A parish church has featured on ITV as a location for supernatural drama Lightfields.
The five-part series is partly shot inside Holy Cross in Sarratt as well as its churchyard.
But churchwarden John Guy said the congregation has not been carried away by the church’s new showbiz status.
He said: “Their filming here went smoothly and we were pleased with how they looked after it. It has not caused too much of a buzz here as I suspect not everyone has watched it, but I’ve set it to record.”
A total of 1,166 motorists have chosen to donate the money they paid in fines after driving along the Hemel Hemsptead Moor End Road bus lane to charity.
Herts County Council also agreed to donate £100,000 in unclaimed penalty charge refunds - which equates to around 3,300 fines - after a tribunal ruled that a camera put up in the road did not comply with strict regulations.
It means the Northchurch-based Hospice of St Francis will receive a cash injection of almost £136,000.
A remaining unclaimed £60,000 will be ploughed back into highways work.
Drivers were given the option of donating their fine of £30, £60 or £90 to the good cause or receiving it back - around 24,500 chose to put the cash back into their own pockets.
Hospice director Dr Ros Taylor, said: “We are particularly grateful to those people who have chosen to donate the refunds to our hospice.
“I would like to stress the need for on-going regular and vital financial support.”
The owners of the Ashridge Estate have created a survey for dog-walkers about what they do when their pet poos in the beauty spot.
Questions include, “Are you happy to take your dog waste home with you?” and “Are you happy to flick dog mess into the undergrowth with a stick to degrade naturally?”
People are asked if and where they would like to see dog bins in the 5,000-acre Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
But another question asks: “Do you think that dog waste bins will spoil Ashridge?”
Land-owners the National Trust say they are responding to ‘growing concern’ about fouling in the area. The survey is at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ashridgedogmess
Drays Athletic and Doves United won their respective Herts FA Sunday Intermediate Cup semi-finals to set up an all-BSFL showdown in the final of the competition.
Doves were on fire in their clash with VFC, storming to a 5-1 victory thanks to goals from Connor Deadman (2), Adiel Mannion, Sam Flood and Dean Roper.
Drays, meanwhile, made light work of being reduced to nine men to see off AFC Spartians 2-0 with efforts from Myer Fuller and Rob Jackson.
Elsewhere, Park Rangers produced a five-star display to see off Run DFC in the BSFL League Senior Cup third round.
Chris Parperi bagged a hat-trick and Lee Franklin notched a brace as Rangers stormed through to the next round.
In league action, meanwhile, AFC Boars hit Robin Hood for six in their Premier Division clash.
Karl Thomas and Harry Ausden bagged a brace apiece, and Jeff Mensah and Louis Austin were also on target as Boars romped to a 6-1 win.
Scott Carrington hit a hat-trick as Hemel United thrashed Comets Sports Club 5-0, while a Jack Horton goal was enough to earn the three points for Gossoms End at Flaunden.
The other game in the division saw White Hart Rovers and Berko Tornadoes share an eight-goal thriller.
Adam Chapman (2), Joe Buckingham and James Heward netted for Rovers, while Tom Shaw (2), Lee Stobbs and Stuart Bailey were on target for Tornadoes.
Greenacres II picked up the biggest win in Division One, with Mark Crompton putting in arguably the individual performance of the day.
Crampton helped himself to five goals, and Michael Maloney bagged the other, as Greenacres ran out 6-1 winners.
Blackbirds Rangers also bagged three points, beating Leather Bottle 3-1 courtesy of strikes from Glenn Childs, Ade Adejohe and Larry Connor.
Elsewhere, The Bull Athletic ran wild in Division Two – mauling The Patch 8-1 with goals by Mike Hunt (3), Matt Regan (2), Adam Hallissey and Josh Connolly.
Comets Sports Club triumphed 4-2 at The Queens Head with efforts from Chris Linsell (3) and Miley Cash, and Echoes beat Inter Hemel Sunday by the same scoreline as Dan Hughes, Luke Wood, Ross Eddy and Clint Findley found the target.
KLCC edged past Landrovers 3-2 thanks to Sam Toms, Liam Shutes and Colin Wilson, while Berko Tornadoes Reserves and FC Intervino shared a 3-3 draw.
AC Grapes led the way in Division Three with a crushing 6-2 triumph over Tring Royals courtesy of strikes from Drew Duggan (2), Chris Gillard (2), Juan Villar and Jamie Evans.
