Malden's Village Voice April 21

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Malden’s

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KT3’s ONLY FREE Independent Community Magazine and Business Guide April 2021 Issue 179

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Welcome to YOUR Village Voice April

from jenny@maldenmedia.co.uk

I write we are days away from being allowed to socialise in gardens (yippee!) and escape this miserable winter – let’s hope the weather brightens up and we can enjoy another beautiful spring and summer - albeit without the peace that lockdown no1 brought when everyday was like an early Sunday morning on the roads, with more people out walking than cars.

I trust you are keeping well and send heartfelt sympathy to those of you who have lost family, friends and neighbours during this past difficult year.

As restrictions are lifted in the coming weeks and months we should be able to start including club and community information again and, maybe even some What’s On listings. If you have something to contribute, or, would like to

& Since ‘05

advertise in our May edition please do get in touch. And thanks so much to all our advertisers this month, I do hope that you’ll support them and our other local businesses during continuingly difficult times for many.

Remember, we deliver to most homes every second month but if it’s not delivered to you, you can read it on your phone, tablet or PC or collect a copy from Waitrose, The Malden Centre or New Malden library (if open). But remember, copies are limited.

The copy dates for the next couple of editions are below. If you’d like to advertise or have a local story to tell, please call or email.

Finally, for your own wellbeing, it’s time to reconnect with other human beings. You don’t meet other people spending your money via your computer or phone. Feel good and do good by keeping it local.

Until next time, very best wishes,

Jenny

Deadline for our May editions is 20th April

Since ‘08

Published by Malden Media Ltd Editor Jenny Stuart jenny@maldenmedia.co.uk 020 8336 2915 www.maldenmedia.co.uk 36 Rosebery Avenue KT3 4JS

20th May forJune

Please note that the opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the editor. All advertisements are commercial and not indicative of any endorsement by the editor who accepts no responsibility for any loss suffered directly or indirectly by any reader as a result of any advertisement or notice published in this magazine.

All in-house artwork and editorial presented in this magazine remains the copyright of Malden Media Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored on any retieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical. recording, photocopying, or otherwise without prior permission from the Publisher.

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Deadline for our May editions is 20th April

20th May forJune

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5

New Malden History Early Co-Operation by Robin Gill In the early days of 1925, a little band of people, having the urge to sing, laid the foundations of the Malden Co-operative Choir. An unpretentious start, but the unbounded enthusiasm of its members and the sound musicianship of its conductor Mr William George Glock soon developed it into a successful venture.

During the first few years the works undertaken were chiefly part-songs and concert versions of light operas for platform performance.

Including Cloches De Corneville at Tooting Cooperative hall in 1927. These early performances always ended with the singing of Jerusalem.

By 1931, the Choir, being soundly established and with a steadily growing membership, determined to turn to amateur operatics. A momentous decision for people unversed in stagecraft and hampered by a lack of funds, but, tackled with the same co-operative spirit that had always existed in the Society, this proved to be the turning point in its history. The Co-operative players (a separate entity) meanwhile specialised in one act plays in various venues in south London.

Mr Glock was the father of (Sir) William Frederick Glock who was to become the BBC controller of music, and music critic of the Observer newspaper, founder and editor of the music journal the Score. He was also controller of the Proms from 1960 to 1973 and was knighted in 1970 for his services in music.

Lack of a venue

The fact that the performances had to be held elsewhere, brought home to residents and players that even in the 1930s, Malden people had to journey to places like Surbiton and Wimbledon to find a large hall for shows like this, as it was impossible for the opera to be produced in Malden. The fact that the halls were full, demonstrated that there a great demand for shows of the Gilbert & Sullivan type.

Operatic success

1937 saw the production of “Yeoman Of The Guard” another Gilbert & Sullivan collaboration again at the Surbiton Assembly Rooms and again packed for the occasion. 1938 there was a full stage version of “The Gondoliers” at Wimbledon Town Hall, again to a packed house. Frederick Morris again gave a polished performance as the Duke of Plaza-Toro. Also outstanding was Joyce Eggleton aged only 16 and in only her 2nd year of performance. Her portrayal of Gianetta “showed great promise”. Joyce went on to marry Eddie Gardner, and lived for many years at 41 Malden Hill Gardens before passing away in 2006.

The Society met every Thursday at the Stoneleigh CoOperative Hall in Chestnut Grove. As usual in these groups, there was always a shortage of male players.

They put on Iolanthe by Gilbert & Sullivan at Surbiton Assembly Rooms and Wimbledon Town Hall in March 1936. The conductor of the Wimbledon Co-operative Orchestra was Mr William George Glock, but they played with so much vigour they made it difficult to hear some of the soloists, and at times the men’s chorus. The women however, fortunately sang with

Change of conductors

The years that followed saw the successful production of many of the evergreen Gilbert and Sullivan Operas.

The New Malden Co-Operative Musical Society had staged concert versions of Cloches De Corneville, Tom Jones, Princess Of Kensington, and Merrie England, before in 1932, delving into various Gilbert & Sullivan Operas over the next five years, with enthusiastic support, working in close harmony with the Wimbledon Co-Operative Orchestra under their conductor Michael Tippett, including The Mikado in 1934 in Peckham.

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greater volume, and were not subdued.

The outstanding performance was that of Frederick Morris of Albemarle Gardens as the Lord Chancellor with “a fine array of histrionic talents” and was even audible at the back of the hall, and admission was only 6d (2½ pence).

