NEIGHBOURS are campaigning for the first drainage system to be installed in a village that has been a flood risk for “more than 50 years”.

They have written to the Environment Agency, Thames Water and Dacorum Borough Council since 2003, but nothing has been done.

John Angel, of Nettleden Road, said: “When it’s really raining, the roads look like rivers. There’s nothing taking the water away from the village.”

Bob Collington, asset manager for Thames Water, said: “The reason Nettleden has not been put onto the sewerage network before now is that there have been more urgent non-sewered priorities to remedy in other areas of our network.

“We are absolutely happy to take a fresh look at the village with a view to possibly installing them onto our sewerage network.”

More news and pictures in the Gazette every week.

BOUNDARY: Village chiefs have slammed plans to change the boundaries covered by MPs.

Ashridge is now covered by Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning, but a boundary review suggests it transfer into the control of whoever is voted in as the next South West Herts MP.

At a meeting of Potten End Parish Council on Thursday, member Stephanie Bramham said: “I suggest changing a ward like Ashridge and putting it into South West Herts is just a bit of expensive flippery.”

Chairman Simon Barnard said all of the major services for the village come from Hemel Hempstead.

PLANS for a controversial scout hut are due to be published within two weeks, a meeting heard.

The 1st Potten End Scouts want to move out of their run-down base in the village’s Common Gardens.

But when they applied to build a new hut in nearby Homefield, they were met by vehement opposition from Homefield householders.

The scouts agreed to reduce the height of their proposed hut and scrap plans for a climbing wall after an agreement with them and Potten End Parish Council.

But at a council meeting on Thursday, Ray Hardy, 62, said neighbours had recently been kept out of the loop on hut plans.

He said: “Myself and other neighbours of the site have spent a lot of time thrashing out what will be in the statement, and we want to see that statement.

“There should be no change to any of the words we have used just because someone thinks that would be better. Only if there is a legal impediment should something be changed.”

Council chairman Simon Barnard any changes would have to be agreed at a public meeting.

RULES: Relatives have removed items from the graves of loved ones after complaints by councillors.

Potten End Parish Council had said that items including pebbles must be removed from graves at its Hempstead Lane burial ground, as they do not comply with regulations.

At its meeting on Thursday, member Stephanie Bramham said: “The two graves previously covered with stones and pebbles have now both been restored to grassy areas.”

YOU’VE got to be able to laugh at anything, even the tough stuff – that’s what laughter is for.

So don’t steer clear of 50/50 even if it’s being promoted as a bromance buddy comedy with a cancer theme.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the young chap with a dream lifestyle whose life is turned upside down by the diagnosis of a rare form of cancer.

The odds that he’ll make it are 50-50, but as crude pal Seth Rogan points out, that’s better odds than you’ll get in a casino.

Cue comedy as well as drama as our hero is engulfed by the medical machine, works out how to use his condition to his advantage with the ladies, and deals with the varied reactions of his family and friends.

Writer Will Reiser created the story after his own brush with likfe-threatening cancer, so he knows what he’s talking about.

It’s not going to change the world, but a good laugh never hurt anyone.

> Classy Brit cinema is to the fore this week. First there’s The Deep Blue Sea, directed by Terence Davies and starring the likes of Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale.

It’s a wartime tale of forbidden love, with Weisz the frustrated judge’s wife who falls for dashing pilot Huddlestone and pays the price. It’s adapted from a 1952 play by Terence Rattigan, whose work is suddenly back in fashion, and it’s very much a painstaking period piece made with attention to detail.

> There’s even more of a starry British cast in My Week With Marilyn, in which Michelle Williams is the token Yank surrounded by Kenneth Branagh, Judie Dench, Dominic Cooper, Derek Jacobi...you can pass the time playing spot the star.

