12th July 2012
Chairman's Corner

Since I last updated this column in April a lot of exciting things at an international and national level have been happening as have those at a more local level. On a purely personal note, my mother-in-law passed away quietly in her sleep, a very much loved and delightful person she will be much missed by my wife, myself and our two children.

Locally:

Despite all attempts by the weather to put a damper on people enjoying themselves we had the street parties celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the lighting of the official Surrey Heath Jubilee Beacon in Frimley Green Recreation Ground. Many hundreds of residents of the three villages and Frimley attended these festivities. People gathered on the Green in Frimley Green before making their way to the Recreation Ground where the lighting of the Jubilee Beacon took place. Members of the Society’s committee acted as stewards making sure that people were able to move from the Green to the Recreation Ground in a safe manner.

We also had the three day Canalside Jubilee event. This was organised by the Basingstoke Canal Society and was held at Frimley Lodge Park with stalls, rides and displays in the park proper, with canal boats and rides on the canal bordering the park. The event was attended by local residents and those from much further afield and the society had a stall at this event promoting its place in the community.

Following on from these events was the Frimley Green Carnival held on the Green itself which was great fun, especially the yearly parade. Neither participants nor spectators allowed the rain to spoil their enjoyment of the parade or events and stalls on the Green, even the Mayor got rather wet! The Society again had a presence at the event.

We were then entertained with the spectacle of the Farnborough Airshow. Although this is not really a local event the air displays are readily viewed from large parts of the three villages. Most people seem to greatly enjoy these displays; I know that I certainly did having a great view from my front bedroom windows.

Nationally:

The Country celebrated the Queens Diamond Jubilee with an extended weekend from the 2nd to the 5th of June. Sunday the 3rd June was the day of the Jubilee river pageant with over a 1000 vessels stretching over 7 miles of the Thames taking part. It also saw communities across the nation getting together with their neighbours for the “Big Lunch”
The celebrations culminated in an appearance by the Queen on the balcony at Buckingham Palace and a flypast by World War II aircraft and the Red Arrows. All in all, a great weekend.

We also had Wimbledon with most people hoping that Andy Murray would come out on top. He duly became the first brit in 74 years to reach the Wimbledon mens singles final, unfortunately he failed at the final hurdle. He was looking good and took the first set 6-4 but his opponent Federer fought back and ran out the winner taking the last three sets 7-5, 6-3 and 6-4.

And now the 2012 Olympics, the opening ceremony was quite something and showed that the Brits can readily combine the traditional along with the technological age. To put it simply, it was a hell of a show!! Following on from that, our athletes are now reaping the rewards of all their hard work and have got a record haul of medals. Andy Murray reversed the result of the Wimbledon final, beating Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

Internationally:

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity landed safely on the Red Planet on 5th August 2012. The mission has four goals;

  • To determine if life ever arose on Mars,
  • To characterize the climate of Mars,
  • To characterize the geology of Mars,
  • To potentially prepare for human exploration.
You can get information and see the latest images that Curiosity is sending back from its HD and 3D video cameras on the Nasa Website.

On July 4th, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced that using the Large Hadron Collidor which spans the border between Switzerland and France, it had confirmed a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson, the so called “God Particle”. The project is the result of a truly international co-operative agreement. If the claim is finally validated then the idea that “God moves in a mysterious way” might well be said to have some weight. For more information see the CMS Website.

Kevin Daley    (Chair, MFGD Society)