community index didsbury august 2011 by Community Index

Didsbury

index

community

August 2011

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Contents 5

FETCH DIDSBURY Didsbury blog

DIDSBURY ARTS FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS 24th September to 1st October

ABUNDANCE MANCHESTER looking for volunteers!

DIDSBURY TAG NEWS save more, buy better, shop local

WEDDING DRESS SPECIALISTS Village Dry Cleaners

FLASH FICTION COMPETITION part of Didsbury Arts Festival

SOUTHERN STYLE LEMONADE Didsbury Dinners recipe

DIDSBURY DINNERS BEARS FRUIT community orchard & cookery classes

LETS BE HAVING YOU moneyless trading scheme

AUGUST IN YOUR GARDEN Katherine Watson

PUBLISHER

Community Index

EDITOR/ADVERTISING Lesley Swann

SUB-EDITOR Sam Paechter

CONTRIBUTIONS

Abundance Manchester, Katherine Watson, Didsbury Dinners, Deborah Grace, Amanda Woodvine, Harry Bailey, Carol Thompson, Caroline Leonard, Sarah-Clare Conlon

COVER PHOTOGRAPH

Thanks to: Abundance Manchester

Tel: Lesley 0787 589 5604 lesley@communityindex.co.uk www.communityindex.co.uk DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT EDITION 12th August 2011

Manchester Athenaeum Dramatic Society ...needs new members!

thinking about fostering or adoption?

The oldest dramatic society in the UK is looking for new members - both acting and backstage. Would you like to brush up your acting skills and have good fun at the same time? This small and friendly dramatic society is having three summer meetings including play readings and workshops to look at plays they are considering for next season. Everybody is invited to have a go and join in; these meetings are very informal and enjoyable (no charge, just 50p for a cuppa and towards hire of hall).

Tuesday August 30th 7.30 pm St. Nicholas’s Church Hall, Kingsway, Burnage, M19 1PL Contact: David 973 9291 or Rosemary 445 6902 rosemaryg37@tiscali.co.uk

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Fetch Didsbury Back in September 2008 local lad Harry Bailey decided to set up a Didsbury Village Blog with the aim of promoting local news and events online. After running the blog for a few months he soon realised he could offer much more to the local community, and so Fetch Didsbury was born. Back in early 2009 the only options for online local business promotion was either Manchester wide websites, or several local services offering promotion to those willing and able to pay for it. “I’ve been creating websites since leaving university and decided it was time to give something back to the place I’ve lived for much of my life. Free business promotion was in the back of my mind from early on in the life of Fetch and as soon as I could spare some time I created Fetch Business Profiles. Running a small business myself, I know how tough it can be to get

the word out about your news, events and offers and I wanted the website to have a simple and free system to enable that.” Everything Fetch offers is free for local businesses to use whether looking to promote a charity fundraiser or latest offer, a lost pet appeal or a request for new members for a club. As Fetch Didsbury grew, so did it’s network. It now has a Didsbury Facebook Page which currently boasts 4000 fans and a Didsbury twitter account followed by 1500 others. “We get the word out in as many ways possible. Anything we’re asked to promote is posted across the network, our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We also added a calendar to our site which allows people to browse events happening this week, month or event up to 12 months into the future.” The Fetch Didsbury website and service has done do well that Fetch recently bowed to the requests of businesses in other areas and launched Fetch Chorlton and Fetch The Heatons to share the same tools with the local businesses and organisation in those areas. “The main thing we

struggle with is getting enough content to publish. We have a few contributors who regularly provide news, but would love some local residents from each of our areas who like to write and have an opinion about local issues. Nothing is more popular on the sites than when someone posts their own thoughts on a hot local topic.” So the future looks bright for Fetch and the businesses and organisations who make use of it’s services. Total readers grow month on month and close ties with Tag Pass It On, a loyalty scheme for local communities and a budding relationship with Community Index are sure to be beneficial to all and the communities they serve.

http://didsbury.fetch.it/ http://chorlton.fetch.it/ http://theheatons.fetch.it/

Didsbury Arts Festival Highlights Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, writer Jackie Kay, Shameless actor David Threlfall, and classical pianist, Kathryn Stott, will contribute to some of the highlights of Didsbury Arts Festival 2011. The annual showcase of local talent, now in its third year, will take place from Saturday 24th September to Saturday 1st October, with over 200 events and exhibitions. Organisers are now putting the finishing touches to an exciting programme that will represent a huge range of arts from music, theatre, dance and comedy to visual arts, crafts and writing – all taking place at Didsbury venues. Carol Ann Duffy, who became Britain’s first female Poet Laureate in 2009, will be joined by Lancaster-based violinist, Jane Lawrence, for an evening of poetry and music to pay tribute to the Didsbury-based poet, Linda Chase, who died in April.