The Marilyn of the title is Marilyn Monroe, and the story puts the spotlight on her ill-fated collaboration with Larry Olivier on the set of the 1956 film The Prince And The Showgirl. It’s told through the eyes of young movie hopeful Eddie Redmayne who lands a job on the set. Again, it’s a lovingly crafted period piece but there’s much more to enjoy here than in the doomy Deep Blue Sea.

> He’s not just James Bond, you know. In Dream House Daniel Craig looked perplexed after moving into a house which he then discovers was once a murder scene. Don’t worry, this isn’t Amityville haunted house nonsense, but Dan starts to unpick the murder mystery and director Jim Sheridan delivers a decent thriller with some classy performances.

> What, Brad Pitt’s new movie gets mentioned almost as an afterthought? Yup, because Moneyball is too long, and it’s about baseball. Brad’s a baseball boss at the lower end of the leagues who finds he just can’t compete with the big boys for top talent. But using detailed stats and picking up players other teams have ignored, he starts to fashion a side of former no-hopers to prove that you don’t need a bottomless purse to succeed in sport, although it certainly helps.

Gethin Jones is back to his boisterous best in The Adventurer’s Guide To Britain, began on ITV1 this week. The former Blue Peter presenter reveals all about being a scaredy cat at heart, busting some Strictly Come Dancing moves at his forthcoming wedding to Katherine Jenkins and why it still hurts him a bit to watch rugby.

Roller coasters, the dark, Vanessa Feltz... there’s no end to the things Gethin Jones claims he’s scared of.

Yet it all sounds rather unlikely, coming from a man who has escaped from a submarine 30 metres underwater, was attacked by an alligator and ran the gruelling 30-mile Royal Marine Commando yomp while presenting children’s show Blue Peter for three years.

“I was given this kind of ‘action man’ tag but I was scared of everything,” explains the 33-year-old Welshman.

“They made me sleep at the London Dungeons on my own with actors jumping out at me, and do all the biggest and fastest roller coasters in the world...” he breaks off, then admitting: “But I always loved pushing myself. Seeing what my limits are.”

The former rugby player turned presenter is not your average children’s television presenter.

Squeaky clean he may be but he’s also cheeky, open and opinionated.

The new show sees Jones and co-presenter Charlotte Uhlenbroek take off for six different adventure weekends in Britain. Jones says: “People don’t have much cash for holidays at the moment but take your pick of any of six of those weekends and you’ll have a fab time.

“Charlotte and I had six really amazing weekends away. I think Kath was probably quite jealous as I was having so much fun with another woman each weekend.”

Of course, the ‘Kath’ in question is mezzo soprano superstar Katherine Jenkins, to whom Jones is engaged.

The two met in 2007 when Jones was a competitor on Strictly Come Dancing and Jenkins performed a song. He and partner Camilla Dallerup missed out on the glitterball trophy, coming third, but Jenkins was a more than ample consolation prize.

“I had such a laugh doing that show and there was a bit of a bonus halfway as well, to say the least, so it was a very exciting time,” he says.

Jenkins is beautiful, talented, wealthy (the 62nd richest young person in Britain, according to the Sunday Times) and Welsh to boot, so is ‘a bit of a bonus’ not a bit of an understatement? “She’s a lucky girl!” he says, cracking up.

Both Jenkins and Jones have stated they’re not interested in publicising their partnership, and the presenter says they’re both very low-key when they go back home to Wales.

“We don’t really go out and about. We keep our relationship quite private,” he says.

But Jones is game enough to suggest he might bring out a two-step from his time on Strictly for the first dance at their wedding.

He reveals he and Jenkins want to have children “for sure”, and says of his forthcoming role as husband: “It’s probably going to be the best job I ever have and one I’ll want to do the best I can at. Family for me is about staying together and hopefully I’ll be the best husband possible.”

Cardiff-born Jones tried a string of jobs before getting into television. He worked as a gardener, a builder, a bank clerk and a telephone hotline officer.

