20 July 2008: The village Post Office latest
The good news is that the Post Office will be staying open until a final decision is
taken in early September.
8 February 2008 The Tollmans are in the news again. The Times had an account.
4 December 2007: Firefighters in Evershot
A small fire in the engine of a car in the carpark beside the Post Office/shop was quickly
put out by the Dorset Fire and Rescue people. The car will no doubt take longer to recover.
3 October 2007: Steve Crate Evershot Village Champion!
Steve Crate has been nominated Evershot's Community Champion for 2007 by West Dorset
District Council. Well done, Steve!
29 June 2007: Stanley Tollman 'discharged' by judge
The Financial Times has the full story.
21 June 2007: Richard Campbell awarded an OBE
The citation reads: 'Richard John Campbell, JP, Lately Chair, Assured British Pigs,
England and Wales. For services to the Pig Industry.' Congratulations!
7 June 2007: Beatrice Tollman 'discharged' by judge
The Financial Times has the full story.
18 January 2007: US drops charges against the Tollmans
The Times today has a small paragraph as follows:
'US drops charges against hoteliers
'American prosecutors seeking the fast-track extradition of the
hoteliers Stanley and Beatrice Tollman have dropped their key
allegation of money-laundering. The US also accepted that Mr Tollman,
76, did not make any money from the alleged bank fraud for which it
wants to try him.
'Mr Tollman's solicitor said that the defence team was debating a
response to the climbdown. "It cannot be without consequence," he said.'
5 December 2006: Once more the Tollmans
Yesterday the judicial process against the Tollmans was resumed, and a
judgment given by the court in their fight against extradition to the USA
to face charges of fraud and tax evasion. The Financial Times
has the story of the way the day went.
27 November 2006: Church wall hit again
A section of the churchyard wall was demolished last night soon after 8pm
when a car failed to take the bend and went straight on instead. The two
people in the car abandoned it and ran up West Hill with their dog. Witnesses
said they had come out of the Acorn carpark immediately before the accident.
A 999 call brought the police who called help to extract the car from the wall
and remove it. The church end of Fore Street were agog. This is the second time
in recent years that a car has taken on the churchyard wall and lost.
15 November 2006: Tollmans again
On Monday 13 November the proceedings against the Tollmans were duly
resumed. Apparently for the first time in the UK, the US prosecutors
outlined the case against them. The Times has the full story
of the first two days in court.
The hearing was adjourned till Monday 4 December. It is worth noting
that the reporter expects the present phase of the court case to last until March 2007.
25 October 2006: Tollmans
At Horseferry Road magistrates' court yesterday (Tuesday) the extradition
proceedings were adjourned until Monday 13 November 2006 when the Tollmans
will be appearing in person.
8 October 2006: Holywell station
Meg Kingston is organising a campaign to reopen Holywell station as a request halt.
"This", she says, "would give us access to Bristol, Bath, Bradford on Avon, Yeovil,
Dorchester, Weymouth and many other station stops." This is particularly
important now because of the much reduced bus service. A petition for everyone
to sign is in the Evershot village stores.
24 September 2006: Tollman family
Gavin Tollman, apparently a nephew of Stanley and Beatrice, has
been having problems with the US authorities over alleged tax evasion.
The Times has a report.
7 September 2006: Tollmans
The Tollmans lost a crucial battle yesterday against the US
authorities who are fighting to extradite them to face
fraud and tax-related charges in the US. The FT has a full report. The Times too has a similar report. Google
has reports from Florida on the story as well.
28 July 2006: Tollmans
The Tollmans were yesterday remanded on bail at Horseferry Road Magistrates'
Court in London until 24 October 2006.
18 July 2006: Once more the Tollmans
The Times has a third article on the Tollmans, quoting Alun Jones QC, counsel for the US.
17 July 2006: Tollmans (again)
The Times today has another
piece about the Tollmans, with a picture for those of us who do
not know what they look like.
16 July 2006: Tollmans
The Times of 15 July 2006 carried a long article about
the Tollmans, with much detail about alleged fraud.
23 June 2006: Tollmans
The case at Bow Street Magistrates Court yesterday was adjourned
until 27 July 2006.
16 June 2006: Tollmans latest
A case is down for a hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court on
22 June 2006 involving Stanley and Beatrice Tollman. More news
as we get it.
April 2006: Post Office open again!
Evershot Post Office is open again after an eight-month pause. It is,
of course, in the shop as before and is open from 9am to 1pm on
Monday to Friday. It is expected that the shop itself will have a
small supply of stamps for sale at other hours.
March 2006: Dr Basil Gaster (A note from
Barbara Sykes)
"There are many people living in and around Evershot who have
memories and anecdotes about Dr Basil Gaster who died recently aged
94.
