DECEMBER 2011 No. 341 t he Birstall post Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R www.birstallpost.co.uk Christmas wonderland Pic: Matthew Cochrane (5) with Santa at Riverside school A CHRISTMAS festival at the Methodist church and River- side school’s Christmas fair got the festive season off to a magical start in Birstall. Continued on page 4 Wishing all our Customers a Very Merry Christmas & a Healthy & Happy New Year Specialist in PVC-U Doors, Windows & Conservatories Unit D, Wanlip Hill Farm Business Park (formerly Bentley’s Roses) Loughborough Road, Wanlip, Leicester LE7 4PN Tel: 2676167 Fax: 2674016 Mobile: 07860 548226 www.midlandwindows.co.uk [email protected]Midland Window Installations Ltd New glasses for as little as £39 20% off glasses for the over 60’s* Wide range of designer frames 2 for 1 all-in-one prices * * 9 The Nook, Anstey Tel: 0116 234 0434 655 Loughborough Road, Birstall Tel: 0116 267 7855 www.opticareoptician.co.uk * conditions apply, ask for details OUR PRICE PROMISE! Retinal Photography Complete Spectacles FREE on NHS voucher Celebrating 20 years of Slating • Tiling • Felting Asphalt Roofs • Single Ply Fascias • Soffits • Guttering Building 20, Mill Lane, Syston Mills, Syston, Leicester LE7 1NS Tel: 0116 260 5400 Fax: 0116 260 5402 [email protected]COUNTY ROOFING LANCASTER LANDSCAPES BLOCK PAVING SPECIALISTS Drives • Patios • Paths Garden Design Crazy Paving Slabbing Fencing Lawns Cut Hedges Cut Turfing Slabs & Walls Cleaned 40 Spinney Rise, Birstall 2673767 or 07979 851976 need an need an electrician? electrician? Simon Oates Electrical Contractors 18 Cliffwood Ave • Birstall • Leicester 0116 2672675 or 07816 288765 www.birstallelectrical.co.uk “Local, Reliable,Clean & Tidy” That’s what our customers are telling us! see our web site for more testimonials. • Fuse board upgrade/Rewires • Additional sockets & lighting • Landlord safety certificates/PAT testing • Electric showers fully installed • All work guaranteed • Free call out for elderly people
Transcript
DECEMBER 2011 No. 341
the Birstall postY O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R
www.birstallpost.co.uk
Christmas wonderlandPic: MatthewCochrane (5)with Santa atRiversideschool A CHRISTMAS festival at the Methodist church and River-
side school’s Christmas fair got the festiveseason off to a magical start in Birstall.
Continued on page 4
Wishing all our Customers a
Very Merry Christmas& a
Healthy & HappyNew Year
Specialist in PVC-U Doors,Windows & Conservatories
Unit D, Wanlip Hill Farm Business Park(formerly Bentley’s Roses)
Simon Oates Electrical Contractors18 Cliffwood Ave • Birstall • Leicester
0116 2672675 or 07816 288765www.birstallelectrical.co.uk
“Local, Reliable,Clean & Tidy”That’s what our customers are telling us!see our web site for more testimonials.• Fuse board upgrade/Rewires• Additional sockets & lighting• Landlord safety certificates/PAT testing• Electric showers fully installed• All work guaranteed• Free call out for elderly people
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST2
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 3
TARA PALMER-TOMKINSONand her father Charles werespecial guests at the officialopening of Longslade’s newPalmer-Tomkinson centre.
Together they cut the ribbon to openthe £4.8million building which has a 238seat auditorium, a drama studio, mediasuites, outdoor amphitheatre, meetingrooms and a bar.
Local landowner Charles Palmer-Tom-kinson’s charitable trust donated£1million towards the project with£3.47million provided by the YoungPeople’s Learning Agency.
Mr Palmer-Tomkinson singled outplanning consultant Will Antill for hiswork planning and guiding the projectfrom an early stage.
Guests at the opening event were treat-ed to a performance of music and dramaby Longslade students, who then escortedvisitors on a guided tour of the building.
Longslade Principal Liz Hall said: “Iwas delighted with the opening – it wasexactly as we had hoped – a real celebra-tion and a chance to show the auditori-um at work, as well as guests having theopportunity to tour the building andspeak with students. Having the Palmer-Tomkinson family at the opening wasabsolutely great and students really appre-ciated being able to talk about theirpride in the building. Tara and Charlesand the whole family asked a lot of ques-tions about how we are using the Centreand shared ideas for developing it. Tarais keen to keep in touch with the collegein the future. The impact of the buildinghas been such a positive one – post 16students have more space for study andeveryone enjoys using the new auditori-um. Community groups have also beenpositive about the building and we have alot of interest in using the Centre for avariety of events.”
The building, already used by severalcommunity groups, is available for hire.Contact Lyndsay King on 0116 2670807for details.Pics: (top right) Tara Palmer-Tomkinson & herfather Charles cut the ribbon. Bottom right: Taratalks to Longslade Principal Liz Hall & (top, ctr)meets some of the students who performed atthe opening event
Pritesh said: “I would like to thankeveryone who helped. The parentsaround us were great and the teachersalso came to the scene and were fantas-tic.”
Worried parents have been calling forsome time for a 20mph speed limit andtraffic calming measures for the road. Apetition has been started to address thesafety of pedestrians using GreengateLane and they are urging residents tosign it. The petition states: “As users ofGreengate Lane, some of which use theLane twice daily when accessing High-cliffe Primary School, we are increasing-ly concerned about the safety of theLane, particularly for pedestrian users.We are particularly worried in respect ofusers of the zebra crossing. Many of ushave observed vehicles totally disregard-ing the crossing or failure to stop be-cause of the high speed of the vehicle. Afew of us have observed ‘near misses’involving children and vehicles. Wewould like to open discussions leadingtowards a 20mph speed limit on theLane or physical traffic calming meas-ures that positively improve visibility andsafety. Ideally, we would like to see areduction of the volume of transportusing Greengate Lane for non-accesspurposes.”
Ms Pauline Aveling, the headteacherat Highcliffe, supports the petition andany measure that could be taken toimprove the safety of the school’s chil-dren – a school travel plan drawn up in2010 requested a 20mph limit for Green-gate Lane, and other measures.
She said: “It’s always devastatingnews to hear any of our children havebeen involved in an accident. We arevery, very worried about the traffic onGreengate Lane – the speed of the carsand the attitude of the drivers who aren’tprepared to slow down for the zebracrossing.
“Our new crossing patrol lady in herfirst month had a car drive at her on thezebra crossing and she had to jump outof the way.”
To reduce the risk of accidents, all
children and parents are advised to onlycross at the zebra crossing
A County Council spokesman told theBirstall Post: “There are plans for theintroduction of a 20mph zone in thevicinity of the school. It is currentlyplanned that this scheme will be imple-mented during the next financial year,2012/13, but this is still subject to theapproval of funding.”
In 2010 the City Council proposed‘traffic mitigation’ measures for Green-gate Lane as part of its planning applica-tion for Ashton Green – the 3000 homedevelopment planned for the site oppo-site Greengate Lane’s junction withLeicester Road. These include speedhumps and a one-way traffic light con-trolled shuttle at the railway bridge –this will alternate the direction of traffic:east/west then west/east.
The County Council says there havebeen no injury accidents in the immedi-ate vicinity of the school in the last fiveyears. A school crossing patrol officeremployed by the County Council doesoperate outside the school on the zebracrossing. Amber flashing lights on theChildren Crossing street signs were re-moved some time ago - the County Coun-cil were unable to provide anexplanation for this at the time of goingto press. To sign the petition go towww.facebook.com/greengatepetition
The church was filledwith displays made by localgroups, businesses andindividuals creating a spe-cial atmosphere in thesubdued lighting of thechurch. Teachers fromRiverside school ledgroups of childrenthrough the twinklingscenes to meet Santa andhis elves in the grotto.
Visitors could thencross the road to Riversideschool’s Christmas fairwhich was raising moneyfor new playground equip-ment.Pic: Stallholders at Riversideschool: Lynn Apse, Velta Wood-house, Jenny Drayton & CindySmith
A NINE year old boy escaped serious injury when he was hitby a car on Greengate Lane, on his way to school.
Child hit by caron way to school
The father of the boy, Pritesh Vagani,was accompanying his son to Highcliffeschool at 8.40am on October 27.
Mr Vagani said: “My son was two orthree feet in front of us as we all stoodat the kerb and looked for any cars.There were none in sight, my son thencrossed the road and was halfway acrossthe first half of the road when the carcoming down the hill skidded and hithim. He was thrown on to the front ofthe car and knocked to the pavement.The driver stopped, parked the car andjust stood there.”
The ambulance and police attendedthe scene and the boy was taken to
hospital with minor injuries. The policecompleted and Accident Report bookletat the scene and say the investigation isongoing.
Continued from page 1
Pic: the scene of the accident
Christmas Greetings from the Churches Together of Birstall and WanlipCome and join us for worship, as we celebrate the coming of Christ!
Christmas Greetings from the Churches Together of Birstall and WanlipCome and join us for worship, as we celebrate the coming of Christ!
St James the Great, Birstall St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church
Christmas Eve 4pm Crib Service Christmas Eve 4pm Crib ServiceChristmas Eve 11.30pm Midnight Mass Christmas Eve 7pm Youth MassChristmas Day 10am Family Communion Christmas Eve 10pm Mass
Christmas Day 9.30am Mass
Our Lady & St Nicholas, Wanlip Birstall Methodist Church
Christmas Day 9am Holy Communion Christmas Eve 11.15pm Holy CommunionChristmas Day 10am Family Service
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 5
A FULL meeting of Birstall Parish Coun-cil was held on November 14.
Youth worker Helen McNulty reportedthat the young people who use BirstallYouth café had been taken on a successfulcamping trip and a summer outing to Skeg-
FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT boxing champion Frank Bruno enter-tained a packed Stonehill school hall at a charity event.
A crowd of 265 people heard Franktell stories about his boxing career, andyoung people from Carl Gunns’ gym dida boxing exhibition.
Stonehill’s Premises Officer AndyDixon said: “It was an absolutely fantas-
tic night, everything went smoothly andFrank was excellent.”
Ticket sales and a raffle with prizesdonated by several local businesseshelped the event raise £1300 towardsthe new school minibus.
Pic: Frank Bruno with Stonehill’sheadteacher Alan Monks
ness. Two members of staff have now beentrained as qualified youth workers.
Volunteers at the café are receivingtraining that will help them back into em-ployment. Similar projects to the Birstallcafé are being set up in Barrow and An-stey with the Birstall scheme being recog-nised as a successful model for youth work.