Goals from Matt Gunnary, Ricky Hone, Matt Dalton, Matt Bunce and Josh Hobbs did the damage in a 5-2 victory for Berko Athletic against Boxmoor Rangers, and Park Rangers Reserves had Niall Wood (2) and Matt Tanner to thank for a 3-0 win at The Three Tuns.
In other action, the Division Four teams went goal crazy – scoring 34 between them in just five games.
Herts Fencing recorded the pick of the results, thrashing Poggenpohl 13-1 with a double hat-trick from Sean Lane, five goals from Craig McMahon, and one apiece from Taylor Ashby and Damien Keyhole.
Big GC FC ran out 6-1 winners over Rose & Crown courtesy of efforts from Jon Sparrow, Jake Hosier, Stuart Venner, Simon Goodall and Luke Tobitt, while a Jamal Ayoub brace secured a 2-1 triumph for Palace at The Old Bell Gate.
Rob Sweetman, Greg Goodchild, Doug Sims and Chris Sykes earned Sporting Blackbirds a 4-2 win over AMG United, and Apsley Athletic had Ryan Rowe (2) and Aiden Byrne to thank for a 3-1 success at Boxmoor Rangers Reserves.
It’s lucky for laughter fans that Brighton’s renowned Treason Show is its record-breaking 13th year, and is heading for Hemel Hempstead for the second of three scheduled dates at the Old Town Hall.
They made their debut with a stash of satirical sketches and parody tunes last month, and are back at the venue on Friday, March 23 at 8pm.
As well as being a fixture on the south coast comedy scene, the Treason Show crew also tours widely, with an international outpost in Berlin. A team of more than 40 writers keeps the material fresh, while on stage sketch specialists keep things moving with a gag-a-minute format.
Tickets are £9.50 (£7.50 concessions) from 01442 228091, and there’s a third date on the calendar next month.
So, the next baby step towards the inevitable and overdue banning of tobacco sales completely, we are told, will be plain packaging.
Even those of you who are not in the grip of a nicotine habit are probably aware that in recent years steps have been taken to make smokers uncomfortably aware of the likely long-term consequences of their folly.
Sadly the blunt messages emblazoned on every pack that Smoking Kills and grisly pictures of diseased lungs to drive home the dire warnings are not persuading enough people to turn their backs on tobacco.
Shops of a certain size have to keep their cigarettes locked away in a cupboard, advertising has been banned for years, and now individual packs are going to be stripped of their carefully-calculated packaging.
You know how American drunks are often portrayed swigging from a bottle concealed in a brown paper bag, and grubby men buying mucky mags from a dodgy private shop are able to conceal their purchases beneath plain wrapping? It’s like that.
Apparently they’ve opted for this tactic in Australia and it’s said to have been successful, but it seems a bit of a cop-out to me.
There are, I think, a couple of other tactics that could have been brought into play on the packaging front before the move to plain paper.
If blunt warnings and grim post-mortem pictures don’t work, how about trying a few more direct messages?
First up, packs could carry a picture of a miserable smoker puffing away outside a bar or workplace as the rain pours down in the middle of winter, just to remind people of how unpleasant it is these days to persist with a fag habit.
Then we could take a leaf out of the book of those clever sorts who personalise greetings cards for you – every tobacco retailer would be expected to have a printing kit that would be able to create a picture of a gravestone on the front and back of the pack, complete with the buyer’s name and a date of death. That could be random or calculated against an actuarial table of some sort, but either way it ought to make smokers think twice before lighting up.
But having said that, the hard core smoker who has resisted every attempt to wean them off the habit sofar would probably just regard that as a handy way of making sure they never lost their fags in future.
My final suggestion, again adopting greetings card techology, would be to kit out every pack of cigarettes with a little sound card that created a dreadful hacking cough every time it was opened.
Would that help? I don’t know, but at least it might stop the smokers spending so long chatting outside the back door while the rest of us carry on working.
Hemel Storm delighted a packed crowd at Sportspace on Saturday with a virtuoso three point shooting performance on their way to a crucial 100-73 National League Division One win against Bradford Dragons.
And Storm won again on Sunday when they travelled to Derby and defeated the Trailblazers 93-88 in a nail-biting clash that went into overtime with the scores locked at 80-all. The wins move Storm into a play-off spot as they jump to seventh place in the table.
On Saturday, Storm connected on ten long range efforts at a 48 per cent success rate and were relentless as they bombarded the visitors from all over the court.
After Bradford had scored the first two baskets of the game, Storm were quick to respond and grab the initiative as their free flowing offence and aggressive pressing defence helped them open a 27- 18 first quarter lead.
