Were you married in Groby church?
To coincide with the Groby Summer Fete (July 3rd -4th ) there will be an exhibition in St Philip & St James church, on the theme of ‘Marriage’ – in celebration of the role played by church in so many wedding days over the years. We would like to display photographs, wedding dresses and any other wedding ‘memorabilia’ that we can borrow. The exhibition will culminate in a special service on Sunday 4th. We hope to involve as many people as possible, and this provides an opportunity for us to catch up with those who have fond memories of their special day in church. If you, your family, neighbours or friends would like to be involved (by lending items for the display or by attending the service) or if you would like more details, please get in touch. Thank you.
Pauline Ashby
Tel: 0116 2313061 paulineashby@googlemail.com
Hello John, need a motor? Anstey Motor Company has a nice selection of cars at prices ranging from £1,695 to £6,995. Take a look at their advert on page 32.
Groby Urban Saints help a family in Tijuana
Re-Build Mexico team build home in 11 days In April, our group of 11 young people and leaders from Groby joined with 2 from Aylestone and set out on a mission to Mexico. Re-Build Mexico 2010 was an 11 day experience, where we built a new home for a family in Tijuana that was experiencing extreme poverty. We as a group of 13 teamed up with 7 from Southend to build the house, which was a great way to make new friends too. We built a whole house, right from the foundations upwards, in just a few short days using only hand tools. The campsite had really basic facilities; we used solar showers for the week and the toilets were just holes in the ground! As well as building the house, we also had a chance to learn to cook real Mexican food and help with games and crafts for the local children. The family that we were building a house for consisted of a single mum, her son and her two daughters. They made us feel really welcome, and they even cooked
food for us everyday whilst we were at the work site. One of her daughters Myra had recently got married. However, Myra and her new husband couldn’t live together, as they didn’t have the space in the house. On the last day of building, we found out that Myra was
pregnant. We were lucky enough to be able to build the house for Myra, her new husband Jose and their new baby. It was difficult to communicate with the family as there was a language barrier, but TURN TO PAGE 12
Simon challenges the Three Peaks Well we’ve biked, we’ve walked and with the Santa Fun Run we’ve ran, now for something different. Someone said in passing why not climb a mountain? It sounds like a good idea but when you can climb one mountain why not climb three! So that’s what we are training for this year - to take on the Three Peaks Challenge. Climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon one after the other and all within 24 hours! There will be 3 climbers, Carl, Dave and myself, with George as the dedicated driver. We are planning to go in early September and are busy working out the route and organising the whole event. At the moment we are climbing every hill we can find which is not so difficult for me on the post! Last year on my sponsored walk around Jersey I raised £1,500 which was split between two charities. I would love to raise a similar amount this year to present to ADAPT - a Leicestershire-based charity which supports parents of premature and poorly babies. If you would like to sponsor me please catch me on my round in and around Groby or pop into the Post Office.
Simon Moore, Field Head
Simon Moore at Bradgate Park: Next stop Ben Nevis
Next issue out on 14th August • Article/Advert Deadline: 31st July
Leicestershire residents have cut down on their bin congestion and reduced their carbon footprint by making use of their leftover food. More than 1400 Green Cones have been sold in Leicestershire and residents are excited about how using the Green Cone is reducing the amount of rubbish they put out for collection.
Kath Platts, Charnwood Borough has noticed that
Amanda Halliday, Hinckley & Bosworth Borough said,
“I’d wanted one for ages, but I couldn’t justify the price... once the council subsidised the units then it was affordable. Our main aim was to get rid of the black bin, or just put it out once a year.”
J0262
Green
Cone
£7.50
includ ing pro fession install al ation
“by putting leftover food into the caddy you see how much you waste. We’ve reduced what we buy, so there are long-term savings.” As you can put meat, bones, fish, vegetable scraps, dairy products and leftover plate scrapings into the Green Cone there is virtually no leftover food waste. These are transformed into nutrients and dispersed into the surrounding soil,
“there are immediate benefits in the surrounding area, I’ve seen a big difference in surrounding plants, they’re very lush.”
Buying couldn’t be easier, residents can call the freephone order line 0800 019 2061 or visit the website www.greencone.com. The price of £7.50 includes professional installation, saves digging that big hole yourself. If you would like more information on the Food Waste Digesters and composting units that Leicestershire Waste Partnership are offering, call 0116 305 7005 visit www.leics.gov.uk/waste or take the advice of Mrs Jones from Blaby “I believe
everyone should have one”, and order yours today.
Offer only available to Leicestershire residents - excludes Leicester City residents.
SIOBHAN IS TOP MUSICIAN • AEROBICS CLASS IN RACE FOR LIFE • CROW Groby & Field Head Spotlight PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT
Tel: 01530-244069 Email us at: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk Visit the website at www.grobyspotlight.co.uk 3,500 copies distributed 11 times a year (no issue in July) to homes and businesses in Groby, Field Head and The Brantings. Composed and published in the Parish of Groby & Field Head. Printed in Ellistown by Norwood Press. The Spotlight is a monthly compilation of articles, press releases, events, general items of interest and news items submitted to us by local residents, groups, associations, sports clubs and local authorities. The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Spotlight Production Team. The inclusion of any group or organisation in this publication does not necessarily imply a recommendation of its aims, methods or policies. Groby & Field Head Spotlight cannot be held responsible for the information disclosed by advertisements, all of which are accepted in good faith. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, but no liability can be accepted for loss or inconvenience caused as a result of error or omission. Groby & Field Head Spotlight reserves the right to amend, shorten or refuse to publish articles and/or advertisements submitted for publication.
Groby girl gains first place in Irish music competition A young musician from Groby finished first in a recent Irish music competition.
Siobhan Smith aged 10 years, of Victoria Drive, Groby , has been playing Irish Music on her button accordion for just over 2 years and entered the Midland Regional competition for children under the age of 12 years, which was held at the Princethorpe College, Rugby, where she gained 1st place, with opposition from 13 other contestants from Sth Birmingham, Newport South Wales, Cambridge, Coventry, Luton, Leicester, Leamington Spa and Nottingham. Siobhan has now qualified for the All Britain Championships which take place at Glasgow University at the end of June, where she will face stiff opposition from contestants from the other three Regions of Scotland, London and the South and the Northern Region, but she is looking forward to the challenge and is continuing to practice hard. Her father Brian plays the button accordion and the Irish bodhran drum and her grandfather, who lives in County Wexford, Southern Ireland, not only plays the button accordion, but also the mouthorgan. Although father was born in Loughborough, Mum is from County Galway, Eire. Siobhan is a member of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, which is a non-political
WINNER: Siobhan Smith shows off her trophy Irish organisation , devoting its whole time to promoting and encouraging Irish music, singing, dancing and the use of the Irish language. The Leicester Branch of Comhaltas is held at the Sacred Heart Church Rooms, Mere Road, Leicester, where Siobhans Mum Bernadette is the Secretary and Dad is the Public Relations Officer. Siobhan attends Lady Jane Grey primary school at Groby, where the head teacher, Mr Fitzgerald has been very encouraging and has allowed her to give recitals of Irish
Local aerobics class is running the Race for Life
folk music on several occasions at school assemblies. Siobhan attends Irish music classes every Monday evening at the Sacred Heart Church Rooms and she also attends Irish Music Sessions there on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month. The Monday evening music classes are open to any youngsters under 18 years and the Friday night Sessions are open to any age group. Further information can be obtained from Bernadette and Brian on 0116 2877481 or email: briansmith53.@virginmedia.com
Now, what has Mr.Crow spotted?
All contents © Groby & Field Head Spotlight. None of the articles contained in this magazine are to be reproduced in any way without first obtaining written consent from Groby & Field Head Spotlight.
NEXT ISSUE OUT ON
Saturday 14th August Advert Deadline: Saturday 31st July ADVERT RATES: SEE PAGE 16
Please Note:
NO ISSUE IN JULY
Find out on page 31...
ATTENTION: WRITERS Vicki Hewitt has written to let us know that her aerobics students are doing the Race for Life on Sunday 11th July at 10.30am at Western Park, Leicester. They are entering the 5k race and hoping to raise lots of money for cancer research. If any readers would like to participate, or to sponsor the team, please contact Vicki on 07584 245743.
Margaret Chaplin of Chaplins Butchers in Groby is interested in sponsoring a Short Story Competition in Groby. The details haven’t been finalised yet, but the idea would be to publish the winning entries in the Spotlight. If you’re interested in this idea, and would like to take part, please drop a line to the Spotlight.
If you have a 50/50 chance of getting something right, there’s a 90 percent probability you’ll get it wrong.
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK REPORT • GROBY SLIMMERS ARE LIGHTER!
Pushing the envelope!
Seven fantastic days of pushing envelopes through doors and picking them back up from the householders in a week. It’s a time when Churches Together in Groby step out in faith to try and cover every road in the Village to raise funds to make real and lasting changes in the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. Christian Aid Week has now become the country’s biggest ‘house-tohouse’ collection – with 300,000 volunteers going from door to door every year. Here in Groby the little red envelope gets everywhere too and is an iconic symbol of the generosity of the people of Groby giving money to those most in need. “THANK YOU SO MUCH GROBY” The Village collection continues to go from strength to strength. This year we raised £4170. 94 and at the time of going to press, we are still calculating the gift aid figure, which should be well over £1,500 – the grand total is enough to effect massive change.
What a Waste of my Brain Space!
The human brain is an amazing thing, but it will insist upon saving information which is of no earthly use - even when you don’t want it to. The other day, for example, the phrase “Oswald has been here obtaining books” suddenly popped into my head. “What the heck does that mean?” I hear you cry. I’ll tell you. That memorable six word phrase helped hundreds, nay thousands, of mathematics pupils pass their O-Level GCE exams in the 1960s. It reminds you that O/H (Oswald Has) is the formula for the Sine of an angle, B/H (Been Here) is the Cosine, and O/B (Obtaining Books) is the Tangent. Education must have been brilliant in those days for this useless fact to have stuck fast in my brain for all these years. Am I turning into Kevin of Eggheads?