In 1938, after 13 years devoted service, Mr Glock resigned through ill health, to the lasting regret of all who knew him.

The new musical director Mr (later Sir) Michael Tippett no stranger to the society, and well-known as a composer was a valuable acquisition. Under his baton the society rose to great heights chorally and, they took part in the mass choral singing at Wembley

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Stadium in July 1938 and the next year the choir won the London Co-operative Joint Educational Committee’s Shield in Open Competition.

The advent of the war brought a halt to operatic productions, but not to the Society’s activities.

Despite the black-out, bombs and depleted numbers, under the direction of Mr Albert Arthur Gregory Mus Bac a renown organist at St Peters Norbiton, the Society did excellent work entertaining the troops at concerts.

Resumption after the war

The end of the war soon saw the Society at full strength again and embarked upon its most ambitious production “The Vagabond King” For this the society had been fortunate enough to secure the services of Mr Francis Coote of Fir Grove as its producer. His enthusiasm and skill combined to raise the standard of production to a high level. In the summer of 1946, the society made local history by producing the full stage version of Merrie England in Beverley Park under the auspices of the Maldens and Coombe Borough Council as part of their Summer Entertainments Show which ran from 8th June to 10th August with performances on 3rd, 4th and 6th July. In the same year as part of the “Holidays at Home” programme, two concerts were

held at the Burlington Road Schools. Firstly “Operatic Memories” Grave and Gay by the New Malden Cooperative Musical Society, and this was followed a week later by George Bernard Shaw’s play St Joan performed by the New Malden Co-operative Dramatic Group.

In February 1947 the society scored a smash hit with its production of “Desert Song” voted the best ever by all who saw it.

Mr Gregory the musical director who had served the society so well during the war resigned after this production.

His successor Mr Frank Deacon a young and able musician at the time made his mark by leading

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the society to win first place at the Co-operative Musical Festival that year and made his debut as Musical Director in the production of The Rebel Maid at Wimbledon Baths Hall in November.

Never content to stand still the Society took the bold step of transferring its productions to the Fortune Theatre; the CooteDeacon production of Goodnight, Vienna was the first amateur show in that Theatre after the second world war. Standing in Russell Street it was the first theatre to be built in London after the first world war. A revival of “Vagabond King” followed and Mr Deacon’s place at the conductor’s desk was taken by a brilliant and dynamic musician Mr John Minchinton.

Silver Jubilee To celebrate the society’s Silver Jubilee (25th anniversary) in 1950 the next production was at the Scala Theatre, with a performance of Viktoria and her Hussar. The theatre in Charlotte Street was demolished in 1969 after a fire. It had been the venue for concert footage of the Beatles in “A Hard Days Night”. The society was now meeting twice a week, as well at the Thursday meeting at Stoneleigh Hall, they met on

Monday evening at Beverley Institute in Blakes Lane, While the Chestnut Cooperative Players met for an evening of drama on Wednesday afternoons.

When Malden celebrated the Jubilee of its Charter in 1961, St James hosted a concert featuring both the New and Old Malden Townswomen Guild Choirs, members of the Nemcom Society (New Malden Co-operative Musical Society) and the Kingston Vale Operatic and Dramatic Society. When the first Malden Fortnight was held in 1984, Nemcom (New Malden Operatic Society) held an evening of opera “Face to Face with British Music” at the Methodist Church Hall.

In all the years the Society has been supported and encouraged by the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society Education Department.

I have tried to find out more information on Nemcom in more recent times but with little response.

Illustrations

1) Michael Tippett 2) Merrie England in Beverley Park 3) Beatles performing at the Scala Theatre as part of “A Hard Day’s Night”

PART-TIME SECURITY BARRIER OPERATOR A security guard (Gatekeeper) is required on a part-time basis to operate a two-arm electric traffic barrier installed by Kingston Council on the private Coombe Estate at the Coombe Lane West entrance and entry points at George Road and Kingston Hill. The official hours of work are 4pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with the option to work additional hours from 7.30-9am (weekdays) and occasional weekend shifts.

The guard will join a team of four Gatekeepers.

The Coombe Estate has a problem with rat-running traffic, and the holder of this position will be required to alleviate the issue by turning away unauthorised vehicles. Authorised vehicles are identified by means of windscreen stickers. A Gatekeeper’s hut and PPE is provided.

This position could suit a recently retired member of a security company or a retired police officer or postal worker.

Please contact the secretary to the Malden & Coombe Residents’ Association for further information:

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New Malden Rotary Rotary’s lockdown No direct meetings. No social events. No visits to the usual haunts.

No direct interaction with other organisations. And most of all …. no fundraising. We have enjoyed regular face to face virtual meetings through the magic of Zoom … but its not the same. A significant part of Rotary is the interaction and fellowship engendered by meeting together on a regular basis. Zoom is fine for business discussions but less so for social gatherings. And some of us find the wonders of modern technology daunting.

But we’ve not been totally inactive. With the help of some of our local Councillors financial assistance has been given to the Methodist Church in the High Street for the installation of a defibrillator on their external wall, accessible and available to all.

Similarly New Malden Councillors have allocated funds from their available allowances to increase our support of Kingston Hospital Charity for the construction and installation of new showers in the staff facilities at the hospital. In this project we collaborated with both the other Rotary Clubs in the borough, Kingston and Surbiton.

Helping our local schools has been tricky but we managed some assistance: second-hand laptops, Chrome Books and dongles have all been supplied to schools for students in need of equipment and better internet connections while in lockdown. We’ve also supplied printed reading books for primary school pupils to help with reading skills.

