Melbourne Village Voice December 2018

Lights ... camera...

Christmas!

The countdown to the big day began with the switching-on of Melbourne’s Yuletide lights by Santa Claus. He’s now busy getting ready to deliver all your presents.

More pictures and report on Page 17.

TREE CHEERS FOR ALL YOUR HELP

by LUCY STEPHENS

COMMUNITY support has enabled Melbourne restaurant The Bay Tree to open up again 11 days after a car smashed through the wall, and the owners say they could not be more grateful

Since the accident in mid-November, Rex and Susie Howell, who have owned The Bay Tree for 30 years, say they have been inundated with flowers, cards and help – with builders volunteering their services for free and even fellow restaurant owners ringing and offering use of their kitchens and spare function rooms

“We have had so much support from local people and businesses,” said Susie, speaking to The Village Voice on November 29 – the day the restaurant re-opened “We have had offers of help, people have offered us their restaurants, their spare function rooms with kitchens There have been bouquets of flowers

“There was one friend who collected every

glass that we have got, took them away – five or six crates of glasses – and washed and polished every one and brought them all back ”

She added: “I honestly mean this: without the help and the support, we wouldn’t be open today ”

The accident happened just after midday on Monday, November 19 – a day of the week when, by incredible good fortune – the restaurant is shut

Those nearby described a huge bang when the car hit “I thought that two lorries had hit one another,” said Susie

But within minutes, firefighters were on the scene, local people were helping direct traffic, and nearby cafes were making free hot drinks to everyone who had gone to help

The side of The Bay Tree – which had only recently undergone a big refurbishment – was boarded up within hours Over the next few days the interior was cleared up and newly

The staff of The Village Voice wish all our readers, distributors, advertisers and correspondents a very merry Christmas. And here’s to a happy New Year, too.

BACK IN BUSINESS ... Rex and Susie Howell inside The Bay Tree following the crash (below) that led to the restaurant being closed

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Grand opening for roundhouse

IT TOOK 9,000 empty wine bottles, 167 straw bales, several thousand cedar shingles and many, many hours but the Whistlewood Common roundhouse has finally been declared open

Planning permission for the eco-friendly octagonal structure was granted back in 2014, but money then needed to be raised to get the building made with work starting in May this year

That was after a huge community effort involving much wine-drinking saw 9,000 empty bottles donated to the project, in order to provide under-floor insulation

The opening ceremony for the building was held at the common on Saturday, December 1, with a crowd of around 80 people

giving the new roundhouse their blessing

The build has been a project worthy of Grand Designs with a variety of ecofriendly materials used, such as straw bales for insulating the walls, lime plaster, and local timber sourced from the Staunton Harold Estate amongst other places

Volunteers have also been on hand in several elements of the build, such as laying the decking on the outside

As a finishing touch, wine bottles have been used to make lights inside the building, currently powered by a highly advanced lithium battery from clean energy company Aceleron

Chris Gregson, who has been in charge of the building of the roundhouse, was pre-

sented with a special set of tiles – part of a project to create a tiled centrepiece in the roundhouse floor

The December roundhouse opening ceremony also marked Whistlewood’s fifth year anniversary

The 10-acre plot of land on the outskirts of Melbourne is community-owned with 360 members

Whistlewood director Sarah Spencer, talking at the opening ceremony and Whistlewood AGM, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many people of so many ages and backgrounds joining in ”

Since starting up, 3,600 trees have been planted at Whistlewood, including 150 fruit trees

Park plan petition

THE views of more than 10,000 people who disagree with a multi-million pound masterplan to revamp Elvaston Castle were formally received at a meeting this month

Derbyshire County Council, together with Elvaston Castle and Gardens Trust, have come up with a new masterplan for Elvaston

The plan went out to consultation in the summer and a protest petition garnered 10,510 signatures This was formally handed over to Derbyshire County Council at a full council meeting on December 5

The council’s plan involves a large-scale overhaul of Elvaston which would see the main showground and car park re-located, a new access road and accommodation such as holiday lets on the upper floors of the castle, plus a possible 10 homes created in the existing kennels

But those who have signed the petition have strongly objected to various elements of the plan

Elvaston Castle Action Group has come up with its own plan for the historic site

Members say their proposal could be delivered far more cheaply, and would not involve creating a new road or moving the showground

Part of the reason why the council wants to move Elvaston’s showground is because it has poor drainage, but the action group says its pro-

posal would involve work to fix drainage and restore the lake

They would also scrap the access road proposals and create a modern café in the carriage shelter in the main Elvaston courtyard

Speaking at the meeting in Matlock, Cllr Simon Spencer, cabinet member for highways, transport & infrastructure, said the council had spent £33million on Elvaston since acquiring it in the 60s, and that without a masterplan in place he expected £5million on running costs would need to be spent over the next 10 years

He said: “I honestly believe that Elvaston is in the last chance saloon We can’t continue without a pragmatic approach to tackle the ongoing issues that have been a problem for many years ”

But the action group says it is confident its own plans will bring 750,000 annual visitors to Elvaston without spending nearly so much money or carving up the estate with a new access road

Sarah Leuenberger, speaking at a packed presentation in Elvaston Village Hall by Elvaston Castle Action Group on November 26, said: “As an action group, we have the full aim of protecting a very, very valued asset within Derbyshire and doing our utmost to ensure the castle itself becomes sustainable ”

BAY TREE THANKS TO HELPERS

From Page 1 plastered so that diners could be welcomed once again

But it will be several months before the work to restore the restaurant’s window and wall will be completed – Susie estimates a date in March

In the meantime – and perhaps by the time The Village Voice hits the streets – a clever vinyl photographic window is being pasted on to the broken

wall so that it does not present an eyesore, especially in the run-up to Christmas

As for Susie, it has been an emotional rollercoaster, but things are getting back to normal “Someone would come to help and I’d be in tears, but they were tears of joy,” she said “I couldn’t believe it the generosity of people, everybody wanted to help We have had mountains of cards– that’s

what’s really given Rex and I the strength to not give up

“We have to carry on, this is what we do ”

The people in the car have also said they have been traumatised by the freak incident, which left one of them in hospital, and that they too are grateful for the messages of support and flowers they have received, as well as being hurt by gossip spread on social media

Hector ’s dream day

ONE nine-year-old from Melbourne was starry eyed when he got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a team mascot ahead of a Manchester United game at Old Trafford.

Hector McLean, who plays for the Melbourne Dynamo under-9 Falcons side, won the chance after his dad Greig entered the Mastercard Priceless Mascots experience. He then received a phone call telling him Hector was on the shortlist, followed by another inviting him to travel to Manchester and act as a mascot

That meant that young Hector got to run out with defender Luke Shaw ahead of the UEFA Champions League match against BSC Young Boys Bern

Hector said that standing at the stadium in front of a crowd of 70,000 was “scary” but “amazing”

As part of the experience, he was given a special Champions League kit to wear, which he got to take home for free

Hector is pictured in front of Luke Shaw, No 23

Developers hand over £120k to community

MORE than £120,000 has so far been handed over by developers responsible for a housing development on Melbourne’s Jawbone Lane under section 106, the Village Voice has learned.

Miller Homes is currently building 34 homes on Jawbone Lane, a development under which around £275,000 is due to the local community

Section 106 is the system by which developers contribute financially to an area where they are adding homes, in order to offset the effect of extra people on things like doctors and schools

The Village Voice has learned from South Derbyshire District Council that some of the money has now been received from Miller Homes under section 106

So far, 50 per cent of the education contributions have been received by the district council and paid to Derbyshire County Council, being: £42,442 90 for Melbourne Infant and Junior schools; £45,681 for Chellaston Academy, plus a further £19,816 79 for post16 education at Chellaston

Furthermore, 50 per cent of the healthcare contribution has also been received, being £6,940 58 to go towards an extra consulting room at Melbourne and Chellaston medical practice

Free festive fayre

CHRISTMAS is a time of giving – and this quartet from Milton are certainly doing that, by providing a free Christmas meal to anyone who will be on their own on December 25

Behind all the presents, the twinkling lights and the making merry, Christmas can also be a bitterly lonely time for many

That’s why Lynn Hyatt, David Battye, Duncan and Sarah Hogg (above) are preparing to host a free Christmas dinner and celebration for anyone who is facing a lonely Yuletide

Lynn, who already runs a lunch club in Milton every month, said anyone who wanted to go would be collected from their home and taken over to the village’s hall where dinner will be served.

“They will have drinks on arrival, orange juice or a glass of sherry, and there will be a full Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, and Christmas pudding,” she said

After the meal, guests will enjoy a game such as bingo and receive a present, before being taken home again. If you know anyone who will be alone on Christmas Day call Lynn on 01283 704540 or Duncan on 07973 663601

JOHN WALL

sends greetings and best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to all my friends.

Alfred Ransome wishes all his friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Money has also been collected by the district council for Kings Newton Bowls Club: 50 per cent of the “built facilities” contribution: £7,644 21

A district council spokesman said the remaining money would be due when 50 per cent of the Miller Homes development was occupied

Alastair Parsons, area sales director at Miller Homes Midlands, said: “At Miller Homes, we ' re committed to making the communities and neighbourhoods where we build, safe and welcoming for families to live

“As such, we ' re pleased to announce 50 per cent of our pledged funding for Melbourne has already gone towards contributing to the community and its services We have already invested in local

education institutions and the medical practice, which will help to serve local residents, helping to keep Melbourne a desirable place to live for years to come ”

As far as education provision for Melbourne goes, section 106 money due to Melbourne Junior School has already been spent on a new classroom, which was built this year – Lucy Stephens

Jack & Linda Iliffe would like to wish family, friends and clients, good health, peace and happiness for Christmas and the New Year and we thank you very much for your custom.

