LOCAL NEWS
SIX NEW RESIDENTS
Fly tipping, I got an unsigned email from some person calling themselves Six New Residents, regarding my article on fly tipping. Just a few points to clear up, firstly fly tipping has been happening on the estate for years and not just because of the charge for the brown bins, The council are not responsible for the charges made at the recycling centre that is down to the people who run the centre, Yes they only allow two bags of rubble this is to prevent contractors from offloading van loads of builders waste. Please if you have concerns contact me and give me your name so that I can response to you and get you answers to your questions.
Suffolk Age UK day centre Saxon House
I received a letter informing me that the Saxon House day care centre on our estate is now closed. This is a big blow to our senior residents who depend on it for companionship and a place to go instead of sitting alone at home. There are three other centres in Bury and they are Davers Court which is Care UK, Glastonbury court again Care UK and Gatehouse. There is a cost to using these centres and people will have to travel to get there. I believe discussions have already taken place with Care UK and Gatehouse. Suffolk County Council are working alongside Suffolk Age UK to ensure a swift transfer of support for those currently attending Saxon House.
YOUTH CLUB
The youth club opens on the 10th January, 6.30 until 8.30 so please come along and enlist. Enjoy the games provided Xbox, Table tennis, pool table, and many more games. We are planning some outside adventures but we need your input as to what you would like. Some ideas like ten pin bowling, Perhaps trips to the seaside, it would be great if we could form a youth committee, please come along and support the club.
Problems
Should you have any problems or there is an issue you would like to discuss please just contact me you have my detail or if you would like to meet we can always meet in the youth club . the coffee house if you prefer.
Until next time, take care, Frank Warby JANUARY 2017 | 11
LOCAL NEWS
Moreton Hall News...
from Cllr Peter Thompson
An Illuminating Look at Charity I hope you took the opportunity again this year to take in the Christmas lights displayed at the end of Kembold Close opposite Christ Church. This is now an annual institution and is down to the hard work of a few individuals using their own time and resources to raise money for charity. They are unsung heroes, so I’m going to take the opportunity to particularly extend the thanks of the commununity to David Jones, Mark Crake and Andrew Banham for bringing a little (a lot!) of light into our lives. At time of writing, the total raised isn’t in, so please find me on Facebook or Twitter (@ThompsonBStE) where I’ll update you.
Flying in the Face of Decency I have again been contacted about fly posting and advertising and have noticed another rise; it seems to come around every few months. I’m particularly annoyed at the big advert at the Sainsburys roundabout, both in terms of size and content and have reported it for removal. I’m not sure how I feel about the forest of free-standing signs further up Bedingfeld Way which advertise local businesses. I’d like to know your opinion, so if you have some views, please let me know at peter.thompson@ stedsbc.gov.uk or on 07810 868986.
Happy New Year
HOUSE RISES You may have seen that houses are now magically rising out of the ground at some pace at the head of Mount Road. We will soon have some new neighbours, but I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that those new houses are officially in Great Barton and Rushbrook. We will be taking the chance to ask them things like where their tax goes, where they wed and where they want to vote once they are at 50% occupancy.
Very simply, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, prosperous and positive New Year! 14 | JANUARY 2017
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LOCAL NEWS
from
May I on behalf of the Committee wish all our residents a happy 2017 We still have vacancies on our Committee, so if you if you are interested in our community and could afford a couple of hours once every 2 months we would be happy to hear from you. Once again could I ask anyone with experience of setting up and maintaining a web site to contact us, with a view to helping us start this urgent project early this year. The ongoing saga of McDonalds rumbles on, with at the moment no idea when the matter will be raised at a Borough Council Development Control Meeting at which your representatives will air your objections. As soon as we know, we will advise. It is obvious that there will be more developing issues during this year, which hopefully can be resolved for you.
By-Election May we congratulate County Councillor Trevor Beckwith on being re-elected as
one of the three Borough Councillors serving Moreton Hall, and hope he will work for the betterment of our estate, as he has for many years. Thanks also to the other candidates for standing.
Other Topics for this year County Council Elections. These take place in May Devolution. Discussions still taking place. Town Centre Master Plan. Public consultation. Our next Committee meeting is on 5th January 2017 at 19 30 in the Community Centre. Please feel free to come along if you have any concerns. You can contact us at secretarymhra@ gmail.com Cliff Hind, Chairman cliffhind2001@yahoo.co.uk E Mail secretarymhra@gmail.com JANUARY 2017 | 15
HOME + LIFESTYLE
Things to do with unwant Christmas is finally over but were you happy with all your presents? Nope. Didn’t think so. You’re not the only one – across the world people were opening their gifts with excited, hopeful glee only for their hearts to sink in bitter disappointment moments later. But what do you do with your gifts once it’s all over and you’re just left with a gross cheese board or horribly itchy jumper. How do you handle the awkward situation of never wanting to set eyes on it ever again? Don’t worry we are here to help. Here are some ideas on what you can do with your unwanted Christmas presents.
54 | JANUARY 2017
HOME + LIFESTYLE
anted Christmas presents Swapsies Imagine your aunt gave you a bobbly scarf that you think is frankly hideous. And she gave your sister woolly socks that you can’t help but envy, but she’s looking equally unimpressed whilst eyeing up your scarf. The solution is simple – just swap them.
Give them to your worst enemy Especially if they are offensive presents like these where you ended up with coal soap or an ‘up yours mug’ as a joke. What better way to show they’ve made your naughty list this year.
Give them to someone else you actually like It might not be for you, but you may know someone else who would delight in a tacky style Christmas jumper with a massive Rudolph nose that lights up on it in next years christmas stocking. That person is just not you.
