REG
IS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
14
October 2011
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On
Thursday 6th October, the Volunteers of the Year Awards were held
at Eton College Rowing Centre at Dorney. Cookham had several
nominees as follows:
UNDER
25s
Natasha
Andrée - Cookham Youth Club
Hannah
Dutfield - 1st Cookham Dean Brownies
OVER
50s
Rosalind
Mary Joynes - SOVA (Supporting Others through Voluntary Action)
Merle
Southern - Cookham Library
Reg
Wilsher - Elizabeth House, Cookham, Cookham Voluntary Service
TEAMS
Cookham
Festival Committee (Chairman Mike Copland)
 Reg
Wilsher was announced the winner is his group of over 50s. The
Presentations of the Certificates and Awards were carried out by
Lady Elizabth Godsal and the Mayor Cllr Asghar Majeed. Well done
Reg and congratulations to all the nominees.
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NON
FAST FOR BARBARA
12
October 2011
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This
is the 26th year that Barbara Walmsley should be
undertaking her Oxfam Fast when she sits at Sainsbury’s in
Maidenhead for 32 hours collecting and fasts for 38 hours, so
people can be inspired to give money for Oxfam! However, this year
will be a NON FAST as sadly Barbara is in the John Radcliffe in
Oxford having heart by-pass surgery. We wish Barbara all the best.
However
for Barbara's NON FAST tou can send a donation to Barbara at “Spindlewood”,
High Road, Cookham SL6 9JT, pop it in if
you’re passing, pay on line at Justgiving
(http://www.justgiving.com/BarbaraWalmsley
) or phone her husband, Charles, on
01628-522255 to make alternative arrangements.
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A
BAFTA FOR JESSICA?
7
October 2011
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Jessica Brown-Findlay is really
starting to make her mark in the acting world. Jessica from
Cookham attended Furze Platt school and then went on to study fine
arts before becoming an actress. She has become well known
to many of us in her portrayal of Lady Sybil Crawley in ITV's
Downton Abbey and has been marked out as a star by Bafta, who
invited her to the British film event of the year earlier this
summer, held in LA, when Prince William and the Duchess of
Cambridge pressed the flesh with Hollywood's biggest stars.
Click
here to see more on Jessica
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FACES
AND PLACES
6
October 2011
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Sarah
Luton opens her exhibition at the Gallery at Elizabeth House
next Saturday (15th October), titled Faces and Places: it runs
to Saturday 5th November. The show offers a mix of
landscapes and portraits. Sarah describes her landscapes
as a 'a celebration of the English countryside. They portray a
deep-felt love of nature that has been with me since my early
childhood in rural West Berkshire. I use watercolour, and more
recently oil, and work from life as much as possible. I'm often
drawn to scenes where there is a strong contrast in light or
colour'.
Over
the last two years Sarah has also been experimenting with
portraits, using predominantly oil or charcoal to create
exceptionally alive and fresh images based on intense
observation. You
can see some of Sarah's work at www.sarahluton.com
Sarah,
who lives in Maidenhead, trained as a Graphic Designer at
Bath Academy of Art with a placement at the Kunstgewerbeschule,
Luzern, Switzerland. She has exhibited in galleries across
southern England and in London. Some people may also know
her in her role with the double-bass in two bands; with
accordionist Jackie Doe in 'Paris Moon' and four-piece Tango
band, Tango Select
- a lady of many talents!
The
Gallery is open 9.30 to 11.30am weekdays and 10am to 4pm
on Saturdays. Full details of the artists can be found
at www.thegalleryatelizabethhouse.org.uk.
Elizabeth House receives a commission on any works sold.
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A
VIDEO OF WINTER HILL
2
October 2011
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Peter Kirkwood, who is a sixth form
student at Furze Platt, has been busy. He has created a video
which was recorded from a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle - in this
case a radio controlled plane) which had an HD camera and
video transmitter on board, which broadcasted live feed to a
screen on the ground.
You can see the result of Peter's completed video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj4o3v9BqrU
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PLEASE
SIGN THE PETITION
17
September 2011
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As
you may all be aware, the Borough has decreed that in the event
that the B4447 across the Moor should be closed because of
flooding the Causeway will NOT be open for anything other
than pedestrians and cycles. This would clearly be extremely
inconvenient to say the least. It would seem that the only way to
have this decision rescinded is by means of a petition to the
Council. We need at least 25 signatures and have to present
the petition to the Council meeting on 27 September
(unfortunately the next Council meeting is not until 6 December by
which time we may already have suffered floods).
