Citylife in Rugeley July 2018 by Citylife In Lichfield

Inside... July 2018

Welcome to CITYLIFE

Welcome to CITYLIFE in Rugeley, a monthly magazine bringing you our pick of the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news, events and stories. Each month CITYLIFE in Rugeley is delivered to 11,000 businesses and homes in Rugeley, Ravenhill, Etchinghill, Slitting Mill, Armitage, Handsacre, Colton, Hill Ridware and Hamstall Ridware, completely free of charge; bringing you the best that the area has to offer. Each issue features heritage stories exploring the rich history of our area, plus competitions, interviews and the latest in fashion and style. Got a story or charity event you want to share with our readership? Think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve snapped an image that captures the spirit of the region? We want to hear from you!

10 Tastes of the Season Simon Smith introduces a dish that celebrates the season 14 A Window on the Past Taking the Train

20 MenaFest A music festival in honour of an amazing young woman 24 Unearthing History Gary Starkey's Detecting Diaries

28 Life at Hawkesyard By The Landor (Local History) Society 30 Rugeley Charter Fair In pictures!

CITYLIFE Contacts Editor - Joss Musgrove Knibb 07833 735048

josscitylife@gmail.com

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Steve Brown 07740 166497 stevebrowncitylife@gmail.com Rebecca Hill 07970 513144 rebeccahillcitylife@gmail.com Production - Helen Smith 07967 154187 helencitylife@gmail.com Citylife In Lichfield Ltd PO Box 7126 LICHFIELD WS14 4JS CITYLIFE in Lichfield and CITYLIFE in Rugeley magazines are not connected to any other publication or publisher, and are wholly owned by CITYLIFE in Lichfield Ltd. Citylife In Rugeley

Citylife in Rugeley does not endorse any business or organisation appearing in these pages, and the publication of any advertisement, editorial, event listing or advertising editorial does not constitute an endorsement by Citylife in Rugeley or Citylife in Lichfield Ltd.

My Month in Parliament By Amanda Milling MP

The month since my last update has been very busy. My office has been inundated with complaints about the charges introduced by Chase District Council on town centre businesses that have A-boards, displays and tables and chairs outside their businesses. These charges have hit three of the town centres in the district, with Rugeley in particular feeling a noticeable impact. I have started a petition against the charges by the Council. The petition will be presented to the Council in the hope they will abolish these charges and stop taxing our town centres into closure. If you want to sign it, you can find the petition on my website or Facebook page. On a more positive note, the services on the Chase Line have now had a welcome improvement following the introduction of a half-hourly service throughout the day on a weekday. This is the first stage of the improvements from the electrification of the line. In the future we can look forward to new electric four-carriage trains by the end of this year. In the last few weeks I have been out and about in Rugeley. It was a real pleasure to visit the Hub Café at the Victory Church which recently opened following funding support from both the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Ellis, and Tesco’s Bags Of Help Campaign. If you have not yet had the opportunity to visit the Hub then I strongly recommend popping down for a coffee. Similarly, if you are a community group looking for a place to meet and socialise then it is certainly worth contacting them. I also recently attended a T20 fundraiser at Rugeley Cricket Club which raised an amazing £1,350 towards Max’s Mission to Move. Max is an incredibly brave local boy who has a very long journey ahead. Max has Quadriplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy and you can follow his journey on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/MaxsMissiontoMove. As the summer gets into full swing there are many more events I look forward to supporting across Rugeley and Brereton. As always if you need my help with any issues or problems, please contact me on 01543 877142 or email amanda.milling.mp@parliament.uk.

Model Railway exhibition

The Midland Showcase Model Railway Show took place on Saturday 9 June at the Armitage with Handsacre Village Hall. The show is in its 9th year and was attended by 18 exhibitors displaying a whole range of small scale model railway trains and panoramic layouts with the trains based on UK, European and American models. Organiser Nick Palette was pleased with the numbers of model railway enthusiasts who came to have a look at the intricate, detailed exhibits.

Cannock and District Ladies Probus

Lesley Smith as Katherine Swynford.

By Jill Gooch

ecently, Chairman Sheila Burrows welcomed 115 members, friends, and guests from other local Probus Clubs to the Annual Lunch at Chase Golf Club. This fantastic turn out was mainly due to the draw of our speaker, Lesley Smith. Lesley is a medical historian and Curator of Tutbury Castle. She is also an acclaimed television performer who gives historically accurate and entertaining portrayals of famous women. Today she arrived in medieval costume as Katherine Swynford, who was born in 1350 and became the mistress of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Lesley kept us enthralled, weaving her tale of how Katherine enchanted John with her flowing blonde hair; and bore John three children outside wedlock. Following their eventual marriage, the children were legitimised. This was a true love story spanning 30 years; and their union has produced descendants that include many European monarchs, and five American Presidents.