A tireless promoter of the arts, Linda was a huge supporter of DAF and was involved in several events in last year’s Festival. A Tribute to Linda Chase will take

place at Didsbury’s Emmanuel Church at 7 pm, Wednesday 28 September. Funds raised from ticket sales (£5 payable on the door) will go to Poets and Players, a group co-founded by Linda to showcase new writers alongside more established artists. Meanwhile, internationallyacclaimed pianists, Kathryn Stott and Nelson Goerner, will headline an exceptional night of musicmaking at Emmanuel Church at 7.30 pm, Friday 30th September. Considered among the most outstanding classical musicians of their generation, the pair will be joined by an impressive line-up, including Hungarian classical guitar duo, the Katona Twins, principal oboist of Manchester Camerata, Rachael Clegg and Didsbury-based soprano, Jill Taylor. The concert is being held in aid of Nordoff Robbins, the national music therapy charity. Funds raised from ticket sales will help boost the group’s work in transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults through music. Tickets (£15) are available from Montrose Properties. Call: 0161 445 7000, or visit their office on 20a Lapwing Lane, Didsbury. Back by popular demand, Didsbury’s Got Talent promises to be another likely crowd-puller during Festival week. Fifteen finalists entertained a 300-strong audience at Ivy Manchester Church, Didsbury, when the event was last held as part of DAF 2009. This year’s grand final will be held at Parrs Wood High School on Saturday 1st October, with finalists battling it out before an illustrious panel of judges,

including actors David Threlfall and John Thomson and Salim Uddin-Khandakar. Other highlights during Festival week will include a reading by the poet and novelist, Jackie Kay and the announcement of DAF’s first ever short film competition winner. Plans for the Festival’s spectacular opening weekend events on the streets, in the Parsonage Gardens and Fletcher Moss Park are still being kept tightly under wraps! Rumour has it there will be a ‘Parade of Artists’ as well as exotic animals and circus performers. You’ll just have to wait and see! Organised by a group of enthusiastic local residents, the aim of DAF is to celebrate the arts and the wealth of talent, diversity and the vibrant community that make Didsbury so special. Last year’s Festival was hugely successful with more than 10,000 people flocking to events. Since its launch two years ago, the area’s week-long celebration of the arts has now become an annual fixture on the local calendar. DAF Director, Maria Stripling, said: “This year’s programme will include some real comedy and theatre gems and a few surprise events as well as musical and visual arts programmes of a very high standard.”

For full details of the DAF 2011 programme visit the Festival website at: www.didsburyartsfestival.org All enquiries to: info@ didsburyartsfestival.org

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Abundance Manchester

An award-winning local group is seeking willing workers to be paid in fruit!

Now in its third year, local urban fruit-harvesting group Abundance Manchester is approaching its busiest time of year, and needs your help! A small but dynamic voluntary project, and last year’s winner of the Observer Ethical Awards ‘Best Grassroots Project’, Abundance Manchester harvests surplus fruit and veg from gardens and allotments in South Manchester and distributes it (mostly by bike trailer) to local organisations that can use it. As the British season for allotment produce and garden fruit hots up, Abundance are looking for volunteers to come out on regular Saturday picking

sessions as well as seeking fruit trees and allotment produce to distribute.

“There are loads of ways to get involved” explains Josie Austin, who joined the group last year “We’ll be out harvesting produce every Saturday afternoon, when people can turn up for as little or as long as they want. We need trees to pick from, so people in the South Manchester area who have fruit they can’t use should get in touch. We’re also keen to help allotment holders find a home for gluts of produce, they can drop surplus stuff off to us at our base at Manchester Bridge Club on Palatine Road and we’ll distribute it.” “Picking is a lot of fun” added Agnes Beviz, another volunteer. “it’s a friendly group and it creates a really nice sense

of community. We leave the homeowner however much fruit they want to keep, we eat a bit as we go along, and we distribute huge amounts to local projects that struggle to access fresh fruit”. Allotment holder Christine Clarke at Bradley Fold allotments in Didsbury is a keen supporter of the group, and regularly takes surplus produce from the site to Abundance. “All allotment holders will know there are only so many courgettes you and your family can eat – well through Abundance those things you just have too much of go to very grateful recipients. It feels so much better than chucking them on the compost heap”. Just get in touch if you want to get involved or if you have surplus fruit for picking.

