Are you a Keep, Allum or Kelsley?

Rod and Janet Mears of Knuston, Northampton are looking for members of the Keep, Allum, and Kelsley (or Kilsley) families. The tree they have put together so far with the help of the parish registers in the County Records Office in Reading is headed by a Samuel Keep born c.1767 who married Mary Kelsley (?Kilsley) in Hurst in 1792.

The Keep family seem to have moved to Wokingham c. 1835-40 but always came back to Hurst for christenings and burials. Rod's great great great grandfather was Thomas George Keep who states his place of birth as Hurst (c.1820) in census records but he has not been found in the registers.

The family name of Allum married into the Keep family so maybe there are still Allum descendants in the area who may want to take up the challenge! Rod and Janet can be contacted at 24 Knuston Spinney, Knuston, Northants, NN29 7ES telephone 01933 355998.

Thank You For Helping To Clean Up Hurst

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the Hurst Village Clean-up morning on 23 March writes Parish Council chairman Jan Martin.

It was particularly heartening to see the cubs turn up in force, very willing and capable under the supervision of John Terry. We were blessed with a warm sunny morning, which made the task of the forty-two enthusiastic residents who were clearing the village of discarded rubbish a very enjoyable one, thank you.

And You Can Continue The War On Waste...

Wokingham District Council aims to recycle 23% of household waste this financial year. The new layout at the Longshot Lane tip in Bracknell gives people more opportunity to recycle paper, glass, plastics and white goods as well as green waste. The council will collect fridges and other bulky items - just give them a call on 0118 974 xxxx to arrange collection.

Is anyone interested in a community composting scheme? This would reduce the number of car journeys to the tip, and create a useful supply of compost for people to use on their gardens. If you're interested in this initiative, please contact Val Bowman on 0118 932 xxxx.