home
back to Back Issues list

Birstall Post May 2002 (225) cont.

Friendship & fellowship

THE MINUTES of the St James Monday Group go back to March 1959, then the leader was Mrs Lander, the vicar’s wife.
At first it was called the ‘Women’s Fellowship’ and now it is ‘St James Monday Group’ who meet in the Day Centre on the second Monday of the month.
We are really lucky to have such a wealth of talent amongst our members. We have expert cooks who can create a wonderful three course meal. We have ladies who are quilters and ladies who created a wall hanging for St James Church. Beautifully stitched, it depicts the story of the nativity. We have a lady who paints the most wonderful flower paintings and another lady who makes hand-made decorations for Christmas and beautiful Christmas cards. The list is endless...
We have another lady who creates hand-knitted figures of animals and little babies in cots. When we travel around on our annual outings, we have two ladies who are nurses, so we are well looked after.
We had a theatre outing in January. One of our ladies is a member of the King Richard’s Road Drama and Operatic Society and is now their vice-president.
The money we raise with various fundraising activities is given to our chosen charities.
Every month we have talks and slide shows with a varied group of interesting speakers.
If any lady would like to join us, you would be made very welcome. The most important thing is our friendship and fellowship.
We meet on the second Monday of each month at St James Day centre at 7.30pm. Contact Dorothy Geeson on 2675679
From Margaret Coley, a Member of the Monday Group

Planning

[Mr & Mrs Chapman - erection of single storey extension to side & rear of semi detached dwelling. 65 Woodgate Dr
Mr & Mrs K J & D Pepper - erection of 1st floor extension to rear of dwelling. 82 Elmfield Ave
Mr P Hargrave - single storey extension to front & side of semi detached dwelling. 8 Hawthorn Ave
Mr S J Kaur & Mr H Singh - erection of single storey extension to garage to link to front of detached dwelling. 3 Curzon Ave
Mrs V Marlow - removal of condition 3 of planning permission to allow granny flat to be occupied as an independent dwelling. 3 Colindale Ave
The Punch Pub Company - display extension illuminated advertisements. The Old Plough Public House. Front St
Mr N Mistry - single storey extension to side of dwelling, storm porch & alterations to garage. 2 Lyngate Ave
Mr & Mrs Holmes - erection of porch & single storey extension to front of semi detached dwelling. 623 Loughborough Rd

Books on wheels

BIRSTALL LIBRARY currently has a small number of vacancies for its ‘Books on Wheels’ service.
This service uses volunteers to deliver books and other materials to housebound customers who are no longer able to access the library. If you are interested in receiving this service please contact Joanna Hopkinson at the library on 2673494

Winners

TWO LONGSLADE students were successful at the County Badminton Championships in March.
Liz Middleton won the Girls Singles and Doubles titles and Lee Frith won the Boys Doubles Title and was runner up in the Singles.

Special

GOT A few spare hours a week? Want to put something back into the community? Want training and the opportunity to make a difference?
If the answer’s Yes, have you considered joining the Special Constabulary?
To find out more about becoming a member of the Special Constabulary, simply contact the recruiting department on 0116 222 2222 ext 2079/2252

New learning experience

INVESTMENT IN Longslade College is resulting in a lot of changes on the campus.
The Lecture Theatre conversion to a Dance and Drama Area is almost complete. Two rows of seats have been removed and a large open space has been created with an audience viewing area.
The old Food Technology room has been converted into a light airy teaching room and the computer hubs in the library, comprising 20 machines, are being installed. Some computers will also be put into the History and Geography departments.
Specialist equipment and materials have started to be purchased by departments. Design now has an A3 printer and extra digital cameras. Various CAD and CAM software and machinery is to be researched. Mrs Charlish, Mr Hall and Mr Brewster are now all accredited to teach Prodesk Top and that brings with it a site licence worth £4,500.
The Science Department have bought extra power packs and a range of additional textbooks. Two successful trips have run, one to the Space Centre and one to Leicester University, and the possibility of having a “Researcher in Residence” is being investigated.
In Maths, various software packages are being trialled: Cami Maths, Omni Graph and staff are being trained. Additional graphical calculators have also been bought.
Our broadband connection is now up and running and as soon as Mr Hardy has rooms prepared he will be installing at least three more computer teaching areas.
Adam Brewster, Head of Design Technology, said: “Things are moving very fast and come September, pupils will have a quite different learning experience”.

