Surrey Police are appealing for assistance in identifying two people who may be able to help them with an assault investigation in Epsom. Officers were called at around 4 am on Sunday, 3 October 2021 following reports that three men had been assaulted on Waterloo Road between Nando’s and Epsom Grill. The injuries the victims sustained included bruising, grazes on their face and body, a black eye and an injured knee. Officers have been investigating the assault since it occurred in October, their enquires have recently led them to identify the two witnesses pictured above.

PC Tom Brock said: “Through the course of our investigation we’ve identified two people who we believe may have witnessed the assault. We’re keen to speak with them both to understand more about what happened. We know the quality of the images is poor but we wanted to release them in the hope someone may recognise themselves or a friend.”

The first person is described as a white male with short brown hair and facial hair. He was wearing glasses, blue jeans, a black padded jacket and black trainers. The second person is described as wearing a long black padded coat with a fur hood pulled over their head.

If you recognise the people in the images or have any information which may help, please get in touch with Surrey Police quoting PR/45210104209 via:

• Webchat on their website surrey.police.uk
• Online https://www.surrey.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/
• Calling them on 101

If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

UPDATE – Monday 11th April – EEBC: “Having reviewed the documentation and made the necessary checks, [the charity] qualif[ies] for the additional rate relief.” Good news for Ukraine.

Monday 4th April Ashley Centre based Surrey Stands With Ukraine received from Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, a demand for business rates of £1229 per month. Immediately the charity applied for discretionary relief as they have had to halt purchases of medical supplies. Local MP Chris Grayling has supported the waiver applied for. Thursday 7th a Council spokesman answered the Times: “There is a formal process we have to follow for charitable rate relief, I can confirm this process is underway. There will be no request for payment while we process this. I cannot give a specific date for completion but I can confirm this is being treated as a priority.” Nataliya Irvine of SSWU responded: “We understand a computer probably generated the demand but it needs an urgent human intervention to reach a decision. We appreciate and thank the Council for processing an application we made for a street collection licence very quickly, so we know they can.”

Want more from us? Read more Council News here.

Report Source: www.eefconline.co.uk

Reporter: Richard Lambert, Photos by Gemma Jarman

Epsom & Ewell: Sheikh Ceesay, Louis Chin, Jerry Antwi, Brad Peters (c), Tommy Smith, Mo Cisse, Luke Miller, Tre Towers, Kofi Quartey, Mike Hill, Athan Smith-Joseph

Subs: Josh Uzun for Cisse (HT), Tyreke Leslie for Smith-Joseph (52), Archie De Bono for Towers (67)

A few days ago we drew 0-0 with leaders Roffey, replicating the score from earlier in the season and on Saturday we did it again, only this time it was a 4-0 win that was repeated, as a dispirited and short handed Selsey side held their own for twenty minutes before being swept aside by a blue tide for the remainder of the match. It’s also worth noting that this was our third clean sheet in a row, which is the first time we have achieved this all season. This was an extremely dominant performance, and the only criticism that could be levelled at our team was our failure to be more clinical in front of goal, as we could and probably should have scored many more. Indeed, visiting keeper Sid Davies admitted to me at the end that we could have had ten. The win moves us back up into second place for now and was achieved without some players who had featured against Roffey four days previously; Gideon Acheampong was out with a knee injury, while Steve Springett was also unsurprisingly out after limping off near the end of that previous match as was Ricardo Fernandes.

However, Mike Hill was ready to go in midfield and with Athan Smith-Joseph and Luke Miller on the wings again feeding Kofi Quartey, we were always going to create chances. At the back Louis Chin came in for Acheampong, while Sheikh Ceesay retained his place between the posts as Kane Charles continued to rehabilitate with his ankle injury. Selsey named four substitutes on the name board at the ground, but actually only had eleven players present throughout and they weren’t the only ones who had trouble getting to the match as one of the Assistants was late arriving, so Chairman Mel Tough’s son Jack, a qualified official, ran the line for the opening eighteen minutes!

