Swimming with babies
BABIES AS young as a few weeks old will
now be able to take part in unique swimming lessons starting
in Thurmaston at Roundhill Community College pool.
Pic: Max Kidd and Mum Caroline
The lessons, where babies swim underwater as well as on the surface,
are designed to make the most of their natural affinity with
water whilst teaching confidence and safety techniques.
The sessions are provided by Water Babies, the UK's leading baby
swim school, teaching more than 8,000 babies each week.
Marie Smith from Water Babies said: "The emphasis in the
half-hour sessions is primarily on the tiny students and their
parent or carer bonding and having fun, and activities only ever
develop at each baby's individual pace. Yet despite their gentle
nature, the sessions also provide a complete physical work-out
and studies have shown that participating babies have improved
sleeping and eating patterns and flourish with the focused attention
they receive."
She added: "It's really never too early to start exercising"
The first year of a baby's life is crucial in terms of their
development as the brain grown more rapidly at this time than
at any other, and regular exercise plays a vital role. When you
consider that every movement they make has a direct effect on
strengthening their brain for new learning, you can see how swimming
without constraints of gravity is so effective. It's also very
special in that it's the only structured activity you can do
with your newborn literally from birth."
Tiny babies find being in warm water very calming - and strangely
familiar - having spent their time in the womb suspended in fluid.
Their natural confidence means they're soon happily floating
on the surface and swimming short distances underwater. For a
small baby, reliant on others for every aspect of their lives,
this can be enormously liberating, says Marie.
She added: "Another benefit to parents is that it's a great
way to meet others. Often sessions turn into a full morning social,
where the after-swim cake and conversation are as eagerly anticipated
as the lessons themselves."
Water Babies started sessions in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
in January 2006 and through word of mouth have grown to teach
over 450 babies across those counties. "We were lucky to
find a great pool at Roundhill and the time seemed right to bring
the classes into Leicester" explained Marie.
Water Babies classes will be starting at Roundhill Community
College, Thurmaston on October 4. For more information phone
Marie or Martin on 01636 815 567 or mobile 07737 948 492 or look
at the website: www.waterbabies.co.uk
Club crowns champions
A BIRSTALL teenager is celebrating after
winning two tennis trophies last month.
Pic: Singles champion Matt Williams
(right) with
runner-up David Hutchinson
Sixteen-year-old Matt Williams, of Goscote Hall Road, began his
day to remember by winning the junior singles title at Birstall
Watermead Tennis Club's Finals Day.
The youngster, who has played for the men's first team for the
past two years, beat Christian Berry, 6-0, 6-4. Then, to cap
a terrific day, he defeated last year's champion David Hutchinson
7-5, 6-2 in the men's singles final.
"I was pretty surprised to win both finals" said a
delighted Matt, whose older brother, Sam, also plays for the
men's first team. "I have played David quite a lot recently
but this was the best of the lot."
Matt, a student at Longslade Community College, is just one of
a bunch of highly-talented youngsters who have come through the
ranks to play league tennis for the club.
In the ladies singles final, Laura Morley beat her mother, Wendy,
6-1, 6-0. Then Laura partnered Sheila Gale to beat Wendy Morley
and Sarah Page 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Laura then clinched her third trophy
when she retained her mixed doubles title with Mike Lale, defeating
Chris Muir and Christian Berry, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
In the men's doubles final, Sam Williams and Colin Lister overcame
the spirited challenge of tournament organisers Daryl Hill and
Tom West, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5.
