LINK Spring Flipbook : simplebooklet.com

2 USEFUL CONTACT DETAILS Editor Sally-Anne Jarvis  0771 126 9545 Sa_j2@btinternet.com Advertising & Treasurer Justine Elmore  0771 034 7484 justineelmore@yahoo.co.uk Distribution Sally-Anne Jarvis  he Editor Sa_j2@btinternet.com Vicar please contact :Area Dean: Revd Canon Janet Binns  01753 681335  07917 565626revjanetbinns@gmail.com @ StMarysDatchetChurch Parish Administrator Wednesdays & Fridays Fiona Norton  0175 358 0467 office@stmarysdarchet.org.uk Churchwarden Elaine Eastham  0796 085 9697 ladypink_11@hotmail.com Churchwarden Sally-Anne Jarvis  0771 126 9545 Sa_j2@btinternet.com Treasurer Via Office  0175 358 0467 office@stmarysdatchet.org.uk Datchet Parish Council Clerk : all enquiries Sonia Masikito  0175 377 3499  clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk The fete committee is working hard to bring the traditional Village Fete back with a bang! As always, the aim of the fete will be twofold. Firstly, having a great day out for the community and secondly, raising money for charities and other good causes that benet local people. We ask local people to nominate the charities or good causes that will benet from each year’s fete so there is a strong link between the money raised each year and the people of the village. In the past the village fete has raised money for the local scouts and sea scouts, Churchmead School, St Mary’s School, SPICE (Special People on Ice), Blue Acre Horse Rescue, 3M Residents’ Association and The Monday Club, Thames Valley Hospice, The Alexan-der Devine Children’s Hospice and People to Places – to name but a few! If any resident would like to nominate a charity, please contact Julia Hardy at julia@pagehardy.co.uk. All nominations are considered once the available funds are known. This year’s Fete will include lots of fete favourites. There will be plenty of food and drink choices including a barbecue, beer, prosecco, ice cream and tea and cakes. Old favourites will include the ever-popular bottle tombola, children’s entertainment, coconut shy, face painting, re engine, Classic Cars, stalls including craft stalls, chut-neys and jams and many others, and arena events including Datchet Border Morris and local dance and music. This year we’ll even have a silent disco. If you have a stall you would like to run, please contact Sarah at scstanford@aol.com. There will be frequent updates on Datchet Eye and do also visit and like the Datchet Village Fete Facebook page. You can nd it if you search Facebook for Datchet Village Fete. Please like and share the page. We hope to have a bumper bottle tombola which depends on collecting lots of (full) bot-tles from you! We have only a few bottle col-lectors who will drop a slip through your door and come back to collect whatever you can spare - spirits, wine, soft drinks etc. Please be generous! If no one knocks on your door then you can drop any bottles off at a drop off point – these will be announced later. If you could spare a few hours to collect bottles for the tombola please contact Gabrielle Boase at gabrielleboase12@gmail.com And lastly, please do get involved. The Fete committee would really love to see you for help with various jobs, such as site set up and clearing, car parking and more. See you on 5th July! Datchet Village Fete Committee To nominate a charity/good cause julia@pagehardy.co.uk. To book a stall scstanford@aol.com. To help with Bottle Tombola gabrielleboase12@gmail.com

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4 Our Church teashop, known affectionately as ‘The Bridge’, which trades from a shop in the middle of the village, achieved its’ thirtieth anniversary in September of last year. To celebrate we held a service of thanksgiving at which this sermon was preached. It talks of Jesus’ command to ‘love our neighbour’ and looks at his parable of the sheep and the goats, and the day of judgement at the end of time. The Team Rector at the time of the shop opening in 1994, Bill Knight, came back to officiate at the service and since I was his Curate at the time, I was asked to preach. We’ve just heard what, I guess, is one of the most familiar readings in our Bible – the story of the sheep and the goats. The story of how the sheep will be separated from the goats on judgement day and rewarded because of their good works. ‘Whatever you have done for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ said Jesus. We chose that reading because The Bridge and it’s helpers set out to provide a friendly service to the community: a place to meet and have a piece of cake and a cup of tea, a place to meet friends, a place to go if you feel lonely and simply want someone to talk to, or somewhere to go just to be quiet and read, away from the world. And there’s always a friendly face to greet you – one of our volunteer helpers, who in Christian terms are there to ‘love their neighbours’. But then, do you ever stop to think that it’s slightly strange that Jesus talks about a flock of sheep which is mixed up with goats? In our world sheep are normally kept quite separate from goats, and in any case they look totally different. But, in Jesus’ day, mixed flocks of sheep and goats were the norm, and it was also quite difficult to tell them apart because it is only two thou-sand years of selective breeding that has made sheep and goats so different today in our country. I remember when we were in Northern Cyprus a few years ago, driving East along the Panhandle, being stopped for about quarter of an hour while a shepherd took his huge mixed flock of sheep and goats across the road to new pastures, and even today, with the breeds they have out there, you couldn’t tell which was which. But then you come to the problem of why, in the Bible at least, sheep get good press and goats get bad. So, first goats; In the Bible, in the Old Testament, goats are represented as being oppressors or symbolising wickedness, by the Prophet Ezekiel. Or as being aggressive, destructive, as well as being leaders and independent, rather than followers. Sheep on the other hand are described as symbolising God’s people, God’s followers, with many references to God and Jesus caring for his flock. So that sheep need