You
can sign on the Council's on-line petition at:
http://petitions.rbwm.gov.uk/Causeway/
It
is very easy.
Thank
you for reading this far and regards
David
Ashwanden
School
Lane resident
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DAVID
WALLIAMS SWIMS BY
10
September 2011
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Little Britain star David
Walliams has taken on an amazing challenge to raise money for
Sport Relief in that he is swimming the length of the Thames
starting at Lechlade. He swam through Cookham this morning and
Nick Read was there and took some photos for cookham.com. Thanks
Nick.
(click on photo
for larger image).
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FRENCH
POUR LES ENFANTS
6
September 2011
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My name is Hala
Alani and I have recently started to teach La Jolie Ronde
French to primary and nursery aged children. I am a native French
speaker, CRB checked and have seen for myself how quickly young
children can pick up a foreign language – and how much they
enjoy it! Research currently shows the primary years are the best
time to learn languages. I
would now like to offer you the chance for your children to join
in order that they can have the opportunity to excel at
languages. Classes are coming soon and will be held at Holy
Trinity Primary School in School Lane, Cookham every Saturday from
10am to 10.30 and from 10.35am to 11.05am. An integral
part of the course is the fun activity book and interactive CD, to
help with your child’s learning and lasts for a minimum of a
year, at a cost of £18. Classes will be offered at the rate of
around £6.00 per lesson, paid each term in advance. Demand is
high and places are limited to 12 per class.
click
here for website
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THE
PARADE BEING RESURFACED
21
August 2011
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Much to many
people's relief the pot-holed Parade car park in Cookham Rise is
being resurfaced. The area has been cleared of cars for 5pm Sunday
evening (21 August). It is planned that the resurfacing should be
completed by Tuesday evening 23 August. The shops will continue
business as usual during the resurfacing.
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WATERCOLOUR
DELIGHTS
18
August 2011
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You may have seen the item about
our next show in the Maidenhead Advertiser this morning,
hopefully tempting you to call in over the next month. Carolyn
Beale's exhibition opens this Saturday (20th August) and
continues to 10th September. Living in Maidenhead, she is
self-taught, growing up in the Yorkshire
Dales in a family of amateur artists. She works
mainly with watercolour and her exhibition focuses on this
difficult medium. She uses images from her travels in
Europe and Asia, exploring the art and architecture of many
differing cultures and countries. Her show includes
landscapes and buildings as well as very delicate and delightful
paintings of flora. I hope you'll be delighted too!
The
Gallery is open 9.30 to 11.30am weekdays and 10am to 4pm on
Saturdays. Full details of the artists can be found at www.thegalleryatelizabethhouse.org.uk.
Elizabeth House receives a commission on any paintings sold.
Mike
Copland
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EVENING
OVER COOKHAM BRIDGE
7
August 2011
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A Cookham reader has sent us some photos taken
on the evening of 6 August 2011 at Cookham bridge while they were on a
bike ride.
Click her to see some more photos.
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KAREN
DAVIES AT ELIZABETH HOUSE
19
July 2011
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This coming Saturday is the
last chance to see Jessica
Bleasby's work at the Gallery at Elizabeth House.
Jessica's show combines abstracts with beautifully executed
almost surreal pieces which have attracted buyers over the last
month, we're delighted to report.
Coming
next is another local artist, Karen
Davies. Karen was self-taught until her
thirties when she completed a higher national diploma in fine
art at Reading College & School of Art and Design (now part
of Thames Valley University). She prefers to work in oils,
and covers a wide range of subjects from portraits to still
life, and more recently landscapes. Her paintings are generally
representational, which can involve taking images from life and
drawing attention to interesting aspects by depicting the
subject from an unusual angle. She says, "I like to achieve
a painterly style; being able to see the brush strokes in a
painting is important to me, as I think this adds to a picture's
power and enhances the composition. I have been influenced by
the work of Lucian Freud, David Hockney and James Dickson Innes".
This exhibition includes a number of paintings produced as part
of a project in which Karen focused on creating a body of work
to be donated to local healthcare settings. Working from
photographs of local beauty spots, such as Burnham Beeches and
Cliveden, she then used these as a basis for compositions in
oils.
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KICKBOXING
MOVES TO COOKHAM
15
July 2011
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Matt Collins says " the
kickboxing class is moving from the Broom Farm Community Centre
to Cookham on Tuesday nights at 7:30pm because all of those
attending live in that area. The lessons will be for 45 minutes
as usual and will be held at Holy Trinity C of E Primary School,
School Lane, Cookham, SL6 9QJ.
