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ProvidingNewsandViewsformorethan30yearsPage34ThequarterlymagazineispurchasableatJWalsh(Newsagents),THEHOLMERGREENPLAYERS%u2018ALLO%u2019ALLO!TICKETSAVAILABLESOONMONCHERBackbypopulardemand,TheHolmer GreenPlayersarebusypreparingfor their nextinstalmentof the ever so popular Piece de Resistance, written and directed by Terri Boyce.PiecedeResistancewasoriginallywrittenfollowingthehugesuccessof %u2018Allo%u2018Alloontelevision,andto which it is surprisingly similar!It is setin asmall villagein rural France, whichhas at its heart an equallysmall caf%u00e9,run byHenri andhiswife,Odette.IttakesplaceduringtheGermanoccupationofFranceinWorldWar II,where Resistance fighters, the Gestapo, German Army officers and British airmen and spies interact daily, ignorant of one another's true identity or presence.Henri is a busy man.He runs his caf%u00e9 treading a dangerous line between the French resistance and theoccupyingGermanforces,inorder tokeephisbusinessafloatandhislifeintact,allthewhiletrying to conceal from his wife the affairs he is having with Lili and Francoise.Thisisthestoryofashiptemporarilydockingnearby,whichcontainstopsecretdocumentsrelating to the Enigma Code.Herr Schmidt of the Gestapo is unaware of the true value of these documents, (which allow the English to break the code of German messages), but he believes that it could be of significance %u2013little does he know!However, he is suspicious of a visitor in Henri%u2019s caf%u00e9, and orders his aide, Olga, to disguise herself as a waitress and apply for a job in the caf%u00e9, and report back.Unfortunately,Olgaisunabletolearnanything,soHerrSchmidttakesoverasthewaitressindisguise!Meanwhile,MoniqueoftheResistancehatchesaplottoblowuptheshipcontainingthedocuments which, with the %u2018help%u2019 of the English airmen/spies, goes spectacularly wrong.Further plans are made to ensure that the documents are destroyed before the Germans find out whattheycontain.Theexecutionoftheplansisalsofraughtwithhazard,puttingHenriingreatdanger (along with Odette, and Lili and Francoise), but in the end they manage to achieve Monique%u2019s objective and, at the last minute, and purely by luck the Germans are thwarted %u2013much to Herr Schmidt%u2019s fury!Ticketsfor thismust-seecomedyshowwillbeavailablefromTheHolmerGreenPlayerswebsiteon Sunday 1st December at 8am.PerformancedatesareWednesday5th,Thursday6th,Friday7thandSaturday8thFebruary2025.Chip-basedsupperswillbeavailablefortheFriday&Saturdaynightperformances.InMarch,thejuniorgroupwilltaketothestagefor their performanceofBugsyMalone.More details can be found on the group%u2019s website, www.holmergreenplayers.info/shows.SamEdenOURPOND,THEHEART OFTHEVILLAGEPondshavebeenpartof Englishvillagelifeforever.Sometimesa sourceof water for domestic purposes, commonly used to refresh horses or herds of animals being ushered long distances by drovers.Ducks and geese were also a common site although often discouraged due to fouling the water.Manyvillagepondshavebeenlostduetohousingdevelopmentandsuch,butour villageof Holmer Green is lucky, our pondis still at the heart of the community, and yes, we have plenty of ducks, we even have three duck houses!Thepondinthe1920%u2019sOur pond is an ancient one and could tell a few tales but forget the urban myth that it is the resting place of an unfortunatehorseandcart,halftheponds in England have similar tales talked about them.Oursisnotadeeppond,aboutwelly height at most.In the twenties a homeward bound wagon of village cricketers did get a soaking due to the tipsy driver overshooting the crossroad from New Pond Road at pace, but all lived to play another day.By1966HolmerPondwassochoked with bull rushes that a village pond week was organised to restore it to what we have today.Let%u2019s cherish what we have and what many villages have lost.StuartKing