Today the people of Walton have said goodbye to one their much-loved 'locals'

Reg Chumbley, a born-and-bred true Waltonian, died on April 3rd aged 77.
He was a familiar figure around the town and the backwaters of Walton where his carpentry skills and his love of the water and his boats made him a friend to many.

Reg was instrumental in the formation of the highly successful Walton-on-the-Naze Sea Cadet Unit as well as a staunch member of the Town Hard Association of which he was president until recently.

All Saints Church was packed with mourners today for a Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration for the life of Reg.
We will all miss him in many different ways.

I have just been reunited with a wonderful little book by the authoress 'Miss Read' entitled 'A Fortunate  Grandchild' which has a particularly special place in my heart and should be read by anyone who loves Walton.

Miss Read is the pen name for Dora Jessie Saint nee Shafe, a prolific novelist who has written the much loved Fairacre and Thrush Green series of books about the life of two fictional villages.

A Fortunate Grandchild was published in 1982 and is an autobiographical account of her two grandmothers. One of these was Grandma Shafe who lived in Walton-on-the-Naze. Miss Read recounts tales of her visits to Walton as a child from 1914 when she and her sister were photographed by one of Walton's professional photographers and the picture is featured as the frontispiece to the book.

She tells of the journey to Walton on one of the Belle Steamers and of playing on the beach while her parents occupied a beach hut as well as many more colourful memories of Walton.

The chapter that is very special to me is one entitled '17 New Pier Street' for this is where Grandma Shafe lived and also where I lived some 40 years ago. The description of the house is exactly as I remember it and some neat pen drawings depict it accurately. I would have liked to use some of the drawings here but do not want to infringe copyright laws. Regrettably the house which Grandma Shafe and I so cherished is now in a very poor state of repair - I feel very sad whenever I pass it.

'A Fortunate Grandchild ' is a simple book to read - I have read it many times over the years (usually at one sitting) and always enjoy it. It's not expensive to buy or failing that you can get it from your local library.

I do hope you enjoy it.

Back in November I wrote about the changing face of Hipkin's Beach

Today the transformation has taken its next step - the erection of nine brand-spanking-new beach huts. Six have already made an appearance although not yet completed. When they are all in place with doors and windows and a coat of paint I will post again.

And to cap it all Robert Hipkin is treating the kiosk to a new coat of paint to match the new advertising signs.  Roll on Summer!