By half-time the visitors were trailing 51-37, and in a carbon copy second half Storm hit 100 points for the first time this season when substitute Jake Barr drove inside Bradford’s defence to lay the ball in to an ear-splitting roar from the crowd.
Hemel’s coaching director Dave Titmuss said: “I think 27 assists and 48 per cent shooting from behind the arc for 30 points just about says it all.
“Bradford caught us on one of those nights, it was a terrific team performance and reward for the focus and commitment that the guys are showing in practice.”
The following day, a thrilling battle in Derby saw the lead change hands 14 times.
Hemel raced to an early 28-18 lead through fast break baskets, but Derby fought back to stay in the contest.
From the start of the second half there were never more than a few points separating the teams.
With 11 seconds left and trailing by a point, Storm’s GB U20 international Louis Sayers went to the free-throw line and tied the score.
Derby had time to win the game but Hemel stifled their last attack and the match went into five minutes of overtime.
From the tip-off Storm played with great control and took a commanding lead when Williamz Omope scored back-to-back three pointers to seal a memorable victory.
> Pic - Diminutive Hemel guard Bode Adeluola scores over Bradford’s 6’ 8” Rob Feske.
Ten young Chiltern Harrier athletes were selected to represent Hertfordshire and battled through the deep mud at the National Inter-County Cross Country Championships in Birmingham.
The event is the most prestigious cross country meeting of the winter and acts as the GB selection process for the World Cross Country Championships.
First up were the U13 boys, and Jake Alderson had a solid run in 138th place to take fourth spot for Herts.
For the U15 boys, Jonty Wager-Leigh finished 59th overall and was the second-placed Herts athlete.
Also running well in a Herts vest was Sam Howell in 239th.
Meanwhile, the Herts girls also put in very strong performances.
In the U13 race, Sophie Morton confidently took over the lead for part of the race and finished first for Herts in a fantastic 18th place.
The fourth Herts scorer was Scarlett Wager-Leigh in 192nd place, while Emily Bannister – who lost a shoe during the race – finished in 259th, and Emily Baxter completed the Herts team in 286th.
Sophie’s sister, Herts County Champion Hannah Morton, lead the U15 team home in an impressive 25th place and Claire Baxter had a solid run in 200th.
Finally, in the women’s U17 race, Sarah Needleman was first to finish for Herts in 99th.
The Tring Hockey Club ladies’ first team clinched promotion this week with a 4-1 win over local rivals Aylesbury.
Tring led 2-0 at half-time through goals from Jenny Wrench and Holly Glover, before Aylesbury halved the deficit shortly after half-time.
Tring maintained their composure, though, and made sure of the win as Wrench and Glover both completed braces.
The team will now fight it out with Bedford to decide who finishes top of the division.
The ladies’ second and third teams, however, both fell to defeats against opponents near the top of their respective divisions.
The twos put up a good fight but lost 5-2 to Shefford & Sandy – with Claire Buckley scoring both the goals – while the third XI went down 5-0 to Stevenage.
Elsewhere, the men’s teams suffered a trio of losses as the first and second teams were beaten for the first time this year.
The first XI lost 3-2 to high-flying West Hampstead, despite goals from Matt Aikens and Ash Tillett, while the seconds were beaten 3-1 by Reading Rovers. Steve Collins got the consolation goal for Tring.
The men’s thirds, meanwhile, had a bad afternoon as they suffered a heavy 5-0 loss away to High Wycombe.
It was better news for the Supervets team as they moved off the bottom of the league with a 4-3 win over Eastcote.
Jim Watson, Tim Brothers and Steve Warr (2) did the damage – Warr netting the winner in the closing minutes of the game
Evergreen Eagles 0 Kings Langley Ladies 2
Kings Langley Ladies recorded their sixth consecutive win to maintain this year’s unbeaten record.
Nicole Barrett struck either side of half-time to earn the win and keep her side’s hot streak going.
Barrett had a glorious chance to break the deadlock after just 30 seconds but shot wide with the goal at her mercy.
Mary Hogan then saw a thunderous effort parried by the home keeper just minutes later.
It what rapidly turned into a scrappy match, Kim Nield broke free but saw her shot hit the post, while Jade North’s excellent curling free-kick was ruled out by the referee.
A change in personnel saw both Sam Walters and Claire Domeney enter the contest for Kings, and the breakthrough finally came shortly after the half hour mark.