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5 second hand book section, as well as selling greeting cards. The painting on the front of your service book-let is by Lesley West, who runs the Art Group. So, the Bridge has moved a long way from where it started. It is genuinely a community project as well as a church project. And it attracts a wide range of people - because as well as the regular locals, there are, for example, groups of cyclists who regularly descend on the Bridge. I remember a sinking feeling when you saw them appear as you would have to produce anything up to a dozen orders when they came in – including a huge number of the dreaded sandwiches if they were hungry. But then there are the people who are lonely and just come in for a chat, or the people who are on their uppers and have no money – they get a free cup of tea and maybe a sandwich. But don’t let the Treasurer find out. Eileen Mallin gave up running the Bridge as she grew older, and Gloria Thompson took over the reins until a few years ago. When she gave up and Caroline Cole took it on, as well as chairing the Management Committee. There is a lot of work involved in making the Bridge happen, as well as a lot of work involved for the forty or so people who have come forward as regular volunteers. And it’s not easy serving in the shop; at least I don’t think it is. I tried to help my wife Rose one afternoon, by taking an order when she was doing a shift, and by the time I’d gone round the table of six smart young yuppies three times, and forgotten the order each time by the time I’d got to the end, the thirty something year old girl in charge of the table spoke very clearly and slowly, and of-fered to write it down for me. “Poor old thing”, she thought, “he’s past it”. I was demoted to doing the washing up. The original Bridge was an actual wooden bridge, and was gifted by the then royal printer, Robert Barker, in Tudor times. He helped set up a Trust Fund to pay for a bridge to cross the village green, from the High Street to the Church, so that the villagers could get to Church when the green flooded. So it was a bridge between the village people and the Church. There is a painting of the original wooden bridge which you can see displayed in the shop. Robert Barker’s Trust fund still exists and regularly makes donations to pay for items for The Bridge, and over the years they have been really very generous. So, it’s fitting that today our shop, The Bridge, should also be a bridge between the church and the village, because in many ways it represents the church com-munity reaching out into the village community to share hospitality with the villagers: a Christian ethos. The reading we heard from the letter to the Hebrews, talks of the Christian duty to provide hospitality to strangers, and care for the marginalised. So that we have volunteers from all three of our main Christian churches, we have volunteers from those of other faiths and those of no faith. But all are motivated by support and rely on their shepherd to care for them – meaning that in the Christian faith Jesus is the shepherd who leads the sheep. Because in Jesus’ time, rather than being at the rear of the flock as happens in this country today, the shepherd led it from the front to guard it against danger from wild animals and thieves. Jesus the leader who asks us to love our neighbour. The story of the Bridge started thirty odd years ago when Bill Knight, who at that time was Team Rector of the Riverside Team of churches, had the idea of creating a meeting place for the village community supported by the church. He also enlisted the help of the other churches in Datchet, principally the Baptist Church and St Augustine’s, the Roman Catholic Church, who were very supportive. It happened that around that time the tenant of one of the village shops abandoned his tenancy leaving the shop empty, so that the owners were looking for a new tenant. The shop was owned by the local Council and with the support of two of our local councillors the Council agreed to encourage the three local Datchet Churches to form a company to trade as a tea shop and meeting place for the village - at a generous rent. In fact the Council has been an enormous source of support throughout the whole thirty years of the Bridge’s existence. So, thirty years ago, full of hope, the Bridge opened for the sale of tea, coffee and cake and, every now and again, soup. All at reasonable prices well below the market norm – because all of our labour was free. A band of helpers was recruited – I think they operated in two hour shifts. Eileen Mallin became the first manager, organising the rota, checking the money, persuading people to make cakes…….. She was kept really extremely busy, and I remember her rushing round the village always looking harassed, always in a rush. I became the treasurer and my memory is of the impossibility of getting lady helpers of a certain age to account for money properly. I did try. At that time we had an ancient till which simply didn’t work – so they said. I also did a two hour shift as a volunteer helper each week with Eve Anderson which I really enjoyed. In those early days we didn’t get all that many customers so we had lots of time to chat – if only they’d listened to us as we solved all the church’s problems; I think we were both church wardens at the time. I also became the most hated man in Datchet when I pushed them into introducing sandwiches – which the helpers used to have to make, although they didn’t really want to…… They’ve now become a very important part of the Bridge menu. So that today they sell things like cake, sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, soup, tea cakes, beans on toast, and once each week a proper cooked main course. There is also a modern till and a bank ma-chine to take credit cards – just how modern can you get? Then, on top of all that, the Bridge displays and sells paintings by local artists from the WI Arts Group, sells books written by local village authors, and operates a

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7 Snowdrops have been around for millennia and have many & legends about them as well as some surprising uses! It is often assumed they are native to Britain but in fact they are not. They were discovered in Europe and the middle East and brought here by the Romans. Despite their delicate and fragile beauty, they are in fact a very ro-bust and hardy plant. Snowdrops appear in the harshest of the seasons - the depths of winter when the ground is often iron hard with being frozen and the days are dark. They are the first to manage to push their way up through the near impenetrable soil to light up the area with the pure white of their flowers. They are harbingers of good news that the earth is rea-wakening and the long harsh days of winter are nearing and end,: They symbolise Hope, fertility, rebirth , new beginnings and overcoming challenges. The pure white colour represent Spirituality, purity, innocence sym-pathy, and modesty. You can often see the flowers ‘radiate’ light when the sun shines. They also inspire creativity and deep thinking , there are many examples of them featuring in The Arts from Musical symphonies to poems. They also have a medicinal use. They produce a protein from which Galantamine is produced—used in memory treatments and undergoing research as an support in Alzheimer’s. They also feature in folklore and many reli-gious mythologies. In Christianity they are linked to the Story of Eve after being evicted from the Garden of Eden , where she was sat weeping bitterly in the freezing cold and dark world . An Angel taking pity on her, breathed on snowflakes, which when then fell to earth and became snowdrops where they landed. There is also an associa-tion with Candlemas where they are known as Mary’s tapers or Candlemas Bells . They have many other names too, in An-cient Greece they were called ‘Mollys’ and the god Hermes gave them to humans to fight confusion and other disorders of the mind, In Romania they are called ‘Daughters of the Wind’ and are also known world wide as ‘February fair maids’ and ‘MIlkdrops’ : They portray powerful messages in bouquets and as gifts. But an amazing, beautiful flower, so humble yet so uplifting

