Ex-chairman Roger bows out of political life .sx By ANNE EDWARDS .sx FORMER chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council , Roger Parker-Jervis of Great Hampden , the member for Naphill , has announced his retirement from county council at the next election in 1993 .sx Approaching 60 , Roger has retired as land agent for the Hampden Estate , a job which he and his father George held in succession for more than 50 years .sx He intends to spend his retirement " doing all the things I like doing - particularly painting .sx " He and his wife Diana returned in March from a trip to visit one of their two sons in Australia , which explains much of his absence from County Hall and the increasingly rare opportunities to hear the cogent speeches for which he is well-known .sx The man who personally took on central Government Ministers over the lack of support grant for Buckinghamshire when he was chairman from '81 to '85 , says he now has " a splendid detachment from the rhetoric of politics .sx " .sx He told us :sx " I do understand how ex-Prime Ministers feel , but it is much better to let those who are fully involved get on whith the job .sx A lot of councillors put in an enormous amount of work - I used to myself at one time , three or four full days a week .sx " He is , he adds :sx " A very great supporter of chairman Mrs Miscampbell .sx " .sx His views are strong on local government review .sx Local government has been so messed around that it really needs radical reappraisals , he says .sx " It is a terrible , terrible mess .sx This is not a criticism of those who serve on local government , but I am highly critical of what the Conservative Government has done to emasculate local freedom of choice and local taxation .sx " .sx Roger feels that local government review will not succeed , unless it is by partisan agreement as to how local government should operate for the foreseeable future .sx He fears the politicians may make matters no better , as with the council tax - merely moving from one pretty disastrous area into another .sx " Now you have entered the realms of the paid councillor where people are getting modest remuneration for a lot of work , do we need so many members ?sx " he says .sx " Should we not have unitary authorities for Buckinghamshire that has , say , 20 people on it , and pay them properly , with an elected chief executive .sx " Messing around with the present systems is wrong .sx We must wipe the board clean have a radical review .sx " .sx Victoria cuts a dash .sx THE robe worn by Victoria Dashwood at her christening was used by her grandfather , Sir Francis , at his baptism .sx Victoria Lucinda Dashwood , first child of Lucinda and Edward Dashwood , was christened on Saturday at the church of St Lawrence , West Wycombe .sx The Rev Michael Staines , vicar of West Wycombe , performed the service attended by immediate family and a small number of friends .sx Flowers in the shape of a 'V' decorated the church and the hymns All Things Bright and Beautiful and O Jesus I have Promised were sung .sx Baby Victoria , Sir Francis' first grand-daughter , is named after Edward's mother , Lady Victoria , who died in 1976 .sx Victoria behaved perfectly all afternoon , but did the expected thing at the baptism - cried and splashed the vicar with water .sx Lucinda wore a navy dress with white polka dots white jacket and white feathered hat for the occasion .sx The christening was followed by a tea at West Wycombe House .sx Godparents are Edward's sister Caroline , Mungo Tennant , who was Edward's best man at his wedding , Geordie Kitston and Alexandra De Ferranti .sx First aider gets award .sx NURSE Joan Dawson has been awarded one of the highest awards in the Order of St John .sx Joan 55 , of The Meadows , Flackwell Heath , was presented with the award of officer sister by the Lord Prior , Lord Grey , at a ceremony at Clerkenwell gate .sx She said :sx " It's for continuing work with the order of St John .sx I have been doing it for 15 years now .sx It's quite difficult to get - you have to be put forward by somebody and accepted by the order .sx " .sx Many of the people who work in and around Heathrow airport have been taught first aid techniques by Joan , who works in the Civil Aviation Centre at Feltham in Middlesex .sx Tragic Maxine's big night out .sx By JULIAN BRYANT .sx FRIENDS and well-wishers rallied round to give the wife of comatose John Smith a memorable birthday treat .sx Maxine Smith , of Hillview Road , High Wycombe , will celebrate her 35th birthday next Wednesday without her husband who is being cared for at Wycombe General Hospital .sx John , 38 , was in a road accident on April 19 and has never regained consciousness .sx On Monday , Maxine was joined by her daughter Louise , ten , to celebrate her birthday with a night out at the London Palladium .sx They went to see Jason Donovan in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat after friends collected the money for the tickets and other treats .sx Organiser Irene Clarke , of Old Forge Close , High Wycombe , had the idea when she found out from Louise that the birthday was coming up and that they both wanted to see the show .sx Harrison and Sons Ltd , Mr Smith's employer , made a large contribution to the fund which was also added to by friends , neighbours and also Irene's husband , Colin , who runs C. Clarke Property Maintenance .sx A1 Taxis waived the profit when they provided a luxurious Volvo to drive them in style to and from the theatre .sx Maxine and Louise were given a big send-off and were presented with flowers and chocolates .sx They were also accompanied by Irene's daughter Nichola , 16 .sx Afterwards , Maxine said that although she was a David Essex fan , she had been impressed by Jason .sx " I think he was brilliant .sx I screamed .sx Louise was gobsmacked .sx When we were driving home on the Westway , the girls were on cloud nine because Jason Donovan was singing on the radio .sx " I was very touched when I was given the tickets , " she said .sx She added that her husband's condition had not changed