Comment was made that the café hadmade a significant impact on antisocialbehaviour in the village.
Cllr David Gaskell reported that hewould be bidding for Area forum fundingfor a mobility scooter storage building atRiversdale Court.
Cllr Roger Wilson reported that a busstop will be constructed early in the newyear on the A6, southbound, next to thepark and ride site.
PCSO Stuart Venables reported that hewill be leaving Birstall and will be assignedto Barrow. There are no immediate plansto replace him. PCSO Venables reportedthat arrests were made following the dis-covery of a house used to grow cannabisin the village, and that there had been noreports of antisocial behaviour on Hallow-een or bonfire night.
The Council agreed to adopt new playareas at Hallam Fields.
It was agreed to consider a request fora donation from Birstall Bowling Clubsubject to further information being provid-ed and details of the club accounts.
It was agreed to name one of the playareas at Hallam Fields Jubilee Park tomark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in2012, and to investigate the possibility oferecting a beacon at Hallam Fields.
It was agreed to spend £1575 fromreserves on flooring for the extension tothe new pavilion.
Parish Council notes
A BIRSTALL hair salon is support-ing a diabetes charity set up afterthe death of a Birstall boy agedjust 15.
Revive Hair on Went Road aresupporting TOM, the charity set up byTom Bucciero’s parents after Type 1diabetic Tom died in his sleep of adiabetic coma in 2008.
The Revive team decorated a treeat Birstall Methodist church’s WinterWonderland event in November, cov-ered it head to toe with edible decora-tions and then sold them in theirsalon, with all proceeds going to TOM.
Stephen Thomas from Revive said:“We think this is a really worthy causeand urge all our customers to takepart in supporting us and the TOMcampaign.”
www.type1-diabetes.co.uk• Students from Longslade College
have recently organised fundraisingevents for TOM, including a spon-sored swim at Birstall pool, raising£1500 for the charity.
SalonsupportingTOM
Frank visits school
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST6
A COOKING club at Longslade College has won an award.Students celebrated winning their
‘Golden Spoon’ award by cooking somecakes and biscuits, helped by club co-ordinators Beryl Paddison and SallyMayes.
Beryl said: “This autumn we havefollowed themes – we made curry forDiwali, sausage and bean hotpot, appleycabbage and roast parsnips for bonfirenight and trench cake for RemembranceDay. We will be making and icing Christ-mas cakes and making Christmas gar-land biscuits.”
The club is part of the national Let’s
Get Cooking campaign, a network ofcooking clubs funded by the NationalLottery.
Beryl said: “We have nearly securedthe lottery funding for another year andhave plans to make delicious healthyfoods as well as hosting the local prima-ry schools at Let’s Get Cooking Commu-nity Events and involving more studentsfrom Stonehill.”
11 students from all year groups atLongslade belong to the club, and therehave also been visits from Stonehill pu-pils and local primary schools.
KNITTING GUERRILLAS who have been hanging zombiesfrom trees in Birstall are inviting you to join them.
Their first ‘yarn storm’saw the tree outside Green-gate Medical Centre (pic-tured right) decorated withknitted zombies.
The ‘Knitting Guerrillasfrom Birstall’, or KGB , are
part of an underground movement ofyarn-archists whose woolly adventuresaim to enhance the urban environmentand raise a smile.
Spokesperson Niddy Noddy told theBirstall Post: “We would love to getsome new recruits to join us and wel-come potential guerrillas to contact usvia the blog, facebook or twitter.”
www.kgb-123.blogspot.com
A BIRSTALL man is raising money for new hospital equip-ment by growing his moustache.
Manny Sanghera’s sponsored mous-tache grow will help provide a bladderscanner for Leicester Royal Infirmary,for patients with cervical cancer.
Manny (picturedbelow) said: “After mypartner Paula was diag-nosed in May and hav-ing had treatment inJune, I especially cannotthank the team at Ward1 in the LRI enough forall they did for her andI would like to givesomething back, bothtreatment and care wasamazing. Whilst Paula
was on the ward she noticed there wasnot enough of the scanners, which canbe a vital use of equipment after surgery
. Anything to help thisward is great, I am sograteful!
“I would also like tothank all who havealready sponsored meand to Frank Brunowho gave a signedautobiography whichIan Haye of Birstallsold for £60 and kind-ly donated to ourcharity.”
Knitting guerillasfrom Birstall
Cooking club’sgolden spoon
Pic: the GoldenSpoon winners
Moustache grownfor scanner
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 7
A BIRSTALLwoman cele-brated her100th birthdaywith familyand friends atBirstall GolfClub.
Kathleen Mc-Queen has lived inBirstall for morethan 70 years andstill lives independ-ently, walking downto Sibson Road todo her shopping,and to the library.
A life member of Birstall Golf Club,she played the game until she was 90and in her younger days enjoyed sailingand cycling.Pic: Kathleen McQueen with family &friends at her party
In November we reported how ClaireStafford was walking along the footpathfrom Birstall Road to Netherhall Lanewhen she was chased by a horse and fell,rupturing her Achilles heel.
Rosie Houldsworth said: “It was July2011, a lovely evening when we werewalking, we went down Birstall Road,through the gate and intended to walk onthe public footpath towards NetherhallLane. After entering the field and walkingin that direction along the footpath wesaw three horses coming towards us. Isaid, let’s go back, but we were in be-tween and would get nowhere quickly.
“We tried to keep our eyes straightahead but the horses circled round theback of us. We walked a little quickerand when we did turn around the largerof the horses was cantering towards usand then reared up on its hind legs.
“My husband who is not used to hors-es put his hand up and said whoah orsomething like that, it slowed down andevery time we got ahead of it, it did thesame thing. It then got level with us, asnear as touching or nudging us with itsbody. I didn’t know which way to go butwe went straight ahead.
“This carried on until we reached thestile going into Netherhall Lane, when thehorse went in front of us and blocked usfrom climbing over. There was a lady theother side with a dog, she tried to coaxit to one side while we got over.
“By then the panic had set in, I hadvisualised us not getting out of that fieldwithout some sort of injury, my heartwas pumping like mad.”
We ended up having to go into thelocal pub The Plough to have a drinkand recover. I haven’t forgotten aboutthis incident and how serious it couldhave been. The implications are frighten-ing especially as this is a public footpath.This could have been elderly people oryoungsters that would have panickedmore than we did. Something has to bedone before someone suffers a seriousor fatal injury.”
Mrs Stafford is concerned that furtherincidents may cause serious harm and isurging anyone who has had a similarexperience in the field to report it toParul Valand at Leicester City Council,New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leices-ter LE1 6ZG
The field is inside the city boundaryand is let to a private individual whokeeps horses there.
OUR REPORT of a woman being chased by a horse in the Novem-ber issue has resulted in a reader contacting The Birstall Postwith an account of their frightening experience in the same field.
Horse in localfield chases couple
A BIRSTALL musician has been commissioned to write a songwhich will be part of the cultural Olympics in 2012.
The song ‘Gloria in Londinium’ byKathleen Shanks, welcomes all countriesof the world to come to the OlympicGames. Recorded at the Abbey RoadStudios, London, ‘Gloria in Londinium’is to go to choirs world-wide for anOlympics 2012 cultural event.
Kathleen said: “I was so delighted toreceive the commission. I wanted toreflect the idea of music as an interna-tional language, using the voice, withoutwords, for the call and response to theGames. The East End of London has, bytradition throughout the centuries, wel-comed people of all races and faiths.The song echoes the sound of Bow Bells
as the choir sings invictus, invicta, Gloriain Londinium, victory and glory in Lon-don.”
Kathleen, of Elmfield Avenue, dividesher time between her work as a compos-er and working as a Music Director inLondon. She is Music Director of theCapital Arts Children’s Choir, one of thebusiest and most successful children’schoirs in the UK. The choir has justfinished recording its latest CD ‘Soul of aChild’, with royal harpist Claire Jones.During Claire’s tenure as royal harpistshe performed at Buckingham Palace forthe Queen’s reception at the wedding ofPrince William and Catherine Middleton.The CD ‘Soul of a Child’ is now on salein record shops and on Amazon.Pic: Kathleen Shanks
Special birthday
Birstall composer’sOlympic song
Pic: Kathleen Shanks
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST8
LEICESTER CITY Council wantsto find a developer to beginwork on the first phase of theAshton Green development –an ‘eco-friendly’ community ofup to 3,000 homes on a 130hectare site facing GreengateLane.
Having secured outline planning per-mission in March this year, following anextensive consultation exercise, the coun-cil wants to secure a developer to workon the first 950 dwellings.
The formal process of selecting adeveloper will start in the new Year,with the work due to start on site in2013, a year later than originallyplanned.
Assistant City Mayor Councillor TedCassidy, who is responsible for econom-ic development, said: “I’m really excitedthe plans for Ashton Green are pickingup pace and I’m confident we will at-tract a developer to take us into the firstphase of the scheme.
“In such a difficult financial climateaffordable homes are desperately neededin the city. This scheme will create anew community comprising of one ofthe largest developments of new homesLeicester has seen for many years, com-bined with almost 50 hectares of opengreen space.”
Ashton Green is seen as the mostsignificant and innovative housingscheme in Leicester in more than 30years and it will make a significant con-tribution towards delivering the newhomes needed in the city over the next20 years, says the City Council.
The scheme aims to deliver a rangeof family houses, a third of which willbe available as rental and lower costaffordable homes. There will also be
employment land to create new jobs,new schools, community and healthfacilities, public transport improvements,retail and around a third of the site aspublic open space.
The environmental standards for theproposed homes and other buildingshave been set high to minimise the im-pact of the development. The plans in-clude proposals for an energy centre forthe new homes.
In addition to the site being wellserved by buses, there are proposals todevelop travel plans for residents,schools and workplaces as well as thepotential use of electric vehicles and car
clubs.Birstall Parish Council, and many
local residents, have expressed concernabout the impact the development willhave on traffic on Greengate Lane.
In 2010 a traffic impact assessmentproduced by the City Council said thatmeasures to deter traffic from enteringGreengate Lane would result in “nomaterial impact on Greengate Lane withthe traffic from Ashton Green”.
Critics say the traffic passing High-cliffe school is already dangerous andcan only get worse once developmentstarts.
GREENGATE LANE
A FUNDRAISING run, in-creased sponsorship andseveral donations have se-cured the future of CarlGunns’ Birstall Boxing gym.
Carl said: “The run was very suc-cessful, nearly all the members tookpart and the parents have been verysupportive.
“But I feel very annoyed that localsports clubs didn’t lift a finger tohelp us, or even wish us well, when Ihave sponsored and supported Bir-stall football and cricket clubs in thepast.
