The Police Authority has started to review its policing priorities and to consider the level of Council Tax that it will set next year in order to deliver them.

Crime has fallen steadily in Hertfordshire over the past five years and the percentage of crimes detected has risen.

However, a large percentage of our funding comes from Government grants but these have not kept pace with the rising costs and are expected to reduce even further from 2011.

In the past, we have used money from our reserves to reduce the shortfall but that is becoming increasingly more difficult.

The 2009 Furneux Festival is all set to go on Sat 3 and Sun 4 October.

The weekend is a celebration of the village community of Furneux Pelham and Harvest raising funds for the Friends of St Marys.

Visit www.furneuxfestival.com for details

The Friends now have full approval for kitchen and toilet facilities for the church, and building is to start very soon.  The festival is brimming with all sorts of events and activities for the whole family including: Flower Displays, Live musical performances of local talent, Photographic Competition, Scarecrow Competition, Classic Cars (Sat and Sun), Schools 5-a-Side Football Tournament, Art Exhibition and Sales, Dog Show, Harvest Walk etc

You might have heard that from November East Herts Council is changing the way we collect your waste and recycling.

The new scheme is called ARC which stands for Alternate Refuse Collections. It will allow you to recycle lots more materials at your kerbside.

A couple of people registered on the Pelhams website have been asking about the News from Zimbabwe.

This is a news section on the Pelhams website dedicated to Cathy Buckle's letters from Zimbabwe.  I have never met her but have been receiving her emails for some years and felt it was about time I shared her news with folks in the Pelhams.  Click here to read more about Cathy.

Just to remind registered users of the Pelhams website that you can choose what categories of news you would like to receive direct into your email.

All you need to do is login to www.thepelhams.net and you will be presented with your own personalised list of categories you are subscribed to.  So if you do not wish to receive Cathy Buckle's news from Zimbabwe or Brent Pelham Parish Council News all you need to do is untick (to unsubscribe).

Once you have modified your personal subscription preferences click the SUBSCRIBE button to save.

Just to remind registered users of the Pelhams website that you can choose what news you would like to receive direct into your email.

All you need to do is login and click on the Subscriptions link in the USER MENU on the right.

Now you can tick (to subscribe) or untick (to unsubscribe)

If you want to receive a free text alert to your mobile phone for when there is a new article just type your mobile number in the field at the foot of the Subscription list.  Use the full international dialing code - so if your UK based mobile number was 07777 123456 type 00447777123456

Once you have modified your personal subscription preferences click the SUBSCRIBE button to save.

Forgotten your password? Click Here

Not Registered yet? Click Here

On retreat

Some of you will know that I went on an 8-day silent retreat at a place called St Beunos in North Wales after Easter. It’s a Jesuit Spirituality Centre and I’ve been there several times before. Some people have said to me ‘do you really stay silent for 8 whole days? What about meal times? Can’t you even say ‘Hallo’ to people?’ So I thought this month I’d write a little bit about going on retreat. My experience of course may not be yours – retreats, and certainly silent ones, don’t suit everyone! Neither would I suggest trying an 8-day retreat without ‘trying it out’ on a shorter one first. But I find them a helpful way of stepping back and allowing space for God to touch deep within, thus equipping me to love and serve others more fully. So what’s it like ‘on retreat’?