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Lots of love, Anne, Gary, Matt, Marv, Kerry-Anne, Ben, Ruby and Noah

This Christmas day won't be the same

But we'll still chat and speak your name

Although our family will be feeling sad

If you enjoy singing then come along and join an old Melbourne tradition of Carol Singing around Melbourne.

Meet us at The Baptist Chapel. Chapel Street, Melbourne at 6.45pm on MONDAY 24th DECEMBER

We retire at about 10.15pm and then go to a house for supper!

Please telephone Alan Dunnicliff on 01332 862162 for more details or just meet us on the day. Everyone will be most welcome to join this old Melbourne tradition!

Fashion show to help teacher Zara

THESE ladies were walking out in style when they took part in a fashion show to raise money for a much-loved primary school teacher

The event was organised by Jenny Williams, owner of Frocks & Frippery dress agency in Melbourne’s High Street, to raise funds for Zara Scott’s cancer treatment

Zara taught in Melbourne Infant School for 10 years, leaving to take up a post at Pear Tree School in Derby, where the fashion show was held

As has been previously reported in The Village Voice, she was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year and a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to pay for overseas treatment, to allow her to have more time with her two young sons and fiancé, Matt

The fashion show saw parents, friends and colleagues hit the catwalk, with the whole event raising around £800 to help Zara and her family

Jenny said: “It was a funfilled evening for a great cause I’d like to thank my good friends and daughter

Sara, who encouraged friends to get involved, making the evening a great success ”

To donate to Zara’s cancer treatment fund, visit https://www justgiving com/c rowdfunding/tia-nicole-1

Pictured are (right) Sara Oxspring modelling a purple Warehouse dress and (left) Ruth Parkinson modelling a black Ted Baker number

council grants allocated

OVER £200,000 in grants has been allocated by South Derbyshire District Council to community schemes in the area, with Melbourne Tennis Club receiving £20,000.

A smaller award goes to Ticknall Village Hall, while a project to transform and conserve St Wilfred’s Church in Barrow has been earmarked for a £25,000 award

Details of the proposed grants were set out in a report to the Housing and Community Services Committee in November A total of £250,000 was allocated to the Community Partnership Scheme to enable grants to be made in support of applications received during 2018/19

An assessment panel of three councillors, with support from the Community Partnership Officer, considered 12 applications that had been submitted against set criteria and made recommendations about the distribution of grants

The Teams at our NEWTON FALLOWELL

Residential Sales and Lettings offices in Melbourne, Ashby and Coalville join in wishing all their clients past, present and future, a wonderful family Christmas and Good Luck with their house hunting in 2019.

Melbourne Tennis Club is aiming to build three new all-weather synthetic courts backing onto the existing courts by April 2019 The additional facilities are to meet the growing demand not just from the club, but also from local schools and the wider community

The cost is estimated to be around £120,000 and the club has already raised £80,000 through local fund-raising The grant will go some way to enabling the club to meet the target

The project in Barrow upon Trent is to transform St Wilfrid’s Church into a multi-functional building for community use, education and research, with the ability to sustain itself It will enhance opportunities for physical, social and cultural development for the village and the surrounding area

The plans include a heritage centre available for study and education With a project value of £840,000 and, with almost £600,000 secured from a Heritage Lottery application, the partnership award of £25,000 will significantly help fill the funding gap

Ticknall Village Hall applied for a smaller grant to upgrade the kitchen facilities, to allow

hirers to supply everything from a cup of tea to a full cooked meal for a celebration With a grant of just under £2,000 this should provide the balance of funds needed for the project to proceed, with the rest made up from local fund-raising

An application from Melbourne Assembly Rooms for a grant of £25,000 to go towards the refurbishment costs of the main hall was turned down, but the committee has indicated that it will be open to a resubmitted application

A second round of bidding for the £32,000 balance of award money will be open until Thursday, December 13 It is anticipated that this will be the last opportunity to apply for funding this financial year

Details of how to apply appear on the district council’s website – Frank Hughes

WHAT plants should you grow in your garden to attract bees?

That’s a question that will be answered, along with how to keep bees, at Melbourne Garden Club’s meeting on February 11 Members of the garden club enjoyed an especially festive November meeting, when speaker Pam Rob treated the group to a wine tasting

The evening, held at the Senior Citizens Centre, saw members enjoy different flavours of home-brewed wine together with nibbles

In the New Year the club is looking forward to more talks – meetings are held in the Senior Citizens Centre at 7pm on the second Monday of each month

Crashes lead to call for traffic lights

RESIDENTS are calling for traffic lights to be installed at a junction described as so dangerous at certain times of day that negotiation is “literally, heart in the mouth”.

The junction in question is on Swarkestone Road in Weston-on-Trent where it meets the A514 at Cuttle Bridge, with the particularly dangerous manoeuvre being the right turn across traffic travelling in the direction of Derby

Cuttle Bridge has been the scene of a serious accident in the past, but residents report that there were two more in the space of just over a week in November

One happened on November 16 and the other on November 27, the latter when a red Mini Cooper and a silver Nissan X-Trail were involved in a collision Both vehicles had to be recovered from the scene

At a meeting of Weston-on-Trent Parish Council in November, locals turned out to express their concerns at the junction and the parish council now intends to renew pressure on Derbyshire County Council for traffic lights to be installed

One resident spoken to by the Village Voice told how current traffic volumes meant that driving to Derby from Weston in the morning and evening rush was almost impossible

He said: “The issue is a combination of significant increases in traffic on that road It’s heavier now than it ever was even just three years ago and ongoing housing and other development in Aston means more

and more traffic is using this route

“It’s just making it so dangerous It’s literally heart in your mouth (turning right on to the A514 from Swarkestone Road) You can’t sit there and wait for a clear, safe gap in the traffic – it’s relentless between 7am and 9am You literally just have to spot an opportunity and go for it It’s really difficult to see down to the petrol station as well, because of the hump-back bridge ”

Many residents say they either choose another way to get to work in Derby – eg, by bike – or they simply do not ever turn right at that particular junction

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “If residents have concerns about road safety then we’d urge them to get in touch with us

“There are a number of things we have to

take into account when considering requests for extra road safety measures including the layout of the road, the number of accidents, the local speed limit and actual traffic speeds along the route But once we have full details about the concerns, we’ll investigate ”

Lucy Stephens

Carols night

MELBOURNE Male Voice Choir will be adding their voices to this year ’s Carols Round the Christmas Tree, which will take place at 6 30pm on December 20

Warm mince pies will be provided by Churches Together in Melbourne, and the event is promoted by Rotex

Whatever your reason or need, we are here to help! With Physiotherapy, Nutrition, Pilates and Yoga, we can help you achieve your goals so that you start 2019 in the healthiest way possible.

Watch where you are parking

CIVIL parking enforcement officers are likely to be patrolling Melbourne this month in a crackdown on poor parking, the village’s county councillor warned.

Cllr Linda Chilton, Melbourne’s elected representative for Derbyshire County Council, told the most recent meeting of Melbourne Parish Council on December 4 that she had noticed numerous instances of bad parking in the village, with cars parked too close to corners and so far on to pavements that pedestrians could not actually get past

She warned that parking officers would be coming around the local area in December.

The Highway Code prohibits parking opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space.

n EVERYBODY loves wearing a Christmas party hat, and there were some particularly fine creations on show at the Kings Newton festive get-together

The Armistice-themed Christmas Party was held at the Scout and Guide H quarters on December 1

Music from the World One era was provided Cranberry Flick which ated “a wonderful p spirit”, guests said.

The competition for best paper hat was wo Marie Glyn (seated front row, second from the right) with her stunning tall creation featuring ribbons on the top

The first and Original Champagne Breakfast

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS AS USUAL

We would like to say a huge thank you for the support and help that everyone has given. Without you we would not have been able to open again so quickly after the incident.

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year - 2019.

We have a busy coffee culture beginning to brew.

From 9am Wednesday - Saturday we serve coffee with a complementary pastry/cake.

If you missed your breakfast running out of the door, and Champagne Breakfast is just a little too much, pop in for a bacon sandwich, some eggs, a bagel or maybe a croissant, all cooked to order!

No reservations required - Just pop in out of the cold for a hot beverage - try our Christmas flavoured coffee and hot chocolate.

l Police clearing the scene after the collision on November 16.

Country Living with

Robert Parker

Brexit scapegoats?

BREXIT is worrying me and maybe everyone else at the moment. Don’t know why, there’s nothing that any of us can do about it

To hear all the political parties trying to score points over each other makes my blood boil, when what they should be doing is working together to sort it all out!

My worry is more that farmers could be sacrificed as scapegoats when food may be difficult to produce under any new government policies, and cheaper food may be brought in from anywhere in the world

It’s happened before, nearly 100 years ago when the corn production laws were repealed just after the First World War Farmers had enjoyed good times during the actual war but a few years later things were very different and many didn’t survive Values were 25 per cent of what they were in war time and anyone who started in business at this time was very badly let down.