The vote of thanks was given by Immediate Past Chairman Pam Clarke. Chairman Sheila thanked Barbara Bowman who had done such a wonderful job in organising the event, and the staff of The Chase Golf Club for a delicious meal.

Meetings are held at The Chase Golf and Country Club on the first Thursday of the month at 12 noon. Guests and prospective new members are welcome. For further information contact membership secretary 07801 370935 and www.probusonline.org

Got a story or charity event you want to share with our readership? Think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve snapped an image that captures the spirit of the region? We want to hear from you! Contact Citylife at josscitylife@gmail.com

Tastes of the Season

Here, in our second instalment of ‘Tastes of the Season’, Chef Simon Smith explores the perfect dish for a sumptuous, summertime lunch or fresh and flavoursome dinner.

Fillet of sea bass with saffron and summer vegetables * You will need: 4 fillets of sea bass 8 heads of English asparagus 1 small packet of sugar snap peas 1 small packet of fine green beans 200gms of chicken stock 25gms of double cream Large pinch of saffron Tsp cornflour. Plain flour. Olive oil. Salt Method • Put a pan of water on to boil and have a bowl of iced water at the ready.** • Cook the green vegetables until ‘al dente’ and drop in to the iced water to stop them cooking. Please note: It’s best to cook vegetables separately, do not mix the fine green beans and sugar snap peas and cook together, their flavours will mix, and while this won’t be bad, you won’t get the true freshness of either. • When all are cooked drain in a colander.

• Heat the chicken stock and cream with the saffron and infuse until the liquid turns yellow. • Mix the cornflour with cold water until liquid. • Bring the sauce to the boil and add cornflour whilst stirring until sauce becomes thicker. • Adjust the sauce until it has the texture of double cream. • Dust the fillets of sea bass with plain flour, season lightly with salt and put in to a preheated pan with hot olive oil. Please note: Make sure you put them in skin-side down first and hold for a few seconds so they stay flat. • Lower the heat of the pan so as not to burn the fillet skin but allow the fillets to still stay crispy. • After one minute turn over and turn off the pan heat. • Leave for two minutes whilst the other side cooks in the residual heat. • Heat your sauce and drop the vegetables in to heat up. • Stir gently until warm and put on to a plate or bowl.

• Place the sea bass fillets on top and decorate with some fresh dill if you like or some edible pansies. • Bring to the table and enjoy! Simon Smith runs a catering business from his production kitchen in Lichfield, providing bespoke private dinners plus wedding, corporate and event catering. Simon also undertakes cookery demonstrations around the country and with local businesses such as Arthur Price and Tippers. During the summer months Simon works for private clients both on superyachts and in villas in St Tropez and Europe. If you are looking for catering or a day of cookery skills go to www.simonsmith-chef.com *All recipes serve four people **Please take extra care when preparing and handling hot foodstuffs. Go to www.food.gov.uk for further details. Caution must also be used when eating fish as small bones may prove a hazard.

Funding to support communities

rganisations from across Staffordshire are being invited to apply for funding to help support their local communities. A new round of the £10m annual fund available through the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Covenant Fund is now open until the end of 2018. This funding offers financial support to organisations and projects to help bring together Armed Forces and civilian communities and deliver local services to the Armed Forces Community. Groups and individuals can also raise funds through the new Crowdfund Staffordshire website which allows them to showcase their project to the thousands of people who regularly donate to good causes online. The platform also includes free advice, coaching, webinars and workshops to help make sure their fundraising campaign is a success. Also for projects that help children and families directly, the £50k Children and Families fund will match fund some projects up to £5K if they get support from the community. For further information on the Armed Forces Covenant Fund visit www.covenantfund.org.uk. To start fundraising on Crowdfund Staffordshire visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/crowdfund-staffordshire. People can also contact Amanda Dawson-Blower amanda.dawson-blower@staffordshire.gov.uk for further details on both funds.

A Window on the Past Taking the Train

In the June issue The Landor (Local History) Society explored the buildings and people of Rugeley’s local railways. This month they take a look at tracks and traffic and how we ‘took the train’.

1. A goods train derailment on the Colton Road bridge at Trent Valley station in 1905

2. Collapse of buttress to the Love Lane bridge over the canal in January 1928

3. A fog signal machine box at Rugeley, June 1928

4. Special offer by the L.M.S. for Stoke Wakes week 6th12th August 1933. The area covered from Market Drayton and Crewe east to Buxton and Derby, and from Macclesfield in the north to Lichfield, in the south. 5. L.M.S engine no 6992 ‘Bowen Cooke’ at Trent Valley station up platform. It was withdrawn in 1938.

6. Signalman J. Richards in Rugeley Trent Valley no 1 box in the mid 1950s. 14

7. Taken on the same day as image 6 - the view from number one signal box, showing the Derby Oxide colour works on the left. 8. Intercity train, hauled by 87025 ‘County of Cheshire’, passing through Rugeley Trent Valley, heading north from Euston, May 1996.

