenary in 1993 and is still thriving today reaching 129 years of age in July this year. • Fred attended the Buckden Wine & Beer makers society and joined the committee in 1985. Fred ’ s legendary knowledge of wine, and his skills in making ALL types of wine and beer resulted in him having his name en- graved 97 times on 17 of the 18 trophies the club pos- sessed • His contributions centred around grow- ing and planting both in his working life and his spare time. His contribution to the village has been im- mense and we really felt a fitting tribute to Fred was to plant some trees, we hope he would have ap- proved.