Sept 2015 groby spotlight online by Michael Wilkinson

Open Day demonstrates local support for Groby Library THE WEATHER could have been much worse for the Community Library Open Day at Leicester Road on Saturday 12th September, so the organisers are not complaining. It wasn’t bad enough to put off local residents from showing their support for the event and for their library. The weather seemed to reflect the threat that has hung over the library – at first dark clouds, but by the end of the event bright sunshine and optimism. There hasn’t been much news of the library changes during the summer and so this was an opportunity to raise the profile of the charitable group that will be formed to run the library whilst raising some funds at the same time. Although the project hasn’t been in the news there have been further discussions with County Hall about possible internal changes to the layout to make the premises fit for purpose for community use and events. Fund raising may not have been the first objective but the generosity of those individuals and businesses who made donations of cakes and other items for sale or for the raffle, along with the generosity of visitors who supported the event, meant that all the costs were covered and a useful sum for the funds raised. “I must mention Janet Bishop and Christine Fowler,” said David Ryan, who is leading the team working to

INSIDE • • • • • • • • • • •

Homes planned for old A50 - page 2 Groby Meadow News - page 6 Small Ads - page 8 Martinshaw School Parking - page 10 Borough Councillors’ Report - page 12 County Councillor’s Report - page 14 Recycling Charges may go up - page 20 School News - page 21 WI News - page 22 Alterations planned for Groby Club - page 28 PLUS LOTS MORE!

MINNIE MOUSE made an appearance at the recent Groby Library Open Day save Groby Library from closing. “They have taken on this Open Day project and done a wonderful job of organising and delivery. It would not have been possible without all the long hours that have put in and the support all the other helpers gave them.” The Open Day included a book sale, music, face painting and lots more activities for children, including a surprise visit from Minnie Mouse.

Norman Griffiths

Fine art exhibition at the Atkins Gallery A GROUP of mature fine art students will be presenting a contemporary collection of prints, painting, sculpture and digital works at Hinckley’s Atkins Gallery this month.

APPLE PRESS in Groby! on Sunday 11th October, 12 noon onwards at the village hall. Celebrate earth’s bounty; bring along your apples (and bottles!) and take home delicious, freshly pressed juice!

The group’s exhibition, entitled “Counterpoint”, will open at the gallery on 19 September for a three week run, and takes its inspiration from the musical term counterpoint. The group have adopted it to enable each artist to explore how separate and independent elements can be brought together to achieve cohesive and thoughtprovoking artworks. Then as a collective, their diverse methods combine and contrast to present work that invites the viewer to consider their own responses to what is usually a musical term. For more information on the Atkins Gallery, please call 01455 247070 or email info@atkinsbuilding.co.uk

NEXT ISSUE OUT: Saturday 17th October - Advert/Articles needed by 3rd October

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Groby & Field Head Spotlight PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT

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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. Compiled 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. 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: 17TH OCTOBER DEADLINE: 3rd October

Plan for 30 houses on old A50 land Norman Griffiths reports on local opposition A PLAN to develop land behind Leicester Road which used to be the route of the A50 is being opposed by local residents. Leicestershire County Council has submitted an outline planning application for a development of 30 new homes on the land. A large number of residents attended a meeting with local councillors at Groby Village Hall and three made representations opposing the application at a subsequent Parish Council Planning Meeting. At the Planning Meeting concerns were expressed over the possibility of flooding on the land and the impact additional housing might have on other utility services in the area. One speaker, an ex Leicestershire County Council Highways engineer with 30 years experience said that there was evidence that the area was liable to foul and storm flooding. He added that the existing main drainage systems were already at or near capacity and the foul sewage system had already been compromised by recent floods. This had caused raw sewage to discharge into the flooded gardens and houses at the lower

end of Leicester Road. All the residents at the Planning Meeting had seen or were aware of flooding in the recent past and believed that development of the proposed land for housing would increase the danger of serious flood and foul water flooding. Subsidence issues were raised by a lady whose house backs onto the proposed development. Her house required substantial underpinning and this was only then accepted by house insurers as secure as long as the area of the proposed development remained unchanged. The new development could negate insurance of her home and adjacent houses causing legal issues. She added that the road where the proposed access was due to be sited was already an extremely difficult area to navigate, particularly by school buses etc, and there were concerns that the proposals for access/egress did not appear to address the safety issues of the area. The access road would be off Leicester Road near the Bluebell Drive roundabout. The third resident lives immediately backing onto the proposed houses and aired concerns over the topography of the proposed “landscape.” There

is a large difference in ground height between the rear of the existing houses and boundary of the land adjacent to the the current A50 bypass which would appear to involve a banking of about 6 metres in some places between the proposed houses and the road. The Parish Council members present discussed the issue at some length including the lack of a substantial “planning “ reason for objecting to the outline planing application. All members of the committee were in agreement that the residents objections must be supported against this application, though there would be no formal objection from the council itself. It was thought that it would be unlikely that a building contractor would be able to build a profitable development on this site, partly due to the considerations outlined by the residents and partly due to the remaining highway ground works, and underground services such as water, sewage, drainage, electricity & telephone. It was suggested that as many residents as possible should attend the Planning Hearing at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.

Doreen and Ethel are walking for LOROS YOU MIGHT recall that we were featured on the front of January’s Spotlight , and that we were aiming to walk 1,000 miles for LOROS in 2015. Three years ago, our dear friend Kate Gregory was cared for by LOROS, and we wanted to do something to try to repay them for how wonderfully they cared for her, her family and her friends. We are pleased to announce that we reached 1,000 miles on July the 23rd, and will be keeping it up until the end of the year. As of mid-August, we’re over the 1,100 mark. We hope to reach at least 1,400 miles. The target for sponsorship was set at £1,400, so if you can help at all by sponsoring us, we’d be very grateful. Our website is: https://www.justgiving.com/EthelAndDoreen You can also donate to us in person, and at Groby Club (Thanks, Wendie!) Thanks again to all who’ve sponsored us so far.

Simon Bartlett M: 07941 594 057 E. simonbartlett@thinkpositive.co.uk

The dinner I was cooking for my family was going to be a surprise but the fire trucks ruined it.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

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“The talents of our local community were there for all to see and the variety of the stalls was something to behold. “We are truly grateful to the organisers for giving us this opportunity and for their kindness on the day, and we would like to thank those who attended for not only making the day such as huge success but also for their warm wishes”.

Harry & Sue Lakhani (Editor’s apology: This item should have appeared in last month’s Spotlight but was accidentally omitted - sorry!) I wish my uncle was still alive. He used to pull coins out of my ear and now I could really use the change. A wife is somebody who won’t tell you what to do but will get mad when you don’t do what she wanted you to do.

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We carried out random drugs testing at work today but couldn’t decide which one was best.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Exercising can add years to your life. For example I jogged 4 miles today and now I feel like I’m 73.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Letter

Groby Co-ops will be in competition I WAS SURPRISED when I read your article on the former Budgens store opening as a Co-Op supermarket, that you neglected to mention that the new supermarket will be run by Manchester group Co-Op and therefore in competition with the Midlands Co-Op store currently in the centre of Groby. Whilst I too welcome a strengthening of Co-Op presence in Groby, being a lifelong Co-Op member and supporter, I am very worried that the new Manchester-owned store will leach trade away from the village -centre store, making this non-viable. I love the fact that we have a village centre, and campaigned long and hard to maintain the presence of the post office in the centre of the village. I have contacted the Co-Op group in Manchester and they confirm that they are all self-contained businesses who compete with each other and that they will be in competition with the Groby centre store. Many older residents prefer to shop locally, in the centre of the village, and will not relish a trek to the outskirts of the village to shop in Laundon Way. I understand that many Laundon Way residents will welcome the opening of the supermarket close to them but I wish that the two Co-Op societies would work together and not in competition to one another. For me, my view of the Co-Op has changed for ever now and I am very disappointed by this.

Carol Lincoln (Editor’s Note: Norman Griffiths, who wrote the article, did actually mention the fact that the new store would be run by another part of the Co Op organisation.)

Walk on the Wildside and raise cash for LOROS LACE UP your walking boots and join LOROS for a ‘Walk on the Wildside’ on Sunday 27th September! The popular countryside walk is back for 2015 and this year, has an exciting new start location at Bradgate Park’s Hunts Hill car park! There are three scenic trails to choose from: a 4.5 mile trail, an 11 mile trail or the Tiny Trail (suitable for little ones, pushchairs and wheelchair users), all leading you through the beautiful Bradgate Park and Charnwood Forest. Laura Fitzsawyer, Fundraising Co-ordinator said, “Walk on the Wildside is great fun for all of the family! “This year, we are starting from a new location which leads us on some new, exciting routes! The Tiny Trail is an interactive route, suitable for toddlers, pushchair and wheelchair users.” Food will be available along with lively warm-up sessions, an activity area for the children and much more! Everyone participating will receive a goody bag and certificate on the day. Register online at loros.co.uk/wow or call (0116) 231 8431 for your FREE fundraising pack!

Groby Allotment Society News “Life With A Lottie” By Jane Marston

RECIPE OF THE MONTH WE CAN grow other things than vegetables! The boss and I are delighted to announce the birth of our grandchild – a granddaughter, Darcey – Grandad cannot wait to walk (or push) her down to the allotment and explain the benefits of crop rotation! John Thornton our society Chairman has given me some recent cuttings from the press which brings into focus a discussion re the size of allotment plots V the length of waiting lists. The discussion was started by Charlie Dimmock, she cheerfully announced that plots could be cut into 4 to bring down waiting lists. This comment brought many plot holders to say ‘over my dead body’. Allotment measurements date back to Anglo-Saxon times, when 10 rods or poles, was deemed a sufficient size to feed a family of four for a year. These measurements are equivalent to 250 square metres, which remains the standard size for an allotment plot today. Local authorities do have a legal obligation to provide land for community vegetable plots, however there are no regulations concerning minimum

size. Councils are encouraging us to carve up plots to satisfy local demand. Groby Allotment Society has been following this discussion closely and has lately been dividing larger plots (as they become vacant) – this has seen a reduction in the waiting list and for new comers to plot cultivation, an easing into gardening. If after a while they require a larger plot, and have proved themselves to keep a tidy plot, a larger plot can be accommodated. It is difficult to gauge the right size for a ‘small’ plot as any keen gardener would point out the need for crop rotation, needs of different varieties and in some cases leaving land fallow. Our own plot is one of the larger plots on Ratby Road and no way would Ernie think of giving up any – fruit – vegetables – flowers – paths etc all take room. This might sound a little selfish but lots of the produce we grow is given to those without allotments and raising money for local charities. In this uncertain financial climate produce is being relied on more and more and in the health needs of the nation what could be better than fresh grown produce. The committee takes the balance between plot sizes and waiting

lists very seriously and continues to work hard to ensure that local people do not have to wait too long before enjoying the benefits of ‘growing your own’. The committee also like to make sure that newcomers do not take on more that can be managed. There is as always two sides to this discussion – most ‘old timers’ would prefer the larger plot, however, with the ever increasing demand for growing land, some smaller plots suit the needs of busy ‘weekenders’ who do not have the time for full scale gardening but appreciate the delights and social interaction of a small plot to tend. • The boss and I had good results at the Village Show this year. Severn firsts, five seconds and five thirds. I am pleased to say that a plot holder near to us won the RHS Banksian medal which he will keep – very well done Bill – but watch out Ernie is after it next year. The seed catalogues have arrived and for those that have not received one yet see Jamie – he has put notices on the gates to the allotments. The boss will be spending many happy hours through the autumn dreaming over the choice of seeds that will give him his perfect season next year!