The Landor Society is a focus for those who wish to learn more about the history of Rugeley and its surrounding parishes. It was founded in 1953 and was named in honour of Walter Noble Landor, local and county historian, who became the Society’s first President. More information is available at www.landorlocalhistorysociety-rugeley.btck.co.uk Please note that these images may not be reproduced, copied, or used in any way without express permission from Citylife in Lichfield Ltd and The Landor Society.

Continued on page 16

8 7

MenaFest - a music festival in honour of an amazing young woman

ecently, Citylife was contacted by Sandra Howell, Mum to Mena, an amazing young woman who tragically died in 2016 aged just 29. Nothing could change the tragedy of losing Mena so young, but Mena’s family and friends decided to honour her life by holding a music festival – MenaFest, in aid of The Bone Cancer Research Trust. The first festival took place in 2017 in Hill Ridware, and in 2018 Mena’s legacy lives on through MenaFest-2, taking place on 28th July in 2018.

Here, Sandra tells us about Mena’s fight against her cancer, and how this fight has benefited others facing the same challenges.

Ximena Howell was born 5th December 1986, little sister to Anouska and Tarien. I struggled to give my girls such beautiful names, but they ended up as Nouska, Taz and Mena – which now trip off the tongue with such delight. There was just the four of us, me and my three amazing girls who had ordinary childhoods, ordinary childhood diseases, reached ordinary milestones, had ordinary education then when Mena was 17 the extraordinary happened. Mena developed pain and swelling in her right leg. Our GPs, Drs Aldridge and Bull sent us to specialists, again and again, because no one was giving us any answers. One specialist told Mena it was probably ‘growing pains’ or a ‘sports injury’ - as if Mena was sporty! Eventually we received a letter saying Mena ‘had a problem with her muscle’ and she was referred to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham for a subsequent opinion. In October 2006 when Mena was 19 we took our first trip down the A38 to the Royal Orthopaedic. On that journey, Mena asked if I thought she had something seriously wrong with her. My reply was classic mumsiness and one that we recounted humourously many times – I said if she had something seriously wrong with her, one of the specialists would have told her, and it was probably just a bad muscle strain and a couple of pills and a bit of physio

would sort it out. We found ourselves in the oncology waiting room where I was convinced we had been shown to the wrong room. I spoke to a nurse and was told we were in the right place because Mena had a tumour, which up to that point, Mena didn’t even know she had, and the extraordinary became ordinary – and our lives changed for ever. Mena was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer and over the next year, under the expert care of her oncologist Dr Peake at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mena underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy as a patient on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit; and an operation to remove the tumour at Royal Orthopaedic. Her resolve to live was boundless, her fortitude in managing the horrendous side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy was ceaseless and her determination to do all this with a positive, if not wicked, sense of humour was infinite. When we wobbled, she picked us up, dusted us off and gave us quips like ‘some things just are … so deal with them’.

Staff on the Teenage Cancer Trust unit taught us to treat cancer as a horrible part of our lives and not to let it take over our lives completely and Mena managed this better than any of us – still partying when she could and resting when she couldn’t. We called the tumour ‘JR’ after a dastardly character on a very poor television show because it was easier to channel our venom this way. Mena came through the yearlong treatment, no further cancer was detected, and we actually had t-shirts printed with ‘We Killed JR’ on them. Mena had check-ups at first every three months, then every six months then every year until she had been out of treatment for about six years when pain returned to Mena’s leg and she had difficulty walking. After numerous tests, stress fractures were found to be present and she had a titanium rod inserted down her tibia, which allowed her to sing ‘I Am Titanium’ at any and every occasion she could. That Christmas Mena was on crutches again, but it didn’t stop her dancing on tables over the festive period – New Year’s Eve took on a new label and was called ‘Bob Crutchett’s New