Groby slimmers success in weight loss challenge! A group of local slimmers, who attend the Groby Slimming World group, joined the club’s 12-week Let’s Beat It Together weight loss challenge in February and they’re not just stones lighter, they’re healthier and happier too. Slimming World launched the Let’s Beat It Together challenge in Groby after their UK Body Mass Index (BMI) map showed that obesity is on the rise, with more and more people in our region now overweight. The campaign aimed to get people thinking about their weight and health and that of their families and loved ones. It also aimed to show that losing as little as 5-10% body weight in 12 weeks can have huge benefits on health and wellbeing. Hazel Hickson, Slimming World Consultant for the Groby group, has been delighted with the results: “Let’s Beat It Together has had a huge impact on our group and on Groby as a whole. “We encouraged people in the local community to lose weight by making small changes to the way they shop, cook and eat and by becoming more active. The response has been brilliant. We welcomed a total of 43 new members during the 12-week campaign. . “As a group we’ve lost a record breaking total of 61st 9lbs – well worth celebrating, which is just what we did. “By meeting the challenge, our members have reduced their risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, become more mobile and they feel so much better. It’s been hugely rewarding to be able to show people that losing weight doesn’t have to mean going hungry.” “At first our new members couldn’t believe they’d lose weight while still enjoying normal food like lean meat and fish, pasta and potatoes, plenty of fruit and veg, and without ever having to go hungry!” says Hazel]. “But now they’re seeing the results for themselves. And they’re delighted they don’t have to give up chocolate or alcohol either!” Hazel says group support is at the heart of Slimming World’s service and is key to the success of its members: “We have a lovely, warm and friendly group,” she explains. “Everyone is so supportive and, because we’ve all experienced problems with our own weight, members are full of ideas to help support to make changes when they need that extra bit of inspiration and motivation. There really is something for everyone. “To celebrate our achievements we held a big ‘we beat it together’ party as a reward for everyone who took part, we had delicious food to taste, a charity raffle and also our Man of the Year Celebration too! “Anyone who’s keen to lose weight is welcome to come along and find out what Slimming World is all about. It could be the start of a healthier, happier future for them too!” The Groby runs every Thursday at 5.30pm and 7pm at Groby College . For more information on the group contact Hazel on 0116 2879272/07817303018.
• Prayer equality When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, “And all girls.” This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, “Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?” She replied, “Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying ‘All Men.”
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
NORMAN GRIFFITHS EXAMINES A NEW INCENTIVE SCHEME FOR HOUSING
R
esidents may have been encouraged by reports in the media that the new Government coalition plans to scrap housing targets handed down to Local Authorities. Instead Councils will be offered cash from a ‘Matching Fund’ which will double the Council Tax they receive from any new houses but only for six years. If the proposals are adopted they can use the money to provide infrastructure improvements or hold down Council Tax. Could this mean the pressure will be off communities like Groby and the target for new housing completions which formed part of the Local Development Framework for the village can safely be assigned to the waste paper basket? Will the fear that the target was really the thin end of the green wedge which would have opened the door to more housing subside? And will Bloor’s reconsider an appeal against the refusal of planning permission for the land near Groby cemetery?
Cautious optimism Last month the Leicester Mercury reported cautious optimism from groups opposing major developments across the County following news that the scrapping
of targets could result in the slashing of the previous target of 100,000 homes to be built across Leicestershire between now and 2026. Hopes were expressed that large developments such as the 5000 homes proposed for the Barkby Thorpe area would be dropped and the houses would be spread more widely. But could this mean even more pressure on villages like Groby where the development currently proposed is much smaller? A spokeswoman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said “The new Government is committed to giving a greater say to people, communities and councils. This will include abolishing regional strategies with their centrally imposed housing targets, and ministers are currently considering how best to achieve this.”
others the chance to make sure that the final proposals are strong and effective.” And the Royal Town Planning Institute has warned that summary abolition of major parts of the planning system without a viable alternative in place could place economic recovery at risk. The Institute is concerned that Government proposals to abolish regional planning are based mainly on an objection to imposed regional housing targets rather than the principle of strategic planning. Ann Skippers, president of the RTPI, said: “Moves towards giving local communities more power are welcome, but we feel there is a real danger in hastily abolishing regional planning.”
Call for full consultation
So if the targets are to go how will housing needs be met? A briefing note entitled “Housing Targets and Planning” produced for Members of Parliament gives an indication of how the new arrangements would work and the reasons for the changes which are being proposed. It explains that Governments have been trying to use the planning system to stimulate housebuilding since the 1990s. Local planning authorities have been heavily pressured to set aside enough land for housebuilding so that the Government’s targets could be met. However, in areas of high demand, particularly on the South East, local authorities often resist their
But the Campaign to Protect Rural England is reported to have urged the Government to consult widely on its proposed changes to the planning regime. The organisation’s head of campaigns, Ben Stafford, said: “A new planning system should keep the best of what has gone before, including a plan-led approach, strong protection for Green Belt land and the wider countryside, as well as making better use of previously used ‘brownfield’ sites. Given the scale of the changes the Government is proposing, there must be a full process of consultation before the new Bill appears this autumn. A draft Bill would give MPs and
Meeting the need for new housing
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
housing targets. One reason is their argument that higher spending on infrastructure would be required to support the housebuilding. It adds that housebuilding has been well below the Labour Government’s targets, partly because of planning difficulties and partly because of the banking crisis, which started with problems in housing finance in 2007. The complicated Housing and Development Delivery Grant, costing £250 million nationally, appears to have been one of the ways in which the outgoing Government tried to encourage local authorities to deliver key objectives. This is to be scrapped and the cash used to kick start a new fund which will grow each year, but this would be partly by diverting £250m per year from what would otherwise be the overall increase in formula grant to councils. The ‘Matching Fund’ would reach £1250 million per year by 2014-15.
A new incentive The Coalition plan aims to use this fund to give local authorities a different incentive to increase house building and the briefing document says “To tackle this deficiency, we will match the additional council tax raised by each council for each new house built for each of the six years after that house is built. As a result of these measures, councils will get an automatic, six-year, 100 per cent increase in the amount of revenue derived from each new house built in their areas. Local councils and
local voters will know that by allowing more homes to be built in their area they will get more money to pay for the increased services that will be required, to hold down council tax, or both. This will be a permanent, simple, transparent incentive for local government and local people to encourage, rather than resist, new housing – of types and in places that are sensitive to local concerns and with which local communities are, therefore, content.”
More questions The layman is not the best person to interpret what this means exactly but perhaps questions remain about who gets the money, who decides on how it will be spent on infrastructure, whether the money in addition to the Borough tax also includes Parish and County Council precepts, and whether the decision on where the housing goes is still decided at Borough level? Unless the legislation is drafted quite tightly, residents will be left wondering whether Groby gets the houses and Hinckley or the County gets the money, but of course this may not be the case. Nevertheless the fear must be that such a carrot may provide an incentive to overcome planning obstacles and approve developments.
The German and Swiss experience There is little comfort to be found further down the Parliamentary briefing note as it
Norman Griffiths tries to understand the new policy ... points out that decentralised planning systems have a long and successful history in Europe, particularly in encouraging enough new development to keep house prices at a reasonable level. “For example in Germany all councils have their own discrete planning departments, each of which is incentivised toward developing land for residential and commercial use by the local allocation of central government grants and by local tax-raising powers,” it says. “The result is that, over the last three decades, the number of housing completions per capita has been consistently higher in Germany than in the UK. Switzerland is another example of a decentralised planning system that has consistently delivered greater numbers of new builds per capita than in Britain. Because the system allows residents and communities to directly benefit from encouraging more residents, communities are happy to expand.” So the message seems to be that you don’t need to force new housing on communities. Just offer the residents money for essential infrastructure development or to hold down Council Tax and not only will you get them to accept the houses you need but you may also get them to accept more houses than you would through targets. Hopefully any areas of concern have been, or will be, resolved and the pressure will come off villages such as Groby that have already been transformed by the loss of it’s fields to new homes. But until the full implications of the new policy become clear it may be too soon to call for three cheers.
How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?
LOADS OF FUN AT GROBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE • PARISH COUNCIL
GROBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE NEWS
Don’t miss the Family Fun Day! Saturday 3rd July 2010 12 noon to 3pm Come and enjoy some local fun on the campus of Groby Community College. Traditional family games including the egg and spoon race, tug of war and wheelbarrow racing will take place alongside the opportunity to have a FREE taster of one or more of the many sports available locally, including tennis, basketball, hockey and rugby. Learn how to mend your own bike ready for the summer, try your stunts on the bmx ramps, test your aim at the coconut shy or improve your strike at the football speed challenge. The HBBC Active Together Team will also be available with instructors demonstrating alternative activities for adults. It’s your opportunity to influence the development of additional physical activities for adults locally. The Adult Learning Service will also be available to promote their new courses starting in September. If all of this sounds too energetic, there is the opportunity to watch performances by our partner Dance SchoolDance Sensation and our own Youth Theatre, in the drama studio. There will be a wide range of craft stalls to browse amongst whilst enjoying a cup of tea, a burger/hot dog from our BBQ or an ice cream. Tickets are available through the College Community Office at a price of £5.00 per family (2 adults and upto 4 children) or £2.00 per adult/£1.00 for children and concessions. Tickets will also be available on the gate. If the weather is wet provision has been made to move attractions and activities in doors where possible, so need to miss out. Any profits made from this event will go towards the building of a purpose built dance studio on the College campus that will benefit our local community.
Summer Holiday Activities Don’t let your children get bored this summer. We have 4 weeks of sports and performing arts available for children aged 5 to 12 taking place from w/c 26th July 2010.
Result of uncontested election The Returning Officer has announced that Norman McCausland has been elected unopposed to fill the vacancy for a Parish Councillor on Groby Parish Council (Groby Ward).
New postal address for Groby Parish Council Groby Parish Council now has its own post box and no longer operates the PO Box facility. The new address is: Groby Parish Council, Parish Council Office, Village Hall, Leicester Road, Groby, Leicester LE6 0DQ
For teenagers there is an opportunity for them to achieve their sports leaders award in a week, a babysitting course, a sports week and new this year are 2 roller skating sessions for families and young people. These will take place on Thursday 29th July and Thursday 12th August 2010. Sessions will be available from 2-4pm (11-14 year olds) 4.45pm to 6.45pm (parent and child sessions) and 7.30 to 9.30 for 14 years plus. In addition there will also be a chance for sixth formers to get themselves prepared for life at university by enrolling on a new course –cooking on a budget –this will take place during the school holidays. Visit the college web site www.grobycoll.leics.sch.uk/community for more information on how to book onto any of these activities or to obtain your tickets for skating. Or call 0116 281 7017
You know you are living in 2010 when ... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
You accidentally enter your pin number on the microwave. You haven’t played patience with real cards in years. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you... You e-mail your children upstairs to tell them dinner is ready. Your reason for not staying in touch with various friends and family is that they are not on Facebook. 7. You pull up in your own driveway and use your mobile to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the shopping. 8. Every TV advert has a web site at the bottom of the screen. 9. Leaving the house without your mobile, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. 10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
• Volcano A recent letter that appeared in The Independent newspaper: “Following the recent interruption to air travel, I find myself out of pocket, due to what I am informed is an “act of God.” “To avoid future financial embarrassment, please could you recommend an atheist insurance company?”