Planning applications
6 Sycamore Road - erection of a single storey extension to
rear of dwelling
15 Cliffe Road - erection of a two storey extension to the rear
and side of the dwelling with complete renovation and alterations
The Coach House, School Lane - erection of extension to kitchen
Highcliffe Primary School, Greengate Lane - erection of a concrete
sectional building
32 Hill Rise - erection of a two storey side & rear extension,
and a single storey extension to the rear of the existing dwelling
9 Knollgate Close - Granny Annexe extension to side of dwelling
253 Birstall Road - cutting down of one walnut tree
3 The Meadway - alteration to shop front and two storey side
and single storey rear extensions to shop and flat above
34 Henson Close - erection of single storey extension to front
of dwelling
269A Birstall Road - replace single garage doors with double
doors and provide parking space within garden
Park’s photo exhibition
WATERMEAD COUNTRY Park held its first photographic
exhibition on Sunday September 9.
Pic: winner Jim Storer
It was a pleasant sunny day and we had a great response from
the local community. Almost 200 people came to view the 25 different
entries, displaying 107 photos covering all aspects of Watermead
Country Park.
The standard was high and the seven judges found it very hard
to pick the winner and runners up. After careful consideration
the prizes were decided.
Jim Storer with a picture of Thurmaston weir was awarded first
prize, Mr B Huston with Watermead Mallards was awarded second,
Jim Tarver with a Blue Damselfly was awarded third and Louise
Dalby with a frosty day on Big Lake was awarded fourth.
A selection of the photos will be displayed in local libraries,
starting at Syston from November 5-15, then on to Thurmaston
November 19-29 and finishing at Birstall on December 1-16.
Next year a bigger and better event is planned so get snapping.
From Jenny Charles (Watermead Ranger)
Rugby season
AT LAST the rugby season has started; the
first few games have been played, blood has been spilt and beers
have been drunk.
The first game of the season saw Birstall RFC first team playing
Melton Mowbray's third team and the newly formed Birstall RFC
second team taking on Melton's fourth team.
Whilst the first team recorded a loss of 19-8, the second team
managed a 21-13 win. The following week Birstall first team played
Loughborough's third team, losing 19-0. First team captain Rupert
Bedder said: "Whilst we've lost the first couple of matches
we aren't disheartened, they were both against sides that used
to beat us by large scorelines, we're just starting to see the
benefits of our newly hired professional coach and as that continues
we will be aiming to beat these clubs in the future."
The following week and Birstall First team played Sileby, unfortunately
the game was cancelled just after half time due to a Sileby player
breaking his leg. All of Birstall wishes that man a speedy recovery.
The seconds in the meantime were playing Old Newts third team,
although leading the game 7-5 for 70 mins with a try from Nick
White and the conversion from Paul Evans, a try from Old Newts
at the end of the game resulted in a 7-12 loss for Birstall.
On the non playing side of things the recent Rodeo night at The
Trees in Birstall was a great success. The event was celebrating
the start of the season, England's first game of the Rugby world
Cup and raising money for Harry Machin, a two year old boy with
cerebral palsy.
The club have adopted Harry as a good cause and raised £118.90
on the rodeo night; we will be doing more fund raising for Harry
as the season continues. To donate any money to Harry please
contact club treasurer Michael Spencer on 07979862891. Any amount
large or small will be gratefully received.
On the web: www.birstallrfc.co.uk or search for Birstall RFC
on Facebook.
Faith course
FOLLOWING ON from the success of last year's
course, the Rev Mary Williams and others will be running another
'Exploring Faith' course.
This is a six-week taster course, exploring your questions about
spirituality and the basics of Christian Faith. No previous knowledge
is required.
The course will run on Thursday evenings from 7.30-9pm, starting
on November 1 in the Birstall Methodist Church lounge. For further
information contact Mary Williams on 0116 2677620
Salon growing
BIRSTALL'S BLUE Moon Beauty salon, established
four years ago by Maggie Cowley, is growing with the addition
of a new Reiki therapist.
Julie Brooks will be working with the salon's new owner Zoe May,
who has been with the salon for two and a half years.
The Birstall Road salon, next to Birstall DIY, has three treatment
rooms. "It's a little oasis of calm" says Zoe. "We
aim to be approachable and friendly - a lot of our clients become
friends and we aim to offer a very personal service".
