Wishing all readers a very Happy and Healthy New Year and hoping that you all had a good Christmas and were able to spend much-needed time with your friends and families.

Let us all hope that Covid is starting to be less of an issue, even though current daily new cases are still very high in our area. It does seem, however, that the new variant carries less of a health risk and perhaps gives us some light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel.

Looking back, the Lights of Love ceremony was, as usual, very well attended and allied with the switch-on of the Christmas lights, the Christmas market and the Unsung Hero awards, once again demonstrated what a tremendous and inclusive place Buntingford is to live. So many people put much effort into organising the above events and our sincere thanks go to all those involved.

2022 will see our Queen celebrating 70 years on the Throne - a truly remarkable achievement. Celebrations will be held countrywide over the four-day period from the 2nd to the 5th of June. Buntingford will be putting on an event on the Saturday 4th June. Planning is ongoing and at this stage it is envisaged that the event will take place on the Community Centre playing field and will include live music, fairground rides for children, food and drink outlets, fancy dress competitions, face painting and a firework display. A small team are actively involved in planning and would welcome any ideas and also volunteers willing to join the planning team.

We are mindful that the Civic Society AGM will be due in the coming months. We will wait until the Covid situation is, hopefully, more stable before scheduling the event.

Graham Bonner, Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

The February issue of the Buntingford Journal will be available from the usual retailers from 29th January.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.