Newsletter ~ March 2004
The Chancellor’s recent Budget – although dull in many respects – regrettably contained a vindictive swipe at small businesses with the imposition of an additional tax. Other than that it was fairly bland although there must be worries about what additional tax burdens will be imposed on businesses in the next couple of years.
You will see elsewhere in the Newsletter comments about the enforcement of parking regulations in Leatherhead. Parking is a “hot topic” and the Chamber continues to lobby for the parking situation in Leatherhead to be resolved as quickly as possible by the provision of more parking. It is also trying to have signage in and around the town improved and will be working with the new Town Centre Manager, Lucy Hanson, to promote the town.
On a lighter note, golfers among you may be interested in the annual Golf Day organised by the Rotary Club of Leatherhead. Details of the event are described elsewhere in the Newsletter. I urge you to support it and hence the good causes who benefit from the hard work of Leatherhead Rotarians.
Despite the wintry weather, Easter is almost upon us. May I take this opportunity to wish you, your staff, and your families a very happy Easter break.
John Howarth,
Chamber President
Leatherhead Town Centre & District
Work has commenced on the re-launch of the Farmers Market. After a two month break the market will be re-launched on Wednesday 26th May and will take place every 4th Wednesday of the month (please make a note in your diaries!). The main reason for the change of day is to separate it from the general market, thus enabling both markets to expand and have a much bigger presence in the High Street as a result. It is hoped that the manager of the Dorking Farmers Market will take on the Leatherhead Farmers Market and will, therefore, oversee the day-to-day running of the market, thus freeing up my time to get on with other projects.
Work will begin in earnest on the new Leatherhead Directory for the coming year and will once again be distributed to local residents via Royal Mail. If you would like copies of the current edition, please let me know. I will be doing the rounds with the leaflets shortly!
The new Leatherhead website www.visitleatherhead.com, promoting the town and its surroundings to local residents, businesses and visitors, is now live! The site contains over 50 pages packed with information about the town; current events; ideas for excursions and places to visit; lists of shops and services; news and much more. Please take a look at the site and let me know your comments and suggestions.
Tickets are now on sale for the forthcoming Leatherhead Drama Festival, which takes place in the town from 3rd to 8th May. The Festival promises residents and visitors the unique opportunity to see some of Surrey’s most popular Drama Groups compete for the prestigious Sir Michael Caine Drama Awards for one-act plays, at the Leatherhead Theatre. It is hoped that Sir Michael himself will be able to attend the festival to present the awards!
For tickets please contact the Leatherhead Theatre Box Office on: 01372 365141.
I must say a huge thank you to all the Chamber members who have made me feel very welcome in Leatherhead since taking up my post as Town Centre Manager at the beginning of January.
It has taken me a while but I am finally starting to get to grips with the new job!
If you are interested in getting more involved in the Leatherhead Town Centre Management initiative, have ideas for local events or promotions; or have ideas on how the town centre can be enhanced, then please let me know!
Lucy Hanson, Tel: 01372 363652 ~ Email: lucy.hanson@molevalley.gov.uk ~ or pop in to see me at the Help Shop, 25-29 High Street, Leatherhead.
Hurst Warne’s Nick Smith has kindly supplied us with the following news:
“We now have a target settlement date by which the District Valuer hopes to deal with the outstanding appeals. The start of this settlement period is 8 November 2004, with a backstop date of 21 January 2005. Still some way off, but the appeals are at least now allocated an appeal slot in the system. Hurst Warne will continue to press for an earlier conclusion, but the level of appeals is such that the District Valuer will rarely vary from the settlement programme. As soon as there is any further news to report we will be in touch. In the interim, any reductions achieved will be backdated to when the appeals were lodged.”
From April 2004 the responsibility for ensuring that motorists park safely and legally will pass from police traffic wardens to Surrey County Council and Mole Valley District Council. Although Surrey County Council has responsibility for managing roads it has asked MVDC to enforce parking restrictions on its behalf. Stuart Clark, the new Parking Manager for MVDC, has informed the Chamber that MVDC will be taking a proactive approach to illegal parking to help make the roads safer, to relieve traffic flow and to ensure better access for emergency and service vehicles.
The Council will be employing more parking attendants which means that motorists who park illegally will run a greater risk of being fined!