Local shooter

Clive Patrick

Access for all

WHEELCHAIR USERS can now attend meetings of Birstall and District Art Society’s meetings as they have moved to a ground floor venue.
The Society meets in the hall of Longslade College, which has a ramp for disabled access. Non-members are welcome to attend as guests, at a cost of £3.
The Society meets on the second Tuesday of each month, and on Tuesday April 9 there will be a demonstration in acrylic paints.
The meeting on May 14 will feature a landscape in pastel.
For further details contact the Secretary on 2677833

Bid to halt declining numbers of song thrush

WITH ITS beautiful song and distinctive markings, the Song Thrush is one of the most popular birds in Britain. It was once common and widespread but now, like so many of our native species, there has been a substantial decline in numbers across the country.
The Song Thrush is therefore of high conservation concern and has been added to the national register of ‘Red Listed’ birds, one of the 36 species whose breeding population has declined by 50% or more over the previous 25 years.
The decline has been greatest on intensively managed farmland where changes in agricultural practices, particularly the switching from spring to autumn sowing of cereals and the increased use of pesticides, are thought to be the cause. A combination of severe winter weather and dry soil conditions are also thought to affect food supply as does the increased use of molluscides on farmland and in gardens.
It is the very vulnerability of Song Thrush populations that has led to it being included as one of the four key species of the Charnwood Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).
The BAP aims to ‘halt the decline in Song Thrush numbers by 2005’, an ambitious target that can only be met by first establishing baseline data on current populations. To this end, Charnwood Wildlife fully supports the ‘Flight 2004’ survey being carried out by the Leicestershire & Rutland Garden Bird Survey.
The ‘Flight 2004’ survey, which forms part of the Leicestershire Garden Bird Survey, aims to provide baseline data on Song Thrush populations and behaviour. The survey is organised through the Leicestershire & Rutland Ornithological Society.
So far there has been a great response from the general public with, to date, around 250 survey forms filled in across the Borough of Charnwood alone. However, the organisers are calling on even more local people to take part during 2002 since the more people who take part, the more accurate the picture for local Song Thrush populations.
Early results show the Song Thrush being recorded in considerably more than 50% of gardens across Leicestershire. However, the number of breeding birds, which is fundamental to the stability, increase or decline of any population is sadly very low. For example, Charnwood had the highest proportion of Survey gardens in 2001 but only 18 nests were recorded in 148 gardens; that is to say, one nest in every eight gardens - a very worrying figure.
For further information, please contact Ken Goodrich, Leicestershire Garden Bird Survey, 6 Riversdale Close, Birstall, Leicester LE4 4EH
The Song Thrush feeds mainly on worms and molluscs, including snails, which it breaks open on an ‘anvil’ such as stones or a path. It will also eat insects, spiders, fruit and berries.
To attract Song Thrushes into your garden, try increasing the supply of worms by setting up a compost heap or allowing leaves to rot down naturally. This increases the organic matter in the soil, thus increasing the number of worms.
In harsh weather you can provide mild grated cheese, sultanas and apples. For bathing and drinking, supply a shallow water bowl - even an up-turned bin lid will suffice.
Avoid using slug pellets in your garden because, by poisoning the slugs you will inadvertently harm the other species that feed upon them, including the Song Thrush. If slugs are a persistent problem, try spreading broken eggshells, sharp sand or grit around the affected plants. This should deter the slugs whose soft bodies are not adapted to crossing sharp surfaces. For container-grown plants, place a loop of copper wire around individual pots.
Now is the correct time of year to carry out any hedge maintenance since plants are dormant and there is no risk of disturbing nesting birds. For this reason, always avoid trimming your hedge during the summer months.

