Ray & Jill Gosling

Ray and Jill Gosling came to Lacey Green in 1980. They lived at Roundlands no 6, Lacey Green

Hallmark April 1983. Jillian Gosling's was the contact number given for a new Nursery Class.

Hallmark June 1983. Parish Council election. Ray Gosling was returned unopposed

Hallmark October 1985 report by Councillor Ray Gosling. (also click Speeding for more)

Recently we have had another accident outside Lacey Green School during pick-up time showing once again how dangerous this part of Main Road can be.

The Parish Council has tried to get the speed limit reduced to 30 mph but this has proved not to be possible due to it now being County Council policy not to have a speed limit lower than 40 mph unless there are special circumstances – our school does not qualify we are told!!

We have also requested that the speed limit be extended further out of the village. This requires the passing of a by-law and will be added to the next batch to be: put forward to the legislature. This however is unlikely to be for some years to come.

One action that will happen is the repositioning of the school warning sign further out of the village to give drivers more time to slow down.

Even if all these measures were taken, drop off and pick-up times would still be dangerous due to obvious reasons. If you use a car to chaperone your offspring to and from school please consider whether it is absolutely necessary and if at all possible walk, it will not only reduce the congestion it will also benefit health.

The Council's energy in getting so many parishioners to suport the County Council's Structure Plan was we feel paramount in the Minister's decision that Lacey Green and Loosley Row should be placed within The Green Belt, unfortunately the way these things work, there is still another period of objecting and the Wycombe District Council are to do just that. Our Council has written to everyone that wrote supporting our action to write again letting the Department know our feelings are still the same.

Hallmark 1991. Clem Brown reported on an interview with Ray Gosling

Ray Gosling, a resident of Lacey Green for 11 years (he formally lived at Widmer End), takes a close interest in local affairs, having become vice-chairman of the local council and a governor of St. John's School, devoting as much time as possible to these matters away from his professional role - an engineering manager specialising in materials testing.

Ray feels that Parish Councils are not taken as seriously as they might be, and this can be frustrating. They are supposed to represent the local voice, and Ray has previous experience of such involvement, having helped to fight off a threat of over-development in an area of outstanding natural beauty. "It is a question of the minnows versus the big developers". At the same time, Ray does not have a particularly warm opinion of Wycombe District Council. As for Lacey Green, he sees the immediate area as having expanded just about to its limits, although some infilling is inevitable in an area that, to some extent, is seen as desirable commuter territory.

Meeting Ray meant talking to the family, and that was a special pleasure. First there was Jill Gosling, at one time a veterinary nurse but now demonstrating a talent for garden design on a part-time basis.

Then there were the three charming daughters, Ann, Karen, and Rebecca. All have a feeling for the theatre, especially ballet, but Ann can claim special experience. I can instance her part as the Knave of Hearts in our LGP's "Alice" at Stocken Farm barn, and a breakthrough via Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George" (the National Theatre) as well as a part in the pantomime "Pussin Boots" at Windsor Theatre. At the time of writing, Ann was looking forward to a television spot in "Spooks" and had been short-listed for audition for a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. A busy girl you see: but then, the Gosling family convey that impression. Long may it last.