I HAVE not made this yet – but it is on my list of what to do with our raspberries and might be given as Christmas presents. My mother always had bottles of this in the store cupboard and was a regular part of Christmas. RASPBERRY VINEGAR Place 500g raspberries in a stainless steel or glass bowl and crush lightly with a potato masher. Pour over 500ml of white wine vinegar, stir and cover and set aside for at least two days. Stir occasionally. Drain the fruit through muslin and leave for two or three hours – longer if you have the time. Pour the liquid into a stainless steel pan and stir in 100g of sugar. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for approximately 10 mins, scraping of any foam that may come to the top. Leave to cool and pour into sterilised bottles and store in a cool dark place. Leave for at least a couple of weeks before using. This vinegar will keep for about a year and is great on salads – with cold meats and sparingly on fresh strawberries.

Never trust a man that says, “Trust me.” and never trust a woman that says “It’s fine.”

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Natasha Marie Jackson Golf Memorial Trophy MY FAMILY & I would like to thank you all for supporting this annual event held at the ‘Groby Club’ on Saturday 8th August, in memory of our daughter ‘Tasha’.

IT IS WITH some sadness that we have to report that certain members of the community have chosen to abuse the meadow. It is not a campsite or a place to light fires or to meet and have a drink, especially when those responsible leave litter, bottles and cans scattered around the area.

Thank you so much for remembering ‘Tasha’ who is the reason behind all of these proceedings, she is and always will be a huge loss in our lives, even more so at this time of year as she would be celebrating her 28th birthday at the end of this month 31st August. All proceeds generated throughout the day, a total of £2,295.00 will go towards & support the fantastic work of the ‘Air Ambulance Service’. Since holding this event we have raised approximately £17,000. Congratulations go out to this year’s golf tournament winner, James Goddard, and to all the other golf prize winners on the day. This year, our 6th year, the golf and raffle prizes were in abundance, thanks to the generosity of friends, family and many local businesses: Groby Club, Forest of Arden Golf Club, The Forge – Glenfield, Cathy Stevens – Groby, Stapleford Park Golf Club, Bistro Live – Leicester, Flints – Groby, Lingdale Golf Club, Reiss – Leicester, Stamford Arms – Groby, Birstall Golf Club, Sytners – BMW, Whites Hair & Beauty, Western Park Golf Club, Kasbah – Leicester, Pricegate – Groby, Tasha’s ‘Bezzies’, Shaw Wood Activity Group, Deb & Dave Bagshaw, Bill & Doll, Collins Family, Yvette & Jez Pike. Our personal, special & heartfelt thanks go to Mick Quilter & Andy Eversfield for organising the golf and the whole of the day’s events throughout.

News about the Groby Meadow

Special thanks for the hard work and determination as always, to: • Stuart ‘Raffles’ Holmes in his raffle ticket selling duties; • Groby Club and all colleagues for holding this occasion and for their financial support towards the evening’s music entertainment and live band ‘Johnny & the Goodtime Boys’; • Gary, Rory Telfor and Nick Jackson: the ‘Doormen’. • Pete Willday for creating, printing and supplying the entry tickets for the day’s event. To finish: - I read the other day that there are worse emotions to have to live with than sadness. We as a family work hard to ensure we turn our debilitating grief of the loss of Tasha into something positive and worthwhile. Well this is it – ‘Tasha’s Day’, like my family, I hope you also agree that all of us getting together for this event is as ‘positive & worthwhile’ as it gets. A massive thank you to all of the 250 (plus) people who attended and supported this special event. We hope to see you all again at next year’s 2016 tournament.

‘The Jackson’s’ – Colin, Ann, Nick & Nathan

On the weekend of 14/15th August campers once again returned and decided to light a fire using tree stakes for fuel. This has resulted in £65 of damage, and left the oak trees exposed as the spirals have disappeared too. We have photos of those we suspect were responsible: two girls and two boys by the looks of their age 14/16 I doubt they should have been there at all! The matter has been reported to the Police. If that were not enough somebody has broken off two wooden rails and a sign next to the bridge around the same period of time, pointless, mindless and frustrating for those who gave their time and energy to build the bridge. • ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE we are just waiting for the weather to improve and the meadow will be mowed and hay taken. Thanks to The Thomas Herbert Trust we have obatined another oak seat under the large oak tree near the shooting club boundary again this was made by Groby Joinery and our thanks go to Tom Renshaw. We now have two Geocache sites on the meadow which are proving popular, so if you see people wandering around holding GPS trackers, that’s what its all about. The next working party will be on Sunday 11th October, 2pm till 4pm and we expect to have several hundred meadow flowers to plant courtesy of the Stepping Stones project. Even if you are not a share holder you will be more than welcome to come and help with a variety of jobs that need to be completed that day.

Groby CIC The hardest part about going to Hypochondriacs Anonymous is admitting that you don’t have a problem. Have you noticed how the top and bottom biscuit in the packet are always broken? I don’t know why they bother putting them in.

I’ve always wanted to walk up to a stranger and hand them a briefcase and say, “You know what to do”

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Council secures over £330,000 for sports activities in the Borough OVER £330,000 was secured by the Borough Council last year to support sport and physical activity in Hinckley & Bosworth.

The investment was achieved through the council’s membership of the Leicester-shire and Rutland Sport - County Sports Partnership. Each year the council makes an annual contribution of £7,113 to the Partnership, which means that during 2014/15 the council received a return of £47 for every £1 it contributed. In its Annual Review, the Partnership showcased two case studies from the Hinckley & Bosworth programme, which are both focused on targeting physical activity to improve health. The first is the Macmillan Physical Activity Club, which runs at the Sport in Desford facility. The second is run in conjunction with Hinckley Town Tennis Club and aims to increase participation opportunities in sport by getting former members back playing the game and by introducing it to people with special needs. Other key Hinckley & Bosworth achievements highlighted by the Annual Review include: • The Sport and Physical Activity Commissioning Plan, targeted at increasing adult levels of physical activity, which has seen 47,247 attendances at local projects in Hinckley and Bosworth in 2014/15. • 12 talented local young athletes were supported through the County Go Gold scheme. • 2,910 participants from the Borough took part in the Sainsbury’s School Games. • The winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award has come from Hinckley and Bosworth twice in the last three years. Councillor Russell Roberts, Executive Member responsible for Culture and Leisure, said: “Sport and physical activity has a real power that changes lives and I am delighted to read the review and see how the Borough Council is truly working in partnership to maximise opportunities for everyone to get involved and be more active, more often, improving their health whilst having fun. “Not only are people improving their health, residents of the Borough are also getting an impressive return on their investment as for every pound the council contributes to the County Sports Partnership it is receiving a return of £47 into sport and physical activity across the Borough.” In addition to the funding return from the Borough’s membership of the County Sports Partnership, the council’s Cultural Services team has helped to secure financial investment totalling £5,829,934 for supporting the delivery of sport and physical activity across the Borough during the last 10 years.

Anyone for Badminton? A FRIENDLY local Badminton club requires players for sessions at Groby Community College on Wednesdays between 8pm and 10pm. Telephone 0116 267 5800 for more information.

Free Thursdays on Park and Ride THERE’S a great offer of free return travel on park and ride services before 9am each Thursday in September. The travel offer is available on the county and city council’s Quicksilver service which runs from Meynell’s Gorse, Enderby and Birstall. Users of the service simply have to download a voucher, complete the details and hand it to the driver as they board the bus. Passengers can use as many vouchers as they like. For full details of the offer, and how to download the voucher, visit www.quicksilverbus.co.uk

I just sent a text that says “we really need to talk” to everyone I know so nobody will bother me today.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

National Trust Leicester Association News

Villages owned by the National Trust THE NATIONAL TRUST is well known for its large country houses and large areas of beautiful countryside. What is not so widely known is that it owns, or partially owns, 59 villages in the UK.

West Wycombe Village in Buckinghamshire was the first village owned by the Trust. It was purchased from the Royal Society of Arts in 1934 after they had undertaken a five year programme of restoration and modernisation. The village contained 3 inns and over 50 cottages and houses which together illustrate the gentle development of English domestic architecture over four hundred years from the late 15th century. Probably the best known National Trust village is Lacock in Wiltshire which regularly features in TV dramas and feature films. Lacock was built on wealth from the wool trade and is one of the best preserved and unaltered villages in England. It was given to the Trust by Miss Matilda Talbot in 1944 and contains houses from the 13th to the 19th

century. The Trust takes great trouble in the conservation of the village even arranging piped TV reception to all properties to avoid a host of aerials. They also maintain the age old tradition of only renting properties to tenants who are local people. Considered to be the prettiest village in England, Chiddingstone in Kent is a beautiful example of a Tudor one-street village. The style is characteristically Kentish, with brick or half-timbered walls, tile hangings, wide eaves with steeply pitched roofs and picturesque gables. The National Trust bought the entire village, including the inn and the post office, in 1939 to ensure its preservation. The earliest building is dated 1453. The smallest village owned by the Trust is the hamlet of Blaise near Bristol. It consists of nine gabled cottages around a village green which were built by John Harford in 1811 for his retired servants. The architect was none other than John Nash who is more famous for his developments at Regents Park and Carlton House Terrace. Blaise Hamlet was given to the Trust in 1943.

Residents warned over council tax scam

RESIDENTS in Hinckley and Bosworth are being warned to be on their guard after a bogus caller deceived a Leicestershire woman into handing over her bank details by posing as a council officer. The Borough Council issued the warning after a concerned resident contacted the council’s shared revenues and benefits service to check on the caller who had told her he was calling from the council. The caller told the woman she had paid too much council tax and was due a refund. The caller went on to demand the woman’s bank details, telling her this was so that the overpayment could be refunded. However the call was a hoax. Although the resident handed over her bank details, she was concerned enough to call her bank immediately and so fortunately no money was taken on this occasion. However, after a spate of similar calls from concerned residents in other Leicestershire council districts last month, the council is now urging residents in Hinckley and Bosworth to be on their guard to prevent the scam being successful next time. Sally O’Hanlon, Head of Leicestershire Revenues and Benefits Partnership said: “We are relieved the customer hasn’t lost any money, but we are keen to make everyone aware of this to avoid anyone being taken in by this bogus caller.” “The council will hold specific details about your council tax account including the date that you made your last payment and when we last received or sent you correspondence. My advice is that if you receive an unexpected call from the council and you are in any doubt about whether the call is genuine it is entirely appropriate for you to ask the caller to provide details about your account and if they are unable to do so please do not divulge any personal information and report the matter to the council. “

Other famous NT villages include Style in Cheshire, built in the 1820’s to house workers from Quarry Bank Mill, and Boscastle in Cornwall which had devastating floods in 2004. The NT Leicester Association has an afternoon meeting on Wednesday 23rd September when Mary Matts will present an illustrated talk on Wildflowers & Waterways. The meeting will be held at St Guthlac’s Memorial Hall, Holbrook Road, Leicester at 2.30pm. There will also be an evening meeting on Tuesday 13th October at Braunstone West Social Centre, St Mary’s Avenue, Braunstone at 7.30pm when Peter Cousins will present a talk on The Boys & Girls of WWI. Admission to both meetings is NTLA members £2.50, visitors £4.00 including refreshments. For details of the NT Leicester Association and its Talks Service for other organisations please call 0116 2229133.

