Rothley Post (152) Jan/Feb 2022

THE ROTHLEY POST YOUR FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Delivered to Rothley, Thurcaston & Cropston

JAN/FEB 2022

www.birstallpost.co.uk

No. 152

Sleigh ride

A BURGLAR who broke into a Rothley man’s home and stole his car has been jailed.

Persistent offender Michael Vincent (40) broke into the victim’s home while he slept.

Vincent broke into the garden shed at the man's home in Rothley, taking out a hedge trimmer and a chainsaw before entering the house, where he stole the keys to the occupant's Mitsubishi L200.

The householder, who lives with his partner, woke up and saw Vincent fleeing the property in the car.

Vincent carried out the raid on Sunday September 13, 2020. The police found the stolen car parked in a cul-desac a short distance from Rothley.

The number plate had been altered with black tape, while a distinctive twotone glove was found in the vehicle.

Vincent was staying 100 metres from where the vehicle was located, at the home of a woman known to him. She answered the door to police, and the defendant was found hiding under a bed in a spare room.

The house was searched and a number of items were found, including tools and a two-tone glove that matched the one found in the stolen car.

Vincent, of Glaisdale Close, Beaumont Leys, has previous convictions for burglary, attempted burglary and handling stolen goods.

At Leicester Crown Court, Vincent pleaded guilty and was jailed for 18 months.

SANTA TOOK a sleigh ride through Rothley in December.

The trip was organised by Leicester Round Table and raised £582 for LOROS and Rothley School PTFA. A Round Table spokesman said: “Thank you Rothley for your generosity, it was fantastic to see so many grown ups and children waiting to greet Santa.”

Pics: Santa on his tour through Rothley

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Plans for 40 new homes PLANS FOR 40 dwellings on an area of grassland behind Hickling Close and off Cossington Lane have received more than a dozen objections from residents.

The 1.08 hectare site is currently in agricultural use and comprises a single irregular shaped field, enclosed by hedgerows and trees on all sides.

Rothley Parish Council has also objected to the plans. It says: This site is on greenfield land, outside limits of development and is not a site in the new draft core strategy.

It is not required to fulfil the housing requirement for Rothley until 2033.

It is contrary to the recently approved Rothley Neighbourhood Plan.

Continued on page 3

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Alpine House Surgery 86 Rothley Rd, Mountsorrel, Loughborough LE12 7JU Tel: 0116 216 9947

Happy New Year !

We would like to wish all our patients a very happy and safe New Year from all the partners, managers and staff.

Accessing the surgery & face-to-face appointments As a surgery, we are aware of the to-face appointment if this is clinically current media interest in the availa- necessary. This will be discussed with you during your telephone consultation bility of GP appointments, particuand you will be invited to the surgery, larly face-to-face, and we wanted usually on the same day or on a day that to communicate to our patients is suitable for you. how we are currently working, why We have been seeing our patients we are doing this and how you can face-to-face throughout the pandemic for access the surgery.

We have remained open and availa- both acute and routine matters. We are ble throughout the pandemic, however, also aware of the media criticism of GPs “hiding” during the pandemic, this is we have had to make adjustments in simply not true. Our GPs and Paramedorder to keep our patients and our ics are working incredibly hard but are staff safe. As an employer we must more likely to be seeing patients who protect our staff and as a service proare seeking advice with an vider we must offer a safe service for acute/contagious illness. It is therefore our users. We are proud of the measin the best interests of our staff and ures we have taken and so far, have other patients for these to be dealt with had no outbreaks of Covid at the Surover the telephone in the first instance. gery.

Our Nursing and HCA teams continue We are committed to providing you to see the majority of their patients facewith the best possible health care for to-face, the reason for this is that they your needs and we are proud of our are seeing generally well people for diverse and highly skilled clinical routine matters. team. Alongside our traditional GP appointments, you can consult with Access to the Surgery: our Paramedic/ANP team who are We continue to monitor and control trained to deal with a wide variety of access into the building by requesting problems and can prescribe independthat you use the back electronic doors ently or will have access to a GP for and press the bell in the foyer to gain prescriptions if required. entry. We are then asking Covid19 screening questions and taking temperaFace-to-Face Appointments: tures. Once this is done, you are welOur GPs and Paramedics all offer come to wait in the waiting room for telephone consultations in the first your appointment. However, if you preinstance and will always offer a facefer to wait outside or in your car, please

advise our reception staff. We have limited space in the waiting room in order to maintain social distancing and we try to stagger our face-to-face appointments as best we can to accommodate this.

If your clinician or our reception team advise you to have a PCR test, you do not have to wait for results before making an appointment with us, but this will be via telephone in the first instance.

Our aim is to reduce risk to patients and staff, never to deny care.

Patients who are Covid Positive: Patients who are positive for covid and are either experiencing symptoms or have another unrelated condition which needs medical attention, will be assessed first via telephone and if deemed clinically necessary to be seen, will be invited to be seen in the isolation room, you will NEVER be refused an appointment or treatment because you have Covid19.

Contacting the surgery There are a number of ways you can contact the surgery: By telephone on 0116 216 9947.

Please bear in mind, that unless you require a same day appointment, you can call any time between 8am and 6pm. If your query or appointment request is routine, it’s always best to call after 10am Our website has recently been upgraded and you can find us at: www.alpinehousesurgery.co.uk

You can also follow us on Twitter: @AlpineSurgery or find us on Facebook We also now offer an Online Consultation Service. You can ask clinical or administrative queries. These are for routine, non-urgent requests and you will receive a reply in up to 5 working days. Therefore please do not send any urgent queries.

