Home

Back: to Back Issues List

The Birstall Post, December 2000 (209)

Dancers are gems

BIRSTALL DANCE troupe the Harlequin Gems are pictured above putting the finishing touches to their make up before a concert with the Leicester Magic Circle.
In November the troupe helped raise £500 for the charity Heart Link with a performance at New Parks Working Men’s Club and later this month will perform in aid of Macmillan nurses.
For details about joining the troupe or booking them for an event contact Diane Grose, principal of the Diane Grose School of Dance on 2674775.

Technology bid

LONGSLADE COLLEGE is aiming to become a Specialist Technology College in a bid to raise standards and provide a better learning environment for students.
If the college succeeds it will become a Specialist Technology College from September 2001 and will be given a £100,000 capital grant, to match the private sponsorship it has raised. This capital funding will be spent on a new science lab, a manufacturing centre and at least two more computer suites, in addition to extra computers in the library and the maths area. The College will also receive an additional £120,000 per year for the next four years which will fund additional staff, training, equipment and resources.
Longslade College Vice Principal Liz Logie said: “The bid is the result of a huge amount of hard
work over the past nine months. In order to meet the requirements the College had to raise £50,000 from the private sector. Thanks to the support of Jelsons Ltd, Fral Products Ltd and DWP Consulting Ltd and the enormous generosity of The Edith Murphy Trust, the College was successful in raising this amount.”
On October 6 Longslade submitted its bid to become a Specialist Technology College under the government’s Specialist Colleges Programme. The Bid has now been short listed and the College has been visited by representatives from the Department for Education and Employment,. Sixty Technology College bids have been short listed nationally, out of nearly two hundred, and twenty will go through, so success is not guaranteed but is a step closer. The College is particularly pleased to be short listed because the government is giving priority to schools operating within its Excellence in Cities initiative and Longslade does not fall within that category.
The one hundred page document contains detailed plans for developing the teaching of Design, Maths Science and Information Technology within Longslade in both GCSE and Post 16 courses. The additional facilities and resources will benefit all subject areas. Longslade has also worked with the feeder high schools and primary schools to identify ways in which pupils in the family of schools can benefit from Longslade being a Specialist College. These have been built into the bid, which also contains plans to pilot the Leicester Symbols Project with Adults with Special Educational Needs, set up a vacation training centre for employees of local businesses and take IT training out into the community using lap-top computers.
Mrs Logie said: “This initiative is an important part of the drive to raise standards and provide a better learning environment for students. The College believes its plans are ambitious but achievable. This is important because in order to access the fourth year of funding the College has to meet a range of very specific targets.”
David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Education and Employment, will announce the successful schools in January.
Leicestershire is one of the lowest funded LEAs in the country, receiving less money per secondary school student than all but one of the 150 LEAs in England. Mrs Logie added: “It’s an interesting irony that if Longslade were located in Herefordshire, a comparable shire county, its annual budget would be £250,000 more than it is currently - over two Technology College bids’ worth!”

Art exhibition

BIRSTALL & District Art Society’s sixth annual exhibition proved popular with visitors who bought 113 paintings or prints exhibited at the show.
There were 147 paintings in the main exhibition, staged in the Village Hall on Birstall Road. One of the exhibition organisers John Beckett said: “Our thanks to all the folks who came along to support us, many have now become regular friends of the Society”.
He added :”The visitors’ book is full of comments of how all that came enjoyed themselves, which we feel is the most important aspect of our event”.

Derek Walsom’s winning painting.

The Mary Hirst Memorial Trophy was presented for the first time to the artist of the painting voted best-in-show by visitors. Mr Derek Walsom of Sileby said he was “completely chuffed” to have won with his painting ‘Woodcock Farm, Rothley’.

Parish Council Notes

A FULL meeting of Birstall Parish Council was held on November 13.
PC Kevin Palmer reported that damage to telephone kiosks was a recurring problem in the village. He urged people to report any damage to the Police. If details of when the damage was taking place could be established an operation could be mounted. He added that most theft crimes in the village were drug related.
Councillors discussed correspondence between the Borough Council and the owner of the Lodge on Goscote Hall Road. The Lodge is a listed building and the council want the boundary fence to be tidied up.
Cllr Chris Clarke commented that the Planning for Real exercise on Sibson Road was only getting the views of those people already using the road. It should also have reached those who are not going to Sibson Road to find out why they are not using the road, he said.
Cllr Clarke asked why the Council had contributed £40,000 of Parish Council money to the Crossways car park when the funding was already in place in Charnwood Borough Council’s budget. Cllr Tony Stott circulated a breakdown of the financing arrangements for car parking and enhancement on Sibson Road. He said that car parking was the joint responsibility of the Borough and Parish Councils. Birstall had long ago budgeted £25,000 for car parking, he said, and if an additional contribution had not been made it could well have affected the extent and quality of any enhancement scheme for Sibson Road.
It was reported that the Council had negotiated a 28 year lease with a peppercorn rent for the Alldays car park site, which was bought by Cllr Edith Murphy for use as a village car park.
The Council are seeking financial assistance from the County Council for a bus shelter. Councillors voted on where to locate the shelter, if their bid is successful. Wanlip Lane near the junction with Windmill Avenue for Leicester bound buses received the most votes.
Vandals have been causing damage on Worcester Avenue allotments. It was agreed to attach barbed wire to the main gate and to plant thorn bushes in gaps in the hedges. The Police will be asked to patrol the area.
Charnwood Borough Council are proposing to erect a village sign on the junction of Whiles Lane and Front Street. The Parish Council have suggested that the design incorporate the cedar tree on Roman Road and the Beast of Birstall (a Saxon remain in St James Church).

