Life imitates art

Models were happy to bare all in the name of art.
They stripped off to help promote a new exhibition in Tring which celebrates the work of female artists.
Sixteen women artists from across Hertfordshire teamed up to put on the exhibition entitled Women Draw Life.
Organiser and artist Christine Hillier, from Hemel Hempstead, said: "For too long women have been the muse of male artists, only present on gallery walls.
"Over the last 40 years, women artists, long hidden from history, have undergone re-appraisal and been given recognition.
"Today many more women artists are making their own mark on the art world.
"There are plenty of good male artists, but there are also plenty of good women artists."
The exhibition at The Tring Gallery, The Long Room, The Courtyard, Church Yard, Tring, will run until Saturday, June 3 and a virtual exhibition can be seen at www.womendrawlife.com
Gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 4.30pm and Sundays 10.30am to 2.30pm.

Re-vamp at town library

TRING Library will close to undergo a total transformation later this year.
Council bosses want to splash out on upgrading the library and want to know what changes local people would like to see.
The library, which opened in the early 1980s, will be closed for up to 10 weeks for works planned by Herts County Council in September or October.
During that time a mobile library will be in the High Street to make sure people can still get books.
As part of works the whole interior will be changed and more public computers installed.
To give you comments about what changes you would like to see visit the library in High Street, Tring.

Councillors ‘on the beat'

TRING councillors who went on a Friday night police ‘ride along' said they were impressed with the conduct of officers they shadowed.
Cllr John Allan and Cllr Lloyd Harris got a taste of working with Tring and Berkhamsted police when they went out with Sergeant Mike Saunders and PC Tom Evans.
During the evening the team dealt mainly with alcohol-related incidents.
Cllr Allan said: “We were impressed with the police sensitivity and tact when dealing with the public.”

Model of  behaviour in class!

A MINI version of Aldbury has been created by youngsters at the village school during their Geography Week.
All children at Aldbury Primary School in Stocks Road played a part in making the scaled-down version of the village using plastic corrugated sheets, plasticine and papier-maché.
The special week was organised after a survey of pupils last year revealed many did not like geography or felt they were not very good at the subject.
Headteacher Doreen Meek said: “We focused on geography showing that it can be enjoyable and great fun and you can do geography through lots of other fun activities.
“We have had a brilliant, if exhausting and very wet week!”
Environmentalist Phil Williams from Wales also visited to talk to children about environment issues and some youngsters wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair about their concerns about the climate.
One afternoon during the themed week was spent on an orienteering activity around the school grounds and during the week children followed a town trail around Tring.

Leaflet to highlight antisocial problems

A SPATE of antisocial behaviour in Tring has prompted a crime prevention group to issue leaflets giving advice on how to deal with the problem.
Tring Crime Prevention Panel is sending out the special pamphlets after complaints about nuisance behaviour especially in the early hours of the morning.
Cllr Penny Hearn, a member of the panel, said: “The crime prevention officers are very much in touch with the residents around them and this is what is coming over.
“We feel it has been going on for a little while now. It is happening and we have got to do something to prevent it or at least reduce it.”
The leaflets will be sent to the 152 Neighbourhood Watches in Tring and surrounding villages, which cover about 3,500 homes. They can also be picked up at Tring library.
Chairman of Tring Crime Prevention Panel, Ken Reekie, said: “The leaflets are telling people what antisocial behaviour is and who to contact.
“The thing to do is get the police involved. If people keep ringing them they will build up a picture so they know there is a problem.
“We are very close with the police and they have been very supportive.”
Tring has only had one full time police officer covering the town recently. Tring and Berkhamsted Sergeant Mike Saunders is waiting for another police officer to join the team next month. Police Community Support Officers have also been patrolling the town.
Last year vandalism, car crime and nuisance behaviour were highlighted as the main problems in Tring and Berkhamsted following meetings between police and residents.
Police officers in the town pledged to combat the problem.
Antisocial behaviour covers things that can cause offence or disruption, like under-age drinking in a public place, gatherings of large groups being noisy and causing disruption and people riding mini-motorbikes in a public place without the relevant paperwork.
Despite the concerns of residents it appears that reports of antisocial behaviour have dropped slightly, when compared to the same period last year.
Between April 1, 2004 and May, 21 2005 there were 186 antisocial behaviour incidents in Tring and in Berkhamsted during the same period there were 254 incidents.
During April 1, 2005 and May 21, 2006 there were 123 antisocial behaviour incidents in Tring and 160 in Berkhamsted.
Sergeant Mike Saunders said: “The most important thing is to get it reported and logged. That is the only way we get to find out about it.”

Revellers flock to canal-side celebrations

Festival fun just floats their boats

RAIN almost forced organisers to call-off this year's popular Tring Canal Festival.
Wet weather had soaked the event field in Icknield Way, making it almost impossible to use.
John Savage from the Wendover Arm Trust, the charity that organises the event, said: “We were lucky to go ahead at all. Had it rained again on Sunday we would have had it.
“Overall we did very well considering the adverse conditions. Victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat.”
The fun festival is held each year on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday and locals and visitors flock to the town to enjoy the entertainment on offer.
This year there was a lower turn-out than usual, but some 8,000 people ventured from their homes to support the charity during the two days.
Barge dwellers were also not deterred as 150 canal boats attended.
Mr Savage said: “We were just very relieved and very grateful that we could keep the show on the road. The amount raised won't be as much as in previous years because there wasn't as many people.”
The Wendover Arm Trust holds the festival to raise funds towards their restoration of the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal.
The charity has started work on its second phase of restoration work at Drayton Beauchamp, which will see the canal join up at Little Tring - a section which was reopened last year after seven years of hard work.

Youth councillors put together ball park bid

GRANT applications are being prepared to ensure that a ball park in Miswell Lane recreational ground becomes a reality this year.
Tring Youth Town Council clerk, Emma Cave is working with Tring Together to put together applications to Sport England, Awards for All and the Local Network Fund.
Young councillors came up with the idea for a Tring state-of-the-art ball park in October 2003 and have been fundraising to help pay for it.
The special park, which includes a five-a-side football pitch, a basketball court, cricket stumps, seating and litter bins, is expected to cost £38,000.
The group already has £8,000 to put towards the cost, but is hoping to get the rest of the cash through grants.
Earlier this year Tring Youth Town Council was turned down for a £30,000 grant from the East of England Development Agency. It made it to the short-list but was turned down so that the cash could go to a less affluent town.
Grant applications are expected to be submitted within the next month.

Attack on football club house

VANDALS have damaged the club house at Tring Athletic Football Club. Eight wooden slats were pulled out from the wall of the club house in Cow Lane, Tring and some damage was done to the side of a shed in the grounds. It happened between 8pm on Friday, May 19 and noon the following day.
About £100 worth of damage was caused. Witnesses are asked to call the non-emergency number on 0845 3300222.

To go to the Tring homepage, click here