Police recruits
AN INCREASED number of police officers
are now patrolling the streets of Leicestershire.
The force strength has increased by 56 officers, to 2130 compared
to 2074 for the same period last year.
In addition, it is hoped that the Government’s bid to cut
the time police officers spend performing administrative duties
will allow more time to be spent on patrol and policing communities,
although it is believed the campaign to cut bureaucracy could
take up to five years to complete.
Veronica Tordimah, head of recruiting at Leicestershire Constabulary,
said: “We continue to have an active recruiting campaign
and aim to take on another 197 officers by March 2003. In addition,
we have recruited an additional 21 special constabulary officers
this year, who will perform duties which complement our regular
officers.
We aim to encourage applications from ethnic minority groups
and have appointed a liaison officer whose specific task is to
reinforce to them the career opportunities available within the
police service.”
Syston Police intend to appoint a second beat officer to join
PC Kevin Palmer in Birstall, but they have been unsuccessful
in recruiting anyone. The position continues to be advertised.
If you require further details about becoming a regular police
officer or a special constabulary officer, please contact the
Recruiting Department at Leicestershire Constabulary Headquarters
on Leicester (0116) 222 2222, ext 2657.
Bicycle patrols
PC Jeff Oakley, PC Emma Gilbert and PC Kevin
Palmer on bikes are pictured with Inspector Duncan Cullen, Chhaya
McDonald and Martin Smith of City Cycles, Thurmaston.
BIRSTALL BEAT Officer Kevin Palmer has
been presented with a bike to patrol Watermead Country Park.
Syston Local Policing Unit in partnership with Charnwood Borough
Council and City Cycles of Thurmaston, are now deploying police
officers on bikes to patrol all the pathways in the Watermead
Country Park. City Cycles have generously donated two bicycles
to the local beat officers in a joint effort to reduce crime
in the Park. The public will see the officers in their state
of the art equipment.
Inspector Duncan Cullen, Commander of the Syston Local Policing
Unit, said: “Having officers deployed on bicycles will allow
greater accessibility to Watermead Country Park. These high visibility
patrols will impact upon anti-social behaviour and crime. We
want people to come to the Park knowing it is a safe place to
visit.”
Martin Smith, co-director of City Cycles with Pete Franks, said:
“We try to support the Leicestershire Constabulary with
crime prevention initiatives in their effort to make safer communities.
The Country Park is in our village and our customers will be
able to cycle around the Park with confidence that they will
be safe.”
Chhaya McDonald, Policy Officer at Charnwood Borough Council,
said: “This highly innovative project, the first of its
kind in the county, has the full backing of Charnwood Borough
Council and the Charnwood Community Safety Partnership. This
project is a wonderful example of how, by working in partnership,
we can all help to reduce crime and disorder within the Charnwood
area.”
PC Palmer said: “Watermead Country Park has been hard to
police properly and the bike will give us greater accessibility.
The principal crimes there are thefts from cars, stolen cycles
and drug offences. We first used the bikes at the Wet, Wild and
Wonderful event in September, and there were no reported crimes
that day.”
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First place for Sue
BIRSTALL BOWLING Club’s Sue Wilson
has achieved First Place in the UK Blind Bowls Singles Championships,
held at Paisley in Scotland at the end of August.
While Sue, who is partially sighted, was winning that competition,
36 bowlers were raising money for the English National Association
of Visually Handicapped Bowlers at a charity night held at the
club. A total of £223 was raised from paying to play as
well as hot dog sales and a raffle.
Meanwhile, Birstall finished third in the first division of the
Loughborough & District Triples League just nine points behind
winners Loughborough Brush. There wasn’t such good news
in the Leicester & District Bowls League as Birstall were
relegated from the first division. The club will be hoping to
bounce back by gaining promotion from the second division next
season.
Heritage wardens
HERITAGE WATCH, a three year project with
Leicestershire County Council’s Museums, Arts and Records
Service, is looking to recruit more Heritage Wardens for its
countywide project.
The scheme, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund is aiming
to get 100% coverage of the county by the end of the year.
Being a Heritage Warden allows people to work to protect and
conserve all aspects of their local heritage including natural,
built, social and archaeological. Heritage Watch has so far recruited
148 Wardens in 110 parishes but is looking for more, especially
in parishes that are currently without one, like Birstall.
