Volunteer Search in Dunmow

Volunteer Centre Uttlesford is currently looking for new recruits for 2 worthwhile causes.

Help is needed at Dunmow baby clinic every Thursday between 9.30am and noon.This varied role includes setting up the room for clinics, greeting those attending, helping to weigh babies and
toddlers, entering information in the parent record book and being responsible for tidying toys away at the end of the session.

If you enjoy meeting people and are a good listener, Age Concern Befriending Service is looking for volunteers to offer company to older people who are housebound or isolated. Your time could make a real difference to a person’s life. Visits last for 1 hour and the timing is flexible.

For further details on both of these opportunities, or for information about other volunteering roles, contact Volunteer Centre Uttlesford on 01799 513626 or visit the website: www.volunteercentreuttlesford.org.uk

Peter Street - 50 Years' Service

On 29th November 1959, Peter Street was ordained at Birmingham Cathedral – so, on 29th November 2009, he will celebrate 50 years as a Church of England minister. What a brilliant achievement, and a wonderful landmark to achieve. Much of this has been made possible by the unstinting support of his wife, Barbara.

Read more about Peter and Barbara's story, together with the very special evening service planned for Sunday 29 November to celebrate his milestone, on the St Mary's Church website:

http://www.stmarysgreatdunmow.org.uk/node/544

Dunmow Chamber of Trade

The Chamber of Trade draws its members from in and around Great Dunmow and works to promote the town and its shops and businesses, both on the internet and via the Town Guide directory.

The most high profile event organised by the Chamber each year is the Late Night Christmas Shopping in December, when the High Street is closed to traffic and stalls are set up, allowing visitors a range of options for finishing their Christmas shopping!

However, throughout the year, more work goes on behind the scenes, including discussions with Uttlesford District Council on topics which are important to business in the town, for example, car parking fees.

The Chamber is able to have more of an input in local decision making if it has more members, so it's vital that as many local shops and businesses as possible take the time to not only join but also make their opinions known.

Meetings take place each month (except December and August) and more details about the work of the Chamber, as well as how to join, can be found on the website:

www.dunmowchamber.org.uk

There's also a separate website aimed at residents and visitors to the town, containing profiles of Chamber members, special offers available right now from members, in addition to information about events in the town and photos from past events like the Carnival and Dunmow Flitch Trials:

www.dayoutindunmow.co.uk

If you're interested in finding out more about the Chamber, the Annual General Meeting, including a presentation by a Business Link advisor about the services and help available to local firms from Business Link, is taking place on Tuesday 20 October 2009, starting at 6pm in the Maltings in Mill Lane.

All are welcome, so if you're not already a member, feel free to come along and meet current members in an informal atmosphere over a glass of wine.

Base Campers Off to Everest

A team of 6 intrepid adventurers from Dunmow who call themselves the "Base Campers" are heading to Nepal on Friday 2 October 2009 to attempt to reach Everest Base Camp.

The members of the group are: Su and Stuart Warwick, John Watkins, Mireille Baker, Danny Quinn and Jane Bennett. They've been training in the gym and hiking in mountainous parts of the UK in the build-up to their 12 day expedition.

To raise funds, they held a very successful barn dance at the Foakes Hall on Saturday 26 September. Over 130 people went along and in total, over £2000 was collected for the project.

All of the money raised from events and the expedition will be donated to the charity WaterAid, which aims to provide clean drinking water for those living in poverty anywhere in the world.

Stuart said: "We decided to use the event as an opportunity to raise funds for WaterAid, which is a very worthy cause, and we hope to raise sufficient funds to be able to specify that the money goes directly towards a project in Nepal."

You can find more information about the group and their expedition on the Dunmow Broadcast website:

http://www.dunmow-broadcast.co.uk/content/dunmow/news/basecampers/default.aspx

If you want to keep up-to-date with their progress while they're in Nepal, they also have a blog page:

http://www.dunmow-broadcast.co.uk/flatfiles/weblogs_cambs/base_campers.aspx

And if you'd like to donate some money to the project, they have a page to make it easy:

http://www.justgiving.com/BaseCampers/

Dunmow Carnival 2009

Congratulations to all those involved in organising the Dunmow Carnival on Saturday, as well as everyone who took part. I'm sure lots of people had their fingers crossed last week for good weather on Saturday and fortunately that's how it turned out and the day was a great success!

The procession still seems to be getting bigger each year. In addition to all the usual suspects, this year also included a model of a Spitfire, a pink stretch limo, a bomb disposal truck from the Royal Engineers and a racing truck from Team Dark Horse, capable of accelerating faster than a sports car and reaching top speeds of over 150 mph.



Crowds enjoying the good weather lined the route of the procession through the High Street all the way down to the Recreation Ground, where there was entertainment throughout the afternoon and into the evening, as well as fairground rides, stalls and refreshments.

The Day Out in Dunmow website has more photos of the procession and the crowds on their way down to the rec.

Dunmow Tourist Info Office

Did you know the new Dunmow Tourist Information Office is now open in the premises of Banana Travel on Market Place? Dunmow Town Council have been involved in setting up the project, after Uttlesford District Council decided to stop promoting tourism in towns throughout the local area.

The Tourist Information Office is open 4 days a week at present and is staffed by volunteers. If you or someone you know is looking for information about the town (what to do, where to stay, where to eat, etc), the contact details for the office can be found on the Town Council website.

ps. In addition, they're always on the lookout for more volunteers to help run the office with a view to extending the opening hours in future, so if you'd like to help, just contact the Town Council.