The salon offers a range of beauty and holistic treatments and
is registered with the NHS as a Laser Hair Removal Clinic. For
details, contact Zoe on 0116 2676825
Donation to playgroup
BIRSTALL'S AROMASPICE restaurant hosted
a charity evening for a local playgroup.
Pic: A cheque for £270 was
presented to Rainbow
Co-op playgroup: (l-r) Azad Kalam, Maria Holdaway,
Trish Goodrich, Julie Parker and Moznu Miah
36 tickets for the meal were sold to friends and supporters of
the Rainbow Co-op Pre-School playgroup at a cost of £15
each with Aromaspice agreeing to donate half the money back to
the group.
Sue Price from Rainbow said: "We enjoyed a lovely meal in
the process of raising much needed funds."
Birstall bowlers’ charity match
BIRSTALL LADIES Bowling club celebrated
their Golden Jubilee year by winning three County Finals.
Pic: Birstall President Colin Wood
and Rushey Mead
President Mary Yardley presenting the cheque to Phil
Jones of the local St John Ambulance Branch.
Diane Hurst won the singles beating Pauline Wilson of Little
Bowden 21-13 in the final, and she also secured the Champion
of Champions title, winning 21-8 against Oadby's Maureen Moore.
She then teamed up with Sue Wilson, Pa Walker and Jan Everitt
to beat a Blaby rink skipped by Janet Irons 19-5 in the fours
final.
Meanwhile, the men are celebrating after winning promotion to
the first division of the Leicester & District Bowls League
having won Division Two by 15 points this season. They also reached
the quarter final of the County Unbadged competition before losing
out to Loughborough Brush.
The club have played two charity matches recently. The first
was against the Zippers Bowling Association whose members have
all had open heart surgery, £270 was raised which will
help provide equipment for hospitals and heart related charities
around the country, including Glenfield Hospital. The second
was the annual St Johns Cup match against Rushey Mead, which
raised £375 for the local St John Ambulance branch thanks
to generous donations by both clubs.
For more information about the club you can visit the Birstall
Bowling club website, www.birstallbowling.co.uk
WI enjoy Cameroons
Mrs Gregory chaired the September meeting
of Birstall & Wanlip WI.
The total raised at the August coffee morning at Mary Belton's
home was £58 making a useful contribution to the 2008 budget.
Three members had enjoyed an evening walk at Markfield when two
large parties plus a black cat had learned some more history
of the village.
The speaker was Mr Gerald Morning who together with his wife
Rosalie had just returned from a visit to 'the Cameroons'. He
was very eloquent about the beauty of the country albeit being
the rainy season and was also impressed by the friendliness and
peaceful nature of the people they met. Religion is very strong
as demonstrated by the hundreds of people who attend the church
services, even though by European standards the country is not
wealthy.
The talk gave everyone an insight of the problems and also the
privileges of living in an African country. Mr Morling was congratulated
on his thoughtful and very interesting talk.
Next month's meeting will be on Monday October 1 when Mrs Lynn
Mellor will talk about 'A Christmas Box full of Customs'.
From Mrs M Belton
Thursday group
BIRSTALL METHODIST Thursday group have
raised £2500 in the last year.
Pic: Pat Towson presents a cheque
to David Bark
from the Methodist Church
The money will be divided between the church boiler fund and
the Mablethorpe Children's Home
Your Say...
So corporate greed comes to Birstall. Tesco the company that
dare not speak its name, comes by stealth like a thief in the
night.
Neither the people of Birstall or the local shopkeepers are given
any chance to say Yea or Nay.
We are already surrounded by 24hr supermarkets and another one,
Morrisons I believe, is to be built near the A46/A6 junction
All this has implication for our own wonderful village and its
shops. Somerfield will be put under pressure and if they quit
and the site sold to developers (as was Quick-Save) where do
the old and carless villagers go? Somerfield does fill a local
need.