Alan Tyler, Publicity Officer

BOOK SPOT

Time and Time Again By Ben Elton IT’S THE 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be. Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history. Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century? And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

Small Ads • FISHING KIT - very good condition. Rods, reels, pole, umbrella, box, nets, etc. Will sell as complete kit or as individual items. Call for prices. • PAIR OF WROUGHT IRON DRIVE GATES - each gate measures 3 feet high by 4 feet long (92cm x 120cm) Price: £40.00 Tel: 01530 244115 • CORNER COMPUTER DESK in very good condition. Price: £20.00. • 2 MAHOGANY VENEER OCCASIONAL TABLES - one circular and the other square. Both in very good condition. Price: £20.00 each. Tel: 0116 287 1221. • 2 MAHOGANY CUPBOARDS with display cabinets above. Each cupboard 80cm wide x 45cm x 60cm high approx. Price: £20.00. • TV STAND, 4 glass shelves, gold finish metal fittings. 1.1m x 80cm approx and small matching unit. Price: £10.00 for both. • NEST OF 3 TABLES, mahogany finish. Price: £10.00 • FOLDING TROLLEY with 2 removable trays, mahogany finish. £10.00. • PINK HEADBOARD, king size. Price: Free. • BEDSPREAD, king size, gold & russet. Price: Free. • PAIR OF BEIGE CURTAINS to fit window 3m wide,1.2m deep. Price: Free, but need drycleaning. • PAIR OF CREAM CURTAINS with pink flowers, to fit window 3m wide, 1.2m deep. Price: Free. • PAIR OF BEIGE CURTAINS with pink/dark pink flowers to fit window 2.5m wide, 1.2m deep. Price: Free. Tel 0116 2876998 IF YOU HAVE any household items which you’d like to advertise FREE in the Spotlight, please SEND DETAILS by post or email - sorry, we can’t take them over the phone. Our postal address is Spotlight Small Ads, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT or you can email details to: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk. Please put ‘Small Ads’ in the subject line.

When the hostess at the restaurant says “Table for two?”, I like to act surprised and say “You can see her too?!”

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

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The toughest part of a job interview is finding the exact right moment to go in for the kiss.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Martinshaw School Parking Controversy

f there’s one thing that can be guaranteed to set family members bickering its money, or more to the point a lack of money.

When it comes to local authorities it isn’t very different. Leicestershire County Council has recently said it will have to find an extra £40m of savings over the next four years on top of £87m it had already identified. The council said every service is under review again and it may be left offering “a bare minimum” service, with more museums and rural bus subsidies likely to go. It is probably fair to say that locally there is some resentment that some of the cuts are no more than transfers of costs from the County Council to other bills residents receive, but without a corresponding reduction in the amount they pay to County Hall through their Council Tax. This year the Parish Council has set a significant sum aside to assist the new Groby Library Trust establish itself following the County Council’s threat to close it. The Parish Council is also bearing an ever increasing share of the cost of mowing County Council owned verges in Groby as the County has reduced the number of cuts it will pay for. The view of the Parish Council is that residents would not tolerate the verges becoming overgrown between cuts and so Groby residents pick up the bill for keeping them in good condition. The cost of the recycling service is being unloaded onto the Borough Council who will probably have to pass it on to residents either in the form of a new charge per brown and blue bin or an increase in the Council Tax that goes to Hinckley and Bosworth.

Martinshaw Primary School At the September meeting of the Parish Council another source of financial irritation between the Councils was discussed. The capacity of Martinshaw Primary

Norman Griffiths reports that the County Council offers advice but no cash School is to be significantly increased and this will result in more vehicular congestion in the Forest Rise area and more parents using the Quarry car park when dropping off and picking up their children. This year the parking facilities have undergone a major facelift at a cost of around £90,000 as part of the opening of the Multi Use Games area. When the new car park was opened employees of GE Druck found it a useful place to park after their daily commute. One estimate put the Druck use at 50% of capacity and to resolve this problem the Parish Council is to introduce a 3 hour parking limit. Ironically the major users of the car park are not the users of the MUGA, the play and exercise equipment or the open space. At the August meeting the Parish Council Chairman estimated that 80% of the benefit from the car park goes to the school. The Parish Council feel it is reasonable in these circumstances that the school or Leicestershire County Council should make a contribution to the maintenance of the car park and has been discussing how to take the matter of finance up with County Hall.

No funding from the County Council The County Council categorically disagrees with contributing to the car park costs and offers advice but no money. “We have not previously provided funding for the maintenance of Quarry Park car park and there are no plans to do so in the future,” said a spokesperson. “We are working with Martinshaw Primary to help them promote alternative forms of transport such as walking, cycling and car-sharing, to reduce the number of children travelling by car. Should the parish council

close Quarry Park car park we will look at the impact and continue to support the school with advice on sustainable travel.” The need to press Leicestershire County Council for funds not only creates tensions between Councils but also controversy within Councils. At the parish level whilst discussing how to deal with the issue one member suggested that before going back to the County Council the parish should explore the issue further with the Headmaster, the Governors and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) before making any decision, not after. He felt there would be an advantage for the parties to be seen as on the same side. The Chairman agreed that a meeting with the headmaster and the Chair of governors might be useful but said the issue was not with the parents or teachers but with the County Council and the way they have behaved over the development of the school. His aim was to get the County Council to meet and discuss the issues with the Parish. He did, however, resist the involvement of the PTA, recalling an incident some years ago when there was what he described as a free for all. He recalled that councillors were subjected to a lot of abuse over the car park from aggressive and intimidating parents.

How could the PTA help? Whether or not the inclusion of the PTA would be an advantage is clearly a matter of opinion and one which might be coloured by previous experiences. Both the Parish Council and the County Council have difficulties in raising extra funds, particularly in the current economic climate. The PTA is the one party that has autonomous fund raising capability,

collecting between £4000 and £5000 every year. Over recent years the funds raised have been used to pay for coaches for school trips, for playground equipment, for buying books and equipment for the school library, for teaching resources, etc. Parents may, or may not, feel that they should be asked to fundraise to help maintain a car park, but the only way to find out is to ask their Chairperson. The PTA normally raises the cash and the school decides how it should be spent, but perhaps they would consider the possibility of a single annual event with the funds earmarked for car park maintenance.

Ratby parents benefit The school expansion is the result in part of the new housing in the outer catchment area, particularly Ratby. The two parish councils worked well together over the Bloors Appeal and perhaps could work together on this problem as well. Ratby might well not wish to help with the costs of providing parking facilities for their residents at Martinshaw School but if no-one asks we will never know. They would be no doubt alarmed if the Parish Council introduced a parking charge for non Groby residents. In the final analysis there’s a narrow residential road leading to a school with no dedicated car park or drop off point for parents to use. In 1915 that would have presented no problem but villagers may find that unacceptable for 2015. When the current extensions were planned there appears to have been no provision made for handling the increase in parent traffic either by providing on-site facilities, introducing other traffic control measures such as a one way system, or helping with the cost of maintaining a neighbour’s car park. The County Council is happy, however, to give advice on traffic plans, cycling and car sharing. Sadly this isn’t a problem that advice can fix.

FENCING

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Crimewave in Thornton

THREE Murder Mysteries for Good Causes! THE MARKFIELD and Thornton Theatre Group is to present three Murder Mystery Evenings for Charity.

“As You Sow”, written for the Group by Muriel Walker, enacts the events which occur as the villagers of Hagsmere-in-the-Willows gather to celebrate at St. Osmund’s Harvest Supper in the Church Hall. Newcomers to the village have been welcomed, but, undoubtedly, their involvement seems to have upset the smoothrunning of the event! Old rivalries surface, secrets long-hidden threaten to surface and the grim reaper waits for an unsuspecting victim. Why not come along to pit your wits against ours, to see if you can avoid all the red herrings and successfully identify the murderer! It takes place on Saturday, 10th October, 7.30 p.m. at Thornton Community Centre in aid of the Bridge Project for the Homeless. All tickets £5. Please bring your own interval refreshments. Contact Muriel Walker on 01455 822148 for tickets or further details. The other two performances are as follows: • Wednesday, 7th October, 7.30 p.m. at St. Simon & St. Jude Church Hall, Earl Shilton. The proceeds of this evening will go towards making an area for quiet contemplation within St. Simon & St. Jude’s Church and will form part of the church’s Harvest Supper! Contact Barbara Bowley on 01455 845765 for details. • Monday, 12th October , 7.30 p.m. in the Theatre at Markfield Court. LOROS is Markfield Court’s Charity for the Year. Contact Diane Elliott on 01530 249902 for details. We would love to have you with us at any of the venues. You can be assured of an entertaining evening out, and, at the same time, your involvement will help a good cause. I don’t know why I even bother having a smartphone any more. It spends so much time on charge, you might as well call it a landline. My wife said she’s going to leave me if I don’t stop treating her like a child. And for that comment, she is now sat on the naughty step.

I wish I knew it was my day back in my day.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

be from British Gas or The Ministry of Justice.

Love Groby Tasters BOTH TED and I have attended the Love Groby Tasters events at the URC Church over the last month on a Saturday morning. Having been such a successful event the organisers have decided to continue the event every Saturday morning from 9.30am – 12.30pm until Christmas. With entertainment for children, free tea coffee and bacon cobs a must visit is recommended to this event. Thank you to the many volunteers that give up their time to make this happen.

Leicester Road Outline Planning Permission LEICESTERSHIRE County Council has applied for outline planning permission on the former A50 bypass to the rear of the properties on Leicester Road. Access to the site would be through the gates on Leicester Road just before the David Wilson estate mini roundabout. The application is for up to 38 houses but as the application is for outline planning permission the exact detail and design is missing. The County Council appear to have done this so as to reduce the application costs, and as they are unlikely to develop the land themselves they would probably sell on the land to a developer if the application is successful. Jenny Brader along with Cllr Cartwright and Cllr Hollick made a site visit on Tuesday 18th August. Lasting one half hours it really did give Jenny a first hand view of the location and how it affects the properties and poor access to Leicester Road. Cllr Cartwright has met with Nic Thomas, head of planning and development at Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, to demonstrate the difficulties in access to the site, the lay of the land with regards development and the flooding issues. A public meeting was held at the village hall with the issues below identified. 1. Highways access being totally unsuitable on the tight bend with poor visibility. 2. Highways, adopting only the entrance to the site the remaining roads being unadopted. This would have the effect of all but four of five properties having to wheel their wheelie bins to the entrance of

Martin Cartwright Call: 0116 287 4500 Mobile: 078 50 70 70 50 E-mail: hbbc@appliancehome. co.uk Write: Maverick House, 10 Pine Tree Avenue Groby, LE6 0EQ the site on bin collection day. The residents occupying plot 30 would have to travel the entire length of the development in order to have their bins emptied. This would result in an unacceptable situation of thirty plus bins on black bin day and sixty plus on recycling day being at the entrance to the site. 3. Flood risk and severe drainage issues. Much work has to be done yet with regards the drainage issues. Steve will be liaising with Jenny shortly on the history of the drainage as he used to work for Highways at the County Council and will provide further details on the recent survey carried out on behalf of Seven Trent that may help you. 4. Further evidence was gained with regards the potential for a badger sett and the wildlife on the site. 5. We are seeking clarification and answers from LCC to the boundary of the site to the rear of properties. We will report back in due course. How do I object? The easiest and quickest way to object is by visiting www.hinckley-bosworth. gov.uk and clicking the Planning Tab. Next, enter the application number 15/00767/OUT into the search box and follow the instructions how to submit an objection or your comments. You may also write to the Borough Council making sure to add the application number above, to your correspondence or pass you letter to Ted or me. We can’t stress enough that individual letters from each individual person in your property

Ted Hollick Call: 0116 287 5955 Mobile: 07962 373983 E-mail: ted.hollick@tesco.net Write: 7 Shaw Wood Close, Groby, LE6 0FY

is the best possible outcome, adjusted to your personal feelings.