To access this service, visit our website for the link or type the following into a search engine: https://florey.accurx.com/p/C82095

APPOINTMENTS 69.4% of our Total Appointments were Face-to-Face in the last 4 weeks st th (1 November – 28 November 2021)

FACE-TO-FACE APPOINTMENTS

Last 4 weeks , Previous Year st th (1 November – 28 November 2020)

Pics: a recent flu clinic at Alpine House Surgery

4183 2050

DNA’S (did not attend) have reduced Dramatically to only 3.2% with our current appointment model

JAN 2022

st th (1 November – 28 November 2021)

THE ROTHLEY POST

Last 4 weeks , Current Year

Rothley’s Remembrance Day

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Fowke Street to the War Memorial.

A LARGE crowd gathered at Roth- after last year’s event was A trumpeter played the last post, a scaled back because of Covid-19. ley’s War Memorial on Cross minute’s silence was observed, and After the service in Rothley Church, Green on Remembrance Sunday, wreaths were laid beside the War Memothe Legion Standard was paraded up rial.

THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

40 new homes continued from page 1

Access is dangerous being on a steep hill on a very busy road.

The crossroads at Loughborough Road / Cossington Lane is well over capacity, and this will get worse because this junction is designated as the main route for construction traffic for the Broadnook development.

The site will suffer from traffic noise from the adjacent A6 bypass.

Residents are also objecting on the grounds of loss of wildlife habitat, overdevelopment, loss of rural character, lack of school places and pressure on local services.

One Rothley resident has summed up the frustration many people feel with the planning process. He has written: “For

what it is worth I object. I could go into detail and marry it up against planning law, but what's the point? I could give evidence of over-development, lack of resources, lack of school spaces, loss of village identity and many other reasons to object, but really, what's the point? I have very little faith in this box-ticking exercise of 'consultation' when I look back at the recent history of planning applications in Rothley. Charnwood Borough Council will do what it will regardless, but I oppose.”

To view the application and make comments, go to the planning pages of Charnwood Borough Council’s website.

Planning reference: P/21/2085/2

Pics from top: crowds at Rothley War Memorial on Cross Green; the parade from the Church to Cross Green; a Brownie from 1st Rothley Brownies lays a wreath

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THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

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Rothley care home residents enjoy visit from Shetland ponies A COUPLE of adorable Shetland ponies have brought smiles to elderly residents in their Rothley care home.

THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

Pics: Shetland Ponies Peaches and Charlie meeting residents at Mountview care home

Peaches and Charlie visited the Mountview care home in December, and there was a joyful reaction from all the residents who met them.

The owner of the ponies Dianne Dowell from My Little Pony Parties, said: “The ponies are so gentle, they can stand all day being stroked and groomed, and the residents faces really lit up.

“There were lots of pictures taken and when it was time to go, the residents didn’t want us to leave!”

Research shows contact and companionship with animals can reduce the stress hormone cortisol and provide an overall boost to well-being.

Horses in particular are being utilised more and more in a treatment known as equine therapy, which sees horses being

used to help people with mental health problems.

The unorthodox form of therapy is said to help with a range of issues, including anxiety, autism, poor behaviour, low self-confidence, stress and trauma.

Stacie Weaver, General Manager, said: “Due to the current situation with Covid etc the residents were really chuffed to see some normality! One said on the day ‘ having these little beauties in the home makes everything seem normal again’.

“One of our residents followed them around holding on to their reins, and asked for us to take many photos of her.

“It didn’t just have an impact on our residents, it also had an impact on our staff including the domestic and maintenance team, as they stopped what they were doing and followed them round, going to see residents that were bed bound to see their reactions!”

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Centre plans to extend workshop Woodcock The Heritage Centre’s Railway Museum Building was constructed in 2016 and at that time, it served as both an exhibition and a restoration area.

“This was not ideal because it was difficult to keep museum exhibits free from the dust and dirt from restoration projects. It was also often necessary for the restoration section of the building to be physically fenced off from the general public for health and safety reasons,” said spokesman Steve Cramp.

He added: “Two years later, we were fortunate enough to be able to resolve most of our problems with the construc-

narrow and standard gauge railways operating alongside each other,” said Steve.

The cost of the extension will be around £14,000.

Steve said: “We are now asking for your help in raising just £7,000! A tion of the workshop attached to the project supporter has very kindly offered west side of the Railway Museum, which to match all donations received up to a operates quite separately. Visitors to the museum can look into the workshop via value of £7000! This means that your an observation window on the west wall.” donation is worth double the amount you are donating, every £10 you donate An extended workshop will provide becomes £20, every £100 becomes more room and allow the centre to £200, and so on. relocate its two narrow gauge diesel “The Heritage Centre has repeatedly locomotives where they can be more proven its ability to deliver projects both effectively looked after.

“We hope that better facilities will also to budget and on time, and it has consequently gained both local and national allow us to attract visiting narrow gauge working steam locomotives and will offer recognition. We are hoping that Heritage the possibility in the near future of short Centre visitors will continue to show their appreciation for what we are creating.”

Donations can be made at the Heritage Centre or via the gofundme.com website (put Narrow Gauge Railway Workshop Extension in the search box).

