Contacts

The Teddington Society
21 Teddington Park
Teddington TW11 8BD

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

The Autumn 2008 issue of Tidings includes the following:

• Letter from the Chair
• From the Editor
• Reports from the Groups
• Youth Club
• Lords of the Manor
• Art Gallery
• Civic Trust Awards
• Tales from the Riverbank
• Teddington in Flower
• Diary and Events

Letter from the Chair
This has been a month of interesting contrasts as I have just returned from a week in Kazakhstan in its new capital of Astana which has been built from scratch in the last 10 years rising out of the featureless flat steppes in tower blocks in every shape imaginable - gothic castles, pyramids, domes, arches, tall buildings with waists, mosques, and neoclassical temples. To return to the human scale of Teddington is a relief.

Teddington in Flower was a great success this year with a record amount raised for charity. We owe a great deal to the sterling efforts of Sheena Harold and Pat Shuttleworth and the army of other helpers and, of course, to the people who kindly open their gardens and the work that they put in beforehand.

We now look forward to the Teddington Fair and to a number of interesting events and outings that Angela Carvill has planned for us.

Jenny Hilton

From the Editor
“Pompey Chimes ring out again!” Well, at least there is some justice in the world. Nuff said! Just hope that we don’t have to wait another 69 years for it to happen again.

Getting back to more parochial issues, I’m delighted to be able to include more success stories at our local level. In particular, it’s good to be able to report on some of the really outstanding things that have been happening with our younger generations and their mentors in Teddington. I had expected to just include a few routine events but, once I started talking to those involved, the whole thing snowballed and I have had to hold some things over for future issues. Despite some of the very worrying trends that we see splashed over the national press and media, the achievements and news that we report this time give us hope and encouragement for the future. Congratulations to all of those we report on in this issue and I look forward to being able to do the same in future editions of Tidings.

Mike Woods

Teddington in Flower
Wonderful weather, lovely atmosphere and all those people in cars, on bikes or on foot donating so generously to our charities. Over £2,000 was raised of which £1,500 went to Teddington & Hampton Wick Voluntary Care Group whose founder, Douglas Brown, came to meet the Mayor and visit a couple of gardens. The Mayor, Cllr Helen Lee-Parsons, accompanied by Cllr Liz Jaeger and Jenny Hilton, our Chair, visited all ten venues. Special thanks to everyone who did so much work: the Gardeners – Alan Drake, Helga Foss, Sheila Storr, Elaine Lang, Diane Ward, Jenny Hilton, Shirley Meaker, everyone at the Library, and parents & children at Collis School. St Mary’s Parish Church opened for people to see its historic interior and provided a cool oasis for refreshments in the churchyard from where June Demont and her helpers sent over £200 to Home Start Richmond.

Collis School made nearly £200 from teas & plant sales to help maintain the Nature Trail and Diane Ward along with her parents, Len & Joan Neave, collected £145 from refreshments & plants which went to help the Royal British Legion Teddington Branch. Behind the scenes Pat Shuttleworth organised a rota of Gate Sitters; David Ivison was our banker supplying & collecting the floats; Duncan Shuttleworth put posters – designed by Maria Pemberton - on lampposts and put 300 Garden lists through letterboxes; and David Lawton went into shops asking them to put posters in their windows – only one asked us to pay! Corporate member Haymarket Publishing came up trumps again by printing all the Garden Lists for FREE so more money could go to charity. Thank you all for making this our best year ever.

Don't miss looking at our special online photo news report on Teddington in Flower 2008.

Sheena and Pat