http://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/ Tel: 07967 227 981 abundancemanchester@yahoo.co.uk

Didsbury Tag News All the Didsbury independents in our scheme have generously created their own special loyalty offers for the Tagpassiton scheme for all cardholders to enjoy. You can download pocket directories from our website listing scheme members and their offers or look out for our distinctive hand (Tag) logo on shop windows and offer posters instore. Here are a selection of our Tagpassiton members and their generous offers. We are so lucky to have such a committed, varied, vibrant and interesting collection of independents.

Cocoa Rico Happy 1st Birthday to Cocoa Rico. Rico provides a welcome addition to Didsbury’s thriving coffee scene. To celebrate, he is launching a new range of eight Japanese teas. Like the Movenpick luxury ice cream range, these are also exclusive to Cocoa Rico. For nutrition and health, the smoothies from the pressure juicer booster are a great alternative too. Cocoa Rico offers Tag cardholders 10% off and a fantastic 15% off spends over £25.

Rumpus Toy Shop

The Alpine Tea Room

Rumpus Toy Shop sells top quality children’s toys and gifts. Louise started out selling toys and books on Manchester’s Christmas markets and has now had a shop in Didsbury Village opposite the Post Office for six years. Rumpus stock a fantastic selection of children’s books and Louise and the girls spend many joyous hours selecting them. Louise tells us, “We run a regular Saturday afternoon storytime session and our current favourite book is the hilarious ‘Hattie the Bad’ All are welcome to come and join the session.

The Alpine tea Room is situated in The Croft, a large Victorian Villa in Fletcher Moss Park. This was once the home of botanist Robert Wood Williamson and his wife Emily who founded the ‘Plumage League, which then became the RSPB. It has been family run for 28 years. Opened by (the late) Jenny Martin, now staffed by her son and daughter Louis & Janine, with the help of her grandson Kane.The ATR sell over 30 different teas and lovely home made cakes, baked locally, and provide a welcoming atmosphere all year round.

Rumpus Toy Shop offers 10% off purchases over £20 to Tagpassiton cardholders.

The Alpine Tea Room offers 10% off to Tagpassiton cardholders.

11 groups raise money; every £5 card bought from a charity, school or community group raises £2.50 for their cause. You can support Cavendish Rd Primary and Broad Oak Primary this way by buying your Tag cards from school offices. If you buy a card online 10% goes to a local charity too.

Village Dry Cleaners Village dry cleaners (Chorlton) by appointment to the stars serves Didsbury too. Only the best will do whenever Take That and other Arena artistes come to town. Dry cleaners of Distinction - in family tradition, Amir ‘s knowledge , expertise in preparation, and dedication ensures he’s the guru and can do what others can’t; especially in the exceptionally difficult fields of silk, vintage and wedding dresses. A family run business of 25 years standing in nearby Chorlton and a member of the Guild of Dry Cleaners and Launders. You have the best on your doorstep with a handy delivery service to Didsbury too. The Village Dry Cleaners offers 10% off Dry cleaning to Tagpassiton cardholders. T&C’s apply.

Wellington Garage Wellington Garage in Withington is celebrating its 50th year in the Crawshaw family. Taken over by Ken in 1961 (who became a mechanic instead of a dentist due to the war) it has been run by son Tim now for over 14 years. One of Ken’s old customers is still with Tim at 101. The garage used to be a coach house with stables and horseshoes are still being found whenever they dig. The family has a very long history in

the area as Tim’s granddad was a founder member of The Albert Club, West Didsbury. Wellington Garage is a thriving independent garage and gives a personal service which you can trust. Wellington Garage offers 5% off or £5 off your MOT to Tagpassiton cardholders.

Tagpassiton Available to buy from most scheme members, Tagpassiton cards give you great savings time after time with fabulous independent traders in your local area, not only in Didsbury, but also in Chorlton, The Heatons, Levenshulme and Cheadle. The Tagpassiton scheme has also been designed to help community

Didsbury’s vibrant and independent businesses are working together to encourage us to consider the community balance when we spend - so come along with a tagpassiton card in hand (or on your key ring) and join in and support a community group at the same time!