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8 A little late but A Happy 2025 to all our friends and hall users, we hope 2025 brings everyone everything they wish for and more ! As Always Datchet village came into its own and despite the grim weather Datchet Christmas on the Green was a huge success. Our hall was buzzing with people, stall holders and of course Father Christmas in his grotto which was once again constructed and deco-rated by our amazing members. A new addition to the grotto was our newly acquired Post Box. Datchet Parish Council kindly donated a clean, disused rubbish bin which our craft group set about changing to a Post box on which to display our craft toppers. Christmas was our first effort and it added colour and interest to the hall, members had knitted, crocheted or sewn all the decorations, it even had flashing lights ! A real team effort ! The craft group are now working on our Easter topper ! We have been approached by RBWM to create bollard toppers for Windsor Royal Station, this is a joint pro-ject with Windsor Great Park WI. If you were in Windsor you may have see the Valen-tine bollard toppers at the main entrance – more themes to follow in the coming months ! CHRISTMAS LUNCH Over 30 of our members enjoyed a festive lunch at The Palmer’s Arms in Dorney. Good food, excellent company and a nice way to prepare for everyone's Christmas festivities. LOOKING AHEAD In May Datchet WI are hosting our area Group meeting at which we entertain our local WI groups for an afternoon tea, our speaker is Chris Brown, RBWM Town Crier who will have plenty of tales and experiences about his role to share with us. Our 2025 programme of speakers is in place and we anticipate another year of fun and friendship. We have welcomed new members and visitors to our monthly meetings. Come along and join us, you will be assured of a warm welcome. If you would like to know more please contact JOINT DATCHET WI PRESIDENTS BEVERLEY EDWARDS & KATE RAYNER CONTACT DETAILS  Email: datchetwi@berkshirewi.co.uk  Beverley Edwards : 07703 520280  Kate Rayner : 07729 732710

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12 DATCHET’S FIRST BLUE PLAQUE COMMEMORATES THE EXTRAORDINARY BRAVERY OF A FORMER RESIDENT. ALISON CRAMPIN, CHAIR OF DATCHET VILLAGE SOCIETY, EXPLAINS HOW A BOY BORN IN A PRISON WENT ON TO RECEIVE THE HIGHEST MILITARY AWARD. The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. It was awarded to Sergeant Henry William Engleheart of the 10th Royal Hussars, for an act of extreme bravery in South Afri-ca, during the Second Boer War. At dawn on 13 March 1900, Sgt Engleheart and his party of British soldiers had just destroyed the railway north of Bloemfontein and were returning to base. To get there, they had to make their way through enemy lines, charge on horseback through an enemy outpost, and cross four deep ‘spruits’ or ravines. The first spruit could only be reached in single file and was full of enemy soldiers who were hesitating whether to flee or fire. Sgt Engleheart showed great gallantry by dashing straight in. If he had given the Boers time to rally, they would almost certainly have destroyed his small party which was outnumbered by four to one. At the fourth spruit, Sapper Webb’s horse failed to get up the steep bank and he was left in a perilous position. Un-der heavy rifle and shell fire, and at risk of being cut off, Sgt Engleheart returned to his assistance. It took some time to get them out of the gully with the situation be-coming ever more critical as the enemy advanced. Eventu-ally Sgt Engleheart succeeded and, retiring slowly to cover Webb’s retreat, he was able to get him safely back to their party. For these acts of bravery, he was awarded the Vic-toria Cross. EARLY LIFE Henry had an unusual start in life. He was born in November 1863 in Maidstone Prison, where his heavily-pregnant mother had been jailed for an assault which had resulted in the death of her young daughter. He didn’t join the army until 1887. At the age of 24, he en-listed in the 10th Royal Hussars at Hounslow where he was described as 5’7” tall, weighing 9st 3lbs, with a ruddy complex-ion, and brown hair and eyes. Documents show that he de-ducted four years from his real age, possibly fearing he might otherwise be considered too old to become a cavalryman; and his birthplace was given variously as Sydenham or Blackheath. After war broke out again in South Africa, the 10th Royal Hussars sailed to Cape Town aboard the SS Ismore in November 1899. Disaster struck at 2am on 2nd December when the ship ran aground, 93 miles from their destina-tion, striking a reef which ripped open her keel. Most of the troops survived but only about 20 of the 300 horses on board could be saved. The troops tried to get them to swim to shore but they mostly swam around the ship or out to sea. All the guns, ammunition and stores were also lost. Henry’s rst few months in South Africa were certainly eventful. After being ship-wrecked in December, he was shot in the thigh in January 1900. He risked his life in March to save a fellow soldier, earning the highest award for his bravery. In July, he caught typhoid and was sent to the UK to recover. And in December, he was awarded the VC by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. AFTER THE ARMY When Henry left the army in 1908, King Edward VII appointed him as a Lodge Keeper at Windsor Castle, at South-Western Lodge on Datchet Road, near the Sergeant Henry William Engleheart of the 10th Royal Hussars A typical English Hussar Mount and Sgt Engleheart VC

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13 and never fully recovered. He died from kidney disease on 9 August 1939, age 75. His obituary in the Windsor, Eton and Slough Express said, “Mr Engleheart was held in the highest esteem by a very wide circle of friends both in and out of the service”. There was also an obituary in The Times, which Datchet Parish Magazine reprinted, adding that the deepest sym-pathy was felt among Datchet people for his wife and sons. FORGOTTEN HERO Over the years, Henry has slipped from the collective memory. He was ‘rediscovered’ when Derek Hunt, a Windsor historian and author, started researching all the VC recipients in the area. Derek successfully applied to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for Blue Plaques for all three VC recipients in Windsor. He then made an application in 2018 for a plaque in Datchet to commemorate Sgt Engleheart. Funding was not available at the time so the application was placed in a queue. It was subsequently lost although Derek was not advised of this until 2023. In August 2023, Derek asked Datchet Village Society (DVS) for assistance and we applied again. The residents at Fairlight, Henry’s former home, supported the application and Datchet Parish Council agreed to purchase and install the plaque on behalf of the village. A year later, RBWM approved our request and the plaque was commissioned. Last November, DVS was proud to host a very special event in the WI Hall with an exhibition and ceremony to unveil Datchet’s rst Blue Plaque. The event was open to everyone and we were delighted to be joined by about 50 members of the public, the Mayor of the Royal Borough, Council-lor Simon Bond, local MP Jack Rankin, and Datchet’s Borough Councillors for the short unveiling ceremony. Windsor & Eton Riverside railway station. The following year, Henry married his rst cousin, Mabel, and in 1910, they had twin boys, Geoffrey and Hugh. He lived and worked at the Lodge for 25 years and was well known to the Royal Family. King George V and Queen Mary often stopped by for a chat. In June 1920, Hen-ry was one of 300 holders of the Victoria Cross invited by the King and Queen to a Garden Par-ty at Buckingham Palace. When Henry retired from the Lodge in 1933, the family moved to Datchet. They lived for a while at Clifton Villa on Horton Road, then moved into a newly-built house, Fair-light, in Lawn Close. Henry be-came closely involved with sev-eral local groups and was well known in the village and the wider area. He was appointed vice-chairman of the Windsor Ex-Service Men’s Club and elected chairman in 1937. He also officiated at the annual show of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Canine Association in the Home Park. Sadly, he was taken ill at a show in June 1938 Sgt Engleheart was depicted on cigarette cards of the era. Illustration from With the Flag to Pretoria, depicting Sgt Engleheart helping Sapper Webb and his horse up the bank

