MEASHAM
DONISTHORPE, OAKTHORPE, MOIRA, APPLEBY MAGNA & RAVENSTONE
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COMMUNITY EYE
FREE MONTHLY LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS, PUZZLES, COMPETITIONS & MORE
ISSUE 6 - SEP/OCT 2015 2015 MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS’
AWARDS
Shortlisted Best New Magazine
IN THE GARDEN WITH BEL
BARGAIN BOOK SALE
Launching Botanica Garden School
At Ashby Library
WIN TICKETS
To The Christmas Festive Fair
QUIZ NIGHT
At Measham Youth Centre A KIDS PERSONALISED TRICK OR TREAT BAG
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Visit From Rt Hon Nicky Morgan Secretary Of State For Education 2X YEW LODGE HOTEL SPOOKTACULAR TICKETS
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WELCOME TO YOUR SEPTEMBER ISSUE Autumn is here and with it comes Halloween and Bonfire night! Inside this edition you can find spooky treats and scary competitions along with seasonal gardening tips and lots of local news!
very proud of this achievement and would like to thank all of our readers and advertisers for your support. We find out if we have won any of the categories soon, but it has been an honour just to be shortlisted.
It also gives me great pleasure to let you know that we have been shortlisted for 4 national awards! The Association of Independent Magazine Publishers have shortlisted us for Best News Editorial, Best Social Media, Best New Magazine for our Measham magazine and also our Director James has been shortlisted for Most Inspirational Business Owner. Needless to say we are
I really do enjoy putting your magazines together for you each month and also visiting various events and local productions. We are a community magazine and as such you are at the heart of what we do. Please do continue to send in your news and events and I will do my best to include as much as I can.
LEICESTERSHIRE, LEADERS AT INSPIRING DISENGAGED PUPILS?
Newbridge High School who are working with the Sir John Moore Foundation and Leicestershire and Rutland Sports Partnership to develop a level two diploma related to their passion for wheeled sports. Nicky also enjoyed lunch at Thringstone Primary School where she talked to the pupils about the array of intervention groups used to support emotional, social and education development for all of their pupils ensuring that every child receives the best education available. The celebonference saw many head teachers and educational professionals come together to hear educational specialists; Miriam Bentley and Pam Mundy talk about the importance of caring for every child’s needs and listening to and
Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education spent an afternoon at a celebonference at the Sir John Moore Foundation as part of her day in the county looking at examples of the wonderful work being done to ensure our young people are kept inspired and engaged with education. The day also entailed a visit to Loughborough Skate Park where Nicky met some young people and some pupils from
engaging with young people to ensure they are active learners and feel involved in their own education. Nicky’s passion for lowering the number of young people classed at NEET (not in employment, education or training) led to her supporting the new passion diplomas being designed in Leicestershire by the young people themselves. The passion diplomas will be on a variety of subjects, each designed by young people around activities they enjoy. Each diploma will also cover personal development, IT and public speaking, ensuring students also learn life skills necessary for interviews and employment. For more information about the diplomas please contact miriam.e.bentley@gmail.com.
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LOCAL NEWS
VENTURE THEATRE ASHBY DRAMATIC SOCIETY NEWS Do you ever wonder whether some actors, after playing a major role on a long run, find it difficult to return to reality? Our Christmas play “The Game’s Afoot” subtitled “Holmes for the Holidays”, features just such an actor! William Gillette, played for us by Nigel Freer, is known around the world for his role as Sherlock Holmes, so when the chance comes to play the role in real life, in his own home, he jumps at the chance. Director, Karen Heath, told us, “I subscribe to Stageplays, an online magazine, and noticed
The Game’s Afoot had won the Mystery Writers Award so sent for a copy to read. The play, set at Christmas time, was great fun to read and I thought our audience would love to sit back and be entertained with a funny but quirky murder or two, misbehaving dead bodies and a budding Sherlock Holmes.” The play runs from Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th November and Wednesday 3rd to Saturday 6th December. Ashby Dramatic Society owns The Venture Theatre in North Street, Ashby. Anyone interested in joining, whether to act, help behind the scenes or front of house, is welcome to come down and meet us on Monday club evenings from 8.30pm onwards when the bar is open and a friendly crowd await to welcome you.
LRWT NORTH WEST GROUP
We are a friendly group which meets monthly for talks, visits, conservation work and social events. All talks are in the church hall of Ashby Methodist Chapel, Burton Road, and begin at 7-30, entry is £2 each
David Maltby on 01530 222934 Margaret Mabey on 01530 412410 Oct 23rd temples,tigers and a bear called Polly
Pollyanna Pickering makes a welcome return to show how she worked hands on with tigers and elephants, trekking through remote jungles in Thailand and Vietnam. Admission -adults £4 children free. Tickets available from Margaret.
Nov 7th Enjoy an autumnal walk in South Wood.
Dave Wroughton leads a walk around this ancient wood with many veteran trees and interesting things to see including fungi. Meet Staunton Harold car park 2-00 p.m.
