Nailstone PLAYGROUND appeal

THIS SMALL village in rural Leicestershire has a growing number of young children yet there are limited places for them to play and learn together.

With the help of a design company, we have produced a visualisation of a trim trail that local children of all ages can use and that will fit the existing surroundings.

Sourcing funding for this project has been difficult and the delay is impacting the children who are very excited about having a new trim trail that will help them to develop their physical and social skills.

Every donation, small or large, from a private person or a company will make a massive impact.

Thank you for your support on behalf of every child.

To support us please donate at: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nailstone or scan the QR code above.

I never forget my son’s first words... “Where the heck have you been for 16 years?”

South Charnwood High School

South Charnwood High School

Lunchtime Supervisors

We require, as soon as possible, Lunchtime Supervisors to join our team, who are responsible for the health and safety, wellbeing and security of children during the school lunch break.

Term time position (39 weeks), 1 hour 15 minutes per day, 6.25 hours per week. Normally, the hours of work are 12.50pm to 2.05pm daily, but may be subject to change due to exams etc. Rate of pay is £10.78 to £10.88 per hour (with an additional 12% up lift for holiday pay).

If you are interested in the position, please see the school website at www.southcharnwood.leics.sch.uk for an information pack and application form.

Alternatively, telephone 01530 242351 or email: hcarnan@southcharnwood.org

As this job is designated as a ‘regulated activity’ an enhanced DBS check with Barred List will be carried out by the school

‘South Charnwood High School - Committed to Safeguarding Children and Young People.

Trinity Methodist Church Markfield Services & Information

www.markfieldmethodistchurch.org

FB: Markfield Methodist Church

Sunday 12th March

10.30 a.m. Morning worship

Sunday 19th March

MOTHERING SUNDAY

10.30 a.m. Morning worship with Holy Communion

6.00 p.m. Taize Prayer

Sunday 26th March

PASSION SUNDAY

4.00 p.m. Sunday worship with items by the choir

Sunday 2nd April

PALM SUNDAY

10.30 a.m. CTiM United Service & Walk of Witness

Sunday 9th April

EASTER SUNDAY

10.30 a.m. Morning worship with Holy Communion

Music Cafe

Thursday 23rd March, 13th April & 27th April

2.00 - 4.00 pm

Don’t be on your own - join us for a music-based afternoon of friendship & fun on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month. For more information please contact Linda on 01530 242607.

“Come for a Cuppa”

Every Wednesday 10.00 - 12.00

We welcome you to come to our “Warm Space” on Wednesday mornings. There is no charge for the refreshments and you can “swap a book”. Just come through the main church building and you’ll find us in the back room.

Coffee Morning & Bacon Butties

Come and chat with friends and enjoy bacon butties on Saturday, 22nd April from 10.00-12.00.

Friends of Charnwood Forest

In a re-arranged schedule of talks, the January meeting of the Friends of the Charnwood Forest heard a talk by Marilyn Upstone on the Moira Furnace and museum.

The furnace was built in the estates of the Earl of Moira, from whom it took its name. The Earl was born in Ireland in 1762 and inherited the estates, whose base was Donington Hall. His links with the Prince of Wales, later George IV, led to the loss of much of his fortune, but was appointed Governor General of India by the Prince Regent, so that he could avoid his creditors. He resigned in 1821, whereupon he was made governor of Malta. He died at sea. He was buried in an elaborate tomb Malta – except for his right hand, which was buried with his wife when she died.

The furnace is sited on the Ashby Canal which was to have joined the Coventry canal to the Trent and thence to London. Sadly part of its route proved unsuitable due to the terrain, and so horse drawn tramways were substituted. The area around the furnace proved to be rich in coal, clay and mineral water. There was a deposit of iron ore which the furnace used for a time . but, firstly, the coal was not coking-coal, coke being needed for the furnace, and, secondly, the ore was not rich enough in iron to make it economically viable. Production started in 1812, but the system was out of use by 1816. The furnace and its adjacent buildings fell into disrepair, and some were demolished, including a bridge over the canal which was important to the stability of the main building.

By the 1940s the canal had silted up. Leicestershire Industrial History Society in the 1970s drew attention to the historical importance of the furnace as one of the first coke-fired furnaces, previous furnaces having used charcoal, and carried out preliminary excavations there. Subsequently, support from North-West Leicestershire District Council led to the furnace being listed was listed as an ancient monument and work started on rebuilding the bridge and restoring the remaining buildings and the canal. The furnace was reopened in 1985. The Ashby Canal now ends at Conkers basin, the National Forest Visitor Centre, and is in use southwards to the Coventry Canal. Near the furnace is a bank of lime kilns, which burnt lime for agricultural purposes. The furnace has a museum, but an engine built at the foundry next to the furnace in the 1820s is now in the Henry Ford Museum in Chicago.

Forthcoming Events

• Wednesday 22nd March: Recent advances in our knowledge of Charnwood fossils

• Wednesday 26th April: The Shuttleworth-Clarke Foundation’s role in Charnwood Forest

Dr D McNeil