For more details and other ways to donate, go to the centre’s Facebook page or website. passenger rides around the quarry bottom garden area. To achieve this we want to add a workshop extension with a footprint of approximately 28 square metres, which, if successful, would underpin our ability to be one of the few places where you can see both

Parish Council notes A FULL meeting of Rothley Parish Council was held on November 15.

It was agreed to approve the precept of £199,132 for the year 2022/23. This represents an increase of 3%.

A full meeting of Rothley Parish Council was held on December 20.

PCSO Shaheen Abdullah reported that there had only been one reported crime in November, a vehicle crime.

It was reported that there may be disruption to the waste collection service due to staff absence and possible industrial action.

A member of the public who volunteers to open and close the cemetery gates every day is moving away. The council is considering options for the future that could include remodelling the gates or fitting a timed locking mechanism.

It was reported that in October, there had been two reports of criminal damage to property, two reports of damage to vehicles and two reports of theft.

Borough Councillor Leon HadjiNikolaou reported that he will be holding a councillor surgery every two months to allow residents to speak to him.

Thurcaston & Cropston Parish Council will consider changing the date they meet to allow Cllr Mark Charles to attend Rothley meetings as the borough councillor.

The £500 member grants given to borough councillors will be awarded to Rothley food bank.

A FULL meeting of Thurcaston & CropAn offer will be made to invite a mem- ston Parish Council was held on October of the NHS Clinical Commissioning ber 18.

Group to attend a parish council meetThe parish clerk has a new email ing to explain the reasoning that a docaddress: tor surgery is not required in Rothley. clerk@thurcastonandcropston.org.uk It was reported that the Rothley CenIt was agreed to spend £150 (refundtre refurbishment will start on February able) on a deposit to open a Single Title 7, 2022. The centre will be closed until Screening License Account with Filmthe end of April while the work takes bankmedia, to enable the Parish Council place. to continue showing films in the MemoriIt was agreed to spend £1100 on a al Hall. tree survey.

It was agreed to spend up to £140 on a Christmas tree for Thurcaston.

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MOUNTSORREL & Rothley Community Heritage Centre has launched an appeal for an extension to its workshop.

THE ROTHLEY POST

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Noticeboard all details printed free Joules Seconds Imperfect Catalogue Returns & Samples Why not beat the winter blues and treat yourself to a new spring wardrobe at a fraction of the cost?

Come along to our Joules sale on 5 February 2022 and shop for products inspired by British country lifestyles. Joules create clothing with colour, fun and entertainment.

So come along and bag some incredible bargains whilst helping to raise funds for The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT).

Saturday 5 February 2022 12noon - 4pm De Lisle College, Thorpe Hill, Loughborough LE11 4SQ One hour pre-booked shopping slots available: 12-1pm, 1-2pm, 2-3pm, 3-4pm Tickets must be purchased in advance. Only 50

YOUR SAY...

The Rothley Post welcomes your views and opinions on any subject.

Letters, which must include your name and address, (though not necessarily for publication) can be posted to: The Birstall Post, Unit 109, Greenacres, The Sidings, Leicester LE4 3BR, or email: editor@birstallpost.co.uk

THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

Disappointed The Royal British Legion (RBL) do tremendous work and I am a member of the Birstall branch of the RBL although I do actually live in Rothley. Just wanted to say how disappointed my wife and I were with today’s Remembrance parade / service organised by the Rothley branch of the RBL. There were notices put up round Rothley village by the RBL advertising a short Remembrance Day service at the The Green In Rothley at 11.45am. We duly walked into the village at the appropriate time only to find the service had already happened. A gentleman from the RBL was still there selling poppies and he told me that the notices I had seen had been put up in error. Come on RBL get your act together, the biggest date in the RBL calendar and you get the times wrong. Not very good and we weren’t the only people who were disappointed Paul Weston

tickets per 1 hour slot so book early to avoid disappointment. £6 Per ticket for a 1 hour shopping slot. Tickets available via Eventbrite: https://www.jhmt.org.uk/joules A proportion of the funds to be donated to: The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust

Film Presentations Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council

“Judy” (Jan 14, 2022, 118 mins) Judy Garland had a long and distinguished career on stage and screen, highlighted by playing Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”. At the famous Talk of the Town in 1968 London, Judy’s spirit had dimmed to a rather tragic figure.

However, her old spirit and personality did flicker back to life.

Our January film shows Renée Zellweger give the performance of her life in a powerful and moving portrayal of Judy in London.

“Nomadland” (Feb 11, 2022, 108 mins) We will be pleased in February, to show a film which won BAFTA’s

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and three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. In the drama Nomadland, Fern’s husband dies and she loses her job.

After losing her house, she remains positive in her rusty van along snowy-laden roads. Chloe Zhang is the first Asian to become Best Director, as she encourages, in Fern, the enduring power of the human spirit.

"2017" will be shown on March 11.

We will be keeping the hall well ventilated and there will be room for us to space out.

We would like to remain cautious at this point and make sure that everyone feels comfortable. You are asked to wear face masks whilst you are in the hall.

Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council will be showing these films at Thurcaston Memorial Hall, starting at 7.30pm. Film tickets will cost the usual £5, which includes a lucky prize draw during the interval. There may be refreshments. We ask you to pay for tickets in advance from Richard 0116 2363 066 or Diana 0116 2362619

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A free drop-in service offering

Careers Advice On the second Wednesday of every month between 10.30am and 12noon. It will be based in the comfortable Quiet Room at Birstall Methodist Church on Wanlip Lane.