The match started very quietly. In fact the only item in my notebook was the change of official before we started to gain the upper hand just before the twenty minute mark. A left wing Smith-Joseph cross just grazed the head of a full stretch Quartey before Luke Miller jumped like a salmon against his much taller defender to head a Hill cross just wide. We were ahead in the 25th minute and it was a goal of real simplicity as Miller received a pass on the right and sent in a pinpoint cross for Smith-Joseph to meet with a side footed volley that gave Davies no chance from six yards out. We nearly had a second after a great run down the left from Mo Cisse whose low ball in was just cleared behind by a defender, missing his own posts by a couple of feet. However, we extended our lead in the 32nd minute when Hill sent the ball into the box where Miller flicked it on to Quartey who then struck the ball down into the ground and across Davies into the far corner of the goal from about ten yards away. This was also our 100th goal of the season and we weren’t finished yet. We were well on top now and the attacks kept coming. Hill’s shot was deflected just over the bar after good work from Tre Towers and Quartey before Hill’s corner was met by Brad Peters, who sent his header up but somehow was also the first to reach it as it fell, although his shot was just wide of the post. Hill was directing traffic now, despite playing ninety minutes in trainers, and we had a third goal on the stroke of half time when Miller tried to find Cisse out on the left, only for the ball to deflect and fall kindly into Quartey’s path and he showed real composure to wait until Davies had come out before easing the ball over the exposed keeper and into the net from the edge of the six yard box.

At half time this game was over and certainly some supporters thoughts were turning towards whether we could really boost our already impressive goal difference. We made a substitution at the break when Josh Uzun replaced Cisse and went after more goals. Smith-Joseph produced one of his trademark mazy runs but then sliced his shot from the edge of the penalty area, before Hill’s free kick delivery fell perfectly for Uzun who somehow managed to steer the ball wide from only six yards out. Then Tyreke Leslie who had just replaced Smith-Joseph got through on goal, but overrun the ball which ended up in the keeper’s arms. Not so for Miller though. He received the ball out on the right from Hill in the 56th minute and drilled the ball powerfully back across Davies into the bottom corner from about twelve yards out to make it 4-0. Now if someone had told me we wouldn’t score again at that point, I would have been very surprised, yet there were to be no further goals in this match. It wasn’t for lack of trying, and Hill’s deflected free kick led to a corner that Leslie headed wide at the far post, although a free kick had been awarded against us for an earlier infringement. Then Miller sent a teasing low ball in to the far post, but Leslie chose to hit it right footed and was inches wide from just a few yards out. Finally, our third substitute Archie De Bono made a great run from the right back slot and found Quartey at the near post who set up Leslie, but the shot was straight at Davies this time. Miller sent another shot just over the bar in the closing moments before we nearly had a lucky fifth goal in injury time after Uzun’s free kick took a heavy deflection, but the wrong-footed Davies was just able to recover in time to reach the ball before it crossed the line.

This was a tricky banana skin match. Selsey had been in good form coming into this contest, and whilst they were clearly not at full strength, this was still a good performance. I believe that three wins from our remaining three League games will prove to be good enough for second place, but if not, it would at least guarantee third and a home play off on Saturday 30th April. That has to be our target now.

Report Source: eefconline.co.uk

Reporter: Richard Lambert, Photos by Gemma Jarman

Epsom & Ewell: Sheikh Ceesay, Gideon Acheampong, Steve Springett, Brad Peters (c), Tommy Smith, Mo Cisse, Luke Miller, Ricardo Fernandes, Kofi Quartey, Mike Hill, Athan Smith-Joseph

Subs: Josh Uzun for Hill (71), Jerry Antwi for Springett (85)

For a few weeks now we have been relying on other teams to drop points if we were to catch the top two. However, these permutations also required us to beat both of those clubs when they visited, and whilst we defeated Midhurst and Eastbourne ten days previously, we also needed a win against the leaders Roffey and we were unable to achieve this at Fetcham Grove on Tuesday night; being held to a goalless draw, which now ends anything but bizarre mathematical outcomes in our race for the title. It is ironic that we have had just two goalless draws this season and that both have come against Roffey. Both matches followed a similar pattern with our boys starting brightly, but tailing off and by the end, as with the first match, the visitors could argue that they were the stronger side.

It was a rather strange occasion really. Despite hardly any other matches being on in the area, a rather small audience were present to witness this match between two of the best sides in the league and it even appeared as though the opponents had an extra man. No, hold on, somewhere in amongst the visitors’ all black kit was the referee, who I’m sure was quite happy on the field watching two teams battle it out as he knew that he wasn’t one of the players, but for spectators it made for a confusing spectacle and when players gathered together it became almost impossible from the side-lines to see where he was! I suppose they say that the best referee is one you don’t notice, but we couldn’t even see him!

