The second meeting between the Willingham community and the police, to discuss the concerns of parishioners and to hear the police response to these concerns and their proposed solutions, has now been finalised. The meeting will be hosted and Chaired by the Parish Council and is scheduled to take place 4 30 – 6 pm on Saturday 1 December at the Ploughman Hall, West Fen Road. It is expected that the Police and Crime Commissioner and our Member of Parliament, Lucy Frazer MP, will be in attendance. The Agenda is as follows:

• 4 30 pm Introductions by the Parish Council.
• 4 35 pm Presentation from District Councillors.
• 4 45 pm Presentation from County Councillor.
• 4 55 pm Police report on Actions raised at the last community Police meeting held on 20 September.
• 5 05 pm Presentation by the Police & Crime Commissioner.
• 5 15 pm Question and answer session with Lucy Frazer MP, the Police & Crime Commissioner, local police officers, District and County Council representatives.
• 5 55 pm Meeting closed by the Parish Council.

The photo gallery can be seen here with thanks to Derek Law, our official photographer and occasional scurry timer. (This link takes you away from WillinghamLife)

The Dog Show was a great success with a good number of competitors for each of the nine rounds – Waggiest Tale, Most Appealing Eyes, Best Trick, Most Sociable, Best Veteran over 7, Best Rescue Dog, Best Brace (2 alike), Best Irish Brace (2 different), Best Six Legs (Dog and Handler), and then all the winners vying for Dog The Judges Would Most Like to Take Home. There was also a scurry (timed run using hay bales as hurdles) and a Hoopy obstacle course kindly run by behavioural specialists Cambridge Dogs (cambridgedogs.wixsite.com) who also donated their takings to our chosen charity, Wood Green Animal Shelter (represented on the day with a stand run by Karon and Cheyenne). Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone and their dog for turning up and making the day so enjoyable.

As always the event could not have happened without huge help from volunteers and the kind loan of local resources. The arenas were erected with fencing from the Fen Edge Community Association, the bales of hay were provided by Kerry and Owen Garner, and the venue – so ideal – was the beer garden of the Duke of Wellington, thanks to the willingness of Barry and Fran Todd to take a chance on the organising committee. This was an ad hoc WAG group comprising Frances and James Watts, Sara Croft, Kath Doggett, Graham Mumby and Paul Knighton, with further invaluable assistance from Liz Cosford and Mike Tidball. 

The judges – Amanda Radford, Graham Mumby, Kim Harding our brave postlady (familiar with dogs, recently sacrificed hair for McMillan Cancer Support) and her friend David (a genuine expert)  – did a fantastic job in scrutinising the competitors and presenting the prizes, with certificates, rosettes and goody bags going to places 1 to 3. The goody bags were donated by FishDelish, the rosettes by Frances and James.

Willingham Youth Trust ran the BBQ, having leaped to WAG’s  assistance at the last minute. They raised about £250 for the youth club – hats off to them for all their hard work this year – and the Dog Show itself made £200 for Wood Green.

Your new District Councillors, Dawn Percival from Willingham and Bill Handley from Over, will make themselves available to offer help and advice, chat and listen to your views or problems at the Ploughman Hall from 11 am until noon. The next surgery will be on Saturday January 26 from 11am until noon.

Please come along and use this opportunity to meet your District Councillors.

Willingham Action Group has instigated many improvements to our village life. Working with the Parish Council we helped with purchase and design of the play equipment by the Ploughman Hall. WAG volunteers planted 1300 trees around the village and in the Community Orchard. In the past we have organised litter picking, started several social groups and each year we coordinate the Feast events. These things are just a small sample of all we do but we want to do more and for that we need more volunteers. As a volunteer you might give a few hours once a year running the bar at the Fen Gallop, alternatively you could join our Environment Group and spend many hours helping maintain the orchard – the fruit is free! It’s your choice as to how much you do, and when. 

Our volunteers become great friends and we have our own WAG social lives. If you want to join us or want more information please contact us here