Nov 20th The National Forest. Sam Lattaway reviews
progress made on the development of this showcase scheme and its wildlife, as well as outlining future developments.
Nov 27th Social evening-skittles and meal
Meet at 7-30 for a chance to meet your wildlife friends, have a good meal and play skittles in the enjoyable, traditional pub setting of The Odd House, Snareston. Cost £10 for main course, sweets extra, please book with David Wroughton.
Dec 18th AGM and “Walking with Wombats ”
Anne and Andrew Heaton tell us of their recent adventures with Australian wildlife.
Jan 1st New Year’s Day walk at Bradgate Park.
Enjoy the delights of an historic setting, unique mammals and a wide range of flora. Meet at 1:00pm in main car park. N.B. Parking charge payable, car sharing suggested..
Jan 22nd Michael Jeeves LRWT looks at the future for wildlife in Leicestershire
He will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by the Living Landscape Projects, HS2 and increasing pressure from development.
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FRIENDS OF ASHBY BATH GROUNDS WIN HERITAGE LOTTERY SUPPORT FOR THE FOOTPATH PROJECT AND HERITAGE TRAIL The Friends of Ashby Bath Grounds in partnership with Ashby Town Council have been successful in their community project application and have received £44,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The HLF funding, together with £20,000 previously awarded by North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) and monies raised from the Mercury newspaper coupon initiative last year, means that the Friends of Ashby Bath Grounds have now raised the full £65,000 required. Work on building the path and trail can commence this autumn. Led by volunteers from the local community, the project focuses on providing an all-weather footpath and heritage trail around the northern boundary of the Bath Grounds between the South Street and Prior Park Road entrances. The heritage trail will comprise 4 heritage interpretation boards and 2 mosaics. An accompanying guide will be designed and made available at Ashby Museum and the Tourist Information Centre. Working closely with Ashby Museum and other local groups, the project will also include a wide range of community activities to develop awareness of the Bath Grounds’ fascinating history. These will include; Community Archaeology Community mosaics An Ivanhoe Spa film A ballad of the Bath Grounds (performed on the Bath Grounds
in 2016). A program of lectures and guided walks. The Friends are keen to encourage volunteers of all ages who may wish to become involved in any of these activities. • Do you want to have a go at non-intrusive archaeology using geophysics? • Would you like to perform in the Ballad of the Bath Grounds? • Try your hand at producing a community heritage mosaic? If you are interested in taking part or supporting us by becoming a member of the Friends of Ashby Bath Grounds, then please contact us on; Email: bathgroundsfriends@gmail. com or telephone D. Bigby: Treasurer Tel: 07765 765156 C. Birch: Secretary Tel: 07958 232291 To keep up to date with this project and all our other projects then check us out on web: www.bathgroundsfriends.com Or Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
WILL THE REAL ROBIN HOOD PLEASE STAND UP Ashby Civic Society certainly had a large selection of characters to choose from. This months’ speaker, Nick Marshall, teased us with who this famous outlaw might have been. Was it one man or a combination of several historic characters? Did Little John, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet actually exist or were they just fictional characters? A truly intriguing talk from Nick and great fun. Also, Ken Ward and Chris Tandy from the Civic Society gave updates on our campaign to save Ashby Hospital and the progress of Money Hill housing plan and traffic issues.
If you missed this month’s event, our Speaker on 13th October is well known Archaeologist Peter Liddle giving a special talk to us on the little known facts of the Hastings local family homes. Why not come as a visitor. Free parking and Refreshments at Legion House, South Street, Ashby. Call Susanne 01530 415654 for full programme details or google ashbycivicsociety.webs.com We’d love to meet you.
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ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH CIVIC SOCIETY Ashby Museum was delighted to hear that the Friends of the Bath Grounds have received the go ahead for their plans from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Museum trustees have worked, and will be working, closely with them on several areas relating to their project. We were successful in our application for a County Council Shire Grant: as a result we have purchased more acid-free container boxes to house our ever expanding Community Archive. Special reinforced plastic containers are also being bought to store many of our artefacts. The Antiques Road Trip team were in the Museum on 17th August, to film a piece on Dolly Shepherd, the Edwardian Parachutist and great friend of Ashby over one hundred years ago. The excerpt should be appearing in the new series planned on the BBC. Our A.G.M. will take place on Saturday, 17th October at 10.30 a.m. in the Ferrers Community Room at the Museum. All are welcome to attend. We will be welcoming pupils from Humphrey Perkins School, Barrow-upon-Soar later this month. The Museum welcomes visitors of all ages, having had a particularly successful year being host to various U3A groups. Please book by telephoning 01530 560090. Peter Liddle will resume his popular talks this month. The dates for the next series are Tuesdays from October 27th to December 1st. The series of 6 lectures will cover the present state of knowledge of archaeology in Leicestershire, and is entitled ‘The Long View of Leicestershire Archaeology’. The lectures take
BARGAIN BOOK SALE AT ASHBY LIBRARY Looking for a bargain? Pop into Ashby Library and bag some books! There will be a sale of second hand books and DVDs for bargain prices at Ashby Library from 10th October to 7th November. A wide range of books and DVDs will be available.
place in the Ferrers Community Room at the Museum. As previously, the times each week will be 11am - 1 pm and the cost is either £6 per lecture, or £30 for the course (of 6) so you may attend the whole course or just come to individual lectures. Peter is the former County Archaeologist for Leicestershire. To book email: peter.liddle51@ gmail.com Tel: 01162 214508 or 07843120817 or call Ashby Museum: 01530 560090.
