First meeting of the Residents’ Association Committee

The first meeting of the new committee was held yesterday.  There was a lot of ground to cover and much time was spent discussing the ongoing problems with security, parking, use of the Leisure Centre, the state of the buildings and some of the maintenance and snagging problems which residents are facing.  The importance of maintaining regular and effective communication with Comer was emphasized and the Committee was pleased to learn that Helen Eames will be spending Tuesdays on site for the foreseeable future in order to improve control over the property management issues which are currently outstanding.  A new person (Paul) has been appointed to replace Conor O’Reilly to handle maintenance issues and we are hopeful that this will bring real improvements.  Residents should note that all requests for maintenance must be directed to Helen (07760 771525 or helen@comerpropertymanagement.co.uk) in the first instance.

The Committee elected the following persons to fulfil the formal roles required under the constitution:

            Trevor Sherling – Chairman         (chairman@rcpresidents.org)

            David Pollock – Treasurer           (treasurer@rcpresidents.org)

            Nigel Goss – Secretary              (secretary@rcpresidents.org)

Trevor is away for lengthy periods and Nigel Jarvis will deputise for him in his absence.

In view of the recent problems with security which were referred to in the recent newsletter, Nigel Jarvis is going to consider what improvements should be considered.  Obviously, this will depend on the costs involved and we will be approaching Comer for information about this before putting any proposals to residents.  Any comments or suggestions regarding security should be sent to chairman@rcpresidents.org.

The date of 11 January 2017 has been provisionally set aside for a full Residents’ Association meeting.  Further details will be circulated in due course.

RCP News

The second edition of RCP News has been published and can be found by following the link on the right hand side.

The new Residents' Assocation committee has been appointed and comprises:

Trevor Sherling — Acting Chairman (11 King Edward)

Simon Golz (19 Washington)

Nigel Goss (11 Devonshire)

Pauline Hewgil (15 Windsor)

Nigel Jarvis (2 Devonshire)

David Pollock (7 Wessex)

Mike Potter (8 Wessex)

David Sweetland (15 Connaught)

Bulent Yalcin (6 King Edward)

The committee will be holding their first meeting next week so please email chairman@rcpresidents.org with any issues which you want to be addressed.  There's already plenty to talk about around service charges, parking, security and the general state of the buildings and grounds.

Any of you who haven't joined the Residents' Association, please do so now.  The more participation we have, the greater our likely influence on Comer.  You can find the link to an application form on the right hand side.

Please don't hesitate to use the Discussion Forums (follow link at top of page) to raise issues of common interest.  To date, there have been very few posts, but we are keen to see it used more actively.

The current plan is to hold a meeting for all members of the Residents' Association early in the New Year.  Best wishes for the Christmas season to everyone.

Courtesy Bus - Christmas and New Year Schedule

Ted will be standing in as the courtesy bus driver from 19th to 22nd December.  The service will operate as normal on those days save that the evening service will finish at 6pm.  There will be no bus service between 23rd December and 2nd January 2017 inclusive.  Normal service will resume on Tuesday, 3rd January.

Dog friendly pub

Our local neighbourhood pub The King Stag has just gotten even more doggy friendly with a new menu of dog treats and their monthly dog walk on Sunday 18th December. For more information please visit their website: http://www.thekingstag.com/event/

Halloween

RCP provided the perfect setting for a group of our younger residents on Hallowe'en.  Lots of generous residents provided treats for the kids who all had a wonderful time, and have enough treats to keep them going until next Hallowe'en.

Thank you to all who provided treats.

Halloween

Ian Burgoyne is keen to co-ordinate plans for Halloween with other RCP residents with young children who are keen to go "trick and treating" this year.  Do let him know if you intend to be out and about on the night.  Of course, if you're not so keen to participate, you can also let him know and he'll make sure (for his group) that you're not disturbed.

Ian can be reached on halloween@rcpresidents.org.

Committee elections

Those of you who are members of the Residents' Association will have received a letter inviting nominations for election to the Committee.  There is much to do and we need people with enthusiasm and commitment who are prepared to give up some of their time to help us build a better community at RCP.  Please respond positively.

If you haven't joined the Residents' Association, please do so now by downloading and completing the application form here.  The more members we have, the more effective our voice will be when we deal with the Comer on communal issues affecting residents.

Notices to all residents

Residents should be aware that one car has recently suffered tyre damage which is most likely the result of vandalism.  Please be vigilant for each other and report unusual or suspicious activity to security at the gate.

Last weekend someone put bubble bath in the jacuzzi in the Leisure Centre.  No doubt this seemed like a fun idea at the time, but it's actually a real problem and costs a fortune in time and materials to clean it out.  Please no more!