This room is directly behind the Coffee Shop, which is open between 10am and 12noon.

Trained career adviser Robin Perry will be offering information, advice and guidance, and support will also be available from Lindsey Smith, who has years of experience working as a Support Worker.

This service is free to all unemployed adults and those working limited part-time hours, ideally under 20 hours per week, but if a young person aged 16 or 17 requires any careers information, advice or guidance they are welcome to use the service if they are always accompanied by a responsible adult, that is, someone aged over 18.

HANNAH CLARKE FOR ALMSHOUSES The almshouses has a vacancy of a one bedroom flat, well situated with an open outlook over the golf course, and is maintained to a high standard by the Trustees.

The property is of a sheltered nature and is suitable for a lady of 60 years plus. It is situated in Park Road, Birstall.

Apply to Andrew Atkinson 07973 309 987 or 0116 2675446

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News from Rothley library

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Call: 0780 380 2895

community can access these for the foreseeable future by calling in when we are open (see above).

News from December Children took part in a number of Christmas craft activities on Saturday mornings in December, making gnomes to hang on their trees and putting on puppet shows. Great fun for all.

Post Office banking

Line’s successful season GEORGE LINE from Thurcaston completed another successful season in his Dallara Formula 3 race car.

A POST OFFICE Bank Hub will open in Syston later this year, as part of a scheme to maintain access to cash services.

The largest UK lenders are supporting a new initiative to maintain access to cash for communities across the country.

Lenders including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, TSB and Danske Bank, as well as the UK’s largest building society Nationwide, have signed up to the scheme for the next two years.

The move follows a review of several different pilot schemes aimed at maintaining access to cash services in areas hit by bank branch closures over the past decade.

In a report published in December, chance to win, with a top prize of the industry-backed Access to Cash £25,000!

Action Group (Acag) said the trials For access to the Lottery, go to had shown that “bank hubs” — https://www.charnwoodlottery.co.uk/ shared branches run jointly by the Post Office and the lenders — had proved the most popular approach.

The hubs have a rota of community bankers from participating institutions.

The new joint branches will open next year in four locations in England — Acton, west London, Brixham in Devon, Knaresborough in North Yorkshire and Syston in Leicestershire — and one in Carnoustie in Angus, ScotBig Garden Bird Watch: January 29, land.

10 - 12noon To further boost access to cash, On Saturday, there will be a range of legislation came into force this year bird watching activities for children and that allows people to use the “cashadults. back” service in participating shops Lateral Flow Tests without first making a purchase. The The library is being supplied regularly rollout will reach 2,000 retailers by with boxes of these tests by Leicesterthe end of 2021, according to Link. shire County Council /NHS, and the local

He collected nine wins and five seconds in the F3 Cup Championship.

Langford Line Motorsport capped their season with two wins at the prestigious Walter Hayes Silverstone Meeting in the Invitation Tiedman Trophy.

Pics: (top) George Line on the winner’s podium; driving his Formula 3 car

The next issue of

THE ROTHLEY POST will be published on Mar 5.

The copy deadline is Feb 18.

JAN 2022

Opening hours The current opening hours are: Monday 2.30 – 4.30pm Wednesday 2.30 – 4.30pm Thursday 10am – 12noon, 2.30 – 4.30pm Saturday 10am – 2pm The library has made changes to the opening hours by adding an extra session on Thursday mornings, 10am until noon, and extended the Saturday session to a four-hour opening 10 – 2pm. This is a result of an increasing commitment by the wonderful band of volunteers.

Thursday mornings The morning opening on Thursdays gives a wonderful opportunity for childminders or carers of young children to come to the library when it is relatively quiet. The toilet has baby changing facilities, and there are a wide range of toys, colouring materials and of course a massive range of wonderful children’s books.

Pre-school Friday mornings (monthly) 9.30- 10.15am On the first Friday of each month, there will be singing, music and storytelling for the very young. So, the next two sessions will be on January 7 and February 4. This will be a chance for the very young to have a good time, as well as parents having the opportunity to meet. No need to book - just turn up.

Donated books We are still accepting donated books, which are sold either in the library or online to bring in funds. If the books are ones which the Library & LCC agree are in excellent condition and in demand, they may well finish up on the shelves for others to borrow.

Payments From January 2022, there will be an opportunity for payments to be made for fines, charges, photocopying, book purchases etc electronically via card reader, as well as paying by cash.

Charnwood Lottery One of the supporters of the library who bought tickets won £250 in November. The Charnwood Lottery raises money for good causes in Charnwood. For every £1 ticket bought, 50p will go to the charity of your choice (which could be the library) and 10p going to other good causes. Each ticket has a 1 in 50

THE ROTHLEY POST

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Year of fundraising Club secures new world record IN THE last six months, Rothley school’s PTFA have funded several items at the school.

PTFA Chair, Siobhan Thomas, said: “We paid for a range of play equipment which is used at break times by all the different age groups across the school.

We also funded half of the Year 6 trip to Go Ape in the summer term, as well as

providing their Y6 leavers’ hoodies. Most recently, the PTFA provided gifts for the Foundation Stage children that went on the Santa train with Great Central Railway.”

A project to create a music garden at the school is also planned – more details in the next issue.

Pic: a Christmas card designed by a pupil at Rothley Church of England Academy

Road race returns

THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

THE MATTIOLI Woods Rothley10K, in association with LOROS, returns to the streets of Rothley on Tuesday June 7, 2022.