“I used to take the complaints for a Welsh television channel. My friends used to phone me all the time, hoax me and I used to have to log it all. Then a few years later I was on television, causing the complaints, and some poor person would be logging the complaint going, ‘Gethin Jones? Yeah I know, he’s a ......” says Jones, completing the sentence with a very rude word.

But what Jones really wanted to do was become a rugby player. He was captain of his university team and was scouted by Manchester club the Sale Sharks.

Sadly, his dream came to an end for financial reasons when Jones struggled to make ends meet. He is now learning to be a rugby coach and admits, without hesitation, that it still smarts to watch the rugby World Cup and wonder ‘What if?’ But otherwise, he’s happy with his lot.

“I don’t know whether I could have made it or not and I guess I’ll never know but how could I ever be negative about what’s happened over the last 10 years? I’ve been so lucky along the way,” he says.

Fair enough. But why, then, is he so frightened of Vanessa Feltz?

“I went on her show once and she scared me a lot... but that’s another story,” he says, laughing.

ROYAL: Beacons could be lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, say chiefs.

Planners say one could be lit in the grounds of Berkhamsted Castle and one on Potten End village green.

Potten End Parish Council heard on Thursday that the Women’s Institute will provide cakes and jellies for the bank holiday celebration on Monday and Tuesday, June 4-5, next year.

THE Royal British Legion has unveiled a new standard in the wake of a merger between two of its branches.

The Berkhamsted and Tring branches merged earlier this year on the 90th anniversary of the charitable organisation.

Earlier this month the legion’s standard bearer Chris Richards took it to London for the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was the first time a local standard has been to the event for more than 20 years.

It was on view to the town for the first time as it led a Berkhamsted remembrance parade on Sunday, November 13.

The standard was dedicated at St Peter’s Church in High Street, Berkhamsted, two days previously, before two minutes of silence were observed in memory of the fallen.

SANTA Claus ditched the sleigh to turn up for a village fete in a vintage car.

The big man rolled up to the Hollyberry Fair at Chipperfield Village Hall in a 1912 Oakland motor car.

The big man set up a grotto at the event on Saturday for youngsters to tell him what presents they want.

Organiser Ann Waine, from the village’s Croft Lane, said: “The fete has been running in Chipperfield for over 50 years. Santa turned up in the same vintage car he arrives in every year.

“His sleigh is always being repaired for the big day at this time of year.”

Chipperfield St Paul’s CofE Primary School sang carols to open the fete. There were also stalls selling home-made cakes, bric-a-brac, raffle tickets, jewellery, lunch and face-painting.

Mayor of Dacorum Gillian Chapman was among the guests.

Net profits from the event will be distributed between St Paul’s Church in the village, which organised the fete, and homelessness charity Dacorum Emergency Night Shelter (DENS).

POLICE have pledged that they will attend 4,000 more crimes in the next financial year than they do during the current one.

Next year, police will aim to attend two thirds of crimes they are called about.

David Lloyd, chairman of Herts Police Authority, said: “The public rightly expect to see a police officer when they have been a victim of crime.

“This provides reassurance but also aids investigation and the provision of crime prevention advice.

“As crime continues to fall in the county a stronger focus on victims is entirely appropriate.”

The force’s attendance policy has been expanded to include more victims from vulnerable groups and those who are repeat victims.

Chief constable Andy Bliss said: “Having fewer crimes in Hertfordshire frees up time for officers to attend and investigate more crimes. These actions should lead to an even better service and increased detections that will bring down crime levels further.”

BUSINESSES can hear about the contract opportunities still on offer from the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics at a free breakfast networking meeting on Monday, December 5.

The Win Business Gold business breakfast will be held at Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, close to Hertfordshire’s Olympic venue – the Lea Valley White Water Centre

Paralympian Danny Crates and other speakers aim to inspire local businesses to get themselves ready for the London 2012 Games.