We can look forward to a new splash of colour in May from hanging baskets in the High Street organised

by New Malden Rotary but which have largely been funded by a grant from Kingston Council, hopefully welcoming the reopening of our shops. We are also in discussions with the Council and others about how we can help with the revival of the High Street and other local retail areas, how support can be generated for our independent retailers. And how New Malden’s residents can be persuaded to buy local once again.

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Talking of flowers, if you visit Beverley Park please take a moment to have a look at the areas of purple crocuses planted by Friends of Beverley Park which are there to highlight Rotary’s ongoing support of the campaign to eradicate polio from the world. This terrible disease is now only endemic in two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and at the beginning of March there had only been two cases identified this year.

We’ve also been discussing how we as Rotarians can give the best service, in particular to our local community. And how Rotary will look in the “new world” which we shall all be facing. Provided that the road plan to ease Covid restrictions meets its targets we shall be resuming our normal meetings in July but nothing can ever be the same as it was a year ago.

Rotary exists to serve its communities; we have not forgotten where our priorities lie. Let us know your views on where we should be concentrating our efforts.

Contact us on www.newmaldenrotary.org.uk And follow us on Twitter or Facebook - search New Malden Rotary

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Complete with onsite service centre, the showroom holds an extensive selection of mobility scooters, rise & recline chairs, sofas, manual and powered wheelchairs, stairlifts and adjustable beds. Product specialists are on-hand to help you pick the most appropriate product, as well as assessing for a range of made to measure furniture.

Established back in 2007, Wheelfreedom have grown to become the leading mobility supplier in the region, and their outstanding customer service has been recognised with a number of industry awards.

Wheelfreedom founder Giles Donald says, “Opening a showroom in the midst of a global pandemic has certainly been challenging, but we’ve actively implemented the highest Covid-19 precautions to keep our customers safe. We look forward to welcoming the local community to the showroom!”

The Wheelfreedom Showroom is open 6 days a week, and the team would recommend booking an appointment before visiting.

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Malden Memories Beverley 90 Years … the experience changed my life by Fr.Clive Piggott In 2021 the former Beverley School - now Coombe Boys School celebrates its ninetienth anniversary. It has served the community of New Malden in many ways during that time and I had the privilege of being a schoolmaster there from 1969 to 2005. Here are some of my memories as Head of Religious Education and the wonderful life the school has given me.

Originally I was only going to be at Beverley for one year but the Headmaster, Mr.Clifford Fisher, was an inspirational Head and I enjoyed a fantastic career for the vast majority of my time there. He allowed me to introduce R.E. in a completely different way and to get the students involved within the community. His support was invaluable.

In the first term I was asked to arrange the annual Carol Service at Saint James Church and had to meet the Vicar Rev.Francis Butcher. Although not an Anglican I found in Francis another person who greatly influenced me and within months I was appointed a Reader within the Church and that brought the Church and School into a partnership. I was also involved with Cancer Relief as it was then and gradually that became the major school charity which has lasted to this day.

Witin the R.E. Department we introduced project work and stimulated discussion to encourage the students to form their own ideas.Gradually I got to know many of the parents well and from the middle 1970’s they established the Cancer Relief Committee.

In fact we opened the first Cancer Information Table in the Reception in the early 80’s. A student Committee followed. The Department organised February Half Term trips to the beautiful village of Kandersteg in Switzerland by train and eventually these were opened for parents of the school,members of Saint James and Cancer Relief. They operated from 1973 to the late 1980’s. After their Summer exams some fifth form students could join a trip for five days staying at the beautifully sited Denstone College in Staffordshire… walking and meditating on The Prayer of St.Francis and enjoying the swimming pool and excursions thanks to the school having a Crew bus. Of course, under Clifford the school was noted for its sporting successes in so many areas including rowing, fencing, rugby - to name but a few.

social and religious matters and various religious groups. A Christian Union run by the students was formed and the Founders Days Services were held at Saint James. Each year the Department organised an Exhibition on a topic taken from the RE syllabus – 1972 was Tutankhamun,1973 Roman Empire,1974 Indians of the Americas,1975 Medieval Britain and in 1977 Royal Households of Europe to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabth II.

Between 1500 and 2000 people visited each of the exhibitions and many firms supplied display items.

In 1977 there were so many items from various royal households that we had to have people staying overnight for security! From 1974-77 all the building work was carried out by the PSA Chairman Mr.Peter Feltham. We even had a complete replica set of the Crown Jewels.

In 1973 we also started theme parties and these continued until 2016 with students acting as waiters in costumes. These were open for the School Staff, parents, members of Saint James and Cancer Relief Friends. Some took place in Church Halls or the school sports hall where on one occasion we had 250 plus to one of our Bavarian Beer evenings. Later some took place in historical locations. The Imperial Russian night at Chiswick House where we were dressed in some of the costumes from the film Nicholas and Alexandra, the Imperial Viennese Night at Headley Court where we borrowed the Dress Uniform of the Governor of

Within lessons in the senior years we had many speakers coming to talk to the boys about 14 Please remember to mention the Village Voice when you speak to our advertisers

the Tower of London and many many more. We also organised year trips to the Manor House Hotel on Dartmoor for the parents etc. Having been priested in 1997 I became Hon. Chaplain to the School following the departure of Rev.Slattery.

