GCR on the front line
MEMORIES OF the Second World War were evoked
at the Great Central Railway's re-enactment weekend in June.
Visitors to all the GCR's stations between Birstall and Loughborough
were taken back to the 1940s with the help of period vehicles
and hundreds of re-enactors dressed in period costumes who came
from all over the country to participate.
 
Pic (left): Lookalikes
Les Cope-Newman as King George VI
& Mike Batten as Monty with Lynn Hill
At Birstall station, Axis forces clashed with Allied soldiers
and members of the French resistance in a noisy firefight.
Rothley stations was set up as near the coast in occupied France
and was the centre of another skirmish.
Visitors to the event also had the chance to meet a trio of convincing
lookalikes: Sir Winston Churchill, King George VI and Field Marshal
Montgomery.
Birstall’s curate
MARY WILLIAMS will be taking up the post
of assistant curate at St James' Church, alongside the Rev James
Shakespeare.
Pic: Curate Mary Williams
Mary (34) has been studying for ministry at Queen's Theological
College in Birmingham for the past three years. She is married
to Jon and they have two daughters, Jessica (7) and Rachel (6).
The family is moving from Burbage near Hinckley at the beginning
of the school holidays. "We are all really looking forward
to getting to know Birstall. Our girls are particularly excited!"
says Mary.
A position as a curate is a training post. "It's a bit like
training to be a doctor: you study the academic subject at college
and then you start work for real - but you are still learning"
Mary explains. "The most public part of my role is assisting
at the Sunday services, but that's only one day of my working
week - I still have to work the other five! The majority of a
minister's work is done quietly: visiting people, listening,
just being there.
Mary has a wide range of interests from reading to sailing. "Before
I had children I was a 'cello teacher and still play when I get
the chance" she says. She is often to be found messing about
with paper, paints, material or beads. "I love making things
and find that being creative can be a deeply spiritual experience
too." She has even made some of the vestments she will need
for the services at St James'.
New play area
Pic:Rod Findley from the Co-op opens the play
area with Julie Parker
TODDLERS ATTENDING the Rainbow Co-operative
Pre-school Playgroup in Birstall held a teddy bears' picnic to
celebrate the completion of their new outdoor play area which
has been funded by parents, staff and the Midlands Co-operative
Society.
The playgroup, which is located at the Co-op Sports and Social
Club on Birstall Road, applied to Midlands Co-op for a Making
a Difference Community grant and was awarded £3,000 towards
the development of the new play area. In addition, staff and
parents have been fundraising to complete the project.
 
Pic (left): Taighler Jane Parbery (2) has
a snack. Hollie Lewis (2) with Mum Melanie
Rainbow Playgroup was started in 1986 and is a registered charity
run by a committee of parents. The need for the play area followed
an Ofsted inspection, which identified that the playgroup lacked
a suitable outdoor environment for physical development.
Playgroup Leader, Julie Parker, said: "Twelve months ago,
we applied for the Community Dividend grant and were delighted
to receive the award as it meant that we could make a start on
the necessary improvements. It also gave us the added incentive
to step up our own fundraising activity to ensure that we had
enough money to purchase everything we needed plus a few extras
to add the finishing touch. One of our parents even ran two London
marathons to aid the fund!
"The play area is now complete and we decided to organise
the teddy bears' picnic to mark the official launch and to say
thank you to the parents and Midlands Co-op for supporting the
project. The children were very excited about the picnic and
we are all thrilled with the new outdoor play area."
Pic: the new play area
The Making A Difference Community Dividend forms part of Midlands
Co-op's ongoing commitment to return a percentage of its trading
profit to the community it serves. A specially selected committee
made up of board directors and society employees decide which
groups or causes will benefit from the dividend and the results
are announced on a quarterly basis.
Cyrrhian Macrae, Head of Community & Co-operative Affairs
at Midlands Co-op, added: "I'm sure that the play area will
bring hours of fun for the children and will enable them to exercise
in the fresh air. It's great to be able to support a fellow co-operative
and reward the effort put into the scheme by the playgroup's
committee."
Cans for ring
CARL GUNNS boxing gym is urging people
to recycle and help raise funds for a portable boxing ring.
The gym is appealing for donations of aluminium cans to recycle
through its Environ Green Account.
For every 1kg of aluminium cans handed over, the gym will get
up to 45p towards its target of £3,500.
Carl said: "Please tell your friends and family to collect
cans at home and then drop them off at the gym in a green recycling
bag. When the bag is full, then we can take them and get them
weighed in and have the money put into our account.
"With over 700 members and the support from the Birstall
public, we are sure this can be achieved."
|