Carol & Sam You can contact Carol on 07812 498342 or by email carol@ tagpassiton.com or via twitter @tagpassiton

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Here at Village Dry Cleaners, we understand that your wedding day should be one of the most important and memorable days of your life, so we appreciate that your wedding dress and bridal wear are very precious to you. A wedding dress is likely to be the most expensive and beautiful garment that you will own so it is essential that you have your special dress cleaned and stored in the best possible way.

Established in 1983, a family run business where you can trust us when handling your garments... • Curtains & Upholstery Cleaning £5/kg • Duvet Cleaning: Single £10 Double £15 • Ironing Services • Repairs & Alterations • Stain Removal • Same Day Service • Evening Dress & Wedding Dress Specialist

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Although there are some internet sites who claim to be expert wedding dress cleaners, it can be very risky to send your precious dress off to someone you have never met. There are also other dry cleaning shops which offer a wedding dress cleaning service, however we believe that very few have the machinery or the experience required – especially hard to come by in staff that work for a large chain of shops. The most important points to consider when choosing a dry cleaner for your bridal wear are: - Do I know where my dress is being cleaned? - Will I meet the person who will look after my dress? - Do the cleaners have years of experience and are they experts in their field? - Will they be able to advise me of the best way to clean and store my dress and warn me of any possible problems before they take my dress? - Can they clean and finish the dress to a high standard? If you come to Village Dry Cleaners the answer to all of these questions will be YES, our wedding dress expert has over 25 years experience in bridal wear cleaning, they will be able to advise you and will be the only person responsible for the care of your dress. We can also provide wedding dress storage boxes designed to protect and store your dress. We cater from off the peg to individually designed wedding dresses and all dresses are treated with the same care and attention to cleaning detail. We have an excellent reputation for the cleaning of bridal gowns/dresses and have been doing so for over 25 years. But, don’t take our word for it...have a look at some of our reviews on www.qype.com or on www. villagerdrycleaners.com and you’ll find comments like this one from Niki at White Closet in Didsbury “What can I say about Village Dry Cleaners? Just excellent! Amir, who owns the business, goes above and beyond what is expected and I can whole heartedly recommend his services.”

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Nicholas Vine & Carolyn Greenhalgh Registered Osteopaths Osteopaths treat back and neck pain and muscle and joint problems such as whiplash, sciatica and headaches. These problems may be caused by manual work, computer use or stress. Osteopathy can help with the mechanical effects of pregnancy – both during the pregnancy and afterwards, and with age related conditions and the pain of arthritis. We also treat sports injuries such as shoulder problems and knee problems, and injuries due to repetitive actions such as playing musical instruments. Appointments are available Monday to Saturday, including early mornings and evenings.

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Flash Fiction Competition The writing collective behind the popular Chorlton Arts Festival 2011 Flash Mob writing competition and literary salon are currently inviting submissions of short stories for their latest project, running in conjunction with Didsbury Arts Festival. The five published flash fiction writers and award-winning bloggers behind the idea are Sarah-Clare Conlon, Ian Carrington, Tom Mason, David Hartley and Benjamin Judge. All five regularly read their works of flash fiction (also called micro fiction or short short stories) at literary events and open mic nights in and around Manchester, and have performed as part of Manchester Literature Festival and Oxfam Bookfest. Having already organised various successful events including a pop-up literary showcase for Twestival, Chorlton Arts

Festival’s first-ever flash fiction competition and spoken word night, and a literature quiz for the Not Part Of fringe to Manchester International Festival the group decided to propose a new idea for Didsbury Arts

400 words. All entries will be judged anonymously and the successful stories will appear in an anthology called Quickies: Stories For Adults.

Festival 2011. They will be publishing an anthology of stories on the theme of love and lust, and hosting an evening during the festival with readings by various contributors and a special performance by Manchesterbased flash fiction writer and novelist David Gaffney (who is also judging the annual DAF short story competition).

“We wanted to follow up our success at Chorlton Arts Festival in May with something completely new, and it struck us no one in Manchester has done a literary-based Smut Night. We thought it’d be great to hold it in the suburbs, so we’ll be launching our anthology of tongue-in-cheek saucy and romantic stories at a special evening of readings and fun.”