“The only club that helped us wasBirstall Golf Club who gave us somemoney for equipment and I wouldlike to thank them for that.”
Ashton Green: city looks for developer
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 9
A BIRSTALL woman with a tal-ent for stitchcraft has turnedher hobby into a business.
The Littlebird School of Stitchcraftteaches sewing and woolcraft skills atlocal cafés and other venues and is runby Lisa Pidgeon.
She said: “When I was made redun-dant from Health Service academia, Iwanted to do work that fitted around myfamily life and children. I have always hada talent for stitchcraft inherited from mymother who was a tailor, or my grand-mother who was a talented seamstress.
“Traditional sewing and kitting craftswere an integral part of my childhoodand beyond. It is fantastic that I am nowable to pass on these wonderful heirloomskills that my own family taughtme, and I especially enjoy teach-ing my own children.
“For my own sewing machine Iuse my mum’s 60 year old indus-trial Singer – it is indestructibleand beautiful. I work with it and feel herpresence.”
Lisa believes there is a recent resur-gence of interest in traditional hand madestitchcraft. She said: “The recession hasforced many people to ‘make do andmend’ and to explore sewing and woolcrafts to save money and resources. Ahappy side effect of this is that stitchcraftis fun and, when infused with creativity itis an immensely satisfying thing to do.”
Littlebird School of Stitchcraft is cur-rently running a series of Creative Cafésin and around Charnwood, each focussing
on hand stitch-ing skills such
as knitting, sewing and crochet. In Janu-ary there will be a workshop runningover three consecutive weeks at Stonehillschool Birstall, focussing on machinesewing.
Littlebird also offers individually tai-lored ‘one to one’ sessions if preferred,or small group sessions.
“I am keen that the group sessions Irun have a strong social element. Theinteraction between the individuals oftenfosters creativity – this is why I often runthem in cafés – learners can discuss andchat with their peers while they work and
enjoy tea and cake! My own role is tofacilitate their learning, and encouragethem to enjoy the lessons. If learning isn’tenjoyable – it probably isn’t learning!”said Lisa.
For further information about theworkshops and classes visitwww.littlebirdsos.co.uk or call Lisa on07760232059.
Creative Cafés run Monday mornings10-12 at Stonehurst Farm teashop, Mount-sorrel and every Wednesday morning10-12 at Cooky’s café, Stonehill Ave, Bir-stall. They cost £5 for the first sessionwhich includes materials and £3.50 forsubsequent sessions. The focus of thesemeetings at the moment is on crochet.
A FORMER teacher at StonehillSchool, Captain of Birstall GolfClub and England hockey coachhas died.
Diane Batterham died on October30 aged 71, after a 10 year battlewith cancer.
She played hockey for Englandseven times in 1971 and latercoached the Great Britain ladies teamfrom 1987 to 1992, leading them toa bronze medal win at the 1992Olympics in Barcelona.
DAVIES & GREENWOOD, the SibsonRoad hairdressing and beauty sa-lon, went into administration onNovember 13. The Birstall salonopened in 2009.
STUDENTS AT Longslade Collegeheld a Citizenship Fayre in theschool hall.
As part of their Citizenship Course,students were advocating for volun-tary organisations, pressure groupsand charities by showing films, pre-senting their work and selling mer-chandise.
Stitchcraft with tea and cake
Pic: Lisa Pidgeon at her sewing machine
Di Batterham
Salon closes
Citizenshipfayre
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST10
I was pleased to read in the ParishCouncil Notes that it has been agreed fora Hearing Loop and Sound System to beinstalled in the Village Hall as I regularly
attend the Flower Club meetings whichare held there each month.
I thoroughly enjoy the flower arrange-ments being assembled BUT I hear verylittle of what the demonstrator is sayingand I know I miss out on some veryinteresting and funny talks. This is acommon problem when someone ishard of hearing and I am sure this Loop& Sound System will be very beneficialto a large number of people.
I hope this will be installed in thevery near future.
Pat Cooke
actually leave their office and come andhave a look both before and after?
As a regular user of both these roads,it would seem to me that it was just anexcuse to waste county money.
M Denningberg
We would like to thank everyone whosupported our ‘Lunches for Lifeboats’ onOctober 15. We are delighted to say that£731.53 was raised for the RNLI Leices-ter Branch new lifeboat fund, with afurther £289.90 taken from the sale ofRNLI souvenirs and cards.
Your generosity is really appreciated.John & Sheila Harrison, Front
Street
YOUR SAY...
The Birstall Post welcomes your viewsand opinions on any subject. Letters,which must include your name andaddress, (though not necessarily forpublication) can be posted to: The Bir-stall Post, Longslade College, WanlipLane, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4GH, orhanded in at Birstall library or email:[email protected]
Yet another un-thought out road im-provement in our village, firstly the chi-cane on Birstall Road, drivers exiting thevillage centre cannot get a good view ofwhat is coming into the village, severaltimes I have been forced to stop fortraffic leaving the village because driversapproach the chicane too fast, also Ihave had to make drivers reverse so thatI can turn right into Church Hill.
Now they have made the island at theentrance to Whiles Lane larger, do theynot realise that the exit from the Co-operative supermarket actually comesout onto the entrance road for WhilesLane, meaning that for a very short dis-tance drivers are actually on the wrongside of the road, this is not for driversto use as a means to get onto WanlipLane, I am very surprised that there hasnot been an accident there so far, whenI leave the Co-op car park I used to turnleft on to Whiles Lane and drive roundthe island thereby exiting Whiles Lanefrom the correct side of the road, this isnot now possible as one cannot get aswing due to the size of the island hav-ing been altered, can anybody tell mewhy it had to be made larger, after allWhiles Lane is not the busiest of roads inthe village, and in a time of cut backs,was the expense entirely necessary?
Who is in charge of the planning forthese so called improvements? Did they
I would like to put Mr Woods straight(letter page October edition) on matterswhich I hope will end this fiasco. Firstly,I never criticised the work done at theSt. James day care centre, if you hadpaid any attention to what I wrote youwould have realised that my point wasthat there are not the facilities in Birstallfor all ages (and not just the older gen-eration which I happen to be a memberof!). One small village hall could notpossibly hope to cater for a populationthe size of Birstall. As said before, otherCharnwood areas have been given newLeisure and Sports Centres (first Mount-sorrel and now Syston) and the othervillages seem to be maintained to a farhigher standard than Birstall and are farmore visually appealing. I notice thatQuorn is once again adorned with beau-tiful hanging baskets and other winterfloral displays - perhaps the Councilswould like to explain on this page whyBirstall does not get the same attention?I'm sure residents would be keen toknow. I have read that there is £15,000available to Birstall Parish Council tospend as they wish - might I suggestmaking the village centre more attractivefor residents and appealing to otherswho might be thinking of moving here?Replace the bus shelters with rusticwooden ones (like elsewhere in Charn-wood) and pretty up the place, why notgive Birstall a 'village' feel rather than a'city' one which it seems to have? Whatabout some attractive floral displays tomatch those in Quorn? Birstall alwayslooks like the poor relative.
Anne Godby
I would like to thank family, friendsand members of Birstall Bowling Clubfor their generous donations made toDerby, Leicestershire and Rutland AirAmbulance in memory of my husbandTony Mullins who passed away on Au-gust 15, 2011.
A total of £610 was raised which allhelps towards a very deserving lifesavingservice which relies on voluntary dona-tions.
I would also like to extend my thanksto Birstall Bowling Club members andpartners who went on the yearly bowlingtrip to Spain. Last year a fines systemwas set up and members’ misdemean-ours cost them a fine of 50cents, themoney collected was given to a nominat-ed charity. This year the DLR Air Ambu-lance was chosen.
Bowlers who bowled the wrong bias,used inappropriate language, dressedincorrectly, behaved badly or sat on thewrong seat on the bus all paid a fine of50cents. This causes a great deal ofamusement and fun not only for theBirstall Bowlers but also for the ex-patswe bowl against who are very willing tojoin in. John Hurst is the fine managerand does an excellent job, nobody getsaway with anything and even the bowlerswho tell on their friends get fined for‘snitching’. £115 was raised for the AirAmbulance. I can only say a big thankyou for all those who behaved badly.Birstall Bowling Club is a very friendlyclub and always ready to help others.
Thank youBarbara Mullins
The build up to Christmas and theNew Year is causing acute problems forAge UK Leicestershire & Rutland. Whilsttheir shops are doing particularly wellon sales, they are running into problemswith donations of saleable items and aredesperately short of stock, particularlyfurniture and bric-a-brac but also booksand clothing.
During and after the restive season,many people will be contemplating howthey will make space for their presentsor dispose of household furniture inorder to accommodate new purchasesmade in the sales. Our motto is ‘Don’tDump It, Donate It!’
All I can say is that we desperatelyneed help from the public so that wecan continue to help needy local olderpeople through the money which istaken through our shops. All of our 22charity shops around the two countieswill gladly accept donations whilst furni-ture can also be collected from homesby calling 0116 2781208
Please thank all your readers forletting me have their used postagestamps to help buy and train a GuideDog for the Blind. Please request thatthey keep saving as the need is alwaysthere. I’ve been donating stamps for 20years, donating 9 million stamps.
Thank you for your help, have a Mer-ry Christmas.
F B Savidge,18 Rose Tree Ave, Birstall
Birstall Royal British LegionDec 3: Krackle & Pop (duo)
Dec 10: Jessica (F/V)Dec 17: Sam Bailey (F/V)Christmas Eve: Rachel Ball
New Year’s Eve: Carl StevensDancing every Sat night with live en-
tertainmentBingo free meat raffle and not forget-
ting Open the BoxEvery Tues night Bingo starting at
9.30pmQuiz Nights Sunday 11th & Thurs 29th
starting at 9pmAcoustic night Sun Dec 18
Rock & Roll nights Wed 7th and 21st
Food available Sat 3rd & 10th, 12-2pmBookings taken for Christmas meals
on Sat Dec 17Open Bank Holiday Monday, 12-3pm
Wakes catered for• • •
Sat Dec 31Churches Together in
Birstall & Wanlip
New Year’s EveParty
8.30pm onwardsat Birstall Village Hall
A traditional party including dancing,quizzes, games
Bring your own drinks & glassesShared buffet super – savoury or
sweet dishesEntry by ticket £2
0116 2672606• • •
Dowsing EventCrystals expert Eric Henderson will be
the speaker at the next meeting ofLeics & Rutland Dowsing Group
to be held at St James’ Day CentreBirstall Village Hall
Saturday December 10Eric will talk about ‘the way that vari-
ous substances can affect the aura’The meeting will start at 10am
Everyone welcome• • •
Birstall & District LocalHistory Society
The next meeting will be heldon Thursday Dec 8 at 7.30pm
in Birstall Village Hall, Birstall Road,Birstall
‘My Life as a TillerGirl’
Speaker: Margaret HudsonVisitors are very welcome
• • •• • •
Christmas onCoupons
Rationing & Recipes from WW2Despite Wartime restrictions, peoplewere determined to celebrate Christ-
mas in styleFind out how they got around the
shortages to have festive season funTuesday December 6
7.30-9.30pmA talk at Birstall Library
by Nick MarshallCost £3 inc refreshments
Booking essential, please contactBirstall Library on 0116 305 8756
• • •
Vintage ChristmasTea Party
December 11, 1-5pmMountsorrel Memorial Hall, Leicester
RoadDancing, entertainment, home baked
cakes, tea served in vintage china,dainty sandwiches
In the theme of the Great BritishBake Off and nostalgia with a fun at-
mosphere• • •
To my customers in Birstall, may Isay a very Big Thank You for your giftsand good wishes on my retirement.
