What's on this weekend

Amersham Old Town's Heritage Day, organised by Amersham Town Council, will take place on Sunday, September 9.

Council administrator Jackie Powis said: "You can enjoy the very best of our heritage and tradition as Old Amersham comes alive for a special celebration."

The event has a variety of different activities on offer, including Aylesbury Barefoot Belly Dancers and Band, Grand Union Morris Men, a classic car display including a 1937 Dennis Ace fire engine that served at Beaconsfield, a vintage steam organ, clowns, an animal farm, a Punch and Judy show at 2pm and again at 3.30pm, balloon modelling, face painting and a bouncy castle, sponsored by Tesco in Old Amersham.

Craft stalls this year in Church Mead will include embroidery and textiles, bee keeping, the Middlesex Woodturners' Association and local ecological organisations.

The Reloaded Blues Band will be playing in High Street at 12pm and again at 1pm and The Amersham Band will be in full swing in the Memorial Gardens between 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

Places of interest to visit during the afternoon include the Drake Family Chapel at St Mary's Church, the Quaker Meeting House in Whielden Street, the Methodist Church and King's Church in High Street.

Amersham Museum, in High Street, will be open from 11am to 4.30pm with half price entry at £1. Under 16s are free. There will be free entry to the museum to those showing a Heritage Day train ticket. People can explore Amersham's past through hands-on activities and crafts. It is also organising free guided walks around the town starting at 12.30pm and there are also two walks to the Amersham Martyrs Memorial at 11.30am and 2.15pm.

Visit www.amersham-tc.gov.uk or call 01494 434 000.

Chesham
TAKE a look behind closed doors at 11 places of interest at Chesham Heritage Open Day, on Sunday, September 9, organised by The Chesham Society.

Venues opening their doors include The Bury, a 17th/18th century mansion, from 11am to 4pm. There will be conducted explanatory tours of the house and the gardens will also be open. The 1841 Town Tithe Map together with associated legal property documents will be on display in the Great Room.

From 10am to 3pm people can visit Chesham Cemetery in Bellingdon Road, to learn about its history and visit the graves of prominent Chesham citizens

Chesham Mosque in Bellingdon Road will also be opening its doors from 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 3.30pm where people can listen to descriptions and explanations of the Islamic faith and beliefs. People can go on a tour of the ground floor of Weylands House in Germain Street from 11am to 4pm.

The 17th century gardens at Weedon's Almshouses in Waterside will be open from 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 3.30pm.

Chesham Bois House gardens in Bois Lane will be open from 11am to 4pm. There will be a display of archaeological finds from the grounds and a video of the BBC Time Team excavation. Teas will also be available.

There will be guided tours at H G Matthews Brickyard in Bellingdon at 2pm and 3pm.

The oldest building in Chesham, St Mary's Church, in Church Street, opens from 2pm to 5pm. The church tower will be open to the bell ringing chamber and people can visit the room where Thomas Harding was held the night before his execution. Tea and cakes will be available.

There will be guided tours at the 1798 Friends' Meeting House in Bellingdon Road from 1pm to 5pm as well as historical and contemporary Quaker information.

Chesham Museum will be open from 11am to 4pm and The Bagnall Centre in Waterside will be giving guided tours from 11am to 3pm.

For more information visit www.cheshamsociety.org.uk.

Chesham
The Rotary Club of Chesham's annual fun horse ride and inaugural fun run will take place this weekend.
The Dundridge Manor Cross-Country Fun Ride will take place on Saturday at 9am.
This year will be the club's first Dundridge Manor Cross-Country Fun Run starting at 12pm, which will use the same 10km course, through woods and fields on Dundridge Manor Farm, in Oak Lane, St Leonards.

Entry into the fun run is £10 and the fun ride costs £20 for under 16s and £25 for over 16s.

For more information, visit www.cheshamrotary.com or email dundridgehorseride@hotmail.co.uk.

Chesham
A farm is holding its annual charity fair this weekend.

Hazeldene Farm's annual Country Fair and Fun Dog Show will take place on Sunday (Sep 9) from 12pm to 5pm to raise funds for Chiltern and Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

The event, in Asheridge Road, Chesham, will have a host of events including stalls, pony rides, air rifle range, air ambulance visit, blow up slide, metal detecting demo, classic cars, vintage tractors, car boot sale, barbecue, and fun dog show.

Entry costs £3 for adults and under 16s are free.

For more information visit www.hazeldenefarm.com or call 01494 783 501.

Chesham
A museum is holding a barbecue this weekend.

Chesham Museum, in Market Square, is holding a Grand Barbecue on Saturday (Sep 8), from 11am to 4pm to celebrate its delivery of Old Chesham Ale and the opening of its new exhibition The History of Brewing in Chesham.

Hot dogs, made with Chesham Sausage from Gerry Martin's Butchers, and Old Chesham Ale will be on sale, with music from local musicians Kirsty Hawkshaw and friends.

The museum will be open on both Saturday and Sunday, September 9, for Chesham Heritage Open Weekend with free entry on both days.

Chesham

A park will be filled with the sounds of opera this weekend.
The Friends of Lowndes Park is bringing opera to Lowndes Park on Sunday (Sep 9) from 2pm with music from Jessica Wills.
The free event is titled Lowndesbourne.
Black tie is recommended but not essential.

Chesham

YOUNG people are being urged to set up a stall at a new market being launched this Saturday.

Business leaders in Chesham are hoping the new market will bring more shoppers to the town centre.

The new specialist market will focus on selling re-manufactured, recycled and reused goods.

The market, which will run on the second Saturday of every month, is the brainchild of Better Chesham co-founder Martin Parkes.

Although traders of any age are welcome, the organisers are particularly keen to encourage young people with ambition to become future entrepreneurs.

Mr Parkes added: "If you're aged 24 or under, keen to work, make things happen and make money, then start a market stall. If you have an idea, re-manufacture clothes, want to sell gadgets or make your own jewellery, then we want to hear from you.

"We will help and mentor you to get up and running to become one of Chesham's next entrepreneurs."

Owner of The Flowerpot, Kim Healy, 21, is encouraging young people to give it a go.

She said: "It's definitely scary but worth it if you have a good idea, go for it and see what people think. It'll be nice to see some young faces at the market with original ideas."
Mr Parkes also hopes the market will build on the town's green credentials.

He said: "I'm delighted that Chesham's local produce market has won the award for the greenest market nationally but I'm aiming for this new specialist market to give it a run for its money and be a worthy rival in the environmentally friendly stakes."

The new market also needs a logo and organisers are inviting young budding artists to submit their ideas, with the winner getting a £50 voucher for Blue Haze Arts and Crafts, in Church Street.

The logo should represent the market's ecological ethics, be trendy and be based, loosely or otherwise, on Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter because the idea for the market was formed in The Drawingroom, rumoured to be the home of the original Mad Hatter.
For more information on running a stall or to submit a design contact Claira Lemel at Blue Haze on 01494 782 030.

Great Missenden
People are invited to celebrate Roald Dahl's birthday on Sunday, September 9 from 11am to 5pm at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in High Street. The day will mark what would have been the author's 96th birthday as well as 30 years of the BFG. There will be entertainment including storytelling, guided village trails, crafts, magic and face painting. Roald Dahl's garden at nearby Gipsy House will also be open. Events are free with museum admission.