December 2008 Archives

An empty retail unit in Egham has been converted into a Christmas kitchen, offering food and refreshments for the hungry and lonely.

The new kitchen, in The Precinct, opened on Saturday December 13 and was transformed through a combined effort of local churches, Egham Chamber of Commerce, who offered the free loan of the shop unit and donations from Runnymede Borough Council and local business Orchard Kitchens.

A van and a car were involved in a smash in The Avenue near the Runnymede roundabout in Egham on Monday December 8 at about 12.30pm.

The crash partially blocked the road until about 2pm and no-one was injured.

Firefighters put out a bin blaze, which is believed to have been started deliberately, at Egham Leisure Centre in Vicarage Road, Egham, on Saturday (6) at about 7.45pm.

Land in Runnymede that could provide new housing over the next 20 years is to be recorded in a new register.

Runnymede Council is calling on landowners, developers and other public bodies to come forward with sites that could accommodate 10 or more homes in order to assess what land in the borough could be developed for housing.

The churches of Egham and Egham Chamber of Commerce will switch on the lights of the High Street Christmas tree, outside the United Church, on Saturday, December 13, at 11am.

Carol singers will add the festivity of the occasion and members of the public will be invited to hang their prayers on the tree.

Refreshments will be served inside the United Church from 10am.

A course in a new fitness craze from Scandinavia begins at the Runnymede Pleasure Grounds, from January 2009.

A six-week programme of Nordic Walking, a popular Finnish pasttime and form of power-walking with ski-like poles, has been started by qualified instructors, Beverley Boon, and Kay Speakman.

The course costs £50 and participants need to meet in the car park next to the cafe and the sessions run from 9.30am to 11am.

To join the course or for more details, contact Beverley on 07903 356092.

An online petition to 10 Downing Street campaigning to replace Egham's level crossings with bridges or tunnels if the Airtrack rail link goes ahead, has attracted more than 1,100 signatures.

The petition has been initiated as part of a multi-platformed campaign by Egham Chamber of Commerce, which also includes a page on social networking website Facebook, a paper petition and 9,000 flyers being distributed throughout the town.

The chamber is trying to raise awareness the rail link from Waterloo to Heathrow will lead to barriers being down for an average of 40 minutes an hour at Prune Hill, Vicarage Road and Station Road in Egham along with Thorpe Road in Egham Hythe.

The United Services Club in Spring Rise, Egham, holds its inaugural beer festival from Thursday, December 11, to Sunday, December 14, to mark the club receiving recognition from the Campaign for Real Ale.

Fifty real ales, eight ciders and wines and spirits will be on offer at the club, with food available over the weekend and live music on Saturday evening.

Mayor of Runnymede, Cllr Jim Broadhead will also visit in recognition of the club receiving the CAMRA Club of the Year Award 2008, earlier this year.

A teenage motorbike rider was seriously injured in a crash with a car at Pooley Green Road in Egham on Tuesday (December 2).

The 18-year-old male, who has not been named by police, was injured when his black Jinlun motorcycle was involved in a collision with a red Rover 100, between the junction with Pooley Avenue and Vicarage Road at about 10am.

Thousands of pieces of post were destroyed when a Royal Mail lorry caught fire on the M25 on Wednesday (November 26) evening.

The lorry, which was carrying about 75,000 mail items, caught fire at about 11.40pm when a tyre puncture resulted in a brake pad overheating between junctions 12 and 11.

Fire crews from Egham, Chertsey and Painshill attended to fight the blaze, and a water carrier was brought from Camberley.