Phil Squires (Kirby & West milkman)
Hazel and I would once again like tothank everyone who contributed withgoods to help us fill 500 boxes for theSamaritans Purse Shoebox Appeal. Thisyear our boxes are going to Kiev. A spe-cial thank you to John & Anna, theRSPCA shop in Birstall, Footmedics,Michael on Leicester Market, Krismanson Melton Road, David & Siobhan, thelate Jean Best, all those people whodonated wool, and to all our fabulousknitters. To everyone who supported ourfundraising events from the childrenwho will receive these boxes. A Very BigThank You. Hopefully we will be thank-ing you again next year as we have al-ready started to collect items for ourboxes.
Daphne Stephenson
The staff and volunteers at St JamesDay Centre would like to thank all thosewho supported their coffee morning onNovember 12 at the Methodist coffeeshop. We raised £135, so once again,thank you.
Christine Winfield
In response to Mr J Woods and theanonymous writer of the letter 'PutStraight' on October's edition of theBirstall Post; I am composing this letterhaving just put down the telephone toCharnwood Borough Council. This wasone of many calls I make to them toreport criminal damage in Birstall andin particular, graffiti, that is once againappearing throughout the village. I seethis as 'getting off my backside' andtaking positive action in trying to keepthe area looking as pleasant as it can be.Each time I make these calls I wonderwhy local councillors and the Neighbour-hood Watch committee fail to 'see' thisgraffiti, particularly as it is well docu-mented that environmental decline is acontributory factor in attracting crimeand anti-social behaviour. I note that thegreen box outside the Methodist churchhas had graffiti on it for several monthswhen a local councillor lives a veryshort distance away. And who could failto see the graffiti (that is more like amural) on the wall between the petrolstation and Station Road on the A6? Ifyou haven't seen it, please take a look asyou drive past, perhaps you will thennotice the difference when it is eventual-ly removed.
D Jones
Soar Valley Music CentreJunior Orchestra
Symphony OrchestraSoloists & Ensembles
Present
A Selection ofChristmas Music
with carols for audience participationBirstall Methodist church
Friday December 16 at 7.30pmBookings can be made through SoarValley Music Centre: 0116 2664153,
or pay at the door• • •
Birstall Methodist Thursday GroupInvite you to a
Christmas Concertwith Ann Hughes
at Birstall Methodist ChurchThursday Dec 15 at 7.30pm
No admission charge, but donationswelcomed to support Alzheimer’sSociety and Renal Unit at Loughbor-
ough Road• • •
Charnwood Conservative Association
Christmas FairSat Dec 10
10am till noon, admission 50pRt Hon Stephen Dorrell MP will be
attendingRaffle, tombola, books, produce
stalls, games, cakes, bric-a-brac etc• • •
St James the Great, Birstall
ChristingleSunday December 11 at 11am
A candlelit service in aid of the Chil-dren’s Society
• • •
Noticeboardall details printed free
Continued from page 10
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks
Thanks
Graffiti
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 13
Syston Band
Christmas ConcertSaturday December 17, 7.30pm
Syston Methodist Church, High Street,Syston
Tickets £5 inccomplimentary mince pie
For details or reservations0116 2675823
Accompanied children free• • •
Film PresentationsFrom Thurcaston & Cropston Parish
Council‘Nativity’
Friday December 9 (105 mins)This delightful comedy shows an innova-tive musical re-enactment of the nativity.
A primary school teacher, played by MartinFreeman, has the biggest challenge of his
life, to lure the Hollywood producer towatch his school’s performance. This mov-
ing story becomes one of the happiestChristmas films you will ever see.
‘Water for Elephants’Friday January 13 (120 mins)
Based on a best selling novel, this filmfollows an unexpected romance betweenveterinary student, Jacob, and Marlena,
the star performer in a circus. Their com-passion for a special elephant shinesthrough. Jacob is on the threshold of a
huge career but for Marlena, the circus isher only life. Will her husband take re-
venge?
‘Larry Crowne’Friday February 10 (99 mins)‘Jane Eyre’ will be shown in April
Thurcaston & Cropston Parish Council willbe showing these films at Thurcaston Me-morial Hall. Starting at 7.30pm, ticketscost £4.50 and concessions are £4. Theprice includes refreshments and a lucky
prize draw.Advance tickets can be purchased via theparish office, 0116 2367626 or at the
door.• • •
The Heart of EnglandBarbershop Chorus
Charity SingingNight
in aid of LOROSBirstall Social Club
Friday December 16 at 7.30pmGuests from choruses around the East
MidlandsEntry by donation at the door
• • •
Birstall Social Club,Wanlip Lane
Come & dance the night awayEvery Tues & Sat night
Ballroom & sequence dancingCash Raffle Thurs
Bingo Thurs, Sat & SunGames room
Secure parkingNew members welcome
Function rooms availableNew Year’s Eve Disco and family
night - bring the kids• • •
Birstall Scout Group
Festive FairSaturday December 10 at 10am
Scout HQ, Birstall Road
Adults 20p, children free• • •
Open House Informal WorshipSt James Church, Church Hill
Sunday December 11 at 11amDo come along and join us for our
Christingle ServiceThis lively, short act of worship is for
all ages• • •
Carols for AllWednesday December 21
7.30pm, St James Church, BirstallCome and sing!
Free admission, refreshmentsAll welcome
• • •St James Day Care Centre 200 Club
Results for November1st Matthew Ball
2nd Mrs Ann Green3rd Mrs Kate Mobbs
4th Miss Shelagh Noble• • •
Christmas CoffeeMorning
In aid of Christian AidSaturday December 17
10am to 12noonBirstall Methodist Church
• • •
Cheeky Cherubs Parent& Toddler Group
Birth-4yrsEvery Monday 10-12 at Birstall Meth-
odist RoomWarm friendly atmosphere
Separate baby sectionGreat place for parents to come &
meet othersLots of fun, crafts & healthy snack for
childrenTeas & coffees for adults
No commitment, just turn upIf you would like more details please
call Paula on 07934551563Hope to see you there
• • •
Christmas CoffeeMorning
Friday December 16St James Church10am to 12noon
Bring & Buy, RaffleCoffee & Cake £1
• • •
Christmas DayInformal Family Service
With CommunionSt James Church, Church Hill
Sunday December 25 at 10amCome along and celebrate Christmas –
everyone welcome• • •
CLASHCommunity Leicester Arthritis Self
HelpFree Computer Classes for beginners
held weeklyat Palmer Tomkinson Centre, Longs-
ladeEvery Thursday starting Thursday Jan-
uary 12 – March 29
Every week, 3.30-4.30pm supportedby college students
Learn how to use the Internet, emailand lots more
For further information call Chris on07954584402 or Charlotte on
07572811436• • •
Birstall PoolThe pool will be closed for the Christ-mas holidays on Thursday Dec 22 at9pm and re-open on Wednesday Jan
4 at 11amSwimming lessons for children are
held Mon-Fri, 4-6pm and on Saturdaymornings
Pool staff are fully trained, friendlyand experienced
Contact the pool to arrange an assess-ment appointment for your child
Come & try out a variety of physicalactivity sessions without breaking
the bankSessions are FREE or just £1!
Open to all adults 16+For more info or to get your MM4Lactivity brochure please contact theActive Together team on 01509632535 or email active together @
charnwood.gov.uk• • •
The Helen O’GradyDrama Academy
For children aged 5-17aims to give children confidence and
communication skillsSyston Methodist Church Hall, High
Street, LE7 1GPBeth: 01664 569 738
www.helenogrady.co.uk• • •
Rainbow Co-opera-tive Pre-School
PlaygroupCo-op Sports and Social Ground, Bir-
stall Road, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4DEHelp your child to ‘learn through play’
by bringing them along to our pre-school to have fun in our friendly,
safe environment• NEG funding for eligible 3 & 4 year
olds• places available from 2 years of age• 3 hr sessions, 5 days a week, term
time• high adult to child ratio of friendly
qualified staff• secure outdoor play area• taster session available
Call: Julie 07793630612 or 2671828;Trish 07733394236 or 2210185
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST14
A GARDEN at a Birstall Preschool was given a tidy up whenparents volunteered to help out.
with tunnels throughthe undergrowth forthe young adventurersto explore!”
Alexander Taylor (18) a member ofthe 1947 Birstall Squadron, will be oneof three cadets that are chosen eachyear for this duty, after demonstratingoutstanding achievement with their corps.
Alex (18) is a student at LongsladeCollege and joined the ATC in 2001.
His Commanding Officer Paul Vissanisaid: “Cadet Warrant Officer Taylor iskeen to keep Squadron standards attheir high level and actively promotesthis with his NCO colleagues and junior
cadets. He mixes well with adult staffand plays a vital link ensuring good staffand cadet relations. I am highly confi-dent that his performance as a LordLieutenant’s Cadet will be a credit to theSquadron, Wing and Corps.”
The two other cadets selected wereJasmine Smith (16) from Burbage andCliodhna Betts (16) from Thorpe Astley.The trio attended an investiture ceremo-ny attended by the Lord Lieutenant LadyGretton in October.
She said: “I am delighted to welcomemy three new cadets. I am very fortunateto be able to draw up such an able andtalented group of cadets, and whether itis leading the procession at the Countyservice, acting as a wreath bearer onRemembrance Sunday or an importantduty at a Royal engagement, it is reassur-ing to know that I am being supportedso competently by my cadets.”Pic: Lady Gretton with Cadet Alex Tay-lor
A BIRSTALL ATC cadet has been selected to accompany theLord Lieutenant of Leicestershire on her official duties.
