Marlow Town Regatta and Festival 2012
Marlow Town Regatta and Festival will take place over the weekend of the 9th and 10th June. The rowing regatta will take place on the Saturday (9th) and Dragon Boat racing on the Sunday. This fantastic family weekend is a must for all those who love to be by the river. Look out for further details on the Town Council website and on the Marlow Town Regatta site. This event should not be confused with the Marlow Regatta that takes place at Dorney Lake, Eton, see below.
Marlow Regatta 2012
Marlow regatta will take place on the weekend of the 16th and 17th June at Dorney Lake, Eton. This will be the final regatta to take place at the lake prior to its use for the 2012 London Olympics. This regatta attracts leading crews from all over the world. Please visit their website for further details. This event should not be confused with the Marlow Town Regatta, details of which are above.
Mayors Annual Reception 2011
New Mayor, Cllr Jocelyn Towns, hosted her first civic event, the Mayor’s Annual Reception on Saturday 11th June. The format was changed this year to reflect that this Reception is to thank those “unsung heroes” who run local clubs, sports clubs ranging from fishing to cricket, associations and volunteers. All of these people give up a lot of their time free to enhance the lives of Marlow residents.
This was a year for presentations. The Mayor presented the Sports Personality 2011 award to Elin Galvin for her sporting achievements. Elin began running whilst at Danesfield Junior School and represented them in cross country and won sprint events at Marlow Schools Sports Day. She joined Wycombe Phoenix Harriers and ran cross country events in the Chiltern League.
At the age of 9 Elin began to play hockey for Marlow and enjoyed competing in leagues and competitions. She continued to run and play hockey when she moved to Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School. She also competed in the Young Athletes League for Wycombe Phoenix Harriers in the 800m and 1500m and beat the school record at 300m. She became joint captain of the school hockey team in Year 7. In Year 8 she moved to Wycombe Hockey Club and concentrated on playing hockey. Elin’s list of accomplishments are many.
Elin was selected to a squad of 18 to play for England U16s in the Four Nations Tournament in Valencia over Easter. The other nations represented were Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. She has further matches to play for England after her GCSE’s have ended and will then enter the process for selection for the U127 programme of training.
Congratulations on her Award and all her achievements so far.
The next award, the Community Award, was presented to John Fordham, Chairman of Marlow Sports Club. In 200 the Marlow Sports Club has four sections, cricket, hockey, tennis and the Striders Running Club with a membership of about 600.
In 2006 the Club was put under enormous pressure when Whitbread decided to put the main ground up for Auction. John was instrumental in getting this stopped by mounting a press campaign with local support and our local MP. This resulted in Whitbread giving the Club time to organise a buyout. In May of that year the Club put together a plan – buy out Whitbread and buy further land to build an all weather hockey pitch and to focus the club on community and the needs of young people. John also managed the Club’s finances and put them on a firm footing.
The Club became a registered charity, changing their status from membership to a community facility, run for the benefit of the whole community of Marlow. The Club have now secured its future by buying out Whitbread. Money has been raised from the National Hockey Foundation and England Hockey to support the building of an all weather pitch which is well under way.
John’s leadership has been remarkable for our Town and this fabulous community sports club for Marlow Residents.
The Mayor then moved on to present Long Service Awards to three people as a token of appreciation for all the remarkable work they have done over the last 36 years.
Frank Sweatman, outgoing Councillor, has been a Councillor for the Town, District and County and represented Marlow for 36 years. Frank also served as Town Mayor in 2003 and was instrumental in setting up the first Town Mayor’s Charity Golf Day at Harleyford to raise funds for the Mayor’s chosen charity. He raised over £6,000 for the Chiltern Air Ambulance and this amount has yet to be beaten!
Maurice Oram was recognised for all the work and time he has given to the Town over 32 years. As well as serving on Marlow Town Council he has also represented Marlow at the District Council. Maurice was Mayor on 5 occasions – 1983,1984,1991,1992 and 2001 when he welcomed Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Phillip to Marlow for a lunch in Court Garden House and a garden party held in Higginson Park during her Jubilee Year.
Ivor Coleman had given in excess of 25 years service as a Town Councillor and was Mayor in 2002. Ivor unfortunately has been very ill recently and had lengthy stays in hospital but was allowed to come to the reception to receive his award with his wife Pam and daughter Mary. It was lovely to see Ivor and we all wish him the very best for the future.
At the end of June, Howard Bellairs, Town Clerk will be retiring from the Town Council after 13 and a half years of service. Members and staff contributed to retirement gifts for him consisting of a cast golf bag lamp and a crystal bowl engraved with the crest and his name which the Mayor presented to him.
The Mayor then announced her chosen charity for her Mayoral year 2011/2012 as being the Marlow Sports Club which now has charity status. As part of their ongoing improvements, they will be installing wheelchair ramps and making the club more disability aware which is one of the reasons that she has chosen to support them.