Long Distance Helpers

Earlier this month it was announced that Haddenham had once again featured among the major prizewinners in the Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition, having won the Pushman Cup for large villages with a population over 3,000.

One of the underpinnings of this award is the degree to which Haddenham residents keep their roads and verges clear of litter. And as you may know, several times a year the parish council organises a 'Litter Pick' to encourage local volunteers to don Hi-Viz jackets, borrow a mechanical litter picker-upper and do their bit to eliminate discarded rubbish in our village.

The latest outing took place in early July, when the usual group of loyal supporters were joined by two young ladies who had travelled all the way from Australia to participate in our world famous Litter Pick.

Well, that may be a slight exaggeration!

Miah, aged 7 & Safara, aged 5 are granddaughters of Brenda Bonnage (who runs the Friday Art Group in the village hall each week) and the two girls were on holiday and visiting Haddenham from Woodend, just north of Melbourne.

According to Brenda: "At the outset, neither girls were particularly enthusiastic about the thought of a litter pick, to be honest, as they often carry out such duties in their own school grounds."

"However, the fluorescent safety jackets and 'grabbers' and finding all sorts of bits and pieces hidden under hedges made all the difference — they loved it!"

We hope that Miah and Safara enjoyed their holiday in Haddenham, and have returned safely to their homes in Australia. Please come back and see us again soon!