The Acorn Under Fives garden atHighcliffe school was substantially devel-oped last year to provide a large out-door play area for the children.
Spokeswoman Jacqui Booth said:“Like any other garden it needs mainte-nance from time to time! We were reallypleased that so many parents turned outto help us achieve this in October andwould like to thank them all for givingup their time and the effort they put intomaking the garden a great learning envi-
ronment for the preschool-ers.
“These are raised bedsfor growing fruit and veg,compost bins, and sandpitand a tree house. There’seven an overgrown area
Garden for playand learning
Cadet chosen forofficial duties
The January issue ofTHE BIRSTALL POST
will be published on Jan 7.The copy deadline is Dec 19.
SERVICING & REPAIRSto all makes of vehicle• Cambelts fitted• Specialist in Engine
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• All electrical work &wiring faults undertaken
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Unit 8, 59 Sibson Rd, Birstall (rear of Posy Bowl)
All Major Credit & Debit Cards Accepted
MOT’sarranged
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 15
The club played four matches duringthe week-long stay winning one andlosing three.
First up was a trip to Cabrera BCwhich Birstall narrowly lost 75-86. TopBirstall rink was Val Hollis, BarbaraMullins, Rick Everitt and John Hurst whowon 19-13.
The second game was against AlmeriaBC and resulted in a 67-80 defeat.Barbara Mullins, Dick Sharpe, JanEveritt and Andy Wye were Birstall’s onlywinning rink with an 18-11 victory.
This was followed up with a secondvisit to Cabrera and the only victory,100-67. Two rinks won well with Mal-colm Wright, Diane Hartop, John Hurstand Dave Clarke winning 36-6 to taketop rink.
The last game was against Indalo BCwho play on a carpet as opposed to thegrass that the tourists were used to. Theexperience of the surface told as Birstalllost 55-97. The only victorious Birstallrink was Duncan Brown, Dave Amey,Bob Cooper and John Hurst who won
17-14.During the tour, fines were given out
to everyone for various misdemeanoursand as a result£115 wasraised for theDerbyshire,Leicestershireand RutlandAir Ambulance(DLRAA).
Before theseason ended,the club playedthe annualcharity matchagainst RusheyMead for theSt John Trophy.
Birstall won the match and £150 wasraised for the local St John Ambulancebranch which included a £50 contribu-tion from Rushey Mead.
THE ROUTE of the park and ride busservice from Birstall to Leicester cityis being altered to make the journeyquicker.
Instead of coming into the city alongLoughborough Road and Belgrave Road,the route will now run down Abbey Laneand Abbey Park Road. The change cameinto effect on November 7.
The decision by Leicester City Councilfollows suggestions by local businessesand passengers that the change wouldimprove the service, which began in July.Only about 10 passengers a week cur-rently use the park and ride bus stopson Belgrave Road.
The new route means passengers whopreviously used the Belgrave Road busstops can now use the new stops outsideand opposite Leicester College, eitherside of the flyover at Belgrave Gate.
Abbey Lane and Abbey Park Road areseen as faster ways of getting into thecity, which will potentially attract passen-gers travelling to Leicester College.
FOUR PLANNED play areas in the Hal-lam Fields estate will be managedand maintained by Birstall ParishCouncil.
The Council agreed to accept owner-ship and responsibility for the first playarea at its November meeting, subject tothe area being fenced. It was agreed inprinciple to adopt the remaining playareas.
Developers Jelson will provide theequipment for the play areas and a sumof £135,000 (2004 price, index linked)to be shared between the four sites.
The first site will be provided withinthe Westleigh Homes site in the northeast corner of Hallam Fields.
Charnwood, the County Council andJelson are still to negotiate a revised 106agreement of developer contributions,following the County’s decision not tobuild a primary school at Hallam Fields.
Charnwood will continue to press fora sports pavilion, sports pitches andinformal open space. The ownership ofthese facilities may also be taken on byBirstall Parish Council but a decisionwill not be made until the full financialimplications and management responsi-bilities have been provided.
Grass beside the balancing ponds willbe mowed by Charnwood and grassbeside the highway by the County Coun-cil. The mowing of some incidental are-as will in principle be accepted byBirstall Parish Council, subject to ashare of the sum provided by Jelson aspart of the 106 agreement.
• Local councillors are unhappy atthe County’s decision not to build aschool at Hallam Fields and are urging itto reconsider. The County says it willexpand Riverside school to accommo-date the children.
A FEW days after the outdoor season finished at Birstall BowlingClub, around 30 players and guests jetted off to Spain for the annu-al tour to Mojacar.
Pic: Birstall bowlers and their hosts at the Indalo Bowls Club, Spain
Pic: (l-r) Doug Simnor (Rushey Mead BC), Paul Smith (CountyOfficer, St John Ambulance), Grahame White (Birstall BC)
Hallamplay area
Club’s Spanish trip Park &ride route
BirstallDental Practicewishes all our patientsa Merry Christmas & a
Open 6 days a weekincluding Bank HolidaysOPEN: Tue-Sun 5pm - 11pm
Birstall TandooriWelcome to the Palace of Taste & Hospitality
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST16
AS THE festive season of Christmas isfast approaching, Birstall & WanlipNeighbourhood watch would like towish all the residents and members aMerry Christmas and a Happy andcrime free New Year.
Thank you all for your support and
commitment to Neighbourhood Watchthroughout the year.
In the run up to Christmas most of uswill be very busy going shopping to buypresents and gifts for loved ones. In thehustle and bustle of festive shopping it isvery easy to get distracted especially incrowded shops: this could afford oppor-tunities for the thief and heartbreak foryou and the family.
Listed below are some useful securitytips for enjoying a safe Christmas.
• While out shopping keep your purseor wallet close to your body and carryas little cash as possible. Be vigilantwhen withdrawing money from an ATM.Protect your PIN number, always shieldthe keypad with your hand.
• Keep chequebook and cheque cardseparate.
• Do not leave presents and bags onshow in vehicle as easy pickings.
• Remind children and young peopleto be extra careful not to give out per-sonal information to people they don'tknow or to enter their bank details, fullname, address, email, telephone numberand any key password information onun-trusted websites.
• Check your Christmas lights con-form to the British standard. Always usean RCD on outdoor electrical equipment.
• Don’t leave your presents and giftsunder your Christmas tree or on view.
• Never place candles near Christmastree and don’t leave them burning unat-tended.
• Remember to turn off fairy lightsand blow out candles before heading tobed. And check that your smoke alarmsare working.
• Drink reasonably, enjoy the festivi-ties but be aware of your surroundingsand plan how you will get home safely ,arrange to travel home with friends andonly use minicabs that are licensed. Donot drink and Drive.
• Keep an eye on vulnerable andelderly neighbours. If they are on theirown consider inviting them to join youand your family for Christmas.
• If you are expecting a gift deliveryor parcel, make sure there is someoneat home to receive it or a neighbourwho can look after it until you return,rather than having it left on the doorstep
• Don't leave boxes or other wrap-ping from your gifts outside for therefuse collectors until the last moment,as it announces to thieves that goodsworth stealing are inside
Raj TaraCommittee Member,
Birstall & Wanlip NHW
“The show was an adaptation of themuch loved musical ‘Oliver!’ PrincipalTracy Liggins said: “With a superb venuelike the Peepul Centre, it gives the stu-dents at Starlight a great opportunity toappear in a full length musical at aworking theatre.”
Stage class students are now workingtowards competitions held in the earlypart of 2012 followed by their danceshow in the spring. For enquiries regard-ing enrolment please ring 01162355495 or visit their website.
www.starlighttheatreschool.com
NHW news& crime report
Crime Report: Oct 10-Nov 14Assaults 4, harassment 1, burglary 8,
burglary non-dwelling 4, damage 7,damage to motor vehicle 7, drugs 1,fraud 7, theft 7, theft of cycle 3, theftfrom motor vehicle 5, theft of motorvehicle 1, theft stores 3
Two well known burglars were arrest-ed after being stopped by Police in a carthat was stolen 10 hours before. Theseprolific burglars, with support from theCrown Prosecution Services, could beput in prison over the Christmas period.This will hopefully significantly reducethe number of victims.From PC 2139 Richard Carruthers,PCSO 6611 Mark Butler
To leave a message for an officer, dialthe new Police number, 101, and enterthe collar number.
PEOPLE GATHERED to remember thefallen at Birstall’s war memorial onNovember 11 at 11am.
STARLIGHT THEATRE school’s production of ‘Food Glorious Food’ ran forthree nights to a sell out audience at the Peepul Centre in Leicester.
Starlight studentsshine in musical
Act ofRemembranceR.W.S.
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 17
BY THE beginning of December, mostpeople are feeling that the count-down to Christmas has begun.
Even in a recession, we take to theshops, looking for Christmas presentsand Christmas food. Supermarkets andstores play the annual repertoire ofChristmas songs, town lights areswitched on to encourage us out on thedarker, colder nights, and schools areplanning their Nativity plays, parties andcarol concerts.Christmas tradition
One of the most traditional aspects ofChristmas, which many of us rememberwell from our childhood, is the singingof carols. They seem to have been withus from time immemorial, althoughmany of them were written down by thehymn-loving Victorians. The words of‘The first Nowell’ were French (Nowell =noel = birthday,) but it is sung to a veryold, Cornish folk- song tune. “The hollyand the ivy” has images of both Chris-tian and pagan customs but the tune isan old French carol. Other well -known carols such as ‘Once in royalDavid’s city’, ‘In the bleak midwinter’and ‘We three kings’ were all written inthe mid 19th century.Finding your voice at Christmas
The famous King’s College choir serv-ice at Christmas on television gives ussublime singing and wonderful atmos-phere, but singing carols ourselves is adifferent and no less enjoyable experi-ence. There are a number of carolservices and concerts at all the churchesin Birstall and Wanlip, to which every-one is welcome (see noticeboard).
On Sunday December 18 at Wanlipchurch there is a service of Nine lessonsand carols at 6pm or, for a more infor-mal service of carols and readings,come to Wanlip at 6pm on Monday 19.At St James, in addition to the popularCrib service at 4pm and the 11.30pmMidnight Mass on Christmas Eve, we areinviting everyone to a fun evening of‘Carols for All’ on Wednesday December21 at 7.30pm, to sing some favouritecarols together and enjoy some seasonalrefreshments. Admission free. (For helpwith transport phone 2674913).To celebrate the New Year
The final social event of the year willbe the Churches Together New Year’sEve party in the village hall on the 31stat 8pm. For information and ticketscontact Joan on 2672010.