ON TUESDAY February 19 an Open Evening on ‘Drugs Information’ was held at the Birstall Council Offices, specifically for the benefit of parents.
The evening was attended by the Lord Mayor of Charnwood, local Councillors, the Headmaster and Youth Leader of Longslade School, representatives from the Leicester Education Department, Drugs Action Team and the Police, and parents from the Susan Jones Family Trust. The evening was organised by the Birstall Drugs Forum in the hopes that information regarding the very real drugs problem in Birstall and surrounding areas can be relayed to parents, helping them to become ‘drugs aware’.
The evening was very successful, giving the few parents who attended information on how the drugs problem is escalating, what drugs and their effects are, what signs to look for.
I was one of the parents who attended and was truly amazed at how few parents felt the need to be informed, out of one high school and two primary schools only approx 15 parents attended.
I belong to the Susan Jones Family Support Group specifically set up to support parents, partners and carers of drug users, and we were approached to attend the meeting with a view to impressing on parents the very real dangers of the problem within our areas. We struggled long and hard as it’s not easy to put yourself on the front line of judgement and humiliation, but finally we agreed (12 in total) as we are all concerned with the rapidity with which this scourge is spreading. Standing up was not pleasant and in no way did it help us or our users, it would not alter what had and still is happening to us but our motivation was you and your children!
You teach your children how to cross the road safely - you keep all harmful substances out of harm’s reach. Please, please take it one step further - be a responsible parent and find out all you can about the if, where, how of drugs.
Your child is at school - safe? Are you sure? Do you know what they are doing in their breaks, do they leave the school grounds? Dealers prey around school areas, sweet shops, chip shops, takeaways, they are both on foot and in cars - dealers must be ecstatic all of these options are in Birstall. Drug runners can be as young as 11-12 years!
Scared, worried - good, you should be! If you are scared you are aware, if you are aware there is hope.
Demand information from your schools, councils, police and doctors - find out their policies and procedures - the drugs problem is not specific to any one sort of person, it is not discriminative, it takes people from all walks of life. I have enclosed a ‘poem’ a horrific description of what heroin does. These few words are an apt description of the consequences of taking heroin.
Finally in closing, I would like to thank the Birstall Parish Drugs Forum, for their recognition that there is a drugs problem in our area, and in particular Nigel Coleman for his tireless and unending support to the Susan Jones Group. His dedication and commitment to help stamp out and find real solutions to the drug problem, firstly in Birstall, and ultimately the Charnwood area is given voluntarily and wholeheartedly. Nigel’s strength has in turn given the group strength to cope and maybe more importantly for you, pointed us in the right direction to use what energy we have left to help with this mammoth task of making you all ‘drugs aware’.
I pray to God that when you think that drugs will not affect your family, that you are right.
From the Mother of a Heroin Addict
Heroin
Behold my friend, I am heroin
Known to all as the destroyer of me
From where I come nobody knows
A faraway place where the poppy grows

I came to the country without getting caught
And since that day I’ve been hunted and sought
Whole nations have gathered to plot my destruction
They call me the breeder of crime and corruption
I’m more potent that whisky, more deadly than wine
Yes, I’m the scourge of all mankind

My little white grains are nothing but waste
I’m soft and fluffy and bitter to taste

I’m white, I’m brown but deadly to use
For once you’re addicted, I really abuse

I’m known in Thailand, Iraq and Iran
I’m welcome in Turkey and have been to Japan
In cellophane bags I make my way
To men at work and children at play
From the heads of state to the lowest of scum
I’ll turn your house into a slum

I take a rich man and make him poor
I take a maiden and make her a whore
Make a beautiful woman forget her looks
And make a student forget his books
I can make you steal, lie, borrow and beg
Then search for a vein in your arm and your leg
I’m known to be selfish and fill you with greed
Still faceless, regardless of religion or creed

My gift is illusion, my blessing is fake
Death and destruction follow my wake
I’m the kiss of death to all whom I touch
I start as a gift and remain as a crutch
My friends are many, but I’m loyal to none
I come to destroy, my work will be done

Some think of me as merely a toy
But wise men know I aim to destroy

Run from me if you wish, for I will never give chase
For sooner or later you’ll return for a taste
Once in your bloodstream, you’ll think me not mean
You will praise me as master, then nod in a dream

You have heard my warning, but will take no heed
Put your foot in the stirrup, mount this great steed
Get right in the saddle and hold on real well

For the white horse heroin will take you to hell

* * *

To the kind gentleman who returned theatre tickets to me which had been dropped in The Crossways on March 4, thank you most sincerely.
from Christine Tilford
Chairperson, Birstall Methodist Women’s Group
* * *

We would like to thank all our neighbours and friends for the lovely cards, flowers and gifts we received for our Diamond Wedding.
Also, all the neighbours who came to our open day and especially those who made such lovely refreshments for the buffet which everyone enjoyed.
A special thank you to Janet for organising everything and notifying Radio Leicester and the Mercury.
Thanking you all again for making it such a lovely celebration.
Charlie & Joyce Borman
* * *