What part has our council played in all this? Why has it been
allowed to happen, why weren't the people of Birstall consulted?
It takes decades to evolve a village centre such as Birstall's
heritage. It can take a very short time indeed to tear it down.
Two shops with flats was the original plan. Tesco should withdraw,
they can afford it, and let our village remain just that 'our
village'.
John H Barker
Ed's note: Steve Lewis Roberts, Planning Officer at Charnwood
for the Hallam Fields development said any supermarket development
at the Hallam Fields site would require a planning application
and no application had been received.
He confirmed that Jelsons are free to negotiate sale of the land
to other developers for alternative uses to housing. Any 106
agreements negotiated with Jelsons would transfer to the new
owners.
Other sources contacted by the Birstall Post suggested that a
planning application for a sizeable development other than housing
at Hallam fields, such as a supermarket, would be unlikely to
get planning permission, given the pressure on local authorities
to provide land for homes.
The Hallam Fields plans include a 'market hub'which will include
several small retail outlets.
TESCO 2
We have another unknown supporter of Tesco. If Tesco wishes to
trade in Birstall then there is nothing wrong with them applying
in the usual way. I do not like the back door method.
Did Tesco get permission to demolish the previous building? We
do not get many Mansard buildings in Charnwood. They could have
extended the building and put the bay windows back. Whey do then
want some flats on top? Do they assume that the tenants do not
have cars? I have lived in Birstall for nearly 49 years and the
most wanted concession was parking space, we obtained space from
a private person not from Charnwood. Now we could lose space
if we get large Tesco lorries.
I can understand that they day before they commence trading,
a large lorry could turn up and take some time to unload, but
that should be the only concession. Tesco must not be allowed
to spread the plan over several days because it helps them to
have a full load most of the time on the road. If they break
the parking and obstruction laws, the traffic warden should issue
a ticket.
"It will create new jobs". It might lose more jobs
that it creates!
"Tesco doesn't really need the business"
The real Tesco motto
Every little helps - for Tesco
If people in Birstall wish to shop at Tesco, then why not use
the new bus service and shop at Beaumont Leys: there is more
selection and the bus fare is free after 9.30am and you are 60
or more. However the old Mansard building looked more attractive.
That real motto worries me. The planners have lots of secret
plans for the A6/A46 and the Mountsorrel bypass area, but will
not inform the people. Does Tesco know something that we should
know? Will Wanlip be reduced to a few acres east of Wanlip Lane?
The planners seem to move the Trigonometrically Pillars without
giving people a chance to object?
Les Briers
I am researching the early life of Birstall's John Hannah,
who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery while serving
in the RAF WWII. I am keen to speak to his daughters, or indeed
to anyone who knew him before the war. If anyone can be of any
help I would be most grateful if they could email me at alex.canfor-dumas@magd.ox.ac.uk
or call me on 07877 224034.
Alex Canfor-Dumas, Magdalen College Oxford
I refer to Carl Gunns' letter in the August edition and Brenda
Thomas's reply.
It has recently become a legal requirement when holding a public
event like the Birstall Gala that the event organisers must apply
for an event licence. The fact that villages up and down the
length of Britain have held fetes and galas since the middle
ages quite happily without said licences seem to have been overlooked
by our legislation crazed politicians. However I digress. What
actually happened was that the committee decided to ask Carl
Gunns if he would like to put on a demonstration. Unfortunately
this was decided after the licence for the event had been applied
for. When we spoke to Charnwood Council (they are the ones that
issue the licence for the Gala) they advised us that boxing was
a nominated activity which had to be specifically named on the
application, so we either had to resubmit the Gala application
at significant cost in time and money or if Mr Gunns applied
for a special event licence (£21) that would satisfy the
legislation, pedantic I know but it was a solution.
