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Greta died on 21^st August 2025. Those who knew her and worked alongside her at village events must wonder if we shall ever see anyone as devoted to the village again.

Greta was born in Cottingham and on leaving school worked as a tailor in Kettering and later at Symington’s in Market Harborough. She married Keith Hill in 1953, the Hills being a numerous village family. Greta and Keith were able to move straight into their house on Harborough Road and Greta still lived there till she died 71 years later. She had three sons, who survive her, Adrian, Clive and Graham. Keith died in 2014.

It is hard to do justice to Greta’s many services to the village. She was a member of the Parochial Church Council for many years and then did sterling work for the Age Concern group, which arranged meals in the village hall for elderly residents and coach trips to places of interest, as well as visiting older residents living alone. She was a key member of many fund-raising groups – for church repairs, for the restoration of the church bells and to set up the bus shelter on the Harborough Road. The church fund-raising at one time involved Greta and Daisy Haynes going round the village in a van collecting old papers and cardboard to sell at a scrapyard. She helped organise jumble sales and discos in the village hall. She was on the church cleaning rota and embroidered kneelers in the church and the two boards of signatures of people who donated to the funds (one is now in the church and one in the village hall). She visited newcomers to the village and helped to make them feel welcome. She helped to raise money for new crockery and a cooker in the village hall.

In later years, after retiring from work at BT and then at Ward’s Electrical, she played bowls with Keith for Market Harborough Bowls Club. 

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Greta symbolised the spirit of community in the village, working tirelessly to improve people’s lives here and keep village institutions going.  Her passing marks the end of an era in village life.

Tribute written by Alan Langley with Adrian, Clive and Graham Hill, September 2025

We would like to offer our heart felt condolences and recognise the passing of three people who have died recently, all of them having strong links with East Farndon.

Jacqueline Dunnill lived at The Limes, East Farndon for several decades and passed away on July 21st 2025. Her funeral will take place at East Farndon church on Monday August 4th 2025 at 12.30pm. This will be a graveside service for family only.

David Evans lived in the Lealand, East Farndon before moving to Market Harborough in later life. He passed away peacefully at The Willows Nursing Home on July 7th 2025, aged 86 years. Please click this link to read more about David in an obituary written by Alan Langley.

Jonathan Hargreaves was the farmer at the Grange, East Farndon for many years. He died peacefully at Brampton View Care Home on July 8th 2025, aged 90 years.

David Thake has stepped down as treasurer and Richard Green as trustee of East Farndon Amenities Trust, which manages Marriott Green in East Farndon. Huge thanks go to David and Richard who were part of a small group of villagers who raised funds to buy the land in 2010 and have managed it ever since then.  Sonya Fraser, also a founding trustee, remains as a trustee. Following some new appointments, the other trustees are Jess Oakden, Judy Hodgetts, Sharon Weldon, Julia Prew and Melanie Duke. Please click this link to read more about Marriott Green. If you have any questions, can help, or would like to make a donation, then please use this link to email Melanie Duke.

Many thanks to all of the villagers who helped with a late spring tidy up of Marriott Green and the land at the rear which belongs to the Parochial Church Council. In addition, a grateful shout out to Richard West who has kindly offered to mow the grass on a regular basis.

A big thank you also to the Immmediate Justice team. A team of three, led by Aidan Gibson a former police chief inspector, spent a wet morning working very hard on gardening and rubbing down the picnic bench / steps as part of a community service programme. They did a great job and we really appreciate their help. The Immediate Justice scheme is run by the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and works with individuals committing anti-social behaviour on their rehabilitation. If you would like to find out more about the Immediate Justice scheme, please see northants.police.uk/police-forces/northamptonshire-police/areas/northamptonshire-force-content/about-us/about-us/immediate-justice/

There will be another tidy up in the autumn, so watch this space!

As a result of a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission in 2024, East Farndon moved from the Welford Ward, with 3 West Northamptonshire (WNC) Councillors, to a new Rural North East Ward with a single WNC Councillor. Following the elections on 1st May 2025,  Cécile Irving-Swift was elected as the WNC Councillor for the next four years for the Rural North East ward, where the electoral turnout was nearly 45%, the highest in West Northamptonshire.