Police interview councillor

BIRSTALL Parish Councillor has been interviewed by the Police after he removed a sign from Birstall cemetery by sawing through the signpost with a hacksaw.
Cllr Chris Clarke (75) of Harrowgate Drive took away the signs, aimed at dog owners, which said ‘Keep Dogs on Leads’ and ‘Clean it up! maximum penalty £100’.
Cllr Clarke said: “Until October 19 this year, the entrance to the cemetery had two prominent but discreet wooden signs, one on each of the grass verges leading into cemetery interior, reading ‘No Dogs Allowed’. On October 19, as I left the cemetery, I noticed the two wooden notices had been removed and that two garish signs, mounted on a 7 foot high, shiny, 3 inch diameter steel pole had been erected instead”.
He added: “My feelings were of surprise, and then outrage. The cemetery had always appropriately been a dog free area, as far as I was aware. As a councillor, I was also aware that this change had not been debated or considered by the full council, and that it was likely that these signs, which constituted an open invitation for people to bring dogs into the cemetery, would take a very long time to be removed in the normal way the council works. My overwhelming feeling was that the signs should, for the time being, be removed, to prevent a precedent being created which might be almost impossible to reverse. The only feasible way to achieve this was to saw through the post at ground level and take it away for safe keeping at home; and that is what I did.
It may have been wrong, it may have been foolish, but I was convinced at the time, that it was the right thing to do.
Birstall Parish Council Chairman Nigel Coleman declined to make any comment to the Birstall Post on this matter. Syston Police have referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Young brass musicians shine on debut CD

THE QUALITY of music teaching in Birstall and the ability of our young musicians is clear after listening to the debut CD of the Birstall Brass Ensemble.
The group is unique amongst Leicestershire Arts Music Ensembles in that all members of the group featured on the album originate from a single Primary School with the exception of their guest percussionist, Trevor Bartlett. They began to learn to play their instruments as part of an ongoing brass project, which began at Highcliffe County Primary School in Birstall some eight years ago, where the group continues to rehearse today. All members of the Birstall Brass Ensemble have been taught by the ensemble’s director and Head of Brass for the county, Alan Holford, and now attend Stonehill High School and Longslade College.
The standard of the group ranges from grade 5 to grade 8 and at the time of making the recording the group could boast no less than nine principal players from Leicestershire Arts in Education’s County Orchestras and Bands. For the first time since the group began in July 2000 two members came to the end of their school career and left Birstall Brass to take up places at University, making this a fitting time to celebrate and record the ensemble’s success and achievement. Both James Leeson and Richard Hubbard feature as soloists on the album.
The Birstall Brass Ensemble undertake a busy and varied concert schedule as part of Arts in Education’s performance programme, including music festivals, gala concerts and brass Showcase events which have included performances at local and national events. Birstall Brass has been pleased for a number of years to accompany massed junior school choir performances at De Montfort Hall as part of the City & County Summer Festivals. In November 1998 along with 500 Leicestershire school children the group travelled to the Royal Albert Hall in London to give a performance as part of the last night of the Music for Youth Schools Prom concerts. More recently the group has enjoyed a number of tours abroad through links in the community with the Birstall Twinning Association.
Christopher Mowat, principal trombone with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, has made music with the group. He said: “To get fifteen talented young people together from one Primary School, keep the group intact for eight years and draw out of them the kind of playing demonstrated here is a rare feat that needs celebrating. But the teachers’ achievement is only half the story: I know the amount of dedication, concentration and mutual respect that these young instrumentalists have needed to get these results. Even musicians of long experience would have to admit Birstall Brass Ensemble is an extraordinary group”.
Arts in Education is the Arts Service of the Leicestershire County and Leicester City Councils providing teaching, curriculum support and performance opportunities for thousands of pupils in music, dance and drama in schools and colleges. The training and performance programme is one of the most extensive in the UK, providing outstanding opportunities for thousands of young people. The Performance Season involves 70 concerts/productions each year including events at the Haymarket Theatre and De Montfort Hall and participation in International Festivals and European exchanges. For further information about the service tel: 0116 270 0850.
The members of Birstall Brass Ensemble are Andrew Holford (17), James Leeson (18), Eve Mumford (16), Melissa Squance (13), Maxwell Whitbread (15), James Butler (16), Natalie Gutteridge (15), Any Holford (14), Lynsey Payne (14), David Ingram (17), David Payne (16), Ben Garner (17). Louise Ingram (15), Richard Siddons (17) and Richard Hubbard (18).
The CD is available at £12.90 including postage and packing from Alan Holford, Birstall Brass CD offer, Arts in Education, Knighton Fields Centre, Herrick Road, Leicester LE2 6DH. Make cheques payable to Leicestershire County Council.