Mena Year’s Eve’ and will always be remembered at The Chadwick Arms in Hill Ridware, Mena’s stomping ground. In May 2015 Mena developed a cough and chest pain. She went to see Dr Bull who immediately sent her for an x-ray the following day which resulted in a shadow in her right lung. Just like the poor television show it looked like dastardly JR was possibly attempting a return, which was confirmed in July 2015 when Mena underwent a lung biopsy at Heartlands. We were back in the Ewing’s nightmare. In July 2015 on a check up with Dr Peake Mena said that if her condition was terminal she didn’t want to be told – Mena said she didn’t want to know if that month was her last July, that her next birthday may be her last or whether she would see another Christmas. She would fight every day that she could, and we had to fight with her. By September 2015 Mena was critically ill with neutropenic sepsis and little capacity to breathe due to the increased size of bone cancer tumours that had travelled to her lung, some doctors at QE said she was too ill for chemo but thankfully her oncologist Dr Peake left the decision to try chemo again up to Mena to which Mena’s reply was ‘why are we sitting around my hospital bed wasting time talking, chemo up dude’. The first chemo regime didn’t work so Dr Peake tried a second regime. This one worked for a few weeks reducing the tumours in her lung but then JR fought back, and Mena became critically ill again in November 2015 with acute kidney failure requiring dialysis from which she bounced back. By February 2016 it was obvious the second regime was not going to provide any further benefit in reducing the tumours, so Dr Peake tried a third regime. This one worked and significantly reduced the tumours to the point that we could start discussing a stem cell transplant – the ultimate type of treatment that would kill off JR once and for all. Unfortunately, the tumour reduction was only temporary, and JR came back with a vengeance in October 2016. Dr Peake tried a fourth chemo regime which started in November 2016 even though Mena was far weaker than previous. Disappointingly a week after the November chemo session Mena developed shortness of breath and was readmitted to QE on 18th November with low platelets and kidney

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failure. Despite superb one to one nursing care at QE, neutropenic sepsis set in and although Mena’s spirit was still fighting hard, her frail body was so damaged by 15 months of aggressive chemotherapy and she couldn’t recover. Our Mena died at ten o’clock at night on 21st November 2016, age 29 with Nouska, Taz and me by her side. The days after that were a bit of a blur – I remember going to QE again with Nouska to pick up death certificates and taking a full set of clothes for Mena. I knew the undertaker would be collecting Mena from QE to bring her back to her ‘beloved shire’ as she called it. I remember going to the registrar’s office down some very strange streets in Birmingham and I remember the registrar getting upset whilst she was filling out the paperwork, her son was the same age as Mena, so she could relate to the enormity of our tragedy. Whilst waiting for the registrar I remembered seeing parents with their newborn babies registering their births and I thought about the stark irony of the two ends of the spectrum – life and death. Nouska, Taz and I had decided on using Howell & Daughters for undertakers – not related to us at all but too much of a coincidence not to choose them, and what an amazing good choice it was. Because of Jonathan Howell and Vicki Harrison the Celebrant, we were able to plan and deliver

Mena’s send-off ‘Mena-style’ – with love, humour and some very good ‘tuneage’ as Mena used to say. Over 350 people, from all over the country came, and we gave them Mena’s favourite sunflower seeds to plant. So many people were there they couldn’t close the doors at Lichfield Crematorium and the stories and laughter at the wake were heartwarming and comforting. Tears were also shed by many, but Mena is worth crying for. In July 2016 when Mena was quite ill, she, Taz and their friends Kirsty and Tracey talked about organising an event in our village, Hill Ridware, to raise money for a cancer research charity – Mena suggested having a music festival, she chose 29th July 2017 as the date and The Bone Cancer Research Trust as the charity. Sadly, Mena didn’t live long enough to see her idea become a reality; but after Mena died Taz, Kirsty and Tracey asked if they could continue with the music festival in Mena’s honour – so, with the help of an increasing number of amazing friends and local villagers we had our first MenaFest on 29th July 2017 at The Chadwick Arms in Hill Ridware. The event was opened by Tony Christie and people came from all over - some because they loved Mena, some because they knew her; some who had only heard about her fight, some who never knew her at all but just wanted to be there. There was entertainment for the children, and good music from Rhyann Thomas (The

Mena, aged 12, with her family

Voice); The Moondogs; Fearless Scoundrels; Laura Aucott; The Starving Dogs and Viper Lounge who closed the festival. Whilst bitter-sweet, it was amazing, there were tears and laughter and everyone had a blast, the sun shone mostly, and the butterflies fluttered with us. Whilst we weren’t sure we would break even, we raised £8,757.38 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust – a drop in the ocean for what’s needed, but a darn good drop anyway. Because of the success of MenaFest 2017 Mena’s family and friends have decided to just do it all again! Roll on 28th July 2018 for Menafest-2 when we’ll again have children’s entertainment as well as fine music from Have a Go Heroes; Jo Baldwin Project; Little Notes; Laura Aucott; Simon Davies (The Voice); The Moondogs; Learn to Lie and Viper Lounge and we’ll have a blast and try to raise more money for the Bone Cancer Research Trust in memory of our beautiful, amazing and life-loving Mena. MenaFest-2 takes place on Saturday 28th July at The Chadwick Arms, Hill Ridware, near Rugeley, WS15 3QX from 2pm onwards. There are no tickets needed for admission and admission is free. In addition to live music, there’ll be food, drink, children's entertainment, raffle tickets and merchandise available and all profits are going to The Bone Cancer Research Trust in memory of Mena. For more information and images of last year’s festival go to the Menafest Facebook page.