Former Budgens A PLANNING application has been submitted to the Borough Council to divide the former Budgens store into two retail units. The Co-op are currently developing a new store in one of the units due to open on or around 1st October 2015.

Parking Issues Ratby Road, Groby MANY RESIDENTS have contacted us with regards cars that have started parking on the left hand side of Ratby Road, Groby towards the college. To do this they are having to park on and restrict most of the pavement. This causes a danger to pedestrians who are having to walk across residents’ gardens in order to safely use the pavement. Cllr Cartwright has been working with the Borough Council, Police and local businesses to try to resolve the issue. Whilst there are no yellow lines it is not possible to park legally in this location without blocking the road. We would appeal to those offenders who know who they are to stop this dangerous and irresponsible practice.

Scam E-mail A SCAM email is currently being sent to victims fraudulently claiming to

To Advertise in Groby Spotlight, contact Mike Wilkinson on 01530 244069 or email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk Make yourself indispensable at work by hiding everything.

The attached document or link leads to the TorrentLocker ransomware. This malware encrypts files on the victim’s system and requests a ransom be paid in order for the files to be decrypted; one reported amount has been £330 worth of Bitcoins. It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened. How to protect yourself • If you receive an email that you are suspicious of, do not follow any links or open attachments until you can verify that the email is genuine. To do this contact the organisation that the email has come from by sourcing the number independently from the email received. • If you believe the email to be fake, report it to your email provider as spam. • Ensure your anti-virus software is up to date. This will help to mitigate the potential for virus to be downloaded. It should be noted that anti-virus software is constantly being updated and may not stop all viruses especially if they are new or have been adapted. • If you have opened an attachment or followed a link which you believe to be suspicious it is recommended that you run your anti-virus and/or take your machine to a reputable company to have it cleaned. • In cases where files have been encrypted it can be very difficult to retrieve them, and in most cases they will be lost. It is recommended that you always back up all files on a separate device or cloud storage to ensure they are not lost. Please remember that if a device is attached to the infected machine the files on this could also be encrypted with the virus so ensure they are kept separate.

We Are Here To Help You SHOULD you have any comments or problems you would like us to mention in our articles please get in touch. Please remember if we can ever be of service to you or your family please do not hesitate to contact us, our details are listed above. Kind regards

Martin Cartwright & Ted Hollick

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Letter

Support this charity with a cup of coffee

Macmillan Coffee Morning at Studio J

Parking problems continue in Groby

SO GE SPOKESMAN Mark Elborn reports in the August Spotlight that the company is worried that if we were to exit the EU GE might have to move parts of their operations abroad. Does that mean we might be able to park outside our own homes? Industrial parking takes place from eight in the morning until five in the evening, every week day. I complained about bad parking and was told in no uncertain terms that they could park where they like, how they like and when they like and no one could stop them. What an attitude from a world wide company. We are told that the new clean room is the most advanced in the UK. What a pity that their attitude to their village car parking problem cannot be given the same priority.

W J Thornton, Groby

John Weston Wing Walk MANY THANKS to the readers of Spotlight who have made donations to my charity, (Alzheimer’s Society). The total to date is £1627.00

STUDIO J Hair & Beauty will be holding a MacMillan Coffee Morning for the third year running. It takes place on Monday 28th September from 2pm to 4pm, and they hope to welcome as many local residents as possible. There will be tea, coffee and cold drinks, cakes and cup cakes for sale, and you will be able to win prizes in various games and quizzes - all to help raise as much as possible for this very worthy cause. Make a date to call in and help this very worthwhile cause. Studio J is situated at the junction of Leicester Road and Newtown Linford Lane.

Health Fair at Belvoir Shopping Centre, Coalville Friday October 9th and Saturday 10th October, 10am to 4pm A HEALTH FAIR is being held in Coalville on the above dates. A number of health and voluntary organisations will be available to provide information on a whole range of health issues. If you are a carer who needs information or advice for you or your loved one, or someone who wants support in improving your health and wellbeing or just want to talk to someone about how to stay positive come and chat to the expert teams at this event. Members of the patient participation groups in the area will also be there to talk about your local GP practice.

Once in a while, someone amazing comes along... and here I am.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

County Councillor’s Report from Ozzy O’shea Bollards Groby Community College and Brookvale High School I HAVE worked with Highways officers in order to take measures to protect the students from dangerous parking outside both schools on the main Ratby Road. It would appear that some parents who drop off and pick up their children in their cars, seem to have little or no concern for the student’s safety. The problems exist both in the morning when the children are going to school, and exiting the school to go home in the afternoon. I have witnessed this first hand with officers when one lady mounted the pavement and drove up to us asking us to move whilst we were monitoring the situation. Following this the police attended and monitored the situation giving out warnings to several motorists that were committing an offence parking on the pavement and also causing a danger to children. The bollards will give the children a safe 20 metre crossing area

Parking issues Ratby Road, Groby I HAVE highlighted these parking issues before but it seems now to be an ongoing issue. I have received numerous complaints of people parking on the pavement along Ratby Road on the right hand side of the road as you come down the hill from the direction of Ratby. It is not only a danger to pedestrians who cannot pass by or have to walk on either people’s front lawns or the road, but disabled residents using mobility scooters or mothers with prams are unable to pass. Ratby Road has always had parking on the left hand side of the road coming into the village but is not wide enough to take parking on both sides of the road as it is one of the main roads into the village and a bus route. I have had a meeting with the Borough Policing Commander and also County Council Highways officers to discuss a way forward to prevent this dangerous situation continuing. Council officers have leafleted all the houses along this section of Ratby Road and the local police have also written to all households advising residents not to park in this manner. I would urge residents to park elsewhere in the interests of safety. The Police and County Council officers will monitor

this situation. I am reluctant to look at parking restrictions but this is a bus route and I will have to consider in the interests of safety if these issues do not improve.

Planning Application 15-00760/OUT: Land off Leicester Road/Bluebell Drive, Groby I HAVE been made aware of the above planning application which is an outline planning application for up to 30 houses off the old A50 road. The land is currently owned by the County Council. I have been made aware of the various issues regarding the land including flooding. Underneath the road there are various services and sewers. I will work with residents and members on this issue. Contrary to reports that I am not interested in this application, that could not be further from the truth. I would like to put the record straight: I have not been invited or notified of any meeting or site meeting held by the two Borough Councillors. I have spoken and emailed local residents and I have called in this application to be heard by the Borough Council’s planning committee. I too have serious concerns over this application and will not play party politics. I have even had a meeting with Nic Thomas, the head of the Borough Council’s planning department, explaining the residents’ concerns. He informed me that both of Groby’s Borough Councillors who represented Groby last year supported this site in the preferred Sites Allocations Document which went out to consultation in February last year and was passed by full Council in November last year. He also informed me that this application was not at all likely to be heard before October at the earliest. I am also aware the Parish Council also supported all 4 preferred sites for Groby, this site being one of them, in preference to Bloors site which was refused both on Appeal and at a Judicial Review. The previous Lib/Dem Administration imposed a total of at least 110 new houses to be built in Groby under the core strategy.

Groby at the Forefront of the New Administration’s Council House Building Programme. A NEW council house

building programme is being launched by the Borough Council. Changes to the way council housing is funded, which took place in 2012, have enabled the council to keep the rents paid by tenants for their homes. The funding that this provides is used to fund the council house service, and enables investment programmes to be undertaken. Priorities for investment include undertaking additional improvement programmes to existing council houses and to build new houses to meet the growing demand for social housing. One of the first schemes to be developed is a council bungalow scheme for up to 11 bungalows at Martinshaw Lane in Groby, which is scheduled for completion in December 2016. Councillor Chris Boothby, Executive Member responsible for Housing, Community Safety and Partnerships, who is working with me, in conjunction with the council, to deliver this muchneeded initiative, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to provide quality council housing in areas of need. “The current funding regime for council housing means that we can develop our services for existing tenants and help meet the need of future generations”. A five year development plan is being put together which will utilise land owned by the council and which will deliver approximately 40 council properties across the whole of the borough

Rental Fraud Targeting Empty Properties The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has received several reports of rental fraud whereby empty premises are being targeted and the locks are being changed for the purpose of adding legitimacy to a rental fraud. The suspect(s) will find and enter an empty property for the purposes of changing the locks and then advertising it on online platforms, such as Gumtree, as a rental property. The suspect(s) then invite interested victims to visit the property for a viewing. Those victims which are interested in renting the property are then requested to pay a deposit and/or rent upfront in cash. In some instances the victims have moved into the property only to be evicted by the real property owner,

I like to finish other people’s sentences because my version is better.

Tel 0116 2394336 or 07808 585825

Email: ozzyoshea@hotmail.com

or have found that the locks have been changed, once they have received the keys. There are several instances where this fraud has left victims homeless. Advice for property owners: • If you or someone you know currently has an empty property, encourage them to visit the property regularly to make sure that the locks have not been changed and no damage has occurred. Prevention Advice: • Avoid communication with only email or mobile phone, request to see the property owner and ask for valid ID. You can also check ownership of the property using the Land Registry. • The landlord will carry out their own due diligence and should request all of your details, references and proof that you will be able to afford to rent the property. Make sure that these checks are completed prior to paying a deposit / rent. Always view the property and the tenancy agreement before paying any upfront costs. If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk I would like to thank you all for your continued support and remind you that should you need my help or advice, I pride myself on making myself available to residents. Remember I am only a phone call or email away.

Ozzy O’shea Working for you

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Success for up and coming young rider LOCAL EVENT rider Chloe Pearson recently competed with her 6yr old sport horse ‘Garryduff Chacoa’ at the Stonar National Pony Club Intermediate Eventing Championships, set in the stunning grounds of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire.

