REMEMBER my comments a few weeks ago about our community aura beginning to suffer from lack of volunteer support? I felt that much of the responsibility lay with a generation that followed those who had set up so many parts of our social structure during the fifties, sixties and seventies. Well, all is not doom and gloom.

There is certainly vigorous activity among an even younger generation.

Thea Sheppard on whom I reported the Pudsey day before last, when she made a Pudsey cake to put up for raffle, has expanded her activities massively. Now 12, she wanted to do something for the Child Bereavement Trust. Her father, Gary, is doing the London Marathon next weekend, and that is his chosen charity. Thea couldn’t do much to help his effort directly, so decided to branch out on her own.

She organised an Easter Egg Hunt in the woods behind the village hall and Barn Club. Sister Freddie, also a participant in the Pudsey cake project, dressed as an Easter bunny and kept appearing fleetingly from behind trees to keep up the momentum (reminds me of Alice’s White Rabbit). Thea had advertised the event with leaflets and attracted over 50 children to participate. She’s also an arts and craft person and had lots of creations that she sold at a stall in the Barn Club, supported by refreshments made from contributions she persuaded butcher Bernie, the chip shop and other shops to contribute. The whole enterprise was finished off with a raffle – again with prizes contributed by the shops.

The net result was a total of £700 for the CBT – an amazing result from an enterprising and industrious young lady. It all supports my argument that a lot can be accomplished with relatively small contributions from many, when coordinated by a comparatively small number of individuals with a firm target.

Let’s hope, when she grows up, Thea will stick around in the valley. She’s just what’s needed to keep the community ball rolling.

Don’t forget to support Gary too!

RAGMAN’S Lane driving surface doesn’t usually get a good press, particularly from a handful of ‘friends of Ragman’s Lane driving force’.

The informal, more spontaneous, action group has been harassing the county for months, mainly after they felt they were hoodwinked in last spring’s published repair programme for the valley area. Your average intelligent being would have interpreted a BCC bulletin to include repair to Ragman’s Lane. BCC said the published map was only intended to show where warning signs would be placed during the works on Marlow Bottom itself.

The group’s spokesman was almost ecstatic in an email earlier this week to tell me that the lane has been repaired to an unprecedented standard (he still feels it would be more economically sensible to replace the surface and foundations for the short, most vulnerable stretch).

CONTINUING his established habit of bringing great performers to Marlow, Michael Eagleton has another special coming up.

One of Britain’s most glamorous jazz musicians is at Marlow Jazz Club next Tuesday, April 16. The very talented saxophonist Jo Fooks, who came to fame in Humphrey Lyttelton’s band, has teamed up with fellow sax player Al Nicholls, and their partnership has been getting some enthusiastic reviews. They will join the Ken McCarthy Trio at the Royal British Legion Hall at 8.30pm; admission £8.

Later in the month, Friday, April 26, comes the second of the club’s joint presentations at Christ Church URC in Oxford Road. Top New York jazz pianist Lenore Raphael is on tour and will perform with her trio on the church’s beautiful Bechstein grand. Admission to this special event is £10 and advance booking is possible.

ALTHOUGH I haven’t seen much worthy of being called Potty Post recently, this bit of publicity/advertising amused me. You know those infuriating packages for goods that shouldn’t really require a welded plastic container or blister pack made of the same gauge of plastic as the sheet metal they make cars from – the ones that need a thermo-nuclear lance to penetrate? Well, there’s a secateurs-like product now available for opening these irritating packs.

It comes safely presented in a welded plastic container made of the same gauge of plastic as sheet metal.............you get what I mean.

PARIS in the springtime was experienced by around 50,000 runners last Sunday, including our own Jane Kaushal. Although she has passed, by some margin, her original target of £2,000 for Kids Company, she is still happy to collect more at www.justgiving.com/ Jane-Kaushal or by texting PARI67 and the amount you want to donate (£5 or £10max) to 70070.

No, I don’t know how she got on; she wasn’t answering her phone last Monday morning, for some reason!

Next weekend sees Gary Sheppard http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GarySheppard1 and Tanya Warnford-Davis http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TanyaWD taking on London.