"In 1946 Basil returned from war service to take over his father
Sydney's practice in Evershot and Yetminster. Basil and his wife Helen
lived in no. 29 Fore Street and raised their family of five.
"On retirement in the late 1970s they sold the house and moved into
what had been the surgery where they stayed until 1989. From here they
went to live in Saffron Walden to be near their son.
"During their life here Basil made a great contribution to the
community for which everyone who knew him gives thanks. We all extend
our sympathy to the family for their loss of a great person."
29 January 2006: Near catastrophe at Summer
Lodge
There was a serious fire at Summer Lodge this week. It
seems too many logs were put on an open fire in one of the ground
floor rooms which got the chimney red hot. The dangerous situation
was brought under control by Dorset fire fighters.
15 December 2005: Evershot Post Office/shop
update
The shop is open again, but there is still hammering and drilling
going on, and not all the stock has yet arrived. The Post Office
part is not planned to open before Spring 2006, probably March or
April.
Evershot Post Office/shop
Jerry and Daphne have left the PO/shop which has been bought by Red
Carnation. The PO has not been functioning since the middle of
August 2005 and is not likely to be for several weeks. A team of
volunteers is running a skeleton service a few hours a day in the
shop. The plan is that Barbara Redmill will take over
control of PO and shop in a few weeks after extensive
renovation. More news when it happens.
Acorn sold ...
... to the firm that bought Summer Lodge earlier in 2004, Red
Carnation. Todd Moffat is staying on as manager. [Later:
Todd supervised the handover and has now left the Acorn (and the
village).]
Welcome to Adam!
Chad and Julia Cardale are celebrating the arrival of a brand-new son. Congratulations to all three!
Summer Lodge
It is no secret that Summer Lodge has been sold. Certainly there has
been a small army of people carrying out a refurbishment over the last
few weeks. It is thought that the new owners are an American company
called Red Carnation, which runs hotels in Geneva, Cape Town, London
and seemingly in USA. So it is interesting to Evershot residents that
the following article appeared recently in a hotel trade magazine
called Caterer:
'Multimillion tax evasion charges against Red Carnation chief
'By Samantha McClary
'Prosecutors in the USA have charged Red Carnations Hotels chief
executive Beatrice Tollman with a multimillion dollar tax evasion.
'David Kelley, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has
filed a seven-count complaint charging Tollman with the funnelling of
millions of dollars through a secret offshore account.
'The charges came on the same day Tollman's son Brett was sentenced to
more than two years in prison and fined $3.5m (£1.9m) for his
involvement in the same scheme. Tollman's husband, Stanley, has already
been indicted on the charges and is currently a fugitive of justice in
London.
'The US Department of Justice alleges that the Tollmans funnelled more
than $35m (£19m) through secret bank accounts in the Channel Islands
between 1994 and 1999 and failed to report the income in their federal
tax returns.
'Prosecutors claim that Beatrice Tollman fled the USA last year, and,
using fake names including "Toni", "Vicki" and "Chantelle", persuaded
bankers to fly to London to deliver her cash from the offshore accounts.
'Brett Tollman pleaded guilty to his involvement in two tax-evasion
schemes using Tollman-Hundley Hotels, a private company based in New
York that owned and managed several Days Inn hotels across the USA, and
Travel Corporation, the parent company of Red Carnations Hotels.
'No one from Red Carnation in the UK was available for comment.
'Red Carnation runs hotels in Geneva, Florida, Cape Town and London,
including the Chesterfield in Mayfair, the Milestone in Knightsbridge
and 41 on Buckingham Palace Road.'
Comings
Colin and Marie Ireland have moved into
Burrowbridge Cottage, behind Common Farmhouse, and Nicky, Layne and
Tilly are now installed in 5 The Tanyard. We hope they will all enjoy
living in Evershot.
Trauma sometimes
has a positive sequel
There was a traumatic incident in Back Lane a few days ago,
when a large sum of money was stolen in a sneak 'distraction burglary'.
The thieves also ransacked the upstairs of the house. At once Pete Reynolds organised a whip-round which raised even
more than had been stolen. The people who had lost the cash were amazed
and grateful to get it all back with interest! (The Acorn quiz night
winners all contributed their winnings too.) A good example, I like to
think, of what life in a village is all about.
Comings
Graham and Karen Ash are now
installed in 1 Oak Cottages. Alan and Jill Knights
have moved into 3 Wellmans Corner. We hope they will all enjoy Evershot.
Frank Woolven
Sadly Frank Woolven has died, not long after moving from his house in
the village.