Mr Gunns then told the Council that he would not be putting on
the show this year because, in his words "he didn't trust
some of the locals not to damage the hired ring overnight and
he would end up having to do everything himself". I know
there is little love lost between Carl Gunns and the Parish Council
but I think, given the circumstances, Mr Gunns' attempts to make
political capital at the expense of the Council are disingenuous
to say the least.
I now turn to B Smith's letter in the September edition.
I'm not sure which Gala Mr Smith went to but the one in Birstall
did indeed have different bands (I seem to recall brass and pop
at least) and local charities/individuals selling a variety of
home made produce. Also the proms concert was called off at the
last minute because of the weather, so I'm not sure where the
accolade "brilliant" applies. I accept that some stalls
(including local charities) resembled car boot stalls but we
have little control (nor should we have) over what people sell
on their stalls. It should also be noted that the contribution
the stallholders make in terms of rental goes towards the running
cost of the Gala (which keeps it free). However, the Gala committee
is open to suggestions and I am sure we would welcome any local
societies who wish to hold flower, cake, jam competitions etc.
I assume these local organisation B Smith refers to, are not
living in a parallel universe, they know when the gala is, and
they are more than welcome to take a stall - the thing is they
don't. With regards to children's pet shows etc again we would
be happy to facilitate such an activity. Perhaps B Smith could
help to run a children's pet show by volunteering to promote,
organise, run and keep little Johnnie's python from eating the
other contestants.
It's easy for people to take a pop at the Gala committee and
I accept we could do things better, but if you don't like what
we co, come and help us do it better by offering your support
rather than just whinging about it.
Simon Castleman
2007 Gala Committee Chairman
I would like, through the Birstall Post, to thank the gentleman
from Lambourne Road who so kindly returned my library books to
Birstall Library, after they had, together with my cycle, been
stolen from outside Somerfields.
G Marshall
I admit to a certain puzzlement having read this month's letter
page of the Post. A month ago I wrote a letter suggesting that
it was not worth anyone writing to the council concerning the
proposed Tesco store as the planning authority had passed it.
All later correspondence will be ignored. I assume that there
is only one edition of the Post, so Name-and-Address-Supplied
had decided from that letter that I had thrown my hat into the
ring of the anti's and implied that I forgot the 'jobs that will
be created'. Perhaps if that person will read my letter again
its sense will come through. As to the 'jobs created' may I ask
how many jobs were LOST with the closure of the off-licence?
The off-licence reminds me to apologise to the person whose foot
I had gravely libelled. It always seemed in my experience that
precedents were not part of the planning committee's deliberations,
yet I still allowed myself to be swayed by the past occupation
of the site.
On a brighter note, at long last I agree with Mr Briers. He did
make one sad mistake, however - it is the department of transport
not the government who issue the guidelines, so the conflict
is inter-departmental. The OHMS publication 'How to Annoy People
Living on a Dual Carriageway by Making Their Lives Hell' is a
classic of that department, has been around since about 1934,
is reprinted with small additions (like the colour of the poles
supporting traffic lights must be grey and not black-and-white
stripes) and is available to all subscribing councils at 7/6d
plus p&p.
Dr D A C McNeil
On 9/9/07 my children and myself decided to go to Birstall
Park. The footballers were playing a match and at 3.45pm when
the match ended and the players all left I was disgusted to see
that they had left a lot of empty plastic bottles and rubbish
all over the park. It does not take 5 mins to pick up the rubbish
and put it in the bins. This rubbish makes Birstall look very
untidy to visitors.
Mrs C Wilmot
|
Corbett’s cricket corner
The season is now over, one of the wettest summers that I
can remember in 32 years of playing cricket. The first XI having
won the league last year managed to finish mid table this season,
unfortunately the second XI was relegated.
Pic: Senior vice President of the Bowls Club,
Graham
White, presented engraved glasses to the winners of
the triples competition: (l-r) Jez Lewin, Michelle
Lewin, Graham White, Josh Saye and Rob Smith
The senior team recently took a squad to play against Birstall,
Yorkshire and this is going to be an annual event. The game eventually
ended in a tie and the trophy will be shared between the two
teams this year. Chairman Doug Topley said: "Both players
and travelling supporters were looked after all day and provided
with refreshments and we will look forward to repaying the compliment
when Birstall return next year".