Today, of course, is very different but some of our present politicos have been hinting at us importing food from many new countries This is fine, pro-

viding this food is produced to our standards and the environments of these countries are not damaged South America is a good example where Brazil and Argentina are now the biggest producers of soya in the world Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest are destroyed each year to achieve this Most of this soya is used to feed livestock in “developed” countries, which is downright wrong It’s an ironic coincidence that legislation is going through Parliament right now to formulate a policy for agriculture in the UK Worryingly, food production is hardly mentioned in it!

n Another year has passed us by and it’s certainly been a different one Very cold in winter and an ultra-late spring followed by extreme drought which we are really still in Farming-wise it’s been a fairly easy one to manage, setting aside the shortage of winter feed for livestock farmers. We’ve seen it all before.

Best wishes for the season

Breakfast served 9.00 - 11.30am

Lunch from 11.30am

Afternoon teas served daily

Daily specials

Meeting room available for hire

Closed Mondays Only - Except Bank Holidays

n A WOODLAND craft centre operating near Melbourne has been named Best Outdoor

Experience in a regional awards scheme Greenwood Days, based at Spring Wood in the National Forest on the border between Derbyshire and Leicestershire, won the accolade at this year ’s Leicestershire Tourism and Hospitality Awards

Run by Peter Wood, Greenwood Days offers one of the largest ranges of traditional crafts experiences in the country, focusing mainly on woodland crafts

Peter teaches traditional and contempo-

rary Windsor chair-making and associated greenwood skills such as steam bending, pole lathe turning and sharpening, and also employs leading practitioners to teach other courses such as longbow making and basketry

In 2018 the centre celebrated its 20th anniversary and next year, 2019, plans to hold nearly fifty courses

Picture shows Peter Wood teaching GP Venetia, from London, to turn part of a chair on the traditional pole lathe

This cunning plan worked!

TWO sell-out nights for Nottingham’s Encore Performing Arts production of Blackadder Goes Forth at Melbourne Assembly Rooms were testament to the enduring popularity of this BBC TV sitcom

Only six episodes were made for television, and Encore re-created on stage four of the originals, screened nearly 30 years ago in 1989 Most of the audience were of an age to remember the original shows, and a recent re-run of the series on TV in the previous weeks provided a younger generation the chance to discover it

The dilemma for any group remaking a heightened comedy such as Blackadder is whether to emulate the original characters or seek humour in a fresh approach, and Encore had a mixture Graham Buchanan imitated brilliantly the buffoonery of Stephen Fry’s character, General Melchett, whereas not having the comic Atkinson face or phrasing, Kynan Wells, as Captain Blackadder had to find a different characterisation

Chris Mundy, playing Lt George, opted not to fall into a shell hole impersonating Hugh Laurie, and his more naïve, skittish characterisation suited him well Suitably grungy and fungal as Baldrick, David Hurt was a perfect fit without emulating Tony Robinson; and Simon Graves played the sycophantic pencil-pushing Captain Darling without the twitches and tics of the original McInnerny character

Cameo roles as “Bob” for Emily Fox, Adam Guest as Cpl Jones, and Duncan Leech and Bertie Black all brought additional humour to the production, particularly during the firing squad scene in “Corporal Punishment”

Lou and all the sta would like to wish all our customers a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

L ou and all the sta would like to wish all our customers a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Perhaps the best remembered scene from the original series is the final “going over the top” sequence of the last episode “Goodbyeee” After all attempts to escape facing certain death have failed, Blackadder, George, Baldrick, Darling and the rest of the platoon have to scale the trench ladders out into Noman’s land The cast and production team managed to capture and recreate the poignancy on stage, leaving the audience reflecting in an impromptu minute’s silence before the enthusiastic applause

How encouraging to see sell-out local theatrical shows back in Melbourne – Frank Hughes

l General Melchett (top) and Douglas Haig in the production.

Photo: Steve Bond

Church celebrating 15 years of having such good Friends

WITH its imposing Gothic structure, 900year history and beautiful setting by the Pool and Hall, many visitors come to Melbourne to admire our local parish church. And it’s with protecting the ancient building in mind that the Friends of Melbourne Parish Church was set up in 2003 This year, the organisation is marking its 15th anniversary

That’s why, along with traditional worship, you’ll find other events taking place within these walls – regular jazz concerts, for example, plus talks and other events Over the years it has hosted the Radio 4 show Any Questions, featuring guest speakers Matthew Parris, Sir Simon Jenkins and the then Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, and a talk by Lord Roy Hattersley in 2008

Originally the idea of Melbourne church bell ringer Bob Smith, the idea of the Friends organisation is to allow people to appreciate the building for itself, and not just for worship

As current Friend Roger Kington explained:

“The idea was that recognising the churches are in great difficulty financially, it costs a lot to maintain them and the money required can’t be produced just by the people who sit in the pews “So we needed to somehow recognise that there are people who like buildings but don’t worship in the church ”

The idea led to the formation of today’s Mel-

bourne Festival, when Festival founder Phil Dobby found himself sitting in the church one day, gazing up at the nave, and thinking it was a shame it was only used on Sundays

He approached the then vicar Dr John Davies with the idea of using the church to display art; Melbourne residents were asked if they would lend their houses for a weekend art and architecture trail, the Friends organisation was set up as a charity, local historian Philip Heath provided the historical write-ups, and the festival had its first outing in 2005

The church’s origins stretch back to before the Domesday Book and the core of the present structure was built in the early 12th century

Clearly, any building of that age will attract high maintenance bills, and indeed the church did fall into quite substantial disrepair in the 19th century Then, after a period of fund-raising, the leading Gothic revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott oversaw extensive renovations costing £3,000

Fast forward to 2003 and, in an event recorded by The Village Voice at the time, some 150 people representing local societies, churches and organisations launched the current Friends group – coincidentally also raising £3,000 at the outset

Over the past 15 years the Friends have been responsible for overseeing the project to create the meeting space at St Michael’s House, and there are currently around 200 individual members

The organisation has also attracted around 30 business members and corporate sponsors in the last two years – in recognition of the fact that visitors coming to Melbourne to admire the church will then hopefully also stay for a cup of tea and to browse the local shops, which is of benefit to local business

“The main point of the events we hold is to get people into the building so that they can appreciate what it can do and what it can be,” said Friends chairman Gordon Hughes

“My parish church in Liverpool was a red brick, late Victorian building – compare that with a Norman Gothic building like this one I love this building

“Gilbert Scott undertook that major restoration and one of the driving forces behind what we do in the Friends is make sure that such extensive repairs are never needed again We don’t want to leave future generations with a legacy of having to restore the building, we aim to keep it in a good state of repair and up to date ” – LS

n IT WAS a return to the 80s when these party-goers donned their best neon garb, leg warmers and crimped hairstyles at Melbourne Assembly Rooms.

The 80s night – DJ-ed by Melbourne’s Jay Filmore – is an annual occasion and one of several sell-out nights that have taken place

at the venue recently.

Assembly Rooms manager Andy Heafield said: “The ’80s night is always a good night out. Our shows are regularly selling out and geographically people are coming from all over the East Midlands area and further afield.”

Santa Sunday

join us on sunday the 16th of december for festive fun, carols and a visit from santa with his reindeerssittings 12 noon & 4pm adults £26.95 children £14.95

Christmas Day

join us for a festive 5 course christmas day lunch tables avaliable 12.00 noon til 4.00pm £79.95 (children under 12 £36.95)

n A MELBOURNE Probus Club dinner marking 100 years since the Armistice –held, fittingly enough, on November 11 –raised funds for the Royal British Legion.

The occasion was hosted at The Bay Tree restaurant to mark the centenary since the guns fell silent, with 37 guests gathered together to eat, hear World War One poetry

readings and take part in a prize draw.

Generous prizes included a trainee flight and champagne breakfast at the Bay Tree, and £1,000 is being donated to the Royal British Legion following the event Probus Club secretary Terry Harrison said: “I think everybody thoroughly enjoyed it ”

Carols on the Courtyard

thu 20th at 6pm in the courtyard music & entertainment, mulled wine, hog roast

Peaky Blinders

Christmas Party

fri 28th 1920’s themed night £9.95

7.00pm till late

l Annie Whitehead concert in the church

n THESE young artists were the winners of a Christmas card colouring competition organised by a Melbourne shop Children’s shop Duck Duck Goose organised the competition which asked children to design a Christmas jumper. Entries were judged by local artist Mark Dale and the winners all saw their prize designs made up into a pack of charity Christmas cards, with the profits to be split between Melbourne Infant School PTA and Derby Hospitals

Charity

You can buy the cards at Duck Duck Goose

Pictured (l-r) are: Isaac Boddey, Hannah John, Maya Howard (peeping round stairs), Florence Stephens, Imogen Hackett, Ava Docherty and Mark Dale

Record crowd does them proud

SUMMING up the Remembrance Day events, one local resident pithily concluded: “Melbourne did them proud!”

Starting earlier than normal this year and in bright autumnal weather, the annual parade from the Royal British Legion in Melbourne drew record numbers into the crowd and by the time the parade had reached Church Square the numbers had swelled such that the

l Pictured on the facing page are (l-r) the Melbourne beacon ablaze; the beacon on top of All Saints’ Church in A s t o n - o n - Tr e n t ; and the poppy on the side of East Midlands Airport’s control tower.

