Shares In The Red Lion
As most villagers will know, the Red Lion was purchased from Whitbread by Preston villagers way back in 1982. Funds to do this were raised from the issue of shares in a newly created company, The Red Lion Limited and currently there are some 150 + current villagers and families owning shares.
Share ownership is restricted to those living in or within 5 miles of Preston village and there are a few shares available at the moment for purchase.
A great fun investment and a good reason to visit it to check it is doing well !
Interested? Then please give me a call at
I’d be pleased to tell you more. – Brian Waters
The Preston Trust – AGM ~ POSTPONED to 7th August
The Preston Trust AGM will be on Sunday 17th July – 11 00am in the Village Hall.
Please join us at the AGM to find out more about what the Trust is about and what being a member of it entails.You can be involved as little or as much as you would like.Your participation is paramount to keeping the Trust running and continuing to help this special community.The Preston Trust committee really need new members too,to help enable us to fulfill the Trust’s commitments to all the people of the Village and Parish.If you’ve ever thought ‘Why don’t they do this or why do they do that’ then why not join the committee and help make the difference you are hoping the Trust will make…If you have any queries or items you would on the Agenda, please contact Rae using the Preston Trust contact form and select the option to contact The Membership Secretary.
We are looking forward to welcoming you on 17th July.
Adrian,Jo,Liz,Mike,Rae,Tim and Wal – The Preston Trust committee.
St Martin’s Church and All Saints’ Church Services
| Sunday 3rd July | 9.30
11am |
St Martin’s All Age Communion
Ephesians 2: 19 – end John 20: 24 – 29 All Saints All Age Communion |
| Sunday 10th July | 8am
9.30am
11am |
All Saints Holy Communion (BCP)
St Martin’s Holy Communion Colossians 1: 1 – 14 Luke 10: 25 – 27 All Saints Sunday Praise |
| Sunday 17th July | 9.30am
11am |
St Martin’s Family Service (followed by Charity Coffee Morning)
All Saints Holy Communion Colossians 1: 15 – 28 Luke 10: 38 – end |
| Sunday 24th July | 9.30am
11am |
St Martin’s Holy Communion
Colossians 2: 6 – 15 Luke 11: 1 – 13 All Saints Holy Communion |
| Sunday 31st July | 10am
|
Joint Service of Holy Communion at All Saints
Colossians 3: 1 – 11 Luke 12: 13 – 21 |
Team Vicar of St Paul’s Walden with Preston:
St Martin’s Church 150 Club 2022/2023
The winners in the June draw in the 2022/23 150 Club (£30 each) were:
No. 19. Mr B W Waters
No. 70. Mr & Mrs R J Gill
A Letter From Our Team Vicar
I am delighted to see so many people coming to St Martin’s. For me, it is a joy that children from our school participate so actively in our Family Service once a month – strengthening the vital link between the church school and the church. It’s a great pleasure to pay tribute to Inneke the head and Monika Dye and the other teachers who encourage this link.
It is also very rewarding to have a class or year group come to the church on a school day to see what’s there and to understand a bit about the Christian faith.
At the end of this month, we shall express our gratitude to Malcolm Lowle as he retires as our church warden at St Martin’s. His has been a formidable stint in this role. I have been particularly grateful to him since my arrival in late 2019. His care for the church and its services has been exemplary. Above all he will always be associated with the recent extension to the church with the addition of the kitchen and WC. Our warmest thanks go to Malcolm and to his wife Ann who has been such a tower of strength in supporting him. He will be succeeded by Weronika Duffin to whom I am exceptionally grateful.
Do please note that we have another of our coffee mornings in aid of charity after the family service – this time on 17th July. We will be supporting the Sue Ryder home at Stagenhoe; and St Luke’s Healthcare for clergy, a national charity of which I am a trustee. Do come and join us!
With every blessing,
Stephen
Coffee Morning
A charity coffee morning will be held at St Martin’s Church on Sunday 17th July, following the Sunday service, in aid of the Sue Ryder Home at Stagenhoe and St Luke’s Healthcare for the Clergy.
The Sue Ryder home provides compassionate care for those with neurological conditions. St Luke’s promotes the wellbeing of clergy and their families, focussing on clergy resilience and reparative treatments in cases of stress or breakdown.
All welcome.
Hitchin Foodbank Shortages
The following items are the most urgently needed due to recent strong demand: Tinned Potatoes; Tea (foil packed); Tinned Fish (Tuna preferred); Coffee (small jars); Milk UHT Longlife (not skimmed); Juice (longlife); Sponge Puddings; Deodorant / Shower Gel / Shampoo / Toothpaste.
Please ensure items are undamaged and in date. Donations can be deposited in the blue box in the garage at Lychgate House, Church Lane, or at Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Thank you for your continued support; for more information please visit letchworth.foodbank.org.uk
Preston Parish Council
Parish Council Meeting: Thursday 21 July
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 21 July at 8pm in the village hall. Any member of the public who would like to raise an issue to be discussed at this meeting should contact the Clerk.
Members of the public who would like to attend the meeting in person must register with the Clerk prior to the meeting and be prepared to follow the safety measures which are in place. Contact details are: Lisa Lathane, Clerk to the Parish Council:
Defibrillator And First Aid Training
The Parish Council has organised two sessions for defibrillator and first aid training which will be delivered by Pam Biggs, who is a Hitchin first responder and also looks after the defibrillator in Preston. The course will include how to use the defibrillator, unconsciousness, bleeding and choking.