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14 Captain Frederick English of the King’s Royal Hussars read the award citation and unveiled the plaque; David Buckley, chair of Datchet Parish Council, spoke about the council’s involvement; and Derek Hunt spoke about his work researching local recipi-ents of the Victoria Cross, in particular Sgt Engleheart. (Unfortunately, a bad cough prevented Derek from delivering his speech so we were very grateful to Barbara, Derek’s wife, who read it on his behalf.) In addition to the DVS displays about Henry’s life, Horse Power, the Museum of the King’s Royal Hussars, brought an exhibition especially created for this event. It focused on the role of the 10th Royal Hussars in the Second Boer War and was accompa-nied by items from their collection. These included a porthole window from the SS Ismore, a chocolate box sent by Queen Victoria to the men serving in South Africa (complete with 124-year-old chocolate) and Henry’s medals which were donated to the museum by his sons. Datchet Village Society would like to thank all the people who helped us to make this plaque possible. It will be installed in spring, when Fairlight has been redecorated. We won't allow Sgt Henry William Engleheart to be forgotten again. MORE INFORMATION Pick up a free copy of the DVS leaet about the Blue Plaque at The Bridge or at the DVS stall at local events. See also datchetvillagesociety.org.uk Unveiling Datchet’s rst blue plaque. Left to right: Captain Frederick English, Jack Rankin MP, Alison Crampin, DVS, and historian Derek Hunt.

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16 towards bankruptcy we can look forward to a well-managed parish to maintain and improve the quality of our lives as all around us decline and crumble. Managing public finances for the parish is the responsibility of the newly formed finance committee of the council chaired by Councillor Susan Young who is working hard with the committee to set out the finan-cial strategy and start consulting with residents on ideas, im-proving financial income and controlling the cost of maintain-ing the parish. While we see precept increases, we will also see overviews on costs and efficiencies to make the parish as efficient and effective as it can be for residents. With this in mind please come to meetings or engage with the council to see your ideas or needs met by the parish council As I have pointed out before, we are so lucky to have a Parish Council here in our village. Many areas of RBWM do not have parish councils. Those areas could suffer the most with the restrictive financial environment of the local authority. There are 14 parish councils in RBWM of which Datchet is one of the most effective and positively growing due to residents wishing to be co-opted and make a positive input to how the village improves. This continues into 2025 with more enquiries to join the team from residents and the many community groups coming together with members of the council to support the residents. Even though we now have a full contingent of parish council-lors, we need to continue our traditions, history and further invest in our futures. Can I encourage residents to attend par-ish meetings and have your say in decisions, with the “strategic plan” and medium to long term financial plan being created this is an important time to all come together to share and work to keep the village progressing in a difficult time. The Parish Council has started a major project to take the vil-lage forward, which starts with the “Strategic Plan” where we will be looking at the needs of the village residents over the short to medium term (3-5 years) while RBWM sorts it’s finan-cial mismanagement out. The idea is to look at being proac-tive in both our financing but also in our project management and planning, so that we can see maintenance and improve-ments to our village that residents want to see but with the best value for money at the heart of all decisions. This could include areas such as financing, highways, green spaces, flood maintenance and improvements to existing infrastructure. It may mean in some cases where RBWM cannot supply the funding that the parish provides the funding to improve the village without taking on the liability long term. The alterna-tive is ignoring the need due to RBWM’s inability to supply services or maintenance and see our village life deteriorate. The parish council do not wish this to be the outcome but It has been one of the wettest years in 2024 (with the middle of September being the wettest in history) and still we have seen more rain in the recent storms in January and February 2025. So we ask everyone to take note of the local flood plan, which includes flood resilience advice and links to help residents reduce the risk or be aware of steps that they need to take should we experience a flood event here: https://www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk/Flooding_1592.aspx Datchet Parish Council has seen several residents stepping forward to be co-opted this year. The new team is progress-ing fast and rolling their sleeves up and getting on with the roles (Please see the updated list of councillors below). We hopefully, will see a full and effective council as we go into 2025. If you would like to join the hardworking members of the Datchet Parish Council and add value to your communi-ty please contact the Clerk Clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk or call 01753 773499. We have seen a progressive development in the Datchet Parish Council “strategic plan” for the next 3-5 years with a new robust budgetary process taking place in November to January analysing our financial costs for running the parish properties, green spaces and all services which now stand at £315,000 per annum which has resulted in an uplift of the precept to meet these increased costs. This follows a long period of zero increases in precept for many years and in some years we have seen a reduction in precept but now we can plan further ahead and look to consult with the community on projects, expenditure and all costs to drive the parish forward, improving local services, maintaining the historic properties and character of Datchet into 2025-2030. While the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead head CLERK TO COUNCIL Mrs Sonia Masikito Contact :-  Tel: 01753 773499  Mob. 07862 013161 e-mail: clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Datchet Parish Office 1 Allen Way Datchet Berkshire SL3 9HR DPC Website : https://datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk

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17 only a successful strategy will see our village thrive and keep its village feel while RBWM fail to supply the services we pay for with our council tax. Only the Parish Council has the legal ability to step in tem-porarily while the main council fails us on discretionary ser-vices. We can maintain, improve our village or let it fall back-wards into decline during these difficult times to come. It is my view that this is an opportunity, and we should grab it, to set a standard of village life we wish to see and work to-wards it in a managed and planned way. I hope that resi-dents see the same opportunity and start to engage at our monthly Parish meetings or with parish councillors to debate, scrutinise and have input on the village’s future. Please note the Parish council will not be replacing the statu-tory responsibilities of RBWM but it will work with the local authority as it battles to become solvent and fit for purpose. This is a preventative measure and one that is an opportuni-ty for the parish of Datchet to shape its short-, medium- and longer-term future as RBWM rebuilds over future decades. Sometimes there is confusion on what the Parish Council’s responsibilities are or what powers they have. This is further complicated in Datchet as we have a Borough wide Unitary Council that is The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maiden-head that has overall responsibility on most matters, that affect our day to day lives. So, I would like to add a link here to the Datchet Parish Council website that shows our re-sponsibilities and duties in detail. I hope you take the time to read what the responsibilities of the Parish Council are and how it can support your needs: https://www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk/Roles__and__Responsibilities_1735.aspx The responsibilities and duties of the Parish Council can be broken down simply as set out below and the “Strategic Plan” will not alter this: • Give views, on behalf of the community, on plan-ning applications and other proposals that affect the parish. • Alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken in Datchet • Help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities. We hope you are seeing the value of the Parish Council in Datchet grow in the village. We have seen in the past public meetings being held on behalf of residents on large developments like AL39 (Rear of London Road) or community concerns on the future of The Manor Hotel in Datchet. Datchet Parish council facilitated the gathering of residents to discuss and debate these and many other important Issues that may concern residents at all Parish Council meetings where the public are welcome and encour-aged We are still looking at the development called AL39 and the conditions that apply to it, making sure that the local authority and developers can meet the conditions or not start the development and the legal team and advisors are waiting for the next stages to still fight this development that Datchet Parish Council web-site address:  www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk does not have any infrastructure of schools, police, NHS or roads systems to cope with 100’s more traffic movements every day. Keep watching this space but RBWM are on notice we are keeping a close eye on a very difficult position for our village and one we did not request but was forced onto us by a Borough Local Plan that did not deliver our needs. The Datchet Parish Council are responsible for the lovely grounds on the recreational area, the memorial greens, the cemetery, and the Riverside plus many buildings. We contin-ue to see the improvements and ongoing maintenance to the number of buildings that the Parish Council own, lease and maintain on behalf of the community. From the library, the cemetery, the village hall centre (in conjunction with the DRCCT), the Bridge café to the Doctors surgery, recreational ground and several other properties, all supported by the Parish Council on your behalf. We hope residents will look to co-opt onto the parish council as vacancies become available, attend council meetings and support the community as listed above and to help guide the village progressively forward. A reminder is set out below of the serving Parish Councillors that have been voted into Lead member positions at the Council, to support the community throughout 2023. Contact details of Parish Councillors can be found on the Parish Council website here: https://www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk/Your_Councillors_1733.aspx Or you can call the Parish oce on 01753 773499 or can nd the responsible members on this link to councillors: hps://www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk/Your_Councillors_1733.aspx We can see the continued progression of the Parish office and administration team of Mrs Sonia Masikito as Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), Claire Jefferies as administration assistant and of course the long serving Judith Freeland who continues to support the parish office finances. We have a strong team now who will work with the growing number of councillors to support the residents of Datchet over the future years. Recently our clerk has further qualified in professional cours-es to support the community, and this shows the teams on-FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION a) FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION: Finance Committee started in October 2023 . Strategic & Development committee and Staffing Committee b) PROPERTIES c) GROUNDS d) PLANNING e) CEMETERIES f) HIGHWAYS AND GENERAL PURPOSES g) FLOODING AND DRAINAGE h) EVENTS I) CHAIRMAN - j) DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

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18 going commitment to the residents. We continue to invest in our officers to support the residents and council needs. This will also be part of the strategic plan that is in progress, and we look to set our precept for 2026 around the strategy that residents support and request. Again, this is a good time for residents to take note of the councils plans and add their voice to the consultations during this process. This is one of the key responsibilities of the Parish Council to maintain all the Parish Buildings and assets. This is one of the largest expenditures of the Parish Council and the Lead member for Properties is continuing to keep an eye on the quality and maintenance of all the Parish properties through-out the financial year within budgets and safety requirements. A monthly report is sent to the Council with recommenda-tions and updates on all work carried out or to be carried out by the Properties team. This is posted onto the Parish web-site each month for public review or comment and presented to the Council to debate. This continues to be the largest area of expenditure that the Parish Council oversees. Some of the projects are very large and time consuming. We continue to make progress and complete the projects to maintain and improve our village. We have recently seen the improvements around some of the borders on greens and this work is continuing under the watchful eye of the lead member and the team for grounds. The ongoing inflationary pressures are being worked around by the Lead Member to make the best use of residents and public money, but some projects are being pushed back be-yond 2025 due to this ongoing pressure on costs. Some projects are being reviewed to reduce expenditure at these difficult times but as always maintenance of our beautiful village does not stop. The Lead member continues to balance these on a day-to-day basis to supply Datchet residents with a strong historic landscape, open green spaces and continu-ous maintenance so residents can continue to enjoy its as-sets. Again the “Strategic Plan” will incorporate this area to build a “wish list” and a project plan that is needed and meets residents’ aspirations for years to come. Due to budget controls some projects have been delayed this year and maintenance of areas like the playground and public facilities over the recreation ground need some larger pro-jects of replacement or repair soon. We currently have lots of local visitors outside and in the village use these great facili-ties as they are one of the best in RBWM and this weighs heavily on the wear & tear of the equipment. This is one of the negatives of supporting such great facilities but without continued investment by the community these facilities will deteriorate and fall away, which we will fight to avoid with residents continued support. The planning team continue to see lots of activity in the ap-plications for development of existing and new properties in the Parish of Datchet and work to support residents on local knowledge and weighted recommendations to the RBWM planning team. Through the years there is a reduced weight given to Parish local planning recommendations due to the National Planning Framework and the Borough Local Plan, which have made more of the applications we see fall into Permitted Planning or to release building plots on Green PROPERTIES Belt/Flood zones for development to meet the housing need across the borough. We continue to add local input on behalf of the residents and bring your concerns forward to add more weight to guide RBWM planning officers’ deci-sions towards local needs. Additionally, we have seen the successful adoption of the Datchet Design Guide and the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan completing via a referendum in May 2023. Now adopted, both, these two documents add additional weight to any Parish recommendations and help protect the Historic and design of Datchet village for years to come. The Datchet Neighbourhood Plan has seen an ongoing commitment by the steering group, to maintain the plan for Datchet Parish Council and residents. Planning can concern many residents and we hope to get a closer and stronger working relationship with officers at RBWM with the support of the 3 Independent Borough Councillors elected in 2023 who wish to support the Parish Council and the residents as a priority. We hope that soon, more emphasis and weight will be giv-en to local planning recommendations from the Parish Council on behalf of residents and the community to help maintain our traditions and quality of life in a rural village. We must remember that good planning is also good for the community, but poor planning decisions affect our commu-nity and us all negatively for years and sometimes genera-tions. All planning decisions are set by regulation and leg-islation set by Parliament and these controls filter down locally, but it is locally we feel the impact of weak or poor policies on a day to day, so this is a difficult balancing act on planning recommendations. We continue to see an increase in the need to engage plan-ning enforcement as some developers and opportunists try to take advantage of the lapse in planning resources at local authority and Datchet Parish Council have raised or supported a much larger number of planning enforcement matters in the past year. This is an ongoing pattern as our Local Authority RBWM struggles to maintain an effective resource in the planning team to oversee Borough wide enforcement requirements. We will continue to fight the good fight on behalf of residents to maintain, improve and put Datchet first, every time. We have seen another year pass with no maintenance of our local flood defences and still a fight to see our only suitable flood defence River Thames Channel One being deferred further but as we all know it is not IF, but WHEN we get another flood season, with climate change and the lack of maintenance to our waterways (no maintenance for over 10 years). RTS Channel One would support ongoing insurance and residents’ property values, at a time when a large flood event becomes all more likely. This position does not change. The Parish Council along with your local independent borough councillors continue to find solutions to get this only suitable flood defence installed against the push back of Parliament and local authority financial pres-sures. During 2025 we are looking at having regular flood resili-ence events, in conjunction with various agencies and ex-perts who will visit the Parish to help residents make their properties more flood resilient. In the background, we will work with the local flood authority, local councillors and all government agencies to see the longer-term installation of suitable flood defences that are missing for the Parish after FLOODING PLANNING GROUNDS