Stuart Clark has explained to the Chamber, “Although parking controls and penalty fines will not solve the problem of illegal parking completely, we hope that with the help of motorists in Leatherhead and our new parking attendants, we can reduce illegal parking in the worst affected streets. To help ease demand on the car parks in Leatherhead, the Council is currently looking at ways to provide more parking in the town.”
The Chamber welcomes the policy of providing more parking and will continue to press for the implementation of this policy. It is our view that this implementation cannot come soon enough.
If more information about parking in Leatherhead is required then Stuart Clark can be contacted on 01306 885001.
Tony Casey, Clerk of Works, SCC Local Transportation Service Mole Valley Department, has very kindly provided the following progress report:
“The works which have recently been taking place in the High Street have been carried out by Anglo Holt (Travel Lodge contractor) jointly with EDF, Transco and Sutton & East Surrey Water to provide additional services into the new hotel and shops. The CCTV cables in the area were also repaired by a company called Photon at the same time. All the service work is complete – and Anglo Holt now have to complete the paving reinstatement. I understand this work is in progress and should be finished during the course of next week (w/c 29th March). The work will be inspected and approved by Surrey County Council before it is finally completed and opened to the public. New street lighting is also due to be installed on the walls of NatWest Bank in the near future – and fibre-optic lighting at the base of the slate feature walls should be installed during April/May.”
Every year the Chamber, along with other partner organisations, finances the Leatherhead Christmas Lights and Festival. The Leatherhead Christmas Committee has already made a start on the arrangements for the 2004 Festival and wishes to see some expansion to what has been in existence for several years. Among the options under consideration is an extension of the lighting to Leret Way, and bigger and better entertainment in the Town on the 4th of December.
Obviously this will mean greater expense, and so the Festival Committee is seeking other ways in which it can raise funds to defray the cost to the Chamber and its partner organisations. One of the fund-raising events it is planning is the re-introduction of the Annual Mole Duck Race on the river. They have set aside Saturday 26th June for this event.
The Committee is now approaching businesses to attract sponsorship. There will be seven duck races (six heats and a final) which will attract Tote betting, plus one mass duck race with anything up to 5,000 ducks. There will be six ducks in each of the Tote races, and each duck in each race will be named in the format "....... by ....... out of .......", at a cost of only £5. The "owner" of each winning Tote duck will receive a prize. There will be no limit to the number of ducks a business "owns", or to the number of races it sponsors … so why doesn’t your business sponsor one of the races and have the race promote your business name ? The cost is a snip at just £25 !
If you would like to become a sponsor or require further information,
please contact David Sharland on 01372 274795.
Rotary Club Of Leatherhead: Golf Day
Many of you will know that Rotary is a service organisation of business and professional leaders united worldwide to help those in need; encourage high ethical standards in all vocations; and to work towards world understanding and peace.
The Rotary Club of Leatherhead consists of business people who live and/or work in the Leatherhead area. It meets weekly on Wednesdays at Carlo’s Trattoria in Fetcham. Chamber President John Howarth was their guest at a recent evening meeting.
At the meetings the members organise ways in which they can use their skills and abilities to benefit the community. Examples of events are: an annual “kids day out” to Chessington World of Adventures for underprivileged children; a Christmas collection for local needy and a public speaking competition for local secondary schools. On a wider scale they organise aid boxes to be sent to areas of the world where disasters have hit.
Anyone interested in knowing more should contact their President, Chris Pelley, on 01372 450615.
Their major fund raising day is the Charity Golf Day at Effingham Golf Club – this year on Friday June 18th. It’s an afternoon stableford competition for teams of four, followed by a buffet supper – an excellent social occasion with the added advantage of raising money for charity! The entry fee for a team of four is only £250 and a proportion of this, together with the proceeds from a grand draw, tombola etc. go to charities selected by the Rotary President. It is hoped that many Chamber members will support this excellent event.
For Entry Forms and further details please contact either Barry Jones (01372 372437) or Chris Pelley (01372 450615).
