Horndean 1935 Part II by Richard Overy 

Another postcard from the boys at Horndean 1935.

The card reads ‘ Horndean 1935, L to R ‘Dave’ Davidson-’Baron’ Stratford-’Pony’ Moore-’Mick’ Macguire (God’s Gift)’.

They wore their trousers high back in the 30′s!

 ’Pony’ Moore was the only gentleman shown in this image and the cycling shot from a few weeks ago.

You can ‘click  here’ to download the flyer for distribution to your friends, or to display at your ‘Flower Club’

I bought  this postcard from Oswestry at the same time as the gents in a boat I posted a few weeks ago wouldham 1932

I’m unsure if they are the same group of gentlemen but this is one of my recent favourites as they all look so happy with their bikes!

The reverse of this postcard has more information and reads: Horndean 1935 – Cycled Aldershot to Weymouth

‘Aggy’ Weston-’Mash’ Evans-’Snerge’ Prince- ’Hank’ Cottingham-’Pony’ Moore-Self “Ruby’ Redlar-’James’Whitmey

Aldershot to Weymouth is well over 100 miles so these chaps must have been fit!

This is the third time that Nursery Fresh Ltd have been asked to provide the flowers for a ship returning home, the last one being HMS Dauntless in November, sister ship of HMS Diamond.

Nursery Fresh have very close connections with the Royal Navy, providing flowers to several Mess balls and wedding flowers to many serving personnel this year.

Ten ladies were treated to a demonstration by Nursery Fresh designer Rebecca Warwick, before creating their own  fantastic Christmas table decorations to take home.

Nursery Fresh plans to host several of these intimate workshops throughout next year, with varying themes.

With a maximum of only 10 participants, a relaxed and enjoyable time is guaranteed  .

If you are interested in participating in a workshop, or can get together 8-10 friends for your own private class, then call Sally Waddington on 023 9259 1422 for details.

After my week in September 2011 where I spent time shadowing Jeff and Elise- the most generous and lovely people you could meet- I knew I had to come back to The News and this time with a better understanding of writing and reporting for stories. During my week I managed to break a lift with myself and Jeff in it but also was thrust into the joys and pains of local journalism. The fun times such as going to the crown court and writing about my old Girls’ Brigade leader, the tougher trials included sitting in on an inquest of a young man with a promising future who took his own life and took a sound recording to prove it.

On a happier note, I asked to come back to the office in May 2012 and on Friday afternoon, Jeff and Elise asked me to come and work regularly for them until I went back to university. I was over the moon- surely I must be doing something right. OK, I wasn’t getting paid but the experience was worth it alone and the respect that I felt from them honoured me, the fact that they could trust a non-trained 18-year-old to go off, get a story, speak to everyone and write it up in time to send off.

I loved every second of it.

I especially loved the moment when my photo was starting to be published alongside my name next to my articles- I was starting to feel like I worked there and it was great.

Here’s some of my articles for The News including my coverage of A-Level and GCSE results, human interest stories, reporting on fetes and how the paralympics were celebrated in our area. Some of these articles were subsquently chosen as front page stories for the Havant and Waterlooville Journal and they are positioned next to the originals…

Our experienced team will be available all day to discuss your specific requirements and show you examples of our work.

Our experienced team will be available all day to discuss your specific requirements and show you examples of our work.

If you accept the logic behind the phrase all roads lead to Rome then all roads lead to Wembley, including the A3(M). The road even has a strangely beautiful concrete bridge whose luscious curves mimic the Wembley arch.

The A3(M). Just one of the many roads to Wembley.

It is this road, or various iterations of it, running between Portsmouth and London which is responsible for much of the current shape of Horndean on the map. Initially a staging post it now seems every-inch the metroland as I pull off the motorway and pass the kind of voluminous Morrisons you can find in almost any built up area.

I then join the A3 what was once, before being upstaged by the motorway, the principal main road to London  passing by the Colonial Bar opposite which was once, according to the Horndean FC website, the old workhouse behind which earlier Horndean sides played their football. Immediately after this sojourn through the past I turn into Five Heads Road, further along which is my destination Five Heads Park, Horndean FC’s present ground. I’m heading here to see Horndean take on Brockenhurst in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup in what is the very first round of the competition which will end with the customary big finale at Wembley stadium on May 11th 2013.

Turning off the A-road gives the place at once a different feel. A sprinkling of cottages and it seems more leafy and rural. The leafy-ness increases the closer I get to the ground which is located somewhere near the northern edge of the built up area which stretches along the course of the road to London and reaches all the way back to Southsea.