Pic: Winners of the Leicestershire Youth League
Under 11 Cup: Priyesh Patel, Yash Thakrar, George
Corbett (Capt), Ben Drake, Joe Slater, Max Lewin,
James Darlinson, Jake Beaumont
All the junior teams had better seasons, all have improved on
the results of last year. The highlight of the junior season
was the Under 11s winning the Leicestershire Youth League County
Cup beating Narborough and Littlethorpe in the final. In front
of a large crowd on a lovely Sunday morning Birstall batted first
and made 65 after their allotted 16 overs, Narborough batted
and just lost by 6 runs in an exciting last over. Manager Andy
Corbett said: "This is the first ever junior cup that this
club has won and I always knew that this team would do really
well. I am really proud of the effort they have put in all season
and throughout the winter, they should be very pleased with themselves."
Pic: Tom Corbett, Martin Johnson, Ben Drake,
George Corbett, Andy Corbett
Kahil Mann-Kler and Tom Corbett have both been picked to represent
the best of District Under 14s to play in a trial match against
Leicestershire Young Cricketers, if successful they will be invited
to train with the county squad throughout the winter.
The cricket club played the bowls club in what is now an annual
fixture towards the end of the season. The evening was very enjoyable
and I am told we played in 'triples', the winner team was Rob
Smith, Michelle and Jez Lewin who received a Birstall Bowling
Club Cut Glass. Many thanks must go to Jenny and the girls who
provided a hot supper.
I was at a recent Paul Nixon benefit match at Kibworth when I
and some of the youngsters were approached by Martin Johnson
of Leicester Tigers fame to come into the nets and bowl at him
- it's not every day you get to bowl at an England World Cup
Captain…
The club presentation night will this year take a different format,
it will be both senior and junior presentation night held at
the Birstall Social Club on Saturday October 6 at 7pm. Tickets
are £5 including disco and buffet.
Junior cricket nets will be starting again at Soar Valley Leisure
Centre in Mountsorrel on Saturdays, 5-6pm, £1 per session.
Junior’s new season
BIRSTALL UNITED Juniors Football Club's
season is fully underway.
Pic: Birstall United Foxes. Back
row: Joe Simms, Miles Saxton, Harry Woolcott, Billy Clarke Front
row: Jacob Throop, Jack Bewley, Caleb Finlow, Mason Gilbert
The club now has 20 teams competing in the football association's
Leicestershire junior football leagues."It will be a busy
time and we hope, another successful one" said the club's
publicity officer Karen Klein. "The first few matches have
seen a number of good victories for many of our teams, which
is just the start to the season that the club hoped for, and
one that is encouraging for all the children that play."
The final tournaments of the summer saw Birstall United U9 foxes
finally get a well deserved result by winning the Woodgate 80
tournament. Jason Sims said: "We knew it was only a matter
of time before this talented side would win their first trophy."
The team progressed through the whole of the tournament without
conceding any goals in open play and by scoring some cracking
goals on the way to the final, including winning a penalty shootout
against the host team in the semi finals." After working
very hard as a team they beat Ratby convincingly 3-0 to take
the winners trophy.
Two weeks later on August 25 the Foxes entered the Melton tournament
and managed to win their group to qualify for the semi finals.
Birstall United U9 cubs were the opposition after they finished
runners up in their group. Both teams gave a good account of
themselves, with the Foxes the eventual 2-0 winners. The U9
Foxes then met Mountsorrel in the final. This began as a pretty
closely fought contest before Mountsorrel took the lead after
an own goal. With only seconds remaining, Birstall's Miles Saxton
took it upon himself to grab the ball, place it on the centre
spot for the kick off, took a few paces back and fired the ball
into the top corner for an amazing goal. With the score all
level the teams went into extra time and finally into penalties.