One good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when to cringe.
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NEWS FROM GROBY ALLOTMENT SOCIETY
10
Novel use for plastic bottles! As I write these notes the sun streams down and although rain is forecast we don’t seem to receive any. The ground is very dry having practically no rain for many weeks. Water tanks are getting empty and just walking along the rows with a watering can does more harm than good, the roots stay on the surface, which will weaken the crop later in the season. Unfortunately when it does rain it will not know when to stop. As last year the Allotment Society received an invitation to attend the Annual Parish meeting in the Village Hall on the evening of May 24th. Various group leaders from village groups attended. We, as last year produced a power point visual slide show to help explain the achievements by our management committee over the past twelve months. Jamie Craig began by giving a brief explanation of what the management of the plots entailed, these include rent collection, allocation of plots, grass cutting and plot inspection. The overall presentation was, we think, well received. (This slide show can be seen on our stand at the Village Produce Show). Unfortunately the meeting went on longer than anticipated so most
people were getting tired by the time the groups were speaking. As we were preparing to leave two gentlemen representing Martinshaw School introduced themselves to us, asking if we would like to attend the official opening of their new school greenhouse. We felt honoured and were only too pleased to accept. On a wonderful sunny Thursday morning Kathy, Jamie and myself, who with other guests, enjoyed the hospitality of the staff and the children at the school, I will leave Kathy to explain.
John Thornton A recycling message in 1500 bottles A project at Martinshaw Primary School has given pupils an insight into the benefits of recycling. They now have a greenhouse constructed not in the conventional way but out of plastic bottles. As John has explained Groby Allotment Society was contacted by Mr. Bhamra, Chair of Governors, and invited to the grand opening of the new greenhouse at Martinshaw Primary School. We were made very welcome by Mr. Bhamra and Head
Teacher Mr. Raben. The greenhouse was sponsored by Caterpillar who support environmental projects annually in schools in the Hinckley and Bosworth area. Mr. Paul Morris, Caterpillar Site Services Manager, who also attended, had worked closely with the school over the last 12 months. Mr. Morris explained how the company invites local schools to take part by submitting projects for consideration. Schools are invited to the plant to
take part in a day’s Eco activities. The greenhouse project was initiated by Dawn Tipton a Higher Learning Teaching Assistant at Martinshaw Primary School and leader of the Eco Team. The project began in September 2009 and Dawn was successful in obtaining a grant from Caterpillar for £250.00 which enabled the school to purchase the wood to make the frame. Many people were involved
Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end you first try?
GREEN COMMUNITIES’ GRANT FUND in the project. The frame was built by Mr. Hirst, a local businessman and parent. The call went out for the plastic bottles that were to form the walls and children and parents responded by donating 1500. All these bottles had to be processed in some way to make them usable. Enter Owen Lawrence, member of the Governing body and volunteer at the school. Owen cut off the bottoms of the bottles and was helped by groups of children to wash them ready for use. The building method is simple. The bottomless bottles are pushed together, threaded onto a cane until the required hight is reached and then stapled into place on the frame. In this way all the walls and roof structure are completed, including the door. The finished greenhouse measures 4 x 2.5 metres. There is room inside for a shelving area and crops at the moment include tomatoes. Mr. Morris performed the opening ceremony helped by a pupil at the school. We were then invited to a celebration assembly where Head teacher, Mr. Raben reviewed the work
11
New grant fund to help communities to go green
A new grant fund has been launched to enable community groups in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to organise projects and events that help their community to act on climate change.
of the past year and with the help of a computerised presentation we were able to see how the work progressed until it’s completion. Mr. Morris was pleased to present a gift, suitably wrapped in recycled paper, to Dawn Tipton on behalf of everyone for all the hard work accomplished during the past year. Congratulations to all concerned on a brilliant project. In addition to all the other areas of the curriculum supported by the project the children have been given a fabulous example of the concept of sustainability.
Kathy Griffiths
The Climate Friendly Communities grant will make a total of £50,000 available to local community groups over the coming year. The fund will be administered by the RCC (Rural Community Council for Leicestershire and Rutland) as part of its Communities Cutting Carbon project, which seeks to support community groups to take environmental action in their local area. The funding is available thanks to the support of the East Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (RIEP) and each of the local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Community groups can bid for any amount from £200 to £5000. Some examples of activities that could be funded are: •
Room hire and materials for public events
•
Start-up costs for local food growing projects
Equipment for energy saving projects • Andrew Reeves, the RCC’s Community Climate Change Officer, said “More and more people are feeling inspired to work together with their friends and neighbours to make their communities into cleaner and greener places to live. If you’re inspired to act, then support from our Climate Friendly Communities project, and money from our new grant fund, can set you off to a fine start.” For more information on the grant fund or on support available for community action on environmental issues, visit the RCC website, or contact Andrew Reeves on 0116 268 9718 or areeves@ruralcc.org.uk.
FENCING
S G S
SHOOTER GARDENING SERVICES
NEW & REPAIR WORK UNDERTAKEN ALL WOOD IS PRESSURE TREATED
CALL JIM SHOOTER . 95 LEICESTER ROAD, GROBY
0116 2879715 / 07814224630 When the actress saw her first strands of grey hair she thought she’d dye.
12
URBAN SAINTS IN TIJUANA • PICK UP A SMALL AD BARGAIN • GOLF
Re-Build Mexico From front page
we still managed to make really good relationships. They even helped us to build the house! This was really amazing to watch, as they wanted to get involved and they wanted to do as much as they could to help. There were lots of highs, with some lows, lots of laughter and a few tears, with too many tales and experiences to share in this short message. Although we had built one house that will change the lives of our family, Urban Saints groups from around the country completed seven houses, which will change the lives of seven families in Mexico. When the keys were handed over, the local pastor prayed for each home and the family. It was a precious end to an eventful week. This trip has also been a life changing experience for each one of us who travelled there and took part. We came home with a real sense of joy and satisfaction in our hearts at what we had achieved, yet a sense of loss at leaving behind the friends we had made and the family who we had built the house for, as well as, a feeling of exhaustion after the hard work and the long journey home! Rebuild Mexico was a truly life changing experience that not only allowed us to have fun and make new friends but also learn new skills. For many on the team the experience has really changed and challenged them and it’s exciting to think that a bunch of ordinary people from Leicester could be used in such an incredible way by God.
Revelation SUITCASE, unused, navy with wheels. 59x41x24cms. Price: £15; WATERCOLOUR Challenge Practical PAINTING COURSE (CH.4) + small wooden table easel, good condition Price: £10. T: 0116 287 4835. DINING ROOM Furniture in Yew Wood:SIDEBOARD, Oval extending DINING TABLE & 6 CHAIRS (2 Carvers), HI-FI CABINET, glass front, 2 side cupboards, good condition. Price: £200 T: 0116 287 8806. Two 2 seater Cintique SETTEES, light brown pattern, mahogany colour wood, nosmoking, no-pet household, very good condition. 51” length. Ideal conservatory/small lounge. Email photo available. Price: £75 each (£130 pair) T: 0116 231 3654. GARDEN SHREDDER Alko Dynamic H1400, excellent condition. Price: £25 ono T; 0116 287 2029. Larder FRIDGE Hotpoint, cream, A Rated, good working order Price: £50ono T: 0116 223 5720. Touring BICYCLE ladies Peugeot ‘Parisienne’, Sachs Huret 10 speed gears, straight handlebars. Price: £30. T: 0116 222 9133. COT BED Stratford white Cosatto, very good condition. Price: £75, Double BUGGY side by side, grey COMBI WE2 rarely used. Price £100, ROCKING CRADLE ‘Go Go’ Mamas & Papas rarely used. Price: £25. T: 0116 287 0115.
Advertise your items for sale FREE. Send us the details, cost of item and your contact phone number for the display box, together with your home address for our purposes only (not for publication). Max FOUR items, please. Max price asked: £300 Our address is: Groby & Field Head Spotlight, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT or email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk
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Get into the swing at Forest Hills Golf Club FOLLOWING on from the success of a similar course last year, beginners who would like to learn how to play golf are being given the chance to join a special coaching programme this summer. The six week beginners’ course is being offered at the Forest Hills Golf Club on Markfield Lane, Botcheston at a cost of £40 per person. Each session lasts for an hour and there is a choice of starting dates for the course: Monday 19th July at 12noon • Wednesday 21st July at 12noon or 7pm The programme is suitable for both sexes and there is no dress code or equipment necessary. To book, or for more information, please contact Richard Hughes, PGA Golf Professional, on 01455 824800, 07890 471151 or visit www. richardhughesgolf.co.uk
Acupuncture is a jab well done.
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14
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE • WHAT’S HAPPENING AT BUDGENS • BONSAI
Groby WI Bulletin Considering what is in the pipeline, May has been a quiet month. When I say quiet I mean news wise, our ladies are anything but. It was our annual Resolutions meeting. Every year WI members put forward Resolutions for discussion at the AGM in June. Throughout the year it has to go through debates and consultation. This year there is only one and if passed, it will become mandate for our campaigning in years ahead. This ensures that our campaign involves a process involving all our members from the smallest institute to the largest. At the AGM to be held in Cardiff, a representative from each local area, will hear all the discussions and then be able to vote on our behalf. The Resolution is: “That this meeting urges HM Government to introduce clear and mandatory country of origin labelling on all meat, poultry and fish products sold in this country. This Resolution has the overwhelming support of Groby WI.