Could all residents please ask tradesmen and guests to park in the relevant parking spaces and not just use any space because it happens to be closer.  This is causing huge and unnecessary inconvenience to residents.

King Stag Dog walk

Hi All,

A BIG thanks to all those who came out for the Peter Ibbet talk. It was a lovely evening.

The King Stag Pub will be holding their monthly dog walk on Sunday 30th October at 10am.

We are planning on going and if any other dog owners would like to join us we would definitely be going for a drink or two after.

Anyone interested please feel free to email me directly on sgolz@hotmail.com

Royal Masonic School History Evening

Residents were treated to an entertaining and informative presentation on Thursday evening by Peter Ibett, archivist of the Old Masonians Association.  Peter is an old boy of the Royal Masonic School for Boys which used to occupy Royal Connaught Park from the turn of the century until 1977.

The School was founded to provide education for sons of freemasons who died or became impoverished.  Its sister school the Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth is still thriving to this day and Peter talked about some of the items which used to be here, such as the War Memorial at the top of the drive and the Charity statue from the stairs in JFK, which have been moved to the girls' school so that they can be preserved safely.

Life at School was very different in the 1960s when Peter was a pupil.  He explained that the underground subways, which can still be explored today, were originally to allow the maidservants to move around the school without encountering the boys.  Quite what harm a chance meeting would have done is anybody's guess!  In like fashion when married housemasters were permitted in the latter years of the School, the washing lines for their houses were hidden from view in case the sight of ladies' under-garments caused hysteria among the boys.

The talk enlightened us all about the rich history which this development enjoys and we can now look upon our homes with a different perspective of how they were used in times gone by.  We are extremely grateful to Peter for giving up his time to come and talk to us and we hope to see him around in the future.  Thanks also to Trevor Sherling and his committee for arranging this event and to all the many residents who turned up to make this such a successful evening.

Peter Ibett Talk about the History of RCP

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your enthusiastic response regarding the proposed talk about RCP.

I can confirm that this is now booked for Thursday 22nd September at 19.30pm in the Hall above the swimming pool.

For anyone who hasn't RSVP'd but would like to attend please let me know at sgolz@hotmail.com so we know how many seats to prepare.

See you then.

Royal Masonic School history evening

Dear Residents,

The residents association have been in touch with Peter Ibett who is a former pupil of the Royal Masonic School and is now the archivist for the old boys' association. He would be happy to come in for an evening to give a talk (with slides) about the past lives of the building.

We have agreed for Thursday 22nd September and are in the processes of fixing a venue. Could anyone who is interested please let me know at sgolz@hotmail.com in the next week?

King Stag BBQ

Hi All,

Just to let you know our local pub "The King Stag" is running a summer BBQ and beer festival in their beer garden this weekend.

Saturday will also feature an vintage fair in the morning and Swing music in the afternoon/evening.

For more info check out their website: http://www.thekingstag.com/beer-festival-27-29-august/

Success with the Bins

Thanks to all the residents for their continued efforts to keep the recycling bins in proper order. The last collections ALL bins were emptied. We have also worked hard with Comer to arrange some additional recycling bins in popular areas (such as behind Washington House).

As a reward please check out this clip from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc. Most people will recognise the room they hold their meeting in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfUkwCvXHEo

Wedding celebration

I hear that Danni and Ben from Connaught House are heading off this morning to get married in Nicaragua (as you do).  Many congratulations from us all.  Photos on your return please!

Toby is back safe and sound!

Thanks to everyone who helped with suggestions and supported the search. 

Missing kitten

Toby, a four month old kitten, belonging to Santiago Klein at 10 Devonshire House went missing last night. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a name tag although he is microchipped. If you see him please take him home or email santklein@yahoo.com immediately.

July Newsletter

The first issue of the RCP newsletter can be found here.  We intend to publish this on an "as needed" basis to keep residents informed of what is going on around the estate.  This first issue highlights a number of issues relating to good neighbourly behaviour.  We urge everyone just to spare a thought for your fellow residents before doing something careless or unthinking.  We all live in a wonderful development and it is up to us to make the most of it for everyone's enjoyment.

The newsletter mentions the fact that you will shortly receive a letter inviting you to join the Royal Connaught Park Residents' Association.  This will create a proper association which will allow us to engage with Comer Homes on a more formal footing in relation to matters of mutual interest with regard to the management of the estate.  We urge everyone to sign up and encourage your neighbours to do the same.  Our representations will have much more value if the association is seen to be speaking on behalf of all residents.