Bottom left: the fireworks display at the Melbourne Sports Park (photo by John Madeley)

Right: The crowds gather at the Remembrance Service in Melbourne

front of the War Memorial was packed right from the church all the way across Castle Street

An opening drum salute from the Town Band Drum Corps, and originally composed for the concert in September, preceded a flawless Last Post from Karen Worrall Following a respectful silence, the names of those commemorated who lost their lives in the Great War were solemnly read aloud

Set against the “pop-up” poppy installation on the church wall, the entire service was a fitting tribute, not only to our local heroes, but also to those in all our thoughts and prayers on this very special Centenary occasion

Up at the sporting partnership at dusk the mood was certainly lighter, but no less respectful as Cllr Sheila Hicklin welcomed all to the lighting of the beacon

Lord Ralph Kerr and Rev Steve Short also addressed the large audience before the names of the locals who fell in WW1 were read out

Lord Ralph then lit the “Battle’s Over” beacon of light, part of a nationwide tribute, as a recording was played of the bells from St Michael with St Mary’s Parish Church, in common with 1,300 churches across the country, ringing out for peace in celebration of the war ending

The Austrian style “Funken” beacon, towering at around 40 feet high, was the inspirational idea of Cllr Andy Jackson, who had seen similar structures during his skiing visits It was, as he had predicted back in May, “absolutely fabulous” and probably the most spectacular bonfire ever seen in the village

As the beacon eventually subsided, a spectacular, dazzling and prolonged fireworks display sponsored by Scallywags Nursery thrilled, excited and awed the huge crowd, bringing to an end the series of commemorative events across the past year and representing peace, hope and light for the future

Over in Aston-on-Trent, the programme of events marking the Armistice centenary concluded with a large crowd gathered at All Saints’ Church, where they sang poignant First World War favourites such as Keep the Home Fires Burning and A Long Way to Tipperary, before a special beacon was lit on the church’s tower and the names of the fallen read out – Frank Hughes

l Above and below: scenes from the service on November 11 in Melbourne. Left: Ted Stewart laying a poppy cross at the war memorial

Photos: PETER CLOUGH, TINA BAKER, MARTIN STEPHENS and MATTHEW HARNDEN

n A SPECIAL ceremony of remembrance was held in Milton to mark the reinstatement of the village’s war memorial. Having deteriorated over the years, it then fell and shattered, with the only thing worth saving, the scroll at the top The village hall committee decided to reinstate the memorial and held the blessing to coincide with the centenary of the Armistice

The Rev Andrew Baguley conducted the service, with Terry Hough calling out the Milton names of the fallen, with a reading by Eden Bates.

Poppy wreaths were laid, and children also put sprigs of rosemary on the monument – as Ophelia said in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for remembrance Alex and sister Natasha are pictured laying sprigs of rosemary with Charlie

Where schooling is a case of homework

NUMBERS of families choosing to home-school their children have gone up by more than 50 per cent in the south of Derbyshire over the past three years – in line with the national trend. But why would you choose to educate at home? LUCY STEPHENS speaks to a Melbourne family who have made the decision to learn outside the traditional classroom

MEG and Lauren Minifie are busy this morning, creating their own topic based on the best-selling Warriors books by Erin Hunter.

Later, they may continue their research into space – a subject both are interested in – or do some music, or read

Meg, 12, and Lauren, nine, have taken the decision with their mum Rose that they would prefer to be educated at home, and not at school – and they’re not the only ones

Figures from the local education authority (Derbyshire County Council) show that in the 2014/5 academic year, there were 613 students under the elective home education umbrella at some stage of the year, of which 23 were in Woodville and Newhall, an area which includes Melbourne

By 2017/8, that had jumped to 972 home-schooled students, of which 25 were in the Woodville and Newhall area

A spokesperson for the county council said the hike in figures was in line with a national trend which is seeing more families opt out of traditional classroom-based learning

“It’s kind of been at the back of my mind for a long time,” says Rose, whose girls have now not

been at school for more than a year

“As they went through school, it didn’t sit right with me The pressure of achieving at a certain level that’s not set by the child but by the government, and the benchmarking ”

One of the biggest worries, say all three, was losing social contact with friends – but with regular local activities such as Oakden School of Dance, which they do on Saturdays, plus a Wednesday drama class for Lauren and Melbourne Town Beginners’ Band for Meg, and local brownies and guiding groups, they say they have plenty of time to see their friends

“But I’m still glad we went to school,” puts in Lauren, “because a lot of the friends I have now, I did make at school ”

But what about the curriculum? Qualifications? GCSEs?

“We can pretty much access everything that a teacher at school can access,” says Rose “We can basically learn what we want, there’s a whole Internet of information to learn from

“The school system now is kind of old fashioned, I can see in the future it’s going to be a kind

of system that we are doing now, it will be on a computer, there won’t really be a teacher in that sense, there will be a kind of tutor or facilitator I think we are ahead of the times ”

“People just assume we don’t do anything at all,” says Meg, but since the family have been at home, they have undertaken some five-week free courses made accessible through the Open University, they take part in home education groups, go to a multi-sports session every fortnight, and do a hands-on regular volunteer session at Kedleston Hall

But all are also keen to stress that it is the education system as a whole they struggle with, and not individual schools themselves

“I wouldn’t say that home education is for every child, some children are better in the state system,” says Rose

“Parents are ultimately responsible for their child’s education whether they are in school or not I’m not sure that people are aware that there is another option

“We are not hippies, we are just ordinary people ”

COUNCIL POLICY ON HOME EDUCATION

n WE asked Derbyshire County Council what guidelines there were around home schooling, and whether the system was regulated This is their response:

“All councils have their own policy for parents on home education, based on Department for Education guidelines

“If parents choose to educate

their child at home rather than registering them in a school, they have a legal duty to provide a full-time education that is suitable for the child’s age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have

“Under the guidance from the Department for Education (and relevant legislation), councils

have a duty to identify those children who are not receiving a suitable home education If this is the case, the local council – in its role as local education authority – has the legal duty to intervene and this can include the issuing of a school attendance order requiring the child to be enrolled at and attend school ”

New support group launched

A NEW support group called Menopause Café Melbourne has been established for women who are going through the change to be able to exchange

their individual knowledge

The meetings encourage participants to talk about the symptoms they are experiencing and how they are managing them There is usually a discussion about the impact on everyday activities as well as different ways available to help, with the aim to stop women feeling isolated and going through this difficult time on their own

Liz Hepplewhite, the founder, said: “There is a need to raise awareness of the menopause and help understand the complexity of it, so the group

is actually open to both women and men ”

Meetings are held every month, the next one at the Senior Citizens Centre, Church Street, on December 13 starting at 7 30pm, until 9 30pm

It is a not-for-profit group, so there is only a small charge is to cover the costs of room hire Refreshments are provided free

If you are interested you can just go along, or for more information have a look on the group’s website www menopausecafe net or find them on Facebook (Menopause Café Melbourne Derbyshire)

Liz can also be contacted by email at lizhepplewhite@icloud com

l Rose Minifie with daughters Lauren (centre) and Meg.

Memorial bench sited near the war memorial

AS THE NATION commemorated the centenary of the end of World War One, Melbourne fully participated with a diverse range of events, projects and exhibitions.

Reporting the events for the parish council, co-ordinator of the celebrations Andy Heafield estimated that about 5,000 people had been engaged in the various events and projects

Melbourne Parish Council financially supported nine events and four projects including a commemorative beer, a bench and a painting; a concert of remembrance, a fairground heritage exhibition, a talk about the Sherwood Foresters and their involvement in the Somme, a talk about the holders of the Victoria Cross in Derbyshire, two nights performance of Blackadder Goes Forth, and the Beacon of Light on Remembrance Day

The Memorial Bench has been dedicated and situated adjacent to the War Memorial on Church Square and the Michael Cook painting “Swords into Ploughshares” has been on tour around the village

The bench features an image adapted from the painting and was paid for by the parish council and Melbourne Civic Society, with Cllr Mick Usher the driving force behind its installation

Meanwhile, members of the British Legion privately visited the war graves of every Melbourne man who never returned home and placed some local soil at every one of their final resting places

Aston’s Armistice stone tribute

ASTON parish has a new, permanent reminder of the Armistice centenary in the form of a commemorative stone

The parish council decided to mark the 100th year anniversary of the close of the conflict and agreed that a stone marker would be a solid, permanent reminder

The 3 5 tonne stone was sourced from and donated by Tarmac It was installed by Chris Toon, John and Edward Hicklin and the brass plaque sourced by Mike Selby

The Aston & Weston Royal British Legion were involved in the wording on the plaque and the precise and careful siting of the stone on the village green Parish council chairman Ed Hicklin said: “The parish council would like to thank everyone involved in this project, the result of which will be around for the next 100 years!”

