The week to meet your local police

Horsell PCSO Derek Slee

Horsell Neighbourhood Officer
PC Kate Hizzey

Horsell's previous long serving Neighbourhood Officer was promoted several months ago and we now have the new team of PC Kate Hizzey and PCSO Derek Slee pounding the beat in our local area.  PC Hizzey worked for Surrey Police for 6 years before coming to Horsell and PCSO Slee joined from the Ambulance service.

There are two chances to meet your neighbourhood police team in Horsell this week.

Wednesday 3rd October - Horsell Village Hall - lower hall at 7.30pm
The regular police panel meeting takes place.  This is an opportunity for local residents to raise concerns with the police and to set priorities for local policing over the next few months.  Priorities set at the last panel meeting were on burglary, anti-social behaviour and issues on pavement cycling.  Everybody who lives or works in Horsell is welcome.

Friday 5 October - St Mary's Church - coffee morning at 10.30am
Your local officers will be at this regular coffee morning for a drink and a chat.

Get Dug In

Woking Palace as it is likely to have looked in the 1530s

For many years I had wanted to go on an archaeological dig.  I had never managed to find one so imagine my delight when I learnt there was a dig available right on my doorstep.  In 2011 I became aware for the first time of the annual dig at Woking Palace in Old Woking.  The palace was occupied or visited at various times by Henry VII and Henry VIII.  It came to the monarchs after being owned by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and a key player in the history of the Middle Ages.

Digs are run under the guidance of Surrey archaeological experts.  Volunteers can be experienced diggers from local archaeological societies or local residents either digging for the first time or returning having got the bug in previous years. I was pleased to learn that local schools had the chance to visit and do some excavation this year and several primary schools appear to have had a great time on site.

I have had fabulous days on my digs.  It is an amazing feeling to be uncovering structures from the 1500s or even earlier (it is believed there was an earlier Medieval construction on the palace site )  You are sitting and bending in an uncomfortable position so you do tend to ache after the event  - but it is all worth it.  Sad to say I have yet to find any gold coins, attractive floor tiles or precious jewellery.  In 2011 I found lots of loose bricks and a few roof tiles.  This year I found some roof tiles, a couple of small pieces of pottery and I uncovered part of a wall.

Results of this year's digging are on show at Woking Palace this Sunday.  It is your only chance to see what has been uncovered this year before the soil and grass goes back on again.  I will definitely be along there to see how the digging progressed after I had my day on site early in the dig.  If you would like to see a little of Woking's history head along to the site in Old Woking between 10am and 4pm this Sunday 30 September.  Open day details

Looking Back at Lewis' McLaren Life in Horsell & Woking

As Lewis Hamilton announced his departure for Mercedes today it prompted me to look back at my memories of Lewis, McLaren and the motor racing team's home in Horsell, Woking.  It also raised the question is this a good move for the driver and his new team.

Soon after moving to Horsell I read in the local paper about a young go-kart champ signed by McLaren as a potential future F1 driver.  Lewis joined the McLaren development programme aged just 13.  I wondered then, back in 1998, if I would hear the name again.  That name, was of course,  Lewis Hamilton.  

I'm not a huge sports fan.  Tennis is the game I am most likely to watch or play.  I've been to Wimbledon a few times and was delighted to secure tickets  for the Olympic tennis championship there this summer.  I came to motor racing through my better half who has been a fan for many years and even did his own stint at kart racing and as an engineer for a racing driver friend.  I used to leave the room when the noise of twenty highly tuned racing cars invaded my lounge but over time I suppose I got used to the noise and I stayed around, albeit engaged in another activity.  I got familiar with the drivers and the teams.  I started to root for home teams and drivers.  I have never yet sat through a whole race without wandering about to do other things, reading or working on the laptop but I do find the start exciting and enjoy the stops and overtaking maneouevres. By the time we arrived in Woking I was a little bit of an F1 fan and knew the team had a headquarters in our new home.  Feeling I was in at the beginning with Lewis I have been particularly keen to follow his progress in F1.

Another lasting memory of our early days in Woking is watching Mika Hakkinnen drive his McLaren around the town after securing the world championship in 1998.  We stood near the junction of Chobham Road and Victoria Way.  As Mika approached us he revved his engine, waking our sleeping baby who howled at the shock of the noise.  It was such a pity we couldn't do the same for Lewis when he won the title ten years later.

Is a move to Mercedes a good one for Lewis?  The press seem unsure but having read this piece on BBC Sport which charts Lewis' career one key factor stood out.  Ross Brawn, former technical director at McLaren but also a previous holder of this pivotal role at Benetton and Ferrari is at Mercedes.  Could the combination of Brawn and Hamilton take Mercedes to the F1 title in the next few years?  I wouldn't rule it out.