Do you know where your pork comes from? What it boils down to is, do you know where your pork for example comes from? It may say produced in the UK but perhaps it has travelled from somewhere on the Continent or Asia. The pork when it arrives in the UK is put into say pork pies or sausage rolls and can now be labelled, “Produced in the UK”. So what the WI want, and I am sure most of us do, is to know for certain its origins. The little Red Tractor logo includes a statement of origin in the flag device and when you see the good old Union flag happily sitting in the little Red Tractor, you can be sure the food has come from UK farms. Just to prove that we are taken notice of, this year’s speakers include, Gwen Parry-Jones (Heysham 1 power station director), Lee Durrell (widow of Gerald Durrell, naturalist, author, zookeeper & television presenter), Tim Smit (Chief Executive and co-founder of the Eden Project) and the Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP (Speaker of the House of Commons). The best part girls, wait for it, is the appearance of “Only Men Aloud” who will be performing at this year’s AGM. “Only Men Aloud” is the Welsh Choir that won last summers BBC 1 TV show Last Choir Standing competition. In the past the WI have had quite a bit of success in their lobbying of Government and other related businesses. For example the Government has increased funding to help honey bees, we have fought on behalf of the imprisonment of the severely mentally ill and the closing of community hospitals. We don’t always get our way but we have a darn good try.
Skittles victory was wine-assisted I shall now get off the bandwagon. You will all be delighted to know that we won the first round in the Skittle Competition. Our team were delirious with happiness because we are usually knocked out at this stage. Between you and me, one of the team when it was her throw, seemed to think that things wouldn’t go right because she had actually had a small glass of wine and then went on to throw a 7, enough for us to win, in hindsight what would have happened if she had had two? I seem to remember though we did win years ago when we got to the final simply because the other teams were unable to get a team. This year I have a feeling, if you pardon the expression, in my water that it will be different. Then again I may have put the kibosh on it. Next month’s meeting we have Dougie Wright who was a session drummer for various pop bands. We are as usual at The Village Hall on the l7th June and the meeting starts at 7.30p.m., see you there.
Margaret Gamble
News from Budgens
Art Competition for Lady Jane Grey Pupils Budgens supermarket in Groby is running an art competition for pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 at Lady Jane Grey School. The theme of the competition is the World Cup, and pupils are invited to submit their pictures by 25th June 2010. The pictures will be judged and the results announced by 28th June. The pictures will be displayed in the store when received. Three prizes will be on offer to the top artists: • 1st Prize: An England football shirt • 2nd Prize: A World Cup Jubalani ball • 3rd Prize: A £10 W.H.Smiths voucher
In-Store Raffle To add to the excitement of the World Cup, Budgens are running an in-store raffle with fantastic prizes to the lucky winners. To enter the raffle, you need to spend £40 on shopping at Budgens store in Groby. Certain types of expenditure are excluded (Lottery, Phone Top-Ups, Tobacco and PayZone) but spending on all other items in the store will qualify. The raffle runs from 11th June to 8th July, so there’s plenty of time to have a go. The prizes are well worth winning: • 1st Prize: A 32” Samsung LCD TV • 2nd Prize: A Samsung 12.2 megapixel Digital Camera • 3rd Prize: A £20 Voucher to spend at Budgens
Coming Soon: Fresh Pizzas and DVD Rentals Budgens will soon be selling hot pizzas which are made fresh on the premises.There will be a choice of four types of topping. A DVD Rental Service is also being introduced to the store in late June, with the latest releases available for rental. See advert on page 5.
Bonsai Show in June The East Midlands Bonsai Society are holding a view and buy Show at Sevenoaks Garden Centre, Groby Lane, Newtown Linford LE6 0HG on the weekend of 26th/27th June. Entry is free and there is an on site Tea Room/ Restaurant. Sevenoaks Garden Centre is situated between Groby and Newtown Linford, close to Groby Pool.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
FREE SWIMMING LESSONS
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Free swimming lessons FREE six week courses for adults who want to learn to swim, are being run in Hinckley this year. Starting in June and November, Hinckley Leisure Centre will be running a number of free swimming lessons for adults. Courses are six weeks long. Funded by the Amateur Swimming Association, together with the Borough Council’s Active Together team and Hinckley Leisure Centre Management Company SLM, the courses are designed especially for non-swimmers, weak swimmers and beginners. There are courses for the over 60s, and for any adult of any age who is defined as a weak swimmer and who wishes to overcome their fear of the deep end. People are urged to book early as places are limited on the courses. Councillor Wendy Moore, Executive Member for Open Spaces and Cultural Services said “this is a great opportunity for adults to learn to swim. It is never too late to try something new and I hope people will enjoy the free lessons on offer.” For dates, times and to book on a course please contact: Michelle Wykes, Swimming Co-ordinator at Hinckley Leisure Centre on (01455) 610011 or Karen Harris, Health and Physical Activity Officer on (01455) 255847.
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You will feel stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.
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utopian project • new dvds to look forward to
New & Future Releases on DVD Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (PG) This adaptation of Rick Riordan’s remarkably popular fantasy book series tells the tale of accident-prone teenager Percy (Logan Lerman), who discovers that he’s actually a demigod, the son of Poseidon, and he is needed when Zeus’ lightning is stolen. Percy must master his newfound skills in order to prevent a war between the gods that could devastate the entire world. OUT JULY
The Venus Project - is it the solution to all the world’s problems?
Green Zone (15) Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission. OUT JULY
Extraordinary Measures (PG)
The Venus Project, Inc is an organization that promotes Jacque Fresco’s visions of the future through a website and by distributing videos and literature with the goal to improve society by moving towards a global Resourcebased economy and the design of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management and advanced automation, focusing on the benefits it will bring to society. According to Fresco, poverty, crime, corruption and war are the result of scarcity created by the present world’s profit-based economic system. According to the Project, the profit motive also stifles the progress of socially beneficial technology. The progression of technology, if it were carried on independent of its profitability, Fresco theorizes, would make more resources available to more people by producing an abundance of products and materials. This new-found abundance of resources would reduce the human tendency toward independence, corruption, and greed, and instead rely on people helping each other. www.thevenusproject.com
Fate and determination push idealistic father, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) into joining forces with reclusive medical researcher, Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Together, this unlikely pair face impossible odds as they battle the entire medical establishment and time itself to find a cure before it’s too late. Also starring Golden Globe® winner Kerri Russell, Extraordinary Measures is a true story of the power of love and faith against impossible odds. Inspired by the book The Cure by Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer Greeta Anand. OUT JUNE.
Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang (U) Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother, Mrs. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny McPhee discovers that Mrs. Green’s children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in and refuse to leave. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant who turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons. OUT JULY.
Clash Of The Titans (12) The 1981 classic CLASH OF THE TITANS gets a starstudded remake with this film from director Louis Leterrier. Sam Worthington stars as Perseus, the son of Zeus who must defeat his father’s nemesis, Hades, to keep the world from being overtaken by evil. SCHINDLER’S LIST stars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are once again pitted against one another as Zeus and Hades, respectively. OUT JULY.
Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
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‘messy’ church • what’s on at the pubs & clubs
Churches together in Groby celebrate the birthday of the church
Sunday 23rd May was Pentecost, which all over the world is celebrated as the birthday of the Church. Over the years the two churches have celebrated in a number of different ways.
This year’s celebration was led by the Rev Louise Corke and held at Groby United Reformed Church and consisted of ‘messy church’ where a jolly good time was had by all who came along.
By holding services on the village hall car park followed by BBQ food. On the Stamford Arms car park with singing and games and by holding worship in each other’s churches, but nearly always
followed by cutting and eating cake. How else can you celebrate a birthday, other than by enjoying a cake and blowing out the candles?
• Walk out After church, the woman at the door was embarrassed before the minister. “I hope you didn’t take it personally when my husband walked out during your sermon.” “I did find it rather disconcerting,” the preacher admitted. “It’s not a reflection on you at all,” she assured him. “Ralph has been walking in his sleep ever since he was a child.”
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Groby Ex-Servicemen’s Club Leicester Road, Groby Tel: 0116 287-1809 www.grobyclub.co.uk NOTICE TO MEMBERS New Members Welcome Fri 11 June: COLIN WINDER Sat 12 June: DANNY GRANT Sun 13 June: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 18 June: JAMIE NEALE Sat 19 June: RIKKI DANIELS Sun 20 June: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 25 June: WOODVILLE Trio Sat 26 June: CHRIS FORD Sun 27 June: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 2 July: Dave MANHATTAN Sat 3 July: TIMELESS Sun 4 July: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 9 July: Graham BERRINGTON Sat 10 July: LAURA ELSON Sun 11 July: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 16 July: SEAN LANEY Sat 17 July: JASON COMFORT Sun 18 July: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 23 July: INVISIBLE TOUCH Sat 24 July: LIMITED EDITION Sun 25 July: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 30 July: PAULA SWANN Sat 31 July: PAUL RAVELL Sun 1 Aug: Super Sunday ‘50’ Fri 6 Aug: ALIVE+KICKING Sat 7 Aug: RANDELL Sun 8 Aug: Super Sunday ‘50’ The Stamford Arms Leicester Road, Groby Tel: 0116 287 5616. Sat 12 June: WRECKLESS VENTURE (see article on page 21) Other Sats Entertainment in JUNE on hold~World Cup on HiDefinition/Wide Screen. Sat 10 July: FRIDAY STREET Sat 24 July: FINGERS&FUMBS Sat 31 July: SPECIAL EVENT (Ticketed – I think! MOTOWN) Sat 7 Aug: LOADED KARAOKE ~ Every Wed OPEN MIC ~Every Thurs JAZZ ~ Every Sun 3-6pm QUIZ – General Knowledge + Find the Joker ~ EVERY Sun QUIZ – Music ~ EVERY Tues The Brant Inn Leicester Road, Groby LE6 0DU T: 0116 287 2703 World Cup TV Fri 18 June: KARAOKE (Tim) Fri 25 June: KARAOKE (Classic) Fri 16 July: KARAOKE (Tim) Fri 23 July: KARAOKE (Classic)
The Field Head Hotel Markfield Lane, Markfield Tel: 01530 245454 TRIBUTE Nights All £2 Entry after 7pm. Fri 11 June: BEATLES Fri 25 June: TINA TURNER Fri 9 July: BLUES BROTHERS Fri 23 July: KYLIE MINOGUE Every Mon: POKER Nite Every 2nd Tues: QUIZ Nite The Coach & Horses Leicester Road, Field Head Tel: 01530 242 312 KARAOKE Nights:Sat: 12 June& 26 June (’King of the Road’) Sundays: QUIZ Night The Plough Inn Burroughs Road, RATBY. T: 0116 239 2103 WORLD CUP TV EVERY Tues ~ QUIZ Wed 16 June & Wed 21 July:AMERICAN Custom & Classic Car Show Sat/Sun 14/15 Aug:-Charity Riders Custom Bike Show. www.ploughinnratby.co.uk The Charnwood Arms Beveridge Lane, Bardon. T: 01530 813644 Every MON Night:POKER TOURNAMENT FREE ~ Starts 7pm. TRIBUTE NIGHTS £10 a Ticket Includes Supper & Disco Fri 25 June: PETER KAY Fri 30 July: TAKE THAT Forest Hill Golf & Country Club Markfield Lane, Botcheston Tel: 01455 824 800 Thurs 24 June: QUIZ Night £6 per head: Incl. Supper & Entry. Supper from 6.30pm Quiz starts 7.30pm. Tickets from the Bar Cash Prizes. Max 6 p.team Bagworth WMC Station Road, Bagworth T: 01530 230 205 Summer Prize BINGO (Bagworth Forward Group) Mon 26 July: 7.30pm. Start Every Wed: Tea Dance 2-4pm £1 Incl.Tea & Biscuits.