Regrettably leading scorer Jamie Byatt remained off the field with his injury and it might have been so different had he played as we had two chances in the early stages that you just know he’d have taken. In just the sixth minute a deep Mike Hill corner was sent back into the danger area by Tommy Smith, only for Brad Peters to get a strike on goal from 12 yards, but the contact wasn’t the greatest and the Roffey keeper Hughes was able to get down and claim the ball before it crossed the line. Then three minutes later another ball in from Hill reached Peters again who found Athan Smith-Joseph some four yards out, but Hughes was out quickly to block the shot superbly.

The tempo was extremely high from both teams in these early stages and the visitors fired towards the top corner from a free kick, but Sheikh Ceesay was there in time to keep the ball out. Then Ricardo Fernandes had a try against his former club from a narrow angle but found the side netting, and although a corner was awarded we were unable to get a shot on target.This was a highly competitive encounter though and Roffey’s Ross Swaine received a lecture from the referee, before our own Gideon Acheampong and Smith-Joseph were also given the third degree as the referee tried to keep the match card free. Smith-Joseph was particularly fortunate to escape further punishment and there were howls of protest from the opposition when Harry Law then picked up the first yellow card of the match five minutes from the break.

Another yellow card followed early in the second half after a visiting striker went down in the penalty area after Ceesay had come out, but our keeper made no contact and the referee deemed the fall quite rightly to be simulation. However, our attacks were becoming less frequent and when Hill broke through before sending a tame shot straight at Hughes, you began to wonder where we were likely to score from. Kofi Quartey was causing issues for their defenders but was rarely given even a half opportunity to shoot and both Smith-Joseph and Luke Miller were unable to get around their back line from where they usually do so much damage. We then had a scare in the 63rd minute when a low ball across from the left was met at the far post by Callum Jardim only to see his shot headed away off the line by the alert Steve Springett, running across to cover his lines. Two minutes later Josh Neathey made a good run to collect a ball over the top of our defence, but blazed his shot high and wide of the advancing Ceesay. Fernandes struck on target in the 68th minute and although Hughes was a little slow going down he palmed the ball away, but the game was becoming a little more attrition-al and a niggly scuffle broke out a few minutes later which resulted in another yellow card for the visitors; this time to Tiago Andrade, while shortly afterwards I think it was Peters that picked up our first card for kicking the ball out of the ground just after a free kick had been given against us.

The match ended with Springett being helped away gingerly with an Achilles injury and as he limped off, being replaced by Jerry Antwi, one of our other substitutes Josh Uzun received the ball from a misdirected Hughes clearance and sent it back with interest, but the effort was a yard wide of the far post and in fairness Hughes appeared to have done enough to get back to cover his goal. The match ended soon after and I think a point was a fair result. I would imagine that the visitors were the happier of the two teams with that point as they emerge from what looked like their toughest remaining match on their schedule unbeaten and still clear at the top, while for us, seven points behind and with only four matches left, we just have to aim to finish as high as we can.

The match ended with Springett being helped away gingerly with an Achilles injury and as he limped off, being replaced by Jerry Antwi, one of our other substitutes Josh Uzun received the ball from a misdirected Hughes clearance and sent it back with interest, but the effort was a yard wide of the far post and in fairness Hughes appeared to have done enough to get back to cover his goal. The match ended soon after and I think a point was a fair result. I would imagine that the visitors were the happier of the two teams with that point as they emerge from what looked like their toughest remaining match on their schedule unbeaten and still clear at the top, while for us, seven points behind and with only four matches left, we just have to aim to finish as high as we can. A second place finish would be our best achievement since 1984, although of course even this wouldn’t guarantee us promotion due to the invention of the playoffs. This is frustrating because last year four went up, while the promoted numbers were at least the top two and usually three in prior seasons, but we knew the rules at the start of the season and if we can keep our players fit and healthy, we will have every chance of success. However, the injury list is mounting, and we could really do with some more players back soon to give our Player/Manager a few more options, not least the one where he is able to pick himself again!

Overall though, and despite the draw keeping us down in fourth place, I think it was a point gained. One of our players commented that we had played well defensively, and that the visitors hardly had a shot on target. This is true, but at the same time we also created little and whenever our wingers got the ball there appeared to be a sea of Roffey players waiting to block their paths to goal. They were quite possibly the fittest team we have played, and despite the score line not suiting us, I was a little relieved to hear the final whistle at the end as they looked the more likely to break the deadlock. Are Roffey the best team we have played this season? I don’t think they were, and personally would have Seaford Town in front of them, but at the same time our league leading scoring attack has failed to score against Roffey in 180 minutes, so they must be doing something right! For our part, second place is still achievable, but with four league matches left, I think we will need to win all of our remaining four matches to reach that position. Failing that, we will be making a playoff trip to deepest Sussex instead of hosting someone at Fetcham Grove; a more difficult, but not insurmountable path.