Once the effects of the Christmasturkey and New Year celebrations haveworn off, you might like to consider aguided walk through Bradgate Park onSaturday January 7 from 12pm to 3pm.For more details contact Rose Parrott on07811 662235.
Finally, a very happy and peacefulChristmas to everyone in this parish,from the clergy and congregations of StJames, Birstall and Our Lady and StNicholas, Wanlip.
From Beryl McHugh,Parish churches
PUPILS FROM Birstallbased ‘Steps School of The-atre Dance’ enjoyed suc-cess at Lutterworth Dancefestival.
Pupils from the festival classcompeted over two weekendsagainst 14 other dance schoolsacross the country and came awaywith 33 trophies and a number ofmedals.
Principal Michelle Upton alsowon the overall teachers trophy forchoreography. She said: “The festi-val class has only been running for18 months and in that time allpupils have been working very hard,it’s fantastic that all their hard workhas paid off.”Pic: trophy winning pupils fromthe Steps School of TheatreDance
Trophy winning dancers
Christmas concert given by ‘Sing for Fun’whose director is Anne Hughes.
Tuesday December 20 at 7pm is a‘Peace Light’ service with youngsters fromRiverside School where we will receiveand distribute a candle flame that hastravelled from Bethlehem.
Midnight Communion on ChristmasEve starts at 11.15pm led by Rev JackHanson. As with most of the events, justturn up. There are no ‘conditions’. Allare welcome.
Christmas Day itself, the Family Serv-ice is at 10am (not 10.30 as is usual ona Sunday) led by Rev Rachel Parkinson.Bring along a Christmas gift to show toothers.
Christmas can be stressful (it musthave been for Mary travelling to Bethle-hem 2000 years ago) but do find an
Join us for ChristmasIn Advent there are a variety of spe-
cial services to which anyone and every-one is most welcome.
On the 4th is our ‘Toy’ service - partof the local ‘Toys on the Table in Charn-wood’ project. Ann Jeffs from Loughbor-ough will receive the toys on behalf of
less well-off families. They are quitedesperate this year as various grantshave been withdrawn. Bring along a toy,which is new or in reasonable condition.
For families, a Christmas session ofMessy Church will take place on Satur-day 17th from 4 till 6pm with a “bringand share” party tea. Throughout De-cember, look out for opportunities to‘Get in the Picture’. Dress up and have aspecial nativity shot of you and yourfriends taken in our “Bethlehem photostudio” which you can then downloadfor cards and gifts.
Sunday December 18 sees our SundayClub put on a short nativity play in ourmorning service. The popular eveningcarols service will be candlelit as usual.
Thursday 15th in the evening ourladies Thursday Group are holding a
opportunity, either with us, or one of theother local churches, to find a few min-utes to remember the true meaning ofChristmas. All the services and eventslisted are free, but a collection will betaken at most events.Other News
The Church Council has agreed theworship area is to be refurbished. Thefirst change will be replacing the highwindows with double glazed units.
The date for the 2012 Men’s Panto-mime is fixed for February 14-18, which,as usual, is half term week. Tickets goon sale in the New Year.
From Tony Moore,Methodist church
Church news
Continued on page 18
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST18
Carol ServiceIt’s December already! How quickly
this year has gone and many of us arenow busy preparing for Christmas. Asyou may know, December 25 was notthe actual date of the birth of JesusChrist, but was chosen as a convenientdate to celebrate His incarnation, whichhappened some two thousand years ago.We hope that you will find time to comeand celebrate this important event withus, and listen to “the reason for theseason”, and we give you a warm invita-tion to join us for our Carol Service,
which will be held on Sunday December18 at the Community Room, HighcliffePrimary School and Community Centre,Greengate Lane, Birstall, Leicester, LE43DL at 10.45am The service will lastabout an hour and will be followed, asusual, by free tea and coffee.Village Craft Fair
On Friday December 2 we are havinga table at Birstall’s Craft Fair in the Vil-lage Hall, School Lane when, on behalfof the Lodge Trust, we will be sellingcards and craft items made by the resi-dents. The Lodge Trust, based at MarketOverton in Rutland, exists to make aChristian provision for adults with learn-
ing disabilities and is registered with theCare Quality Commission to provide CareHome Services without nursing.Christmas Services
We are not able to meet in the Com-munity Room over the Christmas holidayperiod, but we will be having services,so please contact us for details. Forfurther information about this or anyother query about the church or Christi-anity, then please ring 0116 2214883.
All of us at B.I.B.C. wish you a veryhappy Christmas and every blessing forthe New Year.
From Anne Taylor,Birstall Independent Baptist Church
ART AND Design students at Longslade College visited Venice andFlorence during a trip to Italy in October.
“I think the highlight of the trip was themask making workshop in Venice” saidHannah Wyglendacz, Assistant Faculty
Leader, Design & Technology Department.“It was creative and taught the students
the history of the Venetian mask and carni-val. Students were able to spend two hoursdesigning and painting their own creations.The finished masks were fabulous and
students managed to get them home with-out any accidents! We then visited thePeggy Guggenheim Collection where the
paintings and sculptures gaveour students an opportunityto sketch ideas for theirprojects back at college.
“On the final night we allwent out for a meal togetherto share our highlights of thetrip. Amidst the pizza andpasta students shared theirbest moments. “The sunsetover St Marks Square”, “Ilearnt lots about the historyand culture of Venetianmasks” and “Our first tripalong the Grand Canal”.
“The trip was great fun and allowed thestudents and teachers the opportunity towork together in and out of school con-text that was fun, strengthened learningand built relationships. The students werea credit to the college and we look for-ward to arranging our next Art and Designtrip abroad!”
PROPERTY DEVELOPERS Jelson sawtheir profits fall by 62 per cent lastyear.
Developers of Birstall’s Hallam Fields,Jelson saw their profits fall from£4.85million in 2009/10 to£1.83million in 2010/11.
Turnover also dropped from£61.2million to £60.6million. the com-pany was founded in 1889 and is ownedby the Jelley family.
Continued from page 17
College students’Italian trip
Jelson profits
Longslade Community College, Wanlip Lane, Birstall
Employment of Exam InvigilatorsJan/March/May & June 2012
Longslade Community College wishes to employ Invigilators to work on a casual basis duringthe above examination periods. There will always be a Senior Invigilator in charge.
Invigilators will be paid at the current LEA rate of pay of £7.73 per hour and be employed forperiods of between 1 and 3 hours in an examination session.
An initial one-hour training session will be provided for all invigilators and it is a requirementof the appointment that this is attended.
If you are interested in some part-time casual employment please telephone 0116 2670806and leave your name, address and telephone number, an application form and job profile willbe sent to you.Alternatively ask to speak to Suzanne Collins (Exams Officer) if you have any questions.Closing date for applications 12noon, Wednesday Dec 16. All information can also be found onthe College website: www.longslade.leics.sch.uk
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DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 19
BIRSTALL & DISTRICTArt Society held its17th annual exhibitionat the village hall inNovember.
“We were verypleased to see all thepeople who visited theexhibition and made itsuch an enjoyable event,more than 600 peoplecame through the doorsand enjoyed our displayof paintings and morethan 40 were sold, sowe must be doing some-thing right” said thesociety’s secretary MaryHoughton.
The prizewinners thisyear were: Sue Phippsfor Landscape, BillBenbow for Still Life,Bill Pepper for oils andMaya Patel (a juniormember) for the bestpastel.
Margaret Pritchardwon the Norman Simsprize for the best water-colour, CharlotteStephenson the prizefor the best acrylic andSylvia Alexander for themost imaginative paint-ing.
The raffle for AlanOliver’s painting raised£350 for LOROS andwas won by Mrs PamMartin of 39 LeicesterRoad, Mountsorrel.
The award for ‘Bestin Show’ will be report-ed in the January Bir-stall Post.
Feast for the eyes
Pic: Sue Phipps
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It was originally a Playgroup foundedto provide a safe place within the com-munity for under school age children toplay together and parents to meet otherparents, with children of a similar age.
In October, the pre-school held anopen afternoon, inviting people to comealong and celebrate with them, to lookat old photos, to have a chat, some cakeand a drink.
The church also held a service to
mark this special occasion, on the Sun-day. Everybody from the pre-schoolwould like to thank all of those that havesupported the group over the years andcontinue to do so.
The group now has places for 30children each day, aged from 2 years oldto school entrance age.
Beryl Massey, the original founder ofthe group, said: “Things have changedso much since when we started, therewas nowhere as much equipment availa-ble for the children to play with and wedidn’t have the wonderful covered out-side play area that they have now. In theearly days, the children where only thereto play and socialise, now the play ismore structured, to fit in with the EarlyYears curriculum, which encourages thechildren to learn through play and helpthem get ready for mainstream school.”Pic: Some of the past and present staffwith their Birthday cake (l-r) back: ElaineGoodman, Debra Gale, Sue Faulkner, Debo-rah Hanson, Sue Townsend, ChristineTilford, Beryl Massey (Original Founder),Laura Freer [Joint Leader). Front: KayHilton (Joint Leader), Andrea Swift, JeanGale.
THE FRIENDS of Belgrave Cem-etery are at present puttingtogether information for abooklet about this Victorianresting place.
If you have relations who areburied here and have memoriesor old photographs of themwhich you would be preparedto share with others, the Friendswould be very pleased to hearfrom you.
The idea of the booklet is togive information about the histo-ry of the cemetery, details of thelayout of the graves which willmake it easier to find lost rest-ing places and to celebrate andenhance names and dates onthe memorials with a smallparagraph about their liveswhich will put faces to some ofthe names.
A spokesman said: “A mem-ber of the Friends said, “I thinkthis is a great idea! It will putfaces on some of my eight rela-tives buried here, how theydressed and give a little idea ofwhat their lives were like andalso what they did for a living.
“We are only interested ingeneral matters – we don’texpect very personal details. Wearen’t expecting huge amountsof information, but even a littleinteresting snippet will bringthese people back to life for theyounger generation and also forgenealogists of the future.”
If you think you can help,please contact Sandra Moore on0116 2363739 or e-mail [email protected]
If you haven’t visited thecemetery before it is at the RedHill flyover; approach fromdown Red Hill Way and turn leftinto the cemetery gates justbefore the A6 turning towardsLoughborough. There is usuallya member at the site every Sun-day morning between 10 amand 12 noon. Further informa-tion can be obtained from MrsDorothy Marshall on 01162672018 [email protected]
A SIXTEEN year old student at LongsladeCollege ran 30 laps of a school playing fieldto raise money for charity.
Dan Middleton, of Greengate Lane, ran 15miles around the Stonehill playing field for theBlue Lamp Foundation, set up by PC DavidRathband, the Policeman shot and blinded byRaoul Moat.