The Championships ran from the 21-25th of August, and bring together the most talented young riders across the country, with each combination of horse and rider having to qualify at their own Area Competition. Chloe managed to score a good dressage score of 31.9 and then managed to get round the showjumping and cross country courses double clear picking up only 2 time penalties on the cross country. This year the cross country course was the decider, and determined the placings, with 200 competitiors setting out around the course and only 15 returning clear. Chloe said, ‘When I walked the course that morning I honestly thought that I would have to pull Chacoa up on the way round, he is still so young and inexperienced in the eventing field having only started this season, this course was a very big ask for him, it was a real championship course, but he gave me his all.’ At the end of the day, once the placings had been determined Chloe and Garryduff Chacoa finished as the National Reserve Champion - a massive achievement for the pair. A couple of weeks previous to this Chloe had competed at the British Eventing Horse Trials set at Cholmondeley Castle and had gain a 1-2, winning on 25.3 with Garrybritt Calvin (one of Chloe’s other horses) and coming 2nd on Garryduff Chacoa with 25.8. Later on this year Chloe will be representing the Midlands BE U18 event team due to being selected for her achievements this event season. Garryduff Chacoa will be her ride and they with compete against all the other regions in the UK at the BE 100 u18 Championships set at Weston Park from the 8-11th of October. Chloe is only 17 and is currently still doing her A-Levels at Loughborough High School and so manages to balance her time, if a little more towards the horses, to keep everything running well; she hopes to one day represent Great Britain on the event teams and compete in the prestigious 4**** events as this is her passion but also aims to gain a degree in Equine Science at Nottingham University.

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Groby Gardening Society News Annual Show AUGUST 22ND saw our annual village show at the village hall. Visitors had the chance to inspect a wonderful array of flowers, vegetable and fruit exhibits, plus a mouth-watering cookery and preserves section. In addition there were the marvellous handicraft and floral arrangement classes. Within the young persons’ exhibits was a class called “a decorated wooden spoon”. Some “private” entries were joined by a very welcome contingent from The Martinshaw School. Entries ranged from age 5 to 11 and they beautifully occupied an entire benched section. There will be more details, including award winners in the October edition of Spotlight.

Trip to the South West HOW LUCKY we were again for our three day trip to the south west! After decidedly dodgy weather prior to setting off, and some sneak previews of the forecasts, we were blessed with good weather for the whole of our trip. The consensus seemed to indicate that many thought this was our best-ever garden trip. It was certainly a ground-breaker for us, as the distances travelled were considerable. Our coach driver Andy proved to be wonderful and by the end of three days he seemed more like one of our party than merely the driver. Our comfort stop on the first morning was at Webb’s of Wychbold, just off the M5. This is a large garden centre with multiple attractions, including quality plant sections. Some indicated that they would re-visit Webb’s to enable them to have a more comprehensive delve into its delights. We then travelled on to Tyntesfield, where lovely sunny weather allowed us all to wallow in this National Trust treasure. Just a stone’s throw from Bristol, this house was not built as a bold and extravagant statement of wealth, power or politics. Its purpose was to act simple as a family home. Once hidden and inaccessible, the ordinary and extraordinary lives and possessions of four generations of the Gibbs family were ready for discovery. The garden and estate balanced faded beauty and function with an abundance of nature; celebrated in ornate gothic carvings that decorated the house. Flower filled terraces, an empty lake, woodland, champion trees and a productive kitchen garden were all present. The Victorian world of Antony Gibbs was celebrated within the house. He was an ordinary man with an extraordinary fortune, a man of vast riches but simple pleasures. He epitomised the Victorian age, fascinated by art, technology and travel. Similarities between this house and Cragside in Northumberland abounded. Not too long after leaving Tyntesfield we found ourselves at The Swan Hotel in Wells. Although this is an old building, being situated in the old part of Wells, it nevertheless satisfied our party on a number of fronts. The food and accommodation were excellent and the delights of Wells were on the hotel’s doorstep. A cosy bar proved popular with some as they unwound before dinner. Quaint public houses abounded and many of the shops were one-off, privately owned businesses rather than the common chain stores found in so many cities and towns. Opposite the hotel, some hundred or so years ago, a bakery was purchased by the hotel so that it could be demolished. The gap created now gives a magnificent view of the front of Wells cathedral as well as being an outdoor seating area for the hotel. Popular attractions visited during our leisure time in Wells included the cathedral and the Bishop’s palace gardens, complete with moat. The second day saw us make an early start on our lengthy journey to RHS Rosemoor. What a gem this turned out to be! The gardens were at their summertime best with herbaceous borders and rose beds alive with colours of the rainbow. The fruit and vegetable gardens were equally amazing and many of the party had never seen such wonderful produce as observed

A well-earned rest in “The Courts” here. Our dinner time at our hotel meant that our Rosemoor trip was but a taster and some vowed to return to spend more time exploring these intriguing acres. Another pleasant night was spent in our hotel before having a later start to our third day. This saw us journeying to The Courts Garden which, like Tyntesfield, is owned by The National Trust. The Courts is a delightful garden made up of numerous “rooms” and featuring a small lake and a watercourse. A lovely tea room served as a welcome sanctuary on a really warm afternoon, despite our large party stretching its catering facilities to the limit. We arrived back in Groby somewhat later than anticipated, thanks to numerous traffic hold-ups. Unsolicited remarks from many put this trip at the top of our overnight stays both in terms of the hotel and the gardens we visited. The committee would welcome any comments form members who travelled with the party.

August meeting AT OUR AUGUST meeting we were able to marvel at a demonstration of flower arranging by Sharon Badger. Involved in her local flower arranging club for 30 years, Sharon has been demonstrating for over half of these. During the evening she made an arrangement of wild flowers, a vegetable, fruit and flower composition and a couple involving magnificent lilies. Her wild flowers were positioned on top of a box which had been turned into an “insect hotel”. The use of giant sun flowers, much foliage, carrots, peppers and apples were beautifully arranged in a long wicker basket. A feature of Sharon’s style was her continual chatter to the audience. This made the demonstration very interesting as she covered much of her own gardening experiences as well as drawing comments and questions from the audience. To cap off an enthralling evening, Sharon donated all her work as raffle prizes and seven very satisfied members were seen struggling home with large, but lovely booty.

Future Meetings •

October 8th: “Plants for Everywhere” - Graham Jackson

•

November 12th: “Fragrance and colour in winter” - J. Amos

•

November 18th: Social meal at The Stamford (5.30pm)-signing board available at monthly meetings

•

December 10th: Christmas meal

If you like the sound of what we get up to, why not come along to a meeting and try us out. You will be most welcome. Our monthly meetings are held at 7.30pm on the second Thursday of the month in the United Reformed Church rooms on Chapel Hill. Details about membership and the events programme can be obtained from Eric Atherton. (Tel. No. 01162876637) or E mail e.atherton637@ btinternet.com

Alvar Johnson

People like crowds. The bigger the crowd, the more people show up. Small crowd, hardly anyone shows up.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

The children who grow BOOK SPOT with the National Forest Muzzy - My Story TREE PLANTING is progressing at the site acquired by the National Forest near the M1. Last winter saw the planting of 1800 native broadleaf trees in the north-eastern field, nearest to the Brookvale School grounds. School children from local primary schools planted about 600 trees and 500 trees were planted through the National Forest Company’s Plant-a-Tree scheme(www.nationalforest.org/sponsor/plantatree/). Another 160 were planted through the Grow-a-Tree from seed scheme(www.nationalforest. org/involved/seed.php). The rest were planted through local business sponsorship. “Planting is set to continue at this rate for the next 8 years or so, working gradually back towards the Groby Road,” explained Simon Greenhouse, a spokesperson for the National Forest. “This winter we will continue the planting in the field adjacent to Martinshaw Wood. The protracted planting schedule has been designed in order to allow maximum involvement opportunities to develop with Brookvale School. This will mean that youngsters entering the school will be able to be involved with the wood, participate in related activities and watch it develop as they progress through the school. The school children will be involved in naming the site in due course.” In the meantime the remainder of the site is to be let out to a local farmer to grow arable crops, but if anyone would like to participate in the Plant a Tree Scheme then they should do contact the National Forest Company via the link on the Plant a Tree page of their website www.nationalforest. org/sponsor/plantatree/

Norman Griffiths

Christmas Tree Festival ST PHILIP and St James Church Christmas Tree Festival will take place from 5th – 11th December. The Theme for this year is “Christmas Around the World” Everyone is welcome to join in this event by bringing along a tree decorated to this theme to be displayed in church. For more details please ring 0116 231 2070 or send email to chris.md@talktalk.net

By Muzzy Izzett

BORN IN 1974 to Turkish and English parents in London, MUZZY IZZET was a player who crossed the footballing divide. From an old school YTS upbringing and a prevalent hard drinking culture to the 21st century youth academies and a game awash with money, with the temptations afforded by greater celebrity and the perils of social media. Brought up at a pre-Roman Abramovich Chelsea, Muzzy’s was a harsh awakening to the reality of football, a future that might have been so different had a secret contract not have saved him from a possible footballing scrapheap. Runins with future England boss Glenn Hoddle followed, before unfashionable Leicester City took a chance on the raw midfielder. Managed by the enigmatic Martin O’Neill - the current Republic of Ireland manager has also penned the foreword - Leicester City sneaked into the play-offs from which they rose, to the Premier League. Muzzy never looked back. He became a Foxes legend, playing with and against some of the greatest players in the Premier League era, making over 300 appearances and winning two League Cups in the greatest period in the club’s history - although there were also lows, as he recounts ... A chance celebration with the flag of his father also became the starting point for an eventful international career with Turkey, playing at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup where he lined up against eventual world champions Brazil in the semi-final. In 2004, he moved on to Steve Bruce’s Birmingham City, where a horrific knee injury would bring an end to his career at the age of 31, robbing him of the chance of a dream end as a player, back home... With the Leicester Mercury’s award-winning feature writer Lee Marlow, Muzzy gives a searingly honest account of the highs and lows of life on and off the pitch, the tales from the dressing room, the characters and the controversies from one of the most eventful periods in the game.

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One thing my dogs and I have in common is that we never want me to go to work.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

RECYCLING CHARGES prepare to pay more next year Norman Griffiths hears that higher charges are likely LAST YEAR residents were warned that due to the withdrawal of County Council grants the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council was faced with introducing an annual charge for the collection of garden waste in 2015. The Borough managed to avoid this and continue financial support for recycling by transferring cash from the Planning budget, explaining that more fees than had been collected than anticipated. The immediate crisis was over but everyone knew that the issue would have to be revisited when budget forecasts for 2016 were being formulated. Further cuts in County Council grants mean that it is no longer just garden waste that is affected - the recycling of cans, bottles and paper in the blue bins is considered unsustainable without increased income to replace the County Council grants. At the September Parish Council meeting members were told that the Leader of the Borough Council had asked for the views of members regarding the financing of the service. They were asked to consider which of the 2 following options they would support 1. an optional annual charge for a brown bin, and an optional annual charge for a blue bin. The charge for each of the bins could be around £30 to £35 per annum meaning an increased outlay of up to £60/£70 for any household that wanted both, or

a flat rate addition to Council Tax which could be around £15 a year per dwelling which would retain the current service and may even expand and improve it. If this option was proceeded with, a referendum would be required as it would take the increase in bills above the Government set ceiling.