If your business would welcome a steady stream of new contacts and potential clients, then Thomson Directories New Connections monthly subscription service may be the product for you. New Connections will keep you updated on all new and relocated businesses, as well as those with a new branch or recent change of owner, in the area of your choice. All the contacts are verified by Thomson Directories, and are supplied in the first week of each month in your preferred format, either on disk or via Email. The use of New Connections data is restricted to a small percentage of businesses in each area, giving prompt subscribers the competitive edge with a continual feed of new sales opportunities which their competitors would love to have access to. For a no-commitment consultation, Chamber Members may contact the New Connections Office Manager direct – telephone Alison Hills on 01252 390577. Further information is available at www.new-connections.co.uk.
Leatherhead accountancy firm Callingham Crane has found a perfect solution to its problem of obsolete computer equipment disposal.
Having replaced a dozen machines throughout its Kingston Road offices, IT Manager Jonathon Cobb wanted to find a good home for the redundant machines. Now at the end of their useful commercial life, he wanted to avoid what would have been the first choice destination for these machines – a rubbish skip. Indeed around 1.5m PCs end up on landfill sites across the UK every year – that's roughly 125,000 tonnes of IT equipment. [Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3535583.stm]
It was somewhat by chance that a staff member recalled an
advert they had seen in Sainsbury’s for a computer repair service run by Queen
Elizabeth’s Foundation, a national charity based
in Leatherhead, which works to equip disabled people with skills to increase
their independence and mobility and help them into employment.
A call to Ken Nicholls at the training college soon established that they would be delighted to take the machines. Here they would be used to support a course which is based on the NVQ in Installing & Supporting IT systems. Since the course has been expanded to provide trainees with more "hands on" experience in upgrading and maintenance, the machines would be invaluable. They would help trainees gain competence in fault diagnostics, the identification and replacement of defective components and installation and support of software.
So last Tuesday Jonathon enrolled the help of Practice Manager Don Barber in loading up his wife’s car with several hundred kilos of grey boxes. During their 2 mile journey to QEF they passed Surrey County Council’s Randalls Road waste facility and reflected on the early grave these computers have been reprieved from. Instead they were quickly unloaded on arrival at QEF and the task of logging-in and testing every component was soon underway.
After formally handing over the computers to Ken Nicholls, Jonathon was able to tour the facility, where trainees work with modern networked computers and peripherals supporting a variety of Windows™ software incorporating word processing, desktop publishing, graphics, Internet and speech recognition. “I was really impressed by this highly professional unit; they can provide an excellent service to the local community. I am delighted that we have been of some help to them,” he commented.
“We are always on the look out for extra equipment for trainees to learn on; donations from local businesses of usable machines are a great help,” said Ken Nicholls, “as is the provision of work experience for our trainees who are all looking for paid employment once qualified.”
[Cliff Hackett, Callingham Crane. Contact: 01372 226300]
Celebrating 10 Years of Women in the Pulpit
The celebration will be taking place at Guildford Cathedral on Saturday May 1st at 7.30pm, to mark a decade of women working as priests in the Church of England. You may be surprised to learn that women are not yet legally allowed to be bishops in this country, although the church is now moving in the right direction – with Guildford Diocese having over 80 female priests and 20 parishes being led by a woman.
The event is being organised by Hilary Cotton, Chair of WATCH Guildford which campaigns for women to take their place alongside men at all levels in the church. Hilary rightly would like to see as many women as possible playing a part in this celebration – and for those unable to attend the event itself, their support in many other ways will be welcomed, such as spreading the word that the event is taking place, the involvement of artists in decorating the cathedral or donations of a bottle or two of champagne, so that the success of the last 10 years can be toasted at the after-service reception which Hilary will be hosting.
For anyone wishing to offer support or needing further information, Hilary can be contacted by phone: 01483 856827 or by Email: hilary.cotton@ntlworld.com.
[Sandra
Young, Managing Director, Parallel Business Centres]
The Chamber extends a warm welcome to our new Members ~ we hope they enjoy the benefits of Membership, and we look forward to meeting them at future Chamber events.
squire furneaux volvo
Joined us on 2nd March, and is located at 7 Barnett Wood Lane, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7DL. A Volvo car dealership for new and used cars, plus fleet sales, service/repair/bodyshop … telephone: 01372 371900, facsimile: 01372 386402. If you’d like further information, please get in touch with Malcolm Hopkins, Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator, via telephone: 01372 371975, facsimile: 01372 362853 or Email: mah@squirefurneaux.co.uk. Alternatively, you can visit the website at: www.squirefurneaux.co.uk.
duxiana
Became a Member on 16th March, and aims to help you get a good night’s rest with its range of luxurious hand-made beds from Sweden which offer advanced technology in sleeping. Advice and information can be sought from John O’Neill by visiting Duxiana’s premises at 52 & 56 Church Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DT or by calling on: 01372 374376.