Parish Council
Election 2003 results
The full results of the parish council election held on 1
May 2003 were:
Steve Crate 70*
Diana Lock 61*
Joe Meier 39
Paul Mors 40*
Alison Pearce 62*
Shelley Potter 58*
Pete Reynolds 61*
Jim Rule 28
Bridget Wasilewski 57*
*Elected
Acorn's new owners
The new owners of the Acorn, Todd and Louise Moffat,
have installed themselves and have already made their mark. They are
both chefs, so things can only get marvellous kitchenwise. Come and meet
them!
Comings
Neil and Ann Sutcliffe have arrived at the
Rectory in Summer Lane, now called Glebe House.
And Gordon and Sarah Langland,
with Joseph and Ivy, have moved into 3 Tanyard.
Welcome to them all!
Geoff Jessopp
Sadly Geoff Jessopp has died after a long illness. We send our
condolences to his family.
Fire 1
Summer Lodge had a chimney fire recently. The Echo reported that firefighters
spent six hours at the hotel and used thermal imaging cameras to find
the seat of the fire in the complex network of chimneys. Little damage
was done, and there were no casualties.
Fire 2
Not to be outdone, the Acorn had a chimney fire of its own. Even less
damage was done, there were even fewer casualties and no firemen at all!
Pancake race 2003
Steve Crate organised a splendid pancake race on Shrove Tuesday up Fore
Street from school corner to the Acorn carpark (children as far as the
post office). Most people braved the damp dark evening (start 6pm) to
watch, and some even brought fryingpans and pancakes to compete. Steve
writes: 'Thanks very much to all the people who turned out on a
miserable evening to take part in, or to watch, the pancake racing up
through Fore Street. Well done to Suzanne Malpas who won the junior race
and to Paul Crate who won the adult race. (Thanks to Paul for donating
his prize to the children in the Ladybirds playgroup.) The profit of
£16 went towards village hall funds.'
Mac is back!
Andy McAney is back from Oz looking bronzed and fit. We just hope Oz is
in good shape too.
The Acorn
The Acorn is apparently up for sale, according to the Dorset
Echo. The sale is being handled by Barney Bettesworth, of
Bettesworths licensed property agents of Torquay, and the asking price
is £750,000. If you are interested, you could phone 01803 212021,
says theEcho.
Several comings
Guy and Elaine Hains have moved into 33 Fore
Street.
Ray and Barbara Wilton are now in West Hill
Cottage, behind Tess Cottage, and are determined to be part of village
life: Ray has already refereed one of the teams in the Wakky Races!
Dan and Corina Hunt are well installed in Moorfields
and are rivalling Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with sheep, chickens and
who-knows-what-next.
Finally Tim and Lesley Macpherson are the new
residents at the Old Manor in Fore Street.
Welcome to them all!
Gwen Acreman
Sadly Gwen Acreman died on Monday 3 June 2002. We send our sympathy to
Harry and the rest of her family.
Debbie and David Cottingham
I had a Christmas card from Debbie and David from their new home in
Faversham. I think this may be the first news Evershot has had of them
since they left. If anyone wants their address, please let me know.
Comings
The Australian teachers who are swapping with Andy McAney
will shortly be with us. They are Denise and Kim Eyles
and they are very welcome. I just hope they know enough of the UK to
bring lots of warm clothes. The temperature in Sydney when I last looked
was 26°C (79°F)!
Comings and goings
The Baverstocks have moved from 1 Oak
Cottages. They seemed to have been here about twenty minutes. Maybe it
was something we said.
Old banger
An old motor abandoned and vandalised in the lay-by near the
telephone exchange on East Hill was torched early on Sunday morning, 23
September 2001. It made a spectacular explosion and has left an even
more sordid heap of junk than before.
Fire at Summer Lodge
In the early hours of Sunday 9 September 2001 Evershot was woken by the
sound of firemen and their machinery in Fore Street. It seems that the
boiler-room at Summer Lodge caught fire, but the flames did not spread
to the rest of the hotel, and guests and staff were not evacuated.
David and Debbie Cottingham
The Cottinghams have left Wellmans Corner for Kent. We hope they will
keep in touch. Meanwhile we have no news yet of who will be in their
house.
Alan Sykes
Sadly we must record the death on Sunday 1 July 2001 of Alan Sykes.
There was a memorial service in the church at 2pm on Tuesday 10 July.
Comings and goings
Andy and Amanda Baverstockare now in 1 Oak
Cottages.
Paul and Gill Mors have moved into Silkwater.
We hope they will all enjoy living in Evershot.
Village news and gossip
12 May 2001 Meg Kingston called the bomb
disposal people in this week when she dug up the nosecone of a shell
in her garden. They dealt with the device with maximum efficiency.
Anyone looking to getting their veg patch dug over might consider hiding
suspicious-looking objects there (but don't say I said so).