Letter from the editor – May 2026

Ingredients:

3 medium oranges
600g orange juice (no added sugar)
185g caster sugar
20g glucose (optional)
30g lemon juice

Method:

1: Place the lolly mould onto a parchment lined tray and place into the freezer.
2: Zest the 3 oranges on the fine side of a grater and place the zest into a pan.
3: Cut the three oranges in half and squeeze the juice into the pan pip’s and all.
4: Add the glucose and sugar and gently heat up to the boil.
5: Simmer gently for 3 minutes to reduce slightly.
6: Add the lemon juice and orange juice and mix together well.
7: Push the mixture through a sieve into a bowl pressing hard.
8: Place the mixture into a jug and fill the moulds about 0.5cm from the tops.
9: Place the lid on top and insert the sticks.
10: Place the mould into the freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours preferably overnight.
11: To demould remove the mould from the freezer and leave out for 5 minutes.

The lollies should ease out of the moulds with a gentle squeeze.

Nice easy one this month and hopefully a cooling refresher just right for the weather. If you don’t have silicone lolly moulds normal ones will do just be careful how you insert the sticks and make sure they are in the middle of the lollies. If you do not have any moulds freeze the mix in a shallow tray and freeze then roughly mash with a fork every two hours to make an orange granita

After Public Health England advised on the lockdown in the the middle of March, the Coulsdon Osteopathic Clinic adhered to the guidelines and closed its doors.

We recently spoke to Jitendra Vara, Clinic Director and he explained that throughout the lockdown the most common injury were from workers who were normally based in the office. He explained that these workers were now working from a laptop from their sofa and dining table which was causing neck and headaches. Homeschooling and watching excessive amounts of box sets together with a large amount of anxiety as a result of coronavirus pandemic all increased muscular tension during this period.

He also told us that a lot of injuries were also from people who are not used to jogging or running and consequently this has damaged their knees. The increase in gardening activities has also in turn caused lower back problems. The clinic have embraced technology by carrying out consultations via video platforms and over the phone which has in turn resulted in clients not having to suffer at home.

The clinic has now reopened and is operating under the new norm with heightened hygiene and safety precautions. For further information or to book an appointment visit; https://ococ.co.uk

July is traditionally thought of as the height of our British Summer, and for only the first time since the Second World War have some of our traditional Summer events been cancelled. So, this year we’ll all have to have to imagine ourselves at either Wimbledon, Hampton Court Flower Show or The Proms.

You may though prefer to picture yourself in a quintessentially British Summer Garden, and if you do, I bet you see beds of jumbled up Cottage Garden favourites, jostling with each other for space and competing with their colour and scent!

Actually, July in the garden can be somewhat different! It’s a bit of a green month; sometimes providing a bit of a lull between the fresh greens and colours of Spring and the more intense colours that come with those plants flowering in late Summer. So, if you’re feeling a bit jaded in this heat and your garden is too, here are some ideas for planting to pick you up in this July gap!

Lavender – the colour seems more intense than usual this month and I wonder if the wet spell we had has helped to lock in the colour and scent! It typically likes dry conditions. Shear off the flower stems after they have flowered and then shear again in the Spring to keep the bushes compact as they are prone to getting leggy and woody.

Last month saw the Alzheimer’s Society 2020 National Cupcake Day being celebrated in Old Coulsdon. Local resident Jess Hann supported the charity by setting up a gazebo on her drive and together with fellow neighbours they made and sold a wide variety of cup cakes throughout the afternoon.

Safety measures put into place meant that local residents were able to purchase cakes (which were individually boxed) while adhering to government guidelines. Customers were advised to use hand sanitiser as soon as they arrived and payment for the cakes were made via a charity box so that cash wasn’t passed between hands. At the time of going to press an incredible £412.03 had been raised.

Any further donations to the charity can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jesscupcakeday?fbclid=IwAR1NXXJBLCSt2UYBCDd3pWN6X5IuYdQmvwZwkxi6edDx9n9Aaiy_jgrP1_M

I recently took the opportunity to meet with Caterham Rotary’s newly elected President Geraint Jenkins. He was born and bred in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley and is a Welsh speaker who continues to be a member and trustee of the Chapel and vice president of the local choir and Drama Group there.

Geraint qualified at Swansea University and initially worked as a teacher with Voluntary Service Overseas at a school in Kimilili, Kenya for over two years. He returned to the UK, and became Head of Geography at the then Eothen Girls’ School in Harestone Hill and then moved to become Head of Geography and Special Needs at de Stafford School where he taught for over 30 years.

During his time at de Stafford School he organised many Working Party Trips from the schools in Caterham and enabled staff and students to experience working on development projects in Kenya and in particular the Kimilili schools and hospital with resources and finances. He was awarded the MBE in 2012 for “Services To Education”.
More locally Geraint has been a Trustee for The Caterham Overseas Aid Trust (C.O.A.T.) and Community Health and Education for the Children of Kimilili (C.H.E.C.K.) since their inauguration and has been a member of Caterham Rotary Club for the last 8 years.

In the early 1980’s, most playgrounds were not fenced and some of the equipment was potentially dangerous, outdated and unimaginative. In 1983 two Caterham mothers asked local parents what they thought about their playgrounds and when many agreed that the playgrounds could be much improved. Questionnaire results were sent to Tandridge District Council’s Health and Safety Committee.