I left Beverley in 2005 since the education system had changed drastically for my subject - but the Cancer Suite continues to this day and I have close contacts with the school…many ex-parents and former students and staff.

In 1996 a Cancer Information Suite and chapel was constructed in one of the Department’s huts accommodation on the school field by parents and senior students and later this was transferred to a site in the playground. This was officially opened by the Mayor and the MP for Kingston upon Thames Edward Davey. Finally in 2010 with a school rebuild a purpose built place was sited just inside the school main gate and in the year 2019 it had 120 footfalls in one year on the opening days of Thursday each week or by appointment at other times.

I consider I was very, very fortunate to have taken that post for one year because it changed the whole of my life both within the school and the community. I learnt so much from the young men and later women that I was supposedly teaching and made many lifelong friendships - in fact all the members of the Malden McMillian Committee are former parents of Beverley students and all bar one have served this charity committee for over 45 years each.

I also had the privilege of organising the fourth year two week Work Experience for four years and became the school Community and Industry Links co-ordinator organising through the Midland Bank a student run school bank and a discount card for local shops including MacDonalds which was well used. We also established the position of a R.E. Dept. Prefect a position held annually by a senior student who was part of the Cancer Relief Junior Committee.

It is now Coombe Boys School and has progressed in leaps and bounds firstly under the leadership of Carol Cambell from Coombe Girls, then Deebie Walls and now David Smith.

I value greatly my continued association with such a wonderful educational establishment which gives the students a fully rounded education and start in life.

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Love your lawn

by Pippa Greenwood Look out of your window at your lawn and you’ll probably see that it has suddenly taken off and is growing rapidly. This means that now is the perfect time to get to grips with a bit of spring maintenance. True, your lawn will survive without it, but if you want it to look a good deal better than average, then get your skates on! In most areas temperatures should have evened up a little and the soil in beds, borders and under your lawn should hopefully not be wet and soggy.

Grass needs regular mowing from now on; in some areas this may mean once a week, so make sure that the mower blades are good and sharp. On so-called utility lawns you will need to cut to about 2.5cm or 1”, while on higher grade smart lawns cut to about 1-1.5cm.

Lawns benefit from a specially formulated spring feed at this time of year to encourage good strong growth and strengthen the grasses up after any winter setbacks. If you use a granular formulation, make sure that you water it in well if you cannot time the job so that the rain does this for you!

Give yourself a bit of a workout too and scarify the lawn. This means using a spring-tined rake to pull out any accumulated debris or thatch from the base of the grasses. This allows for a better flow of moisture and air, thus ensuring that the grass grows stronger and more healthily.

If your lawn has developed a lot of moss (especially likely if it has suffered compaction, is shaded or has been particularly wet), then apply a proprietary moss killer before scarifying. Use a combined feed and moss killer to save yourself time if you like, but whichever product you choose, make sure that you leave the specified time between applying the treatment and raking the dead moss out. If you don’t, the moss problem could become a lot worse, as you’ll spread the pieces of living moss as you rake.

Worm casts may be there in abundance now too, so if necessary simply use a besom or brush to brush them away or distribute them over the lawn.

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Humps and bumps in the lawn or indeed any other sort of uneven surface can be dealt with now, but you will need to get this done promptly, just in case the weather gets hot and dry soon. A minor problem can be dealt with using a sandy top-dressing mixture, but if there are some prominent problems then use a sharp spade to cut an ‘H’ shape over the bump or hollow. Now carefully peel back the turf and then remove or add soil as necessary before replacing the turf flaps, firming well and providing a good drink.

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Malden Wanderings Here comes the summer There’s so much excitement and great stuff happening at Malden Wanderers this year it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s tempting to start with the bar but that’s never a good thing with sport so let’s start with the cricket.

We can’t seem to stop growing as a club and we now have some 35 teams playing cricket! There are now 6 adult XIs to meet an uptick in demand, including elders like myself. Girls and women are increasingly playing in our senior teams. Additionally, we will be launching a new women’s cricket team this year who will be wearing our new coloured kit as they compete in the Women’s Surrey Slam. You are welcome to come down to the club and watch any of our adult games from late April to September. The season’s fixtures are listed on our new website. We’re a competitive cricket club with a great history of achievement and welcome players of all backgrounds and at varying stages of development.

Junior cricket coaching starts the week commencing 5th April with an extended offering informed by the innovations of last season. Given the fact that Malden Wanderers won the Surrey Coaching Club of the Year award in 2019, it’s incredible to think how things have stepped up further since. We had over 200 kids last year and we’re set up for even greater numbers this year. We are proud to welcome all kids from year 1 upwards and our girls section goes from strength to strength. You can find out details on the website under Junior Cricket.

April to mid September and will be published on the website shortly. The ground allows for plenty of social distancing as we pull away from tougher times. We hope to be able to go inside the clubhouse later in the season – on the occasions that the golden summer evenings don’t prevail of course. And we expect to be selling a lot of coffee and bacon rolls on a Sunday morning to wake up the bleary spectators at the junior cricket matches!

Let me know at commsmw@gmail.com if you would like to get involved at Malden Wanderers. We have a great team that brings a wide range of skills to bear and we play nicely on Zoom.

We hope to see you at the club very soon. im Hunter is Communications Officer at Malden Wanderers

Word Ladder

Change one letter at a time (but not the position of any letter) to make a new word moving from top to bottom.

HAND

If you don’t feel like joining as a sports member then social membership is a low price option which gives you regular access to the bar. All membership details are available at our new website at maldenwanderers. org.uk.