Chairman of Hertfordshire is Ready for Winners Board, Derrick Ashley, said: “With the recent London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay announcing that Hertfordshire has the honour of hosting the torch on two days, now really is the time for Hertfordshire businesses to grab the opportunities that the Olympics is bringing to the county.”

The registration form can be downloaded from www.hertsisreadyforwinners.co.uk/events/win-business-gold.html and returned to herts2012@hertscc.gov.uk.

A REPORT published yesterday says care for the elderly in a town centre hospital is ‘excellent’.

The Care Quality Commission was full of praise for St Peter’s Rehabilitation Ward at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

The 20-bed unit cares for patients including the elderly when they are between needing acute care and being able to live at home with minimal support.

The report says: “It was particularly heartening to hear the feedback of some of the patients.

“The staff really are to be commended in their work.”

The group, which monitors the standards of healthcare across the UK, visited the ward on Thursday, August 17.

Its report says: “People we spoke with told us they felt involved and respected in their care and treatment.

“All the people we talked with spoke very highly of the staff, and told us that they were treated with dignity and respect, had their views taken into account, and were given choices in and supported to make decisions about their care.”

Patients were kept up-to-date about what medication they were taking.

There was a low turnover of staff and a good choice of food, including snacks and fresh water.

Group and occupational therapy and physiotherapy was there for patients, too.

The report read: “People told us they felt safe on the ward and with the staff who were looking after them.

“People we spoke with felt confident to talk to staff about any concerns.

“They also told us staff were excellent in caring for them, and always came and answered their call bells almost immediately to see what they needed.

“Sometimes staff would need to come back if they were in the middle of something else, but would always check that the person who had pressed their bell was not in immediate need of assistance.”

I AM writing this with the sound turned down on the TV which isn’t the right way to watch ‘Come Dine With Me’ because it’s what the contestants say to each other that is the funniest part of the whole thing.

In fact I’m really rather glad that there wasn’t anyone else present when I tasted my latest homemade meal because to say that it was a disaster is understating the event.

Although I say so myself (which is pretty easy when you live with a spaniel for a companion), some of my offerings have turned out reasonably acceptable in the past but this time I really do not know what happened.

Homemade winter root vegetable soup – just how difficult can that be ladies?

Could it be that I don’t really like parsnip, swede, turnips etc?

My good friend Ken Brown used to say that the only effect vegetables of that kind can cause is odours that are usually created by a railway horse!

Maybe I had Ken’s wise words in my mind while I chopped away at the ingredients, added all the bits and pieces that the recipe (yes, there was a recipe) required and set to with the electric mixer.

From the moment the soup began to simmer in the saucepan I knew that something was wrong.

The smell that permeated throughout the house was obnoxious or to say the least rank but I persevered.

Just as I was about to place some of my home brew into a bowl my neighbour rang the door bell.

I went to the door pausing briefly to apply a quick squirt of air freshener to find that this was a social call to find out how I was.

Tony sat down and I offered coffee which was accepted. On my way to the kitchen I mentioned casually that Gemma was suffering a bout of wind which was a pretty cheap shot but one that we have all used at one time or another I’m sure.

Tony didn’t stay for long and he didn’t pet the dog as he usually does, instead he gave the poor mutt a bit of a ‘look’.

The dog went quietly to her basket where she sat looking accusingly at me. I just had to say sorry but it fell on deaf ears and I was in the bad books until her next walk.

Sufficient to say that Gemma refused the soup as well which was really cruel of her and to add insult to injury the very moment that the ‘Come Dine With Me’ music starts she goes to her basket for a nap.

A NEW campaign has been launched across the county to coincide with Domestic Abuse Awareness Week.

Finishing on Sunday, the week aims to highlight the issue and raise awareness of domestic abuse.

The new campaign is designed to encourage more victims to come forward and seek help to end the abuse they may be suffering.

On Friday, volunteers will be packing bags at the Sainsbury’s store in Apsley to champion the cause and help raise money for the Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse Helpline.