This event sees participants run two laps through the village and surrounding countryside, and it continues to grow in popularity each year.

Mattioli Woods has been a long-time

supporter of Midlands-based charity LOROS, which provide free, high-quality, compassionate care and support to terminally ill adult patients, their family and carers across Leicestershire and Rutland.

The charity needs to raise more than £8m per year to offer their services on a complimentary basis.

The event in 2021 saw over 600 runners taking part, with Anthony Woodward and Rebecca Randell being amongst the first over the finishing line, completing the course in 33:16 and 39:16 respectively.

The event raised £22,350 for LOROS, and Mattioli Woods aim to better that figure in 2022. Every penny from the £20 entry fee goes to LOROS, but should

you wish to contribute to this good cause in a slightly more relaxed and less exhausting way, donations can be made through the Mattioli Woods JustGiving page.

All those taking part in the day – not just the runners but the organisers and the people of Rothley – all agree the event is special with one runner saying: “What a fantastic event you put on. Tough

course which was brilliantly marshalled.

I was also amazed with how many locals were out watching and cheering everyone on pretty much the whole way round. Absolutely loved the whole thing, even the hills!”

Joshua Richardson, Fundraising Coordinator at LOROS said, ‘This is a fantastic community event. Having witnessed the event for the first time last year, I was overwhelmed by the amount of support the participants got from the residents. Even in the rain they came out to cheer the participants on.’

Seeing the growth in popularity, early entry is advised and those who sign up before 24 May 2022 will receive a complimentary t-shirt.

ROTHLEY PARK Golf Club secured a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest 18 holes by a team of golfers. Lou Preedy from Rothley Park Golf Club reports: The previous record – set by Farnham Golf Club in 2015, an astonishing 13 minutes 42 seconds, was smashed by Rothley Park with an amazing time of 12 minutes 42 seconds. The attempt was carefully verified and approved at the end of October.

On Sunday August 15, 2021, the fairways were flooded with players of all handicap categories, all of whom wanted to help achieve the goal and also raise money for the Captains’ charities. The GWR criteria was quite strict and required independent witnesses to ensure the attempt was played within the rules of golf and the whole event had to be filmed, which was no mean feat for the cameramen to keep up with the pace of play from a moving buggy!

The charities are close to the hearts of both Captains. Alan, who suffers from hearing loss chose Meniere’s Society, which supports and helps sufferers with hearing difficulties and Jenny chose Lyme Disease UK, because her daughter has suffered with this debilitating disease for the last 28 years. The format was teams positioned around all 18 holes at the start. The ball was driven off the first tee and players placed on the fairway hit the next shot until the ball was on the green. Once the ball was in the hole a signal was given to the person waiting on the second tee, to tee off immediately. This method proceeded around the course in a relay format until the ball was finally putted into the hole on the 18th.

During the week before the actual attempt took place a practice run was organised over 5 holes 14 – 18, to allow the camera crew to have a very important dummy run to assess the accuracy of their timings and film crew positions. It was also a valuable exercise to give the players a feel for how the actual record attempt would playout. Those who took part found this practice run immensely useful. It was a surprise to everyone how enjoyable and exciting it was. Those who were understandably sceptical saw that breaking the record was actually possible!

We intended to only have four attempts on the day and everyone was briefed accordingly. The first attempt achieved a

time of 15 mins 11 secs which was extremely encouraging. The second attempt was still promising at 15 min 15 secs with a third attempt missing by only 7 seconds coming in at 13 mins 49 secs. However, disaster struck when on the 4th, and supposed last, attempt breaking the record was missed by an agonising 1 second!

Everyone was starting to leave the course feeling hugely disappointed but the Captains made the decision to give it one last throw of the dice and rallied everyone together to go back out to their positions and give it one more shot. On the fifth and final attempt we smashed the record by an astonishing 1 minute 2 seconds!

Alex Frith was the brave man who teed off on the first hole and the Captains sealed the deal by putting the ball in the hole on the 18th. A great achievement by all who took part and a very memorable day.

The monies raised for the charities came to an amazing £2,785. The free raffle draw prize for the players who took part was a night in the suite at The Star Inn and was won by Pat Martin.

The sweep had 15 prizes in total with the main prize of a week;s holiday in the Four Season’s Country Club in Quinta da Lago Resort, Algarve Portugal, kindly donated by Keith McEwan, being won by Samantha Quemby.

It was a momentous day with the atmosphere in the clubhouse electric. A great achievement for all those who took part, a proud moment for Rothley Park and a wonderful amount raised for the Captains’ charities.

Pic: the two timekeepers with Rothley Park Ladies and Mens’ Captains Jenny Piecha and Alan Dorn

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Thurcaston Brownies busy having fun The following weeks we were back inside to use a conventional oven. We mastered different techniques in baking and produced chocolate Krispie cakes, fairy cakes, cookies and chocolate When our girls reach ten years old, it brownies. is time to move on to Guides or other As well as thinking about feeding our activities, and so the Autumn term began tummies, we learned about Fair Trade with only five Brownies, not really a and the lives of farmers who provide us viable number. During the summer, we with the cocoa beans (chocolate) and had put up lots of posters and spread the sugar for our cakes. The eggs we the word for our recruiting campaign used were from Free Range hens, so we and over the following weeks, we indiscussed the living conditions required creased in numbers such that we now for the Free Range title to be awarded. have only a few spaces for newcomers.

