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Running wild in Africa
WILD African tribes took over at a Tring school during a special African Day last week.
Excited youngsters at Dundale School wore bright clothes, made their own tribal head bands and African jewellery for the themed day on Wednesday, July 12.
Throughout the day pupils learnt about African culture, including music and dance, as part of a special geography topic on the region.
Youngsters had a picnic in the school's outdoor area and tried some tropical fruits including mango, passion fruit and papaya, all donated by Waitrose in Berkhamsted.
They also got to grips with some African masks and ornaments.
Teacher Mrs Anne Bryant said: “It was a great success.”
Two stores not three
ONLY two new, national retailers will be moving into the old Tring Budgens site instead of three.
Leaseholder The Lear Group has revealed that original plans for the Dolphin Square site have stalled.
The names of the new retailers could be announced by the end of the summer, however, and the shops might be up and running by Christmas.
It is hoped one outlet will be a food store, but there are unconfirmed rumours that Marks and Spencer could be interested in the site.
Mackays clothes store advertised in The Gazette last year for staff to work in their new Tring store, but have not revealed where in the town it will be.
Free service is just the ticket
A NEW minibus is running in Tring after it was found many pensioners had difficulty getting home after shopping at the Friday Charter Market.
The free bus service will run people without transport back to their homes from the Brook Street market avoiding a struggle with heavy bags.
Tring Together launched the Community Wheels Minibus together with Dacorum Council for Voluntary Service on Friday (July 14).
Jane Randrup from Tring Together said: “We are hoping this will enable the older residents in Tring to come to the market and use it.”
The bus will leave the market at 10am, 11am and noon during the market on Fridays.
A trial of the minibus will run until September.
Priority will be given to elderly people. To book a place call Tring Together on 01442 828920 before noon on Wednesdays and leave your name, address and phone number.
Dundale delight
A WORLD Cup competition was a hit with youngsters during the annual Dundale School fete at the weekend.
Tricia Osborne from Dundale School Association said: "It was one of the highlights of the day because there were so many children involved. We had a lot of positive feedback about the football. The kids all got medals for taking part."
The fete at the school in Silk Mill Way, Tring, raised £2,485 for the school's library.
Another important part of the day was special Irish dancing and karate shows put on by youngsters.
Face-painting, crafts and games were also on offer.
Football tournament winners were Beverly Swain's class for Year 1/2, Paul Dixon's class for Year 3/4 and Jon Hood's class for Year 5/6.
Summer theatre workshop for kids
YOUNGSTERS can channel their energy into theatre this summer thanks to Tring Festival Company's creative summer workshop.
ImpAct is a three-day ‘high energy' workshop for 11 to 14-year-olds, exploring theatre through improvisation, group games and challenges.
Spokesperson Margaret Evans said: “They will learn characterisation and improvisation, as well as open
theatre work, voice work and role-playing.”
Devised by university students, ImpAct promises to be an energetic, inventive workshop, with the expertise of a professional drama tutor on the middle day.
At the end of the three days, the youngsters will have the opportunity to put on a short performance to show their parents a flavour of their work.
On TFC's previous youth initiatives, Margaret added: “It is very successful, I'm very pleased with it.”
There are approximately 30 places available on the workshop, which will run from 10am-4pm from August 15 to 17 at the Court Theatre, Tring. Each place costs £35.
Fore more information contact Margaret Evans on 01442 822471.
Family fun at Tring church
A FAMILY Fun Day will be held at the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in Tring this weekend.
The church in Langdon Street will be opening its doors between noon and 4pm on Sunday, July 16, when there will be plenty of activities on offer to keep children busy.
There will be a bouncy castle, giant building bricks, space hoppers and much more. For the adults a Pimms and strawberry stall will be offering refreshments. There will also be a cake, plant and home grown produce stall.
Parking will be available in the car park next to Tring Library off the High Street.
Helicopter chase for bag thief
A POLICE helicopter and officers with sniffer dogs were sent into action to track down a man who snatched a handbag from an 85-year-old woman in Tring last week.
In one of two incidents within days of each other the pensioner had her handbag stolen while waiting for a bus outside her home in New Mill Terrace.
She had left it on a step while she looked at a hedge in her garden, when a young man ran past at about 12.30pm and grabbed it.
Despite the intensive search, police failed to find the man and are appealing for witnesses.
They say the man is of average height and build and was wearing a dark blue top, dark trousers and trainers.
He ran off in the direction of the town centre, stopping at the junction of Park Road and Silk Mill Way where he crossed the road and headed towards the green.