Dan chose tosupport the charityas part of his Person-al Development les-sons at Longslade. “Ibelieve any moneyraised for him andhis charity would bevery helpful and allthe money goes tothe emergency servic-es” said Dan.
The Blue Lamp Foundation relieves the finan-cial hardship that some personnel of the emer-gency services face after being injured while onduty.
THE BIRSTALL Methodist Pre-school, based at the MethodistChurch, was founded 40 years ago this year.
MEMBERS OF Redhill Revolvers pistol clubtook part in an open competition run by theUBC at Coventry in October.
They won several medals with Claire Jacksontaking the silver in the Ladies event.Pic: (l-r) Andy Brown, Steve Hancock, John Mas-terson, Claire Jackson and Ady Gathercole
AN 8 year old boy accidentally left hismicro-scooter outside the Post Office onHannah Parade on Tuesday November 15.
When his parents went back to collect itlater, it was no longer there.
CCTV from the Post Office shows thatabout 8pm later the same evening an elderlylady was seen taking the scooter, possiblyjust to keep it safe and prevent it being sto-len.
If this was you, can you please return itto the Post Office, where the rightful ownerwill collect it.
460 PEOPLE have signed apetition after the 99 busservice was axed in October.
The service, operated on a commer-cial basis by Paul Winson Coaches, wasused by many elderly people in the vil-lage to get into Birstall centre and back.
The service was cut because it wasnot commercially viable.
The petition is urging the CountyCouncil to do what it can to persuadeand support commercial operators tore-route their existing services.
Birstall’s County Councillor RogerWilson is supporting the petition. Hesaid: “I fear this will impact dispropor-tionately on the elderly and disabled.Residents need access to local servicesand the current loss of buses will meanmany will have to struggle through thewinter which is widely expected to be asbad as last year. I urge the council tolook at this again.”
A Transport Scrutiny Review Panel atCounty Hall will be considering subsi-dised bus services when it next meets onJanuary 13.
A County Council spokesman said:“The petition will be considered by theCharnwood Highways Forum. We havespoken to Centrebus about the possibili-ty of extending an existing bus route tocover the area in question, but this hasbeen ruled out.”
Council subsidised bus services arebeing cut throughout the country. Fig-ures obtained by the campaign for BetterTransport show that spending cuts haveseen 1 in 5 supported bus services beingcut, with more planned. In the last year1114 bus services have been cut in theEnglish regions resulting in a £36millionsaving.
A Campaign for Better Transportspokesman said: “Council bus cuts arebeing made at a time when commercialbus services are also being hit hard bythe cuts. A 20 per cent cut to the fueltax rebate for buses, called BSOG, willcome into force in 2012. This will com-bine with changes to the formula usedby councils to calculate the way compa-nies are reimbursed for carrying buspass holders. Together these changesmean £100million in funding being lostfrom the bus network. Buses could betipped into a spiral of decline fromwhich they will struggle to recover.”
• Community Transport services runby volunteers are available to the elderly,mobility impaired or the rurally isolated.For details, contact Loughborough Dial-a-ride on 01509 267147 or LeicesterDial-a-ride on 0116 221457
A CHEERLEADING class that meets in Birstall offers a twohour class for £7.
BIRSTALL’S LAMBOURNE Café haslaunched a meal delivery service.
The café on Lambourne Road is runby Dawn Kilsby and Colleen Bird and theidea came when Dawn struggled to finda meals-on-wheels type service for herelderly mum.
Dawn said: “The service isn’t just forthe elderly, but for busy professionals oranybody who just wants the convenienceof delicious homemade food brought totheir door.”
Dawn and Colleen make all the mealsthemselves using fresh local ingredients.Colleen said: “We pride ourselves onmaking home cooked meals and haveonly heard good feedback about ourcooking – word of mouth has reallyhelped our café grow and succeed.”
Meals can be delivered either freshor frozen - to find out more or to sam-ple the food call in at the café or call07591 292279
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 21
THE TEA room at the GCR’s Rothleystation is being extended to copewith increasing demand.
Opened three years ago in a convert-ed former grain store, the Ellis TeaRoom had 26 seats and quickly becamefull, especially during gala events.
The newly extended building will have46 seats. The £35,000 project wasboosted by a £10,000 grant from theCounty Council.
The Amy Owen School of Cheer trainson a Wednesday evening at Stonehillschool – each lesson for 5-11 year olds
features an hour of gymnastics and anhour of stunt and dance.
Classes for 11+ are 2.5 hours andcost £7.50.
Amy Owen said: “These are non com-petitive cheerleading classes wherecheerleaders and parents can enjoy thesport of cheerleading without all theextra costs and commitments of compe-titions. Cheerleaders will now worktowards achieving set targets with ourbrand new awards scheme where individ-ual cheerleaders will each be awardedwith a medal for demonstrating setcheerleading skills.”
Amy’s Dynamite cheerleaders cannow also provide you with cheerleadingparties featuring routines, games andprizes to entertain your party guests.
or ice cream•Home Delivery Service:Fresh Meals to your door
1 Lambourne RdMon-Fri: 8.30am - 4pm
(3pm Wed)Sat: 8.30am - 2pm
Tel: 07591 292279
Home CarersRequiredAre you a caring person?Like varied work & job satisfaction?Join our team of carers in the Mountsorrel,Cropston, Quorn, Sileby, Syston, Birstall &Wymeswold areas.Flexible shifts, 10-40 hrs per week, & morn-ings, evenings and weekends available.No experience required as all training will beprovided.Up to £7.25hr, plus travel expenses. Tele-phone essential. Ring Debbie between8.30am & 4.30pm for more information on0116 2696247 (quoting reference BP)
Help At Home (Egerton Lodge) Ltd
AIRPORT CARS Birstall. Airports, Sea-ports, Long Distance, Courier. Tel: 07771984806
TELEPHONE EXTENSION Sockets fitted byex-BT engineer. Cable, BT and digitalTV. Over 25 yrs experience. John2675132
AMLI DESIGN Architectural Consultancy.Plans drawn and submitted. Extensions,conversions, new build. David IvesB.Sc.(Hons) FBEng MCIOB 01162674395 / 07974807111www.amlidesign.co.uk
REX BRISLAND, guitarist, singer, poet,special man. In my thoughts all thetime. Looking forward to seeing youagain. With love Shelagh
FOR SALE Grey ski trousers, size 32”offers around £8. Black judo/karate suit170cm, offers around £8. Golf drivingpractice mat plus 2 caps & golf balls £4.Please call Leic 2671527
DOUBLE CARAVAN step. Strong tubularsteel with non-slip rubber tread. £20.Tel 079 745 187 70 or 0116 2671922Cat carry basket. Plastic, easy to clean,attached feeding bowl £10 Tel: 079745 187 70 or 0116 2671922. Pair of
‘Silver Wedding’ china cups and saucersin an attractive box. £8 Tel: 079 745187 70 or 0116 2671922
BOXED “me to you bears” new birthday,one for 18 yrs old, one for 21 yrs old£5 each Tel: 07874187895 “Birstall”
JESSOP: Wanted to contact anyone withknowledge of “Joseph Jessop & Son”,Engineers, Leiceser 1866-1900. Pleaseemail:[email protected]
LOOKING TO Retrain? Personal TechnicalIT Training. Experienced Microsoft &Sun Certified trainer offers one to onetraining. Specialising in instructor-ledtechnical applications in the areas of:Microsoft Windows Programming; Lan-guages such as C#, VB, VB.NET and Java.Relational databases including Micro-soft SQL Server & Oracle; Web Develop-ment technologies e.g. ASP .NET, JSP,JEE and XML. Microsoft Server technolo-gies including SharePoint. For furtherdetails please telephone 0798749992
earrings were stolen along with some cashand a HP laptop.
The man seen leaving the house hasbeen described as being white, of skinnybuild and was wearing a black zip up top,dark denim jeans and a baseball cap thatwas on sideways.
The man ran down the side of thehouse towards the centre of Birstall beforeturning right onto Orchard Road.
Detective Constable Kerry Washington,the investigating officer, said: “I am hopingthat with details of the incident, times,dates and a description we will be able toget witnesses to come forward.
“If you can place yourself in the area atthe time of the incident then have a thinkabout if there is anything you can provideto our investigation. A name, further de-scription, details of vehicles or anythingthat you think could be linked. It isn’t toolate to help us so please get in touch.”
Anyone with any information is asked tocontact DC 4442 Kerry Washington bydialing 101. Follow the instructions toleave a message for a police officer, andwhen prompted key in the officer’s identifi-cation number 4442. Alternatively, youmay contact Crimestoppers, which is freeand anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
A REMEMBRANCE service atBelgrave cemetery was attend-ed by 45 members of the pub-lic.
Led by The Reverend Pam Hayneshymns were sung, prayers were said andcandles lit as a mark of respect for thesoldiers either laid to rest in BelgraveCemetery or recorded on private familymemorials. Poppy crosses were placedon the 48 Commonwealth War graves inthe cemetery.
At the end of the service refreshmentswere provided by volunteers from theFriends of Belgrave Cemetery Group.
BIRSTALL & WANLIP WI’spenultimate meeting of2011 took place on No-vember 7 at HighcliffeSchool.
There was no speaker this monthas this was our AGM where minuteswere read, votes of thanks made andthe existing committee was votedback into office for 2012. We re-called the highlights of the past yearand it was gratifying to note thatrecent recruitment has swelled ourranks from 15 in 2008 to the current33 in 2011. We ended the eveningwith a buffet and quiz organised bythe committee.
Our next meeting will be on De-cember 5 when our speaker will beTina Bax who will demonstrate howto make Christmas Garlands.
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST22
Small ads are 25p for the first 16 words. 17-32words: 50p. Enclosing payment, post your ad to us orhand it in (inside an envelope) at Birstall library.
Trade/business rates for small ads are 25p aword. You are liable for the trade/business rateif you are offering a service for which you areasking for payment, or if you are advertisingnew goods for sale. All text will be printed bold.Box outline £1 extra. Max 50 words. Phonenumbers count as one word.