The disposal of household waste is considered by many to be one of the key services that local authorities offer. Members considered the two options and thought the flat rate was the most appropriate, with the cost being spread over all households. If the Borough Council decides to proceed with a flat rate option a referendum would follow to see whether the Council Taxpayers agree to an increase in tax rather than new charges for each recycling bin. Back in November 2014 the issue of charging was considered by the Scrutiny Commission at the Borough Council, and they considered two alternatives to put to residents - an optional £35 charge for the garden waste bin or the withdrawal of the service. Field Head resident Matthew Lay attended. He is a Borough Councillor for Markfield and also Vice Chair of Markfield Parish Council. He asked a series of questions about the consultation as he thought a third option had not been considered. He discovered that asking residents to opt in to the £35 garden waste collection required an extra annual administration charge

of around £150,000 to ensure the charging regime was effective. The cost of collecting all the unwanted bins would cost an additional £125,000 . And the £35 charge would include VAT. There was the risk that some of the garden waste would end up in the black bin or would result in fly-tipping, all creating additional costs for the local authorities. He then asked how much the cost would be for each household if the cost were to be added to the Council Tax bill and a universal service retained without the need to opt in. The answer was there would need to be a 10% increase on the Borough precept, which would mean an additional £10.08 per year for the average band D property. There would, of course, be referendum expenses of around £100,000, less than the cost of collecting redundant bins. Matthew’s third option sounds very much like option (2) that nine months later Groby Parish Council members favoured. But when he and Councillor Bessant proposed the third option in November it was rejected by a majority of other Scrutiny Commission members. Shortly afterwards the consultation was put on hold and in any event the use of the planning income windfall meant that there was temporary relief from any charges increase, albeit temporarily.

Sometimes I can’t tell if my son is a lot like me or if I’m a lot like a 4 year old.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Elizabeth Woodville School News Elizabeth Woodville plays starring role at Leicester Mercury School Awards!

to the final 3 at the Leicester Mercury School Awards for ‘Inspirational Teacher’ for his dedication to creative teaching. An example being the dance performance above that Mr Coleman devised and directed to open the evening. Although he narrowly missed out on winning, this is a fantastic accolade, well done Mr Coleman!

Warburtons visit! THE DAY was filled with a range of activities which included making bread, blind taste testing and a scientific experiment to find out why yeast is used in bread making. All the pupils went home with their own freshly baked and designed roll, a good understanding of the ‘science’ of bread making and a taste for new flavours of bread.

Year 1 and 2 visit Warwick Castle IN JULY our year 1 and 2 pupils headed off to Warwick Castle as part of their theme ‘Castles’. During the day they took part in a variety of activities. They solved the mystery in the Princess’ Tower, watched a brilliant bowman show and enjoyed a hilarious Horrible Histories show. They were even treated to a birds of prey demonstration during lunchtime!

An Evolution of Dance DUE TO the stellar performance of our talented Year 5 pupils’ ‘in their spectacular Evolution of Dance’ assembly, we were asked to open the prestigious Leicester Mercury School Awards. The class performed their dance on stage in front of over 100 guests and stole the show! Over the course of a complex 10 minute performance, children performed dance routines from the 1400s to the present day, wowing the invited VIPs and award nominees. At the end our pupils received a well deserved standing ovation for their incredible display! As a reward for their efforts, Mr. Pridmore and the governors provided the children with a trip to Megazone and Abbey Park during the day to celebrate. We are very proud of their achievement!

Elizabeth Woodville’s Inspirational Teacher Finalist – Well done Mr Coleman WE ARE also incredibly proud of our year 5 teacher and Assistant Head Mr Coleman who made it through

Elizabeth Woodville Serves Breakfast AT THE END of the summer term the school encouraged all parents who usually drive to school to park and stride. Two parking areas were set up and walking buses were formed. Teachers, parents and children alike walked the short distance to school and were rewarded afterwards with breakfast.

Children Enjoy the Big Pedal Prize AS A REWARD for winning the Big Pedal event in Leicestershire, Get Out There MTB brought a mountain biking experience to the school. The children got the opportunity to ride around a purpose built bike obstacle course on either a bike or scooter, developing their off-road skills supported by trained coaches. The teachers also had a go, with everyone making it round the track without falling off!

My daughter wanted a Cinderella themed birthday party, so I invited All of her Friends over and made them clean the house.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

All the latest news from Groby WI ELEVEN of our members set out along the M1 to beautiful Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire. On arrival they were taken on a tour around the facilities. Then a quick change into bathing costumes and off to take over the Jacuzzi. Lunch time was a tasty three course lunch followed by a visit to the whispering room for a rest. Back for a second trip to the spa and swimming pool when it was time for a pot of tea whilst waiting for a back massage or facial which were heavenly. After these ‘beauty’ treatments they returned to their luxury bedrooms to get ready for dinner. All met up in one bedroom where a few bottles of wine amazingly appeared, and this was followed by a wonderful three-course dinner. After working so hard all were in bed by 10.00p.m. to dream about breakfast. Everyone had so much fun and was very sad when it was over. It may not be the last visit. ‘Keep Young and Beautiful‘ was Claire Orbell’s demo at our September meeting. She was certainly a good advert for her lifestyle; slim, trim and very flexible. Surveying the members, and noting that the average was less than 80 plus, gave her hope. It was a relief to me that the exercises would be done sitting down because standing would require more space. The necessary warm-up came first: this is important if the workout is done first thing in the morning. At 8pm she thought we should be well-oiled. An unfortunate turn of phrase but, without doubt, a small tipple would be enjoyed by some of us when we arrived home exhausted. “Sit up straight to get a good view of George Clooney’ we were told,

Newbold Verdon Jazz Club THE NEXT event is on Friday 2nd October when the internationally known band from Denmark, Doc Houlind’s Revival All Stars, will be entertaining us with their traditional Dixieland jazz. Usual place and time – Newbold Verdon Social Club at 8.00pm admission £9. For more details please contact Kelvin on 01455 822824 or Pauline on 0116 2865496.

I am not sure about that, depends upon your own private fantasies! Claire then took us through four sections of her programme: Aerobics to raise the heartbeat, strengthening, toning and coordination which involved a baton. With practice, I did wonder if we could form a mature Cheer Leaders Group? Short skirts and pom-poms would have to be part of the act and the skittles match would be an ideal venue. When the whole programme was done at the normal speed of the music, confusion reigned for a while, but we got there in the end. ‘Active Exercise for Older Adults’ was a very sensitive title. The Village Show which combined both the WI and the Garden Club was a great success. Of course the WI’s bit was taking care of refreshments with plenty of cakes and numerous cuppas being served. Our members had new sashes to wear, made by a few of our talented ladies, so along with pretty pinnies they looked very smart. As well as serving the afternoon teas and cakes, three ladies undertook to do the lunches for the Judges and officials, the WI can be counted on to do their bit. As for the Show, our own Kay Blick was awarded the most points in show. Kay continually over the years has done wonderfully well but I am sure that it is down to her hard work. There were loads of entries for the easy fruit cake, mine included, but there was a great debate on the Victoria sponge recipe. I must say, however, that the one entry which was most admired was by the children of Martinshaw. Well done children - and, of course, staff - your entries were wonderful.

Evelyn and Margaret

Residents save nearly £300 on their energy bills

RESIDENTS who took part in the first energy switching scheme organised by the Borough Council this spring saved an average of £291 on their energy bills. And the good news for those who are keen to get a better deal on their energy is that the second round of the scheme is now underway. Residents in Hinckley & Bosworth can sign up for free, with no obligation, to tell the council they are interested in switching suppliers to save money. Businesses currently on a domestic tariff are also eligible to sign up. The more people who sign up, the better deal everyone will get. Anyone can sign up until 12 October 2015. On 13 October, iChoosr (the company which has been selected to facilitate the switching process) will run an auction asking energy suppliers to bid for the collective business of everyone who signs up. After 13 October, iChoosr will contact everyone who has signed up individually with an offer of an energy tariff based on their usage. This will outline how much they will save by switching to the winning energy provider. Residents then choose whether or not to sign up to the new supplier. There is no obligation to change if residents choose not to, but they have a few weeks to accept the offer. They will then be contacted by the new supplier to arrange switching. The scheme will take care of the switching process and there will be no interruption of the gas and electricity supply at any time. Even those on a pre-payment meter can sign up to the scheme, provided they are not in more than £500 of debt to their current supplier. Councillor Chris Boothby, the Borough Council’s Executive Member responsible for Housing, said: “We know that rising energy prices are an increasing concern for residents. We also know that many people would get a better deal on their energy by switching providers, so the more people who join the collective scheme, the better deal that everybody gets.” Those interested in registering an interest should visit www.hinckleybosworth.gov.uk/switchandsave. The following details will be needed to complete their registration: • Name, address and contact details. • The name of their current energy supplier(s) and current tariff plan(s). • Their current consumption in kWh or spend – this information will be on their energy bill. Up to five households can be registered on the same email address, which means people can help out a neighbour or friend who does not have access to the internet or email. Alternatively, those who do not have access to the internet, can call 01455 255988 to register their interest. For more information visit www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk or call 01455 255988.

Bowls 4 Free At Carlton Indoor Bowls Club DAILY SESSIONS: Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October Hours: 10.00 - 12.00 and 2.00 - 4.00 and 7.00 - 9.00 Sunday Morning Coaching open to all anytime. See you at Enderby Leisure Centre!

I’m woman enough to admit when you’re wrong

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

SPECIAL AIDS FOR SPECIAL PROBLEMS

REMAP - The Charity with the CAN DO Attitude HAVING a disability can be frustrating enough but when that person or their carer finds they are unable to achieve a goal in their life because the adaptation, gadget or equipment they need is not commercially available then the frustration and disappointment mount. That is where REMAP steps in. We design, adapt or make equipment to enable disabled people to: live more independent lives, manage their own personal care, enjoy sport or hobbies or make caring for someone easier. From a simple device for a one handed person to hang out washing to a highly sophisticated electronic gadget to enable a quadriplegic young man to play computer games. A skilled team of engineers, technicians, carpenters and IT wizards will work tirelessly to conjure up the adaptation that is right for YOU. Anyone can ask for our help and it is all delivered free of charge!. For more info on booking a talk, making a request for help or joining us as a volunteer, please email me: judywynne@hotmail.co.uk or give me a call on 01530 231431 And have a look at our website: http://www.remapleics.org.uk

Newtown Linford Scarecrow Festival Weekend

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During that weekend, the village will come to life, showcasing an array of scarecrows, on display in front gardens and in our new ‘scarecrow patch’. In addition, there will be activities throughout the weekend, such as Morris dancers, our school fete, and stalls selling various items. The village will be buzzing with people, so why not take the opportunity to enjoy a stroll in our beautiful Newtown Linford and go for a walk through some enchanting English countryside. The scarecrows are on display all Saturday and Sunday and programmes will be available to guide you through the village providing further details on the various scarecrows. The scarecrows are judged and prizes are awarded at the end of the festival. The public is invited to vote for their favourite scarecrow – the programme will include a voting form. We would love you to get involved in the judging of the ‘people’s choice’. The local school holds their school fete on Saturday 26th September. On Sunday, the village hall will be the centre of the festival with various stalls and serving refreshments. We look forward to seeing you at the festival.