Unfortunately Mountsorrel were the eventual victors 4-3.
The coaches would like to say a big thanks to the players and
parents for all the effort put in over the summer.
o The under 8's are looking for a goalkeeper - if you can help,
contact manager Daniel Jones through the club website www.bujfc.co.uk
or come down to the team's training session at Meadow Lane, 10:30
am Saturday mornings.
Weather report
We knew it just had to get better and indeed August did turn
out to be much drier and a little warmer and sunnier than usual.
Afternoon temperatures in Charnwood averaged out at 21c which
is normal for the time of year with the night time temperatures
of 11c which were a fraction above average. There were no protracted
hot spells however and the mercury only reached 80f on the 5th
as temperatures peaked at 28.5c at Mountsorrel and 28.9c at Shepshed.
This was the only day throughout the entire summer that we reached
this figure compared to last summer where the mercury reached
80f on 20 occasions! August was much drier than normal as the
jet stream returned northwards and took the active low pressure
systems away with it. Shepshed was the driest place with just
24mm falling throughout the month, this is just 50% of the usual
total. 31mm fell at Barrow upon Soar with Mountsorrel receiving
40mm or just two thirds of the usual figure. Nationally only
26 Augusts have been drier than this one in the last 100 years!
It was also a sunnier month than average with the sun shining
for 196 hours at Mountsorrel and 204 hours at Shepshed which
is 10% above the expected value. Winds were often from a NW point
and reached a peak of 33mph at Mountsorrel and Shepshed on the
15th.
Summer 2007 turned out to be the wettest in Leicestershire since
1956. A staggering 13.5 inches of rain fell during the June to
August period in Mountsorrel with most of it falling in the first
two summer months. An almost total lack of any hot and sunny
conditions made this summer feel quite cool even though temperatures
were not that far off the mark as I have illustrated.
Well it was a summer we will want to forget and when we joked
in our April heatwave that this may our summer, none of us really
believed that it actually was!
Many thanks to Paul Whitmore at Campbell Scientific and Philip
Eden for the national statistics.
Canoe champions
A CANOEIST from Birstall has become the
Under 16 National Marathon champion.
Pic: (l-r) National champions Mark
Hampton and
Michael Connelly
16 year old Mark Hampton, who has trained at the Leicester Outdoor
Pursuits Centre for the last eight years, was paddling with his
racing partner Michael Connelly (16) from Wigston. They were
competing at the UK canoe and kayak National Championships held
at Wokingham in August.
Mark, who has the support of his school, Longslade College, is
ranked in the top 10 for his age group in the country.
Winning cheerleaders
A GROUP of local cheerleaders have been
invited to Florida after winning an international competition.
The Dynamite Extreme cheerleaders, led by Amy Owen, will travel
to the United States in March 2008 to compete in an event after
they won first place in the Cheer Category at the British Cheerleading
Associations International event held at Telford in July.
Amy Owen said: "I would like to say a big thank you to all
the parents that came to Telford to support us and congratulations
to all the girls, all that training paid off once again."
The girls are now preparing for regional competitions in Brighton
and Leeds before Christmas.
For more information about the group, or if you wish to join,
contact Amy on 07921 768449.
Lawn Cinema remembered
The second instalment of our series, remembering
Birstall's Lawn Cinema.
It was all very well going to the cinema with a parent, but once
the novelty wore off the evenings were rather flat. This could
never be said of 'Bert's Saturday Rush' or, as it was advertised
'The Saturday Afternoon Children's Matinee'.
The very first of these saw the Lawn Cinema under siege. It seemed
that almost every child in Birstall proffered their two pence
for a seat in the stalls, a few paid four pence for the balcony,
though it was beyond us why anybody paid extra to perch up there
away from all the fun.