Planning applications

Mrs J & Mrs B J Garner - topping & lopping of oak tree. 21 School Lane
Mr & Mrs Moore - extension to side of garage, 1st floor extension to side & single storey extension to rear of semi detached house. 26 Hawthorn Ave.
Mr & Mrs Lee - 2 storey extension to side & conservatory to rear of detached house. 82a Birstall Road
N Myatt - erection of car port to side & porch to front of detached house. 16a Copeland Road
William Davis Ltd - removal of branches of one oak tree. The Holt Children’s home
B T Cellnet - erection of antenna on existing mast. Birstall United Social Football Club
Mr Hill - erection of conservatory to rear of semi detached house. 75 Orchard Rd
Mr & Mrs Frith - erection of porch & canopy to front of house. 4 Kedleston Ave
A P Units - change of use of part of building from warehouse to light industrial. Greengate Hosiery, 5 The Wayne Way

Discuss your future

IF YOU’RE already thinking you would like to do something different next year but not sure what, then come along to a joint Christmas event at Roundhill Community College.
Meet new people, chat to friends and discuss your future plans (or lack of them) over a glass of mulled wine and mince pies.
You can find out about existing activities or courses, discuss new ‘introductory’ short courses (Routes) and seek advice on what might be best for you.
The ‘Routes’ programme and this event is shared between Longslade, Wreake Valley and Roundhill Community College so that times days and courses can be offered to suit as many people as possible. A free creche at all colleges is also available. For further information and an opportunity to talk about what you are interested in come to the Christmas Open Morning on Monday December 18 from 10-11.30am at Roundhill Community College (free creche) or phone: Wendy Battle (Roundhill) 0116 2695812, Judith Winter (Wreake Valley) 0116 2600071; Sharon Cope (Longslade) 0116 2673389

Delice thanked for keeping watch

BIRSTALL’S DELICE Fowler has been presented with a watch by Birstall Parish Council as a way of saying thank you for her 10 years as Neighbourhood Watch Area Co-ordinator.
Delice said: “I’m very sad to be going, it was a big part of my life. I’d like to thank the council for all their support and for this beautiful gift”.

Funding cut for bath service

A MUCH valued service for Birstall’s elderly has been put at risk after a withdrawal of funding.
Age Concern have cut the funding for the bath nurse at the St James Day Care Centre on Birstall Road. Long time supporter of the Centre and its former manager Betty Howard writes: “How easy it is for most of us to be clean, to feel refreshed and to get up in the morning or after a hard day’s work, to run the bath or take a shower. To relax in the warmth of the water can bring relief for a tired body and mind and if you think about it, to be able enough to do all this for yourself.
Anyone who cannot have a bath on their own, because of illness or disability or maybe the fact that there is no-one to help them in their frailty will know what I mean. Carers will also understand that when there are no proper facilities for their loved ones to be bathed at home there is a desperate need for help from outside.
“Since the St James Day Centre was opened one of the most important services offered has been the bathing on four days a week, when our bath nurse ‘Jill’ has fulfilled her duties with all her heart and energy. Not only has she given regular members of the Day Centre a bath but also many people in need from the village have benefited. This is what the Day Centre was built for - to give care and attention to those in need and help those who cannot help themselves, in turn helping carers to cope.
“Those who work in the Day Centre know what a difference bathing makes to people. We have seen a change in their whole attitude to life and living. The embarrassment of not feeling clean and fresh disappears and they become a true member of society again. They find enjoyment in their new experience. A sense of fun can even return to their existence. Friendships are formed and renewed - there is something to look forward to each week - -not much to ask for, really, is it. When we can still do these simple everyday things ourselves we don’t realise that one day we may need this sort of help and support .
“We asked for your help and support to build the Day centre in 1990-91 and you came up trumps then joining in all the fundraising efforts (parade-fashion show and hog roast etc) coming to see the building (the old Church Hall) being revitalised and becoming a very necessary part of our village. For two years we fought for bathing facilities and a bath nurse. Now we find that due to lack of funds bath nurses are being withdrawn over most of the county. We need your support to keep our bathing open as an independent source of help for those in our village who cannot always help themselves. Please voice your opinion.”

Choral society

BIRSTALL CHORAL Society held a successful evening on October 28 in spite of the gales when they held a ‘Come & Sing the Messiah’ evening in St James Church.
The sum of £300 was raised to be divided between LOROS and Rainbows Hospices. Many thanks to all who took part.
The Carol Concert will be in the Methodist Church on Tuesday December 12 at 7.45pm. Admission £3.50 inc refreshments. The Society will also be helping with the singing at LOROS for the ‘Light a Tree’ occasion on Sunday afternoon December 10.
From M Belton

Cadet of the year

BIRSTALL’S NICOLA Davies has been chosen as the St John’s Ambulance cadet of the year for the county.
Sixteen year old Nicola, a student at Longslade College, will act as an ambassador for the cadets and attend official functions.
Nicola has recently earned her 100 service hours award and later this month will be presented with her Grand Prior Award.
She is a member of Birstall St John’s Combined Cadets who meet at Birstall Parish Council’s old office on Sibson Road on Thursdays from 7pm.

Retiring from “very privileged job” after 27 years

AFTER WORKING for 27 years as a midwife, most of it in Birstall, Christine Belcher retired last month from what she calls “a very privileged job”.
“To be there at the delivery of a child is a very special moment - everyone remembers that moment” says Christine (60).
She moved to Woodgate Drive in 1960, had her three daughters and worked as a factory nurse and was a Red Cross cadet leader before deciding to train as a midwife.
Qualifying in 1973 Christine worked as a staff midwife at the General hospital and then as community midwife. She has delivered hundreds of children and looked after thousands of people in the course of her career. She says: “The thing that’s changed most over the years is how mums are coming home from hospital a lot earlier than they used to. Home deliveries now are rarer, when I started it was 24 or so a year”.
She adds: “What I’ve really liked about working in Birstall was watching the children I’d delivered grow up into adults and have their own children. I also have very fond memories of the parentcraft class we ran, preparing for the new baby”.
Christine, who now lives in Thurmaston, plans to spend her retirement working on her garden, visiting friends and keeping fit.