The courses will be held on:
Thursday 7 July from 7.30 to 9.00pm and
Saturday 9 July from 10.30 to 12.00 noon
and are limited to 10 people per session. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and anyone interested should contact: Lisa Lathane, Clerk to the Parish Council:
Consultation On New Ward Boundaries
The Local Government Boundary Commission Consultation on new ward boundaries is available until Wednesday 10 August. Details are available at: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/34806. There is a link on this website to respond to the consultation. In addition, replies to the consultation can be emailled to: reviews@lgbce.org.uk
or posted to: Review Officer (North Hertfordshire), LGBCE, PO Box 133, Blyth, NE24 9FE
Preston Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
The Parish Council would like to thank the Preston Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Committee for organising a successful and eventful weekend to mark the 70 year reign of The Queen. The Parish Council would also like to thank everyone else who contributed in any way to the organisation of the events and, of course, it would also like to thank all the members of the community who attended the events to make it a weekend to remember for everyone, whatever their age.
The Preston Jubilee
Dear All,
And you thought it was all over!..
We hope you had a wonderful time during the Jubilee Festivities. It has been a true celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s reign of 70 years and our special community.Thank you so much to all of you for everything you did to help and for coming along to the different events.
From lighting the incredible beacon, crafted by David Clark, to singing along to Sweet Carolineat the Street Party, and all the events between we hope we gave something for everyone !
Did you take photos and/or clips at any of the festivities over the four days? We’d love you toshare them, to help us create a keepsake photo book of Preston’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.
Please, simply send your photos and clips to :
or drop photographs we can copy and return to you / memory sticks we can download and return to you at:
St. Martins’s Place Church Lane
and we’ll do the rest.
If you do not wish for any photographs with yourself and or your children to be included in the book please drop us an email and we will make sure that either they aren’t included or you/they are cropped out.
Each of these captured moments, full of laughter and togetherness will become special memories in the years to come!
Later on this year, we’ll arrange a film show where you can enjoy all of the photos everyone has shared. You will also be able to see the answers to ‘Who was Who in 1952’ at this event.For those of you who can’t wait they will be revealed on the Village Website shortly.
Please would you check your pockets and bags for any candles you may accidentally still have from the Beacon Lighting Event, as we are missing a small number.If you find any please drop them at St.Martin’s Place on Church Lane.
If you have any queries please email the above address or phone/ message
Thank you again to you all for helping make this Celebration of our Queen, and our Parish such a special one.
The Preston Platinum Jubilee Committee,
David, Jane, Jo, Malcolm, Rae, Ray, Richard and Vicky
Neighbourhood Watch
The number to contact at North Herts Police for all non-emergencies (including witnessing of fly-tipping) is 101 or 01707 354000.
For removal of fly tipping which has already occurred, call NHDC 01462 474000 or online at www.north-herts.gov.uk, then follow the links to Transport and Streets, Street Cleaning and Fly Tipping where there is a form to complete to report the details. If you use the What3Words app, please include the three words for the location of the fly tipping.
PCSO Heather Burrows can be contacted regarding local community issues.
Contact details are as follows:
PCSO Heather Burrows: 07740 745168 or 01438 757604 or heather.burrows@herts.pnn.police.uk
In the event of an emergency or if you witness a crime taking place please call 999.
Reporting suspicious activity
Please report any suspicious activity or vehicles you may witness in the locality.
Call the police on the non-emergency number 101 or report it online by using the website www.herts.police.uk/report and follow the links.
The Preston Trust’s Great Easter Egg Hunt
Belated thanks to those who took part on 16 April.
From 2.00 pm until 5pm on Easter Saturday afternoon, 16 April, the central part of the village was ‘alive’ with 70 children and their parents taking part in this year’s Easter Egg Hunt. The route of the Hunt started at The Green, then up Chequers Lane as far as the footpath along to Church Meadow, across the Meadow and into St Martin’s church, and then back up Church Lane to The Green. There were numerous ‘stops’ en route, to notice and to find things, and ‘activities’ to complete. All were interesting and intriguing, some quite challenging! Easter eggs and chicks, bunnies and their paw prints were everywhere, and numerous animals in wood, wool and glass residing in St Martins.
The weather was very fortunately mild and dry, and everyone had an immensely enjoyable afternoon. Our thanks are due to everyone who organised the Hunt, those who helped on the afternoon, and to all our participants. THANK YOU!
The winners were as follows:-
Over 6 Feed the Bunny : Audrina
Under 6 Feed the Bunny : Ben
Emojis : Effie
Pin the tail on the Bunny : Harry
Eggsplorer Guide Draw. : Lucas
St Martins Animal Quiz. : Scarlett
Eggsplorer Guide Quiz. : Tilly
The Preston Trust organisers have been delighted with the response to this new Easter holiday event for the children, in the last two years, and so have already decided that we must try to hold this every year! We have been inspired to plan one or two new ‘activities’ already…….!
Preston Trust committee members: Adrian,Jo, Liz, Mike,Tim, Rae and Wal.