Red Tractor and Farm Assured condiThis half term we tackled the Baking tions for the animals that give us milk badge. At our first meeting, we ‘baked’ and meat were also investigated. bread fingers (or dampers) in the When it was the Harvest Festival at church grounds on instant BBQs and Thurcaston Church, the girls used vegetaalso used the hot embers to cook sausag- bles to create figures of animals and es and melt marshmallows which were people for the display. squashed between chocolate biscuits to For the second half of the term, we make ‘smores’. celebrated Bonfire night; hot chocolate

THURCASTON BROWNIES recruited new members over the summer and had an activity-filled autumn, as Snowy Owl reports.

The Guild has been collecting and re-telling local stories for over 25 years.

Some of them are unique to Leicestershire and Rutland, while others are local versions of tales that are known around the world, from collections such as The One Thousand and One Nights.

Kathy first told us about the rector of Ratby, who fell out with the local squire over a matter of conscience and came to a soggy reckoning in Groby Pool.

Next, she recounted the history of our own Hugh Latimer, who progressed from being the son of a Thurcaston farmer to become a famous preacher and Bishop of Worcester.

However, he ended his days being burned at the stake in Oxford under the reforms of the Catholic queen Mary Tudor.

On a lighter note, there was Jack, who travelled from London to visit Leicester market and tried to take advantage – in more ways than one – of local girl Bella. However, he got more than he bargained for when he returned a year later! This story achieved national fame by being circulated in print as one of the “broadside ballads”.

Kathy’s final tale was of Dan Hugh: a monk in one of Leicester’s friaries, who was murdered three times in the same night and a pike was eventually hanged for the crime. To find out why, you’ll have to seek out the Guild’s book Leicestershire & Rutland Folk Tales, which includes this story and many more.

As usual, the Society did not meet in December but we have another diverse programme of events planned for 2022 and we hope you will join us as a member or a visitor then.

The Society aims to encourage interest in the history of the parish. We usually hold seven indoor meetings each year, with talks on historical subjects: as local as we can manage! They take place at 7.30pm in Thurcaston Memorial Hall on the third Tuesday of most months. In the summer we arrange walks or visits to places of historical interest in the area. Our planned programme for 2022 is set out below and you would be very welcome to join us at any of the events as a visitor (£4) or as a member for the year (£16).

Programme for 2022 18th Jan: Vicky Allen Ancient footpaths, bridleways and green lanes 15th Feb: Jane Smith Cropston Holiday Home 15th Mar: Jennifer Roach The Thomas Cook Archive 17th May: Bob Trubshaw How AngloSaxons found their way 21st Jun: Steve Bruce Leicester guided walk: “Who put the Cank in Cank Street?”

19th Jul: Visit to Wigston Framework Knitters’ Museum August : Visit to be confirmed 20th Sep: Kate Burrows Pilgrimage past and present 18th Oct: Janet Spavold How to read a house 15th Nov: David Bell “Down the Garden Path”

Our website has a growing collection of information and articles, as well as reports of events that have already happened and details of future ones. We are always keen to learn more about past life in the two villages so if you have any photographs, recollections or other information that you would be willing to share, please do contact us through the website or come along to any of our meetings. www.thurcastoncropstonhistory.org.uk From Thurcaston & Cropston Local History Society

News from Sustainable Rothley IN 2021, Sustainable Rothley focused on the monthly market stall, litter picking and single-use plastic reduction.

The summer event was timed to fit with the arrival of COP26 in Glasgow, and the village was graced with visits from hand-made canaries and volunteers in canary capes.

The market stall has paused for the winter, but the group will decide on priorities for 2022 soon. Ideas, energy and offers are always welcome, and you can contact Sustainable Rothley on sustainablerothley@gmail.com or the Facebook page.

make an impressive decoration. Similar trees, and pretty boxes with gifts, all made by Barn Owl and Pat were in the ‘Prize Every Time’ game at the church’s Christmas Fete. Meanwhile, Snowy Owl was selling preserves and cakes for the RSPCA but had to protect the jars from being knocked over by the Teddies descending on the zip wire from the bell tower to the pulpit.

We will visit Aladdin, the pantomime at Loughborough Town Hall and finally finish the term with a Christmas party and traditional games.

We meet Wednesday in term time, 6pm until 7.15pm in the Harrison room of All Saints Church, Anstey Lane, Thurcaston. Girls start at seven years old and we have a few spaces remaining. More details from Brown Owl. 07711-422350 (Please avoid office hours ) Happy New Year everyone, from us all.

Snowy Owl

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AFTER COMPLETING the formal business of the AGM at our November meeting, we rewarded ourselves with entertainment from the Leicestershire Guild of Storytelling, in the person of Kathy Chalk.

and hot dogs kept us warm while we watched the fireworks and held sparklers donated by the Crisswells (Thank you) This time the marshmallows to melt were giant size.

Remembrance Sunday at the church saw our very young, brave Brownies give two readings, take part in a demonstration of ‘sharing’, lay a wreath and parade the Brownie flag to accompany the Union flag carried by Brown Owl. Well done girls.

For Christmas crafts we painted large card trees, candles and holly leaves to

THE ROTHLEY POST

History society news

Pic: Thurcaston Brownies

Air quality improving in Leicester MAJOR improvements to air quality in Leicester mean that plans to charge the most polluting vehicles to enter the city centre are no longer required.

The latest annual figures were collected from a network of air quality monitoring stations at five key locations across the city in 2020. They show that Leicester is meeting all current EU air quality objectives, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for the first time since monitoring began over 20 years ago.