Having been closed down and dismantled just four years before my birth, the Horton Light Railway always held a certain fascination, for me when growing up in the area, and I often wondered what it would have been like to see the old steam engines going back and forth.

Hollymoor

Up to its demise, there had been five engines running on the line, Hollymoor (1905-1908), Engine No 947 (1905-1909), Crossness (1913-1935), Hendon (1935-1947) and Sherwood (1947-1950). Parts of the latter, Sherwood, were still scattered around the area known as ‘Central Station’ (now David Lloyd Sports Centre), and the ‘Powerhouse’ where the Epsom Cluster hospitals generated their own electricity (before the National Grid) and steam for heating and hot water for the hospitals. Hollymoor, of course, lives on, in name at least, in the road Hollymoor Lane.

The railway was originally built to supply the materials needed for the building of what became the ‘Epsom Cluster’ of five mental health institutions in the early 1900s. It made sense for the railway to remain in use post-construction to deliver supplies to the Cluster.

I grew up close to the shunting yard by Ewell West Station where the area was once shared with an orchard. This became the County Highways Depot, and later Highway House, which eventually gave way to a housing development.

Following the line

The original track bed, shunting branch, ran alongside the existing railway line away from the station, nearly reaching the stile at the end of West Street, replaced by the footbridge which remains today in the early 1960s. From there it swept round to follow a parallel course with Chessington Road, almost immediately finding its first obstacle, a feeder stream for the River Hogsmill, where a concrete bridge was built to accommodate. The bridge was removed in more recent years, though I could never understand why.

Once over the stream, the route followed between what is now, Hollymoor Lane, named after one of the locomotives used on the line, and a few houses built on Chessington Road and then reaching Baker’s Field running along its outer, sewage farm, edge and through a short avenue of mature elm trees, sadly long gone.

From there it crossed into what is now Hook Road Arena, passing the ends of Oakdale Road and then Richards Field, where a footbridge on the original route of the ‘Bridle Path’ crossed over the line, and then carried on behind the shops and what is now West Ewell Social Club, still running parallel with Chessington Road until it met its next obstacle, Hook Road (known as Kingston Lane at that time), where a tunnel was formed as, the road by then was becoming a busy thoroughfare.

Crossing bridges

The original bridge is still there and intact, left in position after Hook Road was re-routed. Though filled in, done when the track was removed, it can be viewed in the Horton Golf Club car park.

From Hook Road, the line carried on, into what is now Horton Country Park, unhindered and into Butcher’s Wood, where a branch line took it right into Long Grove Hospital. Then onto Four Acre Wood where, another branch took the line off to feed what was called ‘Central Station’, before it finally went on to West Park Hospital.

As the railway passed through Horton Country Park there were three footbridges, originally level crossings but, due to an accident in its infancy, a local woman Mary Tobin was killed owing to, what was deemed, neglect. The first between Butcher’s Wood and Four Acre Wood, one on the branch to Central Station and the last just before the line entered West Park. They had been erected on Rights of Way footpaths cutting through farmland that was attached to the hospitals. Here they were able to access fresh dairy, vegetables, and fruit from the orchards when in season.

There can be few people remaining in the borough that can remember seeing the railway and its engines in all their working glory, but if any readers have any memories or indeed pictures, we would love to hear from you.

Tony Collis, March 2022

Pictured above:  celebrated violinist Boris Kucharsky

Wednesday 30th March 2022 15 year old Ukrainian violin virtuoso Vadym Perig led the concert, accompanied by Ukrainian pianist Svitlana Kosenko, in renditions of Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk’s “Melody” – (that stirs the heart of every Ukrainian) and his Spanish Dance.

They were followed by Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton playing Rachmaninov’s Elegie.

Sublime performances all the more remarkable to be accomplished considering the emotional turmoil being felt by the players from the violence being inflicted on their homeland.
The programme continued to a near capacity audience in the superb Menuhin Hall in Stoke D’Abernon with a Mozart duet for violin and viola and a student and school alumni ensemble, including the School’s Director of Music Ashley Wass at the piano and soprano Mary Bevan, in Faure’s magical La Bonne Chanson.

