Want to master your computer, tablet or phone? Join a FREE, friendly and volunteer-led group to build your digital skills!
Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts offer FREE digital skills sessions at the Nigel Copping Community Building in Sanville Gardens, Stanstead Abbotts.
The last session of the year is on 11th December, from 2.30 to 4pm.
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL If you’re interested, book your place by calling 0300 123 1034.
The December 2024 issue of The Three Villages Magazine is here and available to purchase for £1 across the three villages. Be sure to pick up your copy!
You can find it at a number of locations: The Village Pharmacy, Stanstead Abbotts St John the Baptist Church, Great Amwell St Mary’s Church, St Margarets St Andrew’s Church, Stanstead Abbotts The Bridge Shop, Stanstead Abbotts
In this issue, along with all our regular features, you will find the latest in our Local Historic Faces & Places series, a charity focus on SPACE Hertfordshire, an updated on the Neighbourhood Plan and announce the winners of our Schools Christmas Art Competition.
If you are struggling to get a hold of a copy, please do get in touch and we will get one to you.
Thank you for your continued support, The Three Villages Team
The December issue of The Three Villages Magazine is nearly here!
For this issue, we have broken from our normal cover photography to showcase the winning entries from our Schools Christmas Art Competition. Congratulations to our winners!
After the success of our Christmas art competition last year, we once again asked the schools if they would like to take part in a ‘Christmas Star Competition’. The students who took part didn’t let us down!
Pick up a copy of the December Issue to find out who our winners are!
Do keep your eyes open for these special stars as we hope to use them, along with all the other stars that were entered into the competition, to decorate Stanstead Abbotts high street! Why not see how many you can spot?
Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition. You did yourselves and your schools proud!
Hertfordshire residents and visitors can now enjoy free bus travel thanks to the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding, which has made 10,000 free bus tickets available.
The new Intalink Connect ticket offers unlimited all-day travel across 14 zones in the county, with flexible options for single-zone, two adjacent zones, or all-zone travel.
Tickets can be claimed through the Intalink App using the discount code CATCHBUS24. A maximum of one ticket per Intalink App account is available.
I you haven’t already done so, please do complete our ‘Future Plans’ Survey!
The December issue (that is now with the printer) marks the conclusion of three full years of The Three Villages in print and online! We are taking this opportunity to reassess how we can best share, showcase and support our three villages in future publications.
We want to hear from you! Completing the survey takes only 5 minutes.
Have your say and shape the future of our publication.
Memory Support Hertfordshire is a newly launched community service providing local connection, support, information, and advice for everyone affected by dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Building on the strong foundations of Hertfordshire’s existing locally embedded community support services, the addition of a new information and development service will provide a welcome route for people to access support and guidance more quickly and easily.
A helpline, an email service and in-person drop-in hubs will ensure people are able to find out what they want to know, as well as support people to find and access the full range of community-based, health and social care support available in county.
Anyone interested in becoming more dementia friendly or aware will now have a point of contact to help guide them and support their development. The service will also work with partners and professionals to help them to signpost and refer more easily to available support, and over time, together we will ensure that the full scope of Hertfordshire-based resources are visible and available at www.memorysupportherts.org.uk.
Adding to the existing highly valued groups and direct support already available, there will be more opportunities to learn about living with dementia, additional specialist support for people living with Young Onset Dementia and more support for friends and family members who care for someone with dementia. All types of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment are supported, and a formal diagnosis is not necessary to be able to use the service.
Funded by Hertfordshire County Council and the NHS and delivered in partnership by Age UK Hertfordshire, Carers in Hertfordshire and Alzheimer’s Society, Memory Support Hertfordshire is committed to improving support available to people affected by dementia and is aligned to the Hertfordshire Dementia Strategy.
We want Hertfordshire to be a place where people affected by dementia have access to timely, skilled, and well-coordinated support from diagnosis to end of life, which helps achieve the outcomes that matter to them. According to figures from the NHS, there are more than 14,500 people living in Hertfordshire with a diagnosis of dementia and we know that this is only due to rise. Memory Support Hertfordshire aims to make it easier for people needing support around memory loss and dementia to find and access the full range of information and support available. The service has been co-produced by people who currently use existing dementia support services, so that the varied support on offer meets their needs. Councillor Tony Kingsbury, Executive Member for Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing at Hertfordshire County Council
Key information:
Helpline: 0300 131 3946 (open Monday to Friday 9am–4pm)
There has been a lot going on at St John the Baptist Church, Great Amwell, over the last few months. Here is a little about what it…
South African Braii
In August, in the lovely summer sunshine, we had a South African braai in the churchyard of St John the Baptist, organised kindly by parishioners Graeme and Paola McSorley. We enjoyed boerewors followed by melktert, washed down with fabulous South African wine.
Visitors come to St John the Baptist
St John’s church has been blessed this year with visitors from overseas. Recently, we have had visitors from America, who can trace their ancestry to Richard and Elizabeth Warren who were married in the church in 1610. Richard being one of the Pilgrim Fathers on Mayflower 10 years later.
Front: Tim Van Leer, Jodie Picoult, Rev’d Sarah Forrest and Eric Nye; Back: Martin Vaughan, Margaret Mellor and Sue VaughanSue and Tom Dietrich
In September, came Sue and Tom Dietrich from Arizona, followed on 3rd October by well-known authoress Jodie Picoult and her husband, Tim Warren Van Leer from New Hampshire. On the same day, Eric Nye, a visiting professor at Cambridge and related to the Warrens, joined us. It was great to welcome them to St John’s and show them round the church and the churchyard.
‘Remembrance Sunday is a national opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all those that have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.’ (The Royal British Legion)
Join together this Remembrance Sunday to remember the Armed Forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, the vital role played by the emergency services and those who have lost their lives as a result of conflict or terrorism.
The 3 Churches Benefice are holding the following Services of Remembrance on Sunday 10th November:
* 9am Remembrance Sunday Eucharist Service at St John the Baptist Church, Great Amwell
* 10.30am Service of Remembrance at Amwell Lane War Memorial, Great Amwell (this service is outdoors, so please dress for the weather)
* 10.30am Service of Remembrance at St Andrew’s Church, Stanstead Abbots (starts in the church and then moves to the war memorial outside)
Our Autumn Walk Timetables list more than 100 walking opportunities, including 18 short walks for beginners and many longer walks at a faster pace. Whether you want to explore the countryside, meet new people or build your confidence walking, there is something for everyone. All walks are graded, this way you can make sure it suits your abilities. More than 3,600 people are already walking with us.
All walks are free with no booking required. Just turn up at least 10 mins before the start time shown, as they set off promptly and there will be a pre-walk briefing.
Save time on the day by registering as a new walker online or arrive 10 mins early before your first walk to complete a New Walker Form. Our walk leaders are ready to welcome you and will keep to a pace that is comfortable for you.
Hertfordshire Health Walks are coordinated by the Countryside Management Service. Our schemes are accredited by the national Walking for Health campaign.
The Three Villages 