So far the early part of our summer is reminiscent of the beginning of WS Landor’s poem on summer,
“In spring and summer winds may blow, And rains fall after, hard and fast ...”
But dare we hope with RL Stevenson that in the weeks to come,
“...in the blue and glowing days More thick than rain [the sun] showers his rays”?
In the Christian year, we have moved on from the major festivals culminating in Pentecost and Trinity Sunday in May. We reflect on the mystery of Holy Trinity (page 12) as we now enter ‘ordinary time’. More about ‘ordinariness’ in later issues!
As we move towards mid-summer day and the days lengthen, the frustration about the traffic problems looming over the horizon continues. After the CEMEX consultation on gravel extraction in Richings Park at the end of April, it is clear that, while the centre of Langley is spared additional traffic due to that, it will add to congestion on main junctions of roads in and out of Langley.
There has also been an independent report published in April highly critical of the lack of consultation and communication with the community by the HS2 project. Unfortunately, the case of the Langley maintenance depot for Heathrow Express is not going to be reopened. However, the road closures around Hollow Hill Lane are still under consideration and it is good news that our MP,the Rt Hon. Fiona Mactaggart, is keen to propose changes to the plan (page 4). We need SBC and our Counsellors also to do all they can to ease our predicament of being caught in a pincer – Bucks County on one side and Windsor and Maidenhead on the other, both seemingly unwilling to act to alleviate problems caused for Langley by activities outside our control.
In this issue, we speak to Ann Portsmouth, a stalwart member of Langley Free Church, born and brought up in Langley when it was still a village. She remembers being in the Girls’ Brigade which no longer exists here, but Scouting is still happening in Langley, and is an activity young people can take part in (page 7).
Around Langley has chosen not to make any comment on the imminent EU Referendum, which was probably a wise decision for many reasons. However, before the July issue comes out, the nation would have decided whether to Brexit or not. There is a sobering thought!
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