Unearthing History

Here, Gary Starkey, local metal detectorist and member of the Tamworth and Lichfield Search Society gives us an update in his ‘detecting diaries’.

he awful weather we had a while back kept detecting forays to a few sporadic days, but things finally started to ease up and interesting days were to follow. On my way home from work one afternoon, I noticed a large digger cutting a new road through the middle of the field I had detected for years with good success, so I rang the farmer, asked him if it was OK to dig and rang my mate. Time was short as it was being stoned almost immediately after they’d dug it out. It was down to a depth of about 18 inches so we were hopeful. Sure enough a medieval mount came up straight away and as we worked our way up the road Roman bronze coins started appearing, even though we still had to dig down another 8 inches or so to get them out! It just proved how deep old artefacts are in the ground. To be honest, not that much appeared in this virgin soil but the best find was at the top of the hill just sitting on the surface - a prehistoric late net repairer or maker, with only a small bit of damage. I couldn’t believe these massive digging machines hadn’t smashed it to bits. A very nice find by eyes only! A midweek club dig at Upper Longdon followed which didn’t produce too much but opened the door to a new site a couple of miles away. The landowner was very enthusiastic about the dig and brought her daughter along to see how things unfolded. Many coins came out but the best item of the day had to be a lovely silver ring which had swan’s heads on it. We all thought it an amazing coincidence as the pub ‘The Swan with Two Necks’ is close to where the ring came up. We will return to this site as soon as the sheeps’ lambs are grown up or moved on - a very good day there. Back at the farm where the new road was going in, we thought we’d do the stubble field as this too was being dug away to form a car storage area. I had a large Roman Sestertius coin and some other bits and bobs but not much else. This field will be covered soon so it was decided to do a club dig here to get anything it had to offer. A good turn-out of 30 detectorists piled up the new road to be confronted with a

field that had large piles of soil around the outsides, an area stripped and the rest stubble and untouched. A number of artefacts came up including a Denaraii, hammered coins, a great buckle with a king’s head on it (which is rare), a great scallop pilgrims badge, three Roman brooches and the best find of the day was a nice, gold, posy ring, which was inscribed. A good dig and the last our club has had as new land is proving very hard to find and old sites are mainly under crop. Hopefully the situation will improve soon. We decided to visit a small field that had been held untouched for a couple of years, but had recently been turned over to allow a GPS survey prior to building. It has turned up some good items in the past and it didn’t let us down as Paul had a nice silver Denarii, then I had a silver shilling, but the best was yet to come as four William the Conqueror coins came up, two each, a super find! Many other bits came up bit nothing like the Williams. As I said earlier, our club, The Tamworth and Lichfield Search Society is struggling to find some new sites for digs so if any landowners are reading this out there and fancy a club dig, let me know on the number below. We do charity digs or money direct to yourself. We are all fully insured. Smallest acreage is usually about five acres. More next month. Ring Gary on 07779 064271, vice chairman.

Are You a Coin Collector?

If you’re a coin collector, visit Gary Starkey's coin cabinet in Lichfield Antique Centre (next to Minster Pool), Lichfield for coins and artefacts from early to modern. For more information call 07779 064271

Rugeley Welfare for Dogs

ere, Ruth and Pauline of Rugeley Welfare for Dogs introduce us to Willow, a four-legged friend looking for her forever home, and ask if you could help improve life for Bob who is struggling with health issues. Ruth told Citylife: “Willow is a six year old female Collie, who loves her walks and has lived with another dog but some time ago. Willow doesn’t get on with cats, and is looking for her forever home. She would suit an active family.” Ruth added: “We are trying to raise £2,500 for a ten year old rescue dog called Bob. He had a terrible start to life. He was one of our rescue dogs, but all that changed ten months ago when he found his forever home with Jayn. Then things took a turn for the worse again and Bob was struggling to walk. After x-rays at the vets they found that both of his elbows have crumbled and he is on very strong pain killers and sedatives to cope with the pain. The only time he really moves is when he needs the toilet. Bob needs two elbow operations urgently, if we cannot raise the money then we have no alternative but to have him put to sleep as he is in so much pain. Any donations would be gratefully received, if you wish to donate please get in touch with Rugeley Welfare for Dogs.” For more information and to contact Rugeley Welfare for Dogs please call Ruth on 07900 090993 or Pauline on 07971 817877 or visit the Facebook page Rugeleydogswelfare. Please note that to rehome a dog a home check and donation will be required.