The bag was later discovered at the junction of Park Road and Hastoe Lane near the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum.
A small amount of cash inside the bag had been taken.
Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the offender running from the scene or later dumping the handbag to contact the crime desk on 01442 272002.
In the second incident, during the weekend, a 79-year-old woman had her handbag snatched while shopping at Tesco in Tring.
Staff at the supermarket have been praised by the police for their swift action after they struggled with the man to grab back the lady's
handbag before he escaped by smashing one of the
windows and running out of the store.
The incident happened at around lunchtime on Saturday, July 8.
Store manager at Tesco, Jack Williams, said: “We made sure the lady was taken care of. We recovered the handbag and sent her on her way in the best possible way.”
Later police pulled over and arrested a man on the A41.
John Fletcher, 28, from Scarborough pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage when he appeared at Hemel Hempstead Magistrates' Court on Monday, July 17.
Fletcher had previously been remanded in custody after appearing at Watford Magistrates' Court on July 10.
He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for theft and 12 weeks in prison for criminal damage, to run concurrently.
Herts Police spokesman Nikki Royall has sent out a warning to Tring residents. She said: “People should always make sure their bags are secure and with them at all times.”
Noah gets a yes while down under
A TRING musical being staged in Australia has been given a top review by a national website.
Noah the Musical, written by locals Ian Gower and Rob Alderton has gained a five star review.
It is the most stars a show can be given by the website Theatre Australia, which is a forum for people interested in all types of stage shows.
The home-grown musical was first shown at the Court Theatre in Tring last year before being sold to other drama groups.
Mr Gower said: “It's marvellous. I'm so excited and it has also been in the Australian newspapers. We couldn't ask for more than that.
“We only had the show on in Tring last September. Now five groups have signed up to it, four in this country and one in Australia.”
The review at www.theatre.asn.au/ said: “This show sets new standards for teenage musicals.
“The British musical has plenty of catchy tunes and humour to make the show bob along.
“This is a wonderful musical for the school holidays, full of colour and fun. Highly recommended.”
Noah the Musical is being shown at the Stirling Theatre, Innaloo, Australia until Saturday, July 29.
Internet scam targets online picture sale
Artist's brush with web fraudster
ALDBURY artist Sally Bassett is warning others after she was almost duped by internet fraudsters.
The Chiltern artist was so delighted when she got an email from a man in Madrid wanting to buy one of her paintings that she almost didn't spot the trickster.
Sally, of Station Road, was hand-picked for the scam through her website, www.sallybassett.co.uk , which shows her artwork.
The man from Madrid said he wanted to buy a painting shown called Olive Orchard III, which was on sale for £450.
Sally said: “I felt euphoria at first because I thought, wow, I have sold a painting to a man in Madrid!”
But when a banker's draft finally arrived it was made out for £4,500 and was signed by an unknown third party, not the man living in Spain.
Sally said: “When the banker's draft arrived, it came in a strange fashion - in a brown envelope without a covering letter and it was ten times the amount I asked for.
“That was when I began to smell a rat.”
The customer in Madrid asked Sally to pay the cheque into her bank account and then pay him the difference through a shipping agent.
He also said that the painting would be collected by the shipping agent who would send him Sally's painting with another consignment from Ireland.
Sally said: “At no time did he seem concerned about the painting he was buying.”
After paying the banker's draft into her account Sally got an urgent call from the fraud squad at Barclays Bank.
They told her the cheque would bounce and that the customer's account was fraudulent.
She was told not to send any money or post the painting to the buyer.
Sally said: “Basically he was trying to steal money. If I had sent the money I would have been short of £4,050.
“All artists should be aware of this scam and not allow their delight and enthusiasm at a possible sale of one of their masterpieces overcome caution.
“Just be aware there are dishonest people and this scam is obviously happening via the internet.”
Sally will be taking part, along with 30 other artists from Dacorum, in the Herts Open Studios, which runs from September 2-24. Her work includes wild seascapes, collages, landscapes and vibrant flowers painted on silk.
For more information on the Herts Open Studios visit www.hvaf.org.uk
Later request for village inn
AN APPLICATION has been put forward to extend the opening hours of the Greyhound Inn in Aldbury.
Brewers Hall and Woodhouse has put forward proposals for the pub in Stocks Road to stay open until 12.30am every night of the week.
At the moment the village pub and restaurant, which is also a hotel, stays open until 11pm.
The application includes serving alcohol until midnight and serving late night refreshments until 12.30am.
The case will be heard by Dacorum Borough Council on Tuesday, July 25 at 2pm in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Hemel Hempstead.
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