Reaching the ground I find a parking space in a small patch of grass adjoining the main car park – which itself looks small enough to have trouble accommodating two teams plus officials.I pay at the gate, get my programme (no problems here) and find a spot alongside the idiosyncratically sloping pitch (see Hopping Around Hampshire for a superb description of the gradient of Horndean’s playing surface).

As I wait for the game to start I look out over the distance. Clearly visible is Portsdown Hill with its collection of forts and one structure which always looks to me like a beached stealth-warship. Having reached the end-point of my journey,or at least for the next couple of hours, I relax a little. The referee blows the whistle for the start of the game signalling the beginning of the journey for Horndean and Brockenhurst- not to mention the teams contesting the other 199 matches in the extra preliminary round. For the various winners of these games each will take another small step along the road to Wembley whilst for the vanquished all roads lead to home.

Two interesting facts about Horndean:

1.) The H in Gales HSB stands for Horndean.

2.) Harry Potter plays for up-front Horndean FC

Not only was she negotiating the roundabout, at the end of Downwood Way Horndean,  but she was doing it with her mobile stuck to her ear.

I couldn’t see if she still had it stuck to her ear when she negotiated the roundabout between London Road, Portsmouth Road and Havant Road in the centre of Horndean.

However, after taken the Havant Road she decided she needed something from the back of the car. Rather than pull over she kept rummaging, pretty much for the length of the road while meandering over the centre line and back. By rummaging I mean she was turning around in her seat to lean between the two front seats for several seconds at a time.

At the end of the road she encountered the next roundabout which is at the junction of Havant Road, Dell Piece East and the B2149 which leads to Rowlands Castle.

At his point our paths separated.

I hope she made it to her destination as I hope all the other road users in her path made it to theirs.

As a driver this woman is a menace.

Officially, it is a chalk grassland habitat or downland and a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSS1).  Gifted to Hampshire County Council in 1963 by Captain F H Long (bless him), Horndean Parish Council now manage the site with support from the South Downs National Parks.  These chalk grasslands were once common to Hampshire but with the modern shift from sheep to intensive arable farming, only a few remain – and those generally due to a difficulty to cultivate.  Such is the case with Catherington Down and these steep slopes that I enjoy have thankfully kept it safe.

The Hound and I tend to park off Lovedean Lane and climb up to the top of the Down, zig-zagging back via its various terraced levels.  These are in fact remnants of the ancient farming system dating back to medieval times known as strip lynchets.  Now over 100 different species of flowering plants have been found on Catherington Down, along with rare species of butterfly and wildlife.  You can equally climb down and zig-zag back up, parking in Catherington Car Park at the top of the hill, accessing via Parsonage Field.

We always seem to meet The Hound’s favourite chums when we visit and the only time we tend to avoid it is when cattle are brought in to graze – generally September – late November.

Access to Catherington Down is either via Catherington Car Park (weekdays – avoid school drop off and pick up times) or from two lay by’s off Lovedean Lane.

For an interesting link, see Hampshire Ornithological Society.

A few days ago I attended a meeting at which there was a presentation on the Localism Act and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). To be quite honest I wasn’t quite sure why I was there. I do know that I have been shooting my mouth of about the lack of involvement there appears to be between the community, meaning  me, and the planners.  In recent times I had seen articles which referred to Community Board meetings. To be more specific the articles typically were referring to meetings that HAD taken place, past tense. Then I saw in the paper that a meeting was to take place at Horndean Technology College so I made a note in my diary and then forgot all about it. That is until the reminder popped up a few days before the due date.

So I took myself along and it soon became clear that I was there, somewhat under false pretenses, as a resident of Waterlooville. You see, this meeting was called by the East Hampshire District Council with focus primarily on Horndean, Cowplain and Rowlands Castle but nothing to do with Waterlooville which comes under Havant Borough Council.

The really sad thing is that there were only, including me, perhaps 3 or 4 members of public in attendance. The bulk of the attendees were local councillors. Yet, the subject of the meeting, The Localism Act, is all about pushing the responsibility for planning decisions away from central government, down to the local community.

Thats you and me folks.

I  really knew nothing of the subject matter prior to the meeting.  I just saw it as a point of entry for my interest in local planning affairs. Also I was hoping that I would be able to identify some contacts and sources of information.

The meeting ran along the usual lines reading of planned agenda, acceptance of previous minutes etc. etc.. Then the presentations began ….