Submissions are now open for the FlashTag anthology; the closing date is Sunday 7th August. Stories are invited from anyone over the age of 18 on the day of the event, be they published authors or first-time storytellers. Entry is free and stories must not exceed

FlashTag organiser and judge Sarah-Clare Conlon says:

The collection will be launched at a fun-filled literary evening during Didsbury Arts Festival on Wednesday 28th September at the Northern Lawn Tennis Club on Palatine Road. Full details of how to submit are on the website at http://flashtagmcr.wordpress. com with updates via Twitter @ FlashTagMcr. The group can be contacted via flashtagmcr@gmail. com.

The third Didsbury Arts Festival runs Saturday 24th September to Saturday 1st October; more details can be found on the website at www.didsburyartsfestival.org.

Southern Style Lemonade Erika Nagae and Erika Van Steensburg, The Black Cat Cakery Perfect for those hot summers days when the shade of a tree just isn’t enough to cool you down! Follow Erika Nagae’s tips to make your lemonade the BEST EVER: • In the run-up to summer, start saving some nice fat jam jars to use as ‘Southern style’ lemonade cups. I like to rinse them in water and stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving; this gives a nice frosted glass effect, and a lovely first impression when people first reach for their glass! • Keep an eye out for a nice big glass jug or carafe when you go around charity shops. You can make a nice big batch of lemonade this way, and it’s easy to store in the fridge for optimum chill factor. • Select good, juicy lemons. Give each one a good squeeze when selecting them from your greengrocers; the firmer it feels, the more juice is likely to be in it. Smell them; the more lemony the better!

• Just before you cut them in half, firmly press down onto the cutting board and roll to make them easier to juice. • For added visual effect, cut a lemon segment halfway up between the peel and the flesh and then perch it on the rim as an additional edible accessory! Also nice is to pinch the tops off a fresh mint plant and to place a sprig of mint in each drink or the serving jug itself. Makes 1 pitcher 10 lemons 1½ litres/3 pints cold water 330–550g/11½oz–1lb 4oz/1½–2½ cups) granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you like your lemonade) Ice Squeeze lemons, retaining the juice. Boil water and sugar in a pan for 2 minutes. Once sugar is dissolved leave to cool. Add lemon juice to water/sugar mixture and stir. Add ice to chill.

“This is a taste and add recipe. Add more water if it is too sweet. If it is too weak, add more lemon juice. As an extra nice touch, wet the rim of the glass and dip it in sugar before serving the lemonade. This drink goes very well with fresh, sweet strawberries.”

The Black Cat Cakery supplies local shops and businesses in Manchester.

theblackcatcakery@gmail.com www.theblackcatcakery.com Didsbury Dinners is an 80-page A4 glossy paperback packed full of recipes from local residents and groups. Buy your copy for just £6.99 from The Albert Club and Didsbury Civic Society. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards promoting local food sustainability.

didsburydinners@yahoo.co.uk

Recipe reproduced from Didsbury Dinners: The Low-Carbon Community Cookbook, with kind permission from the editor Amanda Woodvine.

Didsbury Dinners bears fruit!

Amanda Woodvine, Local Project Manager for Action for Sustainable Living In October 2010, we started work a community project to get people to consider how food is linked to climate change. The first phase of the project was the publication of Didsbury Dinners: The Low-Carbon Community Cookbook, this April. The glossy 80-page paperback contains recipes donated by Didsbury residents, schools, community groups and businesses. It is also chock-full of tips on how we can effortlessly save ourselves money – a whopping £170 for the average household – and drastically cut greenhouse gasemissions, too. The cookbook costs just £6.99, and is now on sale at both of the Sure Start Centres in Didsbury, at BoHo’s in Chorlton, and online via Amazon.co.uk. It is also available from Didsbury Civic Society and Cracking Good Food (more details below). The second phase of the project involves investing the book sales proceeds in local food sustainability projects. And early book sales have already been used to subsidise two exciting new ventures. New community orchard on Stenner Lane, Didsbury Didsbury Dinners is proud to support the work of Didsbury Greening and Growing Group (DGG), an initiative started and with the