significantly .sx " I am just praying .sx It is a long ordeal , " she said .sx The couple's fifteenth wedding anniversary is on July 9 .sx Holly the owl wings her way home .sx Owners reunited with pet .sx By STAFF REPORTER .sx A LOST barn owl has been reclaimed by its owners after they saw a story about it in the Bucks Free Press .sx Teri Godfrey was devastated when her year-old owl Holly went missing last Sunday - she had reared the bird by hand from when it was two weeks old .sx Holly escaped while Teri was trying to teach her how to fly , and turned up in Margaret Oliver's garage in Fernside , Hazlemere , four days later .sx " We looked around for her and kept leaving food out , " said Teri , who lives in Hazlemere .sx " I was really in tears because we hand-reared her from a chick .sx " .sx Teri added that for future flying lessons Holly would be on a line .sx " Once you have had them and fed them yourself they wouldn't be able to survive very long in the wild , " she said .sx What a Carry On .sx CARRY On star Barbara Windsor made a 500-mile round trip to bowl the first ball in a charity cricket match - only for rain to stop play .sx Winchmore Hill Cricket Club was hoping to raise money for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund but incessant rain on Saturday caused cancellation of the match .sx Barbara , who owns a pub and restaurant in Winchmore Hill , made a dash from Bradford to get to the game on Sunday before returning to Newcastle where she is appearing at the Theatre Royal in the popular musical Guys and Dolls .sx Chairman of Winchmore Hill Cricket Pavilion Club , Derek Sears , who organised the event , was not however deterred by the wash out .sx " It was very big disappointment , " he said , but added :sx " We will do one next year .sx You cannot have two days like that surely ?sx It was the worst day they have had for three years .sx " .sx But despite the weather , the fundraiser is still expected to make some money from an evening Barn Dance and food sold in the marquee put up at the pitch .sx Two hundred people crammed into the marquee and out of the rain to watch a celebrity darts match .sx John dons the robes of office .sx FORMER coroner John Roberts stood before the Lord Chancellor this week to be sworn in as a judge .sx He and wife Patricia went to the House of Lords on Tuesday after Mr Roberts resigned as south Buckinghamshire Coroner the previous day .sx Mr Roberts , 56 , has had to resign from everything , including being a managing partner at Winter-Taylors solicitors in High Wycombe , to be completely impartial .sx He is already a recorder in crown and county courts but being a judge on the Thames Valley circuit is a prestigious step up .sx His coroner's officer PC Dennis Cannon said it had been a privilege to work for Mr Roberts and he would be missed .sx Skies open for Astronomer Heather .sx THE heavens opened when TV astronomer Heather Cooper visited the Wycombe Astronomical Society last week .sx Heather was due to lay the foundation stone for the society's new observatory but rain forced organisers to abandon the ceremony last week .sx Undeterred by the weather conditions , Heather , who is the group's president , still managed to help members celebrate their tenth anniversary last week when she cut the birthday cake at Woodrow High House , Woodrow , Amersham .sx Shaun Taylor , who started up the group , said despite not being able to lay the stone Heather had promised to return to see how the building work was progressing .sx He said :sx " Because of the rain it was not ideal and we also had to cancel the concrete .sx We are hoping to finish the observatory this year or early next year .sx " .sx Duchess boosts Brenda's recovery .sx THE Duchess of Kent brightened up 70-year-old Brenda Martin's day when she stopped for a long chat during a day hospice visit on Friday .sx Brenda received a much-needed boost to help her recover from illness and went home on Tuesday to Dene Wood , Totteridge , with a big smile on her face .sx " Brenda has been in the home on two occasions .sx She was absolutely delighted to meet the Duchess , " said matron Marilyn Cottrell , from Conigre , Chinnor .sx " The Duchess took a real interest in how Brenda was feeling and what treatment she had received here and how she had benefited .sx " I saw her on Tuesday and she was still bright-eyed over the visit .sx it was a real high spot of the day - it really gave her a boost .sx .sx Marilyn invited the Duchess to Sue Ryder Home at Nettlebed when she heard she was coming to live in the village .sx Prize pupils get profit .sx By JUDY WARSCHAUER .sx PLAYING for Profit 1991 ended in grand style on Tuesday with the prize-giving at Equity&Law .sx High Wycombe Mayor Val Letheren and Bucks Free Press editor Tim Blott presented the prizes to the winners of the schools' competition , organised through the High Wycombe Education Commerce and Industry Partnership .sx This year's theme was Caring through Profit with the 21 teams , all in the fourth year , taking part being set the the task of designing an aid for use by the disabled .sx Peter Moss , personnel general mangager at Equity&Law , welcoming the guests , explained Playing for Profit was one of the links existing between industrialists and schools to promote awareness in this area .sx " The teams perform a real task with an end product , with a time limit which produces a vivid experience and one they will remember , " said Mr Moss .sx For the first time the partnership introduced a cup for the winning team to be kept for a year .sx Overall winner :sx John Hampden Grammar School which received pounds500 for the school , and pounds25 and a certificate for each team member ; 2nd :sx Baconsfield High School which received pounds350 for the school , and pounds20 and a certificate for each team member ; 3rd :sx Wycombe High School which received pounds200 for the school , and pounds15 and a certificate for each team member ; winners runners-up competition :sx Wycombe Abbey which received pounds100 for the school and pounds10 and a certificate for each team member .sx