Directories & Website Listings
The 2004 Membership Directories were despatched during the last week of February … if you’ve not received your copy, please do let us know.
Salina Oliver, Internet Developer at our web hosts HanSam, has been making extensive updates to the category listings as well as to Member’s individual listings, as advised via your returned Details Forms. These revisions are now complete, and ready for you to take a look at.
Barclays Bank would like to draw your attention to the fact that its Membership details have changed since the Directories were issued, and we publish those here so that you can update your copy accordingly.
Contact: Mr Chris J. Stagg, Local Business Manager;
Address: 5 Church Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8DE; Tel:
01372 853105; Fax: 853150;Email: chris.j.stagg@barclayscorporate.com.
DragonRidge Advises Local Schoolchildren
Leatherhead based I.T. company, DragonRidge Ltd, was delighted to help out at a careers and education fair in Cobham on 9th February. The fair took place at Notre Dame Senior School. Girls from Notre Dame and their parents, as well as children and parents from other local schools, found out about the opportunities for careers in I.T. and also discussed what qualifications were needed. DragonRidge Limited is placing the answers to some of the more interesting questions on their website (www.dragonridge.co.uk, then select ‘Careers Fair’ from the menu on the left-hand side). Company Director Angela Bigwood hopes that the information will be of use to other local children who were not able to attend the fair in person.
Bateman’s Open Evening a Great Success !
Bateman (Opticians) Ltd’s “Spring Open Evening” brought a crowd to the practice in Church Street, Leatherhead ~ all keen to explore – and win ! – a new look.
Both Leatherhead residents and local business personnel, including Fellow Chamber Members, tried out the latest fashions in eyewear … and enjoyed free advice on coloured contact lenses, hairstyles and cosmetic dentistry options.
“We had drawn together a team of specialists to show people how to make the best of their natural features and there were many ways demonstrated of giving yourself a complete makeover. We were really thrilled with the excellent attendance and how much everyone got out of the evening,” said Amanda Smith, Manager of Bateman’s in Leatherhead.
lucky winners in the evening’s free draw were Elizabeth Iles of Effingham, who received Chanel sunglasses; Barbara Johnson also of Effingham, who won a month’s family membership to Cannons Health & Fitness Club, and Jenny Lidbetter from Surbiton, who picked up some exciting prescription coloured contact lenses.
Keep an eye on your future Newsletters for advance information of Bateman’s next “Open Evening” !
2004’s first Swap Shop was on the 17th of February at Metro Café in Leatherhead. Eighteen Chamber Members popped in after work, taking the opportunity to meet and network with fellow Members whilst enjoying the buffet prepared by Metro’s owner Karen Parry along with a glass or two of wine … and it was good to see a few new faces amongst those who came along. The next date for your diary is the 21st of April, when the Meet & Mingle event will take place at Soulinnis, 5 Bridge Street, Leatherhead between 5.15pm and 7.15pm … the flyers for this event will be sent out shortly.
quality fayre
David Rees is the proprietor of Quality Fayre … and having been born into a family greengrocery business, he is certainly a man who knows his fruit and veg !
David took over the long-established Quality Fayre in January of last year, having managed the shop for several years previously, and so has recently celebrated his first anniversary as the business owner. His own extensive expertise in the greengrocery trade is backed up by his manager Chris Bond, who has no less than 40 years experience of his own ! You are therefore in very knowledgeable hands when you shop at Quality Fayre … where fresh produce is the byword, selected by David at Covent Garden market six days a week !
As well as offering a fine range of quality produce at the Leatherhead High Street shop, Quality Fayre also provide a free delivery service to both domestic and business customers within Leatherhead and the surrounding towns … local restaurants, offices, nursing homes and schools, as well as private households, are all amongst their existing client base.