When I first started writing to the Birstall Post regarding the Juniors at Birstall United Football Club. I called myself Worried Grandfather. After reading Mr West’s reaction to my letters I wish to change that to ‘Worried Birstall Resident’.
After all the questions asked of P West, the only thing he can come up with is the one pound per week the children pay for training.
As stated in the March issue of the Birstall Post by Mr Plumb, the junior section of the Birstall United is completely separate from Birstall United. Who pays for the balls used etc, and other expenses? Not Birstall Parish Council.
Another question for Mr West. How much do the skateboarders pay to use the park? The answer is nil. They can use the money saved to buy other recreational items (ref Mr Plumb’s letter Para.2)
Mr West, stop being an ostrich, pull your head out of the sand and look at the real world. The world being the future of Birstall, and the youngsters’ training on Saturdays.
E Llewellyn
* * *

Age Concern info

Government Changes Hospital Downrating Rule
The Government has announced that it is to change the hospital downrating rule which meant pensioners suffered cuts to their income when in hospital for six weeks or more. Age Concern welcomes the change but would like to see the Government abolish this unfair and outdated rule altogether. The change is that cuts will not begin until a hospital stay has lasted for 13 weeks but older people will have to bear the current effects of this unfair rule for over a year - until the changes are implemented in 2003.

Pensions Crisis: Public Apprehensive and Confused Over Pensions Provision - Age Concern Launches ‘Fair Pensions for All’ Campaign.
New findings revealed by Age Concern/MORI show that the majority of people in Britain do not have confidence in the Government’s strategy to tackle pensioner poverty and many people are apprehensive about their income in retirement or cannot afford to save towards it. As public dissatisfaction with the Government’s approach to pensions mounts, Age Concern is launching its new ‘Fair Pensions for All’ campaign to highlight the realities faced by today’s pensioners and the threat of poverty facing younger people in the future.
Summary of MORI’s research findings:
People in Britain are critical of the Government’s record on tackling pensioner poverty, with the majority (60%) saying that the Government has not tackled pensioner poverty well.
More than half the British public (54%) believe the ‘State retirement pension should be enough for a pensioner to have a disposable income’, and older people are particularly likely to hold this view.
Only around half of people (49%) below the State retirement age are currently saving for retirement or paying into a pension, and only one in five (21%) fells confident that they will have sufficient income in retirement.
Most people do not know how many years’ National Insurance contributions they need to have made in order to receive a full State retirement pension. And the vast majority have no idea how much money they would need to have saved in a private pension fund in order to get £100 per week, on top of the State retirement pension, if they retire at the age of 60.
MORI concluded: “There is clearly much confusion about what sort of provision people should be making for their retirement, and exactly how much they should be putting aside each month. This is also confirmed by the quantitative results showing that only one in five of the British public (aged 16-64) is confident that they will have sufficient income in retirement, and only half are making any provision. It points to a need for further information and education on the subject of pensions. Focus group members clearly state that they would like straightforward advice from the government on how much money to save and where to save it. At the same time, however, there is a clear feeling among the public that the government must still fulfil its responsibility to provide for those who simply do not have the resources to save themselves, and that the State retirement pension must provide enough to have a disposable income.”
A representative sample of 2,100 adults was interviewed and two focus groups were conducted among people with moderate to low incomes aged between 30-40 in London and Leeds.
Age Concern states that the treatment of older people is a measure of our society’s values - that so many struggle on low incomes or face age discrimination is an indictment on how our society values their contribution. Age Concern’s campaign work is based on the following principles:
All older people have a right to an adequate income and there needs to be an agreed and clear way of defining ‘adequacy’.
Older people should not be seen as a burden - there needs to be recognition of their past and ongoing contributions such as: pension and national insurance contributions; direct and indirect taxation; caring roles and voluntary work.
The role of the State is to guarantee and enable people to receive an adequate income in retirement. This will be through a combination of direct State provision and appropriate, well regulated private provision.
Building on these principles Age Concern will be campaigning to:
Convince Government to adopt targets for the reduction of property in retirement.
Make the case for a State pension set at an adequate lead and guaranteed to rise with the living standards of the nation as a whole.
Enable the voices of the most disadvantaged people to be heard in the debate.
Demonstrate the threat of poverty in retirement facing younger age groups.
Age Concern Holidays
For details of various holidays organised by Age Concern Leicester and Rutland contact: Doreen Nuttall, John Storer House, Wards End, Loughborough tel: 01509 230131 or 0116 2511474
Jex Woods

back

home page