Cricket evening
Under 10 team receiving their commemorative
medals. Tom Darlison, William Wragg, Charlotte Ballard, Lewis
Ballard, Tom Corbett, Ben Drake, Aaron Headley, Jonathan Gaydon,
Daryl Glover, Jamie Drake, Ryan Smith, Steve Glover, George Corbett
and Grant Hargrave. Also pictured are Luke Wright, Ashley Wright,
Rob Drake, Doug Topley, and Andy Corbett. Under 13 team photos
are available for reprints and can be viewed at the cricket club
pavilion.
BIRSTALL VILLAGE Cricket Club Junior Section
held their first ever presentation evening on March 23.
The purpose of the evening was as a thank you for all who took
part and helped in arranging the matches and also in transportation
and support of the children.
Every player in both the under 10s and 13s received a medal for
their efforts throughout the season. There was also special individual
awards for best batting, bowling, fielding and most improved
player. There was an award for Head Coach Rob Drake for his dedication
throughout the summer. Rob said: “This award was a total
surprise but I am very grateful and have thoroughly enjoyed the
season and hope to have an even better season this summer”.
To make it an even memorable evening for the players the awards
were presented by two representatives of Leicestershire County
Cricket Club, Ashley and Luke Wright, two of Leicestershire young
stars of the future (remember you heard it first here in the
Post!) They are hoping to become the first brothers to play for
Leicestershire since the Tolchard brothers in the 70s. Ashley
and Luke were certainly a hit with all the girls.
The new season will be starting in May, all present players will
be notified of training and match details very soon. Junior Section
managers Andy Corbett and Hamish Carnan have had to come to the
agonising decision that they cannot take on any more players
due to the high numbers as only ten players can play in any one
match.
Rugby fun day
SPORTING CELEBRITIES will be making an
appearance at Birstall Rugby Club’s annual President’s
day match on May 5.
Loughborough MP Andy Reed, a member of the rugby club, has invited
ex Leicester Tigers players and one current first team player
to the event, which will also be attended by Leicester Riders
Captain Billy Singleton.
During the day there will be a mini rugby match for children,
a bouncy castle, food stalls, face painting, ice cream and a
licensed bar. Celebrities will be available to sign memorabilia
and for photos. One of the raffle prizes is two seats in the
directors’ box for the Tigers Zurich quarter final game.
The fun starts at 10.30am at Stonehill School, Birstall with
the main match between the club’s first team and Andy Reed’s
celebrity side kicking off at noon.
Club member Phill Lewin said: “Without a doubt this will
be the biggest event in the history of the club. We hope to keep
the club afloat and extend the facility of playing to young people
in the village.
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Chess champion
DILPESH SUMARIA (pictured) is Stonehill School’s
Chess Champion.
Dilpesh played a total of seven games against fellow pupils and
came out top on points.
Stonehill are taking part in the British UK Land Chess Challenge
and the next round of the event sees Dilpesh and seven other
pupils from the school competing at Rushey Mead Community College.
Dilpesh (13) of Fieldgate Crescent said: “I like chess because
it’s a challenging game. I find the middle game toughest
as I sometimes make silly mistakes and lost a lot of pieces.
I’m strongest at openings.”
Pupils joining Dilpesh at Rushey Mead are Jennifer Goffin, Craig
Woodings, Tom Battye, Fahro Alihodzic, Jack Collier, Paavan Tailor
and Toby Vernon.
Parish Council notes
THE ANNUAL Parish Meeting of Birstall Parish
Council was held on Monday April 8. This was followed by a full
meeting of the Council.
The bottle banks on Somerfield car park are regularly overflowing
and councillors considered other sites in the village for a possible
location for an additional bottle bank.
The Council agreed to donate £250 towards a mobile CCTV
project for Birstall. This will involve a portable CCTV camera
that will be monitored at Syston police station. The scheme is
at an early stage of planning.
It was reported that Birstall will definitely be getting a second
beat officer in July, who will join PC Kevin Palmer.
Cllr Pamela Martin reported she is liaising with Highcliffe School
in a bid to get a room one evening a week for 12-16 year olds.