Nield raced through and was brought down by the keeper, but managed to squeeze the ball wide to Barrett. With the advantage being played, Barrett struck the post but followed up to steer the ball home to give her side the lead.
Five minutes into the second half, Evergreen had the chance to get back into the match when they were awarded a penalty, but Kings keeper Vicki Taylor made her fourth penalty save of the season to keep Kings’ slender lead intact.
Barrett and Nield continued to work hard to break through a stubborn home defence, and Kings piled on the pressure in the last 10 minutes.
Jade North’s free kick from a backpass fell to Nield, but she could not get the power to ram it home.
Barrett, though, made sure of the win two minutes from time – sliding the ball into the far corner for her second goal of the game.
Seconds later, Nield struck the post again but Kings had already done enough to make sure of the three points.
Kings now go into their last game of the season in a make or break battle for second place against Bedwell Rangers. Kick-off 2pm on Sunday at Dacorum Running Track.
The number of homes given up in England each year between 2010 and 2012 because of mortgage difficulties is down by over half (54 per cent) compared to 2005-2009, according to new analysis from housing investment and shared equity mortgage provider Castle Trust.
Analysis of the latest ONS English Housing Survey shows that during the period 2010-2012, fewer than 12,000 homes a year were given up due to mortgage payment difficulties. This is significantly lower than 2005-2009 where there were 26,000 homes given up each year.
More than half (55 per cent) were sold to avoid mortgage arrears or to avoid court actions by the lender.
But Castle Trust has cautioned homeowners to be wary of a rise in inflation and an increase in the UK base interest rate, which has been held at 0.5 per cent for four years.
Recent ONS research shows that more than a third of the average household’s monthly expenditure goes on mortgage payments.
Castle Trust chief executive Sean Oldfield said: “The number of homes being given up has fallen but the risk to homeowners of rising mortgage rates is still a major issue which shared equity can play a major role in reducing, including the risk of going into arrears, by controlling monthly mortgage commitments.”
Levy Green Ladies U18 5 Harvesters 3
Leverstock Green Ladies U18 were finally given the stern test they had been looking for by their old rivals Harvesters in a thrilling League Cup semi-final at Pancake Lane.
Levy were slow off the mark and were second best in the opening battles and it was no real surprise when the away side took the lead after eight minutes.
Gradually Levy began to find their feet but the defence were still struggling to get the ball away and these frailties were exposed again after 35 minutes as Harvesters made it 2-0.
On the stroke of half-time, Levy finally had some reward for their increasing hard work when Frankie Novelli supplied the cross for her sister Anna Novelli to convert.
Levy began the second half with renewed purpose and had the game all square within a minute of the restart when Anna Novelli crossed from the left for Leigh Burrows to volley home.
Harvesters hit back soon afterwards to regain the lead, but as the game wore on Levy started to boss proceedings.
With 67 minutes on the clock, the unusually quiet Ellen Salter sprang to life down the left hand flank before unleashing a thunderbolt equaliser.
Burrows gave Levy the lead for the first time five minutes later, and Pru Squires-Adams capped things off with a fifth Green goal shortly before the final whistle.
Officials at the Natural History Museum at Tring have admitted its security system is not up to the job in the face of new threats to its stock.
The confession came as Tring Town Council gave its backing to a plan for 13 new CCTV cameras at the site.
Thieves broke into the Akeman Street museum in 2011 to steal £60,000 rhino horns – but were foiled by staff who had replaced them with £50 resin replicas.
The switch-over came after a spate of similar thefts across Europe, due to rising demand for powdered rhino horn in the Far East, where it is thought to cure ailments.
Museum head of security Stuart Craik said there has been an increase in thefts and attacks at regional museums throughout Europe.
He said: “It’s very clear the threat level towards our collections has changed.
“We have been working closely with other museums and law enforcement agencies to plan a proportionate response to these new threats.
“The existing system does not offer adequate coverage for this new context.”
But he stressed that the museum would only replace specimens with replicas if there was a real and current threat from thieves.
In 2009, 22-year-old American flautist Edward Rist broke into the Tring museum and stole 299 priceless birdskins.
Only 172 of them were later retrieved by police.
The Natural History Museum at Tring was built in the grounds of the former Rothschild family home, Tring Park, by Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild, to house his collection of mounted specimens.
The collection includes extinct animals and birds like the quagga, thylacine and great auk.