Small AdsP/11/2549/2: 18 Lyngate Ave – erection of sin-gle storey extension to front of dwellingP/11/2601/2: Unit 49 Coal Cart Rd – installationof two gas tanks to factory yardP/11/2464/2: 64 Front St – change of use fromretail shop (A1) to taxi office (Sui Generis)P/11/2457/2: Agricultural field at rear of Field-ing Rd – erection of a 15m high monopole withsix telecommunication antennas, one smallscale ancillary radio equipment cabinet, onemeter cabinet, minor ancillary works including a1.8m high palisade fenced compoundP/11/2439/2: 1-3 The Crossways – display oftwo illuminated fascia signs, one illuminatedprojecting sign and two non-illuminated hang-ing signsP/11/2414/2: 38 Hawthorn Ave – erection ofsingle storey extension to side and conservatoryto rear of dwellingP/11/2406/2: 14 Park Road – retention of de-tached timber garage to rear of dwelling (retro-spective application)
JEWELLERY WAS taken during a burglary in Wanlip Lane.The incident happened sometime be-
tween 1.30pm and 1.45pm on MondayOctober 24, when an occupant from thehouse came home to find a window hadbeen broken and spotted someone runningdown the side of the house.
Inside the house it was clear that all therooms had been searched and drawersand cupboards had been left open.
Items of Asian jewellery including goldnecklaces, gold bangles, bracelets and
Wanlip Lane burglary Planning
WInews
Remembranceevent
EARLY MORNING, EVENING &WEEKEND APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE
Help us in our work helpingothers less fortunate than
ourselves
All gifts and donations gladlyaccepted at the
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION19 FRONT STREET • BIRSTALL
or Ring 2674817
NOT SELF”“SERVICE
DiabetesDiabetes is a disease characterised by
an increase in blood sugar which affectsaround 2.9 million people in the UK,and is a growing public health concern(http://www.diabetes.org.uk/).
When foods high in sugar are con-sumed this causes an increase in theblood sugar level. In healthy individualsthe body regulates this by releasing thehormone Insulin, so that the cells in thebody can absorb and store the sugar.However, in individuals with diabetesthis process is disrupted.
The signs of diabetes include;• Weight loss• Increase in thirst• Increase in hunger• Increase in urine frequency• Blurred vision• Weakness/feeling tired• Tingling in hands and feet• High blood sugar levels• Sugar in the urine (sweet smelling
urine)If you notice these signs then visit
your doctor and get tested. Your doctormay ask for a urine sample and a bloodtest to confirm or rule out diabetes.
If diagnosed with diabetes you canreduce the risk of health complicationsby eating a healthy diet low insugars/carbohydrates (sweets, cakes,beer) and regular exercise.
Obesity/ being overweight, lack ofexercise and an unhealthy diet are allrisk factors for developing diabetes. Ifthese risk factors can be reduced thenthe chances of developing the diseasecan be minimised.
Staying Safe this winterWith the nights getting longer, temper-
atures are dropping and the sun is be-coming a rarity. It’s safe to say winter ishere. It is estimated that an extra 20%of people die each winter compared tosummer in the UK
The underlying problem to this is therising cost of energy prices, as stayingwarm during winter has a significantimpact on health.
It is estimated that 40% of thesedeaths are caused by heart attacks andstrokes. There is an increased risk withthese diseases at temperatures below12°C. This is because at this temperatureblood pressure starts to rise.
Another 30% of these deaths arecaused by respiratory problems. At tem-peratures below 16°C the body’s resist-ance to respiratory disease is reduced.
It is recommended that the mainrooms occupied (e.g. living room andbedroom) are heated to a minimum of21°C in the day and 16°C at night.
The government is in the process ofspeaking to energy suppliers to lowerthe cost of energy prices to consumers
From Samantha Price
Wise GuideLife-improving advice for the over-65sThe new, free resource for successful
living in later life, brought to you byIndependent Age, the charity which sup-ports thousands of older people acrossthe UK and the Republic of Ireland,offering information, advice and friend-ship.
Wise Guide is a new, free, resourcefor older people; whether you are re-
tired yourself, are keeping an eye out foryour older relatives, friends or neigh-bours, or whether you volunteer orwork professionally with older people.
Janet Morrison, Independent AgeChief Executive, says: “At IndependentAge, we have been listening to the needsof older people for almost 150 years.We know from experience that olderpeople today face a whole host of differ-ent issues, ranging from loneliness andisolation, to bereavement, problems withhealth, a lack of opportunities and manyothers.
“We believe there’s lots of informationthat older people need but don’t alwaysget. That’s why we have put togetherWise Guide. This comprehensive andconcise guide draws on the knowledgethat the team at Independent Age hasgained over years of advising older peo-ple. We have tried to make Wise Guideas user friendly as possible because webelieve much of the information availa-ble to older people today is dense anddifficult to read.”
Wise Guide is a one-stop resource tohelp the over-65s, whether you want topay less on the train or find an NHSdentist; avoid a fall or get out of debt;install a walk-in shower or find a clean-er. Whatever it is you’re looking for helpwith, Wise Guide will have an answer.Packed full of tips and nuggets of advice,Wise Guide will help you to discover howto:
• Boost your pension and cut yourbills
• Make your home safer and easier tomanage
• Join the online community withoutgetting scammed
• Stay fit, healthy and happy• Get out and about for as long as
you canTo order your free copy of Wise
Guide: Life-improving advice for theover-65s, call 020 7605 4225 or visitthe website: www.independentage.org
Wise Guide is also available to down-load from the website and available inKindle format.
A YOUNG footballer from Birstallhas received a grant from Charn-wood Borough Council.
Cameron Jones (12) was given a£250 talented athlete grant to helptowards transport costs after he wasaccepted into Kettering Town FootballClub’s academy.
Cameron’s dad Daniel said: “We asa family very much appreciate anysupport offered to Cameron. This grantcontributes greatly to costs incurredfor travel, training kit, nutrition andphysiotherapy.
“Future aspiring professional foot-ballers are students and as such needsupporting for many years. Cameron isvery pleased to receive the grant, as ayoung sports person the grant is recog-nition of his dedication and commit-ment to play at the highest level in thesport he loves.”
Charnwood Borough Council offersa range of grants to support sportsclubs, coaches or officials and talentedathletes throughout the borough. Theyare:
• Sport Development Grants - availa-ble for clubs for up to £250
• Coach/Officials Grants - availablefor up to 50% of courses costs to amaximum cost of £250
• Talented Athletes Grants - availa-ble for up to £250 for athletes compet-ing at regional level or above
• Sports Facilities Grants - availablefor up to £800
The deadline for the next round ofgrants is the end of December withgrants being awarded at the end ofJanuary 2012. For more information,guidance notes and application forms:www.charnwood.gov.uk/sportsandleisuregrants
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST 23
INFOage Sports
grant
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This is the BAG’s final Cancer Cornerof 2011 and it feels particularly illtimed to inform you that December isChildhood Cancer Awareness month inthe UK.
In the UK around 1,500-1,700 newcases of childhood cancer are diagnosedeach year in children 0-15 years. Themost common childhood cancer isleukaemia which affects 35% ofchildren diagnosed. Afurther 24% are diag-nosed with brain orspinal tumours.
Children’s cancersare very different toadult cancers. Theyoccur in differentparts of the body, andrespond differently totreatment. Generally,the causes of childhoodcancer are unknown. It is possi-ble that some cancers actually startinside the womb when the foetus isdeveloping and rapid cell division isoccurring, but it is not known why thisshould happen.
Similarly, it is thought that somecancers can occur after exposure to a
type of virus - such as the virus thatcauses glandular fever for example.Again, the process surrounding why thisshould happen is unknown. Locallycancer treatment for children is carriedout at the University Hospitals of Leices-ter (UHL). The hospital has recentlylaunched a £1.4 million appeal to ena-
ble them to create a world-classChildren and Young People’s
Cancer Unit for 0-24year olds at Leices-ter Royal Infirmary.
Currently, ourchildren are treat-ed in the chil-dren’s hospital.Young adults havespecialist cancertreatment on adult
wards across thehospital. This can be
particularly difficult for teenag-ers and young adults, both when
first diagnosed and treated for cancer,and if they need to make the transitionfrom children’s to adult cancer services.
The new integrated unit will totallytransform the environment in whichchildren, teenagers and young adults are
treated. The careful use of design, light-ing and colour will turn an ordinaryhospital ward into a space that childrenand young people will find stimulating,whatever their age.
Birstall BAG’s have already been indiscussions with the Charitable AppealsTeam at UHL to see how Birstall cansupport their appeal – watch this space.
For more information please contact:http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/HomeMacmillan Cancer Support free phone
help line 0808 808 000 Monday – Fri-day 9am-8pm. University Hospitals ofLeicester Cancer Information Centre on0116 258 6189.
Our recent ladies gift night at the Earlof Stamford raised well over £500.Thank you to Dawn and Hicko at theStamford, to all the stall holders, all thebusinesses and individuals who donatedraffle prizes and of course to those whocame along to make the night such ahuge success.
To reflect the interest and support ofthe local community Birstall BAG's seeksto be inclusive of all cancers and thegroup welcome villagers to support themany events they organise each yearwithin the local community.
We urge those affected by cancer tovisit the Birstall Time Out Group (seeseparate advert).
Our next fundraising event is ourannual ladies Christmas meal at theWhite Horse, Birstall on Monday Decem-ber 5 - ticket only event £20 each whichincludes a three course meal. Ticketsavailable from any of the Birstall BAG’s.
For more information look at ourwebsite www.birstallbags.co.uk or [email protected]
A healthy, merry and bright Christmasto all of you.
DETECTIVES FROM Charnwood local policing unit areappealing for public help after a distraction burglary atthe home of an elderly woman in Birstall.
The incident took place sometime between 7.30pm and7.45pm on Monday November 7 in the Denegate Avenuearea when two men entered the victim’s home separately.
One of the men claimed that the other was a burglarand he was trying to detain him.
The victim was asked to check the locations where shekept her money and whilst she was distracted a fawn col-oured handbag was stolen. The bag contained cash andpaperwork.
Both suspects were white, one of them has been de-scribed as being about 5’5” tall, slim to medium build. He
DEC 2011THE BIRSTALL POST24
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The second suspect was of similardescription to the first suspect but possi-bly slightly younger and with a slimmerface.
Detective Constable Kerry Washingtonis investigating the incident, she said:
“The suspects have tried to confuse theelderly occupant into informing themwhere she kept her personal possessionsand then gone on to steal items from thepremises.
“This was a despicable crime againstan elderly woman and it is vitally impor-tant that we trace the people responsible.
“I would urge anyone who was visitedin similar circumstances or saw twomen acting suspiciously in the area onthat evening to contact us. Even theslightest detail could help with our en-quiries. Any calls received will be treat-ed in confidence.”
Anyone with any information is askedto contact DC 4442 Kerry Washington onLeicester 101, follow the instructions toleave a message for a police officer andwhen prompted key in the officer’s iden-tification number 4442. Alternatively,contact Crimestoppers, which is free**and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
Elderly woman’scash stolen
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