Beate and Chris

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My favourite of all the gardens is definitely the beer.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

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Village Hall

GROBY VILLAGE HALL Committee are very pleased to announce the completion of the newly refurbished kitchn at the Hall. It has been supplied and fitted by locally based Groby Kitchens. The new kitchen includes an electric dual oven. microwave, full size fridge and plenty of work surfaces. This has been made possible by a generous grant from the Big Lottery Fund. The committee strive very hard to maintain the Village Hall to a high standard. In the near future all the lighting will be updated and the outside of the building is to be repointed. Plans are also being drawn to allow disabled access to the front of the building. The Village Hall is a registered charity and is run by a hard working team of volunteers and relies on grants and hire fees to maintain this very special building. The Committee are always keen to welcome new members who would like to help run this building for the benifit of the local community. The Committee meet once a month on the first Thurday of the month at 7.30pm at the Village Hall. If you are interested in becoming involved please ring the secretary on 0116 2245479. The Village Hall is corrently very well used by various local groups for activities as varied as dance, under 5s preschool, drama group, art group, Tai Chi, coffee mornings and WI. The Hall is also used for functions such as wedding receptions, birthday parties and of and of course the annual village show. If anyone is interested in using the Village Hall for a local group or an event, please contact the Booking Secretary on 07873 722521 or email grobyvillagehall@mail.com

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At the end of the day, life should ask us, Do you want to save the changes?

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Apollo Astronaut Visits Space Centre on 24 September

Groby Street Fair: replace entertainers with talent contest? Norman Griffiths reports on the Parish Council debate AN APPLICATION for financial help for the Groby Street Fair led to the finances of the organisation being put under the spotlight at the September meeting of the Parish Council.

THE NATIONAL Space Centre is delighted to offer a free opportunity to sit back in the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium and listen to the stories of Apollo astronaut Walt Cunningham. This one hour session will include 30 minutes of questions and answers from the audience. On October 11, 1968, Walt Cunningham occupied the lunar module pilot seat for the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7 - the first manned flight test of the third generation United States spacecraft. The 263-hour, four-and-a-half million mile shakedown flight was successfully concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown occurring in the Atlantic - some eight miles from the carrier ESSEX (only 3/10 of a mile from the originally predicted aiming point). Prior to and following the Q&A there will be an opportunity to meet Walt in a book signing session. To find out more, or to book your FREE seat, please visit the NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE website.

Parking clampdown A DRIVE to tackle unsafe parking has seen 1,853 motorists ticketed over the last month across Leicestershire. Leicestershire County Council has revealed how it is taking enforcement action against people who park in contravention of parking restrictions, such as double yellow lines - posing a potential road safety hazard. Over the last year, the council raised £735,645 from fines and, once the costs of running the enforcement service was taken into account, the council made a loss of £792.

The task facing members was complicated by the fact that although the recent 2015 event lost money for the first time they did not have access to the current accounts, only earlier years. One of the Street Fair Committee, who is also a Parish Council member, explained that as the application had been put in before the Fair the 2015 accounts were not available. The reason for a grant application whilst there was cash in the bank was queried and he explained that the Fair needed to start the new year with cash in hand as some expenses had to be paid before income was received. It was agreed that any decision would be deferred until the October meeting to give the Street Fair Committee time to provide a more up to date financial statement. The Chairman said the account would be gone through with a fine tooth comb and questions would be asked on specifics as there were members who had expressed concerns on how the money was being spent. The 2015 loss was largely attributed to a late and unexpected expense, the cost of hiring a stage for the entertainment. It was the cost of providing entertainment which was the subject of some controversy. Entertainers incur expenses to appear at the Fair and so receive a payment to offset the costs they incur. With regard to the legitimacy of paying expenses it was argued that it was reasonable as the entertainers may have travelled from across the county. Some of the acts had many performers and these included the big band and scouts marching band. The Chairman thought that local people should be pleased that they have a platform to showcase themselves. He suggested that it needs a bit more creative thinking and it could be cheaper to run the entertainment as a talent competition with the entrants paying their own expenses. One member said that the village needed the Street Fair but its position on a sloping site said made it difficult for elderly people. With regard to the expenditure for tables and chairs she thought that Groby Village Hall and other organisations would probably be happy to lend tables if asked, though the Chairman thought that this was an issue for the internal management of the Fair. A spokesperson for the Street Fair said that no acknowledgement of the application had yet been received from the Parish Council and it would be inappropriate to make any comment until after the Council raised with the Committee any queries or concerns that members may have.

Signs of our times? When you know what they meant, but…! • • • •

• • •

Toilet out of order. Please use floor below. In a Laundromat: Automatic Washing Machines. Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out. In a London department store: Bargain Basement upstairs. In an office: Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please bring it back, or further steps will be taken. In an office: After the tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board. Notice in health food shop window: Closed due to illness. Spotted in a safari park: Elephants, please stay in your car.

Groby Village Society

Preservation - Conservation Communal Interests

Programme 2015 Thursday September 24 Injustice or Justifiable Dr John Sutton Thursday October 22 ‘Ark at our Peter Mrs Ruth Coward Thursday November 26 Henry V and Agincourt Mrs Sally Henshaw Thursday December 10 “National Trust in the East Midlands” Mr Alan Tyler Meetings are held at Groby Village Hall Starting at 7.30pm. For Further Details, Contact Hon. Secretary Mr. P. Castell Tel. 0116 287 9842 e-mail:- groby.villagesociety@ tiscali.co.uk Non Members are Welcome

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

The Bricklayer’s Arms 213 Main Street Thornton T: 01530 230 808 QUIZ Nite: Thursdays We now have SKY and BT Sports Multi Screen. Ask about our new menus! www.bricklayersarms.net The Club, Thornton Main Street. T: 01530 230251 Open To Non-members Sat 19th Sept: To Be Arranged Sat 26th Sept: To Be Confirmed Sat 3rd Oct: THE BONEYARD BLUES BAND Fri 16th Oct: REBEL ROCK Rock N Roll DJ Sat 17th Oct: FINDING GEORGIA Band Sky & BT Sports Free Room Hire Available For Your Perfect Party - Bingo Every Tuesday Evening - View Our Website On www.facebook.com/ TheThorntonClub Bagworth Working Men’s Club, Station Road, Bagworth. Tel. 01530 230205 Find us on FACEBOOK search Bagworth WMC New members welcome. Sat 19th Sept: SOCIAL DANCE - £2 entry Fri 25th Sept: CHARITY SOCIAL DANCE in aid of Macmillan Nurses - Tickets £2.50 - tel: 01530 230467 Sat 24th Oct: SOCIAL DANCE Sat 14th Nov: SOCIAL DANCE Fri 20th Nov: CHARITY DANCE - Tickets £2.50 Sat 19th Dec: SOCIAL DANCE Thurs 31st Dec: SOCIAL DANCE Every Tuesday night - TARGET SHOOTING - call for details

Jottings Every Monday night: DOMINOES - only £1.50 entry, which includes supper. Bargain! Live entertainment – last Saturday of the month Bingo & Raffle every Wednesday and Saturday Andy’s Charity Quiz £1.50 each - last Friday of the month - and RAFFLE - with excellent prizes. Sequence dances Sunday Nights with live organist - £2.00 admission 8 pm Tea Dance Wednesday afternoon 2 – 4 pm. £1 admission. Ask about our FREE ROOM HIRE for those special family occasions.

The Field Head Hotel Markfield Lane, Markfield Tel: 01530 245454 The Queen’s Head Ashby Road, Markfield. T: 01530 242 496 ALL SKY SPORTS & BT SPORTS All live TIGERS games. The Bull’s Head Forest Road, Markfield T: 01530 242541 Garden & Pub Games etc. POKER NIGHT - Tuesdays starts at 8pm The Coach & Horses Leicester Road, Field Head Tel: 01530 242 312 Groby Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Leicester Road, Groby Tel: 0116 287 1809 SEE ADVERT ON PAGES 16 & 17 www.grobyclub.co.uk

News in Brief with Norman Griffiths

Land behind Victoria Cottages SO OFTEN one hears a piece of news which says something is going to happen and much later realises that all has gone quiet on the subject. The land off Martinshaw Lane behind Victoria Cottages is a little like that, but it has been possible to get an update from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council about the development. “The council aims to develop nine one and two bedroom bungalows on the site within the next year, subject to planning consent,” said a spokesperson, “We will be able to provide more information in due course as the scheme progresses.”

Co-operative Pharmacy re-branded as Well READERS who use the Co-operative Pharmacy on Ratby Road will be aware that following the acquisition by the Bestway Group of the pharmacy business from the Co-op the outlet has at last been re-branded as Well Pharmacy. The company is the the largest pharmacy chain in Wales, and the third largest in the UK. Pharmacies have access to your personal information and the company reassures customers that they will continue to process your personal information in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and their privacy policy. Their Data Protection registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office and Company Registration with Companies House has been updated to reflect this. If you have any questions about the change you can contact the company by emailing yourexperience@pharmacy.co.uk. or alternatively by writing to the Pharmacy Superintendent, Pharmacy Superintendent’s Team, Merchants Warehouse, Castle Street, Castlefield, M3 4LZ. Or you could drop in the pharmacy and ask the local pharmacist first.

Field head housing access crosses Parish Council land GROBY and Markfield Parish Councils are having discussions about how they can work together in responding to the planning application by Taylor Wimpey for 140 houses on land south of Jacqueline Drive at Field Head. One suggestion is that the cost of legal representation is shared between the two parish councils in the same way that Ratby and Groby co-operated over the Bloors Homes application next to Groby cemetery. Although members agreed in principle the Council will make an assessment of the financial implications before a decision is made. One complication at Field Head is that the developer has shown access to the site over land which is owned by Groby Parish Council. The Chairman told members that if this is the only access available then the Parish Council has control over whether or not the development takes place. The terms of the current agricultural access will need clarification as the developer has indicated that they would use this as access to the pumping station for the Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme(SUDS) for the site.

Next Film Night at LFE LFE Film Evenings will be showing on Thursday 3 October 2015 “Imitation Game”. Category: Drama/Thriller [4*], UK 2014, (PG13). The true story of how, during the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine, and thereby help the Allies win the war. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance. Running time: 1hr. 50min. Venue: the Parish Hall, Kings Drive, LFE. Cost: £5. Doors open at 7.00pm when complimentary hot drinks with biscuits will be provided. The show starts at 7.30pm prompt.

It’s hard to diet when your favourite exercise is chewing.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Tesco scam email IN RECENT issues of the Spotlight there have been warnings about the activities of fraudsters, and here is another to add to the list. You may be pleased to receive an email which claims to be from Tesco advising you that you have been selected to win a £500 Tesco voucher. Don’t click the link, just delete the email immediately, as it isn’t from the supermarket. “ I can confirm that this is certainly not an email from Tesco,” said a spokesperson. “I have passed a copy of this email to our Business Risk Department who will investigate the origins of this phishing scam and do everything possible to prevent these types of emails from being sent. For further information on how to spot if an email being sent from us is genuine, please follow this link: http://www.tescobank.com/personal/ finance/security/genuine-tb-email.html”

Support for Klondyke proposal THE SUGGESTION that the Klondyke could become a new home for Groby Juniors Football Club, discussed at the August Parish Council meeting, has now been considered by their committee. “At a recent meeting of Groby Juniors FC, Managers and the Committee voted unanimously to investigate fully the opportunity to acquire the Klondike to become the Club’s new site,” said a spokesperson for the Club. “However there are many unknowns about the condition and landscape of the site that require in depth investigations. The results of these investigations, along with the site’s clearance, will be required in order for it to be a viable option for us. In the meantime we are, with the assistance of a representative of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, looking at the options available for funding in order to progress this potentially exciting opportunity.”