Friends of Ashby de la Zouch Museum The Friends of Ashby Museum would like to thank all those who supported our talk on the Beaumonts of Coleorton in September. Our next event is a ‘What Is It?’ quiz at Packington Memorial Hall on Friday 30th October at 7.30 p.m.. Bob Neale will bring some mystery objects for teams to identify, with prizes for the winning team. Teams of 6, but individuals are welcome as we can allocate you to a team. The cost is £10 per head and will include a Ploughman’s supper. Please book tickets at the museum by Monday 26th October. (Due to catering arrangements, they will not be available on the door.) Pay bar at the hall. There will be a raffle. Come and enjoy an evening of fun trying to identify unusual objects and some you may remember your grandparents using! Also in October is our AGM. This is on Saturday 31st October at the museum at 10.30 a.m. All welcome. Tea/coffee and biscuits provided. All welcome.
QUIZ NIGHT SATURDAY 10th October 2015 At: Measham Youth Centre on Bosworth Road, Measham 7.30pm start Teams of four, £10.00 per team Buffet provided please bring own drinks. Raffle on the night Prize donations would be gratefully received All profit raised will go towards: Measham Youth Centre
13th October - 8pm The Hastings' Family Homes Illustrated talk
Archeologist Peter Liddle guides us through their Ashby, Kirby Muxlow and Leicester homes.
Richard III TV documentary) demonstrate designing and fitting medieval armour.
5th April - 2pm Visit to Beaumanor Hall
Meander with Richard Stone with a fascinating, illustrated talk on the history of our local River Trent.
(not our usual 2nd Tuesday) Join us for a tour of this beautiful hall and grounds plus refreshments. Home to the Herrick family and an important WW2 listening Y station working alongside Bletchley.
8th December - 6.30pm Christmas Social – Book early!
10th May - 7.30pm AGM with cheese & wine and National forest update
12th January - 8pm Ashby Canal Update
14th June - 2pm Visit to Hill Farm and cream tea
10th November - 8pm River Trent
The most popular event of the year. Our usual good food, good company and entertainment in the Century Cinema, Snibston Not to be missed.
Hear of latest extensions and history with illustrated talk by project officer Geoffrey Pursglove.
9th February - 2pm Behind the Scenes at Century Cinema
See what goes on with a fascinating tour of this local cinema, a film show and refreshments.
8th March - 8pm Dressing Richard lll (with TV personality!)
Come and see Richard Knox and Dominic Smee (star of the
SANTA FUN RUN TO DEBUT IN ASHBYDE-LA-ZOUCH! A brand new charity event is set to fill the streets of Ashby with hundreds of Santa’s as the Rotary Club of Ashby Castle host a brand new family Christmas event for 2015. The Ashby Santa Fun Run & Walk will be held on Sunday 29th November and is being run in conjunction with Ashby Town Council. The emphasis of this event is on providing a fun Christmas fundraising event suitable for families, friends and groups looking to get in to the Christmas spirit whilst raising funds for some fantastic local causes. The event takes participants on a 3km tour of Ashby taking in some of the towns most picturesque sights. As part of the entry fee, all participants will be provided with a Santa suit, hat and beard to run or walk in leading to the amazing
A short AGM then an illustrated talk by John Everett, CEO of National Forest Co. on their future plans and achievements. (small charge for visitors refreshments).
See exotic bison, alpacas and deer with a guided walk of Hill Farm Packington then a cream tea.
12th July - 2pm Walk around Repton Village Guided visit of the medieval abbey, town's historic buildings and unique Saxon undercroft. Refreshment will be provided in the village hall. A wonderful summer’s day outing. Call Susanne 01530 415654 for programme details. Or visit: ashbydelazouchcivicsociety. webs.com
spectacle of several hundred Santa’s setting off from the Bath Grounds! The event kicks off at 10:45 with a fun warm up to get everybody in the spirit before the fun run and walk starts at 11:00. The main beneficiary of this years event will be Hospice Hope, the local charity providing support to patients with a life limiting illness and who have an ultimate aim of providing a Day Care Centre for local patients to support them and their carers. Monies will also be distributed to other charities supported by Rotary. Entry costs just £10 for adults (16 and over) and £5 for under 16’s with all profits from the event benefitting the charities mentioned. Full details of the event including online entry are available at www. ashbysantarun.com. Interested in finding out more about Rotary? If you would like to come along to the Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle please contact our secretary Chris Knight at cjcjknight@supanet.com or visit www.ribi.org.