It was reported that an estimate had been received for the Village
Sign of £1350 excluding delivery, post and base. It was
agreed to ascertain sources of finance and seek alternative quotes.
It was reported that football goal posts had been erected at
the Harrowgate Drive playing fields. A new dog bin has been installed
on Park Road at the end of the railway line footpath. A sweet
chestnut tree has been planted in the children’s play area
at Harrowgate Drive. The tree and a guard were provided courtesy
of a £100 donation from the Methodist Church theatre group.
Trees donated by the County Council have been used to fill out
the hedge on School Lane, which has been further protected by
a new post and rail fence.
It was reported that the annual costs of maintaining the bowling
green was a minimum of £10,000. It was agreed that the
annual fees for the Bowling Club be increased to £7500.
United tournament
JAPAN AND South Korea are not the only
places to be hosting an International Football Tournament this
summer.
Birstall United Juniors Football Club are staging their own International
Tournament during May. Jim Lennon, Secretary of BUJFC said “The
tournament, now in its 24th year, has always proved highly successful,
not only on the pitch but in making friends and forming alliances
with other clubs. We are happy to welcome everybody to Birstall.
The tournament has been running for so long that many of our
players’ dads took part many years ago”.
The two day tournament will take place on Saturday May 18 and
Sunday May 19 when a total of 34 games will be played at BUJFC’s
home ground Meadow Lane.
Apart from host Club Birstall United Juniors there will be teams
from Barrow Town, Ratby/Groby and Syston Town forming the local
opposition plus Cheadle Heath Nomads from Cheshire flying the
English flag. Our twin town of Rixensart represent Belgium and
the French challenge comes from our perennial friends at the
Etoile Club ACTG with whom we share a unique relationship spanning
25 years.
Completing the Continental theme Leicestershire’s own FIFA
referee Peter Jones has agreed to officiate at the tournament.
The response to sponsorship requests has been thus far encouraging
but there still remain vacancies for programme advertising and
match sponsorship.
For further information please contact Jim Lennon at BUJFC on
0116 2216855.
The French equivalent, the Tournoi International Des Paques was
played near Lille during April of this year when Birstall were
victorious with the Under 14 team winning the tournament and
the under 13s finishing third.
Methodist news
MAY BRINGS our Summer Gala, held on Saturday
May 18 from 10am until 2pm. Hopefully it will be fine and a lot
of stalls will be ‘out of doors’ using the front car
park of the church on Wanlip Lane.
Events at the Gala will include Irish dancing and Morris dancing.
Coffee and light lunches will be available. Admission is free.
The Gala proceeds will go to the Vision 2000 fund. A sum of £366
was added to that fund from the proceeds of a Sunday lunch on
April 14. Even more money - £678 was raised at the Good
as New boutique. Thanks to all who supported. Other recent fundraising
included £201 for NCH by the Highcliffe Harmony & Tombo
concert.
We have had more news from Deborah Gray working in Senegal in
Africa. Her task is to make a ‘user friendly’ dictionary
of the local language ‘Saafi Saafi’.
The Charnwood Hike was held in April. 66 teams left Barrow on
Soar to walk via Walton, Seagrave, Sileby, Cossington & Wanlip
to Birstall. The teams were made up of three teenagers, either
girls or boys. This year ten ‘veteran’ tams took part.
The 3rd Chelmsford Boys Brigade won the event, 2nd were 32nd
Nottingham and 3rd were 1st Measham. The highest local team was
the 1947 Birstall ATC who came equal 7th. The hike has been running
since about 1970 and usually has about 100 teams taking part.
Last year’s hike was cancelled due to Foot & Mouth which
may account for a lower number of entries this year.
The highlight of our worship calendar in May is Pentecost on
19th, when there is an ‘all age’ service at 10.30am
and a service of Holy Communion at 6pm. All are welcome.
From Birstall Methodist Church
Try bowls
THE OUTDOOR Bowls season is now underway
and Birstall Bowling Club are having an open evening on Tuesday
May 7 between 6-8pm at the club on School Lane playing fields
for anyone who would like to try out the game.