Pictured are (l-r) Cllrs Jean Longley, Catherine Alberts, Steve Graham, Tony Hurrell, Tom Green, Haydn Wheeler and Edward Hicklin next to the commemoration stone

Life in war-time – Pages 12-13

Melbourne Festival featured and sponsored the knitted poppies project, prominent with nearly 5,000 poppies during the festival by the Pool and which raised over £1,000 for the Royal British Legion appeal Melbourne Junior School created Mosaic poppy and a “We will remember them” tile Kings Newton Social Committee organised an elegant display of poppies through the village and around the village cross and installed an outdoor exhibition outside the Hardinge Arms featuring pictures of the original Armistice day

An Armistice Christmas event is also planned for December 1

Various local groups included WW1 themes in concerts throughout the year and even smaller events, such as the Rotex school writing competition, had a WW1 slant

Pictured with the memorial bench are (lr, standing) councillors Wendy Earp, Andrew Jackson, Martin Fitzpatrick, Jane Carroll and David Smith Seated are Margaret Sharp (left) and council chair Sheila Hicklin

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SHOPPERS at Sainsbury’s in Melbourne have raised £1,500 for The Royal British Legion’s 2018 Poppy Appeal

Sainsbury’s is a long-standing corporate partner of the Royal British Legion, and Poppy Appeal volunteer collectors were selling Remembrance poppies in the store in the run-up to November 11 Gary Dunne, store manager at Sainsbury’s Melbourne, said: “We love being involved with the Poppy Appeal and this year our customers and colleagues showed their continued support for this great cause We’re thrilled to have raised such a huge amount for The Royal British Legion and look forward to seeing what the future holds for the 24-year partnership ”

Store’s Poppy booster Quiz to help charity

THE next Melbourne Quiz, which kicks off next month, will be raising money for the 2019 chosen charity: Treetops Hospice at Risley

The quiz is now being held at Melbourne Sports Park, rather than the Royal British Legion, and the last date for entries will be January 2 It starts on January 11, with each quiz night taking place at 7 30pm

Pat, Louise & Phil would like to wish all their clients and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your custom.

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Memories of war-time life

ABOVE: John Henry Heafield, of Ticknall, who survived the

ABOVE RIGHT: Soldiers relaxing on the River Trent with nurses while recuperating at Aston Hall.

RIGHT: Mrs Winterbottom, of Aston Hall.

BELOW: Pyrograph poppies made by children at Aston-on-Trent Primary

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THE impact of soldiers going off to the First World War – some, of course, never to return – may be hard to imagine today, but local villages showed their respect by putting on a series of exhibitions that told of the sadness and resilience in communities affected by the conflict

The Melbourne Historical Research Group’s exhibition commemorating the Armistice provided a wonderful insight into some of the quirkier aspects of local life during World War 1

It told how, on Tuesday, September 7, 1915, a detachment of the Sherwood Foresters had marched through Melbourne as part of a onemonth recruitment campaign and had gathered a large crowd

The campaign had begun in Derby in August, when Lt Moseley, who had commanded the 5th Sherwood Foresters and had been invalided home, told the crowd: “Every man worthy the name of Englishman should be in the Army, unless there are very strong reasons to the contrary ”

In its detail the picture tells more than just the one story – with the direction sign, the Victorian dress and uniforms, the familiar buildings around the Market Place, covered with make-shift curtains, and the Union flags proudly flying over the assembled crowd

In February 1915 the No 22 Melbourne Detachment of the “Home Guard” had been formed, with 66 active and 20 honorary members Their headquarters had been in Castle Square with a mini-indoor shooting range, and later a larger outdoor range

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The exhibition also d rationing had impacted had been asked to colle effort and how it had b homing pigeons, on pai prisonment or a £100 fin was not more than 10p The exhibition also d memorial had been Armistice, at a cost of ju veiled in May 1920

Over in Aston-on-Tre held in the Heritage C how local families were Pity the Hackett fam in the conflict, while M son, Frederick, at the sad coincidence on the band had died two year

The village’s Aston L auxiliary hospital for th diers were sent to conv terbottom family opene Aston Hall for the purp erated under Mrs Winte

Another fascinating in in 1915, when many of used in the conflict wer by the Army, a collecting brought was in Weston-

They were kept in m and Weston before bein ston station to units w and needed mounts South Derbyshire MP ited the Aston exhibitio

etailed things like how d, how school children

ct conkers for the war

become illegal to shoot n of a six months’ imne (when a soldier ’s pay per day!)

described how the war built following the st over £500; it was un-

nt, a moving exhibition

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ary Ann Hinds lost her Battle of Jutland – by same day as her huss previously Lodge was used as an e Red Cross, where solalesce, before the Wind up the West Wing of ose and the facility operbottom’s leadership

nsight was the fact that Britain’s farm horses e requisitioned for use g point where they were -on-Trent meadows around Aston g sent by rail from Wewhich were regrouping

P Heather Wheeler visn, saying: “All the vol-

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“The exhibition told the often forgotten stories of Derbyshire men from many different backgrounds who did their duty for King and Country, together with the impact on those they left behind

“I visited the Aston Heritage Centre in 2014 to mark the start of the Great War and I was honoured to return to mark the centenary of its end ”

Mrs Wheeler also visited the two-day event held in Ticknall, with the village’s own display organised by Maggie Fenby-Taylor

The Ticknall show concentrated on those men who survived and returned from the conflict, such as John Henry Heafield

Born in 1899, John (Harry) Heafield was the eldest of the 10 surviving children of Hannah and William, and he joined up on August 25, 1917

A Pioneer serving with the Notts & Derbys regiment, the Northumberland Fusiliers, the Durham Light Infantry and a sergeant with the Royal Engineers, he was demobbed in 1920 and became a guardsman on the railways

Ticknall’s commemorations also included a concert by the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, who sang songs from the period, with readings from local people including the Ticknall Cadets reading from Douglas Aplin’s war diary

To bring events to a close on Saturday, November 10, Tim Picken gave a lecture on World War One: Impact and Implications on British Society

ABOVE: Soldiers gathering in Melbourne Market Place in 1915

BELOW: Maggie Fenby-Taylor with South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler admiring the Ticknall exhibition alongside a display by children at Dame Catherine

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l Trench art at the Aston First World War exhibition held in the village’s heritage centre. These pieces of art are made from First World War shells, and are the personal collection of local resident Sharon Stevens Cash.

Walk of the month

MELBOURNE TO WILSON

Distance: 5 kilometres (3 miles)

Time: about 2 hours, inc a stop in Wilson Terrain: Easy on footpaths and tracks; one minor climb into Wilson

Refreshments: Melbourne and Wilson

Parking: Castle Square

OS sheet: National Forest 245 (1:25 000) or Derby 128 (1:50 000)

From the car park or bus stop in Castle Square, walk towards the parish church and then turn left towards Wilson along Blackwell Lane

After about 200 metres take the footpath on your right just beyond Blackwell Bridge You now pass through several fields with gates and a stile to reach a metal gate and cattle grid on a track coming up from Melbourne Pool to your right Go through the temporary gate by the cattle grid that leads into a large field with a double row of young trees: this is known as Chestnut Park (the original chestnut trees are long gone) Follow the path along the hedge on the left of this field, heading uphill to an electricity pylon at the top

From the top of the hill there are good views of Wilson, Breedon church, Ratcliffe-on-Trent power station and Castle Donington race track

Take the very pleasant path downhill through a field that often contains crops

When you reach a metalled road (Green Lane) turn left into Wilson where there is

a country pub, the Bull’s Head Beyond the pub follow the road to the Wilson village sign on a small green

Follow the road round to Melbourne for about 50 metres and take the route indicated by the Cloud Trail sign on the right This part of the walk takes about 20 minutes along a flat track that was once the Derby-Ashby railway line

There are good views of open countryside in places

Soon after passing some industrial buildings on the left you reach the bridge where the Melbourne-Isley Walton road crosses the track Leave the railway path here and turn left into Melbourne, passing the old station yard, Sweet Leys estate, the old police station (Turnbarrel) and Oddfellows Row

At the Washpit (in a green triangle) take the left fork, passing the fire station and Castle Farm on your way back to Castle Square

n This is one of 14 walks from the first of two books of “Walks Around Melbourne” published by Melbourne Civic Society All walks are illustrated with detailed maps and sketches.

They are available to purchase from Melbourne News and the Melbourne Hall Gift Shop.

Cuppas of cheer for Red Cross

A SLICE of cake and a cuppa helped to raise more funds for the British Red Cross

A coffee morning for the humanitarian organisation was held in Dame Catherine Harpur ’s School in Ticknall

Organised for the fourth year in a row by Jose Raine, visitors enjoyed coffee and Jose’s homemade cakes, with the event taking £725 on the day

Jose started organising fund-raisers for the British Red Cross in 2015, after harrowing images of a drowned boy on a beach were published on front pages across the world

Jose’s first coffee morning raised £1,200 to help the British Red Cross with its work, and since

then the events have raised around £4,500, with cash raised further boosted with match funding along the way

“It’s clearly a cause people want to support,” said Jose, who explained she had chosen to raise money for the British Red Cross because it was a non-political body which simply provided help to those who needed it

“My feeling is, you’re not going to put your three-year-old in a dinghy to get away from a happy place Whatever has happened, ordinary, innocent people get caught up in it ”

You can still support Jose’s coffee morning by visiting her Just Giving site: https://www justgiving com/fundraising/josephine-raine2

RIGHT: The former Derby to Ashby railway line – now on the Cloud Trail cycle path.

Old football shirts find new home in Delhi

WITH any company re-brand comes stock that is no longer required – old stationery, old branding, old posters – and, in the case of Melbourne Dynamo FC, old football shirts.