support of Didsbury Civic Society. DGG aims to make a practical and tangible difference to our local landscape. One of its plans is to grow more local food, with more allotments and orchards. In March 2011, DGG started to plan a community orchard, situated at the back of the rugby pitches on Stenner Lane. After fundraising for trees amongst family, friends and at Didsbury Festival – and with a sizeable contribution from Didsbury Dinners – a small army of volunteers cleared the site. In early July, 40 fruit trees were planted – apple, pear, plum and damson. This fruit is there to be enjoyed by anyone, for free. It is hoped that fruit will start to appear from next summer onwards, but summer 2013 is more realistic. Watch this space for updates! DGG’s next plan is to re-establish the existing pond on the site, prior to setting up bee hives on raised ground behind it next year. Regular help will be needed to strim and clear the site, which is never-ending task! The group’s working party plans to meet monthly until the end of autumn, and will need lots of help next spring. For more information or to get involved, contact John or Judy by email: jjzlr2@talk21.com

You’ll be made very welcome. Free 4-week cookery course starting in September Didsbury Dinners has also joined forces with Cracking Good Food, a cooking network based in Cholrton, to bring a new 4-week cookery course to Didsbury. The course is expected to start in mid-September, and will be held at West Didsbury Sure Start Centre at the Manchester College Fielden Campus on Barlow Moor Road. A free crèche will be available. The course will be a chance to learn about the joy of locally sourced, affordable and seasonal food. As places are limited, we will give priority to people in financial need – that is with a small regular income and low savings. (We will follow the income and savings limits used for eligibility for Council Tax benefit.) If you are interested in a place on the course, please email didsburydinners@yahoo.co.uk or call 07599 022259. For more details about the Didsbury Dinners project including how you can get involved, please email as above, or follow us on Facebook.

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lesley@communityindex.co.uk

to advertise call Lesley: 0787 589 5604 lesley@communityindex.co.uk

LETS be having you We’ve all got little things that we’ve been meaning to sort out for ages, little things that would make life that bit nicer or easier. The broken cupboard we know could be mended, but aren’t quite sure how to do it. The language we always meant to learn. The favourite suit with years of wear left in it, if only that seam was sewn back up properly. Trouble is, sorting these things out always seems to cost money, or involve having a go at something we’ve got no idea how to do. Then again, there are things that we’re good at, and enjoy doing, but don’t get the chance. Some of us are dab hands at decorating, but rent and aren’t allowed to change the decor. Others love gardening, but haven’t got a garden. Others love baking, but find we never get through a whole cake on our own. A revived Manchester community organisation is looking to help people make the most of what they’re good at, and get a hand with jobs that they find more tricky. Manchester LETS (Local

by Caroline Leonard

Exchange Trading Scheme) is a system for exchanging goods and services without money. It works based on an alternative currency, the M, which people earn by providing something for other users, like a lift to the shops or

a couple of hours of gardening, and can spend on things they need, like having their dog taken for a walk or a bit of DIY done. Using the M means that there is no need to find someone to do a direct swap with, as users can earn Ms from helping one person and spend them on getting help from another. Some Community Index readers may remember a previous Manchester LETS scheme from some years ago, based on paper cheques. Now technology is taking the strain, with all transfer of Ms done through a website (manchesterlets.org).

Among the offers currently online are tool hire, homemade bread, eco-renovations advice, freezer meals, circus skills and accounting help. In the wanted listings are driving lessons, hairdressing, local eggs, someone to put up a few pictures and help fixing a gate, as well as many others. The scheme’s Core Organising Team say it has a multitude of benefits, including the chance to save money, meet other people in your community and benefit from your underused skills. They are keen to hear from users of the original Manchester LETS and learn from their expertise, and also for volunteers to help publicise and run Manchester LETS. To use Manchester LETS, go to manchesterlets.org and sign up for an account by clicking ‘Use Manchester LETS’. If you don’t have access to the internet, phone 07906700114 and leave a message, and a member of the Core Organising Team will call you back.