Yehudi Menuhin, the hall’s namesake, widely celebrated violinist and conductor

After an interval during which some of the Ukrainian ticket holders had the comfort of meeting Dinara Klinton, celebrated violinist Boris Kucharsky and student ensemble stretched their arm muscles to the limits in a performance of Brahm’s very energetic String Sextet No 2 in G major.

Programme sales and collections raised money for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s funds for humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
The Menuhin Hall is a somewhat hidden gem only 20 minutes drive from Epsom and Ewell. You can see its programme of concerts at https://themenuhinhall.co.uk/

From Epsom Choral Society

This year Epsom Choral Society celebrates its Centenary and is doing so in style!

Our first concert was on Saturday 19^th March 2022 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom attended by The Mayor, Peter Donovan and his wife. For this concert, the audience was treated to Vivaldi’s Gloria, one of the most popular pieces from the Italian Baroque era, as well as three works which were all written for Epsom Choral Society – Cecilia McDowall’s I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, Jonathan Willcocks’ O Joyful Soul and Adrian Payne’s I Hid My Love.

The soloists were Lisa Swayne, soprano, Helen Semple, soprano and Carolyn Holt, alto, all top-class young professionals and the concert was conducted by Epsom Choral Society’s Musical Director Julian Collings.

Epsom Choral Society with Mayor Peter Donovan and his wife

Our other concerts in this Centenary year include Songs from the Shows in St Andrews Church, Cheam on 25^th June 2022, Messiah at the Epsom Playhouse on Saturday 3^rd December 2022 and our ever-popular Christmas Concert on Saturday 17^th December.

Epsom Choral Society is Epsom’s longest established choir and has continued to sing throughout the pandemic. At first via Zoom, then rehearsing outside in a garden and even, thanks to the kindness of the Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, live-streaming a concert in a car park which was heard by over 5,000 local residents thanks to What’s On In My Town.

Continued …

Briefing notes:

1. Epsom Choral Society has been singing for 100 years and has around 90 singers. It usually puts on at least four concerts each year which attract a loyal following. Epsom Choral Society is a friendly choir – they do not require auditions but do aim for high performance standards. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings under the baton of their Musical Director, Julian Collings. www.epsomchoral.org.uk

2. Cecilia McDowall composed I Know That My Redeemer Liveth in 2009 for Epsom Choral Society as a tribute to Handel on the 250^th anniversary of his death, with words taken from Messiah. It was first performed by Epsom Choral Society on 21^st March 2009 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom.

3. Jonathan Willcocks’ O Joyful Soul was premiered by Epsom Choral Society on 30^th June 2018. It was commissioned in memory of Cecil Wiltshire who had sung with the choir for 67 years, funded from the generous legacy that he left the choir. The piece’s five movements were selected from religious and secular texts that encapsulated both his interests and his gentle and generous nature.

4. Adrian Payne’s I Hid My Love received its world premiere by Epsom Choral Society on 15^th June 2013 at St Martin’s Church, Epsom. It was performed again the following year at the European Choral Festival in Überlingen in Germany and the choir has sung it on tour in France and The Netherlands. Adrian has sung with the choir for 25 years.

Contact:     Nina Kaye: publicity@epsomchoral.org.uk, 07778 406834

Surrey Fire Service service would like to reiterate its sincere condolences to the family and friends of a Banstead resident who was victim of a tragic incident.

The Fire Investigation Team have concluded that the cause of the fatal fire in Banstead that occurred in the early hours of Friday 19 March was most likely due to unattended cooking.

During the first of the six 999 calls to our Joint Fire Control, a neighbour described the fire as being “well developed”.

The Fire Service want to make sure these incidents don’t happen at all and want to help people to be safe in their own homes, but if they do happen then they want to ensure residents are alerted to the danger and have an escape plan to make their way outside of the building before we arrive.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service offers free Safe and Well Visits, where fire and rescue personnel visit homes with the aim of making them safe from a fire. They’ll fit fire safety equipment, provide fire safety advice about how to live safer as well as refer onto other services/partners if needed too.

If you’re worried about someone, whether your profession has led you to their home (carer, engineer, meter reader etc), a neighbour, or loved one – you can refer anyone to Surrey Fire Service for a free Safe and Well Visit at surreycc.gov.uk/fire..

Sunday 21 March

SFRS and Surrey Police are continuing to investigate a serious residential fire which tragically claimed the life of one resident. 

Firefighters were called to a fire on Holly Lane West in Banstead at 2.41am yesterday (Friday 19 March 2021). Six fire engines, including an aerial ladder platform, were involved in the response to this incident.  