In the summer of 2018 football history was made in Melbourne when the two clubs, Dynamo and United, merged for the first time

But rather than throw away the now-redundant Melbourne Dynamo football shirts, these have instead found new homes in some of the poorest parts of Delhi

The shirts began their journey to India through Antony Rowan, who manages Melbourne’s under-8 side, Magic, of which his son Barnaby is a player

A family connection at Leicester Grammar School made him aware of the Discovery Schools Trust Alliance,

which visited Delhi during the October half-term to work for a week with Asha Society (www asha-india org), a charity that provides support to many of the city’s slums

British Airways allowed the team to take 10 extra additional bags out to the children, including stationery, books and football kits – and this led to Melbourne Dynamo Football Club’s Magic and Heat under-8s teams donating their old shirts

The shirts are now being worn by children in the Seelampur slum in Delhi

Antony said: “Following the merger last summer of Dynamo and United, and the unveiling of the new club crest, all teams from U7 to adult benefited from brand new kit

“Accordingly, the question was what to do with the old kit, much of which was still in good condition – with the

logical answer being to do something positive and help those less fortunate than ourselves

“A large quantity of kit was donated to a charity working in Uganda (as detailed in a previous issue of the Village Voice) while the U8s opted to donate theirs to Asha, to support their work in

Katie’s activity gift card brainchild

A MELBOURNE mum has launched what is thought to be Britain’s first activity gift card for the under-fives, in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste and help new parents get out of the house with their little ones.

Little Starts Gift Cards is the brainchild of Katie Lavis, and it offers the opportunity to buy activities for tots as a present, rather than large plastic toys, clothes or other space-consuming gifts they may not need or have room for

Katie had the idea for Little Starts having enjoyed attending lots of different baby classes with son Olly, with whom she is pictured, after he was born in 2016

Before having children – Olly now has a baby brother, Jack – Katie had been a solicitor, then a procurement manager

“After having my first baby, Olly, I attended lots of classes and activities which helped me get out the house, make friends and generally keep sane with a new baby,” she explained

“At the same time, I realised that I would often struggle to think of new ideas for presents for Olly when asked by family members, and felt guilty filling friends and family’s homes with plastic and potentially unwanted gifts when giving to them

“I realised that there was nothing out there that allowed people to buy activity-based gifts for the 0-5s, yet this is what my friends and I enjoyed most That’s when the idea for Little Starts was born

“I started brainstorming business ideas when I decided not to go back to work after having Olly, but I’ve always harboured an interest in having my own business

“I was going to all sorts of activities with Olly, lots of friends were going back to work and I was also accumulating lots of plastic in the house Olly and I loved getting out and about rather

than being stuck in the house We just got a lot more out of having a purpose to the day

“I was thinking about how I could keep paying for these classes and thought ‘wouldn’t it be great if people could help you to do this stuff?’”

The business has a website on which people can buy a gift card which can then be used to pay for participating classes in the local area, which include swimming, sensory, cooking, signing, sports, science, art and massage

Starting off around Derby, the idea is to expand over the whole of the UK

Also important, explained Katie, is to support local class providers who are also often parents trying to find ways of working flexibly around their families

“Supporting flexible working is really important to us,” she said “We want to sustain our partners’ businesses but also create flexible working opportunities at Little Starts as we grow ”

The business’s website is: www littlestartsgiftcards com – Lucy Stephens

BIN COLLECTIONS SCHEDULE

GREEN and brown bins will not be collected in Melbourne on Boxing Day – but extra recycling can be put out when normal services resume in the New Year

While black bins will be col-

lected as normal on Wednesday, December 19, the following week’s green and brown bin collection falls on Boxing Day when there will be no bin collection

Instead, additional card and

paper recycling banks will be installed on Melbourne’s High Street car park

There will be no disruption to the black bin collections, with the first in 2019 due to take place on January 2

Delhi

“The photos of the children wearing the shirts can’t help but put a smile on your face; while we can always do more, it’s comforting to know that a little bit of Melbourne Dynamo is helping to enrich their lives!”

l The children of the Seelampur slum of Delhi wearing ex-Melbourne Dynamo football shirts

The children are pictured in the Asha Centre which was built in the slum to provide somewhere for children and their parents to drop in and receive support from the charity

The Mummers return

THE Melbourne Mummers are set to return this month, for their seventh year of Christmas capers

The troupe will be touring the pubs and inns of Melbourne and Ticknall on December 21,

raising money for local charities Now something of a Christmas fixture, the Mummers have raised much money for charity over the past six years thanks to the generosity of their local audiences

Dougie

Merry Christmas &

A gift not just for Christmas

I REMEMBER “when I were a lad” when time seemed to stretch on and on, and the time from one Christmas to the next seemed an eternity.

When the 1st of December arrived, the next 24 days of anticipation went by at an even slower pace I think for most of us those halcyon days are long gone, and one Christmas to the next passes by seemingly in the blink of an eye

When the 1st of December arrives Christmas Day seems to hurtle towards us with the speed of an express train

There is so much to do, so much to plan, and we are encouraged by expectations, stoked by lavish advertising, to make each Christmas at least as splendid, if not more so, than the last

I remember my grandmother telling me of the simple gifts that she received in contrast to the pillowcase of presents that awaited me on Christmas morning

However, as I compare my pillowcase with the sack of presents received by lots

of children these days I can see how for many (although by no means all) expectations have risen, and with them the de-

mands upon our time, energy and money

Certainly I am no puritan and I want people to enjoy Christmas, to enjoy the giving and the receiving, to enjoy family time together, to enjoy all of the traditions that have grown up around Christmas

However, I also want people to pause, to take time out and to remember what Christmas is really about!

I want to affirm that Christmas really is about giving, but it’s about God’s gift of Jesus to the human race! A gift prompted by God loving the world and all its inhabitants so much that, in the fullness of time, he fulfilled His promise by sending Jesus Christ, as a gift for everyone, from the least to the greatest

It’s a gift that is still available, that is forever relevant and a gift that’s not just for Christmas, but for all year and every year I do hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and may God’s peace and joy be with you

THE clock turned back around 150 years when shops at Melbourne Hall celebrated the festive season with a Victorian-themed Christmas shopping evening

There wasn’t a bah humbug to be heard as shop owners donned their best Dickens-era garb for the occasion, which saw lots of local visitors head down to the Hall’s shops

Visitors got the chance to have a festive photo taken, and Santa himself put in an appearance

Pictured above are Carol Sadler (left) and Sylvia Smith

CAROLLING ... Shona Stewart, Johnny Victory and Emily Cox.

LEFT: Brendan O’Neill conducts the Melbourne Town Band playing Christmas carols

Kevin Earp Window Cleaning

Merry

Slat ’s Salon

Heather & Abby would like to wish all their customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

RIGHT: The Rev’d Steve Short with son Benjamin and daughter Sophie

Lighting up time

THE festive season is official when the Christmas lights are switched on – and this happened to the accompaniment of cheering crowds in Melbourne on Friday, December 7

Hundreds of people braved chilly temperatures to gather in the market place where the big man in the red suit popped in specially to do the honours

Melbourne Parish Council chair Sheila Hicklin counted down the crowd and the lights were switched on in all their glory at 6pm Melbourne Town Band, some jauntily sporting Santa hats, played Christmas carols which were sung by the crowd, while shops stayed open late to join in with the festivities

Local charity fund-raiser Dawn Aston was on hand selling her calendar, in which she and friends have posed for cheeky calendar-girls style shots to mark each month!

So many people turned out to enjoy the evening’s celebrations that it was hard to walk down central Melbourne, and people were able to warm up chilly hands thanks to several stalls selling hot food, mulled wine and hot chocolate, along with doughnuts and other beverages

Perhaps one of the biggest stars of the evening was the Christmas Tree, which had been donated to Melbourne by Mark and Val Spalton, of Isley Walton

The 35ft Norwegian Spruce had been in the ground of Mark’s family home for around 25 years and had got rather big for its boots, so the Spaltons decided to donate it to Melbourne Parish Council Mark said: “We felt that at some point it needed to come down and we’d rather it be used!”

Words: LUCY STEPHENS

Pictures: TINA BAKER

Wishing all friends & customers a Merry

Would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Williams Yard, Derby Road, Melbourne Tel: 01332 863810

Mark and Val Spalton with this year ’s Melbourne Christmas tree, while it was still in the ground at their home in Isley Walton

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Closing date Friday 14th December at noon.

This is a great opportunity to work in an 'outstanding' school as part of a friendly team of staff & Governors

Treasurer

Melbourne Assembly Rooms

The Melbourne Assembly Rooms is a not-for-profit compnay that manages the centre and runs all activities that take place in it. It is overseen by a Board of Directors, all of whom are local volunteers.

An essential member of the Board is the Treasurer. The role, supported by a book-keeper, is to report regularly on issues concerning income, expenditure, budgets and financial forecasts.

The essential qualification for the position is an excellent working familiarity with accounting practices and preferably with an accounting qualification.