All information correct at time of going to print.
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blown apart.
lucy jones: marathon runner • win a book
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Groby girl selected BOOKSPOT Dog to run in Children’s The Expert London Marathon By Karen Bush RRP £7.99 Paperback
Loyal, loving, intelligent and playful, a dog is ‘man’s best friend’ for good reason.
Martinshaw Primary School pupil Lucy Jones, 11, was selected to run for the East Midlands region in the Children’s London Marathon.
Given a safe, happy environment, proper training, a balanced diet and sufficient exercise a dog will reward you with devotion, entertainment and many years of companionship as a much-loved member of the family. Whether you are planning to bring home a puppy for the first time, already have a dog in the family or are caring for an elderly pet, The Dog Expert will show you how to: • Choose the right dog for you • Create the ideal environment for your dog • Ensure your dog is well fed and properly exercised • Groom, train and have problem-free fun with your dog • Travel with your dog • Spot when something is wrong and how best to help
The race took place on the last 4km of the adult marathon course including running past Big Ben. Lucy is also the reigning Leicestershire & Rutland County Champion cross country runner, having won, in superb style, the primary schools’ year 6 girls event held at Rutland Water in March. All at Martinshaw are very proud of Lucy’s achievements.
Andrew Raben
Headteacher, Martinshaw Primary School
WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK
We have one copy of this book to give away as a prize. To go into the draw for this handsome and informative volume, send your answer to the following question to DOG EXPERT COMPETITION, Groby & Field Head Spotlight, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT or email your answer to: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk. The closing date is Saturday 26th June 2010. Remember to include your name and address. Question: What three breeds of dog are shown in this photograph? The first correct entry drawn out of the Editor’s Trilby after the closing date will win the prize. Good luck!
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When your clock is hungry,it goes back four seconds.
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Churches Together in Churches Groby Togethe
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Fair Cuppa: For all Sunday services: please see our website
Every Thursday at Groby VillageSt. Hall: Philip and St. Jam Revd. Lo New Time www.bradgateteam.org.uk ~ 10.30-12noon. United Reformed Chur All Tea/Coffee is Fairtrade.
www.grobyurc.com Mrs Norma W Children/Youth Work Deb Goodhead 07730 59
Urban Saints: Term Time at URC Chapel
Games, Crafts & Christian basis discussion. 5’s-14’s Mon at 3.45pm, 6.30pm, 7.45pm. 15-18’s Wed & Fri at 7.30pm. More Details on Websites.
Services & Contacts
For all Sunday Services, please visit our websites and church magazines • St Philip & St James: www.bradgateteam.org.uk Revd. Louise Corke T: 0116 231 3090 • United Reformed Church: www.grobyurc.com Mrs.Norma Whittaker T: 0116 287 6606 • Children/Youth Worker - Deb Goodhead - T: 0773 059 6309
Norman talks to Jim Coley - a man of many talents
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Wreckless Venture at the Stamford Arms: Sat June 12th Norman Griffiths previews a band with a local connection Here’s a question. Is a visit to the Stamford Arms on Saturday June 12th called for to celebrate a victory by England in their world cup match? Or is it more a sorrow drowning exercise to forget their defeat? The fact is we won’t know until the 12th so finding an excuse which enables you to cater for either outcome might sound an appealing plan. And your local hosts at the Stamford have provided you with the perfect excuse - a chance to sit with a pint (or a glass of wine or even a pot of tea if you prefer) and listen to Wreckless Venture, a live band with a local connection. Lead singer Jim Coley, a local resident who has been a member of Groby Parish Council since last year, is resigned to not switching on the amplifiers until after the footie finishes. But then everything changes and the party will begin. Their performance cherry picks anthems from right across the rock genre, so you can expect the Rolling Stones, Status Quo, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ZZTop, Whitesnake, Free, the Who and more. So if you’re old enough to know the words you could be singing along to All Right Now or Bad Moon Rising, or if the mood takes you doing those funny little dances that only men of a certain age can do to Brown Sugar or Honky Tonk Women.
Musical household If you grew up in a household where music was an everyday part of life you’ll identify with Jim.
“I grew up to love music - all types - and started playing at school in a Shadows style,” he said. Jim then heard the Blues and started working his way through the likes of John Lee Hooker, followed by the brassy funky sound of James Brown and his contemporaries. Howling Wolf ’s classic Smokestack Lightning was the inspiration for his first serious venture. “I started playing seriously in Smokestack, a Blues/soul ‘Underground’ band as it was called then. We travelled around the County and thought that one day we would make it. We nearly won a recording deal with a Band Contest at the De Montfort Hall where we came a close second, but we didn’t quite do it and when I got engaged I gave up playing,” said Jim. The band supported well known names of the time like the Pretty Things, Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours, Yardbirds and the Uk Birds.
Back to the band “It was when my eldest son Alex started playing drums in a band at Groby College that I picked up my guitar again and then I met up with Dave Cooper, a drummer/singer I’d known years back, at a parent teachers’ evening and we chatted - he then rang me up and asked if I wanted to join a band he was putting together. This ended up as “Out of the Woodwork” playing all sorts of 60’s and 70’s music with a great line up. On vocals we had Ursula Darker (Groby then), keyboards & bass Paul Hudson (the foreigner from Market Harborough), drums and vocals Dave Cooper (Groby) , 2nd drums
& Vocals Steve Preston ( Ratby) plus we had a very young and now quite famous lead guitarist in Ainsley Lister (Groby), plus me of course on guitar and vocals. This set me off again and I subsequently played with several other bands culminating in the Classic Rock Wreckless Venture.” So if this sound like is your bag you could be in for a great night at the Stamford, a re-run of their successful January gig. But what you won’t see is the other side of Jim’s musical face. and another legacy of his musical home as a child.
From rock to opera “My father is an accomplished singer and as I liked opera I used to go and watch him perform in the chorus of Leicester Opera,” explained Jim. “One night I had been to see a production and Alan Hodder, the then Chairman of Leicester Opera, said he needed me for the next show at the Phoenix. I thought it was perhaps because he’d heard of my singing but it was because they needed a tall guy to play the part of Ivan, the Cossack servant. But I did sing and got the bug.” That was in the mid 80’s and since then Jim has been in Leicester Opera, The Groby Singers (with the late Sybil Waldron and loads of other Groby people), The Ashleyan and currently Stanley Opera at Hinckley. So how does reconcile his love of performing such completely different musical styles? “Easy,” says Jim. “It’s all about dressing up in tights and make-up and dancing about on
Jim Coley, Singer, Guitarist and Groby Parish Councillor stage making a great noise” If you want to read more about Wreckless Venture, see photos of the band in action at the Stamford Arms, or hear some of their music, log on to www. grobyonline.tk and follow the link.
Mojo Hand are back as well If you like the sound of it but can’t make it on Saturday, or are reading this on Sunday 13th, all is not lost. In addition to Sunday lunch the afternoon session at the Stamford will be welcoming back the blues and rock mix dispensed by Mick Ridgeway’s Mojo Hand. There’s a familiar face there, too, as the bass player ran the Martinshaw Lane video store for a time.
She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but she broke it off.