Win a Family Ticket to The Pet Show 2018!

he Pet S h ow, t h e UK’s largest indoor and o u t d o o r multi-pet event returns to the Stafford County Showground on the 18th to 19th August. The Pet Show brings together all creatures great and small, and showcases the UK’s pet industry - split into dedicated animal zones, each one teeming with experts, meet and greet areas, live demonstrations, displays and trade stands featuring goodies for pets. Whether a pet owner, pet professional or pet enthusiast, there’s something for everyone.The show is also dog friendly, so if you have a canine pal – bring them along! The show is broken down into seven different animal zones; The Kennels, The Cattery, The Hutch & Run, The Aviary, The Vivarium, The Aquarium and Animal Discovery. Each zone features adorable animals to meet and interactive activities for

Bob

the whole family. There will be the chance to meet and greet micro pigs, alpacas, miniature Shetland ponies, parrots, chinchillas, guinea pigs, tarantulas, pythons and so much more! Each zone also features trade stands from British brands where you can find food, treats, toys and housing for your pets. The Pet Show 2018 will also see the return of one of the most popular features from previous years; The Dog Breed Village. This area lets you meet a huge range of different breeds from the massive Irish Wolfhound all the way down to the tiny Chinese Crested, and plenty inbetween! This is a great way to get to know a certain breed before adding one to your family, and each stand is manned by experts who will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. More of a cat lover? The Pet Show 2018 also presents the LondonCats International Cat Show, in association with TICA. The cat show will present many different cat breeds, from household favourites such as the British Shorthair to more exotic breeds such as the Lykoi (better known as the Werewolf cat). There will also be the chance to quiz the experts and meet the gorgeous felines taking part in the show. The Pet Show 2018 also features two huge arenas with an ongoing set of timetabled displays throughout the weekend. Visitors will have the chance to see sheep, goat and duck racing, ‘dancing’ miniature ponies, exciting scurry races and even discover what it takes to look after a 30 stone giant tortoise! Additionally, the show offers horse-drawn

Willow carriage rides around the main arena – this is a great way to watch all the action in style. The extremely popular dog agility display will also be returning for 2018, showcasing their impressive training and tricks. What’s more, there will even be the chance to enter your own canine pal in our Fun Dog Show. Visitors and their dogs can compete for the title of ‘Best Crossbreed’, ‘Best Pedigree’, ‘Best Rescue Story’ and even the ‘Waggiest Tail’.

Win, Win, Win!

Citylife has got together with The Pet Show to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a family ticket (which admits four people) to The Pet Show. To be in with a chance of winning just answer the following questions. The Pet Show 2018 takes place at? A The Stafford County Showground B The NEC C Lichfield Cathedral To enter, email your name, contact details and answer (A, B or C) to citylifecompetitions@gmail.com or post your entry to Pet Show Competition, PO Box 7126, Lichfield WS14 4JS, by Friday 20th July 2018. For full terms and conditions see page 34. Your entry will be processed in line with GDPR regulations. There really is something for everyone at The Pet Show 2018; make sure you don’t miss out on this great day out for the British public and their pets! To find out more about the show and book your tickets just visit https://thepetshow.co.uk/.

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Life at Hawkesyard

By The Landor (Local History) Society

osiah Spode IV, with his widowed mother Mary, went to live at Hawkesyard in 1840 when he was 17. The house, then known as Armitage Park, had been built around 1760 for Nathaniel Lister. It was altered and extended by Mrs Spode.

Hawkesyard in the 1920s when it was used by St Bede’s Preparatory School

He always listened with the utmost patience and kindness, and never hurt them with a smile of amusement, and when we were Catholics they came just the same, Mr Spode never letting them feel any change. [Josiah Spode and Helen Gulson converted to Catholicism in 1885].

Helen Mary Gulson was born in 1834 at Foleshill, near Coventry. Her mother’s sister married Josiah Spode IV and Miss Gulson often visited her aunt and uncle at Hawkesyard, which she dearly loved.

We used to have the poor people up to the Hall to fetch their pieces of beef, and Mr Spode and I went to the kitchen to give it to them. The week after every Christmas Day the poor people, 30 or 40 of them, came for their clothing gifts and Mr Spode and I went to the housekeeper’s room, where all sorts of clothing goods were ready and then they had their choice.

The following is abstracted from Miss Gulson’s manuscript account of her early life.

During my Aunt, Mrs Spode’s life, I was constantly at Hawkesyard, she being very fond of me. All of us were very musical, my mother a lovely singer and my sister had a gloriously beautiful voice. My vocation was the piano. At Hawkesyard all was music, or painting, organ and photography, and very happy.

In earlier days when at Hawkesyard I used to go about much with my Uncle and Aunt and this gave me a great love of scenery and seeing different places and this clings to me with the old delight, though I cannot now get about in that way. My great tastes were for music and drawing, scenery, church-going, reading books of devotion. When going to dinner parties I used to pray to get through them. They used to be a horror to me, all the formality was a bother to me.

Helen Mary Gulson

Spode being the centre of all the happiness of our friends and relatives; and to the poor he was like a father. They worshipped him and looked upon him as one to whom they could always apply in their troubles and difficulties.