The Localism Act came into being 15 November 2011. The intent of the act is to  shift power from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and councils.

The act is a recognition that central government has become too big, too interfering, too controlling and too bureaucratic. This has undermined local democracy and individual responsibility, and stifled innovation and enterprise within public services. The intention is  create a shift in the balance of power and to decentralise power as far as possible.

“Localism” isn’t simply about giving power back to local government. Rather it shows the government trusts people to take charge of their lives and is prepared to push power downwards and outwards to the lowest possible level, including individuals, neighbourhoods, professionals and communities as well as local councils and other local institutions.

There are five key measures core this new approach to decentralisation.

• Community rights
• Neighbourhood planning
• Housing
• General power of competence
• Empowering cities and other local areas

You can read about the detail behind these bullets here

The other key item presented was CIL.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) Regulations 2011 came into force on 6 April 2011 and is a levy on new developments over 100 square metres in size. The money raised by CIL will be ring fenced for local infrastructure.

In other words it is a tax.

Who is supposed to benefit from this tax ? Supposedly the community that has to suffer the new developments is the community that reaps the benefit from the moneys raised by the levy.

The money can be used to support development by funding infrastructure that the council, local community and neighbourhoods want – for example new or safer road schemes, park improvements or a new health centre. The system is very simple. It applies to most new buildings and charges are based on the size and type of the new development.

As I said earlier, he sad thing is that there were only a few members of public at the meeting. The whole point of the Localism Act and CIL is to put power back into the hands of the community.

Unfortunately, the community on the face of it doesn’t seem to care.

Personally I don’t think that is true. I think that people do care but they are not engaged by local council. The local councils don’t, in my opinion, do a very good job of communicating what is going on in their parishes and boroughs. From my own personal experience, when you do try to get involved it is difficult.

There are, apparently, Community Forums where this stuff is discussed. I tried to find out about the local Waterlooville forum and sent emails to the contacts published on the Havant Borough Council website. Either the links are dead or the owners of the email address choose not to respond.

Which is how I ended up as an interloper at an East Hampshire Community Forum meeting in Horndean.

My thanks to Cynthia Haveron who took the time to discuss the meeting set up with me, to introduce me to the Horndean representatives during the discussion period and also to send me contact names and email addresses for the Waterlooville Community Forums.

Localism Act will not stop new homes plan – Politics – The News.

The description of the development is as follows:

Site Address: Dunsbury Hill Farm, Park Lane, Cowplain, Waterlooville

Proposed Development: Hybrid planning application comprising a part outline application relating to employment uses and a hotel with conference  facilities and a part detailed application for a new link road with bus gate to Woolston Road; together with landscaping, infrastructure and associated works.

I am sure that they don’t intend to hide what this development really means but on first reading I was quite happy to go along with it. After all a new hotel and conference centre would not increase the daily traffic levels and road traffic noise. The additional employment opportunities that this would bring is also to welcomed.

However, without reading the actual proposal one is not likely to see what this really is. In their own words …

… proposed development of agricultural land at Dunsbury Hill Farm, Havant into a business and technology park with hotel, conference facilities and associated infrastructure

The  development proposal includes the creation of a new roundabout and potential dualling of a section of the Hulbert Road. In addition there are plans to create a new parking area double the area of the current lay-bys this development will replace. All of this is an indication of the increased traffic that the developers are anticipating.
I have lived in this area since 1985. The survey that I had on my house at the time carries a final comment

shame about the noise from the motorway

Over the years  I have become aware of the increasing noise levels and the changing nature of the noise. Waterlooville, specifically Junction 3 (J3), the junction of the B2150 with the A3(M),  has become something of a hub for the emergency services. As a result anyone living near to this junction will have noticed the increased siren activity. If recent news articles are to be believed the newly opened Hindhead Tunnel is also contributing to increased noise levels along the A3(M) due to heavy goods traffic choosing the A3(M) in preference to the M3 now that the Hindhead traffic jams have been eliminated.
The application pack includes  tables indicating noise levels. The constant theme running through the comments section is

A3 constant and dominant.

What is wrong with these tables is that they are taking noise level reading from a point on the centre line of the A3(M) into the development area and on into Calshot Road & Park Lane areas of Leigh Park. No measurements seem to have been taken from the Waterlooville side of the A3(M).

Yet this is the area that will probably be most affected by the additional traffic generated by the new development.