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LOCAL NEWS
Tue 20th Oct - Sun 1st Nov
Haloween at the zoo. - Twycross 13 days of tricks and treats at Twycross; Wear fancy dress and get in for £13 and enjoy some spooky fun! For further information please see the website or call 0844 474 1777. www.twycrosszoo.org
Thu 29th Oct
Tiny Terrors Lunch Time Party Halloween at Barneys. Tiny Terrors Lunch Time Party at Barney’s Play Barn from 10am – 1pm.Childs Tickets £8.00 Adults Free. Prizes for the best Fancy Dress Children. Play, Food, Games & Prizes. Admission by Ticket only!. Limited Places! See our website for further details. www.barneysplaybarn.co.uk
Thu 29th Oct
Halloween Disco - Barneys Playbarn - Coalville. Halloween at Barneys Play Barn. Halloween Disco 5.00pm – 7.30pm. Childs Tickets £8.00 Adults Free. Prizes for the best Fancy Dress Children. Play, Food, Games & Prizes. Admission by Ticket only! Limited Places! For further information see our website. www.barneysplaybarn.co.uk
Fri 30th Oct
Halloween Family Fun at Moira Furnace. Spooky Boat Trips, Ghost Walk, Apple Bobbing, Crafts, Food and Drinks. £2.50 children, £3.50 adults, £10.00 family 2 + 2 Tickets available from Ashby Tourist Information Centre (cash or card) 01530 411767 or Moira Furnace Museum (cash and cheque only) or pay on the door.
Sat 31st Oct
Halloween Steam & Scream at Great Central Railway. Dare you ride our after dark ghost trains? Who knows what ghastly or ghoulish creatures you’ll meet on board. Trains departing from Loughborough & Rothley for a fun night out for all the family. Visit website www.gcrailway.co.uk
Sun 1st Nov
Gunpowder Plot - Donington Le Heath. Visit the house owned by one of the plotters and find out the true story of the Gunpowder Plot, with re-enactments, talks and gunpowder demonstrations. At Donington le Heath Manor House 11am - 3pm. Cost Adults £2, Children £1. For further details telephone 01530 831259.
Our Lady’s Convent School
Open Even
Independent Day School (3-1
Fri 6th Nov
Mallory Park are proud to be supporting an extremely worthwile and local lifesaving charity; Leicestershire & Rutland Blood Bikes as part of this years Fireworks & Bonfire Night Extravaganza, taking place on. Ticket Prices - Adult (14+) £5 in advance / £7 on the gate Child (Age 3-13) £3 in advance / £4 on the gate Family ticket (2 + 3) £15 in advance / £20 on the gate
Sat 7th Nov
Large Bonfire, Spectacular Fireworks Display, Meet your favourite Children’s Characters, Amazing Laser Light show, Fairground Rides, Licensed Bar, Various Food Stalls, Fresh Coffee & Tea, Toffee Apples StallS. At Cattows Farm. Normanton Lane, Heather, Leicestershire, LE67 2TD. Gates Open at 5pm, Bonfire lit at 6.30pm, Fireworks Start at 7.30pm. For Tickets go to there website www.eventbrite.co.uk Advance Tickets: Adults £6.50, Children £4.50, Under 3’s free. On the Gate Price:Adults (Age 16 & Over) £8.00 Children (Age 3 - 16) £6.00, Under 3’s Free. Car Park £1
Sat 7th Nov
The annual Rainbows Bonfire Night is back! It will be held at Leicester Racecourse. More details about the event to come nearer the time. Visit www.rainbows.co.uk
Open Day 3rd October 10.30am to 2 Open Morning 10th November 9.30a Year 12 Taster Day 26th November
For further information on our events please ring Mrs Spencer
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LOCAL NEWS
nts
18) ORANGE PUMPKIN FACE COOKIES
Open events throughout the year
2.30pm am to 12noon
For more information or to request a prospectus please contact Our Lady’s Convent School, Gray Street, Loughborough LE11 2DZ Tel:
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2X YEW LODGE HOTEL SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN PARTY TICKETS - 31ST OCTOBER
What Century is the hotel from? 16th Century 18th Century 13th Century 19th Century NAME: ADDRESS:
Time 44-55mins - Makes 12
Mix the glaze ingredients to make a smooth, runny icing, adding a bit more juice if needed, then set aside. For the filling, beat the mascarpone with the icing sugar, then stir in the cooled melted chocolate. Spread the filling over the cooled plain biscuits, then press the ‘face’ ones on top – do this just before you want to eat them, otherwise they go soft. Brush with the glaze, using a clean paint brush or pastry brush. Eat the same day.