A small, hopeful group of parents got together with the aim of working towards the provision of an up-to-date, inclusive, challenging yet safer playground for Caterham’s children. They formed a committee, chose the name Play Safely and the fundraising began. Fundraising events included numerous craft parties, sales, mini-markets, a sponsored darts match and a painting competition.

Mike Halward, a playground consultant, advised with the design and research. He was a well established playground designer who helped local groups start their ventures.

How well is your company managing the “Get back to work” process? Are you at a career crossroads due to changes in your current employment?

Nearly all of us are having to change the way we work, or possibly looking for new challenges as the impact on Covid-19 kicks in. Recent figures show unemployment is going to spiral out of control with many company’s making cuts to enable them to meet the new demands of the business but what support is being given to these individuals? Career coaching, mentoring and emotional support are all key. All employers have a duty of care to its’ staff but supporting them during these difficult times is often forgotten.

Many companies are welcoming staff back to work after being furloughed. But how many of them are talking to their employees about the new way of working or addressing any concerns the employee many have? Your staff are the fundamental backdrop to any business. Making them feel engaged and supported is paramount. Communication between employees and employers is now the number one value for any forward-thinking business.

The Caterham Independent Newspaper is delighted to team up with Blue Turtle Business Services to offer support, to both employees and employers alike. This is your chance to send questions into us and we will try and answer them via a new monthly column within this newspaper and online.

The first thing that John Madden, Chairman of the Lingfield Nature Reserve (LNR) Management Committee says to me is that none of the site’s volunteers are ecology experts. All are enthusiastic amateurs but if the others have the same breadth and depth of knowledge that John displays it’s no wonder the place is thriving.

On the hottest day of the year so far, John guides me along the accessible paths of the Scented Butterfly Garden and the Quiet Garden, through the Wildflower Meadow, the Community Orchard and Beacon, Bloomer’s and Jenner’s fields: each distinctly different with a habitat of its own.

An amalgamation of the Tandridge District Council-owned Lingfield Wildlife Area - created in 1994 as a community biodiversity project - and the Lingfield Parish Council-owned Centenary Fields, both were awarded Nature Reserve status by English Nature (Centenary Fields in 1992, Lingfield Wildlife Area shortly after), making Lingfield only the second UK parish council to receive this status. The whole site was then formally managed under one name: Lingfield Nature Reserve.

At the end of last month and following on from a prolonged period of lockdown, St Mary’s Church in Caterham announced that they were opening their doors for individual private prayer.
Reverend Canon Trevor Mapstone have been welcoming parishioners every Wednesday evening from 7pm -8pm and every Sunday morning from 9.30am -11am. All are welcome to come for as little or as long as they feel appropriate and can be reassured that appropriate safety measures will be adopted to ensure that everyone feels safe and protected during their visit.
Commenting on this step forward, Reverend Canon Trevor Mapstone, said: “I’m excited about welcoming members of the congregation and wider parish to St Mary’s to partake in individual private prayer and seeing some regular faces. So many people have missed having the opportunity to attend our church services over the last three months and whilst getting back to our normal schedule may take a while yet, this is certainly a step in the right direction.”
For further information, visit www.stmary-caterham.org.uk

Ridge Radio broadcasts from Soper Hall in Caterham Valley, we have 45 volunteer presenters who broadcasting 24/7 over the internet.

If you don’t already listen, here are a few easy ways to start. Either go to the website www.ridgeradio.co.uk and click ‘Listen Live’ or download our free Apple or Android Mobile App, it allows you to hear us anywhere in the country. At home, if you have an Alexa enabled device you can listen by asking ‘Alexa Install Ridge Radio’.

Just like every other business we have been in lockdown since March, with many of our shows being recorded from the homes of presenters, and scheduled to played remotely.
From 4th July we intend to begin broadcasting live from the studio, working under the government Covid-19 guidelines.

Not all of the shows will be able to go live as we have a number of volunteers in high risk vulnerable groups, but we are hoping as the virus recedes, we can get back to a full live schedule.

Running an online tuition business, over recent months, has been an amazing experience in many ways. Helping hundreds of children improve their Maths and English levels every day is immensely rewarding. Watching children, who have started learning a new language, be it French, or Spanish thrive and chatter with enthusiasm about their new skills is extremely satisfying. We have an ever-growing number of children starting to learn Mandarin, with an eye to the future world order and a Reception child with a father who lives in Germany, who she will surprise by greeting him with a few words in his language. We love these individual stories and are so thrilled that we have managed to make the last few months a little easier for parents and their children.

For us, the passion that every child should be able to fulfil their potential underpins everything we do at Golden Brain Academy. Tuition and the ability to supplement what is learnt at school has often been seen as inaccessible or expensive. We do not think it needs to be so; keeping prices affordable is one important aspect but Zoom and other platforms can now connect our outstanding teachers with a child anywhere in the world.

Yet, despite these positives, the Covid crisis has once again raised concerns about the disparity in educational opportunity offered across the country. It has been humbling to speak to parents who want assistance but have no access to a computer, yet alone Wi-Fi or even Internet banking. Incredible how different the provision of home-schooling has been from school to school; busy parents unable to commit sufficient time or simply unable to cajole their child to complete what is sent through. This is not a criticism of any school or teacher but more a reflection of the myriad of challenges this unexpected event has placed on our education professionals and of course parents. Sadly, it seems that the children who need educating the most are the ones suffering the greatest.