WNC now has 76 councillors in total: 42 Reform, 17 Conservatives, 9 Labour, 6 Liberal Democrat and 2 independents. Therefore, The Reform party is the administration and is responsible for delivering WNC services. 

WNC Councillor Irving-Swift can be contacted by email at cécile.irving-swift@westnorthants.gov.uk or by telephone on 07769740468.

Huge thanks to Phil Cooper and his BRM team for re-laying the path in the East Farndon Churchyard that runs up to the Burial Ground. It looks fantastic and the work is very much appreciated.

Action Fraud are urging the public to look out for phishing emails that relate to extortion as the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) received over 2,924 reports in March 2025, a staggering increase compared to only 133 reports made in February.

The reported phishing emails received by the National Cyber Security Centre’s SERS relate to a type of extortion referred to as ‘Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion’ (FMSE). Reports suggests the phrasing of the email and subject lines can vary, but the theme remains consistent: the phishing email claims to have installed malware (software intentionally designed to cause disruption) on the recipient’s computer and recorded them visiting adult websites. The sender will then coerce the email recipient to pay a ransom demand by threatening to release the videos.

The ransom is usually demanded in a form of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. In order to make these phishing attacks convincing, emails will often include genuine pieces of personal information relating to the victim, such as a password or home address. It is likely these would have been obtained from historic breaches of personal data.

Analysis shows that many people who received these emails also later reported becoming victims of online account hacking. In 2024, a male victim in his thirties received numerous extortion emails that contained a password he used for one of his online accounts. The emails demanded a ransom of $500. Having correctly identified the emails as a scam, he deleted them. However, shortly afterwards he noticed that he was unable to login to one of his social media accounts. After some checking, he realised that one of his bank accounts and multiple social media accounts had been hacked and he was locked out of them.

What to do if you receive an email like this: As with other phishing emails, do not to engage with the phisher, forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk, which is the NCSC’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS), and then delete it. If you are considering paying the Bitcoin ransom, you should be aware that doing so, you will likely become the target of more scams, as the phisher will know they have a ‘willing’ customer. The inclusion of genuine passwords or other personal information in phishing emails is a strong indication that you may have been affected by a historic data breach. You can use this service to check which of your online accounts were affected:  https://haveibeenpwned.com If the phishing email includes a password you still use, then change it immediately. Advice on how to create suitable passwords and enable other factors of authentication is available here: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/protect-yourself-from-fraud/protecting-against-online-fraud/improve-your-password-security/

Also, please ensure that you are not using the same password for different accounts. If the phishing captures one account then of course they they get them all! 

If you have been a victim of extortion, or concerned that someone may be in possession of intimate images of you, you should report it to your local police force by calling 101. Find out how to protect yourself from fraud: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk If you’ve lost money or provided financial information as a result of any phishing scam, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud at  https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing or by calling 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.

Message Sent By Action Fraud

During May the whole country hosted events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This was a shared moment of celebration commemorating two key events – Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan. Many thanks for attending our East Farndon event in the Village Hall on Saturday 10th May 2025. Please click this link to view a few photos from the afternoon. Many people came along and took the opportunity to have a friendly chat over a coffee, tea, scone or cake. Many also had a look at the historical display and the event raised a fantastic total of £264 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Huge thanks to the Village Hall Committee for organising such a great event.

The family of Bob Allen, of Spring View, are sad to announce his death at the age of 79. Bob was born in East Farndon and lived in the village all of his life. Bob and his brother James, who survives him, worked for many years at the paper factory on the site of the old Rectory. A quiet man, Bob was particularly fond of animals, such as rabbits and ferrets, which he kept at the smallholding behind Spring View. This had been previously worked by his father Ernest Allen, a butcher, who lived at White Cottage, demolished when Spring View was built in 1984. Bob died at The Willows in Market Harborough. The funeral service will be held at 11.30am on Wednesday April 30th 2025, at St John the Baptist’s Church, East Farndon. All are welcome.

In Memoriam – Bob Allen – February 1st 1946 to April 15th 2025

Photo above shows Bob in the 1950s and the photo below shows Bob (left) and his brother James, also in the 1950s.