©Puzzlepress.co.uk

Our tennis section is looking forward to an excellent season this year and is well priced, with the bookable court being free to use by cricket and badminton members. Tennis is a sport in which we wish to build up our strength in the coming years so watch this space! We’re also looking forward to the badminton section getting going again in the summer after a thoroughly forgettable 2020 due to last year’s restrictions.

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Did I mention the bar? The bar and café options will be extended this year. Typical opening times will be midweek evenings and longer at weekends from late 18 Please remember to mention the Village Voice when you speak to our advertisers

Develop and improve techniques quickly with friendly, professional cricket coaching.

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19

Folk Law from Pearson Hards The ongoing balancing act between Landlords and Tenants, is it fair?

When the Coronavirus pandemic began and the UK went into lockdown on 23 March 2020, one of the first things the Government did was place a ban on residential evictions taking place. The idea behind the plan was to protect tenants who may lose their income due to the pandemic and subsequent restrictions. The Government asked landlords to be understanding and to utilise schemes such as mortgage holidays to give the tenants breathing space.

At points during the last year the ban was complete and from March to August 2020 no-one could begin or progress a possession claim at all. Although possession claims can be issued in the Courts since the end of August, due to restrictions and further lockdowns, in effect there has been an almost total ban on evictions actually happening. Certain circumstances do now fall outside the ban, such as claims against trespassers and where rent arrears equate to more than 6 months’ worth of payments.

But a year into the restrictions, what has the effect been on each side?

The lack of certainty regarding the ban continues to create difficulty for landlords. The most recent ban, which began in January 2021, was due to expire on 31 March. However last week the Government yet again confirmed there would be an extension. The Government has generally reviewed the restrictions every few months. Although it allows the Government to consider the current circumstances that the country is in, it also creates a huge problem for landlords being unable to plan, as it is not clear when the restrictions will end. The ban is now due to expire at the end of May 2021.

The situation also creates uncertainty for tenants.

It is often the case that if a tenant falls into arrears with their rent then they will approach the local council for assistance to be rehoused. However, the council will generally not act until they have received an eviction date from the Courts. During the prohibition on possession claims, their arrears continue to accrue but they haven’t got the chance

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to be assisted by the council. Instead, their debt simply continues to increase and often becomes impossible to repay. A lot of landlords have not wanted to use mortgage holidays for extensive periods, as the debt does not disappear but simply gets added to the remaining term. Even if they do, they do not always pass on any savings to their tenants.

If a landlord does want to get their tenant out through Court proceedings, then these have been heavily weighted in favour of tenants due to new rules. The new rules have meant that if landlords want their properties back, they have to serve 6 months’ notice, other than in cases of anti-social behaviour or where the arears are over 6 months.

Even if there are 6 months of arrears when a notice is served, it is still several more months before a case can get to Court. In many Courts, including Kingston County Court, they have also introduced review hearings where parties are not required to attend, but the landlord’s representative is required to lodge all of the paperwork and be available if the Judge wishes to query anything. Certificates are also required to be filed by the landlord about the effect, if any, of the pandemic on the tenant. All of this only seeks to increase costs for the landlord.

By the time of a final hearing, the arrears have often accrued to a point where there is little, or no chance, of the tenants ever being able to repay the debt.

So the question is, what happens at the end of May? The country will not be out of restrictions completely and many people will still be waiting for their vaccinations. So will the Government continue the agony of landlords by extending the ban once again? Or will they taper off restrictions?

The answer remains to be seen, but it will almost certainly not be the end of the difficulties that landlords have faced over the past year.

If you would like to discuss a landlord and tenant matter then please do not hesitate to contact Claire Darby by email cdarby@pearsonhards.co.uk or via telephone on 0208 949 9500.

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Supporting you...

Family law A5 Perforated Leaflet, Portrait

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2

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Codeword CODEWORD Each letter in this puzzle is Each letter in this puzzle is represented by a number represented by1aand different number between 26. The between 1 and 26. The codes for codes for three letters are three letters are shown. Once you shown.

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23

Health Proactive-Allergy Care

by Dr Tom Marrs, Consultant in Paediatric Allergy of Proactive-allergy.com In London, we have some of the highest rates of allergies and allergic disease. This April, many people are sneezing, congested and itching their eyes with tree pollen. Since lockdown, the necessary increase in hand hygiene is aggravating eczema and sensitive skin.

We are also seeing an increase in cat and dog allergies as many families have bought pets.

of the relevant allergen on a daily basis. It cannot cure the allergy however aims to reduce symptoms of the allergy through daily treatment. The aim is that hay fever becomes more manageable, dust allergy does not drive on-going congestion and that peanut immunotherapy allows low-dose accidental peanut consumption to go unnoticed.

Children in England have one of the highest prevalence figures for allergy workwide. Currently, one in 14 children have IgE-mediated ‘immediate’ food allergy at some point in their life, equating to two in each class. 1% of children live with long-term peanut allergy. Even 15 years ago, as many as one in 4 children in the UK had eczema and one in 7 had asthma. These rates are likely to have been rising.

It is a pleasure to bring these options to families who will benefit from expertise in diagnosing, testing and improving quality of life. Remote consultations are normal and there are even options for home testing which are available in older children. The other good news is that this high-quality evidence-based advice and management is available in your local area from the team at the New Malden Diagnostic Centre! We look forward to your contact at Welcome@Proactive-allergy.com

People with allergies have “hypersensitivity” reactions to proteins which are normally harmless. Such proteins are known as allergens and common examples include peanut, egg, milk, cat dander, house dust mite, tree and grass pollens. Although reactions can be unsafe, sensible avoidance advice and treatment of reactions can prevent life-threatening responses. Fatalities are very rare.