Josiah Spode died in December 1893 at his house in Brighton, he was buried at Stone Convent. In August 1895 Mr Spode’s body was removed to Hawkesyard and reburied there. Miss Gulson lived in London for some time after Josiah Spode died before returning to end her days at Hawkesyard, in the house now know as Gulson House.

We used to entertain a great deal. In Mrs Spode’s days she had beautiful amateur concerts and Christmas trees and children’s parties. After her death Mr Spode never resumed these, but he had dinner parties, garden parties and lawn meets of the hounds, and we went out to parties a great deal. The summer coaching tours in Scotland were a vast delight.

In 1868 on Mrs Spode’s death I came to Hawkesyard and resided there till Mr Spode died in 1893. Our life was very happy, Mr

Gulson House c. 1990

Technology - a must for all

By Stuart Hay of Richard Winterton Auctioneers Isn’t it strange how the things we lusted over as a teenager, or hated (because Grandma’s old stuff was just ‘old and nasty stuff’) have now become the ‘in thing’ today? Thankfully there isn’t much nostalgia for the old, massive televisions of the last few decades, but Hi-Fi equipment is a different thing altogether. With the popularity of vinyl records we all need record players, turntables, or gramophones to play them on. The new players are, in my opinion, either awful or extremely expensive - making the market for really good quality vintage players very buoyant. Why pay £4000 for a shiny new turntable, when at auction a Garrard 401 can be yours for £400 to £ 600 (better quality too), or a Thorens TD124 can be playing your original copy of Dark Side of the Moon for between £500 to £700 (about the same price for that LP too), and they look fabulous and very on trend too. Another side of audio equipment that is on the rise are valve amplifiers. Hi-Fi lovers are opting for the warmer tones that valve amps give, getting away from the flat anaemic tones of downloads. Again, new valve amplifiers

will cost you the same price as a quality used car, or you can pick up an amp like the Leak TL10 Point One with Preamp for £400 with a pair of Tannoy speakers to make it audible, giving you a beautiful, warm, nostalgic sound. It isn’t just 1940s, 50s or 60s Hi-Fi equipment either, good quality will always command good prices no matter what its age. Bang & Olufsen, Naim, Dansette, Technics, Quad or Bose among other brands will always command a great price at auction. Although gramophones still aren’t very popular at auction, early ones with valve amplifiers are being snapped up quite cheaply. The purchasers are then removing the components from the case leaving a valve amp and a turntable to be remarketed, leaving quite a lot of bits, unfortunately, to go into the bin. The Jukebox has been popular for years and the like of the old Wurlitzer will always be of value, but the later 60s and 70s models have started to become collectable too, mainly because the 1940s bubble top examples are out of the financial reach of most people. Early computers and games consoles are on the rise in popularity too. Nostalgia for the old

Commodore Amiga or Sinclair ZX Spectrum etc has led to items like these being collected along with the games that were such a big thing back in the day. This popularity is driving prices higher and higher. Along with more design led computing equipment like Apple Mac Pro, the G4, iMac, Macbook Pro etc, these iconic modern items seem to be the collectable of the future so people are snapping them up and storing them for posterity. Nostalgia for past times and items has always been collectable and of some value, and always will be so. So why not join in and utilise your old technology and let someone else repurpose your old items while you spend the proceeds on something you need today?

Rugeley Charter Fair in Pictures!

The sun shone and the crowds arrived on Saturday June 9th to enjoy Rugeley Charter Fair 2018. Citylife was there to capture some of the action...

Pear Tree Art Group Exhibition

he Pear Tree Art Group are a small friendly art group that meet once a week, on Monday afternoon from 1pm until 3.30pm, to paint, draw and share ideas. The group is very varied in artistic approach, and has members who are oil painters, watercolorists and sketch artists. The styles produced are as varied as the mediums used and all approaches are welcome. The group are displaying photographs of their artwork in the main room of Rugeley Library for two weeks from 18th June. The display includes works to illustrate different mediums and styles. Some of the artworks shown have been featured in Citylife in Rugeley's Your Image competition. The exhibition includes local views of Rugeley and the surrounding area, both past and present, as well as more general views to illustrate different styles. There will be information available at the exhibition on how to join Pear Tree Art Group, and how to obtain copies of the artwork. The group will also be exhibiting and selling their work and prints on Saturday Morning Glory by John August 11th at Hednesford Summer Festival Reay. An oil painting. in the Park.

Rugeley Market by John Hewitt. An acrylic painting.

Waterfall in Elmore Park by Kim Hamilton. A watercolour.

Dog by June Meacham. Charcoal drawing.

