Sunbury Matters

The Garden Goddess Iris was the goddess of the rainbow in Greek mythology. I have a thing for Greek mythology, and I love Irises. The large, bearded types unfurl at this time of year and they reflect the colours of the spectrum from deepest purple, through dusky orange, egg-yolk yellow and the most delicate of

Bank Holiday Monday, gale force winds, a garden fire and an island full of wooden craft and flammable materials. What could possibly go wrong?!  It was devastating to see images of the fire on Platts Eyot last month. Two boathouses full of historic boats under restoration, went up in flames which were seen from miles

By Monica Chard  According to the Horticultural Traders Asso-ciation, lockdown spawned an estimated 3 million new gardeners, as many of us started really treasuring outside space that we may previously have taken for granted.  But one local family has been nurturing growers for decades. This year Squire’s celebrate 85 years. The business was started in

By Monica Chard  You may have already visited Liquid Leisure in Charlton Village, and had fun in the water. The new attraction was heavily affected by the Covid restrictions of 2020 but managed to welcome some families to at last enjoy a much needed day out of fun and leisure. Over the winter the team

Great news to hear that Old Hallifordian James Woodgate has been selected as one of the six archers that will represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games.  James Woodgate left Halliford School last year and at just 18 is the youngest member of the archery team to be selected for Tokyo. On leaving Halliford

Thank you to this months contributors. Do send any photos for inclusion in Local Capture to monica@villagematters.co.uk.

There’s been renewed enthusiasm about the idea of a new Royal Britannia in the wake of Prince Philip’s death. He was closely involved in the commissioning and design of the previous royal yacht. In service from 1954 until 1997, the origi-nal Royal Yacht Britannia was the 83rd official royal yacht of a British monarch since

By Nick Pollard  This postcard reminds us that floods do not only happen in the winter. There had been a heavy fall of snow in April 1908 (you may remember we had a day when it snowed heavily just last month), and when it melted in May, the Thames flooded badly. The scene is looking

By Inspector Maxine Cilia  Our latest project around Catalytic Converters had an overwhelming response. I am so pleased that so many of you want to get involved in crime prevention. Letters went out to local residents who were known to own one of the top two cars subjected to Catalytic Converter thefts and we had

Hello to all members of SU3A especially if we have not been able to meet during the last year. Spelthorne U3A is still here for you and awaiting a time when meetings and groups get back together.  However, if you are reading this and hearing of SU3A for the first time let me pique your

By Russell Grant  This year Middlesex Day on May 16th was to be held at the Middlesex Regiment Memorial at St Mary’s Church, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex. Sadly Covid has put paid to that. But let’s take this chance to find out what Middlesex Day is.  It was Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher who, unknowingly, began the

Poems in praise of a beautiful place  During lockdown, husband and wife Cyril and Rosemary Lafferty had plenty of time to admire the ever changing view from their living room in Beasley’s Ait, overlooking the Thames. Neither of them had ever written poetry before, but they challenged themselves and each other to try to capture