The location of this new development makes total sense when you consider the easy access to the motorway. Allowing traffic to clear the area very quickly.  However, the very fact that all that traffic will be coming and going via J3 of the A3(M) is going to have a negative effect on the area.

Presumably the planners are thinking that this new development will provide jobs for the soon to be residents of the Berewood (ex Newlands) development on the opposite side of Waterlooville. Did they also consider the additional traffic that will inexorably be sucked across the town ? Such traffic will also be using the J3 roundabout.

I also have other questions, ones that I have asked in other of my posts …

1. Are there any potential tenants who have committed to take up residence of these new units when they are built ?
2. Has a major hotel chain registered any interest in running this proposed hotel and conference centre ?
3. Was the land adjacent to Junction 2, Horndean, considered as the site for this development ? If it was, why was it rejected since there is less potential for affecting local residents and the motorway access is just as good ?I am assuming that the answer is that the land comes under East Hampshire District Council rather than Portsmouth City Council.

I am the first to bemoan the fact that the planners don’t seem to have done much to provide employment for the residents of Waterlooville. So I am loath to be totally negative about this proposed development. However, I don’t believe that the planners have got the true measure of the impact that this development will have.

As usual the only people who will truly gain from this are the developers and, for a short while, the folks employed to carry out the construction.

• View Gallery •

Wessex League Premier Division

HORNDEAN 0

WINCHESTER CITY 1 (Mills 89p) White missed penalty 56

Att 70

Entry £5

Programme FREE

Tea £1

Bacon Cheeseburger £2

Horndean is a small village around 8 miles north of Portsmouth. Its claim to fame is it’s where Gales Ales used to be produced, before the brewery was bought by Fullers and closed.

5 Heads Park is to be found the north of the village, a nearby pub, The Colonial, is the site of the village’s long since closed workhouse. On entering the ground I immediately felt a sense of Oxford United’s former home, The Manor Ground, the pitch slopes in exactly the same way, from bottom left to top right! I was given a programme, or rather a shell, for free as the match inserts hadn’t turned up. A few days later, I’m now in possession of the missing insert, and well I can at least say I got value for money!

I enjoyed the cafe, with its cheap food and expensive drinks, and the club were forthcoming with the lineups, surprised that anyone not connected with the participating teams could be interested in the fixture.

The ground is a mish-mash of facilities loved by hoppers and hated by ground graders. The changing room block, loos, and cafe are housed in what looks like a 1950′s style Butlins chalet block, and to add to the effect when an announcement is made over the PA, there’s “Bing Bong” sound first. You start to wonder where Ted Bovis and Gladys Pugh are hiding! There’s a bench seated wooden stand, and between the dugouts a small covered terrace. The bottom end is inaccessible to spectators.

I think the fans of both clubs got pretty much what they wanted. Horndean fully expected to lose, and were pleased not to have been embarrasssed by a team with far greater resources, and Winchester saw the win take them back to the top of the table. For the 3 hoppers there, this was a real curate’s egg of a game. No lack of incident or goalmouth action, but a singular lack of goals. We cut as much of a frustrated figure as Winchester boss Guy Butters. It seemed almost inevitable that Jamie White would miss his penalty, he missed everything else, and the only outlet seemed to be Sarnian winger Charlie Smeeton, who despite having an off-day, and a linesman who was a good 5 yards behind the play, was still head and shoulders above anything else on the pitch.

Of course we did get a second penalty, just when we’d given the game up as a nil-nil, and Leigh Mills put the ball in the bottom right corner, which was what White had tried to do earlier. So a small level of relief, in avoiding a nil-nil, but I left thinking this is the kind of ground and club, that inspires me to travel the distances I do.

• Saturday 11 September 2010
• 11am – 10pm
• Queen Elizabeth Country Park

Butserfest 2010 is a one-day outdoor music festival aimed at 14-20 year old although younger and older people are permitted entry.

The festival gives unsigned bands the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest up-coming bands from around the UK. It’s also a chance for young people to see live music in a safe, alcohol and drug-free environment.

In addition to seeing more than 20 live bands, attendees took part in free activities including bungee runs, laser quest, music workshops and more! 

Bands lined up were:

• The King Blues
• We Are The Ocean
• Young Guns
• My Passion
• Bury Tomorrow
• Fei Comodo
• Shadows Chasing Ghosts
• Mike TV
• The Theory of 6 Degrees
• 3 Ways of Thinking
• We Start Partys
• As We Climb
• The Light Divided
• The Famous Class

Find out more on the Butserfest 2010 website.