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19 Windsor & Maidenhead had flood defences installed and paid for with the help of Datchet residents but downstream we are left vulnerable to annual flooding. The Lead member for flooding has reported recently that he is working with other Parishes that are affected by flooding to re-introduce the local flood defence groups who work tirelessly to get the funding in place for RTS Channel One. Please support our efforts to get protection for your homes and families not just from the physical effects of flooding but the financial impacts on insurance, safety, home values and disruption to the local economy, residents, and com-muters. We need your support to safeguard residents, our property values (flood re is due to end in 2035) and the long-term prosperity of Datchet is at risk, in the medium to longer term. Please support our efforts in getting the equiv-alent of RTS Channel One installed to protect our communi-ty for the longer term and secure our assets and lives. Please take the time to find out where you can get flood alerts or information on what to do if your home is threat-ened by flood water or what to do when a flood hits the village. In particular if you are a new resident to the village, it may be worth getting, in touch with the Parish Council Office to find out what to do in a flood event. You can follow this link as useful guide in the meantime: https://www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk/Flooding_1592.aspx Again, the Christmas events were a great success, and we have had many positive comments on the lights and tree that lit up the village over the festive period. We look forward to this year’s schedule of events and wish to encourage residents to look up the schedule on the par-ish council website and come along to enjoy the free events run in conjunction with the parish council. We hope that many, if not all Datchet residents get to at-tend these events, where we can all come together and cel-ebrate the great community, we have in Datchet. Since we have seen additional skills and committed mem-bers join the council in recent months, we have seen the new lead member, and the deputy lead make a strong input to this area of the council which has been neglected due to a lack of active members in the past. Both councillors are motivated to start consulting with residents and improving village life affected by this area of responsibility. We look forward to their monthly reports to the council and seeing this area of responsibility becoming more effective in im-proving areas like parking, traffic and managing the behav-iour of vehicle users in and through the village. Many residents may not know but we have a beautiful cemetery in our parish with a grade II listed chapel dating back to 1894. The cemetery contains graves of servicemen HIGHWAYS who fought in World War I and World War II The War Memorial on the village green lists many of the World War I servicemen who are buried or remembered in the cemetery The parish have been relying on a volunteer support to run the cemetery over recent years and a new lead member has been appointed to oversee the development of a digital sys-tem and create a more robust back up with officers at the parish council. This is a new responsibility taken up by a lead member and we have seen a huge increase in maintenance and site improvements since they have taken over. We will see further expenditure being spent to improve and maintain the facility and buildings for residents and non-residents who wish to be close to their loved ones at a sad time. We have seen a survey carried out to plan for future plots to maintain capacity for the future and the manual system be-ing digitised. There is ongoing maintenance on the listed chapel after years of neglect, poor repairs and we see a strong team developing with training and development to take this area forward for the parish as one of its statutory responsibilities. We would like to encourage the community to contribute on an ongoing basis as to your needs in the village by coming to our monthly Parish meetings, to engage and have input with the Councillors to discuss where you feel improvements can be made or what further positive steps could be taken to benefit the whole community. However, you can also con-tact or engage with your Parish Councillors on a day to day should you feel the need, have a constructive idea how to improve the village and improve the quality of lives of the community. We look forward to looking after your needs in the future, as residents ourselves, your needs are our needs. Can I say thank you to all Datchet residents on behalf of the Datchet Parish Council for your ongoing support we all really appreciate all the time you give to attend meetings and re-port local issues to us. EVENTS Cllr David Buckley Chairman Datchet Parish Council Email: chairman@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Email: dbuckley@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Email: clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk SUMMARY CEMETRIES

