Happy Christmas!

No, this is not a piece left over from a couple of weeks ago. It concerns the day most of us knows as Epiphany or Three Kings' Day to mark the end of the trek by those wise men to see the baby Jesus, although we don't know how many there were, or if they were kings, or exactly where they came from.

It is also known as Twelfth Night and the day when the last of the Christmas decorations are packed away.

Unless, like me, you have been invited to a Christmas Day party on that day. This was not my second Christmas lunch but my first Christmas lunch of 2025. Because of that invitation I, and a friend, went along to Lord Pirbright's Hall on the Green at Pirbright.

Lord Pirbright built the hall in 1899, when it was opened by Princess Christian, and he donated it to the parish in 1901 to commemorate the accession of King Edward VII. It is an elegant and useful addition to the village.

We were there to celebrate the “real Christmas Day” as celebrated by the Orthodox Brotherhood of St Edward who have dwelt within the walls of Brookwood Cemetery since 1982.

This was not only Christmas lunch for many, but breakfast for many also, for the monks it was the end of their Advent fasting and the congregation, from near and far – some from very far – supplied the food.

Tables filled the length of the hall and were weighed down with food. There was a constant flow of people carrying yet more food to lay it on the tables.

There were more than 100 people there and my friend suggested we joined the queue before it was all gone. I, having been honoured by such an invitation in the past, assured him we could wait until access to the tables – from both sides – was a little easier. And so it was.

I tried a spoonful of many of the dishes. I did not know what they were and I did not ask for I would have been told in Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian – and have been none the wiser.

There was plenty to drink from “the usual beverages” to mulled wine, various un-mulled wines, non-alcoholic drinks and the monk sitting opposite me was enjoying a can of draught Guinness. I was told that the Sunday service at the Brotherhood can attract a congregation of about 85 – and some come from near and afar.

The whole event was very friendly and we found ourselves chatting to many of the guests. As I have said, the food was wonderful, interesting, tasty, and sometimes surprising – and not a sprout in sight.

Anyone for Cards?

This, surely, will be my last mention of Christmas until the end of this year: I have been asked if anyone is collecting Christmas cards before they end up in the recycling bin. The enquirer wonders if any schools or craft places in the area would like them.

Someone else is saving the postage stamps from the Christmas cards – does anyone know of any organisations that collects them? I have heard that St Paul's Church, Addlestone has a basket for them, inside at the back of Church. One of the congregation sends them to a charity in bulk.

Roads to Nowhere

So we may expect/hope that Victoria Way by the Hilton Hotel will be reopened this month. By then, of course, many would-be shoppers will have found somewhere else to go, somewhere with open roads and reasonably priced parking.

As soon as that lot is cleared there will be more problems caused by the demolition of the British Heart Foundation shop in central Woking. After the collapse of BHS in 2016, many large department store buildings in the UK were left as an imposing shell on the high street.

Conveniently located in the town centre, the ground floor of Woking's BHS was taken over by the British Heart Foundation, becoming the charity's largest retail site in the UK.

There will be yet more disturbance in that area due to the recently approved or emerging schemes in the immediate vicinity such as Crown Place and Cleary Court, which together create a comprehensive mini masterplan and a significant change to the localised area.

I quail somewhat at the mention of a “masterplan” and worry as to whom the master might be.

And when we will see the end of what may well be termed vanity building? Or, as has been written, “the Croydonisation of Woking”.

The 26-storey tower block on the former BHS site was approved – the plans for the 272-home, 85 metre-tall building are nearly identical to those previously rejected in March 2024 but have been signed off following changes to Woking Borough Council's housing targets, and further clarifications from the developers, Donard Real Estate.

Lessons concerning cladding seem to have been learned. I would like to point out how frequently I have mentioned good old local red brick.

Because of the new building's proximity to Christ Church, which is built of old-fashioned local red brick, we are assured that “the building would be predominantly made of brick limiting the potential of weather damaging external cladding”.

Also there would be landscaping around the church and the “affordable” homes. Affordable for whom, is the real question here.

Over coffee chat it was noted the number of now impassable roads within the town centre. Not just due to the danger of falling cladding and road works but roads which were closed off for what may have seemed a good idea at the time but, with hindsight, were they such a good idea?

Take Chobham Road, from Chobham, over the canal and up to the crossing with Church Street and then to the junction with Chertsey Road. Now blocked off.

Take Church Street itself, now blocked off at both ends and in the middle by Jubilee Square.

And Chertsey Road, now full of chicanes around traffic-slowing planters and such like. I checked chicane to make sure it means what I wanted it to mean: it most certainly does, being from the French “to create difficulties”.

Look at the appalling introduction to Woking from the south along Guildford Road with that row of once useful individual shops closed down years ago and just sitting there, proof of the inactivity of the council over the years.

Will those town planners think again about late councillor Gordon Brown's suggestion of a mini tunnel parallel to the Victoria Arch on its eastern side to take cyclists and pedestrians, thus allowing the pavements under the arch to be removed and thus instantly, and at a reasonable price I would have thought, widening the arch?

And do put a wet mop over those tiles under the arch and, as long as the council have not lost or sold them, replace those pictorial histories of Woking, the town of which we could once be proud.

Dry January?

At this time of year there is much written, in newspapers and magazines, about Dry January. Evidently the concept dates back as far as 1942 and was started by a woman who wanted to get back to running and decided to cut down on her alcohol intake.

Many people joined the idea after overindulging during the Christmas period. But many felt January is not a good month – it is dull, wet, cold, and just the time you want a drink to perk you up, so say some.

There has been more than usual written about pubs this year, due to new Government taxes and rules and regulations and pubs going out of business. But there is good news locally and I have been sent the following which appears to have been taken from the Daily Telegraph and although I have not been able to find the exact text this is what was sent to me:

“Surrey: The Crown, Horsell. You might assume Surrey is the spiritual home of the gastro boozer – and it has more than its fair share – but there are still traditional pubs here. Perhaps the best is The Crown in Woking, a two-bar local with a brewery attached and a pair of Petanque pistes in the garden at the back. 104 High Street, Horsell, Woking, GU21 4ST.”

As a regular at The Crown for quiz nights I will vouch for what is proudly written on the side of the building: “The Crown, Horsell. Traditional Pub. Real Ales. Warm Welcome.”

On quiz night there is often the necessity to move chairs and tables around. After one session a member of our team was carrying chairs back into the other bar and I jokingly asked him “At what sort of pub do you expect to move the furniture?”

He answered me, seriously, “The sort of pub you want to come back to!”

That is very true.