www.manchesterlets.org info@manchesterlets.org

www.planetvintagegirl.com

to advertise call Lesley: 0787 589 5604 lesley@communityindex.co.uk

at: Insitu 252 Chester Rd Hulme M15 4EX

Tel: 07989 406 858

furniture & accessories

vintage & retro

August in your Garden

by Katherine Watson

At the end of August you can doing – and will gladly watch start planting some of your spring Carol Klein do it on TV, but flowering bulbs – particularly never seem to get round to it of the daffodil family, but also ourselves. It’s really easy – pop colchicums and hardy cyclamen. out into the garden for ten Daffodils (narcissi) recommence minutes and pull/snip/snap off their root growth in late summer any spent flowers or developing so it’s good to give them a head seed heads – you won’t get it start sooner rather than later. wrong even if you accidentally You can even start Hyacinths for take out some newly developing Christmas towards the end of buds – things come back. This will the month and into September. mean the plants will continue to And there we have it, the first flower and look good for longer. mention of Christmas in August You can also start saving seed – our perennial acceptance that from seed heads of things that we will&never actually won’t flower again. Give it•a Back, Neck Pains Joint Painshave a proper summer so we may as go – on a dry day (!) take off any • Sports Injuries well reconcile ourselves to the seed head of any flower that is slow march to winter! looking brown and papery and The message of deadheading • Ergonomic Assessments • Ergonomic Assessments bring it indoors for a day or so flowering perennials is a mantra to fully dry out and then tap the • Deep Tissue • Deep Tissue Massage that seems to be part of ourMassage Katherine Watson, seeds out of it and store in an cultural canon – something we Fat Grass Garden Designs envelope or something similar to • Podiatry • Podiatry know instinctively we should be sow next year. Most gardening books suggest that August can be a less busy time in the garden – a relaxed lull amidst the frenetic work of adjacent months, where we can simply sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labour. That is, of course, assuming we have been consistently engaged in frenetic gardening in the months leading up to our well earned ‘holiday’ which, let’s face it, isn’t the case for most of us. So August could actually be the month where many of us find time to do a bit more gardening and & there • Back, Neck Joint are plenty of things that can be done. • Sports Injuries

Village Physio

• Pregnancy Massage & Pilates

• Nutritionist

& Sports Injury Clinic

Tel: 0161 448 7844 3 Warburton St, Didsbury Village, M20 6WA

didsburyphysio@btinternet.com www.didsburyphysio.co.uk

Village Physio & Sports Injury Clinic • Back, Neck & Joint Pains

• Ergonomic Assessments

• Sports Injuries • Podiatry

• Deep Tissue Massage

• Pregnancy Massage & Pilates didsburyphysio@btinternet.com

www.didsburyphysio.co.uk

• Nutritionist

Tel: 0161 448 7844 3 Warburton St, Didsbury Village, M20 6WA

Community Index

PRINT Litho print â&#x20AC;˘ Digital printâ&#x20AC;˘ Graphic Design Service

Business Cards Loyalty Cards Leaflets Flyers Posters Postcards Letterheads Compliment Slips Email us for a quote: print@communityindex.co.uk

Tel: 0787 589 5604 to advertise call Lesley: 0787 589 5604 lesley@communityindex.co.uk

Business Index Handyman/woman

Building & Maintenance Best Cellars Broadoak Preservation Devine Building & Maintenance

4 7 2

Carpet Cleaning Profresh

Dry Cleaners

Village Dry Cleaners

JP & Brimelow

Devine Floorsanding

Estate Agent Floors

Food & Drink

Barbakan Delicatessen

Caritas Care

Fostering & Adoption Gardens

Fat Grass Garden Design

23 Please note: Community Index accepts no responsibility for transactions entered into or work undertaken by any of the businesses advertising in the Index or any loss, harm or damage arising from using any of the products & services listed.