Ingredients
140g butter, softened 175g plain flour 50g icing sugar finely grated zest 1 medium orange For the filling 100g mascarpone 1 tsp icing sugar 25g plain chocolate (55% cocoa solids is fine), melted For the glaze 50g icing sugar about 1 tbsp orange juice
Method
Preheat the oven to fan 160C/ conventional 180C/gas 4. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the flour, icing sugar and orange zest and beat together to make a softish dough. Knead into a ball and wrap in cling film. Chill for 1 hour. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut 24 circles with a 7.5 cm round plain cutter. Put them on a couple of baking sheets. Using a small sharp knife, cut out Hallowe’en faces on 12 of the circles. Gather up the spare biscuit dough and press into pumpkin stem shapes, trimming with a sharp knife. Press to the top of each biscuit with a knife to join. Make lines on the face biscuits with the back of a roundbladed knife, to look like the markings on a pumpkin. Bake all the biscuits for about 15 minutes until pale golden. Leave to set for a while, then cool completely on a wire rack.
SLIME BUG CUPS
Time 25mins - Makes 12
Ingredients
4 x 135g packs lime jelly a selection of animal and bug sweets 2 x 154g packs Oreo biscuits
Method
Make up the jelly following pack instructions. Pour a third of the mixture into 12 small glasses or plastic pots. Add a couple of bugs to each pot, then leave to set in the fridge, keeping remaining jelly at room temperature. Once set, add more bugs to each container (lean some against edges, so they stick out the top). Pour over a third of the jelly and leave to set in the fridge. Repeat with remaining bugs and jelly. For the soil topping, place cookies in a plastic bag and, using a rolling pin, bash into crumbs, then tip onto a plate. Just before serving, sprinkle a layer of soil over each set jelly, then top with a mushroom, a slug and some ants or your choice of creepy crawlies.
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LOCAL ADVERTISERS
New Fabrics To Revitalise Your Home
Autumn is an exciting time of year for interiors as the fabric manufacturers reveal their latest collections and trends for the coming year.
Parker who is a well known lifestyle designer. Her bold and colourful floral designs have been transformed into fabrics and wall hangings.
We have recently visited trade shows in London and as usual have been inspired by the many wonderful new designs, colours and textures we have seen.
During October we will be offering 20% off all fabrics from Clarke & Clarke so why not let us help you to choose that perfect fabric to revitalise your home.
One of our favourite suppliers are Clarke & Clarke and their new collections have a very cosmopolitan feel such as Anatolia, with its striking Turkish patterns and Navajo with its native American Indian style.
Visit us at Robert Newbolds furnishings, Market place, Shepshed to see our full range or why not call us so that we can bring our fabrics to you in the comfort of your own home? We offer a full, no obligation made to measure service, including fitting of tracks and poles and a wide range of accessories.
Palladio offers ornate detailed weaves with a classic Italian feel, whilst Latour is a range of chenilles in rich and luxurious colours. One exciting collaboration this year comes from Kim
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GARDENING
11
Launching Botanica Garden School
T
he day light hours may be getting shorter and the temperature somewhat cooler, but that doesn’t mean we should be shutting down the garden and diverting our thoughts away from all things horticultural! There are seeds to be sown, bulbs to be planted and opportunities to learn, develop our skills and plan ready for next year.
Botanica Garden School
Marigolds
Exciting times are ahead; myself and two fellow garden designers are launching Botanica Garden School very soon. We will be offering a range of one day and short courses covering topics such as How to Design your Own Garden, Planting Design, Creating a Cut Flower Garden, Woodland & Shady Gardens, Successional Colour for Borders and Gardening with Grasses. Those new to gardening can build confidence and skills to help tackle their own plot, whilst for those with experience or even their own gardening business they can gain a further understanding of horticulture and design from knowledgeable garden designers. The courses will be held at 3 beautiful venues across Leicestershire selected for their elegant surroundings and friendly, relaxed atmosphere. To find out more information please visit www.botanicagardenschool.co.uk and find us on social media. If you know someone who may love to learn more about gardening and
design then let them know about Botanica Garden School or better still buy them a voucher as a gift – see our website for more details.
Love in a Mist - Nigella: Unusual flowers with ferny foliage. The seedheads are great for drying and flower arranging.
Whilst I’m busy organising the Garden School and designing gardens and planting schemes I’ll still find some time to pop out to the greenhouse to sow seeds this autumn. Hardy annuals can be sown right now to germinate before the winter and then slowly develop ready to give an early splash of colour in the spring.
Sweetpeas: Sown now they will flower much earlier than spring sown plants.
Sown into seed trays of good multi-purpose compost and given some frost protection in a greenhouse or cloche, the seedlings can be pricked out into individual pots ready for planting out in early spring. However it is possible to sow direct into the ground. The soil must we weed free and free-draining to ensure that the seeds get a good start before the winter weather hits. Good varieties to try: Pot Marigolds -Calendula officinalis: Bright daisy blooms in shades of orange, gold, cream or yellow from summer to autumn. Cornflowers -Centaurea: Blue, Pink & Burrgundy frilly flowers from late spring to mid-summer. A great cut flower.
