October 07 Edition
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
 As if Pete and Julia Nash had not gone through enough already, the couple have now been forced to sell their house after crippling debts became too much. As My Abbots readers will be aware by now, Pete Nash required life saving surgery on his brain earlier this year, with the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) refusing to fund the necessary treatment because of the risks involved. Pete has not worked for over two years and Julia took time off work to look after him and fundraise, so no money had been earned in that time. Pete has lost sleep because of the worry and the couple have now decided that after all they have been through, it is time to sell up and be left with something after paying off their debts. Julia told My Abbots: “We don’t know where we’re going at the moment. Our youngest, Benn, still has a year at school so we won’t be moving far.” As well as everything the Nash’s have had to go through, they also had bad news concerning their son Peter. A Tumour was found in his leg, shortly before Pete was to have his first operation. Julia said: “We were obviously very worried, but Peter didn’t want us to tell anyone as he was worried nobody would believe him. ‘How could one family go through so much’ was his thinking, so we kept it private.” Peter had the tumour removed in July and found that it was benign, so all is well apart from a nasty scar in his leg. Pete is due to return to work in March, while Julia is hoping to make her fundraising duties with Pete’s Fund full time. The couple are due to go and see Pete’s surgeon, Mr Porter, in November for his first check up since the last operation. Julia’s hope is to get a surgeon from the north and south to work alongside Mr Porter to obtain the training required to carry out the surgery Pete had. Julia said: “We’d like to help other people and discuss with Mr Porter how we can do that. There is nobody else in the country that can do the procedure and this was part of the reason Pete was refused funding. The PCT would not pay for him to go to Bristol.” Pete’s last operation took place a few months ago and he is making a good recovery, so much so that he was due to run the Abbots Tough 10 as this magazine went to print. He, wife Julia and all three of their sons are going to be involved in the event, with youngest son Benn participating in the 5km event. |
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WOMAN HAS ‘STROKE’ IN CHURCH |
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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A number of Abbots parishioners were stunned and concerned when they witnessed a local bell ringer being rescued by firefighters, after suffering a stroke at the top of a local church. The incident happened on the first day of the month at St Lawrence Church, when the fire brigade were called to lower Angela Harris, 66, of Garston, over the balcony of the ringing chamber after she became ill. Paramedics were called to the High Street Church at around 8.20pm, when Mrs Harris collapsed in the tower after ringing a near 900 lb bell during a weekly practice. They were unable to stretcher the stroke victim down a steep wooden staircase from the belfry, which resulted in the fire brigade using a number of ropes and ladders to lower the recently retired community worker. The paramedics treated the ill Mrs Harris in the tower while they waited for the brigade to arrive, before four fire engines turned up and lowered her down from the bell tower, which sits roughly 20ft above the church floor. Elsewhere, it is not uncommon for ringing to take place in isolation, with access via a spiral staircase or even a ladder. Some towers have held practice removals of a patient with the local brigade to determine the best means. Occasionally, the only way is upwards and out over the side at the top of the tower, which is what occurred in this case.
Head bell-ringer at St Lawrence Church, David Harris, who is of no relation, said he had feared that Mrs Harris might be yanked up into the tower by her bell's slack rope as she fell ill. He was also worried that the rope could well have wrapped around the vulnerable women’s neck, but luckily it didn’t come to this. As members of the bell-ringing group, trained in first-aid, helped Mrs Harris, Mr Harris rushed down the belfry staircase and out of the church to call the emergency services. John Sutton, Secretary of the St Lawrence bell-ringers, told My Abbots that seeing the fire brigade outside the church brought back horrible memories of one thing. He said: “Memories of the dreadful fire of February 1969 came flooding back.” Mr Sutton said the bell-ringers, who meet to practice every Monday, included a retired nurse who was able to help their fellow ringer. Mrs Harris, who started bell-ringing about two months ago, was taken to Watford General Hospital, where she is recovering.