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download your annual show schedule • punxsutawney pete
Groby Gardening Society NEWS From Alvar Johnson Thirty three members and friends attended the Malvern Spring Flower Show on May 7th. The show lived up to expectations, although the weather could have been kinder. It was dry, thank goodness, but a cold wind had to be endured. At least at Malvern some shelter can be gained from their large barns. The flower displays were spectacular and the show gardens seemed to cater for all tastes. The stalls selling anything from plants and gardening sundries to clothes and outdoor spas were legion. One trip hardly gave enough time to see everything. DES MARTIN: At our meeting on May 13th, we welcomed Des Martin from Wigston to be our speaker. Des runs The Mozart House Nursery Garden in Wigston and has many and varied gardening interests. These include bamboos, ferns, grasses, woodland plants and plants for damp places. The talk he gave to us was on “Plants for Shady Places”. Des is one of nature’s enthusiasts and he finds and conveys an avid interest in all he does. As well as illustrating his talk with live plants, he revels in passing these amongst the audience to gain more participation. He also brought plants for sale. His nursery is open only by appointment, but he has kindly extended an invitation for The Society to visit, possibly one evening. PLANT SALE: Another gardening year landmark was reached on 15th May. This, our plant sale at the Village Hall, was a great success. Our stalls selling home-grown vegetable plants, bedding plants, herbaceous and houseplants proved to be very popular. Produce was flying out through the door from 10am onwards and many species had sold out by 11.15. QUIZ & TWO-DAY TRIP: We are now looking forward to our July 8th meeting when scones, with cream and/or jam, and fresh strawberries and cream will be on offer. A lighthearted quiz will precede the refreshments. The day after this event, we set off on our two day trip to Hampton Court Flower Show and Waddesdon. Poor weather will not dampen our enthusiasm, although good weather has been booked! VILLAGE SHOW SCHEDULES: Schedules for the Village Show on Saturday 21st August are available from the village library, the Groby Spotlight website (www.grobyspotlight.co.uk) or any committee member. Without the support
Groby Gardening Society & Groby Women’s Institute
Self-Improvement
The Magic of Groundhog Day
FLOWERS
FRUIT
VEGETABLES
Groby Annual Show 2010 at the Village Hall Saturday 21st August
HANDICRAFTS
at 2.30pm
All classes may be entered by everybody COOKERY
of people willing to “give it a go”, the show would not continue. Let’s hope that all the regulars and many first-timers will come along with their exhibits. Prize winners are always justifiably pleased, but noone should be put off. It is not Chelsea and so many visitors in the past have thought “Given a chance, I could beat that”. August 21st is that chance! Sections include container plants, fruit and vegetables, flower arrangements, cookery and preserves, handicrafts, a floral section, a vegetable tray and a young person’s section. Forthcoming events July 8th Light-hearted quiz followed by • scones (+ jam/cream) and straws and cream July 9th/10th Hampton Court Flower Show/ • overnight stay/ Waddesdon Manor trip August 12th History, Mystery and Management • (Ian Cooke) August 21st The annual Village Show • Our annual subscription is only £6 and there is so much to participate in. If you feel like becoming involved and sharing in our activities, we always welcome new members and casual guests at our monthly meetings that are held at 7.30pm on the second Thursday of the month, usually in the United Reformed Church rooms on Chapel Hill. Details about membership and the events programme can be obtained from Alvar Johnson. (Tel. No. 01162877870) or E mail alvar3@talktalk.net
NIGHTINGALE CONANT have just sent us their latest brochure and it’s packed with self-improvement CD recordings. The one which caught our eye immediately was The Magic of Groundhog Day. The NC blurb describes it like this: In this inspiring and highly original program, renowned teacher, green entrepreneur and author Paul Hannam lifts the veil on the remarkable secrets contained in this unassuming yet extraordinary little film, and shows you how to use its lessons to transform your own life and achieve fulfillment, happiness and peace in the here and now. • By listening to the 6 CDs and watching the accompanying DVD of the film, you’ll discover how to: • Break free from repetitive thoughts and behaviours that keep you stuck in a rut • Wake up to the ever-present magic in your life, and discover the extraordinary in the ordinary • Transform a mundane day into a magical day by simply changing your attitudes • Be more creative and manage your time more effectively at home and in the office • Achieve lasting change in your personal and business life • Find meaning and purpose in your work through service, creativity and compassion Can a movie change you life? If you watch the right movie the right way - listening to this program and applying the information you learn - the answer is a profound and definite YES! For details of Nightingale Conant’s range of self-improvement CD sets, visit the website at www.nightingaleconant.co.uk
TEAMWORK... means never having to take all the blame yourself.
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY • UNCLE EUSTACE • bradgate lions
JUNE
happenings from the past 175 years ago: 2 Jun 1835 - American showman P.T. Barnum began touring the USA with his first exhibition – Joice Heth, a blind, paralysed slave, whom Barnum claimed to have been George Washington’s nurse, and over 160 years old. 125 years ago: 17 Jun 1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City on the French ship ‘Isere’, as 350 individual pieces packed into 214 crates. 100 years ago: 1 Jun 1910 - British explorer Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition left England. (Scott and 4 members of the party reached the South Pole in January 1912, but all perished in severe weather on the return journey). 90 years ago: 4 Jun 1920 - WWI was concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in Paris, France by Hungary and the Allies 75 years ago: 1 Jun 1935 - Compulsory driving tests were introduced in Britain (They had been voluntary since 1930) 75 years ago: 10 Jun 1935 Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, USA, by William ‘Bill’ Wilson and Dr Robert Smith 60 years ago: 17 Jun 1950 - The first kidney transplant was performed by Dr Richard H. Lawler at the Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park, Chicago, USA 50 years ago: 16 Jun 1960 - Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘Psycho’ was released 30 years ago: 12 Jun 1980 - Death of Billy Butlin, British holiday camp entrepreneur 10 years ago: 26 Jun 2000 - Rival scientific teams announced that they had completed the first rough map of the human genome
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Beware the spell-checker on Bradgate Lions Club News your special service sheets! By Roger Gamble from: The Rectory St. James the Least My dear Nephew Darren As you discovered at your Sunday School Anniversary Service last week, special service sheets can be a mixed blessing. It was unfortunate that the front page welcomed your diocesan “Nishop” (although perhaps a good thing you hadn’t been welcoming a neighbouring “Vicar”) and it was a shame that one of the hymns contained one verse fewer on the sheets than the book the organist was playing to, obliging your congregation to sing the last verse twice – although since in your tradition you seem to repeat choruses endlessly, probably no one noticed anyway. But the regrettable misprint which meant that ranks of primary school children sweetly lisped an obscenity really was too much. Having said that, computer spell-checkers can cause their own problems. We once let our own system check a Christmas carol sheet and on the night found ourselves obliged to sing “away in a manager”, mangers apparently being unknown to our machine. If you use special sheets regularly, it seems a law of nature – as with metal coat hangers - that they all intermingle while no one is watching. Thus on Easter Day, half the congregation will have been issued with sheets for Harvest, which will only become obvious once the service begins. The first hymn will be entirely lost while sidesmen scuttle about looking for replacements only to find that there won’t be enough of them anyway and then the second hymn will be lost while others helpfully wander about church donating their sheets to those looking helpless and then trying to find someone to share with. Never, ever, print on them “Do not take home” as this will only ensure everyone does so. I have sometimes wondered if the instruction “Take this sheet home for reference” would ensure that they stayed neatly arranged in the pews after the service. And if it is a service where babies are likely to be present, be assured that many of the copies will be returned half chewed and coated with bits of whatever the infant had for breakfast. There must be a market for paper treated with a child-repellent flavour for such occasions. Anyone who thinks we are an unimaginative nation should visit a church after a special service to see how many places members of congregations can invent to hide the booklets: under kneelers, neatly folded and hidden inside hymn books, among flower arrangements and behind heating pipes so that no one can quite reach them. They then lurk there reproachfully for the next ten years until mice resolve the problem. No, stick to large, hard bound books. They are resistant to teeth and are too substantial to be hidden in pockets. Their only drawback is that they tend to fall victim to the pull of gravity at the quietest moments. Your loving uncle,
Eustace
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I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally.
We held our annual presentation night on May 24th 2010 when we gave contributions to various local charities and other deserving causes. Altogether 12 cheques were presented ranging from £60. to £450.00 equalling £3,300.00 on the night. This, together with other donations we had made during the current year made a grand total of over £7,400.00. This money had been raised at various functions and collections we have made from July 2009 to the present date. At the end of June my term as President of our club comes to an end ,and I will be handing over my badge of office to a local lady, Janice Jones from Markfield, who will be guiding us though the next twelve months, carrying on the good work to raise funds to help local, national and international causes. Besides fund raising, we like to do work in the community, such as volunteering at Glenfield Hospital, and we should be pleased to hear from anyone who may be in need of our help, we will always endeavour to assist. If you would like further information about Bradgate Lions Club, or received a copy of our newsletter, please contact me on (01530) 242912. Seen in the Cumberland Times: ‘A man accused of stealing candlesticks from Carlisle Cathedral had his case temporarily adjourned when the court heard he had wax in his ears.’
The Tigers are backing us, why don’t you?
The Tigers took time out from the vigorous training programme in May and invited LOROS and SJ Events to Oval Park to show their support for The Twilight Walk Ladies that are already signed up to the walk came along with us for the photo shoot with the boys. The girls will be joining in the fun by dressing up in Bra’s on The Sponsored Twilight Walk, Saturday 19 June which starts at The Walkers Stadium. The 7km sponsored walk starts at The Walkers Stadium, where you can expect a fun-packed party atmosphere with crazy golf, motorbike displays, face painting and all sorts of other attractions to keep the whole family entertained. Over 90% of every pound raised for LOROS goes directly towards patient care and every little helps. So dust off those trainers and start asking your friends and family for sponsorship - you’ll be making the world of difference to this incredibly worthwhile cause. Men and Women - It’s not too late for you to join these ladies! Register or volunteer now at www.thetwilightwalk.co.uk or call 0116 2302 040 for more details.
BOOKSPOT The Holborn Scroll James Fitzsimmons AMAZON PRICE: £6.95 Paperback When a religious relic is found in a London building site, a dangerous mystery begins to unravel for the young architect in charge When young, successful architect Nick Stephenson is told of a strange discovery on one of his building sites he is at first simply annoyed – as a possible archaeological find, the ancient-looking, indecipherable scroll threatens to bring a halt to construction and cause costly delays to the multimillion pound project. He determines to find out whether the scroll really is as old as it appears, and sets himself up an interview with a scholar at the British Museum. Is the scroll fake or genuine? Could it really be one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the mysterious parchments written by a Jewish sect at around the time of Christ? As Nick investigates further, he finds himself an unwilling player in an international conspiracy that could alter the course of history.
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new challenge for groby in bloom
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Places of interest to be signposted on new Groby Information Boards Each year the East Midlands in Bloom judges make suggestions for improving our submission to this competition and last year they suggested that more positive signage would be helpful. A small ‘Signage Group’ was set up with the brief to look at a sign board that included a map of the village with footpaths and places of historic interest. In the early stages the signage group arranged an information gathering visit to Burbage where their Heritage Group have created a Heritage Trail, a much larger undertaking than our plan as they have four Information Boards and blue plaques. We were kindly escorted around the town centre trail and given a great deal of helpful information and contacts by Ann Crabtree and John Robbins of the Burbage Heritage Group. The Group came back all “fired up” to progress this project. We have liaised with the County Council regarding sighting the
Information board near the library and also with the Heritage Group and Village Society. Permission has been gained from Artists - John Thornton, Matthew Smith and Horace Callis as well as the owners of the properties planned to be featured using sketches and text. The map and footpaths will be in the centre of the Information board with places of interest and text on the surround. We know there are many building of historic interest but space is limited and we have selected the following buildings - The Village Hall, School House, Old School House, Crown Cottage, Zion Cottage, Peartree Cottage Stockingers Cottage, 27, 31, 35, Chapel Hill, Victoria Cottages, Blacksmiths Cottage, Stamford Arms, Chaplins Butchers (Pear Tree House) and Old Hall. Groby Pool, Castle Mound and the old Railway will be prominent on the map and although Groby Cemetery, Sheet Hedges Wood and Martinshaw Woods are strictly speaking outside the Groby boundary, it was felt important that they be included as country walks
are an important aspect of the information. The group is now working towards submitting information for a draft and price, whereupon funding can be applied for but before we do this if you think we have left out a significant site please contact Carolyn Wheatley 01162877018.