Once the small plants have developed strong roots they can be planted out into beds, borders or the cut flower patch. Autumn sown annuals grow much more quickly than spring raised plants and often provide more flowers and stronger plants. For the price of a few packets of seed and some compost it’s worth a try. If your space needs a redesign, renovation or a splash of colour, give me a call to book a consultation to view your garden and discuss how i can tailor my services to your needs. Give me a call Tel. 07506 750250 Email me info@belgrierson.co.uk or check out my website for more details. www.belgrierson.co.uk November is a good time to plant bare-root trees so that they can establish before the forth coming spring, so next month I’ll be looking at my favourite trees for small to medium gardens.
Poached Egg Plant -Limnanthes douglasii : Carpets of cup-shaped yellow-centred white flowers from summer to autumn. Ideal for the front of borders.
Bel Grierson
Sweatpeas
Garden Designer & Plantswoman
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12
LOCAL NEWS
Win Tickets To The Christmas Festive Fair How many stalls are there at the festival?
125
325
825
ALL WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOO-OO-OU!
Full name
Combine your festive shopping with a fun day out Hooray! The festive gift fair is back at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. Christmas again! Stuck for ideas?
E-mail address
Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th November 2015 9.30 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. daily For show information, list of exhibitors and more please visit www.festivegiftfair.co.uk
Contact number Address
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Festive Fair Competition, 42 Forest Rise, Kirby Muxloe, Leicester, LE9 2HQ - Closing date 30th October 2015
love
Slimming World
Giant Part Rings INGREDIENTS
100g softened butter 100 caster sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 225g plain flour 350g icing sugar Food colouring
METHOD
Pre heat oven to 180°C. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix. Sift the flour and fold in to create a dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 mins. Cover 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Roll out dough to 0.5cm thick.
Join a warm and friendly group near you today…
Using an 11cm cutter cut out circles and with a 5cm cutter cut out the middle of each.
It’s a great time to come along to your local group and realise you can really achieve your dreams the Extra Easy Slimming World way
Place on the trays and cook for approx. 15 mins. Leave to cool.
Tuesday 5:00pm & 7:00pm The Royal Hotel Station Road, Ashby de la Zouch Call Richard 07869 433 653
Mix the icing sugar and 4 tbsp water to form a paste, split the mixture between 2 bowls and add yellow food colouring to one bowl and any other colour to the other.
Wednesday 9:30am, 11:30am, 5:30pm & 7:30pm Measham Top Club Queen Street, Measham, DE12 7JE Call Joanna 07713 561 871
Spread the colour of your choice over each biscuit and pipe yellow stripes over the top. Drag a cocktail stick through the yellow stripes to create a feathered look.
We look forward to meeting you!
Visit the website to read Zoes story… slimmingworld.com 0844 897 8000
LOCAL NEWS
13
Festive gift Fair
V
isit the fantastic FESTIVE GIFT FAIR where you are guaranteed to be inspired - 325 stalls from all over the country overflowing with cracking gift ideas. More to see, try, touch, taste, buy and enjoy than ever before. Celebrating its 20th anniversary with a daily programme of FREE live musical entertainment. There won’t be a dull moment – no wonder it is now one of the most popular Christmas shopping events in the UK. From the moment you walk into the Fair, you will be caught up in the excitement of the day, browsing round all the stalls overflowing with clever new gift ideas and Christmas decorations that don’t cost the earth. The variety is huge, with something for ALL the family – from babies to teenagers, from parents to grandparents! ENTERTAINMENT WHILE YOU SHOP! We don’t know anywhere else you will find such a great variety of LIVE bands to get your feet tapping while you shop! Of course, the Fair wouldn’t be the same without the most outrageous Dame accompanied by Father Christmas himself. GIFTS FOR THE LITTLE ONES! Hold your breath, count to three and you’ll be in a world of imagination! There’s lots of fun and games for Tiny Tots to School Children. An ingenious designed kid friendly I-pod case – lightweight, bouncy, soft, waterproof, robust – Fatframe. Hurray, no more moaning about carrying their own bag – chose from an assortment of fun soft handmade backpacks - Cole. A happy child is a busy child – keep them amused with a Cupcake and Cookie Baking Set - Little Pals. Make pre-bed time hours that much more special - snuggle your child into an adorable fleecy dressing gown - Comfy Baby Collections.