No more unwanted calls

THE TELEPHONE Preference Service (TPS) helps you to make sure your telephone number is no longer available to organisations who may telephone you with offers and information you do not wish to receive.
Under Government legislation introduced on May 1 1999 it is unlawful to make direct marketing calls to individuals who have indicated that they do not want to receive such calls.
You can either do this by contacting companies directly and asking them not to phone you or you can register with a central service (The Telephone Preference Service) to stop all such calls.
Before you apply however, you should reflect on the fact that registering may well prevent you from receiving information which you would really like to have - thereby cutting you off from relevant and worthwhile opportunities. Registration will prevent organisations who regard you as a customer from contacting you again, unless you have previously told them that you have no objection to them calling you.
Registering with the Telephone Preference Service will not stop calls from market research organisations. If you also wish to stop these calls or any other non direct marketing calls, you will need to contact each company directly.
To register, call the registration line 0845 070 0707 (local call rate). You will be asked to record the telephone number you wish to register and leave your name and address details so the TPS can write to you and confirm your registration.
If you prefer you can write to the TPS at the Telephone Preference Service Ltd, 5th floor, Haymarket House, 1 Oxenden Street, London SW1Y 4EE or fax them on 0845 070 0706. Remember to quote your name, telephone number and your address so that your registration can be confirmed.
It will take up to 28 days for your registration to take effect.
If any time you no longer wish to be registered, dial 0845 070 0707 and select the cancel registration option. Otherwise you will remain registered unless you change your telephone number. If you want to check whether your number is registered already dial 0845 070 0707 and select the check registration option.

Collection

THE MILLENNIUM collection is a new exhibition you can visit free at Charnwood Museum, Loughborough.
It’s a unique and wonderful opportunity to see the objects which have been donated by local community groups across Leicestershire as part of the Millennium Festival. Saved for the future, this collection represents objects that local people feel are important to them, have changed their lives, or are so everyday that they could not live without them.
Admission to Charnwood Museum is free. Members of the public can view the exhibition from Saturday November 4 until March 31, 2001.
The exhibition is the last of the eight exhibitions that make up part of Leicestershire County Council’s Millennium Festival called ‘Connecting Leicestershire People’, which is currently running in museums and service sites across Leicestershire.
For more details about the Millennium Collection please contact the Millennium Festival Team on 0116 2656799.
‘Connecting Leicestershire People’ is Leicestershire County Council’s Millennium Festival supported by a £75,000 lottery grant from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund and support also from NEXT plc and ESPO.

Singing stars at Legion

TWO OF the county’s top singers are performing at Birstall Royal British Legion Club later this month.
Phil Voss, voted by the Club news poll as best male vocalist last year, performs on December 9 and 23. And on December 24 Birstall’s Karen West, voted as best female vocalist, will be performing.
Club Steward Wayne Parkin said: “Our entertainment secretary Margurite Rawnsley deserves congratulations for bringing two of the best singers in the county together for this bumper weekend of festive entertainment at the Legion”.

Conservation volunteers

YOU CAN make a difference to your local environment.
Try volunteering on wildlife sites in and around the Charnwood borough with the Charnwood Conservation Volunteers.
The group is made up of a wide range of people from different backgrounds and of all ages. The volunteers share a love of fresh air, exercise, wildlife and countryside skills.
Charnwood’s Environmental Education and Promotion Officer Gillian Rutledge said: “The tasks are carried out in an informal, relaxed atmosphere and volunteers are encouraged to work at their own pace. If you have a few hours to help with local conservation projects, why not join us during our winter programme, you will receive a warm welcome.”
Future activities include tree pollarding, hedge mulching, sycamore control and hawthorn coppicing. For more details contact Charnwood Wildlife, Southfield, Southfield Road, Loughborough LE11 2TN tel: 01509 264714.

Free trees available from County scheme

APPLICATION FORMS are now available for free trees through a scheme run by the Stepping Stones Countryside Management Project based at Leicestershire County Council.
The Stepping Stones Project Free Tree Scheme is open to Parish Councils and community groups and farmers, wanting to plant trees in the countryside around the City of Leicester.
Those eligible for the scheme can apply for up to 100 (1 metre high) young trees and shrubs and chosen from a list of native species. Trees are available for a variety of suitable planting schemes including playing fields, millennium avenues, hedgerows and field corners on private and public land.
Applicants must be within the area covered by the Stepping Stones Countryside Management Project and undertake to maintain the trees for a minimum of ten years. Advice and guidance in successful establishment and management of young trees will be provided by the Stepping Stones Project.
The Stepping Stones Countryside Management Project is a partnership that aims to improve access for all, enhance the environment, improve people’s awareness and encourage community participation in the countryside around Leicester. Stepping Stones Free Tree Scheme is a partnership initiative with the International Tree Foundation (Leicestershire & Rutland branch) and is supported by the National Forest Company.
For a Stepping Stones Free Trees application form telephone 0116 2657305 or write to Environmental Management, Planning and Transportation, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RJ.

Pool closure

THIS YEAR’S Christmas closure period at Birstall Pool will be longer than usual to allow for essential repairs. Tiles will be replaced and some areas redecorated over the holiday.
The normal timetable will continue until Sunday December 10 and the pool will be closed from Monday December 11 until mid January. An exact date for re-opening is not possible as the extent of the repairs will be unknown until the pool is drained. Latest news will be in January’s Post, on www.longslade.freeserve.co.uk and in school notices.

