With the start of the new school term soon upon us now is a good time to remind the parents and guardians of pupils at St James of a few do's and don'ts when dropping off and picking up.

Do walk your children to school if you can, I know many of you already do walk to school, but if you do drive think is it really necessary? I know that when my kids went to school I used to walk with them as often as I could, mind you it was embarrassing for them to have their dad in tow when they were 16. If there is no alternative and you have to drive to school for whatever reason please park away from the school and walk the last bit.

Do not park on the yellow zigzags outside the school between the hours stated, because as many of you know this offence carries a fine of £30. Some have argued that " it's alright to park here now because the school bus has gone" well it's not. The zigzags are there to keep a clear way outside the school so that children leaving and entering the school can have a clear sight line when crossing the road. If you drop off/pick up in West Hill or West Hill Close please respect the residents who live there, I have had reports that residents have had their vehicles blocked in by parents leaving their vehicles across driveways etc so please show a little more consideration if this applies to you. Finally do not park opposite or close to any junction.

I know you're thinking ' doesn't he go on'  but the children's safety is paramount, St James has a an excellent safety record let's keep it that way.

Thank you to all those who attended my last surgery in Elstead it was very busy indeed, my next surgery is at the wardens office in Springhaven between 6-7 pm on Monday the 7^th of Sept.

The Springfield Surgery Patients' Group are pleased to inform you that the blood pressure monitor, for which so many of  you kindly donated  the money for the purchase, has now arrived and is being used  by the Springfield Surgery to the benefit of  those patients who need it.

The Doctors are very pleased to be able to offer this service to more patients and with the S.S.P.G. would like to thank again all those who so generously contributed to make this possible. 

A special 'thank you' should be given to Mr & Mrs Batchelor who allowed us to use their Newsagents as a collection point for the money and to the URC Elders who also allowed the use of the URC letter box for the same purpose. The flyers, so beautifully created and produced at his own cost by Peter Waddell and delivered so willingly by Katie Shorrock with her own, were a great help in the appeal process, too. A wonderful effort with a successful result.

Elstead Parish Council would like to install recycled plastic benches around the Thursley Road Recreation Ground. To keep costs down, it is hoped that local businesses will consider sponsoring a bench. In addition, individuals may like to fund a bench with a personal memorial plaque.

If you are interested, please contact the Parish Council Clerk, Chris Newman, on 01252 811 624. He will give an idea of likely costs.