PRESENTS TO KEEP FOREVER! Thoughtful personalised gifts and family heirlooms. Traditional toys are often the best – remember the fascination of shaking a Snow Globe and watching the snow swirl, these exquisite large globes are on the Farrar’s stall. Stimulate small world play with a large Noah’s Ark that will brighten up any bedroom. Handmade and hand painted with 11 pairs of animals and Mr & Mrs Noah – Lanka Kade. A keep forever personalised tree decoration has the names of all the family on their Christmas stockings hanging from the fireplace – Delightful Decorations. FESTIVE FLAVOURS! Christmas is the one time of the year when everyone can ‘over’ indulge a little. At the Fair you can sample lots of Christmas favourites BEFORE you buy – from delicious cheeses to Christmas puddings. The Great Taste Award luxury ‘Pudding Lane Christmas Puddings’ are delicious or try their decadent chocolate mud-cake Handmade Treats. Not your average pizza, these look-a-likes are made from Chocolate! – From birthdays to wedding – The Gourmet Pizza Chocolate Company will deliver with your chosen message. Pork pies for all occasions – Yorkshire based Crusty Pie Co’s delicious Pork, Turkey and Cranberry Pie will go down a treat on Boxing Day. Giving Good Beer a Bad name! Great beer with quirky labels such as ‘Misery Guts’, ‘Grumpy Git’ and ‘Lazy Sod’ that can’t fail to amuse - Direct Beers. AFTER THE WASHING UP! Cosy up, relax and enjoy an afterdinner tipple with some cheese. Snowdonia Cheese produce seven amazing mature Cheddars in waxed shells - the ‘Pickled Power’ one packs a punch with savoury chunks of pickled onion.
Celtic Spirit Company – the aromatic Black Mountain Liqueur is an ideal choice for your Christmas celebration. An alternative to Port, ‘Rubis’ is an indulgent after dinner drink, a delicious combination of dark chocolate and red wine – Rubis Chocolate Wine. The Cornish Blue Company produce their sweet mild creamy farmhouse blue cheese on Bodmin Moor. Guaranteed to give a warming sensation - Real Sloe Gin made from the wild blackthorn bush and infused with gin and sugar - Condessa Welsh Liqueurs.
THE WAY TO A COOK’S HEART! The rule for long lasting garlic is to keep it dark, aired and dry– Ginger & Garlic Grater Co sell beautiful painted handcrafted storage jars. Create a homely rustic feel in your kitchen with East 2 Eden’s super sets of wicker storage baskets in choices of linings – for bread, cheese or the laundry. Catching up with Jamie Oliver recipes while cooking? No home should be without E.Bean’s I-Pad cushion that adjusts to the angle of your device and in loads of cool fabrics.
EFFORTLESS ENTERTAINING WITH SCENT-SATIONAL RESULTS! At Christmas there is NO place like home so set the scene for a magical Christmas. Nothing says Christmas more gloriously than a display of flickering candles or diffusers that smell delicious Fragrance Sand.
Order a beautiful customised Cake Topper for your Christmas cake. Bateman Designs make amazing art deco toppers.
Natural Cone & Fruit Company will be selling their beautiful selection of swags and garlands to decorate your Festive table. Decorate your home with Treasure Tree’s sparkling votive candle holders.
For men on the go, buy an innovative water bottle that filters 99.9% of contaminants – Water2Go.
THE LADIES IN YOUR LIFE! Pamper your Mum, Granny, sister, best friend, wife or girlfriend with a special present this Christmas. Indulge your beauty queen with this gorgeous, cocktail inspired bath and body care range – Boozi Body Care. An ingenious way of keeping all your earrings organised – Hunki Dori – has designed a beautiful book with 4 padded pages, each holding 12 pairs of earrings. A one-stop stall for professional Salon hair products to achieve smoother, silkier hair and superior results. - Donna Bella. Belle Bijoux have a stunning range of beautiful Danon jewellery a fashion line combining gems, leather and Swarovski crystals.
WHAT TO GET THAT HARD-TOBUY-FOR GUY? ‘I Love My Granddad’ mug should do the trick - Carolyn and Sue Gifts.
Whether he is an action man and likes hiking or just walking round to the pub, Warwickshire Clothing have branded jackets for every activity. From Horror Stories, Crime Thrillers to Sci-Fi, Snazal sell every imaginable boxed set of books – saving you up to 50% off RRP! CHRISTMAS STARTS AT THE FESTIVE GIFT FAIR! 12 – 15 November 2015 at NEC, Birmingham For more information on Exhibitors and Visiting the Fair, visit www.festivegiftfair.co.uk. Click on the button online to watch a short video from last year’ show.
14
LOCAL NEWS
COUNTY COUNCILLOR
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
M: 07429055402 E: Sean.Sheahan@leics.gov.uk
M: 01530 417736 E: andrew.bridgen.mp@parliament.uk
SEAN SHEAHAN SAFE ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
Local footpaths, along with our heritage trails and canal walks, are an important part of the area’s environmental and industrial legacy. These Rights of Way need to be carefully managed in order to ensure everyone can access and enjoy the countryside. Now and again, there are complaints. For example, last month I received a report of a missing stile on the footpath which leads from Measham to Oakthorpe, and there were concerns being raised with the police about motorcyclists on the path. When I enquired about the missing stile, I was told that the County Council had removed it, because an adjacent field does not hold livestock. Ordinarily, this might have been the end of the story, but the police involvement was enough to prompt a call for action. After organising a site meeting, attended by a County Council Footpaths Officer, Parish Council representatives and the local police, I am pleased to report that within two weeks, the County Council had installed a motorcycle barrier. This was a good outcome, considering the annual County Council budget for footpaths has been cut from £500 per kilometer a few years ago to £75 per kilometer. That kind of money doesn’t go very far in funding maintenance, let alone the time taken by officers chasing up landowners to clear obstructions or reinstating a path that has been ploughed over. In addition to maintaining the footpaths, the County Council produces a number of free walking guides, which can be found in libraries or on the Council website http://www.leics.gov.uk/ walking. The Parish Walks series is particularly good, blending concise directions with brief references to historical landmarks and events. The Appleby Magna guide, for example, sets out two walks, one around the village and one from Appleby Parva to No Man’s Heath, coming back along the ancient trackway, Salt Street.