Programme manager for domestic abuse in the county community safety unit Sarah Taylor said: “We’re reaching out to these ‘hidden victims’ as we know that they feel they’re unable to come forward and access the support and services that are available to help them.

“The main message to victims is that you’re not alone, nor to blame for the abuse you’re suffering.

“There are lots of ways you can get help and support, and this doesn’t have to involve the police.

“We want to bring victims from out of the darkness and empower them to take the initial steps to take back control of their lives.”

Victims of domestic abuse are being urged to call the Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse Helpline on 08088 088088 and visit www.hertssunflower.org

IT’S Christmas market time at Frogmore Paper Mill in Apsley this Sunday, November 27.

Pop along and you’ll be impressed with the huge variety of festive items on sale including collectables – like silverware, jewellery, books, toys and games, craft stalls – which will be packed high with cards, photography, cakes and preserves, and lots more.

A craft demonstration area means the children won’t get bored. They’ll be able to have a go at card making and try their hand at letterpress printing.

And after picking up some Christmas presents why not take a tour of the Mill?

Or perhaps indulge yourself at the festive barbecue or at the café where there will be plenty of tempting goodies on offer.

The Christmas market will be open from 10am to 4pm and costs just £1 for adults and 50p for children.

So come along, have a browse, and join in the fun. You’ll be supporting your local heritage charity The Paper Trail as well as keeping yourselves and the kids entertained.

Parking is in the public pay and display car park in Durrants Hill Road – a two minute walk from Frogmore Paper Mill’s main entrance.

SATURDAY

Tony Robinson’s Gods and Monsters (Channel 4, 8.15pm)

Mr Time Team sets out to show that the UK is more steeped in superstition than you might think.

Each episode will explore a different category of belief or superstition, beginning with our fascination with death.

Sunday

River Cottage Veg (Channel 4, 8pm)

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has spent four months dedicating his time and attention to vegetables, giving up meat and instead tucking into some natural tasty treats.

In this final episode his experiment of not eating meat ends and it’s fish he turns back to first.

Still keen to share the vegetable love, Hugh invites a group of local children who hate veg to join him in the garden, and attempts to win them over with pizzas and garlic butter.

Monday

Charley Boorman’s Extreme Frontiers (Five, 9pm)

Charley Boorman has spent a lifetime on screen, from his early days acting in Deliverance and The Emerald Forest, to his recent round-the-world biking adventures with Ewan McGregor.

In the first of a new series, the serial adventurer takes his trusty motorbike from the east to the west coast of the world’s second largest country, Canada.

Along the way he tries his hand at iceberg hunting, canoeing and dirt-biking.

His Canadian odyssey starts off the coast of the most easterly point of Newfoundland, where he seeks a giant iceberg in the rough seas of the Atlantic ocean, before jumping on his bike and heading west.

Tuesday

True Blood (Channel 4, 11.10pm)

Throughout the run we’ve seen Erik dealing with his personal demons, a matter that comes to a head in the final episode of the series as he grapples with his conscience while putting his plan to kill Russell into effect. Will he go through with it, or back out at the last moment, putting his own undead existence in danger?

Meanwhile, Tara learns alarming news about Sam, whose fury re-emerges when he discovers Tommy’s latest shenanigans.

Wednesday

Film 2011 with Claudia Winkleman (BBC One, 11.15pm, regions vary)

Following Jonathan Ross’s lengthy stint in the hot seat (1999 to 2010), Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh took over in October last year with a new live format, which has proved a hit with viewers. This week Claudia and Danny review Happy Feet 2, director George Miller’s sequel to his dancing penguin movie from a few years ago. However, it should receive stiff competition from Martin Scorsese’s first 3D feature, the family flick Hugo.

Thursday

It’s All about Amy (Five, 10pm)

The The Only Way is Essex redhead gets her own reality show, picking up from the moment she leaves the Celebrity Big Brother house. It’s billed as an in-depth look into the world of a reality telly princess keen to move away from stereotypes.