Very sadly, a person who was in the property when the fire broke out was pronounced dead yesterday. Both services send thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of the resident.  

Emergency service personnel remain on scene. Holly Lane West remains closed with Holly Lane open as normal.

Tuesday 29th March over 160 local citizens converged on St Joseph’s Church Hall for an information evening about hosting Ukrainian refugees. Half the hands in the room went up when asked who is willing to host refugees fleeing the war. There was overwhelming enthusiasm for the aid the community can bring to the urgent need for hosting Ukrainian refugees.

Joanna Sherring of the Epsom Refugee Network chaired the event and introduced local refugee supporters with experience of hosting and teaching English. Nina Kaye spoke about her experiences of opening her home to no less than 30 Syrian refugees since 2015. It is a big but rewarding commitment and friends for life are made. The important point was made that most refugees want to return home. Making them welcome here is a small way to meet the trauma of forced displacement.

The Government rules about hosting were explained including a requirement that hosts undergo a “Disclosure and Barring Check” (DBS). Basically this means a check about any criminal record. Apparently these rules are welcomed by Ukrainians especially as men are required to remain in Ukraine and the majority of guests will be women and children.

You can find out more information and guidance on the Epsom Refugee Network website here.

The Epsom Chess Club was launched in 2018 by Marcus Gosling and Ravi Sharma, the successor to the original Epsom Chess Club, founded in 1929. Meeting in MccAfferty’s Irish pub’s function room on Monday evenings, a large group of players sit in quiet concentration in a warm room adorned with 1940s-era metal whiskey adverts, flags and old newspaper front pages, juxtaposing the battlegrounds of white and black spread through the room. 

Marcus, President of Epsom Chess Club, tells me that restarting the club was, “a Matter of local pride, really”, having lived in Epsom all his life (apart from 2 years in Russia) Marcus wanted a community based and, more importantly, community ran Chess Club the town could be proud of, “I wanted to build something from nothing.”, and he certainly has. With nearly 50 members available for games, the club is large and bursting with talent, having won their division in 2020 just before lockdown came into effect, like all of us, the club was hit just hard by COVID. 

Chess is for everyone, big, small, young, not so young, plebeian or patrician, and in the Epsom Chess Club, these groups are represented well. I spoke with one member, who at 15 was the youngest present. He was in a position most kids his age dreamt of, let into a pub with no ID and no parental supervision, but instead of drinking as many pints as he could get away with, he was beating people twice his age at the world’s most sophisticated game. Matches can last minutes, hours and even seconds. In one match I counted 30 minutes before the first capture, between the cautious shifting of pawns and knights, you could almost hear the gears turning in the heads of the players. Chess can be tense, relaxed, fun and frustrating all in the space of 5 minutes, denoting how it can be so widely enjoyed by so many different people across the world. 

What makes Epsom Chess Club special? Why do people keep coming back? “It’s for the love of the game”, Club Secretary David Flewellen tells me while they’re setting up their session, “It’s satisfying to come here every week and end up playing a better game”. What makes the club special is that it’s a place where you can relax with a drink and let chess consume you for a few hours, an escape from the problems of everyday life. When you’re in there, all that matters is the board, the pieces and the person sitting opposite you, with their hand placed thoughtfully under their chin, plotting your metaphorical demise. Ego’s are muted, friendly advice is given over drinks post-game and players observe each other’s games stoically, before respectfully congratulating/commiserating the winner/loser. There’s no gloating, no under or over estimation, just pure chess. In a place meant for drinking, revelry and out-of-tune sing-a-longs; a company of like minded men and women meet week-in week-out on a monochrome 8×8 square battlefield, if that isn’t enough to show that Epsom Chess Club is special, then I don’t know what is.  

The atmosphere of the club is fun, friendly and familiar, with the same faces (and a couple of new ones) showing up week in week out at MccAfferty’s pub. Whether they’re playing a Blitz (speed chess) tournament or playing ranked games against each other, the love of the game is clear, as is the fact that we should all be very proud of our local chess club. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Epsom Chess Club are no longer able to hold their sessions in MccAfferty’s pub, and are looking for a new permanent home. The Epsom Chess Club is a fun, talented and welcoming community based club, if you or anyone you know is aware of a new venue that can host the ECC, please contact Marcus Gosling via email at marcus94gosling@gmail.com or David Flewellen at davidflewellen@gmail.com.