Fortunately, there has also been a revolution in allergy treatment options. The mainstay of advice used to be avoidance alone, and this is still the most important principle for preventing reactions in children with established allergies. However, there are now important new options for allergy care.

Firstly, babies can be protected from developing food allergy by introducing allergens into their diet. For instance, eating more than one teaspoon of peanut butter per week protects from peanut allergy. However, some children have already developed peanut allergy, have reacted to another food or have established eczema and therefore need testing before considering this prevention treatment. Families who are concerned about the risk of their child reacting may need extra support to plan a safe strategy.

Secondly, immunotherapy treatments are available for a wide range of pollen, dust and pet allergies. For children who are especially sensitive to peanut, the first peanut immunotherapy product is being launched in the UK later this year. Immunotherapy is different to prevention because it aims to ‘dampen down’ an established allergy by taking tiny (milligram) quantities

24

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New Malden Diagnostic Centre New Malden diagnostic centre, part of Sterling Healthcare Group, is a trusted and stateof-the-art facility that delivers first class and prompt care from an independent outpatient and diagnostic facility.

Treating patients of all ages, You and your family will receive effective treatment from experienced clinicians across a range of specialisms.

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25

Serves 4 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 23 minutes, plus cooling INGREDIENTS • 125g/4½ oz asparagus • 1 handful of frozen peas (30g) • 2 spring onions, chopped • 60g/2¼ oz smoked salmon, cut into small strips • 4 eggs, beaten • Sea salt and ground black pepper

These colourful savoury muffins are easy to make and are delicious served warm for breakfast or cold for lunch with a salad. Asparagus is a fabulous healthy seasonal food to include, being rich in B vitamins and antioxidants like vitamin A, C and E. For a vegetarian option swap the salmon for some feta cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and grease and line 8 cups of a muffin tray with paper muffin cases.

Blanch the asparagus in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes until just soft. Drain, then cut into 1 cm/½ in pieces using scissors.

2. Divide the asparagus, peas, spring onions and smoked salmon among the paper cases – they should be threequarters full. Beat the eggs in a jug with some salt and pepper, then pour into the paper cases.

3. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden and just firm in the centre. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the tray.

Serve hot or cold.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Nutrition per serving (2 frittatas) 110kcal, fat 6.3g carbohydrates 1.6g, protein 11.2g

26

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27

Parkin’ some thoughts Light my Fire ...

by Nick Hazell

I’m feeling slightly uncomfortable. As I sit here trying to concentrate on a fiendishly complicated jigsaw, Harry Styles is peering over my shoulder looking like he’s about to suggest where I insert the next piece.

This Harry is 6ft and as he is made of cardboard is indistinguishable from the real thing. He is in fact Lara’s gift to her sister for her 16th birthday and I am having to resist the temptation to saw him in half in a tragic case of magic that goes wrong. I may just have to restrict myself to drawing on a comedy moustache and blaming it on the dog.

The strange thing is that this surreal apparition is just accepted in this house as normal in a year which has been anything but typical. What is also abnormal and a cause of some concern is my sudden and unaccountable desire to play some Styles on our music streaming system. Having instant access to the tunes I want to listen to when I want to listen to them has been of some help during lockdown and has powered a few home HIIT sessions without the need to view Joe Wicks’ hairy visage. The variety is almost limitless which as Victoria often points out, is a bit ironic given the somewhat narrow selection of the Monkees, Wurzels or if I’m already feeling clinically depressed, Phil Collins, she claims I have on constant loop.

But just now I’m thinking a bit of vibrant, feel good “Watermelon Sugar” is needed to lift the mood. Unfortunately and not for the first time this year, the technology has failed me. I pressed the usual buttons and nothing happened. I shouted obscenities at the controller. It made no difference. Then, the clouds of confusion parted and the solution became obvious, albeit technologically backward. All I had to do was whip out the old CD collection. I would have to forsake the Styles as his work was not prominent within the archives. Come to think of it, he probably wasn’t born when most of it was purchased. Never mind, I’d make do with a tune from the Fab Four of Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike.

There was still one small but significant problem.

My switch to cloud based musical delivery meant that finding some form of compatible device upon

28

which to play my chansons de choix proved to be a bit like finding a barber in lockdown. Impossible.

They had long since been placed into the Dusty Bin of antiquated relics alongside my Kodak Cameras, old Nokia 3310s, Jeff Banks pants and Cliff Richard. The only thing I could find was a CD Walkman the size of Birmingham which required a battery source with more power than the National Grid and which was exhausted after the first few lines of “Randy Scouse Git”.

Perplexed and distracted I found myself searching the internet to discover what had inspired young master Styles to write about this innocuous fruit. Was it an obsession with healthy living? It was not. Let’s just say I was shocked and appalled and won’t look at them in the same way ever again. As for Harry, he’s about to solve another problem that’s been vexing me. Having just acquired a Fire Pit in anticipation of finally being able to socialise in the garden with more than just a demented Schnauzer and several squirrels suffering dog induced, post-traumatic stress disorder, I discover I am long on logs but short on kindling. Pretty soon therefore the flammable effigy before me will quite literally be lighting up my [patio] like nobody else. That, to my mind, is what makes him so beautiful...