Anyone interested in this vital position at the heart of Melbourne's thriving community should contact the Chairman, Phil Dobby, on 01332 863640 or phil.dobby@gmail.com

Village Voice Postbag

Parking: a bigger headache

LAST month’s Village Voice reported on the district council’s surprising decision the application from Ms S Kaye and Dunnicliff Bros Ltd to convert the old gym to a 150cover restaurant and bar

On a conservative estimate an additional 70 parking spaces will need to be found on a busy weekend evening compared with the supply and demand for parking which has applied until recently

It is, therefore, likely that residents in Melton Avenue, Windsor Avenue, Spinney Hill and beyond will have to get used to vehicles being parked outside their houses

Users of the new business, and those businesses already operating, may have to walk for up to half a mile from their parking space – after driving around to find one Some may return to their cars in the early

hours of the morning because the planning application is for a one o’clock closing time on Saturdays

Councillors chose not to make a decision on that part of the application, leaving it to the licensing committee to make the decision instead Residents who value their sleep might want to comment on that application when it is made

There is another major concern about the proposal The plans for the Cobblers Arms, as it will be called, make no provision for wheelchair access to the main eating area on the first floor The needs of disabled users are not taken into account within the planning process but it would be unprecedented for their exclusion to be judged reasonable under the provisions of the Equality Act in a refurbishment scheme

Assembly Melbourne Rooms

costing at least £500,000

It is to be hoped that the developers will reconsider this aspect of their plans if they really can’t find a use for the building which is better suited to the needs of the community as a whole

Matthew Lee Derby Road Name

‘insult’

THE proposal to name a former shoe factory “The Cobblers Arms” insults the Industrial heritage of Melbourne

The town was known as having factories that made footwear for children Cobblers repair shoes, they do not make them on an industrial scale Michael Loake.

Parking: situation ‘a shambles’

I SAW the article re “traffic misery” (November edition, page 10) and it almost reads we should be grateful it is allegedly coming to an end!

I am assuming the Jan 19 end date is a builders’ estimate so will take it with a pinch of salt

The parking situation on the road has been a shambles for months as clearly the traffic management and parking plan basically equates to park where ever you like The dangerous parking adjacent to the en-

Have you got Back Pain? Looking for a Personal Trainer?

Someone who understands not only the appropriate individual exercises to give but also a deeper understanding of the causative factors with a view to long term improvements and NOT just short term gains ? If this is YES please call me now for a consultation.

Alfie Birch

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07941 102660

trance to Selina Street leaves the junction blind – if there is not an accident there before the site is finished it will be down to luck

I did email the main contractors (no response), SDDC and DCC traffic departments referred me to the police In fairness the local PCSO responded promptly and sympathetically

Whilst acknowledging the situation there were no offences being committed but their approach on site did improve matters for a

day or so before reverting to type Clearly the contractors do not like to walk a yard

I am not expecting matters to improve much even if the developments including Arms Gate finish as expected There will no doubt be another application submitted to develop the Quarry Edge site, plus at the time of writing there are two further planning applications before the council for an extension and new build on Ashby Road Mick Thomas Ashby Road, Melbourne.

Luncheon club volunteers lift team of year award

French taught to all ages and abilities

Guitar, ukulele, ddle, keyboard & melodeon

The ukulele club is a fun, sociable evening of song and playing.

We also do barn dances and maypole

Bryan Dawson 01332 702386 or 07949 108037

bryandawson@hotmail.co.uk

AND the winners are Ticknall Luncheon Club!

Representatives of the village’s lunch club volunteers picked up an award for ‘Team of the Year ’ at an awards ceremony organised by South Derbyshire Community Volunteer Services

The award is granted in recognition of a team from across the whole of South Derbyshire who stand out for their commitment and hard work, and who make a difference to their community Ticknall’s Lunch Club has been providing a fortnightly lunch for local residents for the past 10 years, and recently marked its first decade anniversary with a celebration lunch.

The team award is one of seven categories providing the chance to nominate teams and individuals who have benefited the community The awards are organised by South Derbyshire CVS and Swadlincote & District Chamber of Trade with sponsorship from Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd and individual award category sponsors Pictured at the award event to collect the prize were volunteers Maggie Mellish, Clare Pattinson, Jill Clark and Jen Woodhead Mary Magson, who originally started the club, said: “We were surprised and delighted to receive the award It was wonderful for the volunteers to be recognised in this way.”

Moves

to replace play equipment

PROGRESS is being made towards installing new play equipment in Melbourne’s Lothian Gardens, a meeting heard

The latest meeting of Melbourne Parish Council on December 4 was told that the council’s facilities committee members were meeting with several providers with a view to deciding on a new piece of equipment

The previous play structure had to be removed from the park in July after an inspection by RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) found it to be unsafe

The parish council introduced a weekly bouncy castle in the summer to make up for the fact children were missing the equipment, which included a climbing rope, tunnelled slide and climbing wall

The replacement is aimed at catering for children aged between eight and 14.

The parish council did ask local families to suggest what play equipment they would like to see at the park, but garnered very little response.

It’s chime time for Peter to clock off

CHURCH clock chimes are once again sounding out over Ticknall thanks to a lottery-funded project to restore the village’s historic ecclesiastical timepiece.

Unfortunately, that means 83-year-old Peter Marriott is officially out of a job!

It was Peter ’s task to manually wind the clock on St George’s Church which he did on a weekly basis for more than 40 years –and his father and grandfather before him

In total, ever since Tom Marriott first took on the role in 1890, the Marriott family for 125 years made sure the clock kept good time and chimed the hour

But, after the aged mechanism ran into problems a few years ago, it was decided to make repairs so it now winds automatically

The clock has been fixed by Smith of Derby and a special film made about the project by BBC producer Stuart Woodman, who is originally from Ticknall

The restoration meant that the clock was once again chiming over Ticknall in time for 11am on Remembrance Sunday

“My grandfather wound it for 40 years, and then my father wound it for 40 years, and then I took over and wound it for over 40 years,” said Peter

“I’m very pleased that it’s in good order and hopefully going for another 100 years ”

Peter said his grandfather Tom had been a blacksmith and a clock enthusiast, who would repair clocks in his spare time

When he took over winding the clock in 1970, he would do it every week after bell-ringing practice, turning the striking mechanism 60 times and the timing mechanism 27

The clock was originally made by John Whitehurst of Derby in 1813, and, interestingly, pre-dates the current church building

Costing £63, the equivalent to £4,000 in today’s money, it was on the original St George’s Church, which was blown up – as it wasn’t deemed large enough – and today’s church installed on the same grounds in 1842

The original clock winder was Alfred Hickinbotham, who did the honours from 1842 to 1890, before handing over to the Marriott family

The clock repair project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ticknall Parish Council and the Ticknall Preservation and Historical Society

Parish council chair Paul Colleyshaw said: “I’m absolutely delighted that the clock has been restored to its former glory, incorporating modern technology which will ensure that the clock will chime for the next 100 years at least ”

A link is being added to the Ticknall Life website, enabling people to watch the fourminute film about the project:

w w w y o u t u b e c o m / w a t c h ? v = j -

29wVaiaAs&feature=youtu be

– Lucy Stephens

Comedian has his audience in stitches

ANOTHER capacity audience for November ’s Melbourne Festival Funhouse Comedy Club at the Royal British Legion enjoyed an evening of art and song, as well as some comedy

Opening act Noel James, who was a semi-finalist on this year ’s Britain’s Got Talent, relied upon clever word play and one-liner jokes delivered at pace, which did not all land quite on target, but nonetheless set up the evening

Middle act Lukas Kirkby had a rousing reception with his cover versions of songs, most notably New York, New York, and Robbie William’s Angels A real crowd pleaser!

Headliner Ivo Graham told us he was his parents’ favourite child, and you quickly see why; with a sharp comic wit and bags of charm, his youthful appearance hides the reality that he is a very experienced, professional comic With tales of embarrassing holidays with mum and dad, his early fumblings in relationships or his romantic insecurities, he had the entire crowd in stitches

Holding the whole show together was the immensely likeable Howard Read as compere His opening game to identify audience members from his artwork, literally had the whole crowd on their feet His engagement with a lively and diverse audience was a real pleasure to see

Next comedy night is scheduled for Friday, January 25, and will feature the return of top cop comedian Alfie Moore, now most wellknown for his BBC radio show “It’s a fair cop” currently running a fourth series – FH

Nursing home fun run

A GROUP of members at the Breedon Priory Health Club are planning a fun run to bring some Christmas cheer to the residents at Pool Cottage Nursing home

The plan is to leave around 9am on Friday, December 14, run to Pool Cottage, present a small gift to each of the residents there, have a cuppa and a chat, and then run back again

Angie Cooke, who has been busy raising funds for a number of good causes this year, has devised the plan alongside Shelley Mudd, a trainer and “boot camp” leader at the gym

“It should be fun,” said Angie, “ and we have not yet decided whether or not we are going to be dressed as Santa Elves”

Doubtless it will be a fun spectacle too to see Santa’s helpers running over the fields

If you are interested in joining in, contact the gym and speak to Shelley

Melbourne Dental Practice

n AFTER 18 years of being involved with the Melbourne Fete and Carnival, former chair Tracey Ridley officially handed over the reins to new chair Rachel Hill, who is pictured (second left) next to Tracey with carnival secretary Gemma Bettelley (left) and treasurer Chris Peat (right).

l Peter Marriott turns the handle on the clock and is pictured third from the right with members of his family in the 1950s.

l Melbourne Rugby Football Club’s 2nd XV line up before a recent match

Win, win, win situation for the rugby club teams

AFTER the drama of the end of the 2017/8 campaign, Melbourne Rugby Club teams are flying high so far this season with some great wins under their belt

In fact, the first XV have lost only one game this season up to the start of December, while the second XV remained undefeated for the whole of the same period

Both teams top their respective leagues

The opening game of the season saw Melbourne’s first team paired against Dronfield in round one of Midlands 2 East (North) where they prevailed 27-14, despite being without several senior players

A great try from Jacob Watts secured the final scoreline

AROUND 50 people went along to enjoy a prize presentation evening held by Kings Newton Bowls Club.