Should You Let an Amateur Loose on Your Network? By Neil Fletcher

Most of us know a fair amount about computers, even kids are joining circuits and coding programs in schools - but does that make everyone an IT expert? It’s fair to say almost all workplaces have that employee who can finesse the printer or use shortcuts nobody else knows about. They have skills, absolutely, but they often know just enough to be dangerous to your business. Hobby IT skills are learned on home computers which are very different to a professional business setup. When something goes wrong on a home computer, there’s no drastic impact if parts need to be replaced, data is lost or it stays down for a week or two. In a business setting, every problem costs time and money, usually creating a domino effect through the entire network. Would you gamble the success of your business with a non-professional who did a quick Google? Businesses have unique, specialist IT needs that go beyond amateur computer skills and there’s always going to be more at stake. Designing and implementing a custom backup

plan for your business is a particularly interesting area. While most home users skip this part entirely, an IT professional has seen (and recovered) all manner of situations and will use that knowledge to ensure that if the worst happens, your business is covered. This could mean anything from having a complete copy of your drive stored securely in the cloud or drilling down to backup only the most important data. An IT expert is equipped to help you identify the value in each piece of data and implement a plan so robust that if your business is ever hit by disaster or breach, downtime is minimal - along with losses. If a disaster ever does occur, like fire, flood or theft, would an amateur know what to do? Who to call? These situations are so charged with tension and panic that making the wrong moves can lead to more damage. A professional helps design continuity/disaster plans, which map out exactly what should happen, who should do it and in what order. It takes out the guesswork and minimizes downtime. Perhaps more importantly, the expertly written disaster plan will include a complete risk analysis so that you know in advance where to strengthen your protection. It also includes a business analysis so you know which systems are dependent so you can stop the domino effect, plus

know the legal/contractual impacts, financial impacts and so on. Your IT professional will also help ensure your business is meeting any regulatory requirements. Many businesses are subject to strict data rules set by government bodies, such as FISMA and HIPAA. The regulations change often and demand increasingly more attention to data security, with hefty penalties for businesses that fall behind. Professionals are constantly in the loop around upcoming revisions and how best to comply with little to no disruption to your daily business. Part of ensuring your business is safe means staying on top of software updates and patching multiple computers at the same time. The best option is to run the updates before employees arrive for the day, and since the process can take a few hours and be quite fiddly, it’s generally not something amateurs will prioritize. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with recent cyberattacks, delaying a security update by even a few days can lead to disaster. Engaging an IT professional is a cost-effective solution that keeps your business running, growing and earning. Let the professionals manage your tech the right way by calling us at 01889 579990 .

Etching Hill WI By Karen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

he 72nd Birthday Party celebrations of Etching Hill WI commenced with clog dancer Audrey Wareing and violinist Lynn Evans explaining and demonstrating the history of clog dancing, particularly around the Lancashire mills. Clogging in this country started around the 15th century with slow and simple moves. The Industrial Revolution brought workers from far and wide with their own traditions of clog dancing. Many of the clog moves were based on the noises heard whilst at work in the mills. The workers were very competitive and began holding competitions in the pubs and eventually music halls. Many famous music hall stars began their careers as cloggers including Dan Leno who won the first World Champion Clog Dancer competition in 1880 for

which he received the silver belt. Charlie Chaplin became a member of the Eight Lancashire Lads clog dancing group before joining up with the Fred Karno troupe, where he met Stan Laurel, and subsequently moved to the USA. Indeed clog dancing featured in early routines of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. The party celebrations continued with a buffet of cold meats, various salads and quiche with desserts of trifle, fruit salad, meringue and cheese and biscuits, all supplied by the members. The birthday cake, made by Mrs Betty Watkin, was decorated in the colours of the suffrage movement - green, white and violet, to support the centenary of the first British woman being able to vote. The cake was cut by President Ann Ingleby and Emma Whiston, as the youngest member of this WI.

Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of the month at Etching Hill Village Hall, East Butts Road, Etching Hill from 7.45pm and new members are always made most welcome. For more information please visit our web site at www.wi-etching-hill.org.uk.

Holiday Cottage To Let Woolacombe North Devon

Details/Pictures:www.leesideholidays.com Email: johns@leeside.myzen.co.uk Tel: 0121 353 6613

Rugeley & District Lions Club By Peter Fielding

The Club recently attended the Rugeley Charter Fair and had a successful and enjoyable day at this well attended event. Our walking party took for its theme ‘The Wizard of Oz’ with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Lion and the Witch. Imagine our surprise to win 2nd Prize in the Walking Party Category. Something for us to beat next year! By the time this issue is out we will have held our Fashion Show – details of our donation to ‘Max’s Mission to Move’ will be announced next month. Preparations are in hand for our presence at Brereton Carnival at the

beginning of July. Finally, Rugeley & District Lions Club is looking for people who do not necessarily at this stage wish to join the Club but would like to help us in our events. If you like what we do you may then like to join us but there will be no pressure. Our future plans are: Lion Hunt, Rugeley, Brereton Carnival and, of course, the Santa Sleigh. If you would like to be included please get in touch via Facebook or e-mail randdlions@hotmail.com . If we had more people we could do so much more.

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