In 2018, along with several other local authorities, Leicester City Council was directed by the Government to develop a plan that would make the city compliant with EU nitrogen dioxide levels in the shortest possible time. At the time, the Government favoured a Clean Air Zone as the most effective way of doing this.

Now the Government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that a proposed ‘clean air zone’ for buses and taxis within the inner ring road is no longer needed for Leicester to meet challenging targets to drive down air pollution.

This means a clean air zone will not be required, thanks to the improvements that have been made over the last three years.

The city council has been awarded over £830,000 of government cash to continue its work to promote walking, cycling and other forms of cleaner, greener transport over the next two years.

Deputy City Mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, who leads on transport and environment, said: “The dramatic improvement in air quality is good news for the city and we’re proud to be recognised for the huge efforts we and our partners have put into achieving this.

“However, we know there is still more to be done and we are doubling down on efforts to remain below EU limits and continue the huge improvements we have seen in recent years.

“We are developing very ambitious plans to promote travel by bus, bicycle and walking that will help make substantial further improvements to the city’s air quality. These include our new Local Transport Plan and Workplace Parking Levy proposals, and our new Bus Service Improvement plan that was recently submitted to Government.

“We have also just announced massive investment to increase the city’s electric

bus fleet by almost 100 vehicles, as part Average levels of NO2 improved signifof ambitious plans to upgrade half of icantly at all five monitoring locations Leicester’s buses fleet to electric by across Leicester in 2020 and represent a 2025. reduction of around 60 per cent since “It is vital that we continue to encour2010 when the highest levels – of up to age people to make the shift to sustaina- 80 µg/m3 – were recorded. ble transport to help ensure At Vaughan Way – one of the city’s that we make lasting busiest roads and an air quality hot spot improvements to air – average NO2 levels for 2020 were quality and achieve 35.2µg/m3 compared to 45.7µg/m3 in our aim of healthier 2019. air for Leicester. It At Abbey Lane, annual levels fell from is also a key 31.4µg/m3 in 2019 to 24.3µg/m3 in change we can all 2020, the lowest recorded level from make in doing our any of the city’s five monitoring stations. bit to tackle the At Glenhills Way, NO2 levels were climate emergency.” down from 48.6µg/m3 in 2019 to European and 38.8µg/m3 in 2020; Melton Road saw a national guidelines set drop from 38.5µg/m3 in 2019 to an annual mean limit 28µg/m3 last year; and, at St Matthew’s value of 40micrograms per Way, a reduction from 40.6µg/m3 to cubic metre (µg/m3) for nitrogen diox31.4µg/m3 was recorded. ide in the air.

Money Abandoned dogs rescued for education deep, sore wound around her neck which appears to have been caused by a tight collar or a rope which has become embedded in her neck. She’s now havMembers of the public contacted the ing the wound treated.”

RSPCA after coming across five dogs The other dogs – a tan and white wandering in Bradgate Road near Newfemale beagle, a short-haired tan-coltown Linford, at around 10pm on Monoured male terrier with a docked tail, day 13 December. and a black and white poodle cross-type Inspector Helen Smith, who is now – were all also rescued and are now in investigating, said: “Locals were conRSPCA care. cerned that the dogs were all wandering The male dogs are all entire and, loose and described them as looking although the dogs are microchipped, bewildered. They managed to catch four they are not registered with databases. of the dogs and took them to a local vet. Helen said: “The microchips haven’t “Unfortunately, a fifth dog – a small been traceable, so they’re either out-ofwhite terrier type – could not be capdate or are foreign chips that are registured. We’d urge local people to keep tered overseas.” an eye out for the little dog and to conThe RSPCA has seen abandonment tact the dog warden or the RSPCA if they levels rising to almost pre-pandemic find him.” levels and fears the festive season will be One of the dogs, a five-year-old feeven more devastating for animals as pet male black and white border collie, was ownership has soared, which could lead in a very poor condition and had an to even more now-unwanted pets being injury to her neck. left out in the cold, left to fend for themHelen added: “The poor girl has a selves while owners travel to visit family

THE RSPCA is investigating after five dogs were abandoned near Bradgate Park.

THE ROTHLEY POST

JAN 2022

ROTHLEY TEMPLE estates will be required to pay £385,476 as an ‘educational contribution’, a condition of planning approval for its development of 70 dwellings on land next to Rothley School.

It will be a part of the section 106 developer contributions paid by the developer – these pay for the impact development has on the local area.

The educational contribution pays for the additional pupil places created by the development.

Other section 106 contributions associated with this development include: library services £2120 and waste and recycling £3617.

over the four day holiday, or neglected due to stretched family budgets.

Helen added: “These four dogs were abandoned alone in the cold and dark, one with a serious injury that needed urgent veterinary treatment. I fear that this could be the beginning of the welfare crisis that we’ve been predicting after pet acquisition surged so dramatically during the pandemic. These four dogs will be warm, dry, well-fed and well cared for now; the collie is in RSPCA kennels and the others are with the dog warden.

“But providing care for dogs in need like this costs money. And with thousands of animals in our care, and many more needing us this winter, we’re urging the public to Join the Christmas Rescue and help us help them over the coming months.”

Anyone with information about where these dogs have come from or who is responsible for abandoning them should contact the RSPCA’s appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

11

12

Gardening club news

Flower Garden’ - one not to miss.