Exchange them If they’ve been so kind and included a gift receipt with your present, you can exchange it for something better. Most retailers will have a ‘good will’ policy meaning that you can get a exchange, refund or credit note for most returns. Though if you were bought chocolates, a DVD or personalised items, you’ll have no luck I’m afraid.
Sell them on eBay Christmas hit your bank account hard. This could be the opportunity to make some money back out of a bad situation. On eBay there are even items listed under the search term ‘unwanted Christmas present’. I’m not sure who else would be looking for such items, but good to know it’s there?
Give them to charity ‘Sorry mum, but that jumper is needed by people less fortunate than me’ It’s the season of good-will after all. If you can’t find a way that you could benefit off your unwanted gifts, there’s definitely someone less fortunate than you that probably could.
Give them to your pet Because dogs get cold too. And animals in woollies are just the best.
Or just be honest There’s only so much grinning and bearing you can handle before you explode. Though this may lead you to getting nothing next year… so maybe not… JANUARY 2017 | 55
HOME + LIFESTYLE
Joyful January When you hear the word ‘January’ what immediately comes to mind? Dark cold nights? Credit card bills? Back to school? Winter depression? Meager diets? Flu? Broken resolutions? The more people I speak to, the more there seems to be an overwhelming theme that the word ‘January’ comes with its fair share of joyless sentiments. Perhaps that is because we place in such high esteem the abundant dawn of Christmas morning and extravagance of New Years Eve parties that January leaves us to come crashing down from such an outrageous height, leaving the everyday moments of January so lacking in comparison?
I don’t mean to negate the reality that January does hold for many some very real stresses and strains. My husbands work is often very seasonal so the winter months of January have most certainly in the past been littered with stressful exchanges regarding how the bills are going to be met or the holiday be paid for. I empathise with you, I really do. However, in recent years I am 68 | JANUARY 2017
determined that January become the month in which I build on from the joy of the festive season and I would like to encourage you to do the same. To do this we require a shift in perspective and expectation, a culture exchange within our mindsets. We’re sold that life has its ups and downs, a bit like a rollercoaster. One moment we’re up in the lofty heights
HOME + LIFESTYLE of promotion, abundance, health and vitality to then suddenly be whisked around the corner into redundancy, apparent lack, ill health and loss. This is truth but the attitude we approach the tempestuous journey of life determines our overall experience. Do you scream all the way round, hold on for dear life, shut your eyes and beg for it all to be over? Or do feel the rush of the wind blowing on your face, see the beauty around you, take notice of the smiles of those riding with you and let your arms fling up above your head trusting you’ll get through in one piece? One person will step off the rollercoaster prepared for the next, wanting to find the next ride to go on. Whereas the other will step off the ride quaking in their boots, ready to run and hide, never wanting to embrace another ride again and if they do, they are absolutely sure it will be the same dreadful experience as before. One will build upon their previous experience and one will stay assured that life’s rollercoaster is simply to be grinned and bared. Which person are you this January? January is the beginning of a new year, a fresh start, a blank canvas ready to be scribbled and dreamed all over. There probably will be hefty credit card bills, flu, broken resolutions, disappointments...the list could go on! But it’s how we approach the ‘impending doom’, the downward plunge of the rollercoaster that will shape our January 2017 and our whole year in fact.
It has the potential to be joy-FULL or joy-LESS and I know which one I’d choose! Tips for a Joy-FULL January 1. Be realistic with your expectations: don’t expect too much, try and be content with a little less. 2. Savour the simple moments: the beauty of the frosty webs on the hedgerows or the smile of a loved one across the room. 3. Accept a hug: embrace those around you, let people in when it’s tough. 4. Share your story: encourage one another, walk, talk and listen to another. 5. Rest: stop and pause, find one thing to be thankful for on the dark days. 6. Get up: when bed looks an appealing place to hide, get up and accept the invitation of coffee with a friend. Making a culture exchange with our mindsets begins with just a few simple steps. This January joinme in exchanging a mindset of ‘impending doom’ with a mindset of joy-FULLness, whatever twistsand turns the ride has in store. Have a Joyful January Bury St Edmunds. Xx
Love
Lizi Long JANUARY 2017 | 69
CHURCH NEWS
Christ Church MORETON HALL I hope your Christmas has been joyous, happy and a time for friends and family, love, presents and fun together. We had a great time at Church with more services than ever all with large congregations. We also got very good support from you all through shoeboxes Christingle. We also thank Dave at Tesco Express for his donations of food for our services. As I look back over 2016 and its momentous decisions I realise we are all worried by events and people over whom we have little control. I have also noted that in 2016 the sharp divisions in society have become wider. Worse the level of trolling by people is becoming abhorrent. It is so sad and certainly people at national and international level are more concerned to hurl insults at each other than to come up with constructive 82 | JANUARY 2017
proposals for working together in a better and more secure way. My fervent prayer for the community on Moreton Hall is that this should not be the case here. It does seem to me that it would be wise if all the community leaders could meet together to talk about ways in which our community could work together in harmony. Therefore, I am asking the Borough and Town Councillors, representatives from the Borough, the schools, and community leaders from the Moreton Hall with interests in the environment, care programmes, the Community Centre and the church. If, in these discussions, we could have some clear consensus on the sort of things we want to see developed on the estate and ways in which we can work together to ensure
the quality of life, peace and security is protected here, I think that would be a good thing. I am suspicious of terms like ‘model community’ but the truth is Moreton Hall is a lovely place to live, there are many good people and lots of exciting activities taking place here. We can show the rest of West Suffolk what can be achieved with sensible planning and wise political and local leadership. Therefore, in 2017 I would call on all of us to listen carefully to one another so that we can build on what is a lovely community and safeguard its future not only for ourselves, but also for our children and their children. We also believe in prayer and have been encouraged by your response to our prayer visiting. On Saturday 21st January some people from