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Care Happy tears!

Monday 8th March was a very special day for visitors to Speirs House care home with nursing in New Malden home. It was the day when, after months in lockdown, family members could visit their loved ones at the care home. What made this day extra special for female residents was that it coincided with the International Women’s Day. Following the government announcement that care home residents in England will be allowed to receive indoor visits from one person from 8 March, families could not wait to see their loved ones and immediately booked their visits.

Although visits via protective screens were allowed in the past few months, all face-to-face visits in care homes were banned since the first national lockdown in March last year when coronavirus swept through care homes. Such restrictions were difficult both for residents, especially those living with dementia, and their families who wanted to experience closeness that protective screens or partition doors did not allow.

“Very happy with the wonderful service at this difficult time. Great service, most helpful staff.

Really appreciate all staff and the service.”

Son of Resident

Relatives and their loved ones shared much joy and happy tears on being able to see each other in person.

Erica Nunn, who visited her mum and dad at the care home, said: “It was just so nice after all the restrictions we all had to live with, to be able to see them properly and hold their hands. That’s one of the things we missed, it is priceless!”

Kathleen Liang, Home Manager at Speirs House, said: “It is wonderful to see the joy on residents’ faces today as we openned up Speirs House for close contact visits.

Touch is something we all look forward to, so to be able to hold hands is such a small step but means so much.

Being able to have one family member they can have a physical connection with will ensure that our residents’ wellbeing is maintained.”

Speirs House Care Home

Speirs House Care Home with Nursing provides excellent nursing care to residents in New Malden and surrounding areas.

For more information and to arrange a visit, contact Kathleen Liang, Home Manager on 020 8949 5569 greensleeves.org.uk

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31

The best apps for getting things done

Remember The Milk Remember The Milk is one of our favourite organising apps, enabling you to track almost anything from shopping lists to serious projects. It integrates with Siri, Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, Evernote and many more apps, and it’s particularly good for scheduling repeated events and setting reminders to keep you focused.

Any.do Any.do is fast, effective and a superb way to stay on top of all of the things you need to do. It’s easy to create lists, track progress and schedule/reschedule tasks, and it makes good use of buttons to automate the most common tasks so it’s really quick to use.

Wordwheel

Each word to be three letters or more (but no plurals), and all must contain the central letter. There’s at least one word which uses all of the letters.

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33

A Photographer Dreams...

by Hugh Griffiths www.creativelight.org.uk

This time last year – April 2020 – we were all settling into a relatively well-defined lockdown. I don’t know about you, but I never imagined that a year later we might still be in a very similar boat. As I write this, in mid-February, the messages we are getting seem to imply that we may be coming out of Lockdown 3 by then. But will all those normal things be available – popping out to the barbers for a haircut, meeting friends in a pub, going on holiday somewhere – I really hope so!

scene from scratch (as opposed to seeing it and taking a photo) – but you can get really satisfying pictures with the simplest of tools and some time.

This is definitely a subject that I am learning about: hopefully I will get better over time!

But the lockdown forced me to stay indoors – I was, and still am, shielding – so the ‘keeping indoors’ bit was stronger than for many people. I couldn’t go out to take photographs, couldn’t go to an art gallery or a National Trust place, couldn’t go away for a few days down to our caravan in Lancing. Pretty tough restrictions for someone who really likes being outside with his camera.

As a result, I decided to try my hand at some indoor photography. I built a small studio to take photos in … when I say ‘studio’, I mean a dining table with a large white board supported by a couple of jigsaw boxes and some heavy books, and a tripod for my camera.

Lighting consisted of daylight from the window and the room light above the table. Really, really nothing sophisticated!

Anyway, many of my photos through lockdown were of cut flowers – and this picture shows a couple of tulips who have fallen in love with each other. They are cuddled up close and look like they’re about to have a big comfortable hug!

As you can tell, my studio and object selection were not the most difficult to do – definitely something that anyone can do if they want to. Yes, it could be better if you had studio lighting of some sort, or if you had more imaginative props to include in the photo – but I don’t have the greatest imagination in thinking of creating a

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Another flower – one that speaks of April and early summer, more than spring. I go out each morning with my dog and sometimes walk along the A3 (well on a pavement to its side, protected by steel barriers!) on my way to the cycle path between New Malden and Raynes Park. Sometimes I take my camera, but not often: but I always have my iPhone with me.

I like trees, mist, frost, early morning sunlight – but also quirky pictures. This photo shows the bluebells growing right by the side of the road with cars rushing by (even in lockdown there were always cars travelling along the A3) – and you can see one here, blurred by its speed behind the barrier and the flowers.

The photo is definitely not a great piece of art – indeed I was somewhat reluctant to bother keeping it. But I did, because I always like the concept of nature battling its way through against our artificial and polluting ways.

You can see this in the small plants that grow out of the top of a stone side to a bridge, or the plants that grow in the shingle of a beach, splashed by salty air, and very little earth to be found. It’s one of the lovely things about nature that it is fighting back and trying to tell us that it is still here and is beautiful.

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think – and of course a lot of pigeons.

But this day a starling came for a brief visit. Now I only think of them as the pests at the supermarket car parks, but it turns out that they’re really rather attractive to look at. Fortunately, it stayed standing still on the grass, about 4 metres away, until I could get my camera up and take its portrait. It’s so glossy that it could almost be a wooden carving of the bird – but I assure you that it flew away shortly after!