If anyone is interested or would like to volunteer, please contact
the Holly Hayes Environmental Resources Centre, 216 Birstall
Road, Birstall, Leicestershire LE4 4DG. Tel: 0116 2671377 for
an information pack
A slimmer Christmas
WEIGHTCARE SLIMMING Clubs have organised
prizes, free weeks, lots of incentives and a bumper Christmas
Party with slimming foods for their members in the run up to
Christmas.
Ten slimming weeks with Weightcare could see you as a Christmas
cracker instead of a Christmas pudding!
A Weightcare spokeswoman said: “It’s just amazing how
different Christmas will be without a bloated tummy, fat thighs
and wobbling triceps - Weightcare slimmers lose an average of
one stone in four to six weeks so you can lose a stone, maybe
even two stones before the festivities begin. The rewards are
fantastic - think of all those Christmas parties with you looking
and feeling great.”
Weightcare can plan your slimming campaign for the next ten weeks
with a selection of slimming plans that really trigger weight
loss and you’ll also be in with a chance to win a day for
two at Springs Health Hydro. We are offering the first class
free with this article, worth £3.70 (just £7 membership
fee to pay). So, what are you waiting for? A warm welcome awaits
you. Tel: 01530 813361 for details, or just come along to: St
Margaret’s Bowls Club, Birstall Road on Tuesdays at 7pm.
Tel Tracy: 01509 414208
Stamps, foil & cards
OLD POSTAGE stamps and aluminium foil can
be left at Longslade College reception, who collect them for
charitable causes.
After Christmas, the College also collects Christmas cards. These
are recycled and raise money for LOROS.
Birstall cricketers play at Trent Bridge
Pictured at Trent Bridge are members
of Birstall Village Cricket Club with England’s Darren Gough.
Rob Drake (Head Coach), Doug Topley (Chairman), Darren Gough,
Andy Corbett (Manager), Sam Carnon, Shane Glover, Johnathan Gaydon,
Charlotte Ballard, Jamie Drake, William Wragg, Lewis Ballard,
Daryl Glover, Tom Corbett, Tom Darlinson, Joe Carnan, George
Corbett
A TOP five finish in the Leicestershire
Senior League has capped a successful season for Birstall Village
Cricket Club.
First Team Captain, Andy Corbett, said: “After finishing
in the bottom two last season and without many key players due
to other commitments this season I thought it would be another
bad year. But we all played well and finally turned the corner
with some very good results only losing three matches which found
us in the top five of the Leicestershire Senior League. I now
think next year will be our year to go all the way to the top
with a bit of luck, and the right toss of the coin.”
The club’s second team had a different season, having to
win their very last match to take them to the top of the league
by just one point. Captain John Meacham said: “It was a
team effort throughout the season and when we were short players
from the Youth Academy came in and did very well. A special mention
must go to village veteran Bernard Drake, aged 63, who picked
up a winners trophy which hopefully will go a long way to winning
the Leicester Mercury Veteran of the Year. Last year Bernard
finished in the last six. Winter nets have been arranged to keep
us all fit during the closed season.”
The Under 13s managed by Hamish Carnan had an improved season
losing only four games, a marked improvement from last season
when they failed to secure a single win.
Andy Corbett said: “The Under 10s kwik cricket season was
a washout as it seemed to rain every other Friday afternoon,
this was of course match day and we only managed to play three
games but improved with every game. The team certainly played
at some impressive venues. They played exhibition matches at
Grace Road when the county side played against Durham, Kent and
Yorkshire. The children had a great time meeting a lot of England
players.”
Andy added: “The highlight of the season and my managerial
career has to be when my son George who is only six won the NatWest
competition with the prize being taking the whole team to play
at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, where the children demonstrated
their skills in front of a crowd of around 17,000. The children
could then stay and watch the match, England vs Sri Lanka, which
was a day night floodlit match and was also covered by Sky television.
“The children made a guard of honour as the players came
out on to the pitch and had their picture taken with a number
of the international players. During the tea interval my head
coach Rob Drake demonstrated some catching skills with the children
whilst I had to commentate with the help of weatherman John Kettley.”
Six year old George had to complete the phrase: I’d like
to play in front of an international crowd because...and his
winning reply was: “If I hit a four the crowd would really
cheer loud. I could meet all the England players after the game
and learn from then. I also love English cricket.”
Next year the Junior section will be reformed: Hamish Carnan
will be running the newly formed Under 15s and Under 13s. Rob
Drake has been promoted to manager of the Under 11s and Andy
Corbett will continue to run the Under 10s. He said: “If
anyone wants to join or come and help you will be most welcome.”