Trophies were this year presented by one of the club’s longest serving members, Enid Maddock

Members and friends enjoyed the occasion, which also included a raffle, bingo and quiz

Pictured (l-r) are front row: Steven Raine (open doubles winner), Bernard Raine (Quintin Blood Trophy), Rob Philipson (men's singles, handicap singles and club champion), Cynthia Bailey (ladies singles), David Smith (Galley Jackson Cup), Richard Robinson (Pack Horse Trophy); back row: Neil Hill and Pat Philipson (floodlit doubles winners), Dave Lyons (Quintin Blood Trophy), Henry Hastings (open doubles), Bert Maddock and David Wright (handicap doubles).

The first away game saw the first XV travel to Ilkeston where Melbourne’s men began to wear down the home side in the second half, finishing with an impressive 43-10

Convincing wins against Bugbrooke (483) and Lincoln (23-13) followed before a more tightly fought contest against Long Eaton, when Melbourne once again managed to secure victory at 18-12

The first XV suffered their first defeat, losing by a mere point in the cup to Earlsdon (14-15) before returning to winning ways, with a particularly spectacular victory over Southwell, where Melbourne commanded the pitch with a knock-out 87-12 scoreline

There followed the first game of December, which again went in Melbourne’s favour, with a 22-3 win against Newark – a good test for the men in green and gold which they more than met

The second XV, meanwhile, have also been highly impressive – not surrendering a single game at the time of writing

Particularly notable victories came against West Bridgford (71-19) and Ashby seconds (46-0)

The fortunes of the third XV have been more mixed, although Melbourne secured a good win over Long Eaton (27-0), but lost to Rolls-Royce (12-22), despite some good play out there on the pitch

Bowls winners get their trophies

DOUBLES DELIGHT FOR TENNIS CLUB

MELBOURNE Tennis Club held its second American Doubles Tournament in November with 20 participants helping to make this another very successful event

Ten couples were randomly drawn together and then split into two groups of five Each couple in the group played every other couple resulting in 32 games of tennis for each player

The winning lady and gent from each group then played each other in a deciding short set of seven games It was a great opportunity for members to socialise and play with different people,

and the club plans to hold another tournament

Congratulations to the winners, Pam Oliver and Andy Fleming, and the runners-up, Lesley Heath and Rob Heldreich

The club continued their league matches in the winter league with two games in November Melbourne’s B Team ladies played Rolls-Royce and lost 4-3

Melbourne’s Mixed B played Derby University and won 4-2, which was a great result against one of the strongest teams in the league

Pictured are the American Doubles players

Why young Zac is happy to find himself in the kart

MOVE over Formula One – Melbourne has its own racing teen, Zac Parkinson, who recently came second in the final round of a national karting championship.

Zac, who is in the sixth form at Chellaston Academy, is following in the footsteps of his motor-racing family Dad Nick and uncle Simon are both keen former rally drivers and granddad

Bob Parkinson also raced karts in the 1960s, “when it was a bit more rudimentary,” explained Nick

The 17-year-old has been behind the karting wheel for the past five years and can be found speeding around the racing track most weekends as part of the BirelART Karting championships, where this year he came second in the season finale

BirelART is affiliated with Formula One racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, who himself grew up racing karts, and its origins go back to the 1950s

The new Daniel Ricciardo Series (DRS) begins in

March 2019, with live streaming on its own specific YouTube channel along with 24-hour radio coverage courtesy of Downforce radio

With drivers reaching speeds of 70mph in 100cc engine karts with no safety features and no gears, it’s little wonder that Zac’s mum, Ruth, can sometimes not quite bear to watch

All karts and engines are equal and strictly regulated, so the emphasis is very much on driver ability

But for Zac, who wants to be a PE teacher when he leaves school, the rush of speed is what keeps him at it

“I love it,” he told the Village Voice “I think if you hadn’t done it already and you came to try and do it, you would find it quite scary and intimidating because of how fast you go, but I’m quite used to it ”

“It’s probably scarier for the people who watch!” said dad Nick, who runs Shenpar Garage Services in the centre of Melbourne

And, while the races are carefully marshalled with flags on each corner, Zac said he had still been in an ambulance five times since starting racing – but wouldn’t give it up for the world

“I play rugby as well and when you win a game, it’s that feeling but for the whole time you’re out there,” he explained

One thing’s for sure, Zac’s in the right place for his choice of sport, with his dad on hand to help out with the mechanics needed on the kart – and Nick is very proud of his son for his pole position in this year ’s championships

“The conditions out there were awful,” he said “But he’s a good lad, he’s sensible, he works hard at school and his driving has come on so much over the last five years – to be in the sort of position where he is now, it’s incredible ”

And for Zac, thanks are also due to his dad: “I couldn’t do it without him putting the kart behind me,” he said

Anyone wishing to sponsor Zak would be made welcome at Shenpar

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ... YET AGAIN!

YOUNG table tennis players from Melbourne Junior School were crowned county champions at a recent tournament held in Derbyshire

The school sent a boys’ and a girls’ team to the Derbyshire Schools Team County Championships which were held at a school near Chesterfield on December 4

With the boys’ side consisting of four year six pupils and the girls’ side made up of three year fives and one year four, both teams won their finals and are Derbyshire champions

The double victory follows on from last year ’s championships, when both boys and girls’ teams from Melbourne Junior School were also county champions

The girls and boys’ teams will now go on to the zonal finals in Bradford on January 20

Jason Wardle, co-sports lead at the school, who accompanied the table tennis players to the competition, said: “I was really impressed The team work was excellent, as was their support for each other ” Melbourne Junior School’s girls’ table tennis team has recently been named Derbyshire Schools Primary Team of the Year

Footy team that really is Magic!

MELBOURNE Dynamo Football Club’s under-8 side

Magic are flying high – they are currently unbeaten this season, report managers

Magic have won 10 and drawn one game in 11 Derby Junior Football League matches, a run which has seen them move up from group four to group three Managers said: “This is all down to the hard work of the players and the unswerving support of our parents, particularly as we restructured the existing U8 teams over the summer in order to create our new third team, the Pistons, to accommodate the swelling player numbers ”

Melbourne’s under-8s were also invited by Derby County to play a tournament at their Academy on October 26, with both Heat and Magic under-8s taking part along with a couple of Pistons players

In what was their first experience of seven-a-side game play, the young players were said to have “more than held their own, on a very cold evening, against some very good sides, eight in total including two Derby Academy teams”

Pictured are Magic and Pistons players with managers Toby Mitchell and Antony Rowan.

Top of table stuff from Dynamo

MELBOURNE Dynamo Football Club had a superb November with all four teams climbing their respective divisions The Saturday first team led the way, ending the month top of the table.

A hard fought 2-1 home win against high-flying Rolls-Royce Leisure was thanks to a double from Jack Goodband Dynamo won by the same scoreline a week later, again at home, this time against Wirksworth Town Reserves as Michael Tristram and substitute Joe

Shadbolt were on the scoresheet

A third home game on the trot saw Allestree travel to the MSP and a thumping header from the returning Carl Allsop and a Bradley Ellis strike gave the first team their fourth consecutive win

Gav Salisbury’s team ended the month top of the table as they came back from 2-1 down away to Little Eaton, goals from Harry Foxon, James Smith and Toby Foxon firing them to a 3-2 win Melbourne Dynamo Saturday Reserves also had a successful time, ending the month in second place in the league But they did lose their first game in November in the Derbyshire Junior Cup as the holders went out 5-2 with Jack Scothern and leading scorer Brad King getting the consolation goals

A week later Dynamo Reserves came from 3-0 down to earn a creditable 3-3 draw thanks to goals from Josh Burton, Dan Toon and Brad King

Away to high-flying Netherseal St Peter ’s Sports, Melbourne won a remarkable match in the last minute as a thunderous strike from Josh Burton flew into the top corner Brad King, Joe Shadbolt and an earlier goal from Burton completed the scoring Dynamo Reserves ended November at home in the Challenge Cup as once again they came from behind, as a Brad King penalty and a Billy Lupton header saw Melbourne through 2-1 to the next round

Melbourne Dynamo Sunday first team had only two league games in the month but won them both to climb to third in Division One The first was away to Field Lane Reserves as Dynamo won 32 with two superb individual goals from Harry Foxon plus a long range strike from Dom Hurst

A comfortable 3-0 home win over Stenson Fields was thanks mainly to a brace from veteran skipper Paul Lakin plus a brilliant free kick by Toby Foxon to keep Ash Smith’s team climbing the table

Melbourne Dynamo Sunday Reserves began November with a great team performance as they held top of the table Abbey Court Car Sales Reserves to a 3-3 draw Abbey equalised in the final minute, with goals from Jacob Vella and substitutes Scott Harris and Tyrone Forster earning a creditable draw

A home 4-0 win against bottom of the table Emerald was thanks to a double from leading goalscorer Jacob Vella with one being a penalty, a Dan Toon finish and an Alex Slater tap-in

A 2-0 home defeat to a strong Chimneys side was soon forgotten as a 4-2 away win against the Wilmott Arms saw Dynamo Reserves climb to fifth in the table Jacob Vella again scored a double along with a Brad Hefford strike and a rare Morgan Johnson finish to complete a successful month for Melbourne Dynamo