FACT FINDING MISSION: The Groby in Bloom Signage Team during their information-gathering visit to Burbage. (Left to right: Carolyn Wheatley, Ann Crabtree, Brenda Burrows, Alison Coates.)
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Lots of people know a good thing the minute the other fellow sees it first.
new cooking club initiative
26
Say: “Yes Chef!”
Lets Get Cooking: Adult Volunteers Wanted ANSTEY & DISTRICT FUNERAL SERVICES
BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT
As part of our aftercare service, we now offer a monthly Bereavement Aftercare & Support Group, which has been set up to provide a FREE support service, not just to our clients, but to ANY bereaved person, irrespective of their age, creed, religion and length of bereavement. The group meets on the 1st Saturday of every month (except at Bank Holidays) in the catering suite at Anstey & District Funeral Services between 10am and 12noon.
Next dates: Sat 3rd July 2010 and Sat 7th August 2010 ARRAN BRUDENELL, Tel: 0116 234 0548
Groby Community College are looking for budding “Jamie Olivers” to come and support a new initiative which encourages communities to set up their own cooking clubs. Lets Get Cooking is a national network of cooking clubs across England and Wales and is now spreading across Leicester. The College have secured funding to develop local cooking clubs but need volunteer adult support to get these off the ground. This is your chance to get involved in cooking within our community in a voluntary capacity. We are looking for passionate, enthusiastic helpers who have a natural interest/flair for cooking who would like to take this further by becoming a demonstrator and key facilitator in running a cooking club locally. You may already be involved in your children’s school cookery clubs or simply enjoy cooking at home. You may already be a chef your self who wants to encourage others to get cooking. A 2 day Free training course is available for Club demonstrators to learn basic food hygiene, safety and demonstration skills. A further fun day is also available for Club demonstrators and upto 6 club members to get the cooking started. This could ultimately grow into a paid position where cooking becomes a fundamental part of our community, promoting healthy lifestyles for all of our family members. For more information or to express an interest please contact Helene Chadwick on 0116 281 7017 or email hchadwick:grobycoll.leics.sch.uk (various dates are available for the training)
The Midsummer Great Escape • Prestwold Hall Near Loughborough On 18th- 20th June This fabulous new event will offer both camping facilities for motorhome, caravan and tent owners and will also provide a great family day. Whether you are camping or just visiting for the day, there is a full daytime entertainment programme including circus workshops, Punch and Judy shows, magic shows, balloon modelling, a fun dog show competition, falconry displays, quizzes, bingo, stunt shows and selection of live music. Campers can also enjoy as part of their pitch price, access to TWO open air concerts on the Friday & Saturday night featuring the music of Queen, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, The Bee Gees and Abba. Entry for children is free whether they are camping or visiting for the day. This is a great value for money show that includes free parking for day visitors as well as a free show programme. The organisers will also be making a donation to Help for Heroes for every campervan that stays on site. Prices,
directions and further information can be found on www. midsummergreatescape.co.uk.
It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them.
letter • latest news from national trust leicester
27
LETTER
National Trust Leicester Association
Children’s Air Ambulance Service
From Saturday 19 June to Sunday 11 July exciting artwork called “Profusion” will be on display at Calke Abbey. The exhibition consists of specially commissioned and existing works by twelve acclaimed international artists which are inspired by the unique setting at Calke. Full details can be found at www.beaconartproject.com
With reference to above, may we thank you for the excellent advertisement in the mid April issue for our coffee morning held on the 24th April. On the day a sum of £360 was raised with later donations of £89.03. A further gift of £200 was received from J.Sainsbury Ltd.(Oadby) A total of £649.03 has been forwarded to the above. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all who supported and donated to this worthwhile charity.
Barbara & Allan Johnston
Groby
Exciting artwork on display at Calke Abbey Another temporary art installation can be seen in the Marble Hall at Kedleston Hall, near Derby, from 19 July to 29 September. This is an art project called “Promenade” by Susie MacMurray and you will be able to walk through a shimmering, maze-like structure, composed of thousands of metres of gold thread. Whilst the key aim of the National Trust is still to care for coastline, countryside, buildings and contents so that they can be enjoyed today and by future generations, the Trust is encouraging all Property Managers to “bring their properties to life”. Previously I have mentioned that you can now play Billiards in the Billiard Room at Sudbury Hall. Now you can also play croquet at Canons Ashby, near Towster. As part of the garden restoration project the 19th century croquet lawn has been relayed and a croquet club has been formed for local villagers. On Monday afternoons club members will be on hand to teach visitors the basics of the sport and on other days you will be able to hire the croquet set for a game. At Belton House, near Grantham, there is now a “Dawn to Dusk” display in which a number of rooms are now presented as if for a 1930’s weekend house party. The presentation progresses from daylight to evening as you pass through the rooms. The Yellow Bedroom is set for breakfast and day and evening clothes are laid out for the “guests” in the Windsor Bedroom. Finally the Dining Room is set for formal dinner with a magnificent table centrepiece, on loan from Waddeston Manor, with the room lit by flickering candlelight. Don’t forget that in addition to the house, gardens and parkland there is also a massive children’s Adventure Playground at Belton. For information on the Leicester Association of National Trust members please call, 0116 2229133.
Alan Tyler, Chairman, NT Leicester Association
Maybe I’m lucky to be going so slowly, because I may be going in the wrong direction.
two readers get things off their chest • dystopian novel
29
BOOKSPOT
LETTERS
Parking in Groby Village centre
After reading the mid-May issue jottings about GE Sensing and parking in the centre of the village, I decided to do a bit of investigating of my own. First of all I decided to take some photos of the cars parking in the village, to which I added the registration of the cars parked and then took these photos to GE Sensing which I left at reception along with my address and phone number to be passed on to the person who attended the Parish Council meeting, who I was told was in a meeting. Later on in the week I spoke to some of the people owning these cars only to be told that they were Agency workers who had been told that they could not use the parking facilities at GE Sensing as they were Agency workers. If that is the case then the centre of the village will always be clogged up with cars. I think it is about time the Parish Council sorted this problem out to allow village people the right to park in their own village centre to shop and not have to park and have a long walk to shops. My idea for sorting this problem out would be to make RATBY ROAD a timed parking area, say of one hour with no return within two hours between Leicester Road and the junction of Fir Tree/Crane Ley on both sides of the road, this then would allow no long term parking in this area and allow villagers access to the shops in cars.
P S Brudenell, Groby.
Voter Apathy - The Result of a Bad Education
Exit
By Frank Alexander AMAZON PRICE: £11.89 Hardback A compelling and chilling dystopian novel in which civil servants have become Exit Managers, eliminating troublesome people for the State. Exit is a chilling dystopian novel in the Orwellian tradition, a story of ultimate control and ultimate delusion... Anthony Laroche is an Exit Manager – one of a hand-picked group of high grade civil servants tasked with the responsibility of upholding the latest amendments to the Terrorism Act. The Act – through endless lobbying and astute politics – has become a lethal yet legal toy for the government, its ultimate power resting in its ability to determine other people’s fate. Anthony and his colleagues have the power to decide whether individuals or groups are still viable to society, and if not, how best to eliminate them. Anthony takes his job seriously and executes it with meticulous precision and discriminate ease. Yet his past has a habit of disturbing his cold-steel cynicism and quiet efficiency. When he decides to use the act for his own covert devices – to track down and condemn his missing father – he inadvertently becomes the administrator of his own downfall. Frank Alexander’s compelling novel is a prescient and highly contemporary exploration of surveillance society, the corruption of power, political spin and personal freedom…
In 1987 Millicent Fawcett established the National Union of Women’s Suffrage, in order to give women equality concerning the right to vote. In 1928, after 41 years of protests, women achieved the same voting rights as men. In many countries, such China, North Korea and Cuba, the right to vote is still denied, or only one party is allowed to stand. Dictatorships such as these are seen as a denial of human rights to those of us who live in a democracy. Subsequent to the election, polls suggested that 22% of students would not vote on May 6th. I strongly believe that this is not because students are uninterested, or because they don’t believe their vote will count, but because there is a lack of political education in schools, which has left this generation of first time voters without the necessary knowledge of political parties, candidates and the voting system. In the school curriculum for students in Year 7 -Year 11, PSHE and Citizenship are mandatory subjects in which students learn about personal, social and health issues that will affect them in the near future. Main topics for these lessons included sex education, drug and drink awareness, and further education in smoking, healthy eating and physical hygiene. The lessons were repetitive, dry, and often presented pupils with information they were already aware of. Throughout my experience in these subjects which are intended to increase students’ awareness of the outside world, I only ever recall one occasion where we studied politics. I have had a strong interest in politics from around 15, and felt that perhaps the lessons would become more interesting for me and other pupils now that we could study a subject a number of us felt passionate about. The lessons then became more tedious than ever. On more than one occasion the class watched the same video describing the “first past the post system”. My enthusiasm for the subject was henceforth diminished, and many of my peers as a result of these lessons decided politics was boring and a waste of time. It is this stereotype of politics, I feel, that has persuaded young people not to register in this election. Instead of teaching 15 year olds of the five main food groups, or having them create a power point presentation on the dangers of smoking, why not educate them in politics? We should be inspiring students to be involved, to learn about the different parties and what they stand for, not running a video and leaving pupils to get on with it. We need to increase political awareness in schools. We need to be proud of the rights that we have, and the democracy we live in. Don’t let our ancestors have fought for nothing. Educate young people in politics, and perhaps by the time the next election comes, everyone will get a vote.
Rebecca Harrison Prediction is extremely difficult. Especially about the future.
win a prize in the wordsearch • art exhibition
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PICNIC WORDSEARCH 1st Prize: A £20 Voucher to spend at Word Search Puzzle
Broughtons Coffee Lounge in Anstey! 2nd Prize: A £10 DVD Hire Voucher to Spend at Glenfield Moviezone!
T D R I N K I N G W A T E R P
S D C M X W V X L H D K R L N
O H Q P L T H Y S H S V A F A
S J A V X C B T E A O S N O P
U E Z D L U U J L L T P S L K
N S H E E M I F R I R E E D I
F I B C B U S C C N J L T I N
Z U B L I O M U P W N O A N S
B P E B M W T B T Q Y T L G O
Q R A R L E D V R M Z F P C C
S U E U N E F N X E E L R H D
U H K S N I S Z A H L U E A Z
T J I Z W D G A I S D L P I T
B L A N K E T C F Z G Q A R C
S H N E E R C S N U S W P S Q
Name: .................................................................................................