Leicestershire County Cricket Club cricket development officer
Alan Cooke has invited Andy Corbett and Rob Drake to attend a
level 1 coaching course during the winter.
You can contact Andy Corbett on 2693936.
Balloon’s unscheduled stop
A balloon that made a forced landing near
Red Hill island was packed away in minutes.
A HOT air balloon made an unscheduled landing
at a bus stop on the A6 near Red Hill island last month.
Local residents soon began to gather to watch the balloon’s
embarrassed pilot and passengers, as well as the ground crew
who arrived minutes later, pack up the balloon as quickly as
possible and remove it from the pavement.
WI news
MRS ANN Holden was able to attend the September
meeting of Birstall & Wanlip WI after last minute phone calls.
The arranged talk by Miss Joanna Lucas had to be cancelled due
to her illness. Mrs Holden is a Federation Committee member and
her talk entitled ‘At the Kitchen Sink’ proved to be
about her experiences as a self employed caterer. There were
many humorous anecdotes and a lot of hard work was involved.
One had to be quite adept at changing arrangements to suit all
types of situations, especially washing up facilities! Listening
members could all associate with these occasions.
Another subject of interest arose when it was reported that Mrs
Betty Barker had received a surprise phone call from Oklahoma
as a result of a mention in the Leicester Mercury of her talk
at the August meeting of Birstall & Wanlip WI. She had spoken
of her long secretarial time working for Cascelloid in Abbey
Lane, and following the Mercury report Mr Bert Simms had phoned
her from the USA. He was an old work colleague 50 years ago and
had read her name when his sister had sent on the paper. In a
phone call lasting about half an hour Mr Simms was also able
to give Betty the address of another friend of that time with
whom to make contact.
Altogether this was a very happy meeting.
Next month the speaker will be Mr John Towson demonstrating corn
dollies and as it is just after Harvest Festival time he is hoping
to provide some corn stalks so that members can try their hand
too. This will be on October 7 at 7.15pm in the Highcliffe School
Hall, Greengate Lane, Birstall.
Group for photographers
A NEW group for photographers determined
to improve the quality of their images has been launched.
The Charnwood Imaging Group was formed when a group of photographers
approached the end of a City and Guilds course and wanted to
continue improving their photography.
President Brian Ratcliffe said: “The programme is designed
to give members every opportunity to develop their image making
skills along with the social support and feedback to make it
enjoyable.”
There is a wide mix of interests from traditional black and white
to the latest digital techniques, and anyone is welcome to come
along.
The group meet at Brush Social Club, 18 Fennel Street, Loughborough.
For more details contact Brian Ratcliffe on 01509 551032 or visit
http://uk.geocities.com/the_charnwood_imaging_group/
Improve your skills
LONGSLADE COMMUNITY College is able to
offer free adult courses using money from the government’s
basic skills initiative.
Small groups have joined the courses at the end of September
but spaces are still available.
The college is asking friends and relatives to talk to each other
about the benefits from brushing up skills in English and Maths.
Peter Sapsford, Vice Principal, said “These courses are
for those who wish to support their children’s learning,
try something new, improve career prospects and gain basic qualifications.”
Confident English meets on Tuesdays 1-3pm, Pre-GCSE Maths on
Wednesdays 7-9pm and further courses are available in Coping
with Maths. Anyone interested in these free opportunities should
contact Sharon Cope at Longslade, 2673389
Nursery make-over
BIRSTALL RAINBOW Nursery Group on Wanlip
Lane has been transformed after a refurbishment costing more
than £100,000.
Two year old Elizabeth Ward with
mum Ellen Sansom has her face painted by Lisa Fray.
The nursery has been extended, redecorated and fitted out
with new equipment. Manager Dawn Markham said: “It’s
fantastic and will give the children more opportunities to learn
and develop. It’s a stimulating environment and will prepare
the children for integration to school.”
She added: “When the children walk through the door and
see the improvements they say ‘Wow! is this ours?’”
Nursery Manager Paula Wright
One of the spacious rooms at Birstall Rainbow Nursery
The nursery, established in 1989, provides care for up to
62 children aged 0-5 and is a member of the National Day Nurseries
Association. The 18 staff are all qualified to NNEB level or
are currently training to achieve this.
There are three base rooms, for babies, toddlers and the pre-school
unit, as well as a large enclosed outside play area with a variety
of play equipment.
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