PARKING ENFORCEMENT
This month, in a press release, Leicestershire County Council announced that they were ‘clamping down on dangerous parkers’ and there had been a
ANDREW BRIDGEN ‘drive to tackle unsafe parking.’ Anyone reading that who has tried manoeuvring around parked cars on the double yellow lines near the cash machine on Chapel Street, Measham for example, might hope that things were starting to get sorted out. Yet when I looked into the reality behind the rhetoric - it turns out that absolutely no extra resources have been allocated to tackle parking enforcement. This was confirmed by a source at the District Council, whose officers are responsible for issuing the parking tickets. Ostensibly, the press release was an attempt to highlight the risks to offending motorists of getting caught. Yet it also seems designed to convince the rest of us that more enforcement is taking place. So at Full Council this month, I intend to ask the Tory Cabinet Member for Highways whether he actually intends do more to tackle dangerous parking or if not, politely suggest he clamps down on the propaganda coming out of his Administration at County Hall.
NEW SKATE PARK FOR MEASHAM!
A £200,000+ state of the art skate park is now open on Bosworth Road Recreation Ground in Measham. It’s hard to believe this project has finally reached fruition, four years after I was taken on a visit to see a similar scheme in Clifton, Nottingham. The group behind the project, DE12 SK8, have shown great drive and ambition and deserve the highest praise for their achievement, along with their many supporters, most notably District Councillor Tom Neilson and Measham Parish Council. The new skate park caters for BMX, skateboards, scooters and roller blades and is open to all age groups.
T
he principle topic in my constituent correspondence this month has been the Syrian refugee crisis, provoked in the main by the genuinely heart-breaking photo of the little boy washed up on a beach. The situation in Syria is a human tragedy and the Government has not been standing by over previous months and years. It has been using a large portion of the International Aid budget, £1 billion in total, in helping Syrian refugees, the largest humanitarian aid project in our country’s history. This is more than the rest of the EU combined and we have saved the lives of many thousands of men, women and children who are fleeing this wartorn area. We have announced that the UK will be taking in 20,000 refugees from refugee camps, which I believe to be a reasonable and proportionate number. I have been asked why it isn’t more and I will explain my position on this matter. Whilst it has been cited that Germany are taking hundreds of thousands of refugees with an open border, which is why so many have been making perilous journeys from what are safe Countries to get to Eastern Europe and into Germany. What the German Government have also unintentionally done is create a market for ruthless people traffickers who care nothing for the safety of their clients, It is my belief that the Germans did not think through the implications of doing this, they did the wrong thing for all the right reasons and as I write this, they are having to close their borders as are other countries along the route. The refugees should have been taken from the camps as the UK are doing, so there would be no opportunity for these vile people traffickers who are seeking to make money out the desperation of Syrian refugees and far less risk to their safety.
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Like every Country, we have limited resources and the more refugees we take, the less financial aid we can give to the nearby safe Countries to create sanctuary for those being forced out of Syria. I believe the balance is right and we can be proud of our contribution in alleviating the suffering of these poor desperate people. Parliament has returned briefly this month before recessing for conference season. It was been a very packed session with several important Bills going through, and the announcement of a new Labour Party leader which I will turn to later. A vote has been held relating to the EU Referendum and though the vote was a technical issue of Purdah, it was one of importance to ensure a free and fair referendum. Purdah is a long standing convention whereby governments refrain from making any major announcements in the run-up to general elections or other polls to avoid influencing their outcome. I voted that there should be a period of Purdah so we have a fair referendum and thanks to a number of my colleagues, we will have this. One of the more lively debates was on the Government’s Trade Union Bill. Trade unions are valuable institutions in British society and dedicated trade unionists have a strong history of working hard to represent their members, campaigning for improved safety at work and giving support to their members when it’s needed. But it is only fair that the rights of unions are balanced with the rights of hardworking taxpayers who rely on key public services. It is wrong that politicised union leaders can hold the country to ransom with demands that only a small percentage of their members voted for; causing misery for millions of people and harming our economy too. The Bill will mean there is a minimum turnout in strike ballots, more notice will have to be given and that there is a limit of how long the ballot is valid for. Three million working days have been lost to strikes in the last 5 years, over 80% of which was in the public sector. Given the fact that the new Labour leader and the more militant union leaders seem to be talking and acting as one, it is essential that this Bill goes through to protect people such commuters and the parents who wish to go about their life without the inconvenience an unnecessary strike can cause.
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