BLANKET Address: ................................................................................................ DRINKINGWATER FOLDINGCHAIRS NAPKINS .................................................................Postcode: ............................. NIBBLES IfPAPERPLATES you can spot 12 Picnic Items in the Wordsearch grid above, you could win a £20 Voucher to spend at Broughtons Coffee PLASTICUTENSILS Lounge, Cropston Road, Anstey (see ad this page) - or a £10 SANDWICHES DVD Hire Voucher to spend at Glenfield Moviezone (see ad on SHADEUMBRELLA page 16). SUNSCREEN All you have to do to go into the draw is find - and mark a line through THERMOSFLASK - 12 items that you might take on a picnic. These can run vertically, TUMBLERS horizontally or diagonally (and backwards!). Send your marked entry forms to: PICNIC, Groby & Field Head Spotlight, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT to arrive by Saturday 3rd July 2010. Please remember to fill in your name and address. The sender of the first correct entry drawn out of the hat will win the £20 Voucher to spend at Broughtons and the sender of the second will win the Moviezone DVD hire voucher. Good luck!
Art Exhibition in Woodhouse Eaves A local art group is to hold its 7th annual exhibition at the Village Hall Annexe at Woodhouse Eaves on 2627 June. Summer Exhibition 2010 will feature work by members of the ARTform ArtsCentre and will include more than a hundred paintings and drawings in various styles, subject matter, and prices. Opening times are 12-5pm on Saturday 26th, and 10am5pm on Sunday 27. Admission is free and refreshments will be available. ARTform was started in 2003 by members of local artist Mark Wilde’s watercolour classes. For more information on the exhibition or classes, ring Mark on 01509 673064.
Created by Puzzlemaker at DiscoveryEducation.com
Here are the 12 Picnic Items you have to find:
BLANKET • DRINKING WATER • FOLDING CHAIRS NAPKINS • NIBBLES • PAPER PLATES PLASTIC UTENSILS • SANDWICHES • SHADE UMBRELLA SUNSCREEN • THERMOS FLASK • TUMBLERS
Last Issue’s TWO Winners Last issue’s first prize winner was MRS. ANNETTE TOONE of Carmen Grove, Groby. You win a Sunday Lunch for Two plus Wine at The Plough Inn, Burroughs Road, Ratby. The winner of the second prize - a £10 DVD Hire Voucher to spend at Glenfield MovieZone - was AVA THURMAN of Ash Court, Groby. Congratulations! Your vouchers will be with you within 21 days.
People don’t grow up; they just learn how to act in public.
millennium green update • a couple of funnies
Glenfield Millennium Green News Plant Sale The sun shone, hundreds of plants arrived and most were sold in just over 2 hours. A total of £468 was raised on the morning, with more to come. A big “thank-you” to everyone who donated plants, helped on the day and especially to those who came to buy.
Quiz Winner The winner of our ‘chocolate’ themed quiz was announced during the morning. There are obviously lots of chocaholics among our supporters as there were many correct entries. The winner, after a lucky draw, was Mr P Leatherland. He was presented with £20 worth of garden vouchers by Margaret Ellingworth who donated the prize.
Garden Party Hopefully the sun will also shine for our next fund-raiser. Our Annual Garden Party will be held on Saturday 10th July at 60 Overdale Avenue, Glenfield, from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. This is a time to meet with friends over food and a glass of wine and raise money for Glenfield Millennium Green. Admission of £2.50 includes food, a glass of wine (or fruit juice) and entry to a Prize Draw. Accompanied children are admitted free of charge. There will be a few stalls to keep you amused – plants, books and tombola are planned at the moment.
Chris Tordoff
Hearing A man went into a church and asked the minister to pray for his hearing. “Ah, certainly,” said the minister, somewhat taken aback. The man knelt, and the minister placed a hand carefully on each ear. In a loud voice he asked God to help the man with his hearing. “I hope that will help,” he shouted to the man. “Well, we won’t know for a while,” the man replied softly, “It isn’t until next month”.
“Even though Joe was churchwarden here for 30 years, I still don’t think they’ll allow this headstone in the churchyard.”
Solitude is fine, but you need someone to tell you that solitude is fine.
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Van destroys local hollyhock display on World Environment Day “We have decided to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earth’s resources, and each other. We know that sometimes we are part of the problem. So, we are working hard to become a part of the solution.” It’s clear from this statement on the website of one of Europe’s major furniture retailers that they take their green credentials seriously and there’s lots to read there about the steps they have taken in all sorts of areas. It’s ironic that it was World Environment Day that a van driver delivering their products decided to reverse along Chapel Hill. Although the carriageway is 11 foot wide he left the road and ploughed through the flower bed alongside, crushing a display of growing hollyhocks and other plants. The driver and his colleague must surely have seen the damage the vehicle had done but they drove away from the scene. No response has been received from retailer as the incident happened shortly before the Spotlight went to the printers. Local residents were dismayed by the damage caused by the careless driving, the latest in a series of incidents involving the colourful border to the footpath that links Chapel Hill with Mallard Avenue and Glebe Road. This is a popular pedestrian route through the village and the whole length of
the border attracts many complimentary comments from residents, some of whom mistakenly believe that it is owned and maintained by Groby Parish Council. In fact it has been planted and is cared for by the householders who live alongside and receives no contribution from the Groby in Bloom fund.. As there are no waste bins on the footpath it suffers the same litter problem as other gardens in the village and thefts or vandalism of spring flowers such as daffodils are not uncommon. One of the local gardeners who maintain the border on a voluntary basis had recently planted out a new shrub that had been nurtured through the winter. Within a few days it had been dug up and stolen. The footpath is also popular with dog walkers.
Most dog owners now act responsibly and pick up after their dogs and as a result the problems of fouling on the path common a few years ago have greatly improved. But sadly the bag of excrement is sometimes dumped amongst the shrubs in the border as a gift to be found whilst weeding instead of disposing of it in the nearby bin provided for by the Council Taxpayers of Groby. “We are pleased that our efforts bring so much pleasure to those who walk along this path,” said one of the volunteer gardeners, “and all we ask in return is that the border is treated with the same respect as any other garden in the village.”
The Plough Inn Burroughs Road, RATBY LE6 0XZ T: 0116 239 2103
NEW: B.B.Q Every Saturday (Weather Permitting) From Sat 19th June ~ 1-4pm & 6-9pm
hazel’s groby Walkers are one
Groby walking group is one year old
saucy thief
33
Hellmanns Thief Strikes Again! An alert diner at Little Acorns Tea Rooms managed to capture photographic evidence of a master thief at work. As the pictures below clearly show, the thief - dressed all in black - casually approaches the pot of sauce sachets on one of the outside tables. When he thinks that no-one is watching, he’s in like a flash and quickly grabs his fix of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. Nothing else is taken. Is this proof that birds can read? Is Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds about to be re-enacted on the Groby/Newtown Linford border?
Walk With Groby recently celebrated their one year anniversary with a visit to Bradgate Park followed by an excellent lunch at Little Acorns on Newtown Linford Lane. We now have over 40 registered walkers and have extended the range of walks to suit all tastes. We meet every Thursday morning inside the Village Hall at 9.45am for a 10.00am start for a one hour walk with Hazel , our trained Leader, assisted by other volunteer trained leaders. This is free. New members are very welcome and should arrive early to complete the necessary registration paperwork. We walk in all weathers and suitable footwear is very advisable as we sometimes go in the woods, across fields and of course, local roads. Afterwards in the Hall we have a chat and a drink (50p) provided by the volunteers from the Churches Together In Groby. A longer walk of up to two hours is arranged for the last Thursday each month starting at the same time. An even longer walk (the last one was five hours including a stop for a packed lunch and drink) now takes place once a month on Tuesdays, 10.00am from the Village Hall. Dates for these are 6th July, 3rd August, 7th September and 5th October. The photograph shows us dropping in on the Time Team dig.
John Offord
Ancient Wisdom
Douglas Baker Summer School In Potters Bar, Herts. 3/4th & 10/11th July 2010 Each Full Weekend £125 Residential. £30 Single Days Incl. Lunch/Teas. Special Day Trip Sat 10th July From Groby/Markfield Area £60p.p. (All in) in 1x 8 Seater Taxi. For more info ~ (PDF also available)
Contact: susan@leicesterlectures.co.uk Or Text: 0771 931 6241
He’s so lazy. I’ve seen him step into a revolving door and wait.
34
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From Groby’s Local Policeman PC
918 Ned Kelly
Irresponsible Parking Dear Residents I often receive complaints about whether or not a vehicle can or cannot park on a pavement. In relation to the above, I would like to clarify the situation regarding vehicle(s) being parked on a pavement. No vehicle(s) should be parked on a pavement. A pavement is for pedestrians only and they have the right to pass and re-pass without being obstruction. A Police officer attending a report of a vehicle obstructing the pavement can use his discretionary powers depending on the circumstances. However, the driver/owner of the offending vehicle causing the unnecessary obstruction of the pavement can receive a Non Endorsable Fixed Penalty Notice - which is a fine of £30 - or have the vehicle removed or towed away. Complaints of obstructive and irresponsible parking in Groby have been reported to the Police and are presently being monitored by the Police. Whilst it is appreciated that parking may be at a premium in the locality, Leicestershire Constabulary seek your cooperation in reducing such problems. As stated, these issues will be monitored with a view to taking enforcement action should the problem continue. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Anyone with information about any crime or incident can contact me on 0116 222 2222 and quote my collar number 0918, or you can call Crime Stoppers free on 0800 555111.
BOOKSPOT 18 Shorts By Neil C Edwards AMAZON PRICE: £9.99 Paperback Eighteen stories with ingredients of deceitfulness, true devotion, cruelty, fairness, skill, passion and humanity; making the reader connect with the writer and want to keep turning the pages till the end where a twist is awaiting. A story about a woman who never seems to get her well deserved promotion ; three letters that find their destination after forty years making many feelings unfold ; the Projectionist who gets too involved in his own little world; the village idiot who is not as innocent as everyone believes… just a few of the engaging characters whose stories and exploits will entertain the reader in this delightful collection.
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