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.
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.
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.
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.
Following the village fundraising for the War Memorial renovation, we are delighted that some of this money has been used to fund a permanent remembrance plaque on the right-hand side pillar. This is to honour the 5 airmen who lost their lives in 2 separate air crashes in East Farndon during WWII. The 5 men were all stationed at 14 OTU (Operational Training Unit) in Market Harborough. Please click link to read more about them.
The plaque is a fitting tribute to these brave young men, and something the village can be proud of. It was fitted on April 11th 2025 and the stone mason has asked that no one touches it for a week to allow all the components to settle.
Traditional Shotokan Karate classes will be taking place in the East Farndon Village Hall, starting on Monday 5th May 2025, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. To find out more and / or book your place, please contact Sensel Tim Wood using the contact information on the poster.
Many thanks to the Village Hall Committee for organising our Village Hall Quiz Night. It was a full house and a fantastic night, the raffle raising £270 to support the ongoing maintenance of Marriott Green. Also, huge thanks to Russell and Caroline Burton for putting together such an enjoyable, interesting, challenging and entertaining quiz. Please click this link to view a few photos from the evening.