Oh, how we stamped and shouted our approval as coloured lights
played on the stage and curtains, but we were silenced when a
gentleman appeared and announced the imminent appearance of UNCLE
BERT. To the accompaniment of even more noise and enhanced by
the illuminations we saw none other that the figure from the
scented foyer, Mr Herbert Pollard. I recall little of his words
except that on our way out we were to collect a card which, when
returned complete with our name, address and birth date, made
us members of 'Uncle Bert's Birthday Club.'
I have no memory of the films that Saturday, apart from the serial
which was to keep me on the edge of my seat week after week.
It graphically told how a young 'Jungle Boy' met and overcame
numerous jungle hazards only to be faced, at end of each episode,
with certain death which seven days later, to our great relief,
he miraculously avoided. Besides these heroics Jungle Boy also
discovered a hidden city to which he gained entrance by pushing
aside some foliage and pressing a lump of rock, this moved an
entire cliff face sideways to expose a secret opening.
Besides the Saturday matinees there were 'Bargain Matinees' on
Monday and Thursday afternoon when all seats down stairs were
six pence, children three pence and the balcony ten pence, children
four pence. A boon during school holidays. Although I and my
mother had been present at the grand opening programme the excitement
did not end there, for a few weeks later another double spread
advert announced that The Lawn was to have a 'Grand Official
Opening' on October 19 when Laurel and Hardy in the Bohemian
Girl were to be supported, live, for the one night only by The
Leicester Accordion Band. My mother disliked accordions so we
did not go.
'Uncle Bert's Birthday Club' was the third club of which I was
a member, the other two were the Daily Express Rupert Club and
the Leicester Evening Mail's Oozoos. But Uncle Bert's was rather
special. On your birthday you would find amongst the greetings
envelopes one containing a pale purple deckle edged card signed
by none other than Uncle Bert himself. It entitled the recipient
and a friend to free admission to the Lawn plus a bag of sweets
on any night during the week following the birthday,. I had to
wait six long months, until April, for my card to arrive, but
I remember the occasion well. My friend John and I presented
my card at the box office and, in return we received two rear
stall tickets and two bags of sweets. The film that night was
the Dancing Pirate a musical, that was unusually for 1937, in
technicolour. I recall little of it except for a scene where
the hero, blindfolded was about to walk the plank with a hangman's
noose around his neck, then suddenly, far out at sea, came the
sounds of a cunningly hidden full orchestra and going into a
strenuous tap dance, whilst singing in a rich melodic voice the
hero escaped from plan, noose and blindfold.
Apart from the birthday treat there were two other ways to enter
the Lawn without paying, one illegal and the other legal. The
illegal entry demanded planning and at least two conspirators.
One of the party, having paid three pence and entered in the
conventional way, sat at the front in the first or second row,
then, when the lights dimmed and the usherette was at the back
of the theatre, he nipped behind the curtain covering one of
the two front emergency exits, eased the door open and returned
to his seat. The freebooter, waiting outside, would enter, shut
the door and, when the coast was clear slip into a seat. I knew
nothing about this scam until a boy named Leslie asked if I would
join in a twosome, I demurred, not because I felt it to be dishonest
but because I didn't like sitting in the front . Uncle Bert,
later met the challenge head on with a master stroke, he removed
the curtains covering the doors.
The legal method was given to only a chosen few. It entailed
having a board outside your house or business premises on which
a bill was pasted advertising the week's programmes. My father,
after lengthy negotiation with Uncle Bert in the smoke room of
the Earl of Stamford, secured a bill board, which was fixed to
our fence by the front gate. Every Friday it was visited by a
man who pasted up nest week's attractions. In return we received
a pass permitting two people to attend each show. As my father
never went to the cinema and my mother very infrequently, I achieved
instant popularity as he who, twice a week, was able to bestow
a free night at the cinema.
Next time: Wartime Cinemagoing, Air Raids, Concert Parties, Double
Seats at the Back.
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