Baldock Town Ladies 1 Leverstock Green ladies 3 (AET)
Super striker Nic Hollick and captain fantastic Jo Williams scored the goals to secure the Leverstock Green Ladies a place in the semi-finals of the Eastern Region Women’s Football League Plate competition on Sunday.
Levy started the game full of verve and vigour but disappointingly found themselves 1-0 down with just 12 minutes on the clock following a superb strike from a Baldock striker.
Levy continued to press and despite not hitting full flow, had several decent chances to level the game.
Time was running out for the visitors and their cup dreams were hanging by a thread, but the equaliser finally came in the 80th minute to force the game into extra-time.
From then on, Levy dominated proceedings and netted a goal in each half of extra-time to keep alive their ambitions of a league and cup double.
Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club secured their first promotion of the season as the men’s fifth team got the job done against Hertford.
The team – made up of a number of father-son duos – bagged a 1-0 win to seal their spot in the higher division for next season.
Ben Moorhouse notched the only goal of the game to secure the points for Berko.
The ladies’s first team, meanwhile, also had reason to celebrate as they beat Harpenden 2-1 to inch closer to promotion into Division One.
Abi Lawlor fired home the opener and Claire Barrett Mold added a second goal for Berko before Harpenden pulled one back late on.
The ladies’ second XI, meanwhile, fought back from a goal behind to Leighton Buzzard to maintain top spot with just one game left to play.
Poppy Lloyd and Paula Wilson netted for Berko in the first half to send the sides in level at 2-2, before the dynamic duo completed braces after the break to secure the victory.
The men’s second team also picked up a win, seeing off Luton Town II 2-1 with goals from Roger Payton and Paul Whitby.
Elsewhere, the men’s third XI drew 3-3 with Bedford Vets while the fourth team drew 0-0 with Cheshunt III.
The ladies’ third team suffered a 5-0 defeat to St Albans VI, and the men’s firsts were edged out 3-2 by Potters Bar I.
With the days getting longer, The Berkhamsted Golf Range is brimming with enthusiasm for the new golfing season.
And the range will be hosting a Callaway Product Launch on Saturday from 11am to 4pm to help golfers prepare for the start of the 2013 campaign.
During this, World Long Drive Champion Joe Miller will be performing his repertoire as well as handing out useful tips on increasing distance off the tee.
For further information, please call 01442 876262 or email kevin@berkhamstedgolfrange.co.uk
See www.berkhamstedgolfrange.co.uk for details.
Hatch End Hawks put in a blistering display to thrash Rosemedians 12-2 and clinch the Rosebowl Lacrosse League title.
Alana Zukas opened up the scoring for Hawks with an early effort, but this was quickly matched by an equaliser from Rosemedians.
This pattern remained for the first half and the teams went in at half-time with the Hawks leading 3-2.
Determined to finish the Rosebowl season with another win, the Hawks came into the second half showing real intent and sealed the title with further goals from Zukas, Dani Hall, Charlotte Burford, Emma Barlow and Julie Wise.
Politicians were talked into backing Berkhamsted Prep School’s plans for three new Eton Fives courts and a drop-off facility.
Berkhamsted Town Council’s planning committee had previously objected due to parking fears.
But school estates director Rob Grant told the group on Monday that Dacorum parking rules will not allow any more spaces at the Doctors Commons Road site.
He added that there will soon be 100 fewer pupils and 10 fewer staff at the site, as they will move to the new Haresfoot School site.
Revised plans for a new six-home development would make it ‘cramped’ and ‘ruin’ that part of a conservation area, a councillor said on Monday.
Chairman of Berkhamsted Town Council’s planning committee Laurence Handy was speaking at its Monday meeting as a neighbour of The Pines in North Road, Berkhamsted.
The committee backed his concerns and said the changes to plans for homes at the site, which have taken about five years to draw up, should not be allowed.
Berkhamsted town councillors think letting Domino’s sell pizzas later into the night could cause more litter and bad behaviour nearby.
But at a meeting on Monday, they said there was no planning reason to object to the proposals for its Berkhamsted High Street branch.
The firm wants to extend the opening times there from 11pm to midnight on Sunday to Thursday and from 11.30pm to 1am on Friday and Saturday.
Councillor Tom Ritchie said: “The litter that comes from these pizza boxes is huge. I think we are just encouraging additional litter in a part of the High Street where we do not at the moment have this issue.”
He said there could be more anti-social behaviour as nearby streets will be ‘completely dark’ at closing time.
Meeting chairman Laurence Handy said nobody has objected to the plans, but councillors recommended the firm hires to prevent bad behaviour late at night.