In Touch

in touch your local community noticeboard april - may 2020

Anson Engine Muse um Re-opens af ter Winter Brea k “We’ve lived in the area for years, the museum’s just down the road and we’ve never been” is a comment frequently heard when new visitors arrive, so why not check out one of the largest collections of engines in Europe? The Anson Engine Museum is now recognised as one of the country’s leading specialist museums, with over 250 gas and oil engines, many maintained in running order. The museum site also includes a working blacksmith’s smithy, a woodland craft area, café and a local history section with a giant scale model of Poynton (c1900).

The museum reopens from 10am to 4pm on Sundays and Mondays, starting on 12 and 13 April, until it closes again for winter on 25 October. There will be craft and steam demonstrations and special events each month see www.enginemuseum.org for more details.

On Friday 8 May the museum is joining the international celebration of peace commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Victory in Europe. At 3pm Winston Churchill’s speech will be played, the “Battle’s Over” will be piped and the WW2 Heroes will be toasted. On Sunday 10 May at 10.30am the Last Post will be played.

On both days there will be 1940s films showing in the museum’s cosy little cinema, there will be a WW2 display, particularly remembering the 35 Poynton folk who lost their lives, WW2 songs played over the tannoy system and the colliery bell will be rung, celebrating the peace and in memory of all WW2 Heroes.

POYNTON and DISTRICT ROTARY Poynton Rotary carried out their annual Christmas collection on two Saturdays in December outside Waitrose, Aldi and the Post Office. They are very grateful for the generosity of the Poynton public enabling them to raise the sum of £750 to support local charities and organisations.

This is just one of several local activities where funds are raised to help the local community and the main event of the year is Party in the Park held at Poynton Pool. This year it will be held on the 13 June so please put in your diaries and await further advertising with details on, acts and tickets, in the coming months.

THE GREAT BRITISH DOG WALK The Great British Dog Walk, a popular charity dog walk run by national charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, is back for a sixth year and is once more coming to beautiful Lyme Park, on Saturday 2 May 2020.

Hundreds of walkers of all ages, and dogs of all shapes and sizes, will be taking part to have fun, meet like-minded people and support Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, the charity that trains dogs to alert deaf people to important and life-saving sounds and help deaf people to leave loneliness behind. The walk is sponsored by Specsavers Audiologists, helping Hearing Dogs to raise more funds to transform the lives of deaf people.

On the day there are two walk options – either 5km or 8km routes, making it ideal for dog owners, families, single walkers, organised walking groups and those who simply want to meet lots of dogs and get a bit of exercise for a good cause. There will also be fun additional activities at the walk, including a demonstration by local Hearing Dog partnerships and information from the NT Lyme Park ranger team.

It costs around £40,000 to fully train and support a hearing dog for the duration of its life and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People receives no government funding so every walker will be helping to transform the lives of deaf people. Tickets are £10 in advance or £12 on the day. While sponsorship is encouraged to help Hearing Dogs train more life-changing dogs, it is not a requirement.

To sign-up to the Great British Dog Walk at Lyme Park, or for more information visit www.greatbritishdogwalk.org.

WORKER BEE MARKETS LAUNCH ARTISAN AWARDS Stockport’s only multi-centre artisan market organiser is launching the Worker Bee Artisan Awards.

Aimed at artisan micro-businesses who live, create and sell in SK postcodes, these awards offer cash prizes, handmade awards and mentorship to help them grow their businesses and develop their trade.

The judges for the awards, which will be open for nominations on 1 May, are MP for Cheadle, Mary Robinson, sponsor and local estate agent Ric Pickford, Stockport business owner Dylan Moore, Greater Manchester food blogger Keeley Watts and community champion and artist Natalie Kaciubskyj.

They have been hand-picked to judge the Awards by Worker Bee Markets’ owner and curator Clare Simpson, due to their connection with and support for these local markets which started in 2018 and have grown to now include six regular events and pop-ups (in Bramhall Village, Hazel Grove, Cheadle, Poynton, Marple Bridge and Reddish.)

The Awards, all named after the Worker Bee concept are as follows: Pollen Award offering marketing support for new businesses; Honeycomb Award offering up to £500 towards a piece of equipment to help a business grow; Beeswax Award to reward sustainability and green criteria; Beehive Award to reward the best stall layout. The Nectar Award celebrates the best-tasting produce or food. Traders and makers will vote for the best venue in the Beekeeper Award. The public can get involved too by voting for their favourite stall, who they think is the Bees’ Knees.

Winners will receive an award commissioned and handmade by their peers and a cheque for £100 each to help their business grow. More information on who can apply and how to apply at www.workerbeemarkets.wordpress.com

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Plant Lo vers ’ Paradise at Bramall Hall & Adlington Hall Sunday 5 April sees the popular Plant Hunters’ Fair return to Bramall Hall with a huge choice of quality, nursery-grown plants. At this time of year, there will be a brilliant line-up of nurseries attending who will come laden with flowering bulbs, early flowering perennials, shrubs and trees to provide instant colour and also lots of later flowering plants to get planted for colour into the summer and beyond. Now’s the time to think ahead and plan that dream border for your garden.

The Plant Fair is a fund-raising event for special projects at the hall and has proved hugely popular, rapidly gaining a reputation as the best specialist plant fair in the area offering a dazzling array of plants all for just £2 entry to the fair. The plant fair will open at the earlier time of 10am to 4pm on Sunday 5 April. For full details of nurseries attending please see www.planthuntersfairs.co.uk

On Sunday 10 May, Adlington Hall, Macclesfield welcomes back Plant Hunters’ Fairs and this special event offers entry to the wonderful gardens and plant fair at the special rate of just £3 that’s half standard entry price! (children 15 years and under are free when accompanied by an adult).

The plant fair has become a magnet for plant lovers from near and far and Plant Hunters’ Fairs have pulled out all the stops to get a great line-up of 20 brilliant independent plant nurseries including RHS award winners to create a plant lover’s paradise.

At Adlington there are the beautiful gardens, woodland walks and parkland to explore. The bluebells should be at their best along with early flowering shrubs and trees. The 2,000-acre Estate contains parkland landscaped in the 18th century in the style of ‘Capability Brown’ complete with ha-ha. The Lime Avenue dating from 1688 is one of the oldest surviving in Britain and leads to a woodland wilderness with winding paths, temples, bridges and follies in a rococo manner. A path through the laburnum arcade leads into the formal rose garden, then on to the maze created in English Yew. The Father Tiber water garden provides a peaceful haven with its ponds, fountains and water cascade and the newly created parterre provides a colourful addition to the east wing. Other features include a large herbaceous border, rockeries, specimen trees, azaleas and rhododendrons.

The plant fair runs from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 10 May. There is lots of free parking and dogs on leads are very welcome. Please see www.planthuntersfairs.co.uk to find out which nurseries will be attending.