All you need is a pair of flat shoes or trainers. For further
details contact Andy on 2677100.
The junior club will be run again for youngsters aged 11-18 on
Friday nights starting on May 17 from 6.30-8pm. Again just bring
a pair of trainers or flat shoes. For more information please
call Jan or Rick on 2122578, or Diane or John on 2675457.
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Top cop on Birstall beat
CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT Ian Stripp (pictured
above right) joined Birstall Beat Officer Kevin Palmer on one
of his patrols of the village.
Mr Stripp, the North Area Commander, said: “Birstall has
just been moved into my area and I'm joining Kevin today to get
a feel for the place, and to meet as many people as possible.”
Improved play area
Chairman of Leicestershire County Council
Dr David Pollard (left) opens the new equipment. He is pictured
with the Mayor and Mayoress of Charnwood Tony and Eva Stott,
Cllr Roger Wilson, Cllr Nigel Coleman and Cllr Dave Cherry.
A SHIRE grant of £9875 from the County
Council helped pay for new fencing, safety surfacing and play
equipment on School Lane playing fields.
Harrowgate Drive playing fields also received some new fencing,
with the total project costing £20,000.
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Door to door holidays
LAVER HOLIDAYS is one of the local success
stories of recent years - now in its eleventh year of operation,
and with offices throughout the East Midlands, the company has
grown slowly but consistently to become one of the region’s
largest provider of coach touring holidays aimed at the over
55s.
“Our continuing success” says managing director, Tony
Laver “is our insistence on quality and a refusal to believe
that low prices are the first thing people look for. We do not
believe in ‘extras’ for instance, everything that is
to be included in the holiday, should be included in the price.
No nasty little surprises later on, that’s out policy”.
Laver Holidays include insurance too, and have no supplements
for excursions whilst away on tour, in fact they often slip in
little extras at no cost. They offer the Over 55s a discount
of £1 for every day on tour. “Because we recognise
they are the backbone of our business” said Mr Laver. Possibly
the real key to their ongoing success is the fact that they collect
every passenger from home by taxi and take them to the coach
- and the same on their return - all at no extra cost. That’s
almost 8000 passengers every year. This innovation in holiday
travel is now widely copied up and down the country, to the benefit
of everyone.
“Nowadays progressive tour operators like ourselves are
getting more and more involved in air holidays too” Mr Laver
continued “and our programme for 2002 includes such places
as Malta, Cyprus, Canada (sorry SOLD OUT) and Madeira, as well
as weekly departures to the Channel Islands from East Midlands
Airport”.
Call the brochure hotline on 01509 236500.
School’s award
LONGSLADE COLLEGE has received a School
Achievement Award as a result of the improvements in their results
between 1998 and 2001.
Last summer students at the college achieved the best results
at GCSE for many years with 55 per cent of year 11 getting five
or more grades between A* and C.
Principal Geoff Court said: “This was a tremendous achievement
and reflected the hard work and commitment of both students and
staff”.
Issued by the Department of Education, the award amounts to a
substantial cash sum that will be distributed as a bonus payment
to all staff.
Art exhibition
ON SUNDAY July 7, as part of the Birstall
Festival, the Birstall and District Art Society are mounting
an exhibition of pictures.
These are all for sale and include framed original works, miniatures,
mounted originals and mounted prints.
Secretary Mary Houghton said: “Come along and buy your favourite
painting to give you a lifetime’s pleasure.
“We look forward to seeing old and new friends - find us
under the gazebo, on the School Lane playing field between 10am
and 5.30pm”.
History Society
BIRSTALL LIBRARY and Birstall Local History
Society are marking Local History Month with a joint display
of photographs of old Birstall and local history resources from
April 22 to May 12.
Birstall and District Local History Society has been meeting
for eighteen years. The mainstay of its activities is its monthly
meeting, a friendly occasion when an authority on a topic of
local historical interest talks to us. Over 100 speakers have
spoken on subjects as diverse as the English Civil War, Leicester
Co-op, The Vanished Halls of Birstall and Leicestershire Cinemas.