Courtesy Bus Evening Service

On a trial basis the evening bus service will now meet the train arriving at Bushey at 19.51. However, please be aware that the Bus cannot operate after 20.00 so if the arrival of the train is delayed by more than a couple of minutes, then the bus will be unable to wait.  We'll just have to see how it works out.

Courtesy Bus - Temporary change from 6 July

Comer has asked us to communicate the following information to residents:

As you may already be aware, Tom Higgins will be away from Royal Connaught Park between the 6^th July and the 6^th August 2016.   Please do not attempt to call Tom during this period.

We will be using temporary bus drivers, who may change on a daily basis, to cover Tom's absence.  To avoid any confusion, the bus will be operated strictly according to the following timetable so there will be no need to ring the driver in advance.

Monday to Friday:

Morning Run to and from the  station - 7am – 10am

Shopping run into Watford – drop off at 11am - pick up at 1pm

Evening runs to and from the station -  4pm – 8pm ( last pick up from the station 7.35pm)

The morning bus service will run every half hour ( depending on traffic) departing from the front of the building at the top of the drive.  The evening service will run according to the normal timetable for pickup from Bushey Station.

Contact information

We have updated the Comer property services contact information on the right hand side of this page to reflect the up to date telephone numbers.  Several residents have suggested that we should also publicise details of local tradesmen, such as plumbers, electricians, painters etc, who have proved reliable in the past.  Do let us have details of any contact numbers you think we should add to the list.

Courtesy Bus Service

On a couple of occasions recently, the Residents' Association has been asked by Comer to publicise late changes of schedule.  Until now, the only way to do this was to post a notice on the website (which residents are unlikely to check regularly) or to distribute an email to all residents (many of whom won't be interested in the content).

We can now offer a better alternative.  Anyone who wishes to receive updates on the bus service should email the webmaster with their name and mobile phone number and we will relay any messages received from Comer via SMS text message.  The service is ready to go, but please bear in mind that if we are not kept informed about changes, then we won't be able to forward the information!  Please don't blame the messenger for any unannounced changes.

We will of course also post the information on the website and for those who follow Twitter, you will find that the news items will also appear on the Twitter account @rcp_residents so please follow us now!

Do let us know what you think of these new initiatives.

Courtesy Bus service update

The Courtesy Bus will not run after 19.00 today.

There has been a little confusion over the evening bus service.  It does not run until 20.00 as some people have thought.  Comer has confirmed that the normal evening times are as previously notified on this website ie

The bus will be running the following pick ups from Bushey station:

4pm

4.30pm

5.00pm

5.30pm

6.00pm

6.30pm

7.00pm

7.35pm

Residents will not need to call.

Courtesy bus

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the courtesy bus will only run until 3pm this afternoon.  Apologies for any inconvenience.  Normal service will resume on Monday.

Picnic lunch

This is a reminder to everyone that we are having an informal RCP residents' picnic this coming Sunday, 12th June at 1pm.  It is a good opportunity for us all to get together at the same time as celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday. 

If the weather is kind to us, we'll meet on the front grass where we met last year.

If it is wet, we'd better meet under the cloisters by the Dining Hall doors.  Everyone should bring their own chairs and tables and their own food and drink.

Let's hope for a good turnout!

Courtesy Bus Service - Evening service

Certain changes have had to be made temporarily to the evening bus service.  For the time being, pickups from Bushey station will be as follows:

4.00pm

4.30pm

5.00pm

5.30pm

6.00pm

6.30pm

7.00pm

7.35pm

Residents will not need to call for this service.

Tom Higgins will be off for the rest of the week, Ted is currently standing in for him.

Residents' Association Meeting

The Residents' Association held a meeting on 17 May 2016 which was chaired by Trevor Sherling and was well attended by residents.  A large number of matters were discussed at the meeting and the association looks forward to working constructively with Comer Homes to try and deal with those which are currently giving cause for most concern. The minutes of the meeting can be found here.

In order to improve communication within the RCP community, we are going to try and reinvigorate the website which has been rather dormant of late.  Anyone who has any news, ideas or suggestions which would interest a wider audience should send them to webmaster@rcpresidents.org and we will incorporate them in the website wherever possible.

If you need to raise any matter with the Residents' Association, in the first instance please send an email to chairman@rcpresidents.org.

BT Infinity is here!

Welcome news, BT Infinity has finally arrived, at least for those of us on Marlborough Drive.  It's been a long time coming and I know many residents were beginning to despair at the hopeless speeds of the old BT setup.   Let's hope the promised minimum download speed of 65 Mbs is actually achieved.