We look forward to 2022 with a lot of optimism. We certainly have a lot to offer to all new gardeners and the more experienced amongst you. Come along and give us a try!

The annual membership fee is still A great start to 2020 was sadly cut only £12 (£3) for visitors. Fees are on short as we became a casualty of the a pro-rata basis after the first 3 months. lockdown. Three top-quality speakers gave us terrific meetings and we were off And, if you would like to come as a visitor and then you decide to join, your to a ‘flyer’. Fourteen months later, we slowly came out of our enforced hiberna- visitor fee will be refunded!

So, if you are interested in gardening tion with a successful Garden Social - come along and give the club a try.

Event in May. We ended 2021 with five For more information, meetings, which included our deand for a copy of our layed coach trip to the RHS Tatton eye-catching poster of the Park Flower Show, and a return 2022 Programme of Events, please contact Dave Haddon (0116) 235 9758: david.haddon20@ntlworld.c om Or Richard Elks (0116 236 8313): cropston161@hotmail.co.uk Programme of Events 2022 12 Jan: Sell My Spade?

I Wouldn’t Dare: Steve Budding 9 Feb: The Social History of the Allotment, Twigs Way 9 Mar: Propagation, Philip Aubrey 13 Apr: Gardening with Ferns, Heather Godard-Key to the village hall, where quality visiting (Preceded by short AGM) speakers informed and entertained us.

11 May: Hostas, Robert Barlow After this creditable end to 2021, 8 June: Dark and Desirable, Paul given the current circumstances, we now Green have every reason to be optimistic for 8 July: Friday, Club Outing – Waour 2022 Programme. terperry Gardens 2022 will start with a return to the 10 Aug: The Cut Flower Garden, club by Steve Budding (ex-Brookside Jonathan Moseley Nurseries) with the most intriguing of Sept: To Be Confirmed titles to his talk - “Sell my Spade! I 12 Oct: Running a Nursery, Vince Wouldn’t Dare”. One not to miss.

Edwards July sees our first outing of the year 9 Nov: Brighten Up the Shade, to the marvellous Waterperry Gardens in Jeanette Merilion Oxfordshire, a place with so much to 14 Dec: Festive Evening see and do.

Meetings are held at the ThurcasOnce again our list of speakers conton and Cropston Memorial Hall tains some top names, and their subjects will include – ‘Brightening up Shady’, and start at ‘Propagation’, ‘Hosta’, ‘The History of the 7.45pm on the second Wednesday Allotment’ and ‘Gardening with Ferns’. of each month (unless otherwise In August, we will welcome the restated). nowned Jonathan Moseley with ‘The Cut

THE THURCASTON and Cropston Gardening Club is pleased to publish its Programme of Events for 2022, after two difficult years.

Club’s end of season celebration ance this year and a record number of 'first-time' winners. A special mention for the current County Seniors’ Captain, John Hardwick, who picked up four individual trophies.”

“It was a wonderful season this year where we were able to play all of our Each trophy is a reminder of a special round of golf well played, with many competitions,” Jenny said.

“The Trophies were won by a true names to be added to the prestigious cross-section of the ladies section, from ‘winners’ boards’ around the clubhouse.

Some trophies go back a hundred years, our most respected seniors to one of our youngest lady members, Cara Jarvis and many have been presented by retirEvans, winning our Order of Merit. Coning golfers from across the decades, ensuring their names live on in the histo- gratulations, in particular, go to Vicky Mayfield for winning our Club Championry of the club. ship for the second year running and to The 2021 Club Champions, Vicky Jo Mayfield, current County Captain, who Mayfield and Tom Roberts, were among won the prestigious Baxter Trophy alongover 60 ladies and gents presented with side Tom Roberts.” their prizes by Club Captains Jenny Pics: trophy presentations at Rothley Piecha and Alan Dorn.

Park Golf Club Alan said: “We had a record attend-

AN END of season trophy presentation evening at Rothley Park Golf Club ended with a celebration dinner for the winners and club members.

Co-op gets makeover months of the pandemic, it feels like a real reward. It feels like a brand-new store with a much larger entrance area as you walk in making it feel much more spacious and a more pleasant shopping experience.

“It has been lovely to hear such positive feedback from our great community who I would like to thank for their continued support and for their patience while we brought our new look store to life, and I hope they agree with us that it’s been worth it.”

The Loughborough Road Food Store is open every day 7am-10pm.

THE ROTHLEY POST YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

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0116 4422067 Correspondence, news etc can be handed in or sent to our office: Unit 109, Greenacres, The Sidings, Leicester LE4 3BR editor@birstallpost.co.uk

JAN 2022

inside, as well as brand new customer toilet with baby change station New bicycle repair station, outdoor seating area, recycling bins and free water tap added outside Store Manager Paul Stilling said: “The store has had a really big overhaul and we are absolutely delighted with how it has turned out. The new food to go area is a massive improvement and all together it’s really great offer for our shoppers.

“It has been a real boost and something nice for the team who have worked so hard during the last 18

THE ROTHLEY POST

THE CO-OP on Loughborough Road, Rothley has received a £124,500 makeover to give it a lighter, fresher feel and has new features and ranges for customers to enjoy.

The community food store in Rothley has been undergoing the makeover in recent weeks with changes including: New product ranges to suit shoppers’ tastes A new food to go section with features such as brand-new Costa Coffee and Tango Ice Blast machines, as well as a new hot food unit New self-checkout tills Refreshed signage and decoration