Butcher’s shop closes
Pic: Butcher Robert Boulton with his favourite
cut of meat, prime ribs of beef.
ONE OF Birstall’s oldest shops closed
last month when Robert Boulton’s on Went Road ceased trading
after first opening as a butchers in 1936.
Robert Boulton (64) took over the shop in 1965 and retired in
July, having spent his whole working life in the butchery trade.
He said: “I have mixed feelings about retirement. More than
anything I will miss the diversity of people and the characters.
“I’ve been in the trade since my fifteenth birthday,
I started off at a village butchers shop in Countesthorpe and
it’s been my way of life, I haven’t really noticed
the long hours.”
Robert has seen highs and lows over the last 40 years but feels
there is a future for small butchers’ shops. “BSE was
a black time, but the trade has recovered from that and meat
has a great future as part of a balanced diet. Over the last
few years there had been a return to bespoke butchery and customers
like to see meat cut in front of them, the way ahead for the
trade is personal service and high quality” he said.
He added: “These days people are asking for special cuts
of meat because of the popularity of celebrity chefs. If something
is on TV there will nearly always be someone coming into the
shop for it. And the growth of the barbeque trade has been another
big change over the years.”
A customer for 20 years, Ken Moore of Leicester, said: “Robert
has always sold very good quality meat - the best.” Customer
Patricia Derry of Birstall said: “We shall miss him, his
meat and his service has always been excellent.”
Robert, who in 1972 was President of Leicester and District Master
Butchers Association, said: “I particularly want to thank
the people of Birstall who came specially to me for their support
and encouragement over 40 years. I have made numerous good friends
through the business.”
In his retirement Robert plans to spend more time hill walking
and visiting his children and grandchildren.
Highcliffe pool reopens
CHILDREN AND parents were invited to the
official re-opening of Highcliffe School’s Swimming Pool
after a £175,000 refurbishment.
A new shell costing £150,000 has been erected, new changing
areas provided and a new heating system installed.
Pic: Mike Jacobs (left) opens the pool with
Iain Munro, Chair of Governors Martyn Hall, Emily Bestwick (11)
and Declan Sculthorpe (11).
The pool was first opened in 1970 and was open-air. The first
cover was called the bubble, the second was made of fibreglass
and the new shell is the third to have been erected.
Highcliffe’s first headmaster Mike Jacobs cut the ribbon
to open the pool,. He said: “The swimming pool is the most
exciting project the school has ever undertaken. Many of you
will remember all the sponsored walks we did to raise funds.”
Headteacher Iain Munro said: “The pool has been closed for
two years for refurbishment and I am really pleased to have it
re-opened and we can start swimming lessons in September.”
He added: “I am very proud of the PTS and the governors
for all their hard work fundraising”. The proceeds from
three school fairs have gone towards funding the pool.
The school’s 427 children will now have a weekly swimming
lesson and the pool will also be used by other local schools.
Grandparent June Hendry looked around the new pool and was impressed.
She said: “I think it’s wonderful, absolutely fantastic.
My two sons learned to swim in this pool and I remember coming
to help them get changed and our feet were deep in mud!”
Her two grandchildren, Alicia and Callum, will learn to swim
in the new pool which will now be heated all year round.
Lifetime teaching children
Pic: Teacher Sally Reayer
THOUSANDS OF pots and clay figures made
by children can be found in homes across Birstall but they are
not the only legacy of Stonehill’s art teacher Sally Reayer,
who retired in July.
There are also the memories of all those she taught of a teacher
who, with her calm and deliberate manner, showed she liked and
respected her pupils.
Sally (60) joined Stonehill in 1971 as a pottery teacher in the
Design Department and has had a full career at the school. She
has been a Pastoral Year Head, looking after the welfare of children
and overseeing their transfer to upper school, Head of the Design
Department and has been a member of the senior management team
as assistant Headteacher. She has also been instrumental in developing
the school’s staff development policies.
“Teaching has been a great joy to me and I have been particularly
blessed with my subject. If you can offer children a range of
experiences through visual and tactile means it is a very rich
alternative to a more academic curriculum” she said.
“Young people haven’t changed, society has changed.
Over the last 20 years we have questioned more and are more open
to influences from the media. Children have to survive in a different
type of society than the one I was brought up in”.
She added: “I think children are great and most are very
nice people, struggling with the growing pains we all had. You
must never lose sight of the child in yourself when working with
children.
“The process of teaching is very rewarding, helping children
gain confidence, try hard and go forward taking the opportunities
that are put their way. When they arrive at Stonehill we have
all kinds of characters, some are insecure, some overconfident,.
They are very young and it is up to their teachers to bring them
all together and see them through into optimistic and successful
young people.
“Teachers are always looking for new ways to enable children
to learn and they work so very hard. I have worked with so many
amazing teachers at Stonehill, not least in the Design Department
where I have taught with more than 30 people and made tremendous
friends.”
Stonehill’s Headteacher Alan Baker said: “If you have
been privileged to work alongside Sally Reayer, or even better
watch some of her lessons, you will be struck by her calm, authoritative
control of the pupils and of the whole learning experience. “She
has earned the respect of everyone for her respect for them and
for the care and concern she has shown at all times. I acknowledge
the huge contribution of a consummate professional who we will
all miss”.
Sally, who lives in Rothley, says she is “apprehensive and
excited” by the prospect of retirement, and is looking forward
to travelling and “lots more learning, making and painting”.
Pupils said goodbye to her at a series of assemblies in the last
week of term and the staff treated her to a surprise party with
40 guests including several former colleagues.
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