Buntingford Civic Society

Quite a busy month since my last article. The judging for the "Buntingford in Bloom 2025" competition took place over the weekend of 28th/29th of June and according to the judges it was very close, with the overall winner being Michael Chambers, well done Michael.

As it was so close it was decided to award four "runners - up" prizes to Victoria Fairey, Glynis Jaycock, Brian Austin and Neil Davey. The prizes were presented to Michael and Victoria by our Town Mayor, Cllr Duncan Wallace at the Buntingford Town Council Family Fun Day on the 12th July. Unfortunately, Glynis, Brian and Neil could not attend but they will have received their prizes by the time you read this. Our thanks go to the three judges, Chris Dobner - BCS Exec Committee Member, Alex (Town Gardener) and Justine Jones who all gave of their time willingly for the Society.

Talking about the Family Fun Day, wow, considering the heat, what a turn out and what a day. For those of you that couldn't come, you missed a great lineup of live music acts culminating in a stunning performance by Radio / Video. This was followed by a short fun sing along, led by the compare, Dave Austin and Mayor Duncan. The day was rounded off with a fantastic Lazer Show complete with Flamers and Sparkstars, all to a mixed music soundtrack, a phenomenal end to a truly wonderful day. Our grateful thanks to Buntingford Town Council - Members, Officers, Staff and Volunteers, for organising this event for all Buntingford Residents, and it was FREE, including the Funfair rides. Also, the many and varied food outlets and of course the bar, run by Jeff Jones and Rob Walker and their many helpers, you all deserve a big pat on the back. I must also mention Rob Ginn and his crew. Rob supplied the tables and chairs for the bar and the barriers put in place for safety and the security staff, well done Rob and crew, you all kept us safe for the day.

From a personal point of view, it was pleasing to see so many new faces at the event in addition to many familiar faces. Also, there were four stands from local groups, RATS, Riverwatch - Buntingford, MNDA and of course our First Responders. There were also two other groups, the Army Cadets, with a mini assault course for children and the Buntingford Town Football Club who ran a "Beat the Goalkeeper" competition. An event like this takes a lot of organising and planning started in November 2024, again thanks to you all from the Civic Society.

I need to remind members that have not renewed their membership of the Society, that subscriptions for the year 2025/26 were due 1st May 2025. If you are reading this and you are a member then we hope you enjoy the Newsletter which is exclusive to members. It is intended that we issue a Newsletter bi-annually, this being the first, it is hoped the next one will be ready for the February 2026 issue.

As previously mentioned, 2026 sees the 55th anniversary of the formation of the Society, and the 50th anniversary of the 1st issue of "The Buntingford Journal", and it was interesting to read the first issue as it brought back memories of when my family and I moved here in 1971, from north London via Hertford, especially the advertisers. Who remembers Buntingford Television (now J Oliver Radley Opticians), owned and operated by Hazel and Reg? Who amongst us, having to replace a broken item like a TV or Washing Machine would visit the shop on a Saturday morning, decide to buy at Hazels very generous "easy" payments scheme, the same price as Comet, only to find Reg knocking on your door about 5.30 that evening with your appliance to either "tune in" or "plumb in" and also take the old one away for FREE? Beat that Amazon or Currys.

Just time to wish you all a lovely summer and if you are going away, come back safe. Our next Buntingford Journal is the October 2025 issue.

Graham Waite, Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

The August/September double issue of the Buntingford Journal will be available from the usual retailers from 25th July.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.

To return to the home page, click on the BCS logo at the top left hand corner.