The programme has also included a dozen village tours, when members
are given an insight into the history and buildings of the place
visited, including Wymeswold, Syston, Rearsby and Mountsorrel.
This year we will be visiting Kirby Muxlie.
There is always varied work and recording of Birstall’s
past. We believe that, of Leicestershire’s village local
history societies, we are probably one of the best researched.
To this end the society has already published six books on Birstall’s
history and have three more in preparation. There is also a private
archive of more than two thousand documents, photographs and
press cuttings.
Also a number of groups meet in members’ homes to look at:
(1) Family History (2) The Stories behind the names on Birstall
War Memorial (3) The stories behind Birstall’s street names.
If you would like to join us please come along to one of our
meetings on the second Thursday in the month in Birstall Library
at 7.30pm. Annual membership is £6. If you do not wish
to commit yourself the fee for a non member for a single meeting
is £1
Programme for 2002
May 9 Leicester Oddities, Virginia Wright; June 13 Victorian
Underwear, Jane May; June 27 Guided Walk around Kirby Muxloe,
Jane Berry; Sep 12 Were Your Ancestors in the News?, Michael
& Joyce Billings; Oct 10, The 1901 Census, Birstall a Century
Ago, Nov 14 The Victorian Funeral, Ray Cooper (Ginns & Gutteridge);
Dec 12 Christmas Meeting, members’ evening
For further information please contact the secretary: Mike Smith,
140 Birstall Rd, Birstall LE4 4DF tel:2675792
Learn about wildlife
CROPSTON WILDLIFE Watch group is one of
a network of groups that meet once a month across the county
for children who wish to have an active role in learning about
their local wildlife.
The Cropston group meet at Cropston Visitor Centre next to Cropston
Reservoir, usually on a Sunday from 2.30-4.30pm. For more details
call Rebecca 0116 2352014 (day), or Karen 01509 568950 (eves).
Forthcoming meetings include pond dipping on May 26 and an evening
bat walk on June 28.
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WEA news
THE BIRSTALL Branch of the WEA in conjunction
with the library service invites you to a free taster session
on Tuesday May 14 at Birstall Library starting at 7pm.
Treasures of the Earth: “Are Diamonds a girl’s best
friend?”. Yes, either as a symbol of exclusiveness, of wealth
and of power. Of what value would they be if you were isolated
in a hostile environment? Lost in a desert - would you prefer
a source of water, or in the Arctic - a supply of heat?
Mankind’s life style depends on the exploitation of the
earth’s natural resources. This introductory illustrated
lecture by Albert Horton (British Geological Survey) will discuss
the origin of diamonds and local mineral deposits.
You are invited to attend this free taster session - a preview
of a course to be held during this coming Autumn at Longslade
Community College.
Further information from Birstall library, phone 2675212 or visit
our website www.birstallandrothleywea.org.uk
Try tennis
IF YOU live in Leicestershire this is your
chance to take advantage of the country’s biggest and best
annual sporting offer - to play tennis for free!
Play tennis 2002 is run by the Lawn Tennis Association and the
campaign offers everyone, especially beginners, the opportunity
to pick up a racket and play. As part of the campaign, Gynsill
Lawn Tennis Club, Gorse Hill, Anstey is throwing open its doors
on May 5 for free.
It’s open to players of all ages and abilities and youngsters
are particularly welcome to come and try the greatest game in
the world. So why not give it a try?
Hundreds of venues around the country are expected to take part
and the LTA anticipate more than 85,000 will have a hit, making
it the UK’s biggest participation event.
The national Play Tennis 2002 campaign begins on April 13 and
runs for three months until July 13.
Gynsill Lawn Tennis Club will be taking part on Sunday May 5
from 10am to 4pm for Adults (16+) and 10am to 2pm for children
(8-15yrs).
Anyone interested in playing can either contact John Chapman
on 0116 2879180 or alternatively they can visit hhtp.//www.LTA.org.uk/playtennis
or call the LTA hotline on 020 7381 7038 for further details
of Play Tennis 2002.
May Birstall Post continues here
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