The class is open to anyone aged
12 and above but those aged between 12 to 16 must be accompanied
by an adult. Kickboxing is a great way to get fit and lose
weight whilst also learning how to defend yourself. It is a
friendly class with no egos and both men and women are
welcome (although we have far more women in the class at
the moment than men).
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TENNIS
AND CROQUET'S 30th ANNIVERSARY
14
July 2011
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 Eighty
players celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Cookham
Dean Tennis and Croquet Charity Day to raise over £1600 for local
charities.
In
a real community effort, ten venues were used, followed by a
barbeque, with contributions from the Kaffirs, the Nomads, the
Girl Guides and local musicians, Celebration Swing.
The
croquet winners were Paul Messing and Ela Grodzicka with David
Snelgar and Helen Gallagher as runners up.
Winners
of the tennis tournament were Mike Swift and Gill Snelgar who
played Dave Garrett and Anita Moiser in the final.
A
presentation was made to John and Gill Townend who started the
competition in 1981 with twelve players and one tennis court.
Charities
and good causes benefiting this year were Elizabeth House, Thames
Valley Hospice, People to Places, the Cookham Youth Project, the
Girl Guides and charities supported by the Kaffirs and Nomads.
On
behalf of the organising committee, Ed Gallagher said
“It
is great that, in these difficult economic times, we have been
able to raise much needed cash for local charities and good
causes. We look forward to being able to do the same over the next
30 years”
“Thanks
to everyone who took part: our
hosts for the finals – Roger and Lyndon Way: all the court and
croquet lawn owners: our raffle prize donors – Winter Hill Golf
Club, Pearce Motors, Hawkinsport, Roy Gigg, Tom’s DIY, the
Stationery Depot, Village
Hardware, Cookham Interiors and Fleurs de la Maison; and special
thanks to Vivienne Chaikin – Royal College of Art – for
hand-crafting the silver croquet prizes.”
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HOWARD
LEAGUE AWARD FOR ANNE GLOVER
10
July 2011
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Five
programmes have won a Howard League for Penal Reform award for
their outstanding work to reduce crime out of record number of
over 100 entries from the whole of the United Kingdom. Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye and
television personality presented the award at a conference and a
ceremony in London. Anne Glover from Cookham and her team won
the award for Education, training & employment.
Anne
says "I run the education programme in Slough. I have
worked with over 60 learners this year and only three have been
re-called, possibly because they have breached the terms of
their sentence rather than re-offending. (The national average
of re-offending of those who have
had custodial sentences is 50%.) I also organise with my team,
Bridge to Employment, B2E, a range of programmes to help
ex-offenders access employment. This year we have helped over
three hundred men and women, of whom only 8.6% have been
re-called.
I
am always looking out for employers who would be prepared to
give our ex-offenders some sort of work experience." If
your company can help Anne out contact the Cookham Webmaster at webmaster@cookham.com
Anne Glover and
Ian Hislop in the middle with two members of the B2E team.
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SAVE
CHARLES WARD
7
July 2011
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 Charles
Ward at St Marks Hospital is still under threat and a decision
will be made on 12 July, but there will be a meeting on 11th July at the Town Hall at 7.30pm, anyone can
attend, when it is hoped that people can affect the decision the
following day. If the ward is closed the medical care will move to
Prospect Park which will be extremely difficult to get to for
people living in Cookham and Maidenhead and will cause distress to
the individuals and families of those who will need to go there.
If
you want to ask any questions on 11 September contact Cllr Simon
Dudley
By Tel: 07771 521596
By
email: cllr.dudley@rbwm.gov.uk
Click
here to see the article in the Maidenhead Advertiser.
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PAINTING
CLUB AT ELIZABETH HOUSE
5
July 2011
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 Jessica
Bleasby has set up a Painting Club at Elizabeth House. There is an
eight week session although people can go just for one or two if
they prefer. It takes place on Tuesday nights from 7.30pm -
9.30pm. All types of media can be used, with technical help always
there. If you are interested call Jessica on 07846478170 or email jessicableasby@hotmail.com.
The cost is £10 per session of £8 if you decide to do all eight
sessions.
Click on poster
for more information.
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BIKE
RACKS AT LAST
28
June 2011
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After many people
have asked for somewhere to store their bikes at Cookham station
over many years, some brand new bike racks are now available, so
all the commuters can now reduce their carbon footprints and keep
fit.
