Contacts

The Teddington Society
21 Teddington Park
Teddington TW11 8BD

Contact by e-mail:
secretary@teddingtonsociety.org.uk

The Christmas 2006 issue of Tidings includes the following:

• Letter from the Chair
• From the Editor
• An American's View
• Reports from the Groups
• Christmas Lights
• Christmas Lights
• High Tide on the River
• Mistletoe
• History can be fun!
• History Walk Quiz
• Diary and Events

Letter from the Chair
Since the last edition of Tidings I have been involved in several Teddington Society events.

Firstly an all day outing to a National Trust mansion - Claydon House - which has extravagant rococo carvings of ho-ho birds, chinoiserie rooms and some enticing oriental xylophones. Outside there were splendid herbaceous borders and we had very good Welsh Rarebits in the coach house. In fact it was a day of gastronomic pleasures, starting with coffee in Wendover Railway Station and ending with a very good cream tea in Wing Church, which has some Saxon remnants but is largely a Victorian restoration.

Then there was a coffee morning at Peg Woffington’s which was much enjoyed by customers old and new, and finally I helped Mr Squire of Squire’s Garden Centre to present a bird table to Teddington Library to mark their centenary. This too was accompanied, as it seems are all Teddington Society occasions, by tea and home-made cakes!

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and happiness in the New Year. I hope to see many of you at the New Year party.

Jenny Hilton

From the Editor
Iam continually grateful to my regular contributors, without whom we would not have a Newsletter, for all their efforts to get their pieces in on time.

In this issue,we see effort taken to extreme lengths, with Brian Holder actually submitting his report from Melbourne! I am also constantly surprised and delighted by the number of offers of a one-off article I receive. Please keep the contributions coming in.

My deadline for the next issue is January 20th.

With every good wish for Christmas and New Year to all our readers.

Margaret Chan

An American's View of Teddington
I enjoy living in Teddington for many reasons. A big reason is that I am able to walk anywhere. I walk to Tesco to do my weekly shop, hop to Budgens for a pint of milk, or stop into The Coffee Mill for tea and a slice. I could not do this in America. The closest shop required a two mile drive.

I like having a chemist close by who will deliver medications if need be. I adore the Teddington Book Shop where the owner knows my name and is funny and kind. All of the shops offer a friendly feel, without being intrusive. The Teddington Library is a real gem. In America we needed two automobiles to function. Here we have none. I rely on public transport. The bus stop is only a three minute walk offering excellent service to Richmond, Kingston, and Hampton Hill. The train station is a seven minute walk away. London is then 30 minutes away, with all that the city has to offer.

I love the sense of history that permeates the area, and its cultural events. The Richmond Theatre, Hampton Court, and Bushy Park attract me again and again. It is a pleasure just to stroll the walkways and marvel at the imposing architecture of stately homes, churches, and historical sites.

Teddington is my home now. I have a sense of belonging. It saddens me when I see signs of vandalism desecrating our town. Don’t these people know how privileged they are to live here?

James Riley

History can be fun!
…and it certainly was on Sunday, September 10th, when dozens of people took part in the History Walk and Quiz, organised by Mary Green and the Historical Research Group.

Competitors collected their Quiz questions, compiled by Paddy Ching, at the Library, which was also the subject of Question One. They were also given a copy of A Walk in Teddington, a Society publication, which contained the answers to some of Paddy’s 20 questions.

The Quiz walkers headed down the High Street to the River, and then returned to Peg Woffington Cottage, where Ken Howe marked the answers.

Organised to celebrate the nationwide Local History Month, the event was open to both to Teddington Society members and non-members. We hope it may since have led to our gaining some new members!

The winners, with the highest score, were non-members from neighbouring Strawberry Hill: Diana Locke and Steve Smith, who just pipped member, Norman Simmons by half a mark! Norman is a member of the Historical Research Group and has lived in Teddington for 80 years.

Our grateful thanks to all at the Library for putting up our display about the Quiz for 10 days, and to Tony and Betty Mansell for providing refreshments and opening their home to us.

Sheena Harold