Love Groby Saturdays

Are your double glazed windows STEAMED UP or

IF YOU missed the Love Groby catering team at the URC on Chapel Hill on Saturday the 12th you may have thought they were taking a well earned rest. Far from it – they were supporting the new Community Library Trust by serving beverages at the Open Day. They’ll be back at the church on September 19th and plan to be there every week up to Christmas.

Budgens refit WORK ON the refurbishment of the Budgens store by the Co-operative is now well advanced. Local residents are losing their large supermarket as the floorspace is being reduced. Although the Co-op won’t comment the new size should mean it qualifies as a small store which allows it to operate extended opening hours on Sundays. A separate unit is being created but the Co-op is not responding to enquiries about their plans for the store or an opening date.

Norman Griffiths

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Ambitious plan for Groby Club approved Norman Griffiths looks at the Planner’s report

HE LOOK of the centre of the village is set to change following the approval by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council of plans to improve the facilities of Groby Club at the junction of Leicester Road and Newtown Linford Lane. The scheme includes the demolition of the first floor brick and tile structure with a pitched roof that forms the central element of the club and the construction of a first floor flat roofed extension to provide a function room with bar and toilet facilities, a snooker room and the formation of a disabled lift. The proposed extension would result in remodelling of the club and the creation of a flat ‘sedum’ roof. There were officer concerns in relation to the extent, height and design of the first floor extension and its potential impact on the setting of the adjacent listed building and the amenities of neighbouring properties, as well as the potential for noise and disturbance from the proposed function room. The club has responded with amended plans to address the issues raised. The site is located close to the centre of Groby and residents will be familiar with the look of the club at present - a mixture of a two storey pitched slate roof and a flat roof. The assessment by the Planning department at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council says that the building is identified in the Groby Conservation Area Appraisal as an unlisted building of local historic or architectural importance. However, the appraisal offers no justification as to why it is so identified. A site visit indicated that that roof thrust has pushed the front elevation wall out of verticality and the supporting documentation raises questions as to the integrity of the structure.

Approximately 80 percent of the ground floor of the building has been removed during previous alterations. The dual pitched slate roof is considered the most significant part of the building, being constructed of traditional materials. But officers believe that its loss would not have a significant detrimental impact on the character of the Groby Conservation Area. Concerns raised regarding the structural integrity of the building could provide justification for its removal and no objection to the loss of the structure is raised. The demolition of the existing brick and tile pitched roof core and its replacement with a much larger, though lower in overall height, first floor extension with a flat roof would alter the overall character and appearance of the building. The amended scheme would reflect the more contemporary character of the single storey flat roof section of the building and the use of sympathetic, though nontraditional, materials would result in a comprehensive re-modelling of the building and a coherent and unified appearance that the site currently lacks. The planners concluded that notwithstanding the objections received the amended scheme would not result in any significant harm to the character or appearance of the site or street scene and would preserve the character and appearance of the Groby Conservation Area. They also thought that the proposal would not be over dominant or overbearing on the adjacent Grade II listed building at 12 Leicester Road.

No adverse impact on residential amenity Objections had been received that the scheme would have an adverse impact on residential

amenity as a result of potential noise and disturbance from the use of the function room and balcony on the first floor at the front of the building, loss of privacy from overlooking from the proposed balcony and loss of light to gardens. Environmental Health (Pollution) initially raised concerns in respect of the proposed balcony and opening bi-fold doors on the front elevation of the scheme at first floor. However, following the receipt of amended plans that have removed these proposals from the scheme and replaced them with fully enclosed fixed windows, Environmental Health (Pollution) have removed their objection. A condition is recommended to control the glazing specification of the fixed windows to limit noise escape from the function room and afford adequate protection to residential amenity. Subject to the scheme being constructed in accordance with a satisfactory window and glazing specification, the proposal is unlikely to result in any adverse impacts on residential amenity from undue noise or disturbance to surrounding properties. The amended scheme has relocated the proposed first floor extension and removed the proposed balcony and opening bifold doors from the front elevation of the scheme. The amended scheme now proposes fixed windows that would be offset from the rear garden of the neighbouring property and face towards the car park of the club so that there would be no adverse overbearing or overshadowing impacts or loss of privacy from direct overlooking to the rear of No. 12. There are no windows proposed in the side elevation that would result in loss of privacy and the proposed porthole windows in the rear (south) elevation are to be obscurely glazed and non-opening therefore the scheme would not result in any adverse impacts on

the amenities of the occupiers of Rookery Lane from loss of privacy from overlooking. There are no windows in the east side elevation that would result in a loss of privacy from overlooking to the occupiers of 1 The Rookery. The proposal would not result in any adverse impacts on the amenities of any other neighbouring properties.

Parking problems Parking in the village is always an issue and objections were received on the grounds of inadequate parking provision to serve the new function room. This could result in additional on-street car parking around the site. The proposed parking plan submitted would provide a total of 18 parking spaces including one disabled space, but there is no potential to further increase parking provision on site. With regard to parking the conclusion was that “it is considered that the cumulative impacts of the development are unlikely to be severe to the extent that the application should be refused on highway safety grounds. There are parking restrictions in streets adjacent to the site. The provision of an enhanced facility for use by the community is considered to outweigh any negative impacts from potential on-street car parking.” Some residents will be sad to see this change to the centre of Groby but others may feel that the alterations and the new sedum roof will improve the street scene and will be compatible with the look of the library which is opposite the site. No information is available on the proposed timescale for the alterations. This article is a summary of the report to the Planning Committee. The full report is available on the Borough Council website best found by entering the application reference (15/00430/FUL) into Google.

If you’d like to advertise in the Spotlight, contact Mike Wilkinson on 01530 244069 or email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk My wife is finally starting to accept me for who she wants me to be.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

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Wave of Light for International Baby Loss Remembrance Day. There will be a short, informal gathering to remember in silence, words and the lighting of candles those babies who have died in miscarriage, still birth or infancy. All families and friends are welcome. 6.30—7.15pm at St. Philip and St. James church, Markfield Road, Groby LE6 0FL

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Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

Birthstone Wordsearch

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The September Birthstone is SAPPHIRE

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If you can find 12 types of Birthstone in this issue’s Wordsearch puzzle, you could win yourself a meal and a drink. This month we are offering a tasty prize of: A Main Course for Two, plus A Bottle of House Wine at The Fieldhead Hotel. Solutions for Districts Free Resources To go into the draw, all you have to do is find - and mark a line through - 12 varieties of Birthstone. These can run vertically, horizontally or diagonally (and backwards!).

Q L X H F R G E O A D S O E E Z J

A H Y I E F G K S T J O E N O P V

B S W P E T I N A Z N A T R S J H

T D U T A I E M E R A L D A K H R

O Z W D R H Y Z K L C N W G T Z S

U L N U B A M U W W R V A I S U Q

M H B Q H Y Z B A B I A V B F J U

Y Y O I O A Z A P O T F E L J T U

T K J T H Q I X E D K L A P X L R

Send your entry to: DESTINY, Groby & Field Head Spotlight, PO Box 8, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9ZT to arrive by WEDNESDAY 7th OCTOBER 2015. Remember to include your name and address. The first all-correct entry drawn out of the Editor’s Trilby will win the Meal for Two at The Fieldhead Hotel. Good luck! Here are the twelve BIRTHSTONES you have to find:

GARNET • AMETHYST • AQUAMARINE • DIAMOND EMERALD • PEARL • RUBY • PERIDOT SAPPHIRE • TOURMALINE • TOPAZ • TANZANITE Name: ................................................................................................. Address: ................................................................................................ .................................................................Postcode: .............................

Last Issue’s Wordsearch Winner The winner of last issue’s Wordsearch competition was: CAROL JAMES of Dane Hill, Ratby Your prize - a Voucher for a Main Course for Two plus a Bottle of House Wine at The Fieldhead Hotel will be sent to you soon.

Glenfield Millennium Green News

AMETHYST AQUAMARINE DIAMOND EMERALD GARNET PEARL PERIDOT RUBY SAPPHIRE TANZANITE TOPAZ TOURMALINE

IT HAS BEEN a quiet summer for community events on the Green although there were plenty of individuals and families using it during the school holidays.

Created by Puzzlemaker

There was no Picnic on the Green this year as it was difficult to find a suitable day when a lot of people would be likely to come. The Jubilee year celebrations led to the most successful picnic, in terms of attendance, and perhaps the birthday of Queen Elizabeth next year might be a popular time to organise another. Let us know what you think about this or let us have ideas for other community events you would like to see happening. We need help in organising and running events on the Green and fundelsewhere. Ideally the Charitable Trust which runs the Green, and atraising DiscoveryEducation.com sees to the upkeep, would like to have more Trustees –we only have five at present. If you feel you would like to consider becoming a Trustee you can phone the Chairman (David Lancaster) for more details on 0116 2332159. If you do not feel able to commit to becoming a Trustee then why not volunteer to help at regular events such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Plant Sale, Garden Party etc. Our next community event on the Green will be on Saturday October 24th when we will be planting more daffodils in the Marie Curie Field of Hope. Come and join us from 10.30am - we are usually finished by midday. Or join one of our monthly gardening sessions on Saturday mornings. The last two for this year are on October 3rd and November 7th.

Christine Tordoff (Secretary)

If you enjoy reading the Spotlight, please pass it on to a friend or relative after you’ve finished with it. Thanks! I wanted to lose 10 pounds this year. Only 13 to go.

Groby & Field Head Spotlight • SEPTEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069 • Email: info@grobyspotlight.co.uk

APPLE DAY in Groby! Sunday 11th Oct at the village hall

Every Saturday morning Catch meets for play, craft, story & chat for pre-school children with a parent or carer. Back in September! 9.30-11.30am, at the URC. CHURCH OPEN FOR PRAYER Need a space to step aside for a while? You can be alone, maybe write and leave a prayer request, you can speak with someone who will pray with you or just use some of the prayers and readings available. Saturdays 10.30-12noon St. Philip & St. James Church, Markfield Road LE6 0FL

We meet at the United Reformed Church: - for 6’s to 14’s on Mon evenings at 3.45pm, 6.30pm or 7.45pm - for 15-18’s on Wed evenings at 7.30pm - for 15-18’s on Fri at 7.30pm All of these activites, along with our work in schools, are provided by the two churches in Groby under the group name EXTEND.

Fair Cuppa:

an opportunity to meet with friends at the village hall. Every Thursday, 10.30-12.00noon For further information please see websites and church magazines St. Philip and St. James www.bradgateteam.org.uk Revd. Louise Corke 231 3090 United Reformed Church www.grobyurc.com Revd Sue McKenzie 232 1733 Youth Worker Ruth Cross 07759 087804

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