You may remember that the weather during that first lockdown was fantastic: a lot of sun, dry weather, hot temperatures. So that those of us lucky enough to have a garden could sit there and turn browner and browner while watching the birds sharing our garden with us.

Mind you, that opportunity is obviously a lot less for those of us who are working – sorry, but you lost out!

We have a swing bench in the back garden, and I moved it to the centre, and hung a bird feeder on it.

Not a plan that means you can then go and sit on the bench; the Animal Farm air force make it a messy place to be! Then I sat down on a lounger with my camera and long lens all ready to catch some of the birds that came by. We have a lot of sparrows who nest in a quince bush in the garden – provides safety from larger birds I

I have often talked about constraints being good for your photographic development, and I think that the lockdowns have done that for me – as you will see over the next few months.

The Malden Camera Club has cancelled its physical meetings while the coronavirus is around, but we still have virtual meetings through video conferencing and other online tools. We expect to be meeting online each Thursday evening to the end of July but will be keeping this under review.

If you want to know more about us, then contact us via the details on our website … www.maldencameraclub. org.uk And you can, of course, contact me via my website: www.creativelight.org.uk

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35

Solutions

Codeword CodeWord 12

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1. Japan 2. Jo Brand 3. The Darkness 4. Venice 5. Switzerland 6. Turkey 7. April 8. The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea 9. The land of nod 10. Cheers (in the TV sitcom Cheers)

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Please remember to mention the Village Voice when you speak to our advertisers

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Royal British Legion Malden & Coombe Branch The Royal British Legion and Malden and Coombe Branch have continually helped members of the armed forces, veterans and their families for the last 100 years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The Legion would like to hear from any unpaid carers of the ex service community so that we can see how the support they do receive can be improved. We would like to know how caring impacts your life and whether further support is needed. Research shows that members of the ex Service community are almost twice as likely to have a caring responsibility for a family member, friend or neighbour when compared to the adult population of England and Wales. That is 900,00 people! You will find the survey at www. britishlegion.org.uk Your views are invaluable.

To help the government and the RBL, the new National Census 2021 will finally allow people to indentify themselves as a Veteran. It will allow Local

Tree Surgery • Tree Felling Stump Grinding Tree Surveys and Reports Planting• Hedge Maintenance Fruit tree management Fully qualified Arborists £5 Million Liability Insurance Local Authority Approved Free Quotations and Advice

info@turnertreecare.co.uk

020 8393 3222

Authorities and charities, such as ourselves, to see where resources and finance is needed. Please fill this portion of the survey if it is relevant to yourself or your family.

As a branch we like to contact members and local veterans to see if they need our help. Many of us telephone, do shopping, pick up prescriptions and when it is possible go for a coffee or drink in the Grafton!

We are at present writing the 100 year history of Malden and Coombe which includes the memories of our members and hopefully it will be produced on line in the near future.

We always have and always will be there for our veterans and their families TO THE MEMORY OF THE FALLEN AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING

To advertise email jenny@maldenmedia.co.uk or call 020 8336 2915

37

FEELY

DRIVEWAYS

Resin Driveways

BLOCK PAVING AND DRIVEWAY SPECIALISTS

• Block Paving • Patios Driveways • Concrete Driveways • Driveway Cleaning • Swimming Pool Surrounds

07449 005 500

feelydriveways@gmail.com • www.feelydriveways.co.uk 38

Please remember to mention the Village Voice when you speak to our advertisers

F U N E R A L D I R E C TO R S & M E M O R I A L S TO N E M A S O N S

Andrew & Robert Lodge with their eco-friendly hybrid funeral fleet

O U R FA M I LY HELPING YO U R FA M I LY

Ranked No.1 Funeral Director in the UK “Wonderful empathetic service. Absolute kindness and professionalism, could not recommend highly enough.”

For over 240 years, seven generations of the Lodge Family have been proud to help local families in their time of need.

by Catherine

We provide all funerals, whether modern, traditional, green or alternative, with care and compassion.

NEW MALDEN 26 Coombe Road 020 8075 6112 FLORAL TRIBUTES

•

FUNERAL PLANS

ASK ABOUT OUR PRE-PAYMENT FUNERAL PLANS

•

W I L L S & P R O B AT E

To advertise email jenny@maldenmedia.co.uk or call 020 8336 2915 LdgMaldenVlgVoiceDec20-125x185-FINAL.indd 1

39 15/12/2020 12:48

3

CARPETS NUMBER

U

MOBILE CARPET SHOWROOM

WE’RE BACK

AND READY TO HELP

Now you’ve had time to decorate, it’s time for a new carpet.

Epsom based, friendly, family run business (Holly and her Dad) with over 40 years’ experience.

We bring 100’s of carpet samples to your home in a variety of colours all at competitive prices.

CALL

Holly

01372 632 118

www.carpets u.co.uk DISCOUNT SPECIAL RATES ON PRESENTATION OF THIS ADVERT

Over 1,000 Customer Reviews

FOR SENIOR CITIZENS T&Cs APPLY

WELCOME

FREE FITTING & FURNITURE MOVING - ESTIMATES AND ADVICE

Listen to our advert

40 DON’T Carpets_4_U_(A5_Ad)_SUMMER-2020_AW_V3.indd 1 the 19:55 FORGET TO MENTION THE PURLEY WHEN RESPONDING TO 27/04/2020 ADVERTS Please remember to mention Village PAGES Voice when you speak to our advertisers