Thanks

A SINCERE thank you to all who supported the Birstall Methodist Women’s Group Coffee Morning on Saturday October 28.
The wonderful sum of £287.61 was raised for our project ‘The Cot Death Society’.
Our Christmas hamper was won by Mrs Ros Marriott.
Thank you again from our members at the group which meets on Monday evenings in the Coffee Shop at 7.45pm. All will be made most welcome. (Programme on the back page)
from Chris Tilford

Young musician contest

FOLLOWING THE successful Rotary Young Musician Contest in February 2000, local rotarians from both the Soar & Wreake Valley Clubs are planning another musical event.
The Charnwood Festival of Youth Music will take place at Longslade Community College, Wanlip Lane, Birstall on Saturday January 20, 2001 from 9.30am until about 4pm. Intended to develop self confidence, poise and musical ability amongst young people in the 6 to 18 age range, an even bigger entry is expected this year - so individual musicians, schools, clubs, churches and other organisations wishing to take part, are urged to apply without delay.
The event is open to any youngster being taught music or living within The Borough of Charnwood (but excluding the Shepshed area).
It is divided into three age groups 6-10, 11-14 & 15-18. Each age group is split into four genre categories Solo, Duet, Ensemble & Group. There are therefore twelve possible categories that an entrant might enter and many will appear in two or more. Timings are applied and vary with age. The adjudicator(s) will summarise and indicate age and category winners at the end of each age category.
Entrants are invited from any school, amateur music group eg brass band or individual entrant, perhaps proposed by a parent or music teacher.
Entrants may progress to the semi-final and final heats of the Rotary District Young Musician of the Year competition covering much of the East Midlands & East Anglia.
There is no charge for either entry or to audience members, although a programme will be on sale at nominal cost.
Enquiries about the Charnwood Festival of Youth Music should be addressed to: Graham Cooper on 01509 260059 (daytime) or 10509 261258 (evening) e-mail fine@recordings2000.freeserve.co.uk

WI news

THERE WAS a festive air to the November meeting of Birstall & Wanlip WI.
First Mrs Betty Barker was celebrating a special birthday and she brought along drinks and nibbles to share with fellow members and then the speakers for the evening Mr & Mrs Burle arrived in full evening dress. Mrs Burle was talking about her ‘Trip of a Lifetime’ ably supported by her husband. This trip had been a golden wedding gift from their son and daughter in law and consisted of a flight in Concorde, a cruise on the QE II and a return to London on the Orient Express train! Illustrated by beautiful photographs and other souvenirs this was a lovely talk and put the icing on a very happy evening.
On a more serious note, members stood in silence for a minute before the meeting started, to remember Mrs Betty Walters who had been for a long time a member of the WI and who had died recently and also another former member Mrs Marjorie Bird (Dickie) who had lived in Loughborough for some years.
During the business part of the meeting members were given dates of the ‘Which Resolution’ meeting and the Annual Council Meeting next year and arrangements were made for the Group Carol Service at Anstey in December. Winner of the competition for a sentimental birthday card was Mary Marvin with Jean Fenn winner of the raffle.
The next meeting will be on December 4 at Highcliffe School Hall, Greengate Lane at 7.15pm. This will be the AGM followed by a Faith Supper with some seasonal musical accompaniment.
From Mrs M Belton

Calm & balance

WHO WOULDN’T want to create calm, balance and harmony in their home?
A first step to a healthier life style and enrichment could well be with Feng Shui. Longslade tutor Jane Leutchford says: “By applying the principles of Feng Shui to your life you can open up a whole new world. By making positive Feng Shui changes you can improve every aspect of your life”.
More information is available on the website www.feng-shui-uk. Jane’s next course is at Longslade, 10 Wednesdays from January 17, 7-9pm £37 Tel: 2673389 to enrol.

Storytelling

BIRSTALL LIBRARY are now having free regular monthly storytelling sessions for the under 5s.
Come and join us on Monday December 11 at 10.15am for Christmas stories, rhymes and colouring. Babies welcome.
Also at the library the library shop has a wide range of present ideas for Christmas. Among the items on sale are recorders, local history books, animal pencil cases, diaries and other stationery. The library also has seasonal wrapping paper and cards at excellent value prices.

Longslade courses

GET READY for those New Year Resolutions now! You can enrol for January’s adult courses by post, in person or by telephone. Call Longslade Community College now 2673389.
Most of the 10 week courses running this term are to be repeated from January. Full details will be in the January Birstall Post and the Longslade Brochure distributed in the Leicester Mail and available at libraries.

Winners

BIRSTALL COMMUNITY College Junior Football Club recently ran a Link-Word Competition in an effort to raise much needed funds. Thanks to all those who took part. The following prizes were awarded: First prize £100 Ann Price, Birstall; Second prize £50 Pip Evans, Loughborough, Third prize £25 S Tyers, Birstall.