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TIM
BROOKE-TAYLOR OBE
11
June 2011
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Cookham Dean resident, Tim
Brooke-Taylor, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday
Honours, for services to light entertainment. At first he thought
it was his son playing a joke, but now he knows it is genuine, he
is extremely pleased, if not a little surprised. Congratulations
to Tim from cookham.com.
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BIRD
SURVEY PROJECT
10
June 2011
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It
is 25 years since the Berkshire Bird clubs got together to survey
the entire county to produce its first ‘avifauna’ which
charted the fortunes and populations of all the species of bird
ever recorded here.
It
has been decided to update this tome with a new avifauna and
consequently we are in the fourth year of extensive field studies
to see which species occur, and indeed breed, in every 2km square
‘tetrad’ of the county. With just a few weeks to go we are now
turning to some ‘citizen science’ by asking residents across
the county to submit information of any and all species which have
bred in their gardens or surroundings in the last 4 summers.
We
have an information sheet, with instructions, so that records can
be entered and returned to us to be added to the county database.
All sightings of young birds, adults carrying food off, or known
nests, are of importance, right up to the closure of the study on
31st July this year. Birds we are finding hard to
confirm in many locations include Mistle Thrushes, Greenfinches,
House Martins, Swifts, Tawny Owls, Collared Doves, and even
Woodpigeons (as common as they are, they nest secretively and feed
by regurgitation so the feature of seeing adults carrying food to
nests for several weeks is not one that can be used for this
species). wildlife@cookham.com
Click
here for .pdf version
Click
here for Word version
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MUSICAL
THEATRE STARS
1
June 2011
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Musical Theatre stars of
Cookham Rise school!
If you want to be a
musical performer it seems the best place to start in Cookham is
at the Rise! The West End and touring companies are full of ex
Cookham Rise pupils. It seems there's been something happening
at the School on the High Road that's led to many of it's pupils
going on to tread the boards and make a song and dance of their
careers.
Toby Cruse - 31 year old
Toby lived as a youngster on Westwood Green. He heads his
own artists management company, is a musical director and
producer.
Sarah Coker - is a
dance teacher and professional dancer.
Laura Bennett - is a
professional Dancer - currently in the West End dancing in
We will Rock You and Never Forget.
Aidan Glover - teaches
piano and is a professional jazz pianist and violinist.
Dan Jackson - Musical
Director in Top Hat on National Tour
Matt Smith - Musical
Director for the Take That tribute show - Never Forget in the
West End (with Laura!)
Ian Goss - Professional
dancer in the west end and currently touring in Top Hat with Dan
as MD.
Kylie Jenner -
professional Dancer.
We put this down to a
great teaching staff at Cookham rise especially Anne Glover the
music teacher who has inspired thousands of youngsters.
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TEENAGERS
FOR CUP GLORY
30
May 2011
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Pinkneys
Green beat Purley on Thames in the area semi final of the
National Village Cup yesterday. This means the Green go through
to the Surrey & Berkshire final on Sunday June 12th when
they will travel to play either Rowledge or North Moreton for a
place in the last 32 and the national draw. The ultimate prize
is a Lords final in September.
With
one ball to go Pinkneys required two runs to win with the last
pair of batsmen 14 year olds Ben Purchese and Warren Hendry at
the crease. To great cheers from the pavilion they hit the
winning runs.
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COLOUR
AND PASSION
28
May 2011
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Colour and
passion in Gallery's latest photography exhibition
 The
Gallery at Elizabeth House follows its
Cookham Festival show with an exhibition of dramatic photography
by Tom Lennie. The new show is on from today, Saturday
28th May, to Saturday
18th June.
Tom's
photography is motivated by bright colour and interesting
perspectives on everyday scenes and objects, in particular
flowers. Much of his current collection comes from the Far East
and North Africa, both regions abundant in bright colours, great natural
light and fascinating subjects. Images range from Art Deco in
Miami to paprika in Fes, from Arabic mosaics in Malaysia to
lanterns in Vietnam. People also feature in the collection,
captured at work or play. The colourful collection is
designed to be both uplifting and engaging. You can see examples
of his work at www.worldimage.im
Tom,
married with four children, lives in Maidenhead and started his
business Worldimage in February this year, leaving corporate
life to build on his passions of travel and photography.
Come and share his delight in these images from around the
world!
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COOKHAM
SOCIETY NOW HAS OWN WEBSITE
27
May 2011
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The Cookham Society now has its own
website rather than just having a presence on the Cookham website.
This will allow the committee to update the latest actions of the
Society and their thinking without having to go through the
Webmaster. The new website can be found at www.cookhamsociety.org.uk.
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BEL
AND THE DRAGON RE-OPENS
16
May 2011
|
 As
of 6pm today 16 May, Bel and the Dragon is open after its
refurbishment. There is still the traditional pub area which has
been enjoyed by so many people over the years. The restaurnat area
has been lightened up with an ultra modern kitchen offering
interesting, tasty dishes. The staff are well trained and
friendly. If you happen to have a piece of chalk you can also draw
on the tables. Another nice touch is linen table napkins. If you
order the house wine you get a magnum bottle which you can drink
as much or as little as you want. There is also a pre starter menu
which includes things such as whitebait, which is a variation on
just bread. Bread however is available with baked garlic. A
definite place to visit.
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MOHINI
YOGA
9
May 2011
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My
Monday evening Iyengar yoga classes for beginners will be starting
again today at a new time and new venue.
They will be held
in the Brook Room overlooking the Thames at the
Odney Club, Odney Lane, Cookham, SL6 9SR. The
classes will run from 7pm to 8.30pm and continue to
be tailored to suit the needs of beginners and continuing
beginners. The Odney Club will be providing yoga mats, foam
blocks, bricks and belts though you may wish to bring your own.
You will need to bring your own blanket.
The
charge will be £9 per class for a block of five, £45 payable in
advance, or £11 per drop-in. The room has space for up to ten
students. The dates for the first two blocks of five are:
BLOCK 1
-
May 9th
-
16th
-
23rd
-
30th
-
June 6th
BLOCK 2
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June 13th
-
20th
-
27th
-
July 4th
-
11th
As spaces are limited, please let me if you
are interested in coming along (if you haven’t already done so)
and I’ll reserve a place for you. Thank you again for your kind
support.
Mohini Patel Davis
07931-995409
mohpatel@aol.com
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CONSERVATIVE
COUNCILLORS RE-ELECTED
6
May 2011
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Our Conservative Borough Councillors
have been re-elected for Bisham and Cookham. Richard Kellaway with
1,715 votes, M-J Saunders with 1,627 votes and John Stretton with
1,646 votes. There was a 58% turnout for the Borough as a whole.
The Parish Council results will not be available untilMonday, as there was quite a lot of counting to be done with
three sets of votes including the Referendum one. Cookham Dean and
Cookham Village did not have a Parish Council election as only the correct
number of candidates actually stood, it will only be Cookham Rise
where eleven candidates stood for nine places.
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ART
AT THE COOKHAM FESTIVAL
5
May 2011
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The
Gallery itself is already hosting an exhibition featuring the
artists who are participating in the Festival's
Art Trail. Houses and studios around the Cookhams
and into Maidenhead are opening their doors - at no charge -
from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd May to display works by local
artists. These include paintings, ceramics, glasswork and
photography. There's a map of the Art Trail in the
Festival programme and on the Festival website - www.cookhamfestival.co.uk
. The Gallery show ends on 22nd May.
-
The
Festival also features three exhibitions. At the Holy
Trinity Parish Centre, next to the church, there's a
retrospective show featuring the work of two local artists
with long careers in painting - Juliette
Palmer, a renowned watercolourist and illustrator, and Leslie
Orriss, perhaps less well-known but a fine artist who
lived in Cookham and both painted and taught art at Reading to
many who have gone on to great things.
Juliette
is giving a talk about her work on Friday
20th May, and Vanessa Pickwoad will be talking about her
father, Leslie's, work on Wednesday
18th May. Both in the Parish Centre and, at £4 a
ticket, an absolute bargain! Do support our local artists
by attending.
-
In
the Community Room at Cookham Library, there is an exhibition
of the cartoons of locally-born
Posy Simmonds who has delighted Guardian
readers with her Tamara Drewe character (recently made
into a film). That's open when the Library is open.
And Posy will be with us to give a talk (in the Community
Room) at 4pm on the last day of the Festival, Sunday
22nd May.
Tickets
for all Festival events can be obtained from the Box
Office at the Stationery Depot, Cookham Rise (tel: 01628
531178). The Parish Centre and Posy Simmonds shows are
free: there is a small entry charge for the Odney Sculpture
Garden and for the Painting Day.
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SANCTUM
ON THE GREEN CELEBRATES ROYAL WEDDING
4
May 2011
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 The
Sanctum on the Green celebrated the Royal Wedding with a large
screen, barbecue and champagne. They also helped charity with a
raffle. They raised £283.00 in total from the Charity Raffle,
half will be going to Wooden Spoon and half to The Cookham Youth
Project. The Royal Wedding has really made us all have an
enjoyable time.
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