community yearbook 2018

OCTOBER

W:286.501mm H:0.353mm ISSUEDATE_ID 2_21 Newbury Weekly News

Thursday, 25 January, 2018

Constituency plan is a ‘dog’s breakfast’ SWATHES of West Berk-

Scott’s horror injury

HUNGERFORD Town’s Scott Rees faced a lengthy spell out of action after losing three fingers in a work accident. The 27-year old under- went a six-hour opera- tion to re-attach the fingers and the early signs were that the surgery was a success. “They are confident that they have saved

who agreed to respond to the consultation. The Conservative MP, who was re-elected in June’s snap election with a majority of 24,380, said that community cohesion, instead of majori- ties, were his concern. Mr Benyon said he accepted that boundary reviews were needed and had been told by one polling organisation that his majority would still be more than 20,000 should the changes go ahead. “But that doesn’t make any difference to me whatsoever,” Mr Benyon said. “ I always treat the constituency like the most marginal one in the country because it took me three attempts to change it.”

shire’s Conservative heart- land could become part of Reading West constituency under radical new propos - als. It means that more than 10,000 of the district’s residents will find themselves voting for a different MP if the proposals from the Boundary Commis- sion for England go ahead. Aldworth, Basildon, Bradfield, Bucklebury, Frilsham, Hermitage, Standford Dingley, Streatley and parts of Yatten- don could be transfer ed to Reading West, which is currently represented in Parliament by Alok Sharma. The proposals form part of a plan to reduce the number of

Market traders Malcolm and Debbie Smith Traders’ final sale

King of the hills RICHARD Gildea claimed his second hill climb success in the space of a month when he led the way up Walbury Hill to win the Newbury Road Club event. The Didcot Phoenix rider won his own club title five weeks ago and followed that by winning the Walbury Hill climb by a three- second margin after covering the 2,059 yards in 4 minutes 11 seconds. That was a little shy of the course record of 3:55.19 held by Tejvan Pettinger as riders battled into a headwind. But the women’s record fell to Joscelin Lowden, whose ascent in 4 mins 46 secs left her in ninth place overall of the 81 riders. The Lewes-based rider was fourth in the Hill Climb Championship last year and will be fancied to improve on that next time. Rees’ injury followed a spate of on-field knocks and blows that hit the squad. Callum Willmoth was sidelined by a knee injury, while Boardman himself and hamstring injury victim Matt Partridge faced operations. his fingers,” said Hungerford’s co-manager Jon Boardman, “and have attached the nerves and a blood supply. “He still has a long road in front of him, but they are confident so although it’s not ideal, it could have been worse and we hope he is on the mend. “But it’s going to be two or three months at least and we will obviously do whatever we can to help.”

my trade from my father, even as a schoolboy.” He said, for decades, he would go to Smithfield Meat Market in the City of London at midnight in order to buy fresh meat for the market, setting up stall in Newbury in the early hours.

LOYAL customers bade Newbury market butcher Malcolm Smith a fond farewell. Mr Smith served the town charter market for the past 42 years as A&S Meats. Now aged 60, Mr Smith hung up his hat, although he and his wife Debbie, who live in Kintbury, will continue to help manage the market. Mr Smith said: “I learned ANIMAL charities worked alongside police to rescue 26 neglected horses that were abandoned in a field in Highclere. Hampshire Constabulary, along with the RSPCA, Redwings Horse Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare, started the removal of the most distressed horses from the field in Church Lane. Senior field of icer at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Julie Harding, said:“This rescue is another great example of effective partner- ship working among the equine welfare charities.

MPs from 650 to 600 and even out the number of electors per constituency. Newbury MP Richard Benyon has branded the proposals “ridiculous” and “a dog’s breakfast” and asked people

He said: “We had our first customer today at 4am and we’ve got lots of orders for our last day on Saturday.” 26 horses abandoned

Film scoops awards A SHORT film shot in Woolton Hill has picked up two prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival Awards. Finding Hope, which was written and produced by villager Jean Maye and directed by Krysten Resnick, won Best Indie short film and Inspiring Woman in a film. It tells the story of a mother and father grieving the loss of their infant daughter through cancer, but finding hope which changes their future. Producer Jean Maye said: “I have felt shocked that the film has done so well in the few festivals that I have entered, mainly because we had to cut various scenes during the editing process. “I suppose the message here is to not to be afraid to put work out there in fear of rejection.” The film has won a series of awards, including Best First Time Director, Best Cinematographer and Official Selection for Best Film & Actor in the Festigious Awards, Los Angeles.

“However, it is also sadly another example of an owner not taking responsibility for or meeting the needs of their horses – indeed, in this case choosing to abandon without water or forage. “As a result, many of the horses were in very poor condition, which was very upsetting to see.” RSPCA operational superin - tendent Lee Hopgood said: “These horses had to be removed after a vet sadly confirmed they were all either suffering unnecessar- ily or their needs were not being met.”

Jean Maye

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