Small Ads

WOO’S WILLOW Cattery, open all year. Mountsorrel 01509 412119
AIRPORT CARS Birstall. Airports, Seaports, Long distance, Courier. Tel: 2677281
SIGMA 28-80mm, AF mini zoom macro lens, aspherical, Nikon D fit, mint, boxed and unused. £75 new, accept £50 o.n.o. Contact the Birstall
Post, daytime on 2674213
TELEPHONE EXTENSION Sockets fitted by ex-BT engineer. Cable, BT and digital TV. Over 25 yrs experience. £22 complete. John 2675132
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY Beautiful natural images to treasure forever. For a brochure call Stuart Hollis Photography Tel: 0116 268 1341 Mobile:07971 266336
BIRSTALL BASED boffin offers ‘A’ level Chemistry tuition. £12.50 per hour. Contact 2676946
ELIZABETH MOBILE hairdresser. Tel: 0116 2672142
HEALTH, WEALTH, Happiness, Fun, Friends, Freedom. Interested? Then please call Pam on 0116 2903386
ABBEYFIELD BIRSTALL and Wanlip Society, Grove House, Church Hill, Birstall. Sleeper-in required two nights per week on rota basis. More information from the Housekeeper 2671523. or Gillian Ward 2677445
BEN’S WEEKLY fresh fish. Mobile shop sales 2608877
GIRLS RALEIGH bike, blue, 5 gears. To suit 10-12 yrs. Ex condition 2 yrs old £65
GREENHOUSE WANTED Aluminium 6ft x 8ft Can dismantle/collect. R.S.J. for sale 6ft x 3ft x 12½ft £12 ono Tel: 07971 748063
SUPPORT YOUR local community. Function room for hire. Bar kitchen facilities. Apply Birstall United Football Club. Tel: 2671230 or 2216855
2 FOLDING BIKES for sale £20 each. Good condition. Home provided for unwanted pet rabbits (lonely pensioner wanting company). Tel: 2677896

Your Say

Burley Houses

The Burley Houses Trust, Tempest Road, Birstall. A vacancy has arisen at Burley Houses for a female resident. The Trust has six trustees whose aim is to create an enjoyable, happy community in which residents can be independent but with the benefit of concerned and caring neighbours. Applicants are expected to be able to look after themselves but a warden will provide those services that might be given by a good neighbour. No nursing services can be provided. Residents must have lived in the county of Leicester, or have had a husband and/or parent who has lived there, for a period of ten years. Interested parties should apply in writing, in the first instance, to
Mrs M Holland, 32 Saltersgate Drive, Birstall, Leicester LE4 3FF.

In Birstall's interest?

Your last edition rightly gave so much detail of the Planning for Real exercise, that I felt the information enabled me to make decisions on which the future of Birstall may depend. It seemed to represent the best interests of Birstall, determined publicly and democratically by an independent outside body and as such suitable to be used early in next month, December, in a formal consultation exercise to set the seal on the future of Birstall. On reflection however, there are one or two snags.
The exercise, driven almost exclusively by Cabinet members of Councils other than the Birstall Parish Council, is likely to cost the Birstall Community the unnecessary expenditure of more than £40,000. Briefly, a plan for traffic calming, extra car parking and some environmental improvement for Sibson Road, which mainly involved echelon parking with speed humps, was put forward in April 1999. The Birstall Business Community (TBBC) objected on the grounds that their trade would be seriously and adversely affected and lodged a 2000 signature protest. Cabinet member of the Charnwood Borough Council, Cllr A W Stott responded with the comment “As I see it there are no other options to the echelon parking with speed humps, combined with other improvements”.
No further information was available until the Birstall Post made enquiries in December 1999 and reported in its January 2000 issue that the echelon parking scheme with road humps had been scrapped as economically unacceptable, costing over £200,000 for 14 extra parking spaces. Traffic calming was put on hold.
Top priority was now the provision of extra parking for which the Charnwood Borough Council Cabinet had authorised £110,000 (also authorising £25,000 for environmental improvements). When Mrs Murphy generously made the ALLDAYS site available, the £110,000 available for car park funding exceeded the £80,000 actually needed, and environment enhancements to Sibson Road became the only outstanding issue.
In March 2000, in conjunction with the Birstall Post, the Parish Council conducted a questionnaire consultation of every house in the village. The results were analysed and a Council workshop to determine major themes and common concerns, defining agreed representative options/plans for negotiation and presentation to Charnwood Borough Council was held in June 2000, reached the following conclusions.
Most important were the pavements which needed improving in appearance and safety. Next was shop closures, and their replacement by take-aways, charity shops and empty premises, then the provision of crossings for safety and traffic calming, the provision of CCTV cameras for security, and the need to retain the character of Sibson Road as a bustling village main street, retaining on-street parking unchanged.
However this was quietly abandoned and suddenly the need for the Parish Council to contribute £40,700 for car parking, and the essential need for a ‘Planning for Real’ (PfR) exercise to be carried out was actively projected; which is where my letter started.
My first concern is the Parish Council’s proposed unnecessary expenditure of £40,700 for car parking, when adequate funding should be available from the Charnwood Borough. When I raised this concern at the Parish Council’s November 2000 meeting Cllr A W Stott, a member of the Charnwood Cabinet which determines the funding stated that the Parish Council’s donations were essential if the Charnwood Cabinet’s authorisation of the environmental enhancement budget (which had suddenly grown from £25,000 to £195,000) was not to be put in danger of cancellation. Will the Parish Council explain why this expenditure of £40,700 will be necessary.
My second, but equally important concern, lies in the fact that the landscape architect commissioned by Charnwood Borough Council to produce a detailed plan, will apparently rely on the information supplied by the consultation and it seems entirely possible that the concerns identified by the Parish Council workshop may well not be properly and effectively addressed.
It was also apparent at the time of the PfR consultation that no permission had been received from the owners and occupiers whose premises were likely to affected, for any work to be carried out on their frontages and that little or no effective consideration had been given about vehicular access onto the frontages or compensation for loss of trade.
Further, the important matters, which had been part of the Parish Council workshop’s concerns, such as initial and maintenance costs, and the question of the liability of the various parties who would have to be concerned in respect of work carried out by contractors acting presumably on the Council’s authority, on property owned by private parties, had not been considered.
When I queried these matters at the important Parish Council meeting early in November, before the meeting which sets the Parish Council’s budget for next year was held, I was not encouraged to presume that these concerns would be properly and effectively addressed before budgeting arrangements for the Parish Council would be finalised.
The implication of the above to me is that the failure of the Parish Council to set up a competent Working Party (which was requested in the summer of 1999 and frequently since) to consider these and other important issues, has been a major error of judgement by those who have been running the scheme.
I have no idea what the end result will be but if, as seems possible, important concerns which need urgently to be addressed are ignored in favour of what are effectively cosmetic changes, I am by no means convinced that this is likely to be in the best interests of the Birstall community.
C D Clarke