Carol Smith Didsbury Handyman

18 12

www.planetvintagegirl.com

Devine Kitchens

Burton Road Clinic

Sally Gilkes Carol Smith

14 18

Petpals

Village Physio

Kieranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quality Plastering

Homes & Interiors Kitchens

Osteopathy

Painting & Decorating Petcare

Physiotherapy Plastering

Printing

Community Index Print

Roofer

M Duffin

Shopping

Tagpassiton Didsbury

Manchester Social Friends

Alexander Technique

Didsbury Window Cleaning

Social Group

Therapy & Healing Window Cleaner

Useful Numbers Council

Gas Emergency 0800 111 999

Manchester City Council 234 5000

GMPTE 0870 6082 608

www.manchester.gov.uk

Bus, Train & Tram 228 7811

Environment on Call 954 9000

Rail Enquiries 0845 7484 950

Didsbury Library 227 3755

NHS Direct 0845 4647

Friends of Didsbury Park www.friendsofdidsburypark.co.uk

Police - non emergency 872 5050

Friends of Fletcher Moss Park Alan Hill 445 1535

Local Councillors Didsbury East Andrew Simcock cllr.a.simcock@manchester.gov.uk

Andrew Taylor cllr.a.taylor@manchester.gov.uk

David Sandiford cllr.d.sandiford@manchester.gov.uk

Local Councillors Didsbury West Mark Clayton cllr.m.clayton@manchester.gov.uk

Graham Shaw cllr.g.shaw@manchester.gov.uk

David Ellison cllr.d.ellison@manchester.gov.uk

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Samaritans 236 8000

www.samaritans.org

Community Didsbury Amateur Dramatics www.celestaplayers.co.uk Didsbury Civic Society www.didsburycivicsociety.org.uk Didsbury Cricket Club http://didsburyccsports.co.uk Didsbury Good Neighbours www.didsburygoodneighbours.com Marie Greenhalgh 07749 504298 Didsbury Over 50s Group 247 2323

Services

Didsbury Village East Residents Association www.dvera.co.uk Didsbury Village Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute www.didsburyvillagewi.co.uk

Friends of Marie Louise Gardens www.marielouisegardens.org.uk Oxfam Didsbury 434 5380 South Manchester Camera Club www.smcc.org.uk West Didsbury Residents Association www.westdidsbury.org.uk Pam Siddons 445 5406 West Didsbury Society for Writers Jane Woolley 957 1663 DIDSBURY ON THE WEB http://didsbury.fetch.it/

Citizens Advice 0870 126 4094

please mention Community Index when responding to adverts

We have the local We have the local knowledge, expertise knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm and enthusiasm When it comes to selling or letting

your house, you want to be sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re When comes to selling or letting making theitright choice of agent. You your house, you want to be sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re want to be sure you get the best price, making the right choice of agent. You in the shortest time frame with the want to be sure you get the best price, minimum fuss. in the shortest time frame with the

At JP &minimum Brimelow,fuss. we have many years experience and letting At JPselling & Brimelow, we haveproperties many yearsin South Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular and affluent suburbs. experience selling and letting properties in South We understand themost unique nature the area and Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popular andofaffluent suburbs. the many it has to offer. alsoarea have We attractions understand the unique natureWe of the and the enthusiasm and determination to actively the many attractions it has to offer. We also have marketthe your propertyand to the most likely enthusiasm determination to occupier, actively irrespective market conditions. marketofyour property to the most likely occupier, irrespective of market conditions.

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National & Corporate Links

National & Corporate Links Based on our quality of service, local knowledge and Based on our qualityJP of service, local knowledge professionalism, & Brimelow have beenand hand professionalism, & Brimelow have been hand picked by the JP Home Sale Network. picked by the Home Sale Network.

Home Sale Network members are Cartusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preferred

Home Sale Network members are Cartusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; preferred estate agency for corporate relocations. This gives the estate agency for corporate relocations. This gives the sale or let of your home national coverage to those sale or let of your home national coverage to those looking to relocate. looking to relocate.

Lettings Lettings

JP&&Brimelow Brimelow offer a specialist department in all JP offer a specialist lettingletting department in all ourcovered covered areas provide a tailored professional our areas andand provide a tailored professional service second to none. We provide a let only service service second to none. We provide a let only service andalso also more popular letmanaged and managed all and thethe more popular let and service,service, all handled byby ARLA qualified staff staff to give peace handled ARLA qualified toyou give you peace ofofmind that your valuable assetasset is in the care mind that your valuable is in theofcare of professionals. professionals. As ofof ourour service, we provide dedicated property Aspart part service, we provide dedicated property management andand accounts departments to ensure your management accounts departments to ensure your let smoothly throughout itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; term. letruns runs smoothly throughout itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; term. Our services department basedbased in the Didsbury Ourproperty property services department in the Didsbury office are also on hand to deal with any maintenance, office are also on hand to deal with any maintenance, repair works, refurbishment or general building work, all repair works, refurbishment or general building work, all completed by our full time and experienced workforce at completed by our full time and experienced workforce at competitive prices.

competitive prices.

748a Wilmslow Rd Didsbury M20 2DW @jpandbrimelow

SALES: 0161 448 0622 didsbury@jpbrimelow.co.uk

LETTINGS: 0161 445 2300 lettings@jpbrimelow.co.uk