Quality Fayre Supply and Deliver:
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• A full range of quality vegetables and
fruit |
• Fruit baskets to your specification |
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• Cut flowers, floral bouquets and
baskets |
• Barn eggs, fresh from local farms |
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• ‘Home Farm’ fruit preserves, cakes & biscuits, |
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shop
opening hours are: 7.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m., Monday to Saturday
Deliveries to you between: 7.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., Monday to Saturday
quality fayre is located at: 40 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8AJ
for
information and orders, please call on: 01372 363065
milners
FOR LIVING ROOMS
Milners was started in 1991 by two brothers – Brian & Garry Milner. They now have 3 shops – the main site in Ashtead, a further shop in Banstead and a remnant shop, also in Ashtead.
As you will see from the list below we offer many services to help decorate your home and make it comfortable for you to live in. Being a family-run business, our service is second to none. We invest a lot of time and money on continual training for all our staff, keeping-up with the ever-changing requirements of the people we serve.
We also have a contract department providing all our services direct to the contract market, dealing with: showhomes; builders; offices; schools; and churches. We are very proud to work for the National Trust, and have just completed one of their new projects in Esher which is opening this summer.
Our aim is to make shopping a pleasure, and we are constantly looking at ways for people to shop and take-in the information more easily, using the best quality products available. We have children’s areas in both our shops, there is local parking, and we encourage people to take samples home.
Next time you are redecorating, do come and pay us a visit and see all the new and exciting things we have on offer – you’ll get plenty of ideas and superb service.
Milners’ services include:
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· Carpets |
· Wood Floors |
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· Amtico |
· Rugs |
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· Curtains |
· Blinds |
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· Ceilings |
· Underfloor Heating |
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· Carpet Cleaning |
· Remnants |
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· Contract Department |
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Contact: Brian & Garry Milner
MILNERS
40 The Street, Ashtead
143 – 147 High Street, Banstead
email: sales@milnercarpets.co.uk website: www.milnercarpets.co.uk
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MARCH |
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Tuesday 30th |
Mona Lisa
Smile (12a) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Wednesday 31st |
Mona Lisa
Smile (12a) (Film) 7.30pm |
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APRIL |
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Thursday 1st |
Mona Lisa
Smile (12a) (Film) 2.00pm and 7.30pm |
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Friday 2nd |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Saturday 3rd |
Looney Tunes:
Back in Action (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Saturday 3rd |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Sunday 4th |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 2.30pm |
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Monday 5th |
Looney Tunes:
Back in Action (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Monday 5th |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Tuesday 6th |
Looney Tunes:
Back in Action (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Tuesday 6th |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Wednesday 7th |
Looney Tunes:
Back in Action (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Wednesday 7th |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Thursday 8th |
The Passion
of the Christ (18) (Film) 2.00pm
and 7.30pm |
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Friday 9th |
School of
Rock (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Saturday 10th |
School of
Rock (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Saturday 10th |
House of Sand
and Fog (15) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Sunday 11th |
School of
Rock (PG) (Film) 2.30pm |
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Monday 12th |
School of
Rock (PG) (Film) 2.00pm |
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Monday 12th |
House of Sand
and Fog (15) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Tuesday 13th |
House of Sand
and Fog (15) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Wednesday 14th |
House of Sand
and Fog (15) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Thursday 15th |
House of Sand
and Fog (15) (Film) 7.30pm |
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Saturday 17th |
Fascinating
Rhythm
(Show) 7.45pm |
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Wednesday 21st |
Stepping
Out
(Show) 7.45pm |
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Thursday 22nd |
Stepping
Out
(Show) 7.45pm |
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Friday 23rd |
Stepping
Out
(Show) 7.45pm |
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Saturday 24th |
Stepping
Out
(Show) 7.45pm |
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Wednesday 28th |
Fiddler
on the Roof (Show – Bookham Light Operatic Society) 7.30pm |
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Thursday 29th |
Fiddler
on the Roof (Show – Bookham Light Operatic Society) 7.30pm |
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Friday 30th |
Fiddler
on the Roof (Show – Bookham Light Operatic Society) 7.30pm |
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MAY |
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Saturday 1st |
Fiddler
on the Roof (Show – Bookham Light Operatic Society) 2.30pm and 7.30pm |
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