Fireworks

Having survived 2-3 weeks of horrendous fireworks let off by thoughtless, inconsiderate people, don’t you think it is about time official displays only are allowed?
No-one wants to be a kill joy but what these people letting off explosions up to midnight and restarting at 6am in the morning were thinking about is difficult to understand.
One day they also may be nervous, old, have children and pets and then realise what distress it can cause.
Also is anyone allowed to sell fireworks because that appears to be the case in Birstall
M Wheeler

Thanks

Birstall Quilters thank everyone for their support at the Exhibition and Sale in October. We raised the grand total of £895.34.
The following people were successful in the raffle - First Prize: Quilt Mr Sansome; Second Prize: Cot Quilt Mrs Parrott; Third Prize: Quilted Cushion Mrs Wright. Other prizes - Mrs Soutar, Mrs Rennocks, Mrs Veitch, Mrs Fern, Mrs Forder, Mr Mason, Mrs Musk, Mrs Gregory, Mrs McArthur, Mrs Stock, Mrs Blackbourn, Mrs Collins, Mrs Eilliott, Mrs Lund

Thanks

My grateful thanks to the lady who helped pick me up when I fell in Paget Avenue.
Mrs Vera Spurr

Thanks

As Christmas approaches we all get irritated by the unadulterated materialism that overtakes our lives. I had hoped that at least the charities would think twice before sliding the same way as the commercial retail outlets. Have you noticed that most of the ‘Charity’ shops have for sale expensively priced tacky imported goods alongside the donated goods we all expect? This has become more invasive often pushing aside the donations of books and bric-a-brac that we used to expect in charity outlets.
I am sure most of us realise that charities are eager to jump on the bandwagon and claim their percentage of the possible sales. Is it really necessary to forget that Christmas is a time to be charitable even for charities? Is there no thought for the little local shopkeeper situated close by these charity shops in the many localities around the city? He has to pay the full rate for his commercial community charge and then see the new goods go on sale next door in the charity shops. These are the same kind-hearted folk who often donate excess stock to the charities.
It used to be a pleasure to see hand made goods and craft items for sale to support our charities. I am sure that most donations of such articles would be forthcoming if customers saw less of these ‘bought in’ goods that do not even encourage ‘made in Britain’. The articles are not made by the charities for which they are being sold. We would like to think that useful items we donate to charitable causes are put on sale. When there is so little space allowed for such items it is hard to imagine that they are put to best use, and, as we have realised, space is valuable so are they still needed?
Many of us are already ‘converted’ to buying some of the Christmas goods in a charity outlet, please make it a more pleasurable experience or come the New Year we may think twice before we buy something we do not really need just because it benefits a charity.
J A Cooper

Help for orphans

A BIRSTALL couple, moved by the plight of orphans in the Philippines, are continuing their efforts to support a charitable home that looks after children.
Len and Wendy Baker’s support for the home was reported in the October 1999 issue of the Birstall Post. They help by fundraising and visiting the home to give practical help with day to day tasks.
Len Baker says: “It is 16 months since we first went to the Philippines and a lot of the children have been found new parents. Six months ago little Erica also went to a new ‘mum & dad’. Shirley and Ernie, who run the home, were not happy because right from the start the ‘new parents’ showed no affection towards Erica whatsoever.
“It is the law out there that all the children have to first of all be put up for adoption within the Philippines. If new parents cannot be found in the Philippines then, and only then, are they put up for adoption in other parts of the world. Now in the Filipino culture it is normal for the girls of the family to look after their parents when they get older. Very often daughterless couples will adopt for this reason, although I must add that there are many extremely good Filipino adoptive parents around. It was quite obvious to Shirley and Ernie Fable that the couple chosen for Erica were only after a ‘skivvy’, but unfortunately were powerless to do anything.
“Most new parents like to look around the home and spend a good couple of hours talking to the Fables and ‘bonding’ with their new daughter. From the day the children arrive at Shalom a photographic records is kept so that the parents have a record of the first part of their lives. Normally the new parents want to look at it and ask questions, but this was not the case for Erica’s new parents. Also each child has his/her own toys and clothes that they take with them, but Erica’s new parents did not want them. In fact they even bought a new dress for Erica to wear, but it was nothing special, just a typical Filipino dress. What was worse was the fact that the new mother got the social worker to put the dress on Erica.
“When the time came to leave, less than half an hour after arriving. Erica was literally dragged kicking and screaming away from what she knew as her home. Imagine what was going through her little mind! The Fables do a very good job of preparing the children for their new parents with the result that most of them go quite happily. Imagine how the Fables felt when she left kicking and screaming....
“6 months down the line, and for the first time ever, Erica has been returned because they “don’t want her”. What has she been through in these last 6 months? She arrived back as though she had never left but when she goes to her second lot of ‘new parents’ (abroad this time which means the Fables get to choose them), what will be going through her mind?
“As readers of this may know from reading previous articles, the home relies on support from groups and individuals mainly in the UK. One way is by going out to help run the homes which relieves some of the pressure from Shirley & Ernie. There is a lot to do when you are looking after 40 babies and young children, visits to the doctor’s and hospital being a major one. A journey of 6 miles to the hospital can take anything from 45 minutes to 3 or 4 hours depending on the traffic and conditions. It’s amazing that over here in heavy traffic we get quite impatient, but out there you just sit in it and wait. That may be because in their culture, there are no real deadlines. If you make an appointment for dinner with someone you are very often late (not 10 minutes but 2 hours), in fact it is almost bad manners to turn up on time!
“Anyway, in February next year we will be going out once again to help in such a way. We need to raise the finance to get out there and would be grateful for any help that the people of Birstall can give. Keep your eyes open for a little man with green (or yellow, or red, or purple, or blue, or pink, or ?) hair and beard walking around the village. That will be me because we are selling raffle tickets and the name drawn out will get to choose the colour, another choice is shaved but lots of men do that. (Can you imagine a 41 year old with pink hair? No, I can’t either!).
If you are reading this and feel that you would like to help us help the orphaned children in the Philippines, then please contact us via the Birstall Post.”

