Late news flash – The PopUp event at William Young 1878 will be held on Wednesday 10th October 6.00PM to 8.30PM and not the 11th as previously advertised.

The BDCC is looking for a couple more members to join the committee. If you are interested, please contact peteels@virginmedia.com for more information.

Please remember to use the member to member special offers which are on our website, www.berkhamsted-chamber.co.uk, particularly as Christmas is approaching. If you wish to make a member to member offer, please contact peteels@virginmedia.com.

There are a number of BDCC and members events happening in October; please let me know if you wish them to be publicised in our newsletter for November and December, by emailing peteels@virginmedia.com.

NEW MEMBERS

Sarah Cook – FRP Advisory LLP 4 Beaconsfield Road St Albans Herts – Insolvency restructuring and turnaround business

Paul Johnson – Berkhamsted Wine School 4 Bradden Villas Bradden Lane Gaddesden Row Herts HP2 6JA – Wine education, training and consultancy

Colin Lillicrap – Colin Lillicrap Associates Ltd 10 Greystoke Close Berkhamsted Herts HP4 3JJ Consultancy on all aspects of energy management and energy efficiency.

EVENT REPORTS

The Breakfast meeting on the 12th September was extremely well attended. Simon King of Naturality Wellness Centre gave an excellent and thought stimulating presentation on “the Hidden key to Pain-Free Health and Longevity”, and certainly provoked a number of questions.

On the 19th September we were the guests of the Diamond Trust at a PopUp meeting, who entertained everyone extremely well. Thanks to Vivian and Tracey for an excellent evening and hosting our first PopUp for our Autumn schedule. For those members who have not been to a PopUp they are an evening networking opportunity normally held between 6.00 PM and 8.00PM. Although as its name implies you can PopUp at any time between these hours.

On Friday 21st September June Cory of My Mustard hosted a speed networking event at Berkhamsted Cricket Club, at 7.15AM. From all reports I have received the event was a success and we will try to be part of any future events.

BDCC FUTURE EVENTS

William Young 1876 bespoke tailors at Amersham House, Mill Street, Berkhamsted are holding a PopUp on Wednesday 10th October from 6.00PM to 8.30PM. There is a small charge of £5 towards the refreshments. Please contact Liliana on 01442 879711 or at liliana@williamyoung1876.com if you are going to attend

The Berkhamsted Arts Centre, which incorporates the Vyne Theatre and Dance Academy, are inviting up to 40 members to attend a free reception at their premises on Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, HP4 1EH. There are nibbles and complimentary drinks in the Theatre, and an introduction to the Arts Centre and a tour of its premises. The Vyne bar will open from 6.15 PM and you are also invited to attend a free showing of the Live Screening of the musical Funny Girl starring Sheridan Smith. If you wish to invite your partners or friends to the screening you can do so. However, there will be a charge of £15, but only £10 for students and tickets must be purchased from their web site www.berkhamstedartscentre.co.uk. In order to help them with numbers, could those of you who wish to attend please inform peteels@virginmedia.com. The reception starts at 5.15PM and the live screening begins at 7.00PM.

The next breakfast meeting will be on Wednesday 7th November 7.00 – 7.15 AM at the Berkhamsted Cricket Club. The Speaker will be Susan Barrett from RabbIT Training whose subject is “Faster and Smarter ways to use Word and Excel”.

A wine tasting will be held at Open Door 354 High Street Berkhamsted on Thursday 8th November 6.30PM to 9.00PM. The price will be £15 for members and £20 for guests.

MEMBERS NEWS

Rayden Solicitors are holding a seminar on supporting Tweens and Teens with a distinguished panel of experts at the Berkhamsted Town Hall, 196 High Street, on Wednesday 10th October at 6.30PM for 7.00PM start.  This addresses the issues of anger, mood swings, exam stress, bullying and social media. Entrance is by Eventbrite and is £10 per head. All proceeds will be donated to the Hospice.

Berkhamsted Rotary Club will be showing the film Breathe on Tuesday 23rd October at the Berkhamsted Civic Centre 7.00PM start and entrance is £5. There will also be a short presentation about Rotary’s central role since 1985 in helping eradicate polio. If you wish to attend, please contact Paul Craig on paulscraig2006@yahoo.com.au as numbers will be restricted.

Berkhamsted Town Hall, in conjunction with Gadebourne Lodge will be holding a charity Burns Night on Saturday 26th January 2019. Tickets are £35 each and include a 3- course meal (with haggis), a bar, some Burns Poetry, and a few toasts. There is also a calling band THE HAYLOFT, for those who wish to indulge in energetic dancing. Profits will go to various charities, including the Town Hall Trust and AgeUK Dacorum. Please order tickets from peteels@virginmedia.com.  Arrival is 7.00 PM for 7.30PM and dress is highland, black tie or lounge suit.

Bonnie May Events are offering “Christmas in a Box” for your festive arrangements. There is an offer to our members of a free glass of fizz for you and all your guests.
Please contact Bonnie May on 01494 790777 or email hello@bonniemayfoodandevents.com for more information.

Berkhamsted Town Council are looking for a new Deputy Town Clerk. If anyone knows of any person who would be interested, please contact the Town Clerk Janet Mason on 01442 800152.

OTHER NEWS AND ACTIVITES

On Tuesday 9th October there will be a sustainability fayre in the Greene Room at the Kings Arms from 6.00PM to 8.00PM, which is being held in conjunction with Transition Town Berkhamsted, if you wish to attend please turn up. Entry is free and there will be a number of eco suppliers, unique products, healthy foods and a cash bar. Furthermore there is a new organisation called Plastic free Berko which is run by Philippa Jones (pmojones@ntlworld.com) which is campaigning to reduce the amount of plastic use in the Town , and has the support of our Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton. If you are interested, please contact Philippa.

I have been contacted by Suzanne Stace who is the headmistress of Westfield Primary School, head@westfieldprimary.herts.sch.uk, who have adopted a school in the Masai Mara in Kenya. The Westfield children are keen to help the Kenyan school both educationally and with their general lifestyle. If you would like to help and get involved, please initially contact Suzanne Stace.

As many of you know the Berkhamsted Lions have disbanded which I for one, thought was tragic, however two of their ex-members Hilary Hickey and Emma Pearce have agreed to help Berkhamsted Rotary with the annual Santa Sleigh, which supports 20 local charities. They would like to know if any of you would be prepared to sponsor their efforts this year, and you would be promoted on their flyer and social media they are using. Please contact Hilary Hickey on hilary.j.hickey@gmail.com.

MULTI STOREY CAR PARK

There have been some developments on the above and construction has been delayed until the New Year, starting in January. The reason for the delay is that various utility companies need to divert underground wires and pipes before construction can take place. While it is being constructed there will be changes to the limits on other Borough car parks in Berkhamsted, which will reduce the amount of long stay parking and increase short term parking.

During the construction there will be temporary car parking on the Moor, which will open in November. The grass surface will be protected and there will be 90 temporary places with a maximum stay of 2 hours. On completion the Multi Storey car park in Lower kings Road will provide 327 parking spaces, and then the temporary car park on the Moor will close.

However, we have received no information as to the charges for the Multi Storey car park, nor whether there will be spaces allocated to local business. Consequently, this will be initially raised with the Town Council and then the Borough.

Finally, BDCC is still interested in campaigning to defend the High Street as per my last newsletter. If any of you are interested in helping please contact peteels@virginmedia.com.