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KINDERSLEY WAY RESIDENTS RAGE OVER ROAD |
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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My Abbots has received complaints from a number of residents over the state of one of its roads and the neglect it has suffered. Villagers living on Kindersley Way are concerned that the road is starting to become somewhat of an eyesore within the area. It has grass verges on the outer side of the pavements and because the road is steeply sloping, the rainwater tends to wash away any loose earth and the clay soil becomes impacted in winter. The number of cars that park along the road has steadily increased over the years, which of course further damages the weathered pavement. Rubble, broken slabs, gouged out spaces, with kerbstones sticking up at the edge of the roadway in places, all cause hazards to pedestrians. Work that has been carried out along the road such as the installation of cables and the number of heavy good vehicles using the road are major factors in the road’s poor state. Hedges along the side of the road are overgrown which sometimes makes it difficult for pedestrians to walk along. Jeannie Mehta, who is one of the residents who notified My Abbots of her concerns, believes Hertfordshire Highways have a responsibility to make the necessary improvements. She said: “About three years ago, Hertfordshire Highways, at my request, sent representatives to have a look at the degradation and visited the road. They agreed that it was a mess, but their promised re-seeding has not happened.” Councillor Matthew Bedford is another resident who lives on Kindersley Way and he shares the concerns of Mrs Mehta. He told My Abbots: “We did a survey a couple of months ago to see what the general consensus was among residents on Kindersley Way over the parking situation. “There was a massive split of opinions and I have now submitted the road to the council for assessment, but have yet to hear back. The option of doing nothing is not the option I wish to take, but I must stress that it is a long process and we are quite a long way from doing anything.” STOP PRESS Since writing this piece, Jeannie Mehta has had a reply from Matthew Bedford informing her that the County Council utterly refuses to even consider maintaining these verges. Should the appearance of the road be allowed to degrade to such an extent? The plan is to suggest parking bays, but many residents are vehemently opposed to this notion.
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CANNABIS SMELL GAVE GAME AWAY FOR ABBOTS MAN |
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
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An Abbots Langley man has received a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years after being found in possession of a large quantity of cannabis. However, it was only on the off chance that the man was convicted of the crime, after the stench of the herbal drug coming from the man’s Fiat Punto alerted some passing Police Officers.
The officers had been called to a house nearby for a completely unattached matter, but were alerted to the parked vehicle on Woodland Way, Watford, because of the strong smell coming from it. St Albans Crown Court heard that they were soon tapping on the window of the car and arrested the man, taking him to Watford Police station for questioning. Police then searched the house of the arrested man, in Kindersley Way, Abbots Langley, and in his bedroom they found more cannabis, scales, bags, clingfilm, two cannabis grinders and around £4,000 in cash. Michael Baker QC, who was passing sentence, told the defendant: “It is absolutely clear you were operating as a dealer.”
The suspended sentence was not the only punishment dished out to the Abbots resident. He has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months |
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New Manager Fitz the Bill |
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Monday, 01 October 2007 |
 Evergreen Football Club will look to climb the league with a new man in charge after assistant manager Paul ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald replaced Paul Faulkner. It is the first time for a number of years that an ‘Abbots Man’ will lead the club, and Fitzgerald has his work cut out after the Green Boys suffered another torrid month. Faulkner handed in his resignation at the end of September after admitting that he felt he had taken the club as far as he could. Fitzgerald told My Abbots: “With Paul (Faulkner) leaving it’s now a case of steadying the ship. I intend to spilt the season into four and set the team targets for each quarter. “Realistically, we cannot win the league, but its early days and the aim is to consolidate and get the team away from the relegation zone.” The Green Boys currently lie in the bottom three, having failed to win a single league fixture in the last month, with the only bright spot for the South Way side being progression in the Aubrey Cup at the expense of First Division Chipperfield. After a promising draw against Hatfield Town last month, Evergreen came up against mid-table Stanton and Puckeridge. The Green Boys winless run sadly continued as they suffered a 3-1 defeat, with Craige Tomkins consolation the only notable moment of the match worth mentioning. Faulkner’s former side had the opportunity to gain their first win in four when they travelled to fellow strugglers Knebworth. A six goal thriller would see Evergreen sadly only gain the one point, as goals from Daniel Field, Craige Tomkins and Dean Seabrook meant a 3-3 draw for the struggling side. The side’s next fixture was a tricky trip to fourth placed Wormley Rovers. The South Way side suffered their biggest defeat of the season so far by their superior opponents, crashing to a 4-0 loss, leaving them six games without a league win. This would be Faulkner’s last game in charge as he resigned a few days later; stating that he had taken the club has far as he could. Assistant manager Paul Fitzgerald took charge of the team’s last fixture, which was the Aubrey Cup game against Chipperfield Corinthians. After the two sides finished normal time at 2-2, the game went into extra time. Somehow, Evergreen managed to put their recent poor run behind them and hammer their opponents 6-2 in the extra 30 minute period. A hat-trick from Dean Seabrook and goals from Danny Field, Jack Brown and Howard Hall ensured that former Mill End manager Fitzgerald would get off to winning ways giving Evergreen a Quarter Final away to Debden Sports to look forward too.
My Abbots would like to wish ‘Fitzy’ all the best in turning the club’s fortunes around. |
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