Village Watch news

THE VILLAGE Watch and the Police are concerned that a number of houses are having callers that claim to be from firms coming to service or inspect installations without first making an appointment.
An incident took place recently at about 8.45pm. The lady did all the right things and kept the chain on the door after a short conversation with the man in question. It is important to inform the Police of these incidents or ring the Watch telephone number (2676397) so that we can be aware that these people are operating in Birstall.
Police advice is to ask for the person’s identification card and, if still in doubt, ring the contact number on the card. If you still are not satisfied ask them to call back later when you can have a friend or relative with you.
The recent storms and the damage that was caused to property in Birstall gave some householders a worrying time finding people to make good the damage. Please remember not to allow that caller, who calls at your door saying he’s in the area and notices you have some damage, to do that job for you without a written quote and knowing who they are and where they come from.
Finally Christmas will bring lots of new bicycles and these will need to be postcoded if you want to cut down the risk of them being stolen. The Watch will be holding its first Advice Shop of the new year on January 20 at the old Council Offices, Sibson Road, when we will be pleased to postcode those new bikes for you.
Have a happy, peaceful and crime free Christmas.
From Peter Allen Chairman

Nature Notes

by Finch

I had a phone call last week from a relative in faraway Surrey.
“I think we have a kingfisher in the garden” she said. “Is it a big bird with a long neck?”
After a couple of questions I was able to identify the bird as a common heron, a species much better known in the suburbs of Leicester than it is in commuter-land London. The point of interest is that the garden in Surrey was flooded.
According to the media this unseasonably wet weather, like everything else, can be put down to global warming. As there is very little any one person can do about that we can all blame it (instead of the weather) for all discomforts, however self-inflicted. Of course carbon dioxide levels are increasing - there is very good evidence for that. If carbon dioxide increases, then the ability of the earth to radiate surplus heat back into space is impaired, and so the atmosphere becomes hotter.
So far so good; but what will happen then? Current thinking suggests that most of this heat will concentrate in the polar regions, melting the ice caps, which will cause a flood of very cold water to sweep down the edges of the continents. The interaction of the cold water with warmer equatorial rain-bearing winds will result in a higher rainfall. But carbon dioxide is soluble in cold water. So it is washed back into the sea, we are left surrounded by cold water, down goes our temperature and we have a mini-ice age. Not quite what was predicted, but logical, I hope you agree.
The truth is we do not know what will happen in any detail. There is a fashion to blame global warming for extra-hot summers, with which global warming has nothing whatever to do, for the extinction of puffins on Lundy - which is better explained by pollution, destruction of food stocks and human interference - and the decline of all our farmland birds. I do not believe a word of it.
Even if there is an effect on the ice caps due to warming of the atmosphere, the amount of heat required to unfreeze any volume of ice is enormous. Water is a most obstinate chemical - think how long it takes to boil a kettle for example. Yet water’s nearest chemical relative (hydrogen sulphide) is a gas at room temperature and gives rotten eggs their characteristic smell.
The last great freeze-up we suffered was the last ice age, and we are still recovering from that thousands of years later. Suffolk and Kent are actually sinking, and Yorkshire is being literally washed away. The west coast is rising, albeit slowly, so the whole country is tilting over. Then - surprise, surprise, we have floods when it rains. Note that there was global warming after the last ice age, but it has peaked, and we are actually getting cooler again.
Perhaps, therefore, we should stop and think a bit more deeply before blaming ‘global warming’ for all our ills. True, we should conserve fossil fuels, invest more in renewable energy sources, and perhaps do more exercise to show more collective and personal responsibility for ourselves. And if we must blame someone or something for our current discomfiture ...in the words of one TV comedy, I blame Mrs Thatcher.

Bowls

A FUNDRAISING event took place at Birstall Bowling Club towards the end of the season to raise money for the English National Association of Visually Handicapped Bowlers.
Despite torrential rain throughout most of the evening, a game of bowls took place. This was followed by hot dogs being sold and a raffle with 30 prizes being donated. The total amount raised on the night was £200.
One of those bowlers to benefit from the donation will be Birstall’s own Sue Wilson. She has been chosen to represent England in the Singles competition at next year’s World Blind Bowls tournament in Scotland.