Friday

Peter Kay’s Top 43 Greatest Comedy Moments (Channel 4, 9pm)

An evening devoted to Bolton’s favourite son, whose biggest hits have been honed by Channel 4. With a recipe of classic clips, unseen out-takes and rare archive footage.

PEOPLE are being urged to reduce their waste in an online campaign.

Dacorum Borough Council is posting hints and tips all week on www.twitter.com/DacorumBC and www.facebook.com/dacorum. The initiative marks the European Week for Waste Reduction, which ends on Sunday.

People in Dacorum already recycle and compost more than 47 per cent of their waste, but the council wants to do more.

POLICE officers visited all the schools in a town where a war memorial garden was vandalised to drive home to youngsters the significance of what it meant to the townspeople.

Neighbourhood officers in Tring addressed classes of teenagers to ask them for information about the spate of attacks that took place at the gardens in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.

Police spokesman Olivia Finucane said: “We spoke to the youngsters about the significance of the gardens and what they represent and asked if they knew who was responsible for the vandalism to give us a call and a name.”

The park fell victim to vandalism in the two months after it re-opened following a £50,000 refurbishment by the council.

The water feature, an electric supply box and fence panels were broken and the timer for the fountain and lights were tampered with, at a cost of £3,020 to repair.

So far the police have not made any arrests but officers are taking it very seriously and the case remains open.

TEENAGERS feel “pushed into A-levels and university” by teachers who do not tell them about vocational alternatives, a meeting heard.

Berkhamsted Youth Town Council gathered earlier this month to discuss survey of young people that they had conducted.

It found that some students would like more jobs and careers advice.

Councillor Gemma Dalton said: “I felt when I was at school that they just concentrate on the ones with the highest grades.”

Council clerk Clare Muir said: “Children are being pushed into doing A-levels and university.”

Councillor Ailish Brown said: “It is about school competitiveness – they want to get the best results on the league tables.”

Berkhamsted town councillor Garrick Stevens, who was at the meeting, said he used to be a governor at the town’s Ashlyns School in Chesham Road.

He said: “There is enormous pressure on schools to try and get maximum numbers through A-levels. A few years ago, there was a major study on alternative pathways through education.

“It was turned down point blank, because in the culture that we live in, it is academic elitism that is driving education.”

Ashlyns School says it does teach vocational subjects and also works with other schools and colleges to make sure “the right kids are on the right courses.”

Headteacher James Shapland said: “There are very few schools which are big enough to be all things to all people at the post-16 level.”

A HOSPICE facing a cash crisis that could force the closure of its day unit is calling on people to sign up to its fundraising events.

The Hospice of St Francis announced this week that it may have to shut down the day care facility, which runs two days a week and offers bespoke services for terminally ill patients.

The move, currently under consultation, would save £75,000 each year.

But it means the respite service for carers would no longer be on offer and in-patient treatments such as complementary therapy, physiotherapy and pampering sessions could be scrapped.

It is the first time in the charity’s 32-year operating history that a slash in services has been on the cards.

The good cause has reported a deficit on its charitable income this year forcing it to rely on reserves.

Now hospice director Dr Ros Taylor is urging people to help boost the coffers by taking part in fundraising events.

There is still time to sign up to the charity’s Strictly Learn Dancing competition.

Just four couples have stepped up to the plate so far but a total of 20 are needed. Contestants will be taught the art of ballroom dancing in the new year before competing in a grand finale.

The event raised £40,000 last year. The closing date to sign up is next Wednesday.

For some festive fun, don a Santa suit and join the hospice’s town centre dash.

People of all ages are being invited to take part in the 2.5 mile Santa Dash through Hemel Hempstead on Sunday, December 4.

Kick off is at 10am and entry is £15 for adults, £5 for children of £35 for a whole family. People can sign up on the day.

Find out more at www.stfrancis.org.uk