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20 LAURA COLE, MANAGER AT SLOUGH FOODBANK: As we look back at 2024, we can see it’s another year where more people than ever are forced to turn to Slough Food-bank. More people are being dragged into debt and having to turn to food banks to survive. This esca-lating hardship creates dire consequences for individuals and the Slough community as a whole. It’s not a trend that’s ac-ceptable. Our distribution centres operate 6 days a week, so we knew rsthand that the demand for our services was increasing. It is so disheartening to see the continuing deprivation in the local area leading people to turn to Slough Foodbank for support, often as a last resort. With a 7% increase in food parcels, and at an all-time high for demand, we are under real pressure to meet this need both on supply of food, which we rely on donations for, as well as volunteers. This year we had to buy food to meet the requirements, spending 163% more than last year. We’re calling on people to support us with food donations. It al-so takes around 85 volunteers to run Slough Food-bank each week and we’re asking people to consid-er if they can regularly spare a few hours to volun-teer with us. This year, through our partnership with Citizens Advice East Berkshire, we have been able to help clients access their nancial entitlements. The £116,000 nancial gain for clients makes a signi-cant difference and we are hopeful this will lead to less dependence on the Foodbank in the future. We’re focusing on tackling root causes of poverty to nd a more permanent route out of poverty. Thank you for your ongoing support, Laura You can keep up to date with our news via the following channels:  slough.foodbank.org.uk/news/ x.com/Sloughfoodbank facebook.com/sloughfoodbank FULL YEAR STATISTICS: JAN – DEC 2024 KEY MESSAGES:  Food poverty crisis continues: 12,147 food parcels distributed up 7%  Positive impact from Financial Inclusion Project: over £116,000 in financial gains for client  Food donations urgently needed: stock purchasing increased by 163% as de-mand grows and donations slow ANOTHER YEAR WHERE MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER ARE FORCED TO TURN TO SLOUGH FOODBANK. 2024 saw the greatest demand for Slough Food-bank, however it was the lowest percentage in-crease since the Pandemic. The need for emergency food is still persistently high and the number of food parcels provided has increased by 154% versus the pre-pandemic 2019 gure of 4,783. We are hopeful that the introduction of the Financial Inclusion Project is starting to have a positive effect on the number of times a client needs to visit a Foodbank. FINANCIAL INCLUSION PROJECT In October 2023, with funding provided by Trussell, we launched our Financial Inclusion Project with Citizens Advice East Berkshire (CAEB). The aim of Update from Slough Foodbank: Newsletter for Spring 2025

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21 “Truly excellent, patient, friendly, helpful and a mine of knowledge, tips and advice” Say hello to the fastest booking engine in travel. Long-life items Fruit Juice Sponge Puddings Soup Cooking sauces Toiletries Soap Deodorant Shaving Foam/Gel Toothbrushes Toothpaste Shampoo Tinned Items : Tuna Vegetarian Meals Vegetables Fruit Rice Pudding Sundries : Tea & coffee (small Sizes) Nappies Toilet Rolls Washing Up Liquid the project is to help our clients who have under-lying issues relating to benets, debt, low income, discrimination at work, housing, homelessness or ill health. In the rst year of the project running (October 2023 to September 2024) 182 clients were referred to CAEB. Between them they had 1,825 issues, demonstrating the complexity of their situations. Over the year there was £116,163 received in nancial gains for these clients. In addition, we have also signposted many clients to alternative sources of help and support. OTHER AREAS OF HELP Slough Foodbank’s primary func-tion is to supply a three-day emergency food parcel to those who suddenly nd themselves in an unexpected crisis. In addition to food, we also supply basic toiletries and house-hold products, as well as nappies, baby wipes and pet food if required. We provided 913 SIM cards for clients to use in their mobile phone (a decrease of 30%), each valid for 6 months with free calls and texts and internet data (20GB per month), which is important in helping people stay digitally connected and have access to the support they need. We also provided 776 emergency fuel vouchers (a decrease of 1%) for home gas or electricity for clients who qualify to receive food parcels, and who top up their meter at a PayPoint or a Post Ofce. This is to enable clients to cook the food we provide or heat their homes. The increase in fuel costs meant that many clients faced the tough decision over the winter months of whether to eat or heat their homes. In December, we provided 228 Christmas Hampers to house-holds to help bring a little joy to people struggling in food poverty crisis over Christmas. INTERESTED IN BECOMING A VOLUNTEER OR TRUSTEE SECRETARY? Volunteers are the life blood of foodbanks. Your skills could be just what we need. We have volunteer roles available in the following areas: van drivers, hospitality volunteers, adminis-trators, social media help, fundraiser and Trustee secretary If you’re interested in volunteering, you can nd out more and apply online, please visit: https://slough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help-2/volunteer/ WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP BY DONATING FOOD? We have a shopping list of items that we currently need – see our current shopping list. You can donate these at our Permanent collection points in super-markets or at our warehouse. Details for warehouse opening times and where our collection points are, can be found here: https://slough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help-2/donate-food/ If you would like to provide food, toiletries and other essential items, we have created a wish list with The Common Good, which enables you to buy online and these are delivered direct to our ware-house: https://www.forcommongood.co.uk/apps/giftregistry/registry/128413 Our most needed items

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22 2025 began with a new event – a New Year’s Eve celebration which was well attended and enjoyed by all. In Febru-ary another new event was organised on 15th February to bring together anyone who wanted an excuse to go out and 25 did! This month we have three activities – 1. World Day of Prayer on Friday 7th March to be held in St Augustine’s Church at 2 pm which is about the Cook Islands. The Baptist church and St Mary’s are taking part in the service as well so we are all dressing up with flowers and straw hats. 2. Also at the Catholic Church there will be a Lady Day service on 25th at 9.30 at which we will be joining them. 3. Finally on 30th we will host Mothering Sunday in St Mary’s Church ( all welcome) and hope the weather will be warmer. Since our last report four of us visited Arundel Cathedral in June which was new to us and it is situated right in the centre of the town. The building was commissioned by the 15th Duke of Norfolk in 1868 who was devoted to St. Philip Neri, a fifteenth century Italian priest and the Church was originally dedicated to him so there is statue of him, stained glass windows including scenes of his life. There is a splendid bust of the martyred 13th century St Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel whose remains was brought into the Cathedral in 1971. The dedication was then changed in 1973 to ‘Our Lady and St Philip Howard’. It was fas-cinating to learn of the martyrdom of the Earl and read his his-tory. In July there was a table top fair in St Mary’s which was well attended and we made over £100 followed by a very noisy beetle drive with a fish and chips supper. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening especially Judith’s grandsons and Stella’s family members too. In August Helen hosted a coffee morning in her garden and it was a lovely sunny day so we could admire it and Richard’s workshop. There were a goodly number who enjoyed the fare. In September we held our annual McMillan Cancer coffee morning and it was very busy with many people dropping in and supporting their good work. People were very generous so we deposited well over £100 again. In November we supported the Christmas Fair and it was very busy with people from all the local churches setting up their own stalls. Although we did not make as much money as the summer, many organisations benefitted from the donations we received. MU Meets on the third Thurs-day of every month at 3:45pm in The Bridge

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25 same way that the Quran may be attributed to Mohammed. These scrolls, as collected in the Bible, whilst Godly are inscribed by humans, a source of faith that is both divine and human in the way that Jesus was both divine and human. It does not deni-grate the holiness of the text to say it has a human component and it is impossible to take everything in the Bible literally. Let’s take Genesis, the first book in the Bible which offers two distinct poems about creation and human origins. God is immediately introduced as creator of heaven and earth and Master of the Universe. The account is poetically expressed but clearly you don’t need to be a geologist or astro physicist to realise the creation was not in fact undertaken in a matter of days. Here lies the problem, The Bible is a turn off for many people because taken literally the creation doesn’t make sense therefore it’s all make believe. Given what we know today the story of creation is entirely credible as being God driven over millions of years. A day in the life of a God is unlikely to be 24 hours. You can of course believe everything after the Big Bang was purely by chance without any God giv-en direction but my point is that Bible stories are not necessarily make believe just because they don’t always make sense when read literally and it’s worth taking a deeper dive for you are unlikely to be hit by a thunderbolt. There are many books apart from the Bible which can help and many churches run courses to help peo-ple get to grips with these difficult questions. There are Anglican, Catholic and Baptist churches in Datchet always willing to help open the Book to view and understand, no guarantee of course that you will win on The Chase”. A recent contestant in the TV quiz show “The Chase”, on getting an easy question wrong, told Bradley Walsh by way of explanation “I don’t really read the Bible”. This got me thinking, who does actually read the Bi-ble? Theologians and those training for the priesthood do, but what about the rest of us, are we like the man on The Chase and if so why? I think the problem is that we don’t really understand what the Bible is but one thing for sure is that it is not a book in the ordinary understanding of that word. It seems that the word Bible comes from the Greek meaning “Little Books” and it would be wrong the assume it is a single entity or something dictated by God. It is in fact a library of different scrolls used to record things long before books existed. Then it gets more complicated as these scrolls were themselves collections of oral stories, memories, rituals, prayers, dreams, parables, oracles, and poems handed down by word of mouth through the generations and then written down and collated by known and unknown authors and editors over many centuries. The origins of the Old Testament are still cloaked in mystery some parts dating back to at least the 12th century before Jesus was born. Then, of course, we have the issue of translation for many of the original texts would have been in Hebrew and Aramaic later translated in the 3rd and 4th Century BC into Greek and then in 405 AD into Latin. This version, despite errors introduced by the copyists, became the standard of Western Christianity for over a thousand years. The new learning in the 15th and 16th Century revived the study of ancient Greek and new translations were published and finally into English in 1535. The popular King James version was printed in 1611 and was the standard English Bible until the 20th Century when versions in more modern English were added. Of course the Old Testament, detailing the origins of the world and Israel’s place in it was in use as the Hebrew Bible by the time Jesus was born. Whilst the Hebrew Bible took shape over a millennium or so the books of the New Testament were relatively contemporary accounts written down between 50 and 100 years after the birth of Jesus. No way is the Bible a product of one author in the

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30 THURSDAY MARCH 2025 Sunday Sunday last before Lent 2nd 9:30am Sung Eucharist Monday 3rd 2:00pm St Mary’s PCC meeting the Church Community Centre Wednesday 5th 11:00am NO Holy Communion today Friday 7th 2:00pm World Day of prayer at St Augustine’s Church Sunday Lent 1 9th 9:30am Sung Eucharist Sunday Lent 2 16th 9:30am Lay Led—theme You are Wonderfully made Sunday Lent 3 23rd 9:30am 6:30pm Sung Eucharist Choral Evensong Wednesday 25th 9:30am Eton End School’s Easter Service at St Mary’s Thursday 27th 11:00am Eton House Service Friday 28th 9:30am Datchet St Mary’s Primary Academy ‘Wonderful Women’ Service Sunday Mothering Sunday Lent 4 30th 9:30a 11:00am Mothering Sunday Sung Eucharist , input from Mothers’ Union and distribution of posies Pastoral Care Group meeting after service APRIL 2025 Wednesday 2nd 10:00am & 11:20am Churchmead School Easter Services at St Mary’s Thursday 3rd 9:30am Datchet St Mary’s Primary Academy easter Service Friday 4th Term ENDS at both Datchet St Mary’s Primary Academy and Churchmead Schools Sunday Lent 5 6th 9:30am Sung Eucharist Sunday Palm Sunday 13th 0:30am Palm Sunday Sung Eucharist Maundy Thursday 17th 7:30pm Passover Service with meal , followed by Vigil at St Mary’s Good Friday 18th 11:30am 12:00pm 2:00pm Walk of Witness from Baptist Church to the Green Hot Cross Buns at The Bridge One Hour at The Cross at St Mary’s, with Holy Communion after the service Holy Saturday 19th 1pm—4:30pm Messy Church with Easter theme, crafts and activities with free Meal for Children Easter Day 20th 6:00am 9:30am HALLELUJAH HE IS RISEN! Dawn Service Easter Sung Eucharist , followed by Treasurer Hunt and Egg rolling Tuesday 22md Term STARTS at both Datchet St Mary’s Academy and Churchmead Schools Thursday 24th 11:00am Eton House Service Sunday Easter 